A mysterious midnight home explosion and fire in Tucson, Arizona puzzled police — especially when the ashes revealed a missing homeowner. However, the search for Frank Bly led authorities to his best friend and her husband, launching a nationwide search for Blaine and Susan Barksdale, who managed to escape law enforcement on the run not once but twice.

“Blaine has a pretty turbulent criminal record, and a past, but how did she manage to turn this woman into something else after, you know, having lived a fairly normal life for decades?” Ast pondered.Van Bayless U.S. Marshal Chief of Staff Snap: Killer Couple, Airing Sundays at 6/5 on Oxygen.

Frank Bly’s disappearance after his home burned down

Around 4:00 a.m. on April 16, 2019, the Tucson neighborhood was awakened by an explosion and fire at Frank Bly’s home. By the time firefighters extinguished the fire, the house was destroyed and the 72-year-old Air Force veteran was missing.

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One of Bligh’s cars was also missing from the garage, and an avid gun collector, Bligh had lost dozens of guns from his gun storage.

Authorities determined arson was the cause of the fire.

A bartender at Bry’s favorite bar told police he had seen Bry with his friend Sue a few weeks ago. Bligh’s brother William confirmed that Bligh and 58-year-old Susan Barksdale were good friends over the years.

When officers spoke to Barksdale, she said she last saw her with her husband, Blaine, at her home on April 12, four days before the fire, but did not know where she was.

Police then took their first break on April 17, when a Pima County sheriff’s deputy found Ms Bly’s missing car parked on the side of the road about 16 miles from her home. There were traces of blood on the torso, which a DNA test revealed to be Bry’s blood. Police have shifted from missing person investigations to murder investigations.

Worried daughter calls police as suspect in Blyh case

A week after the fire at Bligh’s home, Susan Barksdale’s daughter called authorities after receiving a disturbing phone call from her mother.

“She called me from a random number and said, ‘I have to go, I have to leave town.’ I could hear it in her voice and she was panicking,” Jada said. Snap: Killer Couple.

Jada told police she believed her mother was in danger because of Blaine Barksdale.

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“I think Blaine saw Frank as a threat,” Jada said. “He knew that Frank and my mother were good friends over the years. Blaine was quite controlling of my mother and was very verbally, emotionally and ultimately physically abusive towards her mother.”

Jada also told police that Bligh had previously confronted Blaine Barksdale about her abuse of Susan and believed Barksdale had taken her mother hostage.

“I was really worried that he would kill her,” Jada said. “I think her life was absolutely in danger.”

Officers located the Barksdale home in Show Low, about four hours north of Tuscon. However, the couple apparently fled before police arrived.

“For all intents and purposes, Susan and Blaine left the property, the car, and the dog and never returned,” says Dett. Josh Cheek of the Tucson Police Department said: Snap: Killer Couple. “At that point, it was clear that Susan and Blaine were on the run.”

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However, the police found a mobile phone in the house. Police said Susan’s mobile phone had deleted text messages about the whereabouts of her husband and her nephew, Brent Mallard, on the morning of the fire on April 16.

When police questioned Mallard, he had burns across most of his body. He admitted that he had agreed to drive his uncle to the Bligh family in exchange for the gun, where he claimed that his uncle forced him to set the house on fire. But he told police he never met Frank Bly during this time.

“This was huge because it was the first time someone had directly implicated Blane Barksdale in the mansion arson,” Cheek said.

Susan and Blaine Barksdale on the Run

Police believed the Barksdales had purchased an RV, and a nationwide search was launched for the couple and their vehicle.

On May 23, 2019, more than a month after the fire, the couple were spotted pawning items in New York. The couple was later taken into custody after her RV was found in a motel parking lot in the Westchester County area.

Susan Barksdale immediately told police she was her husband’s victim.

“Susan claimed she was beaten by Blaine while traveling across the country,” said a criminal investigator. Tucson Police Department Jeff Lockwood said: Snap: killer couple.

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Susan Barksdale also told police her husband stole guns from Frank Bly for a long time and sold some of them to make money. She said it was what caused Bry’s death on April 12, 2019, four days before the fire. She claimed that the men had been arguing while visiting Ms Bry’s home when her husband arrived.

“Frank’s gun was stolen,” Pima prosecutor Chris Ward said. Snap: Killer Couple. “Frank questioned Blaine about it. She said Blaine and Frank had been talking or arguing.”

Susan told police she heard a loud thud as she left the room and her husband followed.

“She said she saw Frank on the ground with blood coming out of his head,” Cheek said. “And Blaine is standing over him.”

After Bligh’s death, Susan told police her husband forced her to clean up the blood while they moved Frank’s body, and claimed she didn’t know where the body was taken.

“Susan says she was Blaine’s victim and was following Blaine’s instructions,” Ward said. “Susan felt threatened.”

Second investigation begins as Barksdale family flees police custody

In August 2019, something incredible happened during delivery to Arizona. In southern Utah, Blaine Barksdale locked security guards from a transportation company in a car, kidnapped them briefly, and fled with his wife in a red car, police said.

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“I couldn’t believe it,” Cheek said. “I’ve been doing this for years and nothing like this has ever happened in the slightest. They were on the run and trying to keep their distance from investigators as much as possible.”

When police tracked down Bligh’s missing guns and tried to find out if the Barksdales had obtained any of them while on the run, information from the buyers revealed that Susan Barksdale, not her husband, had sold some of the guns.

“Both of them had committed criminal acts and were showing greed that they needed more money and thought it would be a good idea to sell Frank’s guns and get the money,” Lockwood said. “I think all of these reasons are why Susan was able to put her long friendship with Frank in the past and get around it.”

Officers eventually got word that the infamous couple may be hiding in a remote area of ​​northern Arizona, set up law enforcement around the house, and detained the couple a second time.

Aftermath of the Bligh/Barksdale Incident

Susan and Blaine Barksdale negotiated a plea bargain. Blaine’s actions included sharing the location of Frank Bly’s body. On January 4, 2022, after a lengthy search, Bly’s body was found on a cliff in Salt River Canyon, Arizona.

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“Everyone was like, ‘Oh, we have to close,'” said William ‘Skip’ Bly, Frank’s brother. Snap: Killer Couple. “It never ends. It never will, because you always sit there and say why this happened.”

Blaine Barksdale was charged with second-degree murder and is set to be released in 2041 at the age of 77.

His nephew Brent Mallard pleaded guilty to arson and was given a seven-year suspended sentence.

“My mother was under extreme duress during this period,” Jada said. “The only reason my mother went anywhere with that man was to protect her family. I think Frank was trying to stand up for his mother who was so abused, and Blaine ended his life because of it.”

Susan Barksdale pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is set to be released in 2023 at the age of 63 after serving four years in prison.

“Susan is the only one who really knows how much of a victim she’s been,” Ward said. “And how willing or unwilling she was to be involved in Frank’s death.”

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