Joseph Myers, born in 1972, grew up in the small, rural town of Wayland, New York, where farming and close-knit community life prevailed. After a failed first marriage, he sought companionship online and, around 2005, connected with Irene, a woman from Tabuelan, Cebu, in the Philippines, born in 1979. Their online relationship blossomed, leading Joseph to travel to Cebu to meet Irene in person.

Deeply smitten, Joseph married Irene in the Philippines. He returned to New York and worked to bring her, along with her two children from a previous relationship, to the United States. While the timeline of Irene’s arrival is unclear, photos show her seemingly settled in New York by 2012. Her children remained in Cebu under the care of relatives, receiving financial support from Irene.

Determined to contribute financially and support her family back home, Irene obtained her green card and found work as a caregiver at an adult care center. She also learned to drive, adapting to her new life. The couple worked towards building a stable future, hoping eventually to bring Irene’s children to America.

Joseph had a long-standing close friendship with David O’Dell, a lifelong Wayland resident born in 1950. David, the youngest of seven siblings, lived alone in his late parents’ farmhouse on New Galen Road after caring for them until their passing. He worked odd jobs for neighbors, known as a kind handyman. Joseph and David often worked together as mechanics at Joseph’s shop.

When Irene arrived, Joseph introduced her to David, and the three formed a seemingly friendly bond, often sharing meals and celebrating occasions together. In late 2015, David, then 62, required major surgery. Irene, leveraging her caregiving experience, volunteered to look after him during his recovery.

Tragedy struck in the early hours of February 15, 2016. A passerby reported a house fire on New Galen Road around 4:40 a.m. Firefighters rushed to the scene, but the remote location delayed their arrival. By the time they reached David O’Dell’s farmhouse, it was fully engulfed in flames.

After extinguishing the blaze around 7 a.m., only rubble remained. Amidst the debris, firefighters made a grim discovery: a severely burned human body. The remains were confirmed to be David O’Dell. Initially, the fire seemed accidental.

David’s family mentioned they had warned him about using an old wood stove for heat during the frigid February weather. Investigators noted the fire appeared concentrated around the stove area.

However, a fire expert brought in to analyze the scene reached a different conclusion. Burn patterns indicated the fire started outside the stove, not within it. The expert detected the presence of an accelerant, likely gasoline, suggesting arson.

Furthermore, the autopsy revealed carbon monoxide in David’s lungs, proving he was alive when the fire started, though the severe burns obscured any other potential injuries.

Suspicion shifted from accident to foul play. Investigators interviewed Joseph and Irene Myers, as Irene was David’s caregiver and they were among the last known people to see him. Irene stated she last saw David on the afternoon of February 14.

She described his behavior as increasingly erratic in the weeks prior, claiming he refused medication, experienced hallucinations (including hearing voices telling him to burn the house), and sometimes became aggressive.

Joseph claimed he last saw David a few days before the fire. He added a new detail: the day before the fire, he discovered David had stolen money from his office. Joseph alleged he confronted David, who admitted to the theft, leading Joseph to fire him from his part-time job at the shop. Joseph claimed David then expressed suicidal thoughts, saying he’d rather pass away if the Myers distanced themselves.

This narrative conveniently aligned with a potential suicide scenario, but investigators found it implausible, particularly the gruesome method suggested by the arson findings. They believed David O’Dell was taken from this world. Lacking physical evidence from the fire scene, they focused on interviewing David’s friends and family, hoping for leads.

Months passed with little progress until investigators uncovered crucial financial links. John Ceciliano, a neighbor, recalled David mentioning weeks before the fire that Irene had visited with numerous papers, including insurance documents. Police contacted insurance companies and made stunning discoveries.

Months prior, David O’Dell, facing mounting medical bills from his surgery and recovery, had become desperate for money. The Myers couple approached him with a proposition: they would buy his family farmhouse—valued at approximately $1.4 million PHP according to realtor records—for a mere $8,100 USD (around PHP 400,000), payable in installments, with the condition that David could live there rent-free for the rest of his life. Desperate, David agreed and signed the contract.

Immediately after the sale, Irene purchased renter’s insurance for the contents of the house. More alarmingly, she also took out a life insurance policy on David O’Dell himself. While legal in New York with the insured person’s consent, David had reportedly told his neighbor John he didn’t understand why Irene wanted the policy but signed the papers because he trusted her and Joseph.

Insurance records confirmed Irene took out policies covering the house, David’s life, and contents allegedly lost in the fire. Just days after the fire, Irene contacted the insurance company to claim the payouts, totaling approximately $175,000 USD (around PHP 9 million). This discovery provided a powerful motive: insurance fraud.

Armed with probable cause, police obtained a search warrant for the Myers’ home. They found medications prescribed to David O’Dell hidden in Joseph’s desk, contradicting Irene’s claim she administered his medicine. They also found items Irene had claimed were destroyed in the fire, listed on her insurance claim. Irene was arrested for insurance fraud and making false statements.

While Irene was detained, detectives noticed numerous CCTV cameras covering the Myers’ property. Joseph initially claimed the footage automatically deleted after two days. However, upon seizing the recording equipment, police found he was lying. Reviewing footage from the night of February 14th into the early hours of February 15th revealed incriminating evidence.

Between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., the Myers’ car was seen leaving and returning three times. The direction they traveled corresponded with the route to David O’Dell’s house. Each time they returned, Irene was seen carrying items into their home, likely possessions removed from David’s house before the fire.

The most damning footage showed Joseph entering their garage carrying a container consistent with a gas can. Later, Irene was seen exiting the car holding what appeared to be a propane torch—the type of ignition source the fire expert believed was necessary to ignite the specific accelerant used. This contradicted the couple’s alibis and directly linked them to the means and timing of the arson.

Joseph Myers was arrested. Faced with the irrefutable CCTV evidence during interrogation, Irene confessed. She admitted they planned the insurance fraud due to financial pressures—Joseph’s struggling business, the cost of bringing her children to the US, desires for a new tow truck, business, and house. She claimed Joseph masterminded the plot.

She stated they first tried to get David moved to a care facility by exaggerating his condition to doctors or having the house condemned by inspectors, but failed. Irene claimed she pleaded with Joseph to wait for David to pass naturally, but he was impatient. She admitted knowing Joseph’s plan to end David’s life and set the fire but maintained she only participated out of fear, citing past physical abuse by Joseph.

However, under further pressure, Irene admitted she was a willing participant, not a coerced victim. She revealed they deliberately withheld David’s medication after his surgery, hoping he would succumb naturally, but he remained surprisingly resilient. The final plan involved Joseph accusing David of theft and firing him to create a pretext for despair and potential self-harm.

On the night of February 14, Irene stated she waited in the car while Joseph entered David’s house with the gasoline and torch. She claimed Joseph returned minutes later, saying David “wouldn’t wake up,” implying he had incapacitated him before setting the fire near the wood stove. Prosecutors theorized Joseph likely bludgeoned David unconscious.

Despite Irene’s detailed confession implicating Joseph as the primary actor, Joseph maintained his innocence throughout the trial, his defense arguing David took his own life. The jury didn’t believe him. Joseph Myers was found guilty on multiple counts including arson and murder, sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.

Irene Myers, testifying against Joseph after securing a plea deal, was also convicted for her role, receiving a sentence of just over 20 years. Both remain incarcerated as of the latest reports.