The Most Shocking Part of 'Dirty John' Is the Tragic Death of Debra Newell's Sister

From Cosmopolitan

If you have a TV and a love for drama, chances are you're completely obsessed with Dirty John. The Bravo series stars Connie Britton (sorry, Golden Globe nominee Connie Britton) and is based on 2017's most addictive podcast-the thing is, it's also based on real life.

Dirty John tells the story of Debra Newell, a wealthy Orange County woman who fell in love with a con-artist named John Meehan. Their whole relationship is fascinating, disturbing, horrifying, and a million other dramatic adjectives, but the show also touches on another tragic subject: the death of Debra's sister Cindi, which happened before John even entered the picture.

FYI, this is *technically* a spoiler zone for those of you watching Dirty John. So on that note:

Like Debra, Cindi fell in love with the wrong man-but that's an understatement. According to the reporting of Dirty John podcast host Christopher Goffard, Cindi met her husband Billy Vickers when she was just a teenager and he was a supermarket manager. They had two kids together and her family loved him. Everything seemed fine, until it wasn't.

Billy allegedly became controlling and possessive, and Cindi understandably decided she wanted a divorce. His reaction? To borrow a friend's gun and shoot Cindi in the head on March 8, 1984. Then he shot himself in the stomach and called 911. Billy was charged with first degree murder, but unfortunately this story does not end with him going to jail for the rest of his life.

Cindi's death is shocking, sure, but her family's reaction is just plain wild. Her mother Arlane was (and is-she's still alive) a deeply religious person who believed in turning the other cheek. Yep, even when it came to the person who murdered her child. Not only did Arlane forgive Billy, she straight-up testified on his behalf.

Goffard reports that Arlane felt that Billy hadn't been in his "right mind" when he shot Cindi, and if you're fully shook by this, imagine how the prosecutor must've felt. Actually, the prosecutor told Goffard exactly how he felt, saying, "They threw her under the bus. I don’t know the dynamics of the family. I could never understand that. Why say bad things about the victim?"

Here's Arlane explaining her decision: "[Billy] said, 'How could you love me? How could you?' And I said, 'God has given that love to us for you. We love you, and we forgive you.' And he just sobbed and he cried."

Thanks in part to Arlane, Billy was acquitted of murder and he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He got a five-year sentence, but ended up spending just under three years in jail. And while Billy didn't agree to be interviewed by Goffard, these days he's reportedly remarried and living in Orange County. Debra even runs into him at church every now and then, though-unlike her mother-she's never forgiven him.

That would be Joe Tippett, aka this guy:

You might know Joe from the short-lived show Rise, but fun irrelevant fact for ya: he's Sara Bareilles' IRL boyfriend. On that note, make sure to watch Dirty John Sunday at 10:00 pm ET to see how this all plays out on screen. Shudder.

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