Clyde Reddicks

 

I think I have mentioned before that one of my favorite shows on the Investigation Discovery channel is Fear Thy Neighbor. That being said I have also discovered after watching episodes that the show actually leaves a lot out of their stories that in my opinion could be relevant, and like many documentary shows is generally a bit bias. I will admit though that not every episode tends to be bias for one side or another (the victim or perpetrator) I think it is based on which side could “bring” more “drama” to the situation and story. My next several blogs will be cases based on stories I saw on that show.

Before I start pulling this all together I want to apologize if from time to time you see Jeffery Flaugher's name spelled incorrectly. I have a son named Jeffrey, r-e-y, and he has had issues with people all of his life spelling his name incorrectly. To be fair I see it r-e-y, much more often than the presumed e-r-y that Jeffery Flaugher actually carried. In fact, I did not notice this spelling until I went to the Findagrave website to find Jeffery's nickname and realized I had spelled it incorrectly.

Clyde Reddicks was described as a “decorated” Vietnam Veteran. He, and his wife, Cathy lived in a fairly rural area in Grayson Kentucky, about 90 miles east of Lexington. It was unclear how long the couple had lived on their property but it is suffice to say that it was many, many years. They had one child who was grown and had his own family. It is also not exactly clear when Jeffery “Bub” Flaugher Jr. and his girlfriend, Teresa Leadingham moved in next door to the Reddickses.

Jeffery and Teresa had eight children between them. Teresa apparently had five of her own, while Jeffery had a child before their relationship and then the two had two children together. I did find something interesting when I was on the findagrave website. Jeffery had been previously married and in 1998 his wife had given birth to triplet sons who died soon after birth.

It seems that right from the start there was tension between the two households. The Reddickses were used to peace and quiet of the area but that becomes more difficult when a family with eight children move within 100 feet from their home. While my research did not mention any tension between the families involving an access road, this was mentioned several times in the episode of Fear Thy Neighbor. According to the television show the road was adjacent to the Reddickses' property and Clyde was very possessive and controlling as to who could, or could not access the road. Both Jeff and Teresa's families were apparently deep rooted in Grayson and some have said the fact that the road was named after some of Teresa's ancestors was one of the “points” they would claim to give them permission to use the road. That being said, and again I found nothing in my research and I am only going based on the television show, it is my understanding that the road was a public road and Clyde Reddicks did not have the right to restrict anyone from using it.

It was alleged that Jeff Flaugher in particular was a problem. However, I am going to be fair in saying that I am unsure that anyone other than the Reddickses or their lawyers made those claims. I point this out because I am unsure that anyone, outside of these two households saw or heard anything that was said or done. It was alleged that Jeff, who was in his mid-twenties at the time would make sexual remarks to Cathy Reddicks, as well as taunt her about her weight. It was said that Jeff had “bragged to Cathy Reddicks about the size of his penis and once exposed it to her.” He was also alleged to have made several degrading remarks to both Clyde and Cathy and attempted to poison their dogs by sitting out a pan of antifreeze for them to drink.

Over the years the police were called several times apparently by both households but little was done. The thing that was most mentioned about tension between the two households involved the fact that Jeff and Teresa allegedly set off fireworks “all hours of the night” and often “aimed” them at the Reddickses' property so as to not just taunt them but to leave debris for them to clean up. It was said that Clyde suffered from PTSD and that the fireworks caused him not just to have nightmares but to “relive” his wartime horrors.

On the morning of July 16, 2004 Teresa's nephew was at the home babysitting the children. He would later say that while he was there Cathy Reddicks had come and “pounded” on the door. Apparently he knew of the issues between the households and he had refused to answer the door. When she left the home she allegedly “chucked” a cinder block into the windshield of a vehicle owned by Jeff and Teresa. Apparently the police were called once more but again, nothing apparently was done, or at least nothing immediately to satisfy the parties. It was alleged that later that day at some point, Cathy Reddicks had commented to Teresa's brother “that there would be a stop to the harassment once and for all.”

Later that evening Jeff was said to be holding his youngest son when Clyde came bursting through the door carrying and firing a 20 gauge shotgun. It appears that the first shot missed and Jeff ran into the bedroom where he threw his son on the bed, closed the door and used his body to barricade it. Clyde fired the gun through the bedroom door and then headed back to the front room of the home. It was there, while surrounded by her children that Clyde shot Teresa in her home. It was stated that both Jeff and Teresa begged Clyde not to shoot them. They both died at the scene.

Of course once again the police were called, only this time so were paramedics and the coroner. After hearing what happened investigators made their way to the Reddickses' home. It was said that initially Cathy Reddicks attempted to say that she had been the one to fire the shots and commit the murders but eye witnesses had already informed investigators differently. Clyde was arrested and subsequently with two counts of capital murder, first degree burglary and three counts of wanton endangerment. Cathy would also be arrested and charged with complicity to capital murder, first degree burglary and criminal mischief. I can only assume the latter charge was likely from the issue with the cinder block earlier in the day.

Just before their trial was to begin in August of 2006, Cathy would accept a plea deal in which she pleaded guilty to a single charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution. The plea deal called for a sentence of five years but prosecutors in the case did not oppose an “alternative” sentence. The judge apparently had offered her a sentence of a year on house arrest and two years probation. Her attorney's actually told her that she may have been better off accepting the five year sentence. She had already spent more than two years in jail and she would have been immediately eligible for a parole hearing. However, Cathy wanted to take the year of house arrest. For his part Clyde would take his case to trial... or at least the start of a trial.

Four days into his trial, in which if convicted, he could have faced death, it was abruptly ended when Clyde too accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to two counts of first degree manslaughter, one count of second degree burglary and three counts of wanton endangerment (I assume these charges are from firing the gun with the children present, one for each shot fired). All reports stated that he was given 18 years for each of the manslaughter charges to be served consecutively. He received other sentences for the other charges that were to be served concurrently to the manslaughter sentences, but then everything said he was sentenced to thirty-five years so I admit I was a bit confused.

Initially I believed that this plea agreement was accepted by Clyde, likely at the behest of his attorney's, because the trial was not looking good for him. However, his attorney was quoted as saying that he had advised Clyde not to take the plea because he believed they had a good chance of winning at trial. A few of his family members had also expressed this feeling but ultimately it was Clyde's choice. At his sentencing a few days after his guilty plea his attorney had asked the judge to sentence Clyde to probation. Later the attorney would say that he only asked for this to get a report into the court record although I have to be honest in saying I am unsure I believe that statement. Personally I believe he only made the statement after prosecutors, the judge and likely many others, including the families of the victims chastised the very idea that it was even suggested. The judge stated “You took the lives of two people. In your mind, maybe it was justified- but it's not in mine.”

It appears that nearly the entire defense had focused first on blaming the victims for behaviors that pushed Clyde to the point of shooting them. The other part of their defense apparently was to repeatedly mention Clyde's military service and the fact that he had received three purple hearts while in the Airborne division during the Vietnam War. Of course it was all tied in together as they used the military service and trauma to talk about his PTSD and how the actions of the victims had caused him to “relive” that time and “triggered flashbacks of the war.” The prosecutor would later say that it was “almost insulting” how his military service was used as first a defense but also as a way to make the jury respect him, despite what he had done.

Cathy would apparently serve her time on house arrest and complete her sentence. It is unclear whether the couple were able to maintain the home they lived in when this all occurred. For his part Clyde would serve six years total of his sentence. On February 8, 2012 he would succumb to cancer while in a prison medical facility.