Angela Simpson

Case record: Angela Simpson

People

• Angela Simpson — defendant
• Terry Neely — victim; 46 years old
• Edward McFarland — arrested in connection with disposal of the body; 36 years old; also known as "Cracker"
• Judge Paul McMurdie — judge who sentenced Simpson
• Marissa Wingate — conducted jailhouse interview with Simpson for 3TV
• Catherine Holland — author/journalist (AZfamily.com)
• Tess Rafols — author/journalist (azfamily.com)
• Andrew Thomas — Maricopa County Attorney
• Mike Watkiss — 3TV reporter who asked Simpson questions in a jailhouse interview

Timeline

• August 2, 2009 — Terry Neely left an assisted-care facility in his motorized wheelchair at about 8 p.m.
• Early August 2009 — Neely’s body was found in a burning trash can in the parking lot behind a Phoenix church.
• August 5, 2009 — Phoenix firefighters were called to a residential trash bin on fire holding Neely’s charred remains; the body was discovered and identified through fingerprints.
• August 18, 2009 — Phoenix police announced the arrest of 33-year-old Angela Simpson.
• August 19, 2009 — Police arrested Simpson for the murder.
• August 27, 2009 — A grand jury indicted Simpson’s charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
• March 22, 2012 — Simpson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for killing Terry Neely.
• March 29, 2012 — Simpson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder (pleaded guilty date given in case status).
• April 2, 2012 — Judge Paul McMurdie sentenced Simpson to natural life in prison plus 14 additional years.
• April 3, 2012 — AZfamily.com reported the sentencing.

Background

Angela Simpson was a Phoenix woman who confessed in jailhouse interviews to torturing, killing, and dismembering Terry Neely. Neely was confined to a wheelchair and lived in an assisted-living facility not far from Simpson’s apartment. Simpson said she lured Neely to her apartment with promises of drugs and sex.

Simpson said Neely was a “snitch.” She claimed Neely had told on a “righteous person years ago,” and she said she believed informants and child molesters should be killed.

Simpson said she had a history of mental illness going back to when she was 10 years old, and she said she took medication. She also stated she did not want or expect sympathy.

The offence

Simpson admitted that she beat Terry Neely with a tire iron, hammered a nail into his head, pulled his teeth out, and strangled him with a television cord. Simpson said she tortured Neely for three days.

Simpson said Neely watched her through a mirror. She said he needed to see what he deserved.

Investigators described injuries found during an autopsy, including multiple blunt-force head injuries and a 3-inch nail driven or hammered into Neely’s brain. Investigators said Neely was stabbed approximately 50 times, his throat was sliced, and he was dismembered.

Simpson told interviewers that she dismembered Neely’s body and stuffed it into a trash can, which she then torched. Police said Neely’s body was found in a lit trash can in the parking lot behind a Phoenix church, and the trash can was later described as being behind a church. Investigators said the trash can was set on fire after Simpson borrowed a car and drove to a church area near Ninth and Peoria avenues.

Simpson said her earlier implication that she had killed before was false. She said she regretted not killing a second victim, an alleged arm robber, and said she “just didn’t have time” and “had to go somewhere.”

Investigation

Phoenix Police investigators called the murder one of the worst crimes they had seen.

Authorities identified Neely by fingerprints. Witnesses called police after finding Neely’s motorized scooter at a nearby apartment complex.

Investigators searched apartments at the complex and found that the carpet had been removed and bloodstains around the apartment. A blood sample from the apartment matched a blood sample from the victim.

A witness said he saw smoke coming from the apartment and saw a City of Phoenix trash can in the kitchen.

Phoenix authorities said Simpson thought Neely was a police snitch working with law enforcement, but they said Neely did not work with them as an informant.

Court documents and police statements described Simpson luring Terry Neely to a vacant apartment on the 9600 block of N 12th Ave for sex, after which Simpson turned violent. Investigators said Simpson hit Neely with a tire iron and stabbed him at least 50 times with multiple knives.

Investigators said Neely’s body had a coaxial cable wrapped around his neck and that a 3-inch nail was pounded into his head with a hammer. Investigators said Neely’s arms and legs were removed from his torso before he was dumped in a trash bin left burning near 9th and Peoria avenues.

Police said Simpson allegedly committed a robbery along with Edward McFarland, known as “Cracker,” and that Simpson threatened to kill a witness if he told police.

Arrest

Phoenix police arrested Simpson after piecing together clues for two weeks following the discovery of the dismembered body burned inside a trash bin.

Simpson was already in jail when police talked to her about Neely, and she had an unrelated armed robbery charge pending at that time.

Investigators arrested Simpson after firefighters discovered Neely’s body in a burning trash can. Detectives arrested her two weeks later after finding the body, according to reporting that detectives arrested Simpson two weeks after Neely’s body was found.

Police arrested Simpson on August 19, 2009.

Authorities also arrested Edward McFarland, 36, for allegedly helping Simpson dispose of Neely’s body.

Trial

Simpson was slated to appear before a judge in Maricopa County Superior Court for a video arraignment.

A grand jury indicted Simpson’s charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping on August 27. Subsequent charging references included abandonment or concealment of a dead body.

In jailhouse interviews, Simpson explained her actions and maintained that she had no remorse.

Verbatim quotes

• Angela Simpson told 3TV in a jailhouse interview shortly after her arrest: “I beat him to death. ... I killed him and cut him up”
• Simpson said about the mirror: “He needed to see what he deserved.”
• When asked why she killed Terry Neely, Simpson said: “I don't want my children or the people I consider family to be in a place where there are snitches”
• Simpson stated: “I'm a little upset that I won't be able to, you know, kill more snitches, but I have no remorse about killing him [Neely],”
• Simpson said about guilt: “Guilty? For ridding the world of a snitch? No, I don't feel guilty,”
• Simpson said about snitches and killing: “I believe informants and child molesters should be killed ... period,”
• In response to a question about earlier implications of killing before, Simpson answered: “Right,”
• Simpson said about regretting not killing a second victim: “I just didn't have time. I had to go somewhere,” and “I should have killed him when I had the go.”
• Asked about spending the rest of her life in prison, Simpson answered: “You know I've got a lot of family in prison ... I'm OK with that,” followed by “I'm OK with that. I've got many sisters in prison. I can't wait to see 'em. It's really not that much of a punishment to be sentenced to spend my life with my family.”
• Simpson stated on whether she would kill again: “If the opportunity arises, I hope so,”
• When asked about the death penalty, Simpson said: “I prefer to spend my life with my sisters,” and “I do believe that [the death penalty] would have been justice.”

Sentencing

Judge Paul McMurdie sentenced Angela Simpson to natural life in prison for first-degree murder plus 14 additional years on remaining charges.

The sentencing news described the sentence as natural life, meaning she would die in prison and be ineligible for commutation, parole, work furlough, work release, or release from confinement on any basis under Arizona Revised Statutes 13-751.

In jailhouse interviews on the day of sentencing, Simpson said she would have preferred to have kept Neely alive and tortured him for a week.

Simpson said she believed she deserved the death penalty but was happy with her sentence.

Appeals

No appeals were stated in the provided material.

Outcome

Simpson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and later was sentenced to natural life in prison plus 14 additional years.

Other details

Victim and crime-scene details

• Terry Neely’s body was found in a burning trash can in the parking lot behind a Phoenix church.
• Reporting described Neely as 46 years old and described him as a disabled man in a wheelchair.
• Neely’s motorized wheelchair was described as missing from the scene.
• Investigators were asking for assistance in finding the motorized wheelchair and requested information about Neely’s death.

Motive and disputed points at the time

• Simpson told interviewers she believed Neely was a “snitch.”
• Phoenix authorities said Neely did not work with them as an informant.