TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: PAZUZU ALAGARD

Ninetoes reminds us that humans are the most dangerous animals alive, with a case that shocked North Carolina, the US, and the world.

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with the Case of Pazuzu Alagard. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

John Alexander Lawson was born on August 12, 1978, to parents Timothy and Cynthia Lawson. At the time of his birth, they lived in San Francisco, California, but by 1980, the family had moved to North Carolina. John was left behind in the second grade, forcing him to retake it the next year. His parents constantly argued at home, and they would soon split up. His father moved back to California, leaving John and his mother in North Carolina. When he was twelve years old, his mother remarried, and the newly formed family moved to Clemmons, North Carolina. By the time he was thirteen years old, John began to drink heavily, often polishing off a twelve-pack of beer a day. He had to repeat the ninth grade…twice, and on the second go around, he dropped out of school entirely. He did not find a job, but sold (and took) drugs to get by.

It was around this time that his interest in the occult grew.

When he was twenty-four years old, he legally changed his name from John Alexanfer Lawson to Pazuzu Illah Algorad (Pazuzu- King of Demons, Illah- God of, Algorad- Locusts). It was around this time that he became increasingly agoraphobic; he was increasingly scared to be around other people, and he became a recluse. It was also around this time that his mother and stepfather divorced. Pazuzu and his mother were left to fend for themselves. Shortly after this, Pazuzu was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. He was prescribed medication for these conditions, but these medications would soon be abused.

Drugs became his only currency. Satanic tattoos appeared all over his face and body. He braided metal into his hair and carved the number 666 into his skin. He filed his teeth to points and split his tongue in two. He stopped showering and brushing his teeth, thinking this gave him extra Satanic powers. On the full moon of every month, his mother would go to the pet store to buy him a rabbit. He would take the rabbit to the Yadkin River, sacrifice it, then eat its heart.

Even though he was agoraphobic, he did have some friends and female partners. His main partner was Amber Burch, but she also went by the name “Bubbles”. Pazuzu became increasingly interested in Charles Manson and decided to create his own “family”. His mother was content to keep herself in her bedroom and ensuite and gave Pazuzu the run of the entire house. Another woman, Crystal Matlock, would join Pazuzu and Amber. He would refer to them as his fiancées. The house soon became trashed. He would leave litter, animal droppings, and even his own excrement all over the place.

Pazuzu’s house soon became known as the place without laws or rules. He would have drug-fueled parties and orgies there, and nothing was off the table. It was during these parties that he would tell his friends of how he murdered other people and claimed to have eaten parts of their bodies. His friends would think he was making these stories up, but he would be absolutely stone-cold about these facts. He would continue to ramble on about killing people, and at one point, he claimed to have a dead body in his basement that he covered up with cat litter and bleach.

Even though they were as high as Pazuzu, one of his friends paid attention. She remembered what he said about killing people. She also remembered seeing several members of his “family” acting suspiciously with a shovel. It was August 3^rd, 2009, and this person notified the police, and they met in a trailer park. She told the police that Pazuzu claimed to have buried a body in his backyard. The police investigated by going to Pazuzu and asking if these allegations were true and if they could look around. Pazuzu told them, “No” to both questions.

And that was that. The police left with no further investigations.

On September 24, 2009, an anonymous tip came in with the same information. The police did nothing with this information.

Pazuzu’s friend became uneasy with the whole situation and decided to get more proof. She went back to Pazuzu’s place and brought in a secret recording device, and she was able to obtain verbal confirmation that Pazuzu and his family killed someone. She brought the recording to the police. The police went back to Pazuzu’s place with a warrant and cadaver dogs in the backyard and found nothing.

On June 7^th, 2010, the body of a man named Joseph Chandler was found by the Yadkin River. The police soon linked his death to one of Pazuzu’s friends, Nicholas Rizzi. The police charged Pazuzu with accessory to murder. In the end, he was given five years’ probation.

Pazuzu’s luck runs out in 2014. One of his parties was in full swing, and he approached a friend, Matt Flowers, and asked him for help in killing someone at the party. Matt declined and went to the alleged target and told him to get out of there. Matt went to the police the next day and told them his concerns about Pazuzu. What lent believability to Matt’s story is the fact that he was a war veteran.

On October 14^th, 2010, the police brought a second warrant to Pazuzu’s house. Pazuzu, his mother, and his friends were ordered to vacate the premises while the police executed the search warrant on the house. The police were not prepared for the state of the house when they entered. As mentioned before, it was horrendous. Garbage, excrement, both animal and human, drawing in blood on the wall and the God-awful scent that hung in the air. At times, it was impossible to see the floor for the garbage.

When the police searched the backyard (again), they found some areas of interest to dig. The bodies of two men, Josh Wetzler and Tommy Welsh, were found. The men were buried in separate shallow graves. There is no clear motive as to why Pazuzu killed Josh Wetzler, but he did shoot him in the head and wore his bloody bandana as a trophy.

Tommy Welsh was picked up by Amber at a gas station. He went to Pazuzu’s house with her, drank a few beers, and then was shot in the head by Amber, who used a .22 rifle to do the job. The bodies were in the backyard the whole time.

Pazuzu and Amber were both charged with one count of murder and one count of accessory after the fact. It was also learned that Pazuzu’s mother, Cynthis, was in the house at the time of the murders, and she was aware of what was going on. At one point, she came out of her room to see Pazuzu standing over the corpse of Tommy Welsh, and she never reported it. She just turned around and went back to her room to get ready for work. Pazuzu’s mother was never charged.

Pazuzu avoided his time in the public spotlight and trial. On October 28, 2015, he took his life in prison, leaving Amber Burch to face trail alone. After she was made aware of the seriousness of the possible sentence she could face, she entered a plea deal of pleading guilty to second-degree murder, armed robbery, and accessory after the fact.

The judge sentenced her to 39 years in prison.

She can possibly be released in the year 2045.

Until the next time, I bid you happy investigating.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.