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On November 10, 2018, Amy Mullis was found lying face down with a corn rake sticking out of her back at her farm in Earlville, Iowa. She was declared dead at the hospital.
At the time, her husband Todd claimed that Amy had died from a freak accident, but autopsy reports suggested otherwise, deducing that it was a homicide.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Todd was the person behind the murder of his wife. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The chilling details of this harrowing murder will be investigated in Investigation Discovery's true-crime series, 48 Hours. The episode, titled The Corn Rake Murder, aired on January 26.
Here's the full synopsis of the episode:
"Todd Mullis found his wife, Amy, dead in their barn with a corn rake sticking in her back and claims it was a freak accident; Todd has an alibi: his 13-year-old son was working with him on the farm that day."
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of murder. Discretion is advised.
5 crucial details about the Amy Mullis murder
1) Mullis was found with a corn rake sticking out of her
When Amy’s 13-year-old son Trysten went inside a shed to check for a baby carrier, he found his mom lying with her face down and a corn rake sticking out of her back. The panicked son immediately informed his father about the ordeal, who loaded Mullis onto his truck and drove her to the Regional Medical Center in Manchester, where she was declared dead.
Upon questioning, Trysten recalled his mother not feeling well on the morning of the incident. Todd asked her to get some rest. The father-son duo worked for almost an hour before Todd left to get the carrier. The carrier was not kept in the place where Mullis was supposed to keep it, so he asked Trysten to check for it in the red shed. It was at this time that he saw Amy's impaled body.
2) The corn rake had four prongs but Mullis had six wounds
Todd claimed that Mullis' death was caused by a freak accident.
He told the investigators that Mullis fell on the rack by accident, but when the matter was closely looked at, they found six wound marks on her back. This was suspicious because the rack sticking out of her had only four prongs. Thus, authorities figured out that Todd was clearly lying.
3) Todd was found guilty
Upon further investigation, investigators concluded that it was Todd who killed his wife.
Todd was found guilty of his wife's murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He also has to pay restitution worth $150,000.
4) The couple had a troubled relationship
Although the couple seemed happy on the surface, there were underlying issues. In 2013, Todd found his wife cheating on him. In May 2018, Amy allegedly had an affair with Jerry Frashe, the farm's manager.
Amy's brother Jerry stated that his sister was not happy in her marriage. There were times when she even claimed that she felt like a "slave" in the relationshop:
“She said she felt like a slave or a hostage around there. She said she was wanting(to leave Todd). One time, she said if he ever found out (about the affair,) she would disappear.”
5) Todd feared losing $2 million from the farm trust
Mullis' brother claimed that his sister wanted to divorce Todd but he had a lot to lose from the divorce. Not only would Amy get $2 million from the farm trust, she would also get half of the couple's landholdings.
