The Mongo Murders: A potential accomplice

MONGO, Ind. -- For 13-and-a-half years, rumors have run a muck; who would want to hurt Terry and Darleen Anderson? Investigators have been set on one person, Terry Durbin. Durbin is a convicted murderer who is in prison for a completely different homicide from 2009.

“We do have things that could point to him. He is, I consider him a suspect.” Prosecutor Greg Kenner said.

And a possible motive for the crime has been fairly evident from the beginning. Nearly everyone who knew Terry Anderson, knew about a large amount of cash he had at the time. Anderson did tree work for a living and had just come home from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina where he was trimming and removing damaged trees. The trip was lucrative and Terry Anderson was boastful about it.

“Terry told me he was about to buy a new boat. He said he had $10,000, he was going to trade his boat in and get a new boat. I knew the whole story, he told me about it.” Long time friend, Tom Christian, said.

"I knew about that boat too because I was going to be one of the first people on it to go fishing." Eric Musilek, Terry Anderson's son-in-law said.

A robbery involving a murder also meets the M.O. of the main suspect, Terry Durbin. He was convicted of killing a man for thousands of dollars in 2009. But, even with Durbin in the sights of investigators, there's still suspicion that Durbin, who worked with Terry Anderson and his daughter Amanda Anderson, committed the murders alone.

“Someone else went in that house. There wasn’t just one person.” Sherry Musilek, Terry Anderson's daughter, said.

And many believe the Anderson's youngest daughter, Amanda, could have had a hand in the homicides. She was 20-years-old at the time and had a drug problem. He own sister expresses her suspicions. 

“It’s possible. She had a drug problem. I don’t know. You know what I mean?” Sherry Musilek said.

Amanda Anderson died of an overdose in 2014. Friends and family now believe some answers to the murders died with her.

“And I may not doubt that. But, we never got anything out of her to prove that she had anything to do with it and now she is deceased which doesn’t help.” Prosecutor Kenner said.

Amanda's strange behavior after the murders also set off red flags for friends and loved ones. Several people say she went on a shopping spree immediately following the crime. She quickly started giving away and selling her parents belongings.

“I didn’t even care about things, who cares about things!?!?! I care about what happened!” Sherry Musilek said.

There was also talk about a fight Amanda and her father had shortly before the murders. A close friend says Amanda described a party where she told her friends about her father's money and how she wished he was dead.

“I believe when Amanda explained to me the night she was mad at her parents saying she wished that they would die, I believe that she was persuading (someone) to kill her parents.” Rachel Schmick, Amanda Anderson's friend, recalled from a conversation years later.

"She kept so many secrets and a bunch of answers died with her.” Shaune Duncan, Amanda Anderson's best childhood friend, said.

Duncan moved in with Amanda and Amanda's boyfriend several months after the killings.

“I totally agree with them (that Amanda knew more about the homicides). I totally agree. I thought that since I lived with her. I never told her. I’m not going to tell my best friend, ‘Hey, I think you’re involved.’ You know? But I thought that from the time I was living with her because of what I was witnessing when I was living there.” Duncan said.

Duncan remembers the large amount of money she received from her parents' estate. She says Amanda blew through the money quickly because of her drug habit. She remembers Amanda's odd behavior as well.

“I kept trying to get her to talk about her parents and all she kept repeating is ‘It’s a guy that worked with us. It’s a guy that worked with us. He got caught.’ But, I was always like, ‘And…’ you know. ‘What’s going to happen? Is there justice for your parents? Is it still going to be what it has been?’ Obviously it’s going to be what it has been until something gets figured out, but, I think a lot of answers died with her.”  She recalled.

And, with every passing day, the fear is more information is being lost. Hope is fading that the Mongo murders will every be solved.

"I think that they’re forgotten about." Sherry Musilek said.