First, the killings were in self-defense. I attempted to conduct an interview with Susan Monica, who was half-coherent, with her story changing every minute. I took a deep breath, and I sat down at the phone, putting it on speaker so our producers could hear and hand me questions. I looked at my news director, who gave a half-shrug, with a look as if to say “you’re the only one.” I didn’t know if I would now be considered a witness would I be questioned by police about this conversation? Could this cause a mistrial? I didn’t know if there were legal problems with this. How could I be? It’s not often that an accused serial killer calls you from jail. You’re the only reporter here.”Īpparently a senior member of the newsroom had advised our assignment editor to send a letter to Susan Monica in jail, asking her to call us for a jailhouse interview. One afternoon, I was returning to the station from covering a story, when my assignment editor zeroed in on me. Then, the strange finally caught up to me. Every detail that came out added more layers of strange to the whole ordeal. I interviewed an estranged family member of one of the victims who asked how this could have happened, and why no one had ever reported him missing. She ranted, claimed innocence, and also tried to be tight-lipped. Monica wrote letters to the local newspaper and did a jailhouse phone interview with another TV station. Susan Monica’s strange behavior made the situation even more surreal – she would appear in court bald or wearign a wig, she was prone to outbursts toward her attorneys or the judge, and once, she shouted that she wanted her pigs butchered and given to a local community center. A woman in the tiny, rural community of Wimer, Ore., was accused of killing to handymen on her farm – one in late 2012, one in 2013 – and feeding their remains to her pigs. In spring 2014, I covered one of the most bizarre and mortifying stories of my career.
![susan monica serial killer susan monica serial killer](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SDjDAk-hryU/hqdefault.jpg)
Sometimes you can work for weeks, months, or even years developing a story, but outside factors can knock it down before it ever gets published. In fact, many stories that we work on behind the scenes never come to light.