San Antonio woman’s 2003 murder featured in ‘Anatomy of Murder’ podcast
The most recent episode of national true crime podcast Anatomy of Murder opens the book on a San Antonio cold case murder that went unsolved for years because of assumed timelines and overlooked evidence. Save for an obituary published in June 2003, it was difficult to find news via general Google search on the murder of 50-year-old Susan Morris.
In the Tuesday, January 3 episode of Anatomy of Murder, hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger tell the story about Morris’ brutal murder that wasn’t solved until 11 years later thanks to now retired San Antonio police sergeant Lisa Miller who was working in the cold case unit in 2013.
Miller happened upon Morris’ cold case file while combing for similar details for a different murder case. Miller has “strong feelings” about how the original detectives handled the case, one of which was promoted so Morris’ murder was handed off to another detective. The file fell between the cracks.
“It almost looked to me like the new detective maybe got briefed on the case and just decided to leave it,” Miller says in the podcast.
What happened to Susan Morris?
Morris was the mother of a son and daughter. Miller describes her as “a very sweet lady” whose life mostly involved hanging out at the Jack In The Box near her apartment, ordering a small meal, and sitting outside so she could talk to people who came by. Morris was also a bit of a loner who did not come from much financial means and received public assistance.
On June 15, 2003, residents alerted the manager of Morris’ apartment complex of a foul odor coming from her unit. Morris’ body was discovered in her bedroom and her body had been there for some time. Miller and the podcast hosts go over the “gruesome and graphic” details of her apparent injuries and the state of her body, including items inserted into Morris’ body after death.
Miller knew from these details that she was dealing with a sex crime and particular type of suspect.
The confession
The strings eventually lead to a San Antonio man, Michael DeLeon, who was already in prison in Beeville for a different murder in February 2003. He confessed to Morris’ murder. Also, the loose timeline compiled by detectives in 2003 was built off of statements from unreliable witnesses didn’t fit with his confession because he was already arrested for the February murder.
Eventually, it was a key piece of evidence ignored by detectives that put DeLeon’s DNA at the scene and led to Miller charging him with Morris’ murder in 2014. Since he was already in prison, he was allowed to take a plea bargain that added 12 years to his 30-year sentence.
Miller was still concerned with the way the case was originally handled — details being overlooked or assumed. Weinberger says that he and his co-host Nicolazzi were not aware of any members of the San Antonio Police Department being disciplined.
“I think about Susan in particular. She was clearly vulnerable. In many ways she’s the type of person who had been sidelined by society,” Nicolazzi says on the podcast. “But of course her life matters the same as anyone else’s.”
“Anatomy of Murder” can be streamed on the podcast’s website as well as multiple platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and more.
