On July 5, 2018, Detective Daniel Hayes of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, north of Atlanta, responded to a most unusual call.
Peter Van Sant: A human body in a burn pile. Had you ever received a call like that in your career?
Det. Daniel Hayes: I had never personally responded to a call that — like that. No.
The body was later identified as 58-year-old Gary Farris, the larger-than-life, 300-pound patriarch of the Farris estate, now reduced to skeletal remains. Hayes learned Gary Farris was a wealthy commercial real estate attorney, married to Melody Farris. They raised four children: Chris, Scott, Emily and Amanda.
Det. Daniel Hayes: They’re all in their … late 20s, early 30s at this point … if not a little bit older.
Hayes also learned Gary and Melody were married for 38 years and lived in a house on their beautifully manicured 10-acre farm. Son Scott, who had served in the Army, managed the day-to-day operations at the farm, and lived in an apartment above the barn.
Det. Daniel Hayes: Scott’s main function at this point in his life … is to be the farmhand.
It was a seemingly idyllic life, until Gary’s remains were discovered on that burn pile.
Scott Farris: I never thought such tragic thing would happen there.
Melody Farris: My world was spinning. … I wanted to find out what happened.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GARY FARRIS?
Melody told Hayes the last time she saw Gary alive was during the evening on Tuesday, July 3, 2018.
Melody Farris: He came in and wanted to know if I was going to prepare dinner. … and I said, Gary, there’s enough food in that refrigerator there to feed Cox’s army … I said, if you don’t want it, then go get something to eat.
Peter Van Sant: And that’s it? That was the last time?
Melody Farris: That was the last words that were spoken to him.
Melody told Hayes her husband then went down to his bedroom in the basement. Gary had sleep apnea and slept alone with his CPAP machine. Scott said he had also last seen his father on July 3 at lunch. Scott spent the rest of the day out with his friends. He returned home that night around 11:30 p.m., and says he immediately noticed a glow in the distance.
Scott Farris: When I pulled in the driveway …. you could look off in the direction where the burn pile was and you could see it was burning.
A burn pile — typically a dumping spot for yard waste and brush.
Scott Farris: … my dad did talk about … he was gonna burn that stuff on that — on that pile.
The next day, July 4, Scott and Melody told investigators they didn’t encounter Gary.
Melody Farris: It was not unusual not to see Gary.
It wasn’t until the next day, July 5, Melody says, she realized Gary was missing. Two of the grandchildren who had spent the night asked to ride the RTV – or rough terrain vehicle – with Gary, who they called Big Daddy.
Melody Farris: And I told them, I said, “go ask Big Daddy to go ride it with you all” … And they said they couldn’t find him.
Daughter Amanda was there, too. Son Chris arrived soon after, and all the adults started searching the property — until Scott noticed some bones among the ashes at the burn pile.
Scott Farris: I’ll never forget it until the day I die.
Melody Farris: His words were, “Oh I found him.” … “What do you mean you found him?”
When the forensic team arrived they began documenting the burn pile, working past dark to sift through the ashes. That’s when the bullet was found lodged in Gary’s rib, and what had started as a possible accidental death — became a murder investigation.
Peter Van Sant: Why would somebody want to burn a body?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Cover up a crime. You destroy evidence.
Elsewhere, investigators searched the house, the barn and even the pond. They found a shotgun in the house. Several other guns and ammunition were discovered in the barn. Both Melody and Scott allowed investigators to test their hands for accelerants. The tests came back negative. Scott also told the detectives something intriguing: he had recently seen a pistol in the basement that was now missing.
Scott Farris: It was just very odd.
And another thing Scott found odd was that his mom had his dad’s wallet.
Scott Farris: And I said, “where’d you find that?” And she said, well, it’s in the console of his car. And I found that very, very odd ’cause my dad never left his wallet in his car.
As Hayes’ investigation continued, he was learning all about the Farris family’s dysfunctional dynamic – which came to be known as the “Farris Wheel.” In a tape-recorded conversation with Melody, she told the detective there had been tension between Gary and Scott.
MELODY FARRIS (police interview audio): He and Scott would get into it pretty heavily. I mean, you know, and they’d come blows just over things because Gary was so anal about everything. I mean, Scott’s hot. … I mean he is — he’s hot tempered.
But when detectives asked Scott what he thought happened, he pointed the finger of suspicion at his mother.
SCOTT FARRIS (police interview audio): I’ve always had this gut feeling, if something ever happened to my dad, that somebody needed to check her out.
With the Farris Wheel starting to turn, detectives asked Scott if his father was having an affair.
Scott Farris: My father did not do that. He was a one-woman type of man and he married that woman. … He was not that kind of man.
Hayes then asked Melody if she was having an affair.
Peter Van Sant: What did she tell you?
Det. Daniel Hayes: She said no.
Police focused in on what appeared to be drops of blood on the kitchen floor, the stairs leading to the basement and on the basement floor itself. When spots in the basement were tested, they were confirmed to be Gary’s blood. Police also found a .38 caliber bullet on the basement floor. The same type found lodged in Gary’s rib bone from the burn pile.
Peter Van Sant: And does that suggest in any way, some sort of progression of an attack on Gary?
Det. Daniel Hayes: That’s what we interpreted as, uh, as we started looking at it is that possibly something happened upstairs, led down the stairs, and into the basement.
Hayes asked Melody point-blank if she had anything to do with the death of her husband.
DET. HAYES (police interview audio): So your statement is you didn’t do anything to harm Gary?
MELODY FARRIS: No.
DET. HAYES: And you don’t know who did?
MELODY FARRIS: No.
Hayes was skeptical. Investigators had found, in Melody’s purse, birth control and a credit card with another man’s name on it: Roy Barton.
Peter Van Sant: When someone’s lying to you … what does that suggest?
Det. Daniel Hayes: They’re guilty of something.
INSIDE THE FARRIS FAMILY DRAMA
When that credit card was found in Melody’s purse, investigators did not recognize the name on it.
Det. Daniel Hayes: Roy Barton. … Later find out is Rusty Barton.
Rusty Barton was a farm equipment salesman who spent time on the road in central Tennessee. In 2014, Melody was helping to take care of Barton’s ill stepmother, who happened to be her cousin. That’s when Rusty and Melody became intimate.
Det. Daniel Hayes: We learned that Rusty … is Melody’s lover that, uh, she’s having an affair with and has had an affair with … for quite some time.
Peter Van Sant: Did you fall in love with Rusty?
Melody Farris: I loved him. Still love him. Was I in love with him? No.
Investigators wanted to know more about the couple.
Peter Van Sant: How serious is this relationship between Melody and Rusty?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Depends on who you asked. The evidence showed that it — it appeared to be pretty serious. They were researching wedding bands.
Peter Van Sant: You know, if you were planning on getting married, it sounds like a motive for murder.
Melody Farris: You don’t marry the person you were having an affair with.
Scott says Melody and Rusty’s love affair was the world’s worst kept secret.
Scott Farris: She thought she was smart enough to hide it from everybody, but we all found out, we all knew.
Including Gary. And when daughter Emily got married in 2016, Melody scandalized the wedding by inviting her lover for all to see.
Det. Daniel Hayes: Your husband is there at the same venue and you’re dancing and drinking and — and having a good time with this other man. … It was upsetting to Gary, uh, you know. … It was upsetting to all the family.
Peter Van Sant: That wasn’t a nice move on your part, was it?
Melody Farris: No. In hindsight, no.
It seemed the “Farris Wheel” was spinning faster, with household drama becoming more frequent.
Scott Farris: This whole “Farris Wheel” term, none of us really like it. But if you wanna know who the motor was of turning that “Farris Wheel,” was Melody Farris. … She always stirred up drama, always.
Det. Daniel Hayes: It’s a real-life soap opera, that’s it.
A soap opera, Hayes believed, that revolved around what Gary had and others coveted: money.
Det. Daniel Hayes: A lot of bickering, a lot of fights over money, a lot of jealousy.
Gary had always been generous toward his children, even as adults. Investigators learned he helped Emily buy a house and financially assisted son Chris with his business and children.
Det. Daniel Hayes: It made Melody turn against her children because the children were spending money.
But Melody claims she was only upset because the children were taking advantage of their father’s wealth.
Melody Farris: Chris, our oldest one, had been stealing money. Like you cannot believe.
Chris says he and his father did not argue over money. Detective Hayes looked into the agreement Gary had struck with Scott.
Det. Daniel Hayes: He worked on the farm and Gary gave him spending money.
Melody Farris: He had gotten where he just would not do anything. He was all the time playing golf, going to the lake, going out with his friends.
Peter Van Sant: And who was paying for all of this?
Melody Farris: He was taking, you know, credit cards from Gary.
But Scott says that’s not true at all and that the arrangement he had with his father worked well for both of them.
Scott Farris: I was there to help him with the farm. … There was no mooching.
Scott says it was actually Melody who’d run into a financial roadblock with Gary, largely because of her lavish spending on her affair with Barton.
Scott Farris: She would leave for weeks at a time and then thousands of dollars will be spent out of the account.
Det. Daniel Hayes: We found text messages where he confronted her and said, you know … your … spending is done. We gotta get a handle on this.
Peter Van Sant: So what you’re saying is that it was Melody who was facing the potential of having her — her money lifeline cut off?
Scott Farris: Pretty much. Yes.
Peter Van Sant: Was he angry at your spending?
Melody Farris: No. … I had a debit card. It had his name on it. I was free to use it however I wanted to.
While Melody and Rusty Barton lived in different states, cellphone records show they lived their lives in constant communication.
Det. Daniel Hayes: She’s on the phone with him every hour of every day.
Including the early morning hours of July 4, 2018, a day-and-a-half before Gary was found. When questioned by investigators, Barton told them that Melody had said something alarming.
RUSTY BARTON (police interview audio): So, probably the last minute of the last conversation, she said, “Gary is in the burn pile.” No, she said, “he is in the burn pile.” And I said, “what?” And she said, “he’s in the burn pile.” And I said, “do not say another word and do not tell me anything. I do not need to know that.”
At that time, only the killer could have known Gary was on the burn pile. Had Melody Farris confessed to murder? As the investigation continued, she was now the detective’s No. 1 suspect.
Scott Farris: I told them everything I knew.
Scott remembered something that happened with his mother the day before Gary vanished. It now seems like foreshadowing.
Scott Farris: She comes out of the house with a plate in her hand and she’s screaming and cussing. And she throws the plate up against the wall of the house and … shatters it all into pieces. And she says, “I can’t wait ’till that f****** man’s dead. I can’t wait ’till I don’t have to live with him anymore.”
Gary Farris himself took out his phone and recorded video of the plate shards scattered on the ground. Three days later he was dead.
HOW DID GARY FARRIS’ BODY END UP ON THE BURN PILE?
On June 18, 2019, after an almost 12-month investigation, detectives say they had gathered enough evidence to charge Melody Farris with the murder of her husband, Gary Farris.
Peter Van Sant: Why did it take a year to arrest Melody?
Det. Daniel Hayes: We were waiting on the autopsy results and the positive identification of Gary Wayne Farris’ body.
But for Hayes, there were unanswered questions. How did Melody get Gary’s body out the basement door and to the burn pile about 50 yards away?
Peter Van Sant: She weighs, what, 130 pounds?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Around that I believe.
Peter Van Sant: And Gary … is six-foot four, six-foot five, 300 pounds. … how in the world could that woman have moved that body?
Det. Daniel Hayes: With the tractor, with the RTV.
Two pieces of machinery that were found on the farm.
Det. Daniel Hayes: She admitted that she drives [the] RTV all the time … and has operated the tractor.
Hayes seized the two vehicles as evidence. He took me to the lot where they are stored.
Peter Van Sant: How could each of these vehicles have been used to get Gary’s body onto that pile?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Uh, both were capable of pulling a lot of weight. This tractor has a bucket on the front that is designed to scoop heavy loads.
Det. Daniel Hayes: We found tractor marks. But there were tractor marks all over the property, but there were none necessarily obviously leading right up to the burn pile.
Peter Van Sant: What did you find as your forensic people took a look at these vehicles?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Uh, we found blood, evidence of blood on the vehicles.
Peter Van Sant: Can you show me where?
Det. Daniel Hayes: I can. So on the tractor, we found blood evidence in this area (points to the step).
Gary’s blood. But nothing was found in the front bucket. On the RTV, Hayes says, Melody’s blood was found on one of the gear shifters; nothing was found in the back. Hayes considered other scenarios.
Det. Daniel Hayes: There’s also a theory that she did it under her own — her own power … rolling him down to the burn pile. … it’s downhill all the way to the burn pile.
Peter Van Sant: Is there any blood that was discovered going from the house to the burn pile?
Det. Daniel Hayes: Not that we found.
Peter Van Sant: So this still remains a mystery, doesn’t it?
Det. Daniel Hayes: It does.
It was a mystery, too, for prosecutors Meaghan Frankish and Geoffrey Fogus.
Geoffrey Fogus: We don’t know exactly how she got him into the burn pile. …
Meaghan Frankish: She was a farm girl. … She was resourceful. … We know she killed him. … how she did it doesn’t really matter ’cause we know she did. ‘Cause he was there.
The case took more than five years to bring to trial. During that time, a deep divide formed in the Farris family. Three of the children, Chris, Scott, and Emily were all convinced their mother murdered their father. Gary and Melody’s youngest child, Amanda, believed in Melody’s innocence.
Peter Van Sant: What did it mean for you that your daughter Amanda stood by you during all this time and has believed in your innocence?
Melody Farris: She’s a good girl. (crying)
When the trial finally began in October 2024, prosecutors Frankish and Fogus spoke to jurors with absolute certainty.
GEOFFREY FOGUS (opening statement): The answer to the question — who did it? — sits right there, Melody Walker Farris.
The motive? According to prosecutors, Melody wanted Gary dead so she could cash in on his multimillion-dollar assets and live happily ever after with her lover of the past four years — Rusty Barton.
Peter Van Sant: Why shouldn’t people believe you had the greatest motive to murder Gary?
Melody Farris: I knew nothing about our financial situation. Absolutely nothing.
Prosecutors say on the evening of July 3 – two days before Gary’s body was found – Gary and Melody got into a fight in the kitchen and Melody shot him.
GEOFFREY FOGUS (opening statement): He goes downstairs, trying to get away. She shoots him again.
Geoffrey Fogus: There’s a blood trail from the kitchen … and then went down the steps.
In their opening statement, defense attorneys Michael Ray and John Luke Weaver attacked the prosecution’s claims… and told jurors there’s a harmless explanation for those blood drops.
MICHAEL RAY: (opening statement): Those blood trails never lead out of the house upstairs or downstairs.
MICHAEL RAY (opening statement): Gary had been bitten by one of Melody’s dogs on the ankle and was bleeding as he walked down the stairs.
John Luke Weaver: We’re talking tiny little droplets of blood. That would not be consistent with a shooting. … you would expect far more blood.
And daughter Amanda would testify she saw that wound on her dad’s leg. The defense also argued Melody is innocent and raised those questions about how Gary’s body got to the burn pile.
John Luke Weaver: Melody Farris at her size … it is impossible that she moved that body from the location where the state says his body was to a burn pile. It is absolutely impossible.
The defense also raised questions about the murder weapon.
MICHAEL RAY (opening statement): Where is the gun? … No idea.
They offered up an alternative suspect: Melody’s own son.
Peter Van Sant: And his motive would be?
John Luke Weaver: Financial. … He wanted the property.
MICHAEL RAY (opening statement): One big thing you’re gonna hear, and you’re gonna hear it a lot, is Scott Farris.
The defense argues that Scott — from the very beginning — tried to draw attention of investigators away from him.
MICHAEL RAY (opening statement): 13 minutes after law enforcement arrives Scott Farris is already blaming his mother. From the very beginning, Scott is saying, Melody, Melody, Melody … Leading law enforcement down this trail.
When the prosecution put Scott Farris on the stand, they asked him directly.
GEOFFREY FOGUS (in court): Did you murder your father?
SCOTT FARRIS: I absolutely did not murder my father … I love my father. He was the backbone (crying) — He was the glue to our family.
Sitting just feet away, Melody says Scott’s testimony was an act.
Melody Farris: The Scott that was in that courtroom was not my son. … He was well rehearsed.
On cross-examination the defense pointed out that Scott, at 6’8,” 280 pounds, was the only person on the farm physically capable of moving Gary’s 300-pound body.
SCOTT FARRIS (in court): Because of my size and size of my father, yes, I was gonna be looked at like that. But I had nothing to do with it.
To help establish a motive for murder, prosecutors called Melody’s lover, Rusty Barton, to the stand.
GEOFFREY FOGUS (in court): You — you’re from Alabama, is that right? Excuse me, Tennessee. I apologize. …
RUSTY BARTON: I’m from Tennessee.
GEOFFREY FOGUS: And you are a Tennessee –
RUSTY BARTON: There’s a big difference.
GEOFFREY FOGUS: That’s true. And you’re —
Geoffrey Fogus: He’s charming … he’s smart.
And he says he captured the heart of married Melody Farris.
GEOFFREY FOGUS (in court): You were in love with her, fair to say?
RUSTY BARTON: Yes.
GEOFFREY FOGUS: And she was in love with you, fair to say?
RUSTY BARTON: Yes. …
GEOFFREY FOGUS: Recall searching for wedding bands on the internet?
RUSTY BARTON: I do.
GEOFFREY FOGUS: What type of wedding bands did y’all have in mind? …
RUSTY BARTON: We talked about plain gold bands. …
GEOFFREY FOGUS: Tell the jury what you said …
Fogus also asked Barton about that incriminating call.
RUSTY BARTON (in court): She said that Gary was on the burn pile.
Remember, Barton had told investigators that call had taken place before Gary was found. But a year later, after Melody was arrested, Barton changed his story, saying the call happened after the body was discovered. He said he had the dates wrong.
RUSTY BARTON (in court): What I told you was correct, but when it happened was not correct.
But prosecutor Fogus didn’t buy it and claims Barton was trying to help Melody.
PETER VAN SANT: You believe him?
GEOFFREY FOGUS: No. … He was still in a relationship with her. … He didn’t know how this was going to turn out.
At the time of the murder, Barton was hours away in Tennessee. He was never charged with anything relating to the death of Gary Farris.
More witnesses would testify, and later, Melody — who was silent throughout the trial — would address the court in a dramatic and explosive statement that would leave her family reeling.
A FAMILY DIVIDED ON THE STAND
Day after day, Melody Farris faced witnesses determined to see her pay for the alleged murder of her husband.
None seemed more dogged than her own children. Like Chris, Emily, and Scott.
CHRIS FARRIS (in court): I just had my suspicions that she had something to do with this.
EMILY FARRIS (in court): She became more hostile. She was more aggressive with us. She was demanding money.
SCOTT FARRIS (in court): I mean, she always, you know, talked bad about my dad. … it’s like she always tried to brainwash us. Like he was, you know, such a horrible person.
Peter Van Sant: Can you describe what it was like to watch each of your children take the stand?
Melody Farris: The most heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching thing I had ever sat through in my entire life.
Peter Van Sant: Because?
Melody Farris: I knew they were lying.
Peter Van Sant: I have to tell you … you seemed so stoic during all of it.
Melody Farris: It was that the time that I’d walk outta that courtroom at nighttime, I was ready to scream at the top of my lungs.
Melody says three of her children are trying to pin their father’s murder on her for one simple reason.
Melody Farris: Money. Absolutely money.
One of the final witnesses called by prosecutors was Lindsay Harris, who leads the Intelligence Division in the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
LINDSAY HARRIS (in court): I was asked in 2018, July of 2018, um, to analyze some phone records …
Harris says she was able to track the precise movements of Gary Farris’ cellphone on the family farm because Gary had an Android phone with its Google Location Services turned on.
Lindsay Harris: This helps us know when the device is traveling even within a certain area.
Harris discovered that on the morning of July 4, when investigators believe Gary’s body was already on the burn pile, his cellphone moved from the house to the burn pile and back to the house.
Lindsay Harris: One hundred percent the device moves from 7:58 to 9:05. … Someone must be moving it.
Prosecutors say that someone could only have been Melody Farris.
Meaghan Frankish: We knew that … the only person home … was Melody.
Lindsay Harris says that during that time, Scott’s phone was miles away from the farm.
Lindsay Harris: Scott leaves the residence around 6:30 a.m. on July 4th. He does not return to the home until 8 p.m.-ish, 8:30 p.m. on July 4th.
The defense tries to challenge this seemingly powerful evidence by questioning the accuracy of Harris’ findings.
John Luke Weaver: You can clearly see that sometimes the circle’s very large, sometimes it’s small, and sometimes it says you’re absolutely nowhere close to where you are.
The defense called seven witnesses; one of them was Gary and Melody’s youngest daughter Amanda.
AMANDA BRUCE (in court): She has told me that she’s not guilty and all I can do is believe that until somebody can prove she is guilty. So, I would like to believe that my mother had nothing to do with this.
AMANDA BRUCE (in court): There’s just so much pain. I’m just — there’s no good outcome. He’s never coming back. He’ll never be there again. (crying) And that’s just the worst part about it all. And knowing that my mother can potentially spend the rest of her life in prison is terrifying.
It was now time to wrap this case up with closing arguments.
MEAGHAN FRANKISH (closing statement): She had plenty of motives. … she despised Gary. She hated that he was giving away their money, her money. That was the main motive. … Rusty was a bonus.
In its closing, the defense did some heavy lifting to demonstrate how difficult it would be for someone Melody’s size to somehow get her 300-pound husband onto that burn pile.
John Luke Weaver: I just — it — it’s not realistic. … And then the fact that they — they’ve presented no actual evidence as to how she did that, that means there’s doubt.
On Oct. 30, 2024, the jury got the case. But after three days of deliberations, they sent a note to the judge saying they were deadlocked. The judge told them to give it one more try.
Melody Farris: I was absolutely numb. … You don’t know what to think.
And just a few hours later, Melody Farris was found guilty on all five counts against her, including malice murder, felony murder and making false statements.
Melody Farris: It was horrible. … They carried me immediately over to the jail. … I was alone. Curled up in the fetal position.
Jurors Sheila Albright and Chris Hyatt say the cellphone evidence convinced them of Melody’s guilt.
Chris Hyatt: Once we agreed on the time of death, then it was OK, well, how is this phone moving after Gary’s body is — it was in the burn pile. … who was on the property at that time.
Peter Van Sant: And who was?
Chris Hyatt: Melody.
As for the question of how Gary got to the burn pile, Sheila Albright had a theory.
Sheila Albright: In my mind I thought that she first shot him inside the house ’cause there was evidence of that. … I thought maybe he had run out the door, trying to get from — away from her. … And maybe she took him by gunpoint down to the burn pile … I think that maybe the burn pile is the last place she shot him.
For Scott and some members of the Farris family, the guilty verdict brought relief — even though their own mother was now a convicted murderer.
Scott Farris: Because we got justice for my father. We fought six years to get answers. … My father loved my mother … he fought for my mother. … He was a very loving father.
But there would be no love shown by Melody at her sentencing when she was given the opportunity to express remorse and ask the judge for leniency.
MELODY HARRIS (at sentencing): I have waited for years to make this statement to everyone.
But instead of asking the judge for mercy, she named who she said was the real killer.
A CONVICTED MOTHER ACCUSES HER OWN SON OF MURDER
MELODY FARRIS (at sentencing): … I want the world to know who did this. … I know Scott killed his father. … He took my husband, the father of Chris, Emily, and Amanda. He took Big Daddy from our grandchildren.
But Melody was far from done tormenting her son.
MELODY FARRIS (in court): Scott, this is unforgivable. Scott, I have spent my entire life loving and protecting you. But this, I refuse to cover for you.
When Melody Farris used her sentencing hearing to accuse her son Scott of being Gary’s true murderer, some of those in the courtroom were floored.
Det. Daniel Hayes: I’m back at the … prosecution table … we’re all kind of like, “I cannot believe this is happening.”
Meaghan Frankish: So, I was not prepared for that. … It was shocking that that is the opportunity she believed was hers to take.
Scott, sitting behind his mother with his family, simply stared in disbelief.
Scott Farris: Oh, I was infuriated. … She did her last final jabs. … That shows you what she was like.
Peter Van Sant: One last turn of the knife.
Scott Farris: One last turn … to make somebody’s life a living hell because it didn’t go her way.
Judge David Cannon had little patience.
JUDGE CANNON (in court): All right. Ms. Farris, I’m gonna cut you off.
But Melody persisted.
MELODY FARRIS (in court): And I plead with you, throw this verdict out. Help me get justice for the correct person. (sniffle) As bad as it sounds, I want to be there to watch him chained and shackled and brought to justice.
Instead, it was Melody who would be led away in chains. The 64-year-old was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years. She also received an additional five years for concealing Gary’s death by burning his remains and making a false statement to police.
Melody didn’t take the stand in her trial. Instead, she chose to tell her story exclusively to “48 Hours.”
Peter Van Sant: I just watched one of the most extraordinary moments inside a courtroom that I have ever seen in my career. … What do you want people to know about you and this case?
Melody Farris: I want everyone, but especially my children, my grandchildren, and at this point, the world, I didn’t do this. I know who did. And it’s our son, Scott, without a shadow of a doubt. I know he did it.
Scott Farris: I absolutely had nothing to do with my father’s death. And it was 100 percent Melody Farris who murdered my father. That is the truth.
Peter Van Sant: Why do you think she accused you of killing your father?
Scott Farris: ‘Cause I was an easy target. … I lived on the property. I’m former military.
Melody claims she hadn’t spoken up until now out of maternal loyalty. She says her own mother, now deceased, suspected Scott all along and asked Melody to take the blame. But now her time as Scott’s shield was over. Melody says she believes Scott set her up from the beginning. And she says she knows why.
Melody Farris: Scott wanted that property to be his. He had made that known to countless people. … It’s the perfect murder. You kill your daddy. You set your mother up. She goes to prison. You get everything.
Peter Van Sant: You understand, though, that to people listening to this, they’re thinking here is a mother willing to sacrifice … her son … to save her own skin.
Melody Farris: I do.
Peter Van Sant: What would you say to that?
Melody Farris: This is a mother’s worst nightmare.
Melody stands by her claim that Gary was getting ready to cut Scott off financially.
Melody Farris: Gary had made it very well known that Scott needed to get a job. … Things were fixing to change on that property.
But Scott says Gary never issued an ultimatum that he get a job and never accused him of not pulling his weight.
Scott Farris: My dad actually made comments to me saying, “hey, leave some work for me,” you know? ‘Cause he wasn’t there during the week. … He is like, “well, don’t cut the pasture yet. Let me do it.”
Melody says she told Detective Hayes she’d seen Scott acting suspiciously the day before Gary’s body was found.
Melody Farris: I said I saw Scott come from that burn pile.
Peter Van Sant: Did she tell you that?
Det. Daniel Hayes No.
Peter Van Sant: And why would she lie now?
Det. Daniel Hayes: You have to look at the timing of the statement. … She has nothing to lose. She’s gonna … make all kinds of off-the-wall claims at this point that are just not provable.
Despite a sentence that will likely mean spending the rest of her life in prison, Melody remains determined to prove her innocence.
Peter Van Sant: One day you believe you will walk a free woman again.
Melody Farris: I certainly hope so. I do. But I will be sitting there right behind my son in court.
Peter Van Sant: And for those who believe you got exactly what you deserved, you say?
Melody Farris: I didn’t do it. I did not do it.
Scott Farris: She knows she did it. … She needs to stop with the lies. Just come clean. Stop trying to ruin all of our lives because it didn’t work out for you.
Scott Farris: I still haven’t been able to figure out why she would do this. I don’t know if I ever will.
Melody Farris will be eligible for parole in 2054. She will be 94 years old.
Betsy Shuller, Susan Mallie and Asena Basak are the producers. Hannah Vair is the field producer. Elizabeth Caholo is the associate producer. Ryan Smith and Jenna Jackson are the development producers. Gary Winter, Joan Adelman and Wini Dini are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
Peter Van Sant is an award-winning correspondent for “48 Hours, where his true-crime and justice reporting is featured across multiple CBS News broadcasts and platforms. During a career that spans nearly five decades, Van Sant has covered many of the most significant events of our lifetime.Additionally, Van Sant hosts the top-ranking podcast “Blood is Thicker.”
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