Everyone had numerous doubts after Marie Carlson sudden disappearance in October 2011. The authorities initially didn’t go very far, and it almost seemed as though she had abruptly disappeared from the face of the earth.
On July 22, 2022, NBC Dateline aired a show titled “Secrets on the Emerald Coast,” exploring the unresolved 2011 case in further detail.
Dick Wolf, the creator of Law & Order and his television show Cold Justice resolved the case.
Investigating “Forbidden: Dying for Love: The Book of James,” Discovery shows how the police caught the culprit after years, giving the family closure.
Who was Marie Carlson?
According to her loved ones, Marie Jane Carlson, an adventurous woman, was born in 1974 and originally from the Philippines.
She enjoyed cooking and singing at karaoke parties. She also cherished her job in the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, her justice was delayed.
Marie was a mother of two and was 37 years old when she disappeared. She had her first child with Jeff Carlson, her ex-husband.
She was also in a polygamous relationship (with his wife Tanya) and had a newborn daughter with a preacher called James Flanders.
Flanders last saw Marie on October 17, 2011. Her family got a mysterious message two days later about her going to pursue her lifelong dream.
Marie’s family remained unsettled and suspicious, and Jeff eventually filed a missing person’s report on October 24, 2011, as a result.
How did Marie Carlson pass away?
The Philippines was Carlson’s birthplace. She was born in 1974 and cherished her career in criminal justice.
Close ones remembered the 37-year-old as someone who enjoyed cooking and karaoke nights.
At the time of her disappearance, she had a newborn daughter with pastor James Flanders and a daughter with her ex-husband, Jeff Carlson.
Marie Carlson lived in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at the time, and she was polygamously involved with James and Tanya, his wife. James last saw Marie on October 17, 2011.
Her loved ones learned, via an enigmatic message, that she had departed to pursue her lifelong dream about two days later.
The family took issue with this, and on October 24, 2011, Jeff finally filed a missing person’s report for Marie.
The officials verified she never left the area, even though her automobile was found at the nearby airport.
Then, in 2015, more evidence led to the discovery of Marie’s remains buried in a Fort Walton Beach home’s backyard.
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Who killed Marie Carlson?
Authorities first suspected James. He left home between 6 and 7 p.m. on October 17. Tanya was out with the baby at around the same time.
However, Marie was nowhere to be found, and her car was gone when James returned.
Even yet, he never considered filing a missing person’s report. Because Marie’s possessions were still at home and her bank accounts were still stocked with money, the authorities were dubious about her sudden departure.
But without a body and any other proof, the case dried up. James and Tanya moved to Arizona in the middle of the night with the baby, around three months after Marie vanished.
The case didn’t gain momentum until April 2015, over four years later, when it was discussed on “Cold Justice.” it prompted more scrutiny and more proof to be directed against James.
Marie’s phone was found to have never left Fort Walton Beach by the authorities. In exchange for a reduced sentence, James eventually admitted to killing Marie and promised to show the police where the body was.
When James gave Marie a bear hug and didn’t let go until she stopped breathing, he claimed to the police that they were fighting over how to raise their child.
But James asserted that he had choked her during a psychiatrist’s session. Before relocating to Arizona, he buried Marie in the backyard and filed to have her parental rights revoked in 2013.
Carlson’s husband and children
Marie had one marriage that ended in divorce before passing. ParisHer two children, Carlson and Grace Flanders, were also left behind.
Jeff Carlson was the first husband of Marie Carlson. She was in her late 20s when she met her partner.
After falling in love, they welcomed Paris Carlson as their first child. The union of Jeff and Carlson ended in divorce.
The couple’s problems led to their divorce. They consequently had to battle for Paris, their daughter’s custody.
But because she enjoyed traveling, she let her ex-husband stay with her daughter. She continued to have a positive relationship with Jeff and contacted Paris frequently, even after the divorce and loss of custody of her daughter.
Marie Carlson was adopted into the family by James Flanders and his spouse. Marie consequently informed her family that the church had become her spiritual home.
Flanders and Carlson’s relationship became increasingly contentious. It resulted in Marie’s final murder and the birth of a child named Grace Flanders.
Where is James Flanders now?
James ultimately entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter, and in July 2016, he was given a maximum of 15 years in prison.
When Carlson died, and in the days and weeks that followed, James, then 47 years old, testified in court, saying, “he never imagined it was within him to fail and fall the way he did in every way.”
To forgive James Flanders would require a divine intervention. His whole life has been a terrible deception.
According to prison records, he is still jailed at Florida’s Madison Correctional Institution. His release date is set for 2028.
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