Gay husband's three-time plot to kill his wife.

After his failed attempt to scare his wife into causing an accident by putting rats in her car, Michael Ratley set his house on fire, but neighbors arrived too quickly, forcing him to rush into the flames to rescue them.

Michael RaileyEffie and Michael met by chance when her car broke down and Michael stopped to help. They developed feelings for each other and started dating. A year and a half later, they married, but divorced after only three months. Less than a year later, they remarried and lived in a mobile home next to Michael's parents' house in Bryceville, Florida. Sometime later, Effie gave birth to their son, Aiden.

A few weeks after the joyous arrival of their new family member, tragedy struck. One night in December 2006, their house suddenly caught fire. Michael quickly got Aiden out, but Effie was trapped inside. Michael broke a window to rescue Effie. There were no casualties, but their house was damaged beyond repair. The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical malfunction, specifically a faulty smoke detector.

They moved in temporarily with Michael's parents. Effie was given a room on the first floor. Everyone helped Michael's family get back on track after the accident. But about a month later, tragedy struck again.

Effie's wife.

Michael told police that he was sleeping with his son in the living room when he heard noises coming from his wife's bedroom. He went in to check and found the window open and his wife lying in bed with multiple injuries. Effie was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Police determined she had been struck seven times on the head with a blunt object, causing severe skull damage. Images of the skull showed the perpetrator had acted with extreme brutality. Four days later, doctors announced that the injuries were too severe and Effie passed away.

According to police, the perpetrator entered and exited through Effie's bedroom window while everyone was asleep. Outside, they found a cut pane of glass. Inside, Effie's blood was splattered on the wall near the bed. Michael's parents said they heard nothing until Michael woke them up.

The night before the incident, Michael claimed he noticed someone attempting to break into his house and was attacked while checking around. Michael stated that he was knocked unconscious and therefore didn't get a good look at the intruder.

Authorities say that around the same time this incident occurred, about 40 miles away, a woman was raped in her own home. A week earlier, another woman was attacked at a convenience store.

The police suspected that the attacks were all carried out by one person. But they found an anomaly when the killer broke into Effie's room. That night, it was very cold and foggy, but they found no traces in the garden or in the bedroom. A laundry basket lay right in front of the window, the dust on the window frame appearing untouched.

The assumption that the attacker was there for robbery was also ruled out because the wallet was still intact near the window. He also had no intention of sexually assaulting Effie. Investigators found a DVD player, a bottle of lubricant, and several adult films for gay men in the closet.

The police became suspicious about Michael and Effie's marital relationship. They suspected Michael was having an affair and wanted to get away from his wife. Checking Michael's phone, the police discovered he was frequently in contact with a 35-year-old high school teacher.

Michael's friends said he often spoke ill of his wife. He even said he hated her and was incapable of raising their children. Michael's mother recounted that once, a rat, her pet, was stuffed in Effie's car.I was very scared. I almost...EffieThe accident occurred due to a sudden fright. Additionally, Effie had a $150,000 insurance policy with Michael as the primary beneficiary.

Michael's sister, who lives across the street, also heard no strange noises that night. She and Effie kept eight hunting dogs in a small yard, and two were allowed to roam freely. There was no dog barking at the time of the crime.

Hung committed the crime.

Reconstructing the scene and focusing on the bloodstains, the police concluded that blood had splattered on the perpetrator. Checking Michael's coat at the time, they found no traces of blood, nor in the house. However, in Michael's car, police found a hammer, a utility knife, a burnt piece of electrical wire, blood-stained toilet paper, and several pairs of rubber and work gloves in a compartment in the back seat.

The electrical wire was the same wire from the couple's former mobile home. The bloodstain on the hammer was Effie's, and it matched the shape of the wound on her head. The blood on the toilet paper was also Effie's. The police found no traces of foul play on the work gloves. Michael also said he was shocked to see those things in his car and that someone had put them there to harm him. However, when the police examined the rubber gloves, they found Michael's DNA inside.

With compelling evidence found, the husband confessed. The truth gradually came to light.

According to CNN, Michael had planned to kill Effie not just once. The first time, he put rats in Effie's car to scare her into causing an accident. The second time, he sabotaged the smoke detector and then set the house on fire. The husband took the baby outside, leaving Effie inside. However, because people arrived quickly, he had to stage a rescue by smashing the car window. The third time, he pretended to be attacked by a stranger, and then carried out the murder the following night...

On the night of the crime, January 27, 2007, Ratley had already cut the mesh screen covering the outside of Effie's bedroom window. Waiting until his wife was asleep, the husband took off his robe and put on gloves... to commit the crime. Because blood splattered on him, he used toilet paper to wipe it clean and then put his robe back on.RatleyAfter hiding the evidence in the car, they pretended to shout for help and report the incident...

Ratley wantsThey want to end the marriage but don't want a divorce because they fear having to provide for their children until they turn 18.RatleyHe was charged with first-degree murder and faces a life sentence.

According to VNE