Murder in Pleasant Valley: Susan Fassett, Fred Andros & Dawn Silvernail
To family members, Susan Fassett was the blue-eyed, blond-haired daughter of a dairy farmer, the perfect mother of two wonderful boys, the pretty wife of a local, well-respected police officer, a very active member of her church and well-known at her job as the Town of Poughkeepsie (New York) personnel assistant.
After leaving her house on a cool October night in 1999, smiling, telling her son she’d see him later, Susan drove to choir practice at Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, where Pastor Ted Norelius oversaw to a flock of faithful, Susan being one of his most devout.
As Susan was getting into her car minutes after choir practice ended, her church peers inside, picking up after practice, several later reported hearing “loud pops” coming from the parking lot across the street.
Richard O’Hearn was one of the first to run outside and, looking across the street from the church into the gravel parking lot, a lamplight hanging almost directly over Susan’s car, he could see someone on the ground and a car—some sort of station wagon— speeding away.
“She was really having a hard time breathing,” O’Hearn said later.
By now, O’Hearn was holding Susan’s head in his lap. “She was moaning a lot. It was an awful sound.”
Some time later, 48-year-old Susan died.
Her church family was stunned.
Her family, of course, devastated.
The murder shook the small rural town of Pleasant Valley—but also opened a Pandora’s box of long held secrets, corruption, an affair between two women and a man, and the story of how people in a smalltown deal with what turns into a tragedy marred with salacious details and an unlikely female killer.
I’ve been researching this on and off all summer, conducting interviews, collecting documents and reaching out to people involved. I had planned on moving onto the Christopher Porco case in Albany, NY, this fall, but have been leaning away from it—at least for now.
If anyone has any information about the Susan Fassett murder case in Pleasant Valley (Poughkeepsie), New York, involving Fred Andros, Dawn Silvernail and a host of other players, I encourage you contact me immediately at mwilliamphelps@comcast.net
This is my next project. I’ll be going fulltime on it in about a week. Hope to hear from new sources soon.
October 1st, 2007 at 8:23 am
It’s amazing how they used phone and other electronic records to get a conviction. In the day and age of high technology criminals just don’t know what LE can do anymore. Web Enabled Timeline Analysis System
This is a very interesting case in how it was solved. It’s amazing how far corrupt government employees can go to cover their own asses.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:01 am
I loved that part. Busted by EZPass
October 1st, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Sounds like a great one Matt.
Albany is only 45 minutes from where I grew up. And Poughkeepsie…. I remember when my brothers and I were acting up as children, my mom would yell “you kids are gonna put me in Poughkeepie”… we never knew what that meant, but I guess there must be a “nut house” there.
Good luck on the book.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I am very impressed with your writing style and just the overall feel of your writing. I can’t wait until you get all those salacious details together, because I’ll be standing in line for that book!
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Wow, you have got my interest in this case. I can hardly wait to read the book.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 pm
This should be a good one.
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:49 am
ohhh matt this sounds not only good but the location is beautiful. My family used to have a summer house in Poughkeepsie. Can’t wait to read this! I’ve just advertised Sleep in Heavenly Peace on my myspace blog for ya cause I can’t put it down! you and Gregg should check out the video blogs they are hilarious. People freaked because I didn’t post any at all yesterday!
June 27th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Please leave this alone…too many people have already been negatively affected by this monster…please don’t reopen the wounds
June 30th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
You’ve got a long way to go to get up to speed on this case. There was never any proof (or even any decent evidence) of a relationship of any kind between the two women. And the photo above. I don’t know who she is, but that is not a picture of Susan Fassett, the victim. If I were you, I’d fahgedaboudit.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:55 am
I am just starting to read Deadly Secerts I BELIVE THIS MAN HAS A VERY SICK MIND. These poor ladies had no idea what they were up against.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:01 am
The family of Susan should know that Dawn Silvernail is suffering mentally and is physically falling apart.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Hi – I am an actress who will be playing Fred Andros’ wife Susan for a tv show coming up – just a coupld of scenes but I would love any info or description you could give me
thanks
August 9th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Almost done the book! What an interesting story! Fred is a sick man!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I am already halfway through this book and I only bought it 2 days ago (I also work full time and have 2 kids and 2 dogs so that tells you something about how interesting the book is!) and so far I am riveted. M William Phelps is in the same league (and often even a league of his own!) as true crime writers like Ann Rule, Jerry Bledsoe, Vincent Bugliosi and of course Gregg Olsen. I also bought another of his new books, can’t recall the title just now. He can’t write fast enough for me; that is my only complaint!!
January 2nd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
What a great book! Read it twice now. I am truly torn up by the deep, deep emotional pain that has effected, and will continue to effect, everyone truly close to this story.
On a side note, after reading the comments posted here, I’d like to make two comments.
Firstly, Susan *never* was Fred Andros’s wife so I think the person claiming to play Susan in an upcoming TV show should at least get their facts straight before claiming something such as that to get information. And secondly, while I do have compassion for Mrs. Silvernail because I truly believe she was manipulated by this man on some level and that she is remorseful and truly sorry for what she did, that’s what taking a life does to you. It tears you up. She took a life, now her life is ruined. It’s sad, but true.
I’m sorry if I seem negative and a bit cynical, but years of serving as a paramedic and law enforcer has made me that way.