Snapped on Oxygen in its latest episode has explored Kimberly Fletcher Groh's premeditated set-up to kill her husband, Michael Bryan, a South Carolina businessman. As per Oxygen, Kimberly called 911 on the midnight of November 30, 2016 and reported her husband's death in an accidental shooting.
According to reports, 51-year-old Bryan had succumbed to a gunshot wound to his chest and was found lying dead on his bed by the authorities. Kimberly reportedly mentioned on an interview with Snapped:
"I just wanted to move it so he wouldn’t be in bed with it. I grabbed the bottom, and he jerked it back, and it went off."
Lexington police lieutenant Carroll Bledsoe has countered this explanation, saying:
"I’ve seen suicides. I’ve been to homicides. I knew something about this scene was just not adding up."
Kimberly Fletcher Groh, a 51-year-old woman, lived with her husband in Lexington, South Carolina. The couple got married in 2008 and had a son named John Bryan. Fletcher was reportedly frustrated with her husband's state of depression.
The couple was facing trouble related to finances, too. Thus, when Fletcher had the opportunity to get rid of Bryan and become entitled to his $500,000 insurance policy, she murdered him in cold blood.
Who is Kimberly Fletcher Groh and what did she do?
Kimberly Fletcher Groh, a Lexington resident in her fifties, murdered her husband, Michael Bryan, in cold blood on the night of November 30, 2016. She used a gun to shoot him in his sleep, and had planned the whole thing.
The plumbing company owned by Michael had not been in good shape for quite some time. As reported on Snapped, Kimberly was stealing from her husband's business, too.
As per Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard:
"This was a premeditated and callous crime. "
Assistant solicitor Bradley Pogue reportedly said in a statement to Snapped:
"Kimberly told law enforcement that Michael would consistently leave guns laying around the house. She didn’t know if they were loaded or not. But she was afraid that something like this might happen."
What did the investigation reveal?
As per Kimberly's statements, Michael was not in the best state of mind at the time of his death and was suffering from bipolar disorder. The investigators also discovered pill capsules in Kimberly's purse.
Chemical analysis results revealed these pills were temazepam — a sedative used for treating insomnia. On being questioned, Kimberly justified saying her husband was doing drug abuse and he suffered from depression, too.
Michael's son, John, however, told the police he did not believe that his father was in depression. He added:
"Honestly, there were conversations with my father about his emotions.Where he’d have thoughts that scared him. But he truly felt suicide is the most selfish thing you can do. He would have never done that."
The investiation took a turn when the police went through Fletcher's personal notes and records. Her internet search history also revealed a few harrowing results.
As per Bradley Pogue:
"There were recent entries where she expressed frustration with Michael’s bipolar disorder, that it was becoming a burden on her. She was also expressing that she didn’t believe that Michael was necessarily in love with her anymore."
He added:
"In May of 2016 she conducted a search for, ‘How to poison your spouse and go undetected.’ Then later, much closer to the time of the incident, on November 1, Kimberly searches, ‘Top ten most deadly poisons to humans. Investigators found a search for, ‘How to operate the 223 Winchester rifle.’ So, this also adds to the suspicion that just a few weeks prior to the shooting, using a 223 Winchester, she’s searching on the internet how to operate that specific gun."
Further probe revealed that there was 39 mg of arsenic in Michael's system at the time of his death. As per reports, his wife had placed an online order to buy the poisonous substance. Groh obtained the arsenic from a company named Lab Depot earlier in 2016.
Lieutenant Carroll Bledsoe said on Snapped:
"I think potentially what she wanted to do was try to slowly poison Michael with arsenic, and she actually did so over a period of time, and I think it just wasn’t a lethal amount because she wasn’t sure how much to give him."
The gun used to kill Michael Bryan was sent to the forensics department, and its trigger had Groh's fingerprints. Bledsoe added:
"It wasn’t a close contact wound. That further solidified and took off the table that Michael had anything to do with pulling the trigger. It would just be too far of a distance for him to reach."
Was Kimberley Fletcher Groh convicted?
With all evidences pointing towards Kimberley Fletcher Groh, the police dug deeper for a motive to murder. They eventually learnt that Bryan's plumbing business was not doing well.
The family pastor told the investigators that Kimberly had been stealing money from her husband's business, too. The police also unearthed the details of a $500,000 life insurance policy that was drawn in Bryan's name. The sole beneficiary of the policy was Kimberly, as per reports.
Eventually, it came to light that Kimberly had actually made calls to claim the entire amount of money just a day after Bryan had died. Thus, it became clear that money was the main motive behind the murder.
Pogue added:
"I think that night was clearly premeditated. I believe that Kimberly waited for Michael either to go to sleep or she medicated him to the point that he passed out. She went in there. She took his gun. She loaded it. And she shot him in the chest from the foot of the bed."
Kimberly Fletcher Groh was thus convicted on charges of first-degree murder. She would later plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment. Kimberly is currently stationed at the Lexington County Detention Center.
The latest episode of Snapped aired on Oxygen this Sunday at 6/5c.
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