Confession and the Aftermath of Justice

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. Oh. surface, a courtroom seems like the last place you'd expect to find anything supernatural. Business of law, with its stuffy procedure and pedantic detail. Leaves little space for spirits. It's a province of hard rules and objective facts. where perhaps more than anywhere else, the weight of verification matters. Nondetheless. Time. The otherworldly has fought its way into the legal sphere. The spiritual battle of the Salem witch trials was not waged by religious leaders in the churches and chapels, but by magistrates in the town court. The evidence of devilry was as much a matter of legality as religion. Hundreds of years later, the devil was back on the stand. In the tragic case of Annalisa Mikhail. As covered in Unexplained Season Seven, Episode Six. Look me in the eye. In nineteen seventy six, Annalisa died from severe malnutrition. Following a year long course of starvation. to exercise the demonic forces that her parents were convinced infested her. Medical experts diagnosed the supposed possession as epilepsy. Church back to the spiritual theory. Annalise's parents and two Catholic priests were charged and convicted of negligent homicide. in a landmark case that has reverberated in pop culture and Catholic doctrine, In the Salem trials and the Annalise and Mikhail tragedy. It was the threat of diabolic forces that came under legal interrogation and But in other, even stranger cases, spectral evidence has actually been a tool of criminal prosecution. Perhaps the most famous episode is the case of Zona Hester Shu. Green Briar Ghost. In January eighteen ninety seven. Zona was found dead at the foot of the stairs in her West Virginian home. Sona's husband, local blacksmith, Edward Shu. He ran home immediately and called for someone to fetch the local physician, Dr. Napp. Wr Knapp arrived at the shoe property. He found that Edward had carried his wife's body upstairs. Washed it. Dressed her in a high necked gown. and was clinging to her corpse, weeping and refusing any further medical assessment. Despite the oddity of Edward's behavior, Dr. Knapp put it down to the frenzy of grief. and declared the cause of death as the everlasting fate. A 19th century term for a heart attack. He later changed this to female trouble. And then simply childbirth. So Nashu was buried the very next day. And Edward went on with his life in a seemingly stoic manner, despite his evident grief. Less than a month later. Sona's mother. Hester. Is said to have awoken one night. to find her dead daughter standing in the corner of her darkened room. in the course of four supposed visitations. Zona Shu told her mother the truth of how she died. Edward, it seemed, was far from the loving husband he betrayed. He was violent and abusive, and on that tragic day in January, He had apparently reacted angrily to being told that there was no meat for that evening's dinner. Zona apparently described to her mother how he'd squeezed her neck at the first joint until she was dead. Mary approached local prosecutor, John Preston, for help. Preston initially laughed off the story. But after questioning Mary for several hours, even he began to have doubts. First, Preston consulted Dr. Knapp. who agreed reluctantly that he may have been too eager in his diagnosis, and that he certainly remembered Edward Shu's behaviour as unusual. prosecutor looked more deeply into Edward's life. and found that he had been married before. times to women who died under strange and unresolved circumstances. Armed with this new information. Preston was able to gain an order to exhume Zona's body. According to the local paper, the Green Briar Independent The discovery was made that Zona's neck was broken. And her wind pipe. Mist. On the throat were the marks of fingers. And the neck was dislocated between the first and second vertebrae. It was an injury that had never been recorded before. But it matched precisely what Zona's apparent ghost had told her mother. Edward Shue was immediately arrested and subsequently charged with murder. He was given a life sentence. Mary Hester was asked about her daughter's spectral visits. Whether they were in fact dreams, founded upon her distressed condition of mind, as it was put to her. No, sir, she replied adamantly. It was no dream. Sona came to me in the very dress that she was killed in. And when she went to leave me. She turned her head completely around. And looked at me. Like she wanted me to know all about it. It's often said that the Green Briar episode remains the only case in which ghostly testimony was directly involved in the conviction of a murderer. While sceptics argue that the passing of time has helped to embellish it into a neater, more satisfying story than it probably was. But there is in fact another case where a spirit Or something like it. is said to have found the means to address the court. And it happened much. Much more recently. You're listening to Unexplained. And I'm Richard McClain. Teresita Barza, always loved music. From the very first time her fingers touched the keys of the family piano. She was infatuated. Even as a child. She knew that making and studying music would be the purpose of her life. Yet for a woman born in the Philippines in nineteen twenty nine, a serious career was highly unlikely. Her father was a successful lawyer. and the Barza family were comfortably middle class. But a life in the small Dumaguete city provided scant opportunity to someone of Terracita's talents. To have any chance of distilling her skills into success. She knew she had to make her way to the United States. It took her all of her adolescence and her twenties to make it possible. But in her early thirties. She finally succeeded in gaining a place to study music at the University of Indiana. She worked hard and graduated with her master's diploma. But then, like so many others, hoping to pursue a career in the arts. Terracita was spewed out into an unforgiving world. Without the comforts of home and family. Teracita put her dreams on hold and took a regular job. She worked at Chicago's Edgewater Hospital. and over the course of several years worked up to the position of respiratory therapist. All the while keeping up her musical studies. She was accepted into the graduate school of music. to study for a PhD. It was a busy life. Long days at the hospital. Followed by long evenings of work on her thesis. But she was making her way. She was happy. Colleagues described how she would eat her lunch every day in the same spot in the cafeteria. gently to herself between mouthfuls. Finally, she saved enough money to buy herself a piano of her own and Maybe this gave her confidence. And colleagues noted that Terracita became more sociable. Once the instrument was installed at her home She began hosting parties in her small fifteenth floor apartment in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Friends and colleagues would cram into the humble space and sing as Teresita played along. One night her mother was there too. Having flown over to visit her daughter, She watched on, with a gentle melancholy, at how relaxed her middle-aged daughter seemed in her adoptive home. Among her new American friends. How radiant she was. A few days later. Tericita's mother was leaving. She handed her daughter a jewelry box. Terracita. And her eyes began to water. Inside was a beautiful emerald pendant that her father had bought for her mother during a trip to France years before. She had always admired it. And now her mother was passing it down to her. Poignant symbol of love. Parent who knew their daughter. Was never going to come back home. Just after ten PM on Monday the twenty first of february, nineteen seventy seven, at Terracita's apartment block. The scent of smoke hung thick in the air. Teresitas neighbors were the first to notice it. The acrid tang of something burning somewhere in the building. They traced it down the corridors to Terracita's door. Banged and banged on it. No one answered. when tendrils of black smoke then began to curl out from under the door. They did the only thing they could do. And called nine one one. The building superintendent. Let the firefighters into Terracita's apartment. Where they immediately found the source of the smoke. Hello, Blaze simmering in the centre of the living room. And it's noxious smoke. Plooming from a bare mattress. They made short work of extinguishing the fire. Then with worried neighbors peering in. The firefighters lifted the mattress to reveal what they first assumed to be a pile of clothes. When the smoke cleared, they saw to their horror that it was in fact the body of a woman. The neighbours would immediately identify her as Teresita Barza. She was naked and laid out on her back. With her legs spread apart. Butcher's knife was embedded deep into her chest. While the firefighters waited for police to arrive. They took a closer look at the mattress, hoping to establish how the fire was started. But they found no obvious catalyst or excelerant. The fact that the mattress had really only been smoldering when they arrived. Led them to believe it was the work of an inexperienced arsonist. Then they turned their attention to the wider apartment. The whole place was in disarray. Doors hung open. Terracita's belongings were strewn everywhere. And the air was heavy with dust, as if freshly disturbed. It looked less like the clutter of a busy life. A short time later. Detectives Joe Stahula and Lee Eplin. So who learned Eplin had worked on many murders? But almost immediately. Something about this one felt different. Next to Teresita's body lay a pile of clothes that appear to have been torn off her with violence. That and the positioning of her body suggested that she'd been sexually assaulted. Before or after she was murdered. The door to the apartment had two deadbolts that Terracita was known to use. It would have been impossible for an intruder to force his way into the apartment. And he certainly couldn't have climbed the fifteen floors to the window. The two detectives concluded that whoever it was that killed Terracita She must have let them in voluntarily. The coroner determined that she died from the single stab wound in her chest. It was unsurprising. The knife had been driven deep. Almost to the hilt in a single remorseless thrust. There were no marks to suggest any hesitancy on the part of the killer. It was a murder committed with great violence. Efficiency And it seemed to the detectives. Some experience. Then came a surprise. Terasita's body showed no signs of sexual assault. In fact, the coroner had good reason to believe that She'd never had sexual intercourse at any time in her life. Testing on her clothes found no evidence of sexual assault either. Which meant for some reason The killer appeared to have deliberately made the assault look sexually motivated when it wasn't. What then They only found one clue to pursue. Written in Terracita's handwriting. Which red. Theatre tickets for A S. Detectives Stahula and Eplin asked around, but quickly determined that Terracita didn't have any romantic acquaintances. None of her close friends knew of anyone in her personal life. With the initials A S. The only scant thread was the word of Ruth Loeb. A hospital colleague who'd spoken to Terra Cita on the phone little more than an hour before her body was discovered. They spoke for several minutes, and according to Loeb, Terracita sounded happy and calm. There was nothing to give her friend any cause for concern. And when Terracita mentioned she was expecting a man to come over that evening. Perhaps to buy a concert ticket from her. Loeb barely registered the detail until the detectives got in touch with her. Was this the enigmatic AS they wondered? But Loeb couldn't say. Neither could she confirm if the man arrived or not. And offered no further insight. At some point in a Vinston, a small town just north of Chicago, in the early hours one morning. Remy Chua tossed and turned in her bed. Her husband, Jose, sat up over her with concern. Remy began to mumble something. As though something in the dream was terrifying her. Jose urged her to wake up. And finally she did. Gasping for air. It was yet another nightmare. All about the same thing. Parasita. Remy Chewer worked at Edgewater Hospital as a respiratory specialist. Just like Terracita. And also like Terracita. She'd been born in the Philippines before moving to the United States. Because the two women had similar jobs, they were rarely together. And only knew each other casually. Because of that, Remy was surprised by how hard she took the news of Teracita's murder. and how unnerved she felt in the aftermath. That's why she thought little of the dreams. At first. Probably a normal reaction to such recent and traumatic events, Remy thought. Then one lunch break. Colleague spotted Remy sitting in Terracita's favourite spot in the cafeteria. It wasn't especially strange, until she did it again the next day. One day, Remy was overheard humming while eating her lunch. Just like Terracita used to do. Then someone else noticed that Remy had taken a new locker. She started using Terracita's old locker instead. Her co-workers were rapidly growing disturbed by the behavior. Which seemed morbid at best. Pathological at worst. Eventually, one of them found the courage to ask Remy about it. But she simply refused to engage. Pushed further, she flew into a sudden rage. Several weeks after the murder. Sharing a late shift. Remy was sat in an armchair in the staff lounge. When she drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later, she woke with a horrify scream. Remy bolted out at the door. Seemingly in a state of utter fear and confusion. Nurse eventually managed to catch up with her and tried to calm her down. Did you see her? said Remy. It was Terracita. She was in the room, standing over me. The nurse just shook her head. She hadn't seen anything. The event unsettled everyone, but the next day, Remy acted as if nothing had happened at all. Disquiet, growing on the ward, senior staff called Remy to a meeting to address the deteriorating situation. attended, but flatly refused to discuss her behaviour. Instead She reeled off a litany of complaints about her job. co-workers and the management itself. Her outburst was so out of character. That her supervisor suggested she take a short leave of absence. Assuming with some compassion. that Remy was suffering the after effects of grief or shock. But Remy flew into such a rage in response that Management decided instead to terminate her contract there and then. Now I'm tethered to the routines of work. Remy's behavior became even more bizarre. Oh. Her dreams of Terracita continue. And her husband Jose. Doctor at another Chicago hospital. found it harder and harder to wake her from them. One night. Remy is said to have told Jose that she was exceptionally exhausted. and retired to bed early. Osa was understandably worried about his wife. but agreed that a good night's rest would do her good. Minutes later. He heard his wife calling him from their bedroom. But something in the tone of her voice was off. He opened the door to the bedroom. And in the darkness. could just about make out the figure of Remy lying prostrate on their bed. Are you okay? Yeah. But Remy didn't respond. He realized then that she was fast asleep. But then she spoke again. Doctor, she said in an unfamiliar voice. I would like your help. The man who killed me is still at large. said Jose. Taking a step closer. I would like your help. The man who killed me is still at large. Un. Jose tried to wake his wife. But Remy's eyelids remain tightly shut. And still the words came. The man who killed me is still at large. There were other words to That Jose didn't recognize at first. Until he realized they were to Garlog words. A Filipino language. Remy used rarely and ineloquently. Jose Shook Remy some more. But still she wouldn't wake up. You began to panic. I need your help. This time. Jose tried something different. Who am I speaking to? He asked. I am Teresita Barza. The woman. Jose felt a chill run through his body. Then Remy opened her eyes. Remy woke up. She was alarmed to find her husband standing over her. With an anxious look on his face. She claimed to have no memory of whatever she'd been dreaming at the time, or of saying anything during her sleep. After that, she refused to discuss it any further. At a loss how to respond. Jose simply tried to forget about the whole incident. Then the following week, it happened again. Once asleep. Remy began to speak once more, in that uncanny, alternate voice. Addressing Jose as doctor repeating the same plea. This time, however. She also said someone's name. Alan Shawri. Then the voice, claiming to be Terracita, berated Jose for not telling the police that she'd been trying to communicate with him. Oz replied meekly that he couldn't possibly approach the authorities without evidence. But what is this if not evidence? snapped the voice in return. That's all the while, his wife appeared to remain. completely unconscious. A short time later. She seemed wake again. Remy claimed to have had no awareness of what had just transpired. But then Jose told her the name that she said in her sleep. Alan Showery. And Remy jerked to attention. Knew. Alan, it turned out. was an orderly within the same respiratory team as her and Terracita. Remy had always considered him an intimidating individual. She herself avoided him wherever possible. She described him as an arrogant man who liked to pretend he was a doctor. and had even coined the nickname Doc for himself. She didn't find it hard to believe that Shaori could have killed Terracita. But what on earth were they supposed to do on the word of a supposed ghost? Another week passed while the chewers worried and deliberating. both feeling guilty for not reporting what they knew. Or at least suspect it. Then Remy fell into a third and final trance. Once again. It began with Remy going to bed early. As Jose lay beside her. Waiting. Then in the darkness of the room. Remy lay absolutely still. The apparent voice of Teresita returned. It's said that she and Alan Shawry had been on friendly terms. And that he'd offered to come to her apartment. Television. When she let him in, according to the voice, He knocked her senseless to the floor. up a knife from her kitchen and drove it deep into her chest. After that, he systematically removed her clothes. supposed Teresita's body to imply a sexual assault. Just as the investigative team had suspected. The thing was, as Remy and Jose would later find out, No one outside the investigation knew this, because the police had never released this information to the press. Terracita's supposed voice went on. Describing how while she was dying, Shari pocketed her jewellery. including a distinctive pearl ring and the emerald pendant. If further evidence was required, the voice also told Jose the names of Teresita's family members who could help verify that the stolen jewellery was hers. Then all went quiet again. And once more, Remy claimed to have no memory of speaking. Or any knowledge of the event she described. Unable to wait any longer. and now utterly convinced that Terracita was using her as a conduit for justice. Remy Chow. Finally contacted the Chicago Police Department. To her surprise. The man she spoke with, listened to her story with patience. and urged her to contact the homicide detectives covering the case. But Remy still wasn't sure. Public with her strange claim ran the risk of harming her husband's professional reputation. The officer told her something unexpected. According to the Remy wasn't the only staff member from her old hospital that had been experiencing visions of Terra Cita. Three others had two. Eventually, Remy agreed to talk. Preposterous as it all sounded. Having gone six months without a lead Detective Joe Stahula was willing to try anything. When he met the chewers at their house, the first thing he noticed was Jose's restless, anxious energy. You're rubbing your hands together like you're trying to start a fire, Stahula said. You have something you want to tell me. Remy looked on nervously. Her husband raised his eyes to meet the detectives. Believe in ghosts, he said. If the question took Stahula by surprise, he tried not to let it show. Perhaps he struck upon exactly the right answer. Because with that. The chewers floodgates open. Remy and Jose Chua told the detective about everything that had apparently transpired in their home since Terracita's murder. The dreams, the apparitions. And what they'd finally resolved to call Remy's possession. The Hula listened to it all without interruption. As bit by bit, the chewers revealed the details of the stolen jewelry. and even the withheld truth about the body's suggestive positioning. And then they gave him a name. Alan Shawri. Hula felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle, as he recalled the cryptic note that he'd found at Terracita's apartment. A and S. Until then. Shari had not even been on the police's radar. Now Armed with the most specious of probable causes, the detectives decided to pay him a visit. Shari lived with his girlfriend Yanka. Less than a block from Terrace to apartment. Later that day. Detectives Stahula and Eplin knocked on his door. He answered with a friendly smile, and asked if they were there to talk about Terracita Barza. Ever since her murder, he told the detectives, he'd been very open with people about how he'd visited her the night she died. It was an unusual admission to make. and one that gave Stahula and Eplin enough reason to bring him in for questioning. First they interrogated Shaori, who just repeated what he said he'd already told everyone. that he went to Teresita's apartment on the night of the twenty first of february. To fix her T V. But after quickly judging it beyond repair, He told her he was going home to fix some electrical problems of his own. But when the detectives put his account to Yankee She was confused. Alan had never shown any aptitude with electronics, she said. and there were never any electrical issues with their apartment. She then revealed that in late February, Alan had presented her with a pair of belated Christmas presents. Oh ring Beautiful emerald pendant. Then Sterh. glanced down at the ring on her finger. and recognized it immediately as Terracita Bases. Faced with insurmountable evidence, Alan Shawry confessed. Plan was as the detectives suspected. Rob Terra Cita. Stage of sexual assault. and attempt to destroy the evidence by setting fire to her apartment. In a sad twist. Shari admitted that he'd chosen Teresita as a victim. Because her generosity toward colleagues had convinced him she was hoarding secret wealth. when Shari's trial began in october nineteen seventy eight. There was some initial doubt over whether any of the evidence could stand up. First, the defense's legal team accused the Chowers of fraud, citing a longstanding enity between Remy and Alan. They argued that the entire possession explanation was just a ludicrous invention, and that Alan's confession had been coerced. Showery pleaded not guilty. Trial ended in a hung jury with no definitive verdict. And Shahry was sent back to jail for a month. Pending a retrial. Maybe his guilty conscience worked away at him. Or maybe he realized that his chances were slim, should a new set of jurors see the strange, compelling evidence. Either way, for whatever reason. When he was brought back to court in january nineteen seventy nine. He changed his plea to guilty. On febru twenty third, nineteen seventy nine. Almost two years to the day of the crime. Shari was convicted of arson. Robbery. Murder of Teresita Barza. He was sentenced to a rather lenient fourteen years in prison. The evidence against him. Painted in the eyes of the legal system. though the court seemed happy to overlook the bizarre manner in which it had come to light. Justice by whatever means had been served. to a degree at least. The man responsible for their daughter's murder behind bars, the Barza family could focus on grieving for Teresita. Buried back in Dumagueti City, close to the family home. In Chicago. Many of Terracita's friends loudly protested Shaori's sentence as a paltry punishment for such a heinous crime. Their frustrations would be inflamed even further, when he was released on parole in october nineteen eighty three. Having served just four years of his sentence, From there. Alan Showery. recedes into the shadows of the story. Rumours persist that he relocated to New York City. but his whereabout in the decade since, or whether he is even still alive. Remains unknown. And as for just how a supposed unsettled spirit may have played a role in bringing him to what little justice he ultimately faced. that is likely to remain forever. Unexplained. This episode was written by Neil McRobert and produced by Richard McLean Smith. Before we go, I'm very happy to say that Neil's debut novella Good boy is now out and available to buy. It's a dark, eerie, and deeply moving story, set in a small northern town, haunted by something ancient and terrible. So that sounds like your kind of thing. And I suspect that many of you it probably does. Please check it out. Boy by Neil McRobert. Available now. Thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained is an AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McLean Smith. All other elements of the podcast, including the music. are also produced by me. Richard McClain Smith. Unexplained the book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts. and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation or a story of your own you'd like to share. You can find out more at unexplainedpodcast.com and reaches online through X and Blue Sky, but unexplained pod. And Facebook. At Facebook.com Forward slash. Unexplained podcast.