Only a few months away from turning 21, Anna Catherine Cardwell’s life was cruelly taken. A horrific crime scene was left in the wake of Anna’s death in her Wetumpka, Alabama, home in February 2012. The programme “Murder Comes Home: Stuck in the Middle” on Investigation Discovery explores how the police were able to gather information and ultimately identify the person who killed Anna. Are you interested in the case’s outcome? We have your back.
How Did Anna Cardwell Die?
Joe and Paula Cardwell welcomed Anna into the world in June 1991. The bright, vivacious girl had graduated from Alabama’s Holtville High School in 2010. She was a sophomore at Southern Union Junior College in Wadley, Alabama, at the time of the incident. According to Anna’s mother, she would brighten up any space she entered. A horrific occurrence that happened on February 15, 2012, took Anna’s future life away from her.
After performing a few errands, Paula returned home only to enter a gruesome crime scene. She discovered Anna shot several times dead on the kitchen floor. The authorities were immediately alerted. Anna received three gunshot wounds: two to the back, one to the shoulder, and one to the head. There was blood all around, including bloody handprints on the wall and drag lines down the hallway. The only thing missing was Anna’s automobile, which was subsequently discovered abandoned in a nearby grocery store’s parking lot.
Who Killed Anna Cardwell?
Josh Caspari was promptly identified by the detectives. He had met Anna when he was 22 years old. When his home was searched, officers found dirty clothing, illegal steroids, and a gun that resembled the one that was used to kill Anna. Josh confessed to killing her after being detained. He was upset with Anna, according to the police, because she had been attempting to prevent them from dating a common acqua intance. Additionally, he admitted to having stalked the house just a few days prior to the murder on February 10th.
Josh claimed that the first time, he had waited in a ditch not far from Anna’s house while carrying a mask, a knife, a rifle, and a gas can. He didn’t attack Anna that day for reasons that were unclear, but the police thought it was because she wasn’t by herself. Sadly, on February 15, that was not the case. Josh claimed to have waited in the exact same ditch until Anna’s mother had departed before going to see her.
He said that Anna had let him entry. The two then got into a fight, and it got to the point where he shot her. Anna attempted to flee via the kitchen after being wounded in the back and shoulder. However, Josh pursued her and pulled her back before shooting her in the back of the head, killing her. Then he abandoned her car and drove off.
Cody Abernathy, Josh’s friend who is 22 years old, was also detained. Josh had been left at the ditch by him on both occasions. However, Cody misled the authorities before finally coming clean during his third interrogation. Police accused Cody of obstructing the investigation. The cops thought Josh and Cody had previously participated in a different home invasion. Cody allegedly received a five-year prison term for robbery later on.
Jessica, Josh’s sister, was twice detained while he was incarcerated for allegedly attempting to aid in his escape. To get hacksaw blades to him the first time, she hired a prisoner on work release. The second time, she and a different Brittany were charged with aiding Josh’s escape plan by giving him information about the jail’s back entrance via phone conversations. As a result of a plea agreement, Jessica was sentenced to a 28-month prison term and three years of probation for the first offence of paying an inmate, while Brittany received a sentence of 180 days in jail.
Where is Josh Caspari Now?
Josh had initially asserted his lunacy as a defence. He was accused of encouraging prison contraband, first-degree theft of property, third-degree escape, and capital murder. However, he admitted to capital murder just a few weeks before his trial in October 2013 and was given a life sentence without the possibility of release.
As part of the plea agreement, the charges of burglary and theft of property from separate cases were dropped. Paula was there when he was sentenced. “Josh deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” the woman remarked. “My family was given a life sentence of a living nightmare because of what you [Josh] did.” He is still detained in the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama, according to prison records.
