Jeanne Tovrea murder case on I, Detective

[Kane]

Have any of you ever seen the Court TV series I, Detective? I was watching it last night, and the episode entitled "Behind Mansion Walls" focused on the murder of Jeanne Tovrea.

For those unfamiliar with the case, Jeanne Tovrea was a socialite. In April of 1988, an intruder broke into her Phoenix, AZ home and shot her to death while she was asleep. Four years after the crime, the case was profiled on Unsolved Mysteries.

It was known Tovrea was stalked by a man calling himself Gordon Phillips, who represented himself as a writer for Time-Life magazine. "Gordon Phillips" claimed to be interested in World War II prisoners of war. Tovrea's husband, Ed Tovrea (who died in 1983), was a POW during that era. "Phillips" would persistently pursue Tovrea, often leaving messages on her answering machine. Tovrea was understandably afraid of "Gordon Phillips." It was soon brought to light that Time-Life didn't have anyone on staff by the name of Gordon Phillips.

Jeanne Tovrea's murder went unsolved for years, until the police discovered that the fingerprints found at the crime scene matched the fingerprints of "Gordon Phillips." That name was, in fact, a phony name. The man's real name is James "Butch" Harrod.

Despite the evidence against him, Harrod denied any involvement in Jeanne Tovrea's murder. Nevertheless, he was convicted of the crime, and sentenced to death. To this day, he resides in Arizona's death house.

The murder case, however, may not be completely closed. There has been speculation that more than one person could have been involved in Tovrea's death. But Harrod is obviously not saying for sure since he is denying his guilt.

[80s90sFanatic]

I vivdly remember this case, but I do remember it in bits and pieces. It's great that the guy was caught and is in jail on death row. It's pretty sad that someone would be murdered like that while they slept, it's creepy.