This summary of the video was created by an AI. It might contain some inaccuracies.
00:00:00 – 00:22:01
The video outlines the dark tale of Ray and Faye Copeland, a seemingly benign elderly farm couple from Missouri involved in a string of brutal murders tied to a cattle fraud scam during the 1980s. Initially, the Copelands' financial hardships led Ray to exploit local drifters and transient workers, who he enlisted to write bad checks for purchasing cattle. These fraudulent activities brought numerous drifters, like Dennis Murphy and Jack McCormick, to their farm, who later disappeared mysteriously.
The narrative takes a grim turn as multiple bodies of these workers, killed by gunshot wounds to the head, were discovered in graves and hidden locations around the farm, exposing the Copelands' gruesome deeds. Despite Faye's claims of ignorance and abusiveness from Ray, forensic evidence and a list in her handwriting linked both to the crimes. The heinous acts shocked the community, leading to separate trials that ended with death sentences for both Ray and Faye. Ray died in prison in 1993 before his execution, while Faye’s sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
The case highlights chilling themes of exploitation, deception, and murder concealed beneath an unassuming rural lifestyle, with unresolved disappearances adding to its haunting legacy.
00:00:00
In this segment of the video, the narrator discusses the key to successful cattle farming, emphasizing the importance of buying the right cattle at the right price. The video introduces a Missouri cattleman from the 1980s who excelled at acquiring high-quality cattle for low prices, although this came at a significant cost to some of his farmhands. The local barbershop in Chillicothe, Missouri, serves as a hub for news, stories, and business for local farmers.
During the late 1980s, cattle auction houses in Missouri were being deceived by transient buyers who paid with worthless checks and then disappeared. Many of these buyers had previously worked on a farm in Mooresville owned by Ray and Faye Copeland. Despite appearing as an unassuming elderly farm couple, the Copelands’ farm could not sustain them financially, leading Faye to take additional work in a factory and as a motel maid. The segment highlights their challenging life and financial hardships, underlined by the narrator’s description of their poor living conditions.
00:03:00
In this part of the video, when the Copeland children left their farm, Ray Copeland, who was aging and hard of hearing, sought help from local homeless missions to find farmhands. Copeland, who couldn’t read or write, paid these men $50 a day and provided food and lodging. These workers often had troubled backgrounds. One worker, Dennis Murphy, disappeared after being involved in a check-writing scam. When questioned by the sheriff about Murphy, Ray mentioned that transient workers frequently left unexpectedly, implying he had no idea of Murphy’s whereabouts. Ray even presented a bounced check from Murphy. Police discovered from an informant in Nebraska the possible locations of Murphy and other men involved in the scam.
00:06:00
In this part of the video, it is revealed that eight men were wanted for writing bad checks to cattle-auction houses in Central Missouri and had vanished without a trace. A drifter named Jack McCormick, who previously worked on Ray Copeland’s farm, informed the police about seeing human bones on the farm. Despite an extensive search involving various agencies, including the use of search dogs and backhoes, no remains were found initially. After nine days, McCormick admitted he might not have seen bones. However, investigations into Ray Copeland’s past revealed a history of arrests for writing bad checks, though he appeared to have ceased such activities for 20 years and had no violent crime arrests. Further probing led the police to another farm where Copeland worked, where they discovered a shallow grave with the decomposed bodies of three men.
00:09:00
In this segment, multiple bodies were found in various locations on a Missouri farm, all killed by gunshot wounds to the head. The bodies were discovered in places like earthen graves, under floorboards, and in a well. There was speculation about whether the killer was Ray Copeland, who was implicated in a check-fraud scam by former employee Jack McCormick. Copeland allegedly used McCormick to bid on cattle with fraudulent checks, sold the cattle, and then confronted McCormick with a gun before the checks bounced.
00:12:00
In this part of the video, O’Dell recounts a story where Jack, scared of Ray, is asked to poke an animal out of a hole while Ray holds a .22 rifle. Jack continually watches Ray, fearing he might shoot him. Ultimately, McCormick claims he convinced Ray not to shoot by promising to leave and never return, leading him to flee Missouri and stay silent out of fear for five months. Investigators later found men’s clothes, suitcases, and an old rifle at the Copeland home, items that did not belong to the family. A list of men hired by Ray, with some marked with an “X” matching those wanted for passing bad checks, was also found. Forensic odontologist Dr. Ronald Gier was tasked with identifying the victims through challenging dental records. Despite difficulties, such as old, incomplete records and missing teeth, Gier matched unique features like a misaligned jawbone to Dennis Murphy.
00:15:00
In this part of the video, authorities confirm the identities of four bodies using dental records and autopsies revealing gunshot wounds to the head, linking the deaths to Ray Copeland’s .22-caliber rifle. Ray and his partner-in-crime, surprisingly identified as his wife Faye Copeland, are arrested. Faye claims ignorance about the murders, despite evidence tying her to the crime through handwriting analysis. The segment also unveils Ray’s history of violence within his family, as recounted by his son.
00:18:00
In this segment of the video, Ray and Faye Copeland were tried separately in one of the most significant cases in Livingston County, Missouri. Ray Copeland was found guilty of luring workers from a homeless mission, setting them up with post office boxes and checking accounts, taking them to cattle auctions, and then killing them before the fraudulent checks bounced. Forensic evidence linked the murders to Ray’s gun, resulting in his conviction on five counts of murder and a death sentence. Faye Copeland claimed to be an abused wife with no involvement in the murders; however, her handwritten list of workers contributed to her conviction and death sentence as well. Ray died in prison in 1993 before his execution, while Faye remained on death row into 1999.
00:21:00
In this part of the video, it is revealed that Faye Copeland’s sentence was commuted to life in prison. She reflects on her life and questions her blame in the crimes committed by her husband. Meanwhile, the narrator mentions that transient individuals on Commercial Street, who are often neglected in society, do not have sympathy for the Copelands. The narrator also highlights that three men, Thomas Park, Franklin Hudson, and Dale Brake, who were associated with the Copelands, are still missing, and the police suspect they were murdered and their bodies are buried nearby.