I Was a Suspect in My Dad’s Murder. Spoiler: Joseph DeAngelo Did It

Decades later, I’m still dealing with the shame.

The most shameful thing about the murder of my dad and stepmom, Lyman and Charlene Smith, was being a suspect. I can’t believe it happened. I still can’t believe the police thought I could do something so awful. My mom was my alibi that night, and she failed to remember I was home. When I walked in that night, she was in the bean bag chair watching Soap. She didn’t know I had gone into my room and jumped on the phone with my friend Kathy.

Mom had one job, and she blew it. Yes, I forgave her.

What happened next was completely my dad’s fault.

Not because he had been murdered, but because he taught me how to be a jackass.

The room was small but looked a lot like the rooms I had seen on television. Three walls and what I could only assume was a two-way mirror on the fourth wall. Behind the glass, I imagined there were law enforcement folks and my mom. I didn’t know my mom was there, but I figured she’d make her way in to watch.

In the middle of the room was a table and two chairs. One chair was facing the wall, the other was tucked under the table. On the table was a lie detector. It looked just like the kind you might see on Charlie’s Angels or the Rockford Files. I could see the little drum that fed the paper and the needle that would move back and forth. The machine was off as we got settled.