This is the second edition of "Forcefield Analysis" - A lot of the cases which are still unsolved at times contain a great deal of information thrown at the viewer in a haphazard fashion ranging from statements made by family members & police to potential motives behind the mystery to physical evidence.

I am going to attempt to organize this into some sort of cohesive unit in order to give a clearer perspective on the case. This is not an attempt to solve any of these cases but instead generate a plausible viable theory as to what happened.

This edition will focus on the Strychnine poisoning of Patsy Wright:

BACKGROUND

In October of 1987 wealthy Texas socialite/businesswoman Patsy Wright was found unconcious in her bedroom by her sister and brother in-law. Despite attempts to revive her, Patsy died several hours later. During her autopsy it was revealed that the cold medicine which Wright had taken prior to going to bed contained high levels of strychnine which of course was the cause of her death.

In the following months police began to speculate who would've wanted Patsy Wright dead. Suspects with motive could be found in both Patsy's business affairs and in her personal life. The police also believed the killer was someone Patsy knew for two reasons:

1) Very few people were aware that Patsy took cold medication at night to help her fall asleep
2) On the evening of Patsy's murder, the alarm in her home was shut off and apparently she had shared a late night dinner with an unknown acquaintance prior to taking the cold medication.

SUSPECTS & MOTIVE

Suspects could be found within both Patsy's business and personal life. Patsy was a wealthy woman who owned two wax museums with her sister valued at several million dollars. Patsy was also divorced twice and believed that her second husband Bob Cox was stalking her. Cox also apparently was upset with Wright because she was due to testify against him in the near future in an arson trial.

Another suspect was Wright's ex-boyfriend Leo Fikes whom Wright had broken up with several months prior to her death. In addition even Wright's sister and brother in-law were considered suspects due to the fact that after Wright's death, they inherited Patsy's share of ownership in the wax museums.

WEEDING OUT SUSPECTS and SCENERIOS

1) Suicide? - It is highly improbable in my mind that Patsy's death could've been a suicide as she was not depressed and even if she was Strychnine poisoning is an especially brutal way to do oneself in. In addition according to the segment, Strychnine itself is a very difficult chemical to find and Wright if she intended on taking her own life could've found a much easier method to do herself in.

2) Patsy's family: I would also highly doubt that either of Patsy's children had anything to do with her death. I still have some modest reservations regarding her sister and brother in-law which I'll get to in the next section but I should point out the segment did note that Patsy's brother in-law would've likely not have attempted mouth to mouth on Patsy if he had prior knowledge of her ingesting Strychnine due to the potential that the poison could've entered his body as well.

3) Leo Fikes: Out of all the suspects profiled I sincerley doubt that Leo Fikes had anything to do with Wright's death. If anything Fikes displayed very typical emotions of someone who had been at odds with a person in the months prior to their sudden death. He seemed generally remorseful that he was unable to patch things up with Patsy prior to her death.

It is also important to note at this juncture that both Fikes and members of Patsy's family passed their polygraph tests.

REMAINING SUSPECTS

1) Bob Cox: Patsy's ex-husband is possibly the most likely suspect in this case due to the grievances he had with his ex-wife at the time of her death. However UM claims that Cox may be innocent due to the fact that Patsy's murderer was likely the person she had dinner with on the night she died. Due to her strained relationship with Cox it would be unlikely that she would've had a late night dinner with him. Although I feel it is still possible that Cox could've been behind her murder (see the "Analysis" section for details)

2) Patsy's brother in-law and sister: While I would consider them not as strong suspects as Robert Cox, these two individuals did stand to profit from Patsy's death and therefore until a suspect is caught they can never be totally eliminated from the picture in my mind.


ANALYSIS

- Regarding Patsy's sister and brother in-law and the empty dinner plates: I find the fact that when Patsy called her sister and brother in-law for help on the night she died, she did not indicate to them who had been at her house that night. While it is entirely possible that in panic she simply did not reveal this information to them is is also very logical that if she suspected the person who was having dinner with her that night had done something to her she would've mentioned their name.

While it is obviously unclear what was going through Patsy's mind in those fleeting moments it might be the most telling clue in this case: Could've Patsy had dinner with her sister or brother in-law that evening? - Could they have poisoned her? - If so it would explain why she never mentioned to them who was at her home that evening because why would she mention that fact to someone who was already privy to that knowledge. The key thing about this scenerio is that the only people to have direct knowledge of that phone conversation is Patsy's brother in-law and sister. They could've changed or altered that conversation in any way they so pleased in order to cast suspicion off of themselves in explaining their sisters death. It is also possible that if the Steve and Sally Horning knew that Patsy had ingested poison that they were very careful in not ingesting it themselves as they tried to revive her.

- Bob Cox: Despite my doubts about Steve and Sally Horning, Bob Cox still remains the strongest suspect in this case. While I do feel that UM is correct in alleging that he would've not have been the guest at Patsy's home that night, i think its also probable that too much attention has been paid to Patsy's mystery dinner guest and Cox could've easily still have been the party behind Wright's murder.

- Contract Hit? - There are certain similarities between this case and the Jean Tovrea murder in that I can easily see Patsy Wright also being the victim of a hit. While I admit it is a true mystery as to why Patsy's mystery dinner guest (if indeed he/she does exist) has never come forward to at least eliminate himself/herself from suspicion, it is equally possible that Patsy's dinner guest had nothing to do with her death and the cold medicine was laced earlier in the day.

The fact that the alarm was turned off does not necessarily mean the killer was someone that Patsy knew. The alarm could've been turned off when Patsy let her dinner guest into the house that night. Therefore I feel that fact could be irrelevant to the case.

If Patsy was indeed the victim of a hit, someone could've hired someone to enter Patsy's home when she was not there, lace the cold medicine with strychnine and simply exit the home. As to how they entered Patsy's home, it is amazing how adapt criminals can be at entering homes especially if they are "professionals". That cold medicine could've been lying in wait for Wright for quite sometime before she took it and the person whom she had dinner with that night might've had nothing to do with it.

- Solving the case? - While I still think Bob Cox is a logical suspect, I do believe the murderer of Patsy Wright was in fact a hitman hired by someone to lace Patsy's cold medicine. This hitman got a hold of strychnine through whatever illegal means, entered Patsy's home, laced the medication and left it there for her. Both the hitman and whomever hired her were far away by the time Patsy took the fatal dose of cold medicine.

In terms of solving this case, I again go back to the motives. Who stood to benefit from Patsy's death. Steve and Sally Horning?, Bob Cox? or perhaps someone who Patsy encountered in her day to day operation with wax museum who potentially had a beef with her. Being wealthy in many cases opens you up to a lot of hostility from all different types of people. It could've very easily been someone within the business world who wanted Wright dead.

Basically I think the authorities need to move away from the theory that Patsy knew her killer and was the individual who dined with her that night. I think thats a red herring as none of the viable suspects (with the possible exception of Steve and Sally Horning) seem to have been able to fit that M.O. of being intimate enough with Patsy at the time to share a late night meal with her.

Patsy Wright in my mind was the victim of a contract hit. The person who murdered her may have not known her, but the person who ordered the hit certainly did due to the knowledge of Wright's fondness for taking cold medication. This person whomever it was contacted someone who had enough connections to illegally obtain the strychnine, had the know-how to enter Patsy's house undetected and tamper with her cold medication. This is how the dots in this case tend to connect in my POV

Later.

After re-watching this case, I definitely have to agree that Patsy's ex-husband is the most probably suspect. Initially, I had suspected her sister and brother-in-law to somehow be in on it since everything the police know about that night is mostly based on their testimony, and they just stood to gain so much...but the mouth to mouth just doesn't make sense, if her brother-in-law KNEW that Patsy had been poisoned, because he himself could have died.

And I also agree with you, Dante, when you said that the dinner guest could be totally irrelevant to the actual case. The strychnine could have been sitting there for days, if not longer if Patsy only took the medicine when she had trouble sleeping. There is actually an Agatha Christie case like this...I can't remember which one (though I know it was one featuring Poirot, and not Miss Marple), where the victim had been poisoned, and everyone was so focused on the night that she had died...no one realized that the poison was in fact something in her medicine that was actually a part of her substance, and was only fatal if you consumed the very last of the bottle...and had therefore been "sitting there" for weeks.

Well actually I would probably think it was the brother and sister in law too except for one thing. When the brother in law was giving Patsy CPR he was taking the liquid into his mouth. If he was the guy that laced it with the poison I have a hard time believing he would risk taking liquid into his mouth that he knew was laced with one of the most deadly poisons there is.

I do think that Patsy's ex-husband was most likely the one behind it. Obviously he wouldnt have been able to get into the house but he was watching the place pretty closely from the sounds of it. I mean obviously whoever did this was very close to Patsy due to knowing that she had the unusual habit of taking Nyquil when she had trouble sleeping. Also whoever did this obviously disliked her strongly and also wanted to go to great lengths to not get caught due to poisoning her instead of shooting or stabbing her. I am sure this is one of those cases where whoever did it, is right under the cops noses and has been the whole time.

It just reminds me so much of another Dallas area murder by poison. The 1991 death of Nancy Lyon was by poison except it was by arsenic. Her husband Richard Lyon was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for that. He did it in a more slow manner where he poisoned her over the course of months, he put it in vitamin capsules and wine and even one time was so bold as to put it in Nancy's soda when they went to the movies to see the film "pretty woman" which by that time line would have been fall of 1990. Nancy took a sip noticed the horrible taste and saw white powder floating on the top. Richard became eligible for parole in December of last year and continues to proclaim his innocence. I actually dont think he was the only one in on it. I think his mistress was in on it too and there is a lot of evidence she was the one buying the poison for Richard. However she was never charged in her connection to the whole thing.

Hmmm kadrmas...all of the crazies live in Texas, huh?

Perhaps the person whom she dined with that night was in on it. They may not have been who killed her, but it is a good way to throw off the case, now that I think about it.

Yes Spark, there certainly are a lot of crazies in Texas. I mean no offense but when I think of Texas I think of a bunch of beer swigging, country music listening good ole boys. But I am sure most Texans are nice folks.

That said, I did find your theory interesting about how the person that killed Patsy possible set up the dinner scene as a way to throw off the authorities. That actually from the killers perspective would be very smart, obviously whoever did this went to great lengths and great pains to make sure they were not caught. I agree that would be the perfect way to throw off the authorities and make them look at someone Patsy was close to and getting along with because obviously if you werent getting along with someone you would not invite them over for dinner.

Haha, well, I don't listen to country music, and I don't really like beer (and I'm not a boy). But it's really funny to hear what others think of Texans. I know people who will have cousins or distant relatives visit from out of state for the first time, and they will be surprised that we aren't all dressed in full cowboy garb and riding horses down the interstate.

Just to clarify your use of "staged," I'm assuming the dinner would have to actually have taken place...as in, someone did have dinner with her, that she could have recently met...possibly a potential flame, and he could have been sent by her ex-husband or whoever killed her (or put a hit on her).

But if you mean "staged", as in the dinner plates were just placed there after the fact, that would mean that the murder would have to have been there at the house when she died, and left before her sister and her husband showed up. Or the murderers would have been the sister and her husband, and they had set it up.

Hmm...I wonder if they ever tested the liquid that Patsy's brother-in-law had spit on that towel? I know this may be getting a bit ridiculous here...but say that too was staged?

Well I have some thoughts that you guys probably aren't going to agree with but I have my doubts there even was a house guest that night. The only thing they're basing that theory on was that there were two plates in her bedroom which she could have used two plates for a miriad of reasons. Plus it would seem strange that even if it was a date that in that big house they would be eating their meal in the bedroom. Patsy could have just forgotten to turn her alarm on. Maybe she didn't feel well and decided to eat in bed and then was going to take the Nyquil, bring her plates downstairs, turn the alarm on and then go to bed. Good point spark about that strychnine could have been in there for a while. Plus Patsy was very close with her sister and kids and it would seem strange that she had a new friend intimate enough to be in her bedroom late at night that none of her family even knew existed. I definitely think her ex Bob Cox should be the top suspect. He knew her nighttime habit and she noticed him driving by her house slowly not too long before her death. Another theory ties in to the wax museum she owned with her sister. I think he has posted some of this info before but someone contacted me several months back wanting a copy of this case. This is another twist in the case that UM doesn't mentions. Here is what they said about the case:

"There are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the events that
occurred before, during and after the wax museum fire of September
1988.
Not only was Patsy Wright, one of the owners of the museum, poisoned
(October, 1987) by an, as yet, unidentified suspect, there was another
death prior to Patsy's that was equally intriguing. It involved Patsy's
administrative assistant Lori Ann Williams (age 23) who died suddenly
and without apparent reason following an appendectomy in 1984. Her body
was exhumed in 1989 to determine if she had also been poisoned, but the
results were inconclusive. Strychnine or Arsenic poisoning can
evidently
only be determined by testing a fresh corpse or through a urine test,
neither of which existed. Even more bizarre was the case of a man named
Stanley Lester Poyner who was arrested 2 weeks after the fire for
trying
to retrieve a ledger book from the ashes. There were gun remnants worth
thousands and thousands of dollars in the rubble and Mr. Poyner is
arrested for stealing a ledger book? The investigation revealed a
connection between Poyner and Wright. Poyner was the lead suspect as
well in the case for arson of the museum. He was ultimately released
due
to lack of evidence. He was also a suspect in the death of Patsy Wright
but never charged. Poyner was later shot and killed by Dallas Police
after they attempted to re-arrest him for more questioning. He
attempted
to run down a police officer to evade capture and was shot to death.
All
this information was taken from the archives of the Dallas Morning
News.
The investigative reporter was Al Brumley, who provided me with many of
the articles. I believe the fire was deliberately set to collect the
insurance and to fund the construction of a new facility and new museum
which by 1988 was very worn out after 25 years. I believe that Patsy
Wright was against the plan to torch the place and paid for that with
her life. She also would have been entitled to half the proceeds of any
insurance settlement. All the motives are there.

Yes Crystaldawn, indeed that is a ton of interesting info. The UM segment did leave a lot out indeed. I do think that the dinner scene was probably set up. It would be a pe rfect way to throw off the cops by making them think she was having dinner with someone close and intimiate and have the cops look in that direction. I do think the man that was killed by Dallas police was involved in Patsy's death in one way or another. Do you think her sister was beyhind the concept to burn the place and wanted Patsy knocked off when she wouldnt go along with it? I still think it could be possible where Patsy's siter might have been involved but maybe her husband was in the dark about it? Hence the CPR and getting the liquid with the poison in it in his mouth.

I think the Stanley Lester Poyner involvement makes the most sense. It has aspects of the Donnie Hansen case to it, sneaking around a site of a fire with strange motivation. I guess the obvious question is what was in the ledger? It says he was arrested while trying to retrieve it so I assume he was unsuccessful.

Or did the ledger survive the fire in the first place? If it did survive and he was caught in midstream he had to tell them something. I would be interested in that justification. In that respect it is mindful of the Ted Binion case, where Rick Tabish was digging up the vault of silver and caught redhanded in the middle of the night, initially telling tall tales.

If Poyner is the type to sneak around a scene of a fire, and to try to run down a police officer, it's not much of a stretch to conclude he would also be the type to break into a house and plant strychnine. I don't think crystaldawn was implying the dinner scene was set up. She thinks it was innocent, the two plates indicative of two plates. I tend to agree. As DarkDante posted, Patsy Wright logically would have identified a house guest during the distress call. If you're conspiring to kill her, is that a great blueprint, sticking around long enough to plant the poision, then you depart and allow her to make a phone call that possibly fingers you? That strychnine was probably there for days.

If police suspect Poyner was the murderer, his death could explain why there seemingly hasn't been much emphasis or new info on this case over the years.

Several years prior to her death, Patsy Wright threw a wedding shower for my sister-in-law. Her daughter was one of the hostesses at the shower and was a lovely young girl. In fact, I have a niece who was named after Patsy Wright. There have been so many theories in Dallas about why Patsy was killed (few believe it to be a suicide). All the strange events that happened after her death (the fire, the unexplained deaths, etc.) make it even more mysterious.

A few years back, I read a local article that the Arlington Police has reopened the case. They had assigned it to a then newly created 'Cold Case' squad but to my knowledge, have not made a great deal of progress on it.

Having only met Patsy Wright once, my main impression was that she was a beautiful, sophisticated and intelligent woman who went out of her way to make everyone feel comfortable.