The Murder of Lisa Putman
I watched an episode of Twisted Sisters for this case. It’s season 3 episode 7, titled ‘Murder is a Filthy Business.’ This series is crazy to me, especially because several people are and involved willing to kill another person, or even their own family members. Today’s case involves two sisters who killed a random and innocent stranger who was just doing their job.
Background
Jacqueline and Josephine Verellen grew up to be troubled people. Jacqueline was older, and was described as being the more dominant one. They were raised by their parents, John, who was an electrician and Simone, who owned a nail salon and jewelry store.
John worked a lot and was never home and Simone was neglectful. The sisters gave their mom the nickname of “dragon lady,” and had told people that their mom was abusive.
They also had two foster brothers, but one day Child Protective Services were called because of the abuse, it was reported that it was anonymous call that called the CPS, when it was actually Josephine. CPS didn’t have enough evidence until 1990. In 1990, the foster kids were taken out of the home and sent to live with their birth father.
In 1991, the girls were older, and Josephine had two kids by this point. They received the deed to their parent’s house, and their parents moved out. Jacqueline and Josephine lived together with the children and didn’t clean the home, which is where all their problems truly started.
Lisa Putman
Lisa Putman was a 28 year old worker for the Child Protective Services for Macomb County, Michigan. She was assigned to the home of Jacqueline and Josephine Verellen. Their home was filled with garbage because they were horders, and it was an unsafe living environment for Josephine’s children.
Lisa got to know Josephine pretty well. Lisa wrote extensive notes about how depressed she was, and how she was attached to items that she couldn’t throw away because of her childhood. She told Jacqueline and Josephine that as long as they cleaned the house, she would just take the kids to their parent’s home and wouldn’t take them away for good.
For awhile, it seemed to work and they even had help cleaning their house. They never left it clean though, and by the time Lisa came back to check on the Verellen sisters, the house was a mess again and they were told that their children would be taken away for good.
The Murder
On May 20, 1998, around 5:30am, a missing persons report was filed after Lisa’s fiancé and mom couldn’t get a hold of her. The police began their investigation right away. The police contacted all of Lisa’s clients and realize her last appointment was at 2pm on the previous day at the home of the Verellan sisters.
The police went to their home and were astonished about what they found. Inside the home was piles and piles of garbage on every surface. In the episode, they showed footage of the home and it was disgusting. There was also animal poop inside the home, and the police found six cats and one dog living in the home. They also realized the plumbing wasn’t working, and they used buckets to go to the bathroom.
Lisa’s car was found abandoned one mile from their house as well. The police decided to bring them in for questioning. Jacqueline was brought in by her dad, and Josephine was picked up at her hotel job.
Confession
Josephine was interviewed first, and she broke down. She said they killed Lisa when they realized they were not going to get her children (ages 7 and 8) back.
She then described what happened, and said that Jacquline hit Lisa in the head with a hammer when she came over for their scheduled appointment. She also said Lisa didn’t die right away, and she had to restrain her while her sister put her body in garbage bags. They also put tape across Lisa’s face and put her body in the bathtub.
They left to go pick up their children from school and went shopping. They said when they returned Lisa was dead, and they went to dump her body.
Josephine was arrested and they brought Jacqueline in next, and confronted her. They asked her how many times did she think she hit Lisa, and she said only once. This contradicted her sister’s story of being hit six times. The truth was Lisa was hit a total of 22 times, and died from suffocation.
Jacqueline and Josephine also told the police where they could find Lisa’s body. The police found Lisa’s body in a wooded area, two days after the Verellen sisters killed her.
Conviction
Josephine who was 27 and Jacqueline, 22, were both arrested and charged with first degree murder. However, it was later changed to second degree murder and kidnapping. They were both sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Josephine and Jacqueline and Lisa Putnam
When their sentences were handed to them, they both cried and hugged each other and apologized.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This does not excuse what they did, but I think they were both mentally ill because of what happened in their childhood, if what they said was true. I do think in some way they were remorseful, but you’ll have to watch the episode to decide for yourself.
I’m happy they are in jail, but at the same time I think they need professional help. I’m happy Lisa’s family has justice, I almost cried listening to Lisa’s mom talk about her and break down. She also said Lisa never got her wedding, and they gave her a wedding celebration at her funeral. Ughhhh, my heart.
This is a horrible case, and it should not have ended someone’s life.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/c0e2a144ae43690850db6060736e9757
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-05-24-9805240114-story.html
