Mile Marker 63: Hi Fi Murder Victims

Join us as we take a Harley up to Ogden Utah to give our regards to the Victims of the infamous HiFi Murders. Plenty of others focus in depth of the crime itself, we touch on what happened however wanted to pay a bit more of a tribute to the victims themselves.

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Transcript

Hi Fi Murder Victims

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another adventure. Today as part of our spooky season, we are taking you to a place that throughout history has held a nefarious reputation. The events we discuss in this episode have inspired books, movies, changes in law, and caused fear on a national level. Now is a good time to also note that though much of our material is not the best for little or sensitive ears, this one is very likely not suitable at all. So, if you’re listening with said ears around, you may want to come back to us in a more suitable environment. We leave that up to your discretion.

(Gypsie) So, Ogden Utah with its charming historic 25th street, full of quaint boutique shops, pubs, and restaurants, has previously held a rather sinister reputation. This was the most dangerous town in Utah for some time and was declared the most dangerous town in the states for a spell as well. It is said that even Al Capone stated he wouldn’t dare walk the streets of Ogden Utah for fear of his life. There is also nothing indicating that Al Capone had ever visited Ogden. Ogden is near the joining place of the transcontinental railroad & the tracks run right through it. There has since those early day’s been a poor reputation of the area. In the early times, much of it came from Salt Lake City’s resentment that the railroad passed north of them, rather than through the heart of the valley itself.

(Drifter) It was just a couple blocks from the notorious 25th street on the 22nd of April, 1974 when a heinous crime shook the country. There was a store called the Hi Fi Shop on the corner of 23rd and Washington boulevard. This shop is no longer there, instead we’re looking at a coopers restaurant. Hi-Fi for you youngin's stands for Hi Fidelity, which is basically hi quality reproduction of sound. This essentially was a home audio store. Mid-70s Hi-Fi equipment would have been some top-end record players, some bad ass 8 track players, some phenomenal cassette players with built-in eq adjustability, and awesome dials that show how loud your cabinet speakers are pumping. The Reel to Reel players were likely phasing out with the cassette tape around this time yet I bet they could still be serviced here. There would have been a lot of matte silver plastic and wood grain wrap going on. I’m sure the store at a time carried the amazing combo kit, my folks had one. This would be about as big as a love seat couch, built-in speakers behind a fabric facade. You’d lift the lid, as big as a kitchen counter, to reveal the turn table, 8-track player, radio controls, and possibly a cassette deck to boot. Some of the high end models would let you stack some vinyl for continuous play. I’d love to find one like that now, just with Blue Tooth capability. Compact Discs weren’t yet imagined let alone mp3 downloads or streaming audio services. You went to a store like this Hi-Fi Shop to complete your amp and components to build your top-end stereo system.

(Gypsie) Let's get into the crime that took place at this hi-fi shop.  Late In the chilly evening of the Monday in question, 18-year-old Sherry Michelle Ansley Who went by Michelle, and 20-year-old acting manager Stanley Walker who went by Stan were the last two employees working and were starting to button up the shop for the day. Around 7 pm At least one van pulled up, though Ogden police suspect possibly two vans yet nothing came of a second van or additional suspects. (Drifter) The ’70s and earlier vans were the big shoe box-looking rigs, often referred to as Shaggin Wagons. Likely would have had dual-opening doors on the passenger side as well as the rear. (Drifter) Out of this van and into the Hi-Fi Shop stroll 19-year-old Pierre Selby from the Caribbean Islands, William Andrews from Louisiana, and Keith Roberts from Oklahoma. These fellas had no intent on making a purchase before the shop closed. These men had handguns and told the two kids they were robbing the shop. They took Michelle and Stan into the basement, tied them up, and began loading up the van with equipment. 

(Gypsie) Shortly after this, Cortney Naisbitt, who was just 16 years old, walked into the store. He wasn’t coming in to make a purchase, he was coming in to tell Stanley thank you for letting him park his car in front of the store while he went to run an errand. This kind and thoughtful kid was just trying to show his appreciation and walked in on the men loading up the van. The robbers freaked out that they now had another person to deal with, he had seen their faces, so they took this poor kid down into the basement with Michelle and Stanley and tied him up as well. 

(Drifter) A few hours later Stanley’s father started to get worried that his son was not home from work yet. He was driving the family's vehicle that was having issues and wanted to make sure that wasn’t why he was late. He went down to the store to see if everything was ok. He too walked in on the men stealing equipment. The robbers took Orrin to the basement with his son and tied him up. Unfortunately, this would not be the last of the victims to walk in on the robbers. 

(Gypsie) Carol Naisbitt was also worried about why her son Courtney had not come home and went looking for him. She knew that Courtney had gone to pick up some photos and she also knew he had a class he needed to go to that evening. She drove to the college first looking for him and when she couldn’t find his vehicle she went to the photoshop to look for him. When she saw his car parked out front of the Hi-Fi shop she went to see if he was inside. Like everyone else, she was also taken to the basement and tied up. 

(Drifter) After the men loaded up everything they wanted, Keith Roberts went to the van while William Andrews and Dale Pierre went downstairs. These two assholes had been talking about killing someone for a while now. They had been looking into ways to commit a murder quietly and cleanly. Somehow they had a bottle of Drano. Either they got it from the bathroom or they brought it with them. They got the idea to use the Drano after recently watching the second film in the Dirty Harry series, Magnum Force. They then poured some into a cup and told their prisoners to drink the liquid. When asked what was in the cup they were told it was vodka mixed with sleeping medicine. Michelle, Stanley, Courtney, Carol, and Orren all took a drink of this poisonous Drano. Orren was the last one to take a drink and he noticed that everyone was either spitting it out after swallowing some of it or was throwing up. He pretended to swallow the Drano in an attempt to save his life. 

(Gypsie) After some time had passed Andrews and Pierre were upset that everyone was still alive so they forced them to drink more. The second time they placed duct tape over their mouths to keep it inside. But the Drano had burned their lips and mouths causing blisters to form and the tape was falling off. The men got upset that it was taking too long for them to die, and that they were yelling so loud. (Drifter) I am not sure what they expected out of this, they fed them poison, of course they would be yelling. (Drifter) To speed things up they decided to shoot the hostages in the head. First they shot Carol and Cortney Naisbitt in the back of the head. They then shot Orren but missed. Next was Stanley and then they shot again at Orren this time the bullet grazed the back of his head. 

(Gypsie) Michelle hadn’t been shot yet she had just been fed the drano. Pierre took her to the far corner of the basement away from the rest of them. He held her at gunpoint and forced her to take off her clothes. He then told Willaim to leave them alone and he proceeded to rape her several times. Once this asshole was finished he took Sherry back to the rest of the hostages, pushed her to the ground, and shot her in the back of the head. Before leaving they checked on everyone to make sure they were dead. They found that Orren was still breathing so Pierre wrapped a wire around his throat and began to strangle him. But that did not work; he was still alive. They then got a ballpoint pen, inserted it into his ear, and stomped on it until the pen went deep enough to rupture his eardrum eventually coming out in his mouth. 

(Drifter) The two asshats were done, they got in the van and left them there for someone else to find them. Little did they know that Orren was a fighter, he was not going to let them kill him. Orren’s wife and son were worried the rest of their family had not made it back home. They went to the Hi-Fi to find them. Lynn Walker Orren’s youngest son would hear his fathers screams coming from the basement. As his mother went to call the police for help he kicked the door in to help his father. He managed to help Orren up the stairs and waited with him for help to come. The police were close by when the call came in and hurried to help. Two officers arrived at the scene within minutes of receiving the call, they were told by Orren 4 people were down in the basement. The two officers ran downstairs, it was dark as the criminals had removed the light bulb. 

(Gypsie) The police discovered the terrible scene in the basement, Stanley Walker and Michelle Ansley were dead, Carol and Courtney Naisbitt were still alive but barely. They were rushed to the hospital but not fast enough, Carol did not survive her injuries. Courtney was not expected to live either but they did everything they could for him. He stayed at the hospital recovering from the trauma and injuries as best as he could for over 250 days. Orren was also rushed to the hospital where he was treated for the burns to his mouth, face, chin, and neck as well as the damage caused by the pen and the gunshot wound to his head. His recovery was quicker than Courtney’s and he was able to remember everything that had happened. It was his help and testimony that helped convict the men involved. 

(Drifter) The news quickly spread about the crime and murder that had taken place at the hi-fi shop. (Gypsie) The police received an anonymous tip from an employee at the Hill Air Force Base. The Air Force Base is about 10 minutes south of Ogden. The anonymous caller said a man named William Andrews had told him a few months earlier that (Drifter) “One of these days I’m going to rob that Hi-Fi shop and if anybody gets in my way, I’m going to kill them.” (Gypsie) Another major break in the case came when hours after the bodies were discovered they got another call. Two teenage boys had been dumpster diving in a garbage bin near the air force base. Inside they discovered purses and wallets. The boys opened them up and found the driver's licenses inside and quickly realized they belonged to the people murdered at the Hi-Fi shop. 

(Drifter) The police responded to the call and the detective did something very unique. He put on gloves and began pulling the items out of the dumpster one at a time and as he did he made sure to hold everything up high so everyone that was standing around watching could see. While doing this he paid close attention to everyone standing around and noticed two men acting very erratically, they were pacing around, yelling loudly, and making frantic gestures with their hands. Everyone else standing around was calm as they watched the police at work. The officer was later able to identify the two men as William Andrews and Pierre Dale Selby. 

(Gypsie) With the officers' identification as well as the anonymous phone call they were able to obtain a search warrant for their barracks. Inside the barracks, they found fliers for the Hi-Fi shop which doesn’t mean much, they could have visited the shop looking to purchase something and taken the flier then. The big find came when they found a rental contract for a storage unit that was signed just days before. The police then got to work getting a search warrant for the storage unit, they had a feeling the stolen Hi-Fi equipment was inside there. 

(Drifter) In the meantime Robert Burbidge, an Ogden native placed a phone call to the police himself. (Gypsie) He was later interviewed by the Ogden Standard-Examiner where he said (Drifter) “ I was going to work pretty early Wednesday morning when I heard a new report that mentioned the names of the two suspects and I remembered I had rented a storage garage to a person with one of those names on Monday. Suddenly, it hit me that I might have all that gear in my storage unit.” (Gypsie) Robert went on to say that he called the county sheriff and then met two deputies at the garage on 26th and Wall but little did he know the Ogden Police Department already had the place staked out and had obtained a search and seizure warrant. He told them that he recalled that he and his wife had talked to a young airman fitting the description of one of the suspects Monday and said that he had been impressed with (Drifter) “his appearance, intelligence and unassuming attitude.” (Gypsie) he also told them that Pierre was in uniform, of quiet nature and had (Drifter) “very pretty handwriting. He told us he was going to Korea and needed a garage where he could store his car.” 

(Gypsie) Once the police were able to get inside they found all the stolen equipment and were able to match it up with the serial numbers. They also found a half-empty bottle of Drano. With all the evidence in place and with the help from the military police, the Ogden police were able to obtain arrest warrants for Pierre Selby and William Andrews. Within 24 hours Pierre Selby and William Andrews were arrested and placed in custody. The two men were loaded into separate vehicles and brought to the Ogden police station. According to the Desert News (Drifter) “When the suspects climbed out of the cars at police headquarters a teenage youth had to be restrained from attacking them. The youth was described as the boyfriend of the Ansley girl. The young woman was engaged to Ted Heywood and the couple was planning to be married on August 5th.”

(Gypsie) A few hours later Keith Roberts walked into the Ogden Police Station where he asked to talk to an officer about his involvement in the murders and robbery. At first I thought this was a little crazy that he would turn himself in but at the same time if he didn’t turn himself in he could have wound up in more trouble. We are not going to get into the court case and spend more time on these assholes than is necessary, so a quick wrap up of the outcome of the court case. Pierre Selby who was 21 at the time was convicted of three counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggraveted robbery on November 16, 1974. On November 20, 1974 he was given three death sentences, one for each of the sweet souls he took from this world. William Andrews who was 19 at the time was given a conviction of three counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery the same day as Selby, November 16th. Then on the same day as Selby he received the same sentence, three death sentences. 

(Drifter) Keith Roberts on the other hand was found to only be involved in the robbery and had nothing to do with the murders. He was 19 years old when he helped in the robbery and was given a sentence of 5 years to life for his involvement. After spending almost 13 years in prison he was paroled on May 12, 1987. He moved to Chandler Oklahoma where he lived with his family. On August 8, 1992 he committed suicide. Pierre Selby was executed by lethal injection on August 28, 1987 at the age of 34. William Andrews lived to the age of 37 until he was executed by lethal injection on July 30, 1992. These men were terrible men who took the lives of three beautiful souls and changed the course of several lives all for some stereo equipment. 

(Gypsie) We didn’t want to focus too much on the murder itself, the court case that took place or really even much after what happened after they were sentenced. We wanted this to be more about the victims. Sherry Michelle Ansley, Carol Naisbitt, and Stanley Orren Walker did not deserve to die. Byron Naisbett and Orren William Walker did not deserve to suffer after they were attacked. So many podcasts focus on the murderers and the crime but what about the victims? They were people too. We want to end this episode on a lighter note and try to bring some joy and happiness to such a terrible incident. 

(Drifter) A few Sundays back we got on the motorcycle and headed north to visit the resting location of those laid to rest who were taken too early. We went to the Aultorest Memorial Park in Ogden Utah first to find where Stan and his father were. They are not far down the road from the main office and are under a beautiful large tree. Stan was born on March 19, 1954 in Ogden Utah. He got his high school diploma at Ben Lomond High School. After graduation, he started attending Weber State College. Stan was also a very active member in his church where he was the basketball coach for the ward as well as the activity coordinator. The Friday before he was killed he was the DJ for a dance at Ben Lomond High School. His headstone is simple but has something on it that we could not figure out what it was. It has his name Stanley Orren Walker on it with his birth and death date below. Next to that is a drawing of an atom and below that is the words Son of Orren W. Jr. and Joyce W. The thing we could not figure out was on the top, it reads, RADIO WA7KED. 

(Gypsie) Next to Stan is his mother Joyce Weaver Walker and his father Orren William Walker Jr.  Orren was born on September 17, 1930 in Ogden Utah. He married his wife Joyce on July 11, 1951. Like his son he was a faithful and active member of his church. He served many callings from Bishop’s Counselor, High Counselor, and High Priest Group Leader. In 1985 He retired from Hill Air Force Base and started working at his own company called Walker Radio and Electronics. While reading his obituary we found out he was an amateur ham radio operator and his class sign was Whiskey 7 Lima Yankee Charlie (W7LYC). Orren passed away at the age of 69 on February 13, 2000 in Salt Lake City, he was suffering from Cancer. He shares a headstone with his wife Joyce who passed away on January 25, 1995 at the age of 61. Above her name on the headstone is what looks to be a spool of yarn with knitting needles. Above Orren’s name is the machine that was used to send morse code messages with W7LYC below it. As we started learning more about the family we have since come to believe that maybe the letters on Stan’s headstone we could not figure out was his ham radio class sign. And this theory is even more justified because Stan’s youngest brother Lynn passed away on October 30, 2018. He was laid to rest next to Orren and his headstone has  November 7 Tango Oscar Poppa (N7TOP) on the top of it. It looks like the entire Walker family was into Ham Radio’s! 

(Drifter) After spending some time with the Walker family and marking some GPS locations on the find a grave app we hopped back on the motorcycle and headed to our next stop.  About two miles south from the Aultorest cemetery is the Washington Heights cemetery. We found a shaded place to park and started to wander around. We were looking for Sherry Michelle Ansley. She was born on January 24, 1956 in Ogden Utah. Her parents are William G. Ansley and Laura Weeks Ansley. She graduated from Bonneville High School. She got a job working at the Hi-Fi shop as the bookkeeper just one week before the murders. As we had mentioned before she was engaged to be married later the same year she was killed. Michelle was a beautiful young woman with long brunette hair. If you look up pictures of her online she could have been a supermodel. Her headstone is very small and simple but still beautiful. It is a bronze headstone that has S. Michelle Ansley on it with her birth and death date listed. There are roses carved around the top and sides of it. In the center on the top is one of those vases that you can pull out to put flowers inside, hers differs from the typical cylindrical ones we normally see, hers was rectangular. Next to Michelle are her mother and father. Their headstones are very similar to Michelle’s. 

(Gypsie) In the same cemetery as Michelle but in the very back of the cemetery is the Nesbitt family, they are in the masonic section. Carol Elaine Peterson Naisbitt was born on December 25, 1921 in Ogden. She married Dr. Byron Naisbitt on May 19, 1942. She went to college at the University of Utah as well as Utah State University and was affiliated with Alpha Chi Omega. She was a very active member of her church as well as the Weber County Medical Auxiliary, and a former member of the Junior League of Ogden. She shares a headstone with her husband Byron and it is also a very simple headstone. On the top is their last name Naisbitt below it on the left side is Carol P December 25, 1921- April 22, 1974 she was 52 years old when she was murdered. Byron her husband was born on December 18, 1922 and passed away on November 16, 2020 at the age of 97. He sat by Courtney’s side as he recovered in the hospital and supported him as much as he could. On May 17, 1978 he married Eleanor Sue Evens. Unfortunately she passed away before him on August 31, 2013 at the age of 79. Her headstone is next to Byron’s but she has her own. 

(Drifter) The last person yet to be talked about is Courtney. Byron Cortney Naisbitt was born on September 25, 1957 in Ogden. He had a very inquisitive mind and loved science. One year he constructed a telescope by hand-grinding the mirror and chemically silvering it to give it the reflective surface it needed to look at stars. The telescope won him a blue ribbon at the Science Fair. The day of the attack at the Hi-Fi Shop Cortney had just completed his first solo flight. (Gypsie) His flight instructor talked about Cortney’s love of flying when he said (Drifter) “He was a very easy student to teach. I mean very, very easy. I called him an airport bum, because he came out here even when he wasn’t flying. I asked him once, What’re you gonna do after you graduate from school? You gonna be a doctor? And he says: “Oh, no. I want to be an aeronautical engineer’ (Gypsie) Courtney missed out on school while he was in the hospital recovering, but once he was able to get back to his studies he worked hard and was able to graduate with his classmates. After high school, he studied computing at both Weber State University and the University of Utah. He was able to get a job at Hill Air Force Base in computer processing. In 1985, he would’ve been about 28 years old, he married Catherine Hunter. She recalled that it was ages before he was able to even wear a wrist watch, he just couldnt stand something bound around his wrist. He spent the last 15 years of his life living in Seattle Washington. He passed away on June 4, 2002 at the age of 44 in Seattle. His body was brought back to Utah where he was laid to rest next to his mother. 

(Drifter) As Cortney continued to battle daily from his injuries and improve he was contacted by Gary Kinder who wanted to write a book about him. Gary’s original plan was to write his book about Pierre Selby but when Dr. Byron Nesbitt reached out to him telling Gary that there needs to be a voice for the victims he changed his mind. In 1985 the book Victim The Other Side of Murder was published. Gary spent 7 years working on the book. (Gypsie) I have just started reading it and it's a wonderful book. I am only half way through and can not wait to finish it. (Drifter) In 1991 the CBS television movie Aftermath A Test of Love was released. The movie is based more on the book and shines light on the Nesbitt family and the struggles they went through rather than the actual crime itself. (Gypsie) I have watched the movie, it isn't long and you can find it on YouTube if you are interested in it. (Drifter) I’ll put a link in the show notes for it.

(Drifter) These five victims were not the only ones who suffered that night. Kevin Youngberg was one of the officers that discovered the bodies that night. He had been training to be a police officer and had only been working for 32 days when this happened. Gale Bowcutt was training him on this terrible day, he had been on the police force for 2 and a half years. He recalls that when they discovered the bodies he kept thinking it was a joke and that he was waiting for the lights to come on and the actors to jump up and start laughing and the wounded man behind them on the stairwell to clap them on the back and say something like, “We was just checking to see how fast you boys’d get here!” But it wasn’t an act, it was real. While Younberg was checking on Michelle he noticed a tiny gold ring set with a red stone on her ring finger. He recalled his wife used to wear a ring just like that, for years he would have nightmares over the image of Michelle's hand. They were not the only ones to suffer from this, the hospital staff had a hard time as well as the town of Ogden. Everyone was in fear this could happen again. 

(Gypsie) This was a tough episode for us, we don’t like to focus too much on terrible things and wanted to focus more on the victims themselves. If you feel like we left stuff out about the crime we are sorry but we really didn’t want to get into too many details about that. There are plenty of other podcasts you can listen to that get more into the crime and the terrible men that committed them if you are interested. Thanks for sticking with us. We appreciate all the support from you guys. 

(Drifter) Dad Joke?

(Gypsie) Why did the headless horseman get a job?

He was trying to get ahead in life

(Gypsie) Why do witches make great wives?

Because they promise a wonderful hex life.

(Drifter) Alright then, Thank you all for joining us once again. If you want to stay up to date with us we are most active on the Instagram (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge, (Drifter) we post photos of our adventures on our website, (Gypsie) rebelatlarge.com where you’ll find links to our Patreon, Merch store, email and other social deals. (Drifter) Speaking of Patreon, we will be starting a new segment for our supporters called Checking In. We will be recapping our day out on the road, where we went, how it went, where we ended up. That sort of deal. If you’re interested in more content and can spare a few bucks a month to put fuel in our tank, follow the link in the show notes.

(Drifter) We’ll talk to ya here in a couple weeks.

(Gypsie) Safe travels, (Drifter) we’ll see ya down the road.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah BLAH!!!! I love you xoxo 

Gross!

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.