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Debbie Schum and Laura Lee Johnson were friends for 25 years. In 2015, Laura told Debbie she'd been diagnosed with bladder cancer. When Laura could no longer live on her own, they discussed hospice options. So Debbie said, come live with me. Hospice doctors and nurses would come to them. She was all pleased and thank you and very grateful for everything,. Every spoonful of soup that I gave her, every time I arranged the blankets, she was funny too.

Debbie Schum waited a long time to receive the cremated ashes of her friend, LoraLee Johnson. When she did, she felt relieved to finally take them home with her. But then, she got a call from the FBI.

We first aired this episode in 2020. Earlier this month, Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were sentenced for their crimes. We've included updates about the case in this version of the episode.

To learn more, check out Elena Saavedra Buckley’s article, “‘None of this happened the way you think it did.’”

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