Episode 18- Susan Fassett: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, and Murder

On October 28, 1999, Susan Fassett was gunned down as she was entering her jeep to head home from choir practice. Investigators would get more than they bargained for as they searched for answers as to who killed Susan. This is a tale of love, betrayal, corruption, extortion, political scandal, and a twisted love triangle that shattered multiple families.

Susan Elizabeth Tabor was born in Pawling, New York on February 26, 1951. Susan was born to William and Helen Taber and grew up on a farm. She was close with her father growing up and dreamed of being a teacher like her mother. However, growing up in 60’s and 70’s she knew that it was not a good time to be a teacher, there were far more teachers than there were jobs, the odds might not be in her favor so instead, she found a desk job and ended up moving to Poughkeepsie, New York. Oh twisted fate… it makes me sad to think about how one decision impacts your life so heavily. One day in the mid 1970’s, she met a man named Jef in a bar, and they fell in love and would get married. Jef worked as a police officer in Poughkeepsie and was a bit of an opposite in personality to Susan. Susan was very personable, social, and liked to get out and travel. She was also very involved in the church and was part of the church choir. I wish I could say that things were perfect in the home, but then I wouldn’t be telling you about this case. Susan despite being social and more extroverted, also was one to not really share her feelings and concerns. She felt like she didn’t want to burden anyone, so she just kept them to herself. When Susan and the boys would go do things, like go to the city to see a ball game or go out on other trips and errands, Jef preferred to stay home alone which likely bothered Susan. She didn’t talk about these concerns with Jef. There is one person who likely picked up on this and unfortunately took advantage of the situation to insert himself into Susan’s life. Susan would end up starting an affair with a man that she met at work, Fred Andros… and this would prove to be her undoing.

Fred Andros was said to be… basically an asshole… he was arrogant, a womanizer, manipulative, controlling, and condescending. He was also described by the Town Hall employees as not being able to speak with women without making disgusting sexual comments or trying to make a pass at them. He was a short man, standing about 5 foot seven and wore heeled cowboy boots to give him a little more height, along with that he wore outdated western shirts and jeans, and kept his hair slicked back. Fred Andros grew up in Poughkeepsie and had gotten into trouble during his teens for petty crimes like burglary. He dreamed of making it big as a “mafia-type” badass and from the sounds of it he was trying very, very hard to put on this persona. People at Town Hall had a saying, “you don’t say know to Freddy. You just don’t.” Fred was married; he was on his fourth wife, Diane, when he met Susan. He had multiple children with different partners... Besides the multiple failed marriages, Fred basically kept two mistresses at any given time, had multiple one-night stands, and he very frequently picked up women who engaged in sex work. One source said he spent hundreds of dollars on sex workers a day. 

Dawn Silvernail was Fred Andro’s other mistress; they had actually been in a relationship for about twenty years at this point. Dawn and Fred had met over CB radio- she had the handle DeltaDawn and Fred had the handle Neptune. They became friends chatting over CB radio for a while before finally meeting in a dive bar. Dawn would moonlight in local bars and nightclubs as a country/western singer and by day she worked with individuals with developmental disabilities. Many of her co-workers described her as an angel. She had grown up fishing, hunting, and doing the like. Dawn was married to her second husband when she started the affair with Fred, and things were not going great. Fred clearly had a knack for picking up on this sort of thing and taking advantage of it to insert himself into the situation. Fred would extort Dawn into gunning down his other mistress in a twisted tale of blackmail and manipulation. 

Episode Sources:

Associate Press. (2001, February 24). Former Water Official Convicted of Murder. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/24/nyregion/former-water-official-convicted-of-murder.html

Chen, D. W. (2000, July 8). Sentencing of Ex-G.O.P. Head Caps Scandal in Dutchess County. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/08/nyregion/sentencing-of-ex-gop-head-caps-scandal-in-dutchess-county.html

Davis, J., & Stewart, E. (2014, March 22). Disgraced Republican giant William Paroli Sr. dies at 86. Retrieved from Poughkeepsie Journal: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2014/03/22/william-paroli-sr-controversial-former-gop-leader-has-died/6730283/

National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center. (2002). Time Proves the Crime. Retrieved from TECH Beat: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/nlectc/211888.pdf

Packer, H., & Packer, D. (2020). Love Triangle: The Murder of Susan Fassett. Mountain Murders. Mountain Murders Podcast.

Silvernail, D. (2009, October 25). A Murder in Pleasant Valley. (P. Zahn, Interviewer)

Obituary for Fred A. Andros (2002). Poughkeepsie Journal. Pg. 4B Retrieved from: ⁠https://www.newspapers.com/article/poughkeepsie-journal-obituary-for-fred-a/46866361/⁠

Dowling, P. (Producer) (2010, October 22) Forensic Files: Three’s a Crowd. Season 14, Episode 4. [Television Broadcast]

Katie & Whitney. (2020, April 10) Breaking Dawn: Murder of Susan Fassett. True Crime Campfire. Spreaker Prime Network.