A sprawling 10-acre farm in Cherokee County, Georgia. A prominent attorney known to his family as “Big Daddy.” Charred remains on a burn pile. The Farris family murder case captivated viewers when it aired on “48 Hours.” Now CBS News correspondent Peter Van Sant is revisiting the story with more time and detail in a new six-episode podcast, “Blood Is Thicker: The Farris Wheel,” launching March 11.
Van Sant unravels a Cherokee County murder — again
Gary Farris was a successful commercial real estate attorney — wealthy, well-connected, and by most appearances, a devoted family man. He and his wife, Melody, raised four children on a picturesque property outside Atlanta. But when his remains were found on the family’s own land, investigators quickly ruled out an accident. The case became a “48 Hours” story. Then it became something more.
Peter Van Sant, a CBS News correspondent with 42 years at the network, covered the Farris case on television. His new podcast, he says, gave him room that the broadcast hour never could.
“I was able to have an hour-long interview with Melody Farris after the sentencing, which was one of the most dramatic days of my career in true crime,” Van Sant explained. “She stands up in court, ‘Scott killed him!’ … her son led off in shackles and handcuffs. And then she comes right out and sits in a chair opposite me.”…