Season 1: Episode 2 Leonard Fagot

WARNING: The following true crime story contains repeated mentions of gaslighting, mental and emotional abuse, animal abuse, abuse of alcohol and drugs, and drug trafficking. This podcast episode may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer Discretion is advised.

Leonard John Fagot was born on April 24, 1923, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He joined the United States Marine Corps serving on the S.S. Nevada and was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. He fought in World War II and in the Korean War receiving the Purple Heart, Silver Star, and Bronze Star. After WWII he returned to New Orleans where he married Shirley Ebert in 1946. He studied law at Tulane University and became known as one of the most successful personal injury lawyers in New Orleans at the time. He created a very comfortable and extravagant life for himself and his family. He built his own mansion with the help of his four daughters at 279 Citrus Road in River Ridge, a suburb outside New Orleans. Now, from the surface, this appears to be a well-to-do family man living that “American Dream” we all sought after. But, we would not be discussing him today if this was the case. Leonard Fagot built himself his wonderful life, but through his own arrogant pride, and use of multiple drugs, he destroyed the lives of all those he came into contact with.

Our story Has many moving parts, so we shall focus on the key players in this gruesome tale. Much of my research and information comes from Leonard’s second-oldest daughter, Carol. Carol becomes an integral part of this story so let's give her background a look. Carol Lee Fagot was born in 1949. She was Leonard’s second daughter and also his favorite. Growing up she loved horseback riding and cared for the family’s horses until her younger sister, Shirley, took over. She explains herself in her book as quite the Daddy’s girl. She always wanted to make Leonard proud of her, but Leonard was a perfectionist and demanded only the best. He never found any of his daughters lived up to his perfection and constantly told Carol while she was a child how her older sister, Joanne, was a failure for going against what Leonard wanted her to do. Because of this Carol was obsessed with doing what her father wanted from her regardless of what she truly wanted for herself.

Fagot Family at Nancy's Wedding. From Left: Shirley, Joanne, Leonard, Shirley (Mother), Nancy, Carol

Now we can truly begin our story. We will begin when the oldest daughter, Joanne, decided to go against her father’s wishes by not attending college. This is what led to the above-mentioned conversation Leonard had with Carol. After going against her father’s wishes, Joanne surprised her family by bringing home her fiancé George Westerfield Jr. George Safely Westerfield Jr. was born on August 28, 1947, to Delores and George Westerfield. He and Joanne married in August 1966. Carol describes George as a kind man and a “product of the turbulent 60s”. He had no set goal or career ambition. He was disenchanted with the current state of affairs in America and jumped from one job to the next, desperately searching for that spark of career passion. Because of his searching nature, Leonard despised his son-in-law. He often would call him lazy or pathetic, even in front of family and acquaintances. He did not care how much his actions hurt Joanne or George. When confronted by Carol Leonard said, “well there's going to be a lot more tears in her eyes as long as she’s married to that little shit. I gave her the best of everything. She married a loser. That’s all there is to it.”

Shirley Fagot

During this same time, Leonard began to undergo health problems. His wife Shirley walked into the family Library to find Leonard unconscious. An ambulance was called and it was found that Leonard had a heart attack. Doctors told the family that Leonard was well enough to return to law, but Leonard decided otherwise. He enjoyed the power his failing health had over his family. Both Carol and his youngest daughter, Shirley, describe multiple times that Leonard would have an episode when the girls were not doing as he wished or the attention was not on him.

As I said, this story has many many parts and we are not even near the halfway point. It is time to introduce our next important player, Marta Courtney. Marta, or as she prefers to be called Marty, was near Carol in age. She attended Riverdale High School in New Orleans and graduated in 1967. Around the time of Carol’s Pregnancy and marriage to Bruce, Leonard began an affair with Marty. 10-year-old Shirley was the first to learn of this affair as she caught her father in the woods having sex with Marty. When Leonard realized he had been discovered he said to Shirley, “pg 47”. This is the beginning of the entire family's downward spiral that leads to the death of three men and the collapse of an entire family.

Leonard John Fagot and Shirley Eberts at their Wedding

During the time of Leonard and Marty’s affair, the heart attack, and Carol’s new marriage, Leonard began to become addicted to prescription medicine. Marty was very encouraging of his misuse of medicine and used his altered state to her advantage. She would walk the house that Leonard’s wife and children lived in, threatening all of them and telling them she would make sure they all ended up on the streets. She would tell Leonard constantly that she was the only one who truly cared for him and that his family used him as their personal wallet. This led to a strain on the family and the eventual separation between Leonard and his wife. Though he did tell her that she could not file for divorce or he would bury her 6 feet under and she would never be found.

As stated earlier, Leonard would not let Carol move to Germany to live with her husband and she became…bored and restless. Through Joanne and George, she met Mike Holland. George Michael “Mike” Holland was born June 22, 1946, to Paul and Ruth Holland. He worked on oil rigs on the Gulf Coast for the Shell Oil Company. He was an outdoorsman who found peace in nature. He was an avid hunter and enjoyed smoking some weed with Carol every now and again. At the time he was married to a woman named Anne and had a son named Jeffrey. The pair started an affair. It was only after Carol Finally moved to Germany to be with Bruce that she realized she was pregnant with Mike’s child.

Mike Holland and Carol Fagot

Now, while our story has been pretty crazy so far, I am skipping over MANY incidents for time’s sake. We are finally reaching the moment in the story where tragedy strikes. Now what wasn’t mentioned earlier is that Leonard had an unusual hobby. He liked to take out as many insurance policies as he could on ALL his family members, including their husbands. And he ALWAYS made sure to pay for the life insurance to double in the case of an accident. And strangely all of these life insurance policies listed him as the sole benefactor. I am sure you all listening know what is about to happen.

On May 15, 1970, Leonard decided he needed floodlights put up on the far side of the barn that looked away from the family home. He decided to ask his dear son-in-law, George, to come to help him. Unfortunately, the day of the light installation came and Leonard forgot he made plans to go see a movie so he brought George to the side of the barn where he would put the lights up alone. Then Carol watched her father go sprinting from the side of the barn, jump in his car, and speed away. Hours pass and Joanne starts calling asking if George is done helping their father yet. No one can find George. Out of character, Leonard called home to check on everyone. The Family used this moment to ask where George was supposed to be putting the floodlights up and Leonard told them. They sent 11-year-old Shirley to the spot to find George. George Safely Westerfield Jr was dead by the age of 24 leaving behind his wife, Joanne, and their two young daughters, Kelly Lynne and Lori Ann.

George Safely Westerfield Jr and Joanne Fagot at their wedding

At the funeral for George Joanne was an inconsolable mess and her father berated her in front of everyone for not acting like a proper widow and embarrassing him. After the funeral, while Joanne is sobbing Leonard holds her and says his most eerie line as of yet. “I told you I will always take care of you. You will never have to worry about anything ever again.” Soon after this Leonard gave Joanne $20,000 he claimed was George’s life insurance that he took out himself. The policy was actually taken out by Leonard and the real amount of insurance money Leonard received from George’s death was $200,000.

Leonard began having money troubles because he no longer practiced law and was becoming more and more addicted to prescription medicine. He also could not let go of his power over his daughters or his estranged wife so he bought them all houses and paid all their bills. He would use this to often guilt trip his family to bend to his will. Because of all of his spending, Leonard was now in debt. Strangely, accidents began to happen to Leonard. On a hunting trip with Marty and Bruce Sr. Leonard accidentally shot off his own hand. Instead of being worried about his hand his first thought after the doctors stabilized him was to call the insurance policy. When the insurance wouldn’t pay out because the incident was questionable, well then, Leonard got in a severe car accident where his eye was gouged out. Of course, his first question after doctors stabilized him was about insurance payouts.

Skipping a bit ahead in the story, Carol and Bruce divorced after Carol admitted to her affair with Mike. Carol now had two children, Bruce Jr., and Kim. Carol and Mike Holland eventually married in November 1973. It was the elaborate wedding of Leonard's desire, yes you heard that right. After marrying, Carol, Mike, Bruce Jr., Kim, Carol’s mother, Shirley, and Carol’s sister, Shirley, all moved to Covington, Louisiana; about an hour from where they were living before. This was largely in part done to escape being near Leonard and Marty. Here, the family began to thrive and Carol and Mike began a new business venture, drug trafficking. Mike would go down to Mexico where he purchased marijuana and smuggled it back into the United States. The couple then would sell the marijuana in Louisiana making about $10,000 each trip. That's about $49,000 in today's money. After a few of these successful trips, Carol began feeling guilted by her father who was struggling and missing body parts while addicted to pills. So she decided to give him some of her new income to help him. This backfired as now Leonard wanted in on the drug trafficking business. Mike went one time for Leonard and was almost caught by Mexican authorities. He gave Leonard the money but said he was done. This angered Leonard but Carol and Mike were too far away for him to do anything about it. Over time Mike became depressed and turned to alcohol. He became an extremely violent alcoholic, destroying the children’s toys in front of them and threatening them. It boiled over when in a fit of rage Mike kicked Carol’s dog to death in front of her. She moved into her own apartment and took the kids. Carol and Mike were in the middle of a separation when tragedy struck for a second time.

Carol and Bruce Jr

To try to win Carol back, Mike agreed to stop drinking altogether and make another Mexico trip for Leonard. Carol saw promise in this, so she decided to join Mike on the drug run. She saw it as a second honeymoon, to regain the love and respect she had lost for him. While in Mexico they were caught by Mexican authorities and returned to the States empty-handed. Leonard was furious and let Mike know that he would get his money back one way or another.

Carol remained in her separate apartment from Mike. Her father began asking her for Mike’s address and for her to go to his home and unlock the window so Leonard could sneak in and murder Mike. Leonard informed Carol that even though he is in debt, he had been upkeep the payments on Mike’s insurance policy he took out when they got married. Carol refused to help her father kill Mike. She became scared of her father. By this time Carol, Joanne, and their mother all believed that Leonard murdered George for money. Carol warned Mike to stay away from Leonard. Unfortunately, he didn’t listen. Leonard was offering Mike a job he couldn’t pass up. A job that would give him enough money to buy a house and try to fix his marriage with Carol.

On the night of Saturday, September 11, 1976, Carol explains that she received a call stating that Mike was shot dead by her father. The next day Leonard called Carol to come to his house. In the confines of her car, Carol claims the following conversation took place: Leonard not only admitted to killing Mike for insurance money, but the murder of George Westerfield as well. Carol tried to be the daughter she felt she should. She tried to lie for her father but her conscience would not allow her. With the support of Joanne and her mother, Carol went to the police and told them everything.

Excerpt from The Shreveport Times

I wish I could tell you this was the end of Leonard and Marty Fagot. But sadly that’s not the case. Leonard and Marty end up being arrested. Carol is promised that because of the immediate risk they both are to her and her children's safety, the couple would remain in jail. They were given a bond and let out for nine months before their trial was set to begin. During this time Carol and her sisters are tortured, not only by Marty but by society in general. “Pg 273”. Carol speaks of instances of Marty following the sisters, breaking into their homes, and calling the girls telling them she will murder their children. When Carol and Joanne go to the police time and time again they are told each and every instance of their harassment and threats were just coincidences so they will not return Marty to jail, even after Marty shows up with a gun pointed at Carol. Finally, the case goes to trial but coincidentally, Leonard has a heart attack. So the trial is pushed back even further. Finally, the trial took place in December, 1977. Leonard was found guilty but his lawyers made appeals to keep him out of jail a bit longer.

Now, we are nearing the end of the life of Leonard Fagot. Remember, this is a man who must remain in control constantly. And that every member of the family, including himself, was insured. He believed if he died then Marty could go free as she was being charged with accessory to murder. On March 18, 1978, Leonard was shot close range in the right temple with a .38 caliber weapon. Leonard John Fagot died of an apparent suicide. After his death, police searched the citrus road home. They found multiple insurance policies totaling 1.2 Million dollars. Two were in Marty’s name.

In the aftermath, the charges against Marty were dropped though she was kicked from the Citrus Road home. She bought her own home and continued life as normal. Carol dealt with years of guilt. Eventually marrying Steve Donahue. She never went to Mike’s grave. Carol died of cancer on January 3rd, 2009 at the age of 60. Joanne also died from cancer later on, though an exact date I was unable to find it. Their sister, Shirley, who helped Carol write the book on their father’s case died on August 22, 1994. Records state she either died in a car accident or was lost at sea. Nancy, the girls' fourth sister, never forgave Carol and Joann for turning their father into the police.

WLTV said it best, “Thus ends the story of a Marine War hero who returned home, took a law degree, amassed a fortune, and then became the storm center of one of the most bizarre criminal cases in memory.”

References

Avants, P. (2014, October 10). Carol Lee Fagot Theriot. Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137062722/carol-lee-theriot

Donahue, C., S. Hall. (1991, March). Deadly Relations: A True Story of Murder in a Suburban Family. Print.

Family Finder. (2021, October 17). Shirley Lynne Fagot Hall. Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233161977/shirley-lynn-hall

Reed, E. (2006, March 5). George Michael “Mike” Holland. Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13531298/george-michael-holland

Reed, E. (2006, March 5). George Safely Westerfield Jr. Find A Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13531058/george-safely-westerfield

Reed, E. (2006, March 5). Leonard John Fagot. Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13531196/leonard-john-fagot

Unknown. (1976, September 24). Attorney Arrested, Couple Arrested in Slaying. The Shreveport Times. https://www.newspapers.com/image/215164124/?clipping_id=6770696&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjIxNTE2NDEyNCwiaWF0IjoxNjcwODY0MzUxLCJleHAiOjE2NzA5NTA3NTF9.PDJXf4u3Q2PMtAa6OUMw1hDxDrYf9IbHcF8RK6xUWl0