INDEPENDENCE, Mo.– The TV show “Snapped” features the murder of Randy Stone. The Teresa Stone case is season 10, episode one, which was released 27 Jan. 2013. 

“A secret affair between a woman and her church’s pastor becomes public when they become suspects in a murder,” is the episode description.

Teresa and Randy

Teresa and Randy grew up together in Kansas City, Mo. Both of their families were devoted Christians. After Randy finished high school and joined the Marine Corps.

Randy Stone returned home in 1990 and started dating Teresa. Randy asked Teresa out on a date in March, and then they were married in Oct. 13, 1990. 

They attended a church called New Hope Baptist. A year after they were married, Teresa had a son. Two years later, they had a daughter. 

Randy worked at his small insurance company, which he owned. He worked while Teresa stayed home with the kids. 

Randy’s insurance business blossomed, and he became popular in his small town. 

They were both involved in the church. Teresa sang in the choir and volunteered at the church. 

Randy ran the finances. He was the minister of records. He oversaw the money coming in and where it was going.

David Love, new pastor

David Love was 38 years old when he became the new pastor of the New Hope Church. Love was younger and had new ideas on how to lead the church. His door was always open for counseling. 

The Snapped documentary featured a reporter named Bonyen Lee. She said Teresa would attend counseling with Love two or three times a week. 

In 2004, after 14 years of marriage, Teresa announced that their family was growing again. She was pregnant. 

By this time, Randy had had a vasectomy. This is a procedure that would keep him from having kids. 

Randy remained loyal to his wife and assumed it was his child. He failed to attend the follow-up appointments after his procedure. 

Teresa miscarried. The Snapped episode said that Teresa was affected by the loss of her baby. 

She turned to her pastor, Love. Following the miscarriage, their counseling sessions became routine. 

According to the documentary, Randy seemed so in love with Teresa. But Teresa seemed to be pulling away from Randy. 

Randy seemed desperate. He then turned to his pastor, who had helped Teresa in the past, Pastor Love. Randy and Love would meet every morning and talk about various issues. 

Betrayal

Early in 2010, Randy and Love’s relationship came to a sudden halt. Randy discovered an issue dealing with the church’s finances. Randy was going over the church’s books as a member of the church’s finance committee.

He was good with finances, since he ran his own business. Randy then discovered missing funds. He said that the checks and balances procedure was not being followed.  The money that was missing had Love’s signatures on the checks. 

On March 17, 2010, Randy sent Pastor Love an email. He said he did not agree with what the pastor was doing with the church’s finances.

Love did not admit to any wrongdoing. Randy did not take his allegations to the church deacons or the authorities. 

Randy then resigned from the positions of Finance Minister and Sunday School teacher. He said that he was taking his family out of the church. 

The Death of Randy

On March 31, 2010, Randy Stone was found dead in the insurance business office that he owned. Teresa called 911 and said she found blood around her husband’s head.

Someone called David Love, and he arrived on the scene. 

Police investigators discovered no evidence of a struggle, and the cash on his desk was not taken. Police ruled the case a homicide, not a robbery.

The gunshot was point-blank and there was a spent casing from a 40 caliber casing. 

The police also found a torn-up note when they were going through Teresa’s trash in her office. It was a one-page letter, either a love letter or a happy birthday letter. 

ABC News said that the letter uses phrases such as “Happy Birthday love. I am not in control of things yet, but when we are fully together, your birthday will always be exciting.” 

The police said that the letter was written in handwriting. They compared it to Randy’s writing samples. They did not find a match. 

Pastor Love was the one to deliver Randy’s eulogy, and detectives were in the audience. 

Teresa in interrogation

On the day of the murder: police officials put Teresa in a squad car, Pastor Love tried to get into the car. 

Even after being instructed by the police to not interfere, he still attempted to open the door. 

Teresa provided the police with an airtight alibi. She provided records of where she went and who she saw. 

Police suspect that Randy was murdered with a gun that he used to own. 

Teresa couldn’t give a definite answer on who bought Randy’s missing gun. 

An hour into the investigation, the police brought up the note. When they went to retrieve the note, they left the room with the cameras rolling.

Teresa mumbled to herself: “Great, I forgot about that.”

She only tore it up and threw it away, so Randy wouldn’t find it. She said it was a secret admiration note. 

The police ended up letting Teresa go for lack of evidence. But it wouldn’t be long until she was brought back into custody. 

After her husband’s murder, she was asking about her husband’s life insurance. This information came from Randy’s coworker and friend at the insurance business. 

Randy’s various policies added up to a little over 800,000. Police also heard of the rumor at her church, where she and Pastor Love were having a not-so-secret affair. 

The police felt like they had a clear motive for murder. 

Teresa’s Confession

During the second interrogation, police asked questions about Pastor Love. 

Teresa broke down and admitted that she had been having an affair with him for over 10 years. The baby that she was pregnant with was Pastor Love’s.

Teresa said that Pastor Love murdered her husband.

Police obtained a search warrant and found evidence on Love’s computer. They found pictures and emails Love sent to Teresa about starting a life together. 

In November 2011, Love took a plea deal for second-degree murder. He is currently serving a life sentence and can be eligible for parole in 2036.

Teresa was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and took a plea deal to get the charges reduced. She had to acknowledge her role in the crime and had to complete an eight-year prison sentence.