Woman confesses to 1988 murder of her roommate but will serve NO jail time because she's already serving 20 years for killing her ex-boyfriend
An Arizona woman who confessed in March to killing her roommate more than 30 years ago will not face any further jail time because of a plea deal made with prosecutors.
Shelly Harmon, 50, agreed to plead guilty in March to second-degree murder and detail how she killed Pamela Pitts in September 1988.
As part of the plea deal, she would be sentenced to 20 years in prison, and would not be allowed to further discuss the case.
A Yavapai county court agreed to also give Harmon credit for the time she served for murdering her ex-boyfriend, and the many years she spent in jail waiting trial for Pitts' slaying.
Prosecutors were forced to offer the deal after a judge ruled that they could not use a host of evidence at trial, including how Harmon had murdered her ex-boyfriend.
Pitts had been at a party at a place known as 'Gordo's Pit' or 'Alto Pit' in a forest area near Prescott, a tourist town about 100 miles north of Phoenix, when she was last seen in September 1988.
Her body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of trash at the same location about one week later, on September 29.
Soon, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said, tips started flooding in blaming a Satanic cult, a drug dealer, an ex-lover and an overdose at the party. None of the tips added up, police said, and the case went cold.
Pamela Pitts (pictured) was last seen at a party a place known as 'Gordo's Pit' or 'Alto Pit' in a forest area near Prescott, a tourist town about 100 miles north of Phoenix, in September 1988
One week after she went missing, her body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of trash at the same location. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office investigated the homicide
Three years later, Harmon was arrested on suspicion of murdering her boyfriend, Raymond F. Clerx.
Clerx had wanted to end their relationship and was going to take their dogs.
In a burst of anger, Harmon shot him as he lay on the roof of a car watching planes overhead. She later dropped his body in a mineshaft.
Harmon confessed, and told prosecutors, 'I loved him. I was planning to spend the rest of my life with this man,' according to the Star Tribune
She was convicted in his murder in 1993, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
As her sentence was ending, police started monitoring Harmon's phone calls for information about Pitts' death, still suspecting her to be guilty in the cold case.
One call gave prosecutors what they said they needed. In it, Harmon's father said she never told him what happened.
'I had a moment. I had a huge moment,' Harmon replied.
Dennis McGrane, of the Yavapai County Attorney's Office, saw it as an admission of guilt.
'Like a sudden quarrel with the roommate,' he said. 'She wasn't planning it, but she did do it.'
Pamela Pitts' body was found burned beyond recognition in 1988 among a pile of trash outside Prescott, Arizona
A law enforcement officer found a photograph of Pitts in the wood stove of a home she shared with Shelly Harmon, who had been in a fight with Pitts over the rent
Harmon's attorney, Dwane Cates, however, said the statement could have referred to Clerx's death.
She had previously told prosecutors, 'I never killed my roommate. I never wanted to kill anyone. I loved her dearly.'
She had also said Clerx was her alibi and claimed another roommate strangled Pitts.
Prosecutors tried to draw similarities between the two cases to back up a theory that when Harmon felt threatened or abandoned, she killed. Cates called that a stretch.
Prosecutors knew Harmon was furious with Pitts over money, for wanting to move out and for sharing news of Harmon's pregnancy, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The day Pitts went missing, the court documents say, Harmon drove around Prescott looking for her and saying she'd kill her if she found her.
Harmon had also said she knew how to conceal a killing: by burning a body or dumping it down a mineshaft - a statement a judge said could be included at a trial that was supposed to start in mid-March.
Lt. Victor Dartt led the investigation into the killing, and concluded Harmon was guilty
Harmon had also said she knew how to conceal a killing: by burning a body or dumping it down a mineshaft - a statement a judge said could be included at a trial that was supposed to start in mid-March.
But prosecutors were dealt a blow when the court ruled no evidence of Clerx's death could be introduced.
The risk of unfair prejudice was too great, the court argued, as the autopsy was inconclusive because Pitts' body had been so badly burnt. She was only identified through dental records
As a result, the court ruled, no one could suggest it was a homicide, even if it was listed in the report.
At that point, the prosecutors realized they could not present the evidence they wanted to suggest Harmon was guilty of Pitt's homicide, and some witnesses had died or their memories had faded. That's when they considered a plea deal.
'It weighed heavily on us, guaranteeing an outcome versus taking a chance at trial,' McGrane said.
Harmon's attorney maintained the evidence was stronger against someone else.
In court documents, he claimed a former lead detective on the case recommended charges against another woman in 1990 and would have been the defense's star witness.
He claimed prosecutors had intentionally delayed the case, not taking it to a grand jury until after that former lead detective died in 2017.
But Yavapai County sheriff's Lt. Victor Dartt said he followed leads until they no longer checked out.
'Shelly was the only one that I could keep corroborating,' he said.
Harmon, whose maiden name is Norgard, was charged with first-degree murder in 2017. She was living outside Carson City, Nevada, after being released from prison for Clerx's death. She got married, managed rental properties, and did bookkeeping and tax work.
Harmon had not registered as a felon as required by law in Nevada, so she was picked up and told of the murder charge later, Dartt said.
Pitts was described as a 19-year-old who exuded 1980s rock style and whose room always smelled like Aqua Net hair spray. She loved animals, took care of the elderly, was kind and bubbly but also had a tough, know-it-all side
Pitts' family celebrated when Harmon confessed to Pitts' killing in March
She was offered the plea deal and recounted that she was upset Pitts was late on rent and had overdrawn a joint bank account. So, she went looking for her, the two fought and Harmon said, 'I just lost it.'
She said she hit Pitts repeatedly against the ground until she was no longer moving. As voices drew near, Harmon said, she 'freaked out.'
"I was thinking, `Oh, my God, she´s dead, she´s dead, and I killed her,' Harmon said.
Pitts' family found the account unbelievable, like half a story, considering she did not mention how the body was burned.
'It was just to get out of jail,' said Pitts' brother, Paul Pitts Jr. 'She got a golden ticket, and she got away with murder.'
Still, the Pitts family celebrated - it wasn´t justice, but it was an ending to the decades-long case.
They remembered Pitts as a 19-year-old who exuded 1980s rock style and whose room always smelled like Aqua Net hair spray. She loved animals, took care of the elderly, was kind and bubbly but also had a tough, know-it-all side, her family said.
Pitts' mother, Carol, said Harmon will have to live with killing her daughter for the rest of her 'miserable life.'
Pitts' remains were cremated, and her family spread the ashes by Thumb Butte, a geographical landmark in Prescott, where she liked to hike and visit a creek, the Star Tribune reports.
Harmon, meanwhile, is now back in Nevada, where neighbors say she has become a generous Christian woman, whom they trust to take care of their family, homes and pets.
One friend, Mary Burgoon, said she's had a few meals with Harmon and her husband. She said Harmon was unjustly jailed and believes she pleaded guilty only to avoid prison time.
'Wouldn't you if that was the only way you could get out of there?' Burgoon said. 'I do not believe that she did it.'
Cates, however, would only say, 'This is a very sad case all the way around, and it just needed to end.'
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