MURDERED: Heather Strong Part 01 | Marion County, Florida 2009

On a February evening in 2009, a young mother vanished from rural Marion County, Florida, lured to a storage trailer by promises that masked a deadly betrayal. What investigators would uncover weeks later would reveal a calculated murder born from a toxic love triangle and a bitter custody battle.

VICTIM PROFILE:

Heather Strong was 26 years old, a hardworking mother of two young children, McKinzie and Zachary. She worked the morning shift at the Iron Skillet restaurant in Reddick, Florida, supporting her family through the service industry. Those who knew her described a woman caught in a turbulent on-again, off-again relationship with Joshua Fulgham, a pattern that had defined much of her adult life. Despite the instability, Heather remained devoted to her children and had recently begun building a new life away from Fulgham's control.

THE CRIME:

On February 15, 2009, Heather was lured to a storage trailer in Boardman by her estranged husband Joshua Fulgham and his pregnant girlfriend Emilia Carr under the pretense of retrieving money. Once inside, she was bound to a chair with duct tape while Fulgham confronted her about custody papers for their children. The attack escalated when a plastic bag was placed over her head and sealed with tape around her neck. Medical examiners determined she suffocated over approximately five agonizing minutes while fully conscious. Her body was buried in a shallow grave on the property, where it remained undiscovered for over a month.

THE INVESTIGATION:

When Heather's cousin Misty Strong reported her missing on February 24, 2009, Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies began canvassing her known associates. The trail led quickly to Joshua Fulgham and the volatile history between the couple, including his January 2009 arrest for pointing a shotgun at Heather. Through persistent interviews, Emilia Carr's story unraveled, eventually leading investigators to the burial site on March 19, 2009, where Heather's decomposed remains were unearthed.

CURRENT STATUS:

Both perpetrators were convicted. Emilia Carr was initially sentenced to death in 2011, but following the U.S. Supreme Court's Hurst v. Florida ruling, she was resentenced to life without parole in 2017. Joshua Fulgham received life without parole in 2012. Both remain incarcerated in the Florida correctional system. Heather's two children were adopted into new families following the murder.

AUDIO NOTE:

This episode features detailed accounts of the crime reconstructed from court testimonies, confessions, and forensic evidence. Listener discretion is advised.

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