The Murder of Dr. Margo Prade
I watched an episode of The Devil Speaks for this episode. It’s season 2 episode 5, tilted ‘Killer Reputation.’ I like this show because you actually hear the victim’s and perpetrators speak in these episodes with actual recordings of phone calls or interviews. Dr. Margo Prade was a very successful doctor who was killed by someone she thought loved her, who also had a good reputation in the Akron, Ohio community.
Warning, the last video that I posted towards the bottom shows pictures of her crime scene, and it might be disturbing to some people.
Background
Dr. Margo Prade was married to Douglas Prade, who became the first African-American police chief in Akron, Ohio. Their community praised both of them, and said they were both very good at their jobs and seemed like they really loved each other too. However, eight months before Margo’s death they divorced.
Dr. Margo Prade
They both kept busy, Margo’s practice had gotten even busier and she was now seeing around 7,000 patients. Doug stayed busy as well, and everyone on the police force loved him. What a lot of people didn’t know was how the marriage really affected Doug, and that he was essentially a liar.
Murder
On November 26, 1997, Margo had called her friend and colleague Joyce and said she was arriving to work in a few minutes. This was around 9:00am.
Joyce had started to get worried when Margo was still not there an hour later. One of Margo’s other employees actually went outside to get something from her car, and ran back in saying Margo was hurt in her car. Joyce called 911.
The police arrived and found Margo was dead in her car. She was covered in blood and appeared to have been shot. The police decided that the entire car was their crime scene, so they transported Margo and the car to do an autopsy and for evidence.
Doug also arrived at Margo’s practice and apparently collapsed when he heard of the news of Margo’s death. He received a call from another police officer, but didn’t know she was dead yet, until he got to the scene.
Investigation
The police pulled Margo out of the car, and when they did several bullets fell out. They also removed the jacket she was wearing and another bullet fell out.
Margo had a bullet wound that went through her hand, like she was defending herself. The medical examiner also found a bruise on her arm that turned out to be a bite mark. The police set out for all of Margo’s family, friends and employers to get a dental impression done.
The police were also able to find a car dealership that had a surveillance camera that faced the parking lot of Margo's practice. It shows Margo’s minivan parked and then another car parking near it. Then, there is movement by Margo’s car and immediately the other car drives away. The murder happened in a span of two minutes, from 9:10-9:12am.
The police ask Doug if they can interview him and take his dental impression. He agrees, and says his alibi is that he was at the gym. He says that a woman who was there can prove his alibi. The woman says Doug was there, and he is ruled out.
A Mysterious Letter
On December 3, 1997, the police received an anonymous letter that names two people as the killers. The people mentioned are Adele and Baxter Sullivan. Adele was friends with Margo, and introduced her to the new man in her life, an attorney named Tim Hulston.
Adele is brought in for questioning, and also agrees to get a bite impression done. Adele and her husband are ruled out, and the police realize the real killer could be trying to throw them off.
The Cassette Tape
While the police were moving on with their investigation, they searched Margo’s home and found a cassette tape in her garage. Her ex-husband, Doug, said it was Margo’s and she liked to record her phone calls because she had patients calling her all day.
The police listen to the tapes, and the first one is of Margo talking to her friend Joyce. They are heard discussing one of Doug’s colleagues, another officer named Carla Smith. Margo is heard saying “she disgusts me,” and Joyce agreeing.
There were apparently rumors that Doug and Carla had an affair and Carla might have had a child that was Doug’s. Carla was also the woman who called Doug about Margo’s death.
They interviewed Carla, but she was ruled out. She was at work the day of November 23. Despite the officers also finding some of Doug’s financial records at her apartment, she was still ruled out and the investigation went back to Doug.
They found a bank deposit slip from October with Doug’s handwriting on it. They confirmed that Doug had taken out a life insurance policy on Margo for $75,000. Doug was also in debt after their divorce.
The police also found a tape of a man who was later determined to be Doug saying “testing 1, 2, 3.” They then heard a very tense phone call between the exes discussing picking up their children. Doug had lied to his colleagues and said they had a really good relationship even after their divorce. The phone call was anything but loving or nice.
The final phone call that was played in this episode was of Margo speaking to her mother. In the call she said “I think he’s tapping the phones.” The police realize Doug lied again, and that the cassette tape was Doug’s and not Margo’s, and that Doug bought it to listen to Margo’s phone calls.
More Evidence Against Doug
Things were getting tense around the police station, with many people believe Doug was innocent.
The police had sent Doug’s bite mark impression to an expert on December 23, and a few weeks later they received a call that the bite mark was in fact Doug’s. They were stunned.
The police then faced the hardest part of this whole investigation: confronting Doug. He apparently was very angry and denied killing Margo.
A witness also came forward and said he knew who killed Margo. He was at her office the day of the murder, and was outside waiting for his ride at 9:10am. He said the man drove right passed him, and he picked Doug out of the photo line up. He said he didn't come forward before because he was really afraid and knew the man was a police officer.
The police interviewed the witness from the gym again and she said she actually doesn’t know what time it was that she got to the gym that day.
Arrest and Trial
The police were able to finally arrest Doug Prade on February 23, 1998. He went to trial in September 1998 and pleaded not guilty.
Doug Prade
Doug Prade at trial
The attorneys suggested that Doug killed Margo because he needed the life insurance money because he was broke after their divorce. They said she probably let him into her car that morning because she knew him, but he pulled the gun out and killed her. They also suggested he bit her because she was fighting for her life. He then disposed of his clothes, went to the gym and made a huge scene when he got back to Margo’s practice and “learned” of her death.
Doug was found guilty for aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Other
The Ohio Innocence Project took on Doug’s case, and listened to him claim his innocence. They petitioned the court for his release or a new trial.
Doug freed from prison
Douglas Prade spent 15 years in prison, and was later cleared of Margo’s murder.
The Akron Police Chief, James Nice, said:
““We are disappointed in Judge Hunter’s opinion exonerating Doug Prade. “All of the evidence clearly points to Prade as Dr. Margo Prade’s killer. He was proven guilty in front of a jury using a substantial amount of other evidence”
Doug and Margo’s daughter, Kenya, died after battling with a long illness. Their other daughter, Sahara shared this on her Facebook:
Kenya Prade
““Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. Sadly, my sister passed away this morning. She is no longer suffering and that’s the most important thing. Please continue to lift our family with your prayers; most importantly, her children.””
Sahara also believed her father was innocent.
Doug Prade’s release didn’t last long. His release was overturned in 2014 by the Ohio Supreme Court. He’s currently back in prison.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I actually find it strange that Doug was eventually cleared and released of Margo’s murder. It’s not like they didn’t have evidence at trial, his bite mark was on Margo’s arm and he clearly was stalking her in a sense and recording her phone calls.
I don’t want to say someone is guilty or innocent, but Margo deserves justice. Yes, he spent 15 years in prison, but I think the evidence shows he did it. Maybe some people are happy with him spending the time he did in prison, but I doubt Margo’s family is. Maybe and hopefully though, they have come to terms with it.
Sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-police-captain-cleared-wifes-murder-15-years/story?id=18354284
https://www.cleveland19.com/story/20761689/judge-overturns-douglas-prades-murder-conviction/
https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20190723/kenya-prade-daughter-of-late-dr-margo-prade-dies
https://www.monstersandcritics.com/tv/true-crime/did-douglas-prade-murder-his-wife-dr-margo-prade/
