Paul Ferrell and Cathy Ford

[TracyLynnS]

They just showed a segment on the new UM that I don't remember seeing before. I couldn't find any info about it here on the site. I didn't get to see the segment from the beginning and I'd sure like to be able to see it again. Do you guys remember this one?

Paul Farrell was convicted of killing 19 year old Cathy Ford, but her body has never been found. He maintains his innocence. There's a website with info here: http://www.victimsofthestate.org/WV/Ferrell.htm

At the time that Cathy Ford disappeared, Paul Farrell replaced the carpet in the master bedroom of his 8 year old trailer home. Blood "not inconsistent" with Cathy's parents was found in his house.

Paul found Cathy's burned out vehicle in his back yard (which I think was some acreage, he had to walk out a ways from the house to find the car). After finding the vehicle, he didn't tell anyone because he thought it would point to him being a murderer since her car was on his property.

When explaining why he didn't report finding the car, he actually said something like, "I thought, well she's dead and her car's in my yard and they'll think I did it." That's not an exact quote, but what he said sounded VERY incriminating, especially the part where he casually remarked that she was dead, even though she was only missing.

Three weeks after he found her car in his yard, searchers finally found the vehicle. There were no fingerprints or other evidence because of the fire and rust. Paul then pretended to be Cathy and wrote a letter to her parents. I think he claimed she was out of town for a while or some such nonsense. He included cash ($200?) to help her parents pay for expenses related to her car. I don't know if it was for the tow bill, or to pay to replace it or what.

When confronted, Paul said that he had never written that letter while pretending to be Cathy, but a handwriting expert examined it, said that he was indeed the author, and finally Paul admitted to writing it.

On top of his likely involvement in Cathy's disappearance, this creep made obscene phone calls to women at local businesses. He pretended to be a doctor and asked females who answered the phone at libraries and book stores to read him explicit passages from books about sex. In the UM interview, he explained that he thought of it as phone sex and that basically there was nothing wrong with it since he couldn't afford a credit card that was required to make calls to legitimate phone sex lines. So just because he's broke, there's nothing wrong with victimizing random women! What a nut.

Cathy went missing in 1988. According to the website linked, Paul was granted parole in 2004 because they never found Cathy's body, and there were no fingerprints, hairs, or fibers found connecting him to her disappearance.

[justins5256]

This story was actually featured on the short lived Final Appeal television series. I posted a synopsis on it on the board in the past.

I think that Ferrell is the guiltiest person I have ever seen on UM and frankly, I don't see why they bothered to profile his story. I know there were some unusual circumstances what with her body not being recovered and what not, but it's such an overwhelming circumstantial case.

There was nothing in the FA presentation that convinced me he wasn't responsible for Ford's disappearance and death. However, a lot of people from that town seem to believe he is innocent for some reason. I can't say I follow the logic.

Here are a couple threads...

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=235901

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...d.php?t=216369

Also, here is a link to an appeal he filed that goes into much more detail about the various players and circumstances in the case. If you weren't convinced before of his guilt, you likely will be after you read this...

http://wv.findacase.com/research/wfr...9999.WV.htm/qx

Sorry guys, but the cops and the court system got this one right.

[Guardian]

If he is somehow innocent, he did some really dumb things.

The only thing I was able to come up with that might lean towards me thinking he was innocent at all would be the manner in which Darvin, the other man that Kathy was seeing at the same time as she was seeing Paul, was the person that mentioned to Paul that smoke was seen on his property. Then after Paul found and ignored the burned truck, it was this Darvin character that found the truck on Paul's property.

Now given the fact that Darvin was in a relationship with Kathy, and Kathy was seeing Paul on the side, I would be willing to suppose it could be possible that Darvin killed Kathy and framed Paul for the murder.

The fact that the police believed that the truck may have been burned elsewhere and then towed to the place where it was found on Paul's property would also support this.

I am not saying that I believe that's what happened, but it makes at least some sense, IF Paul is actually innocent...

[TracyLynnS]

Thanks for that info, Justin.
Someone bumped one of the threads so I could read it.

I think the reason I couldn't find any info on the case
here is because I misspelled the guy's last name when
I did the search. Figures I'd make a rookie mistake, lol...

[TracyLynnS]

I read some of the info on the findcase site that Justin linked to.

Paul Ferrell had a prolonged and frequent habit of impersonating other people. He constantly called women and pretended to be a doctor, a magistrate, an undercover officer, etc.

Cathy worked as a waitress in her parents restaurant. On the day she went missing, she received a call from Ferrell, pretending to be a magistrate, about some checks relating to the business.

She made an appointment with the "magistrate" for that afternoon to discuss the checks. That same day, she received a phone call from a man claiming to be an undercover officer needing to talk to her about the restaurant's liquor license and a possible investigation.

She left for her business appointments and was never seen again.

[crystaldawn]

I think Paul Ferrell killed her but the question is why? Also curious if he is the one who called her did he disguise his voice in an effort to lure her somewhere or did she know she was meeting Ferrell and didn't want anyone to know so made up a story about where she was going. If he did lure her somewhere and her murder was premeditated the only possible reason I can think of is that she had threatened to expose their relationship or she broke it off with him and Paul couldn't accept it. I think a more likely scenario though is that it was a meeting that they both planned and things got heated and he killed her and then panicked and hid her vehicle. His explanation for all the suspicious things that went on that pointed to him just didn't seem logical.

[DarkDante]

I also think Paul Ferelll killed her but based on viewing the segment it seems like the prosecutor at the very least "walked the line" on this case.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

I think Paul Ferrell killed her but the question is why? Also curious if he is the one who called her did he disguise his voice in an effort to lure her somewhere or did she know she was meeting Ferrell and didn't want anyone to know so made up a story about where she was going. If he did lure her somewhere and her murder was premeditated the only possible reason I can think of is that she had threatened to expose their relationship or she broke it off with him and Paul couldn't accept it. I think a more likely scenario though is that it was a meeting that they both planned and things got heated and he killed her and then panicked and hid her vehicle. His explanation for all the suspicious things that went on that pointed to him just didn't seem logical.

There is something I've never quite understood about this case.

Do we know for a fact that Paul and Cathy were having an affair? Is there any evidence of this relationship aside from his claims they were involved?

The court documents make it seem as though Ferrell was calling various local women and trying to lure them to secluded locations.

Then there are comments from Cathy Ford's brother about how he and his sister were close and he never suspected anything was going on or that she would be involved in a relationship with Paul Ferrell.

I'm wondering if Ferrell was a sexual predator whose goal was to lure a woman, any woman, back to his trailer so he could carry out whatever sexual fantasy he was working through and that Cathy Ford was unfortunate enough to answer his call. Then he fabricated the relationship details after the fact so he could have some tie to Ford as his "secret lover" and divert attention away from the fact that she was a victim he just picked at random, as well giving him the option to downplay/deny the previous behavior patterns - the other phone calls trying to lure women away.

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by justins5256

There is something I've never quite understood about this case.

Do we know for a fact that Paul and Cathy were having an affair? Is there any evidence of this relationship aside from his claims they were involved?

The court documents make it seem as though Ferrell was calling various local women and trying to lure them to secluded locations.

Then there are comments from Cathy Ford's brother about how he and his sister were close and he never suspected anything was going on or that she would be involved in a relationship with Paul Ferrell.

I'm wondering if Ferrell was a sexual predator whose goal was to lure a woman, any woman, back to his trailer so he could carry out whatever sexual fantasy he was working through and that Cathy Ford was unfortunate enough to answer his call. Then he fabricated the relationship details after the fact so he could have some tie to Ford as his "secret lover" and divert attention away from the fact that she was a victim he just picked at random, as well giving him the option to downplay/deny the previous behavior patterns - the other phone calls trying to lure women away.

1) I believe that there's was evidence presented at the trial of the affair between the two. And no one in the segment denied that an affair existed.

2) Ferrell was making HUNDREDS of obscene calls to various women trying to get them to read sexually suggestive passages from a book and pretending that he was doctor. In the program he actually used the excuse that he "couldn't get a credit card" and that's why he did it.

Even more chilling was when he changed a statement he was making from "it appears (wrong) " to "it was wrong to have done it" when he was discussing the calls that he had made.

3) Ferrell made a serious mistake (whether he did or did not kill her) when, rather than reporting Cathy's vehicle near his home, he decided to write a ridiculous letter pretending it was from Cathy Ford and then putting $200 in it before mailing it to the victim's family.He then lied about it to the investigators when questioned later.

Personally, I think that although it took them a little too long to make the connections, the police seem to have gotten this one right. I believe that he killed her,dumped the body in a heavily wooded area or buried it and the burned the truck in an attempt to hide evidence.

This man is a narcissist and was very troubled emotionally. He should never have been a police officer and, I think the fact that he was, interfered in the investigation.
The fact that he hasn't sued the state for falsely imprisoning him speaks volumes as does the fact that authorities consider the case closed.

[wiseguy182]

if Paul Ferrell turns out to be innocent, I will eat my shoes.

[Guardian]

All in all he is probably guilty. There are however many unanswered questions in this case. I am not completely convinced he is the killer. I would give him maybe 5 percent chance he could be innocent.

If he killed her, he obviously managed to dispose of the body. Now why be so stupid as to not only leave her truck on his own property, but also set it on fire to make smoke that would be seen for miles. If I am not mistaken, the only thing that initially got the police investigating him was the fact that smoke had been seen coming from his property. What was the point in even burning he car? I don't see this as a scenario that would have blood or other crime like evidence in the vehicle. If he did kill her it was likely in his trailer. Why even burn the car?
And I understand that we are talking about someone that is dumb enough to write letters impersonating the victim and not reporting her car being found if he is innocent, but I can actually see those things as stupid as they are being something one might do if they are just simply scared.

I don't know. Odds are he is completely guilty, but like I said there are at least a few things that give some doubt. I can't say for sure I would vote guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if I were on the jury for his case.

[TheCars1986]

Guilty, guilty, guilty! What innocent person writes a fake letter to the parents of a missing person posing as that missing person, also giving them money? And who doesn't report ANY charred vehicle found on your property? While I do agree that it is a bit strange that Cathy's boyfriend (who should have been a person of interest, especially if he knew about the alleged affair between the two) found her vehicle on Farrell's property, Farrell's behavior is NOT how an innocent person would act. The whole phone sex scam shouldn't have been allowed in court as it really had nothing of value in the disappearance of Cathy Ford, but it shows what a sicko this guy really is. And how did Farrell explain the blood found on the floor, cieling, and walls in his trailor? He said someone may have pricked their finger...

Farrell also got that phone call at the bowling alley from Cathy, and he said he didn't want to meet her at his trailer but he would at a local high school. If he was having an affair with this woman why wouldn't he meet her at his trailor? I think he made that up because he knew she met him at his trailer and that's where he killed her.

[TracyLynnS]

Originally Posted by justins5256

I'm wondering if Ferrell was a sexual predator whose goal was to lure a woman, any woman, back to his trailer so he could carry out whatever sexual fantasy he was working through and that Cathy Ford was unfortunate enough to answer his call. Then he fabricated the relationship details after the fact so he could have some tie to Ford as his "secret lover" and divert attention away from the fact that she was a victim he just picked at random, as well giving him the option to downplay/deny the previous behavior patterns - the other phone calls trying to lure women away.

That's the feeling I was getting about the situation.

Recently, lifetime has been airing the same episodes within a week or two of each other. Hopefully they'll repeat this one and I can watch the whole segment. (I missed a lot of the segment when it was on the other day....) Seeing it again will probably give me a better idea about what the heck is going on with that Paul character, especially since it usually takes several viewings for me to catch all the little details.

[Guardian]

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying I think he's innocent. I think in all likelihood, he is guilty.

The phone calls should never have been allowed in court though. All that did was stack the deck.

As far as how he acted after the disappearance, that is the most damning thing. But just suppose for a minute that he is innocent. He would know being a cop that he would likely be charged with a crime since he was seeing the girl and then her truck ends up on his property. While I will agree there is no way in hell that most people would act the way he did, if he was already hearing that people were suspecting him before the car was found, he might be scared enough to do something stupid like that. In other situations, why do innocent people sometimes run when convicted of a crime? You can never say what you will do when scared and under the gun.

I cannot say enough that I do think he is likely guilty. But before I can decide for certain, there are those lingering questions still there. I don't know why, but that Darvin character seems suspicious to me. I would have to have some questions answered about him before I could rule him out.

As I said before I can see a scenario where he, being the jealous lover, might have killed Kathy, and set up Paul for it. Paul might then have freaked out given the situation and played right into the frame up unwittingly.

Not necessarily what happened, but I wouldn't say impossible either. Just playing devil's advocate here is all.

[justins5256]

I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but Darwin Moon really made a name for himself on World Series of Poker.

Here is an article about him.

http://www.casinosdiary.com/wsop/dar...a-chip-leader/