Love, Money, Sex, Adultery, Incest and Murder — True Crime
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Some crimes just demand more attention, as do some people. This is a story of both.
June 30, 1964, Key Biscayne, Florida
In the early morning hours, Candy Mossler said she had a headache and needed to go to the emergency room. She left her luxurious Governor’s Lodge apartment with her four adopted children, ages 11 to 20. They drove around from 1 am until they returned at 4:30 am, where they walked in and found Jacques Mossler, father to the children and husband to Candy, lying dead in a pool of blood.
A coroner’s report would show he had been stabbed 39 times, and also suffered a massive blow to the head. Investigators first on the scene noticed a large broken ceramic swan lying next to the body, it was bagged as evidence, and a potential weapon used to strike Jacques.
But, one of the most significant pieces of evidence found that night was a bloody handprint on a kitchen counter.
The police started interviewing neighbors in the building and learned that between 1:30 am and 2:00 am, thumps had been heard coming from the Mossler unit.
Neighbor Peggy Fletcher heard Jacques cry out, “Don’t — don’t do that to me!” Followed by the Mossler’s dog Rocky, a boxer, starting to bark. Peggy went to her door to see what was going on, and heard the door across the hall, the Mossler’s open and close, then she heard footsteps down the hallway.
Other neighbors had heard the footsteps running away. Also, they claimed that they sounded heavy as if being made by a man.
An interesting detail was that whoever had attacked Jacques had tied the dog Rocky up in the kitchen. He was found chained to a doorknob when police arrived.
The Wife’s Theory
Candy spoke with police and told them she figured a gay lover had killed her husband. She said that her husband frequently met men at the beach and would bring them back to their apartment for sex.
The First Suspects
The police followed up on the “lover” theory the wife had suggested and arrested a gay man who had been in the vicinity that night. After questioning him, they released him and did not consider him a suspect.
They also found a man covered in blood in Key Biscayne that night, believing he was good for the murder. It turned out he had been beaten up by a group of teenagers, and the blood was his own.
Rule №1 — It’s Almost Always the Spouse (and sometimes their lover)
It wasn’t long until the police started to think Candy was involved in her husband’s murder. Not only did she have the most to gain from his death, but they had learned of the salacious affair Candy was having behind her husband’s back.
Digging into the life of Candy, they heard rumors that she was having an affair with her 24-year-old nephew Melvin Powers. After investigating further, they determined the rumor to be true.
Jacques was a millionaire who owned homes in Miami, Chicago, and Houston. The last was where Melvin Powers lived. There he ran a trailer sales lot that his aunt Candy had financed for him.
How the Lover’s Got Together
Melvin Powers was living in Pontiac, Michigan when he was busted for a con job. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail. After being released, he moved to Houston to start fresh.
Melvin’s mother suggested that he contact her sister, Candy Mossler, who lived there to help him get set up. It didn’t take Melvin long to start an affair with his aunt and gain a trailer sales lot to run.
Jacques was alerted about the affair by staff, which caused him to read his wife’s diary and learn all of the steamy encounters his wife had been having with her nephew.
The Mossler’s officially separated, and Melvin was kicked out of the family house. Candy was given $5,000* a week allowance while Jacques tried to figure out what to do about his marriage. *This would be nearly $42K today.
After speaking to a lawyer, he knew that unless he wanted the incestuous affair made public, a divorce would cost him half of his worth.
Evidence Against the Lover
The first piece of evidence against Melvin came in the form of a note Jacques had written in his diary. “If Mel and Candace don’t kill me first, I’ll kill them.”
With that information, the police started looking more closely at the lover Melvin. They caught a break when the bloody handprint that had been left behind in the kitchen was matched to Melvin. The police had an answer for who could have gotten the dog into the kitchen without being attacked? Someone who the dog knew, Melvin.
Melvin claimed he was at home in Houston, but the police theorized that he could have easily have hopped a plane to Florida and back to Texas again before he was even considered a suspect. Melvin Powers was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Candy wasted no time in rallying behind her nephew. She flew to Houston and hired top defense attorney’s Percy Foreman and William F Walsh to represent Melvin.
Another Arrest Made
A few weeks after their initial arrest, the police made their second arrest in the murder of Jacques Mossler, his wife Candy.
Candy was labeled “the brains behind the murder,” and her lover, “Mel was the brawn.”
Knowing she wouldn’t do well behind bars, Candy hired a team of lawyers to make sure she never served a day. Her powerhouse team included Clyde Woody and Marian Rosen, who were well known in Houston for their tough defenses. She also brought on top-notch Miami attorneys Harvey St. Jean and Henry Carr. They worked with Melvin’s attorneys Foreman and Walsh, to build a defense strategy for the couple.
When Candy was arrested, all of her assets were frozen, leaving her to pay the attorney retainers with jewelry, diamonds, and furs.
Melvin had been arrested in Texas, and his lawyer fought hard for him not to be extradited for the trial. Still, eventually the inevitable happened, and Melvin was ordered to the sunshine state to stand trial. For over a year after the murders, both Candy and Melvin were free on bond.
A Media Dream Case
Also, for the past year, newspapers around the country were writing headlines about the soon-to-be trial that all but ensured when it happened, it would be a media frenzy. The story that the killers handed the media was too good for them to pass up.
1 | Jacques Mossler was a millionaire who made his fortune in oil and was heavily involved in financial investments and companies. Everybody loves to see the secret dark sides of the rich.
2 | His wife Candy was described as looking like a Hollywood starlet. But even better than her mere looks was her backstory. She had been raised poor in Georgia and bootstrapped herself into a modeling career and then started a modeling agency in New Orleans before marrying Jacques in 1948.
3 | Then, as with all great stories, came the infamous sex part. When it came out that Candy had a younger lover, that was also her nephew. It was dripping with moral taboo’s and people couldn’t help but want to know more.
4 | The unusual makeup of the Mossler family also baffled people. Jacques had four grown daughters from his previous marriage, and Candy brought two children from her latest marriage with her too. Then the couple adopted four teenagers who had become orphans when their father killed their mother and was institutionalized. The strange makeup, for the time, brought more curiosity to the case.
5 | The victim had a dirty little secret of his own. With all the prodding into the life of the Mossler’s, it surfaced that Candy wasn’t lying about her husband’s private sex life. He regularly paid prostitutes, usually transvestites and gay men for sex.
These reasons aren’t nearly as scandalous today as they were in the ’60s. Then it was front-page news for newspapers around the world.
A Media Star is Born
When Candy arrived in Florida, she was met by a hoard of reporters at the airport. Knowing how to work a crowd, she smiled and spoke in her sweetest southern accent as she charmed them all. She “declared her innocence and her faith in the good people of Date County.”
Reporters questioned Candy about her nephew and lover, and she always denied there was any sort of sexual relationship with Melvin. She even had a ready response for the letters that had been found from her to Melvin, expressing love and affection while calling him darling.
“I write to everyone, ‘Darling,’ I love you. I want you in my arms.’ I say the same thing to my lawyer. It doesn’t mean I really love him.” Candy told reporters whenever they asked.
In an interview with Theo Wilson, who tried to pin her down on a particular letter, Candy explained it away too. She said that writing “I love you” and “I miss you” was just the words of a “loving aunt.”
But, soon, people came forward saying that Melvin had told them he had gotten favors such as a car and money from his aunt by “scarfing her,” performing oral sex.
When the relentless questions wouldn’t end, Candy finally gave in and answered, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”
Theo Wilson, along with some other reporter’s reimagined the song “Frankie and Johnnie Were Lovers” into “Candy and Melvin Were Lovers” that made its way around the world with luscious details of the couple.
January 16, 1966 — Jury Selection Begins
The New York Times described the trial as “one of the most spectacular homicide trials ever.”
It was so racy that the judge refused admittance to anyone under the age of 21 in the courtroom.
Defense attorney Percy Foreman worried that the jury would convict the defendants of murder based on the infidelity and incest alone. So during the pre-trial jury selection, he tried to weed out the jury pool of those who couldn’t be objective.
Foreman asked every potential juror the same question:
“If you were satisfied, there had been adultery, fornication, an incestuous relationship beyond a reasonable doubt, but were not satisfied that the prosecution proved homicide, would you convict them of murder?”
They only selected jurors who agreed they could determine the difference between those allegations and the charge of homicide.
The Prosecution
Arthur Huttoe and Richard Gerstein led the prosecution team. They presented a case showing Melvin and Candy wanted Jacque dead so they could be together, and inherit his millions. It was estimated that Jacques estate was worth over $200 million in gross value, and $22 million in net value. *Over $1.6 billion gross, and over 177 million in net value today.
The prosecution backed up their claim of an affair with photographs. Candy and Mel had traveled a lot and documented their trips with snapshots of them on the ski slopes, at concerts, and in nightclubs. And they all showed what looked like a happy couple.
They told the jury that Jacques had recently learned of his wife’s affair with her nephew. And, in response, Jacques was planning a divorce and dropping her from his will.
This sudden change of events is what caused Melvin to fly from Houston to Miami. He was seen driving Candy’s white car around the time of the murder in the area. Then hours before the time of death, Melvin was at the Stuffed Shirt Lounge near Key Biscayne where he was drinking. Before leaving, he asked the bartender for an empty coke bottle.
The prosecution said he left the bar and headed to the Mossler apartment with the coke bottle in hand. They argued this was the weapon Melvin used to strike Jacques in the head to incapacitate him. Then the killer used a knife to stab the victim 39 times in what could only be described as classic overkill.
Candy’s part in the murder was making sure that her husband was home alone. She had claimed to have a migraine and then insisted on taking all four children with her to drive around for nearly three and a half hours.
Arthur Huttoe told the jury, “The motive for this murder was. Personal hatred of the deceased by Melvin Lane Powers and a sordid, illicit love affair between the deceased’s wife and her sister’s son.”
The Prosecution’s Evidence
After laying out the motives, the prosecution backed them up with evidence, which included fingerprints found inside the white car driven by Melvin that was left at the airport. They showed the bloody handprint that was found in the apartment also belonged to Melvin.
They called witnesses who testified that Candy had spoken to them about trying to find someone to kill her husband. One was William Frank Mulvey, who had received $7,500 in cash from Candy, in exchange for killing Jacques. But he kept the money and didn’t perform the hit. Instead, he was busted for another crime. While in jail, he crossed paths with Melvin before he was freed on bond. Mulvey claimed that Melvin admitted to him that he killed Jacques, boasting about it.
While Candy and Melvin both denied an affair, the prosecution brought in witnesses to dispute their denials.
Edward Bart Diehl and his wife were caretakers at the Mossler’s ranch in Texas. Diehl testified that his wife told him how the trailer that Candy and Melvin would spend time in was always a mess. His wife had noticed that the bed was frequently used throughout the day.
Diehl himself testified that Melvin told him about all the clothes and the car that his aunt had bought him for scarfing her. Diehl explained to the jury that he meant Melvin would “eat her box” to keep her satisfied. After “he could get anything he wanted.”
Earl Martin, a handyman for the family, testified that Melvin had offered him money to kill Jacques, but he refused. He also told the jury how he had witnessed Candy at the trailer lot she financed for Melvin. She was kissing and hugging her nephew in a sexual way.
The Defense Counters All Claims
Percy Foreman and the defense team systematically explained and picked apart the prosecution’s case.
They started with the physical evidence. The lawyers didn’t deny Melvin’s prints in the apartment or car; why would they, he was a frequent visitor. They said that the bloody print could have been left from days before for all anyone knew and that it could be Melvin’s own blood. *Note this is before DNA testing, so all they knew was that it was blood not who’s it was.
The defense said the prosecution’s witnesses weren’t to be believed; they were all criminals with checkered past. It was true; they all had criminal records. Mulvey was trying to use his testimony as a show of good faith to get a reduced sentence on other charges. They also proved that Mulvey and Melvin were never in contact while they were briefly housed in the same jail.
Another witness the prosecution had called was Arthur Grimsley. He testified that Melvin tried to hire him to kill Jacques. The defense shut this down. Grimsley was a mail-order minister, who was currently serving time in the Arkansas State Penn. They proved that on the date that Grimsley claimed to have met with Melvin, that Melvin was actually in the hospital having an operation.
Then the defense started on the murder victim, Jacques, and who else might have wanted the man dead. They told the jury about the sexual preferences of Jacques and his ruthless business dealings.
Candy took the stand testifying that on many occasions, she and her children had come home and found Jacques involved with a male lover. Claiming he wasn’t just into gay men, but he also liked to dress like a woman in private.
Candy’ testified:
“My husband, unfortunately, very, unfortunately, just picked up strangers. The children and I would walk into the apartment, and the house would be full of strangers. They were young men, mostly, and they’d just clear out as soon as we walked in. . . . He’d just pick them up, sailors and young men, on the beach and in bars, in restaurants, on the highways.”
The defense said that any one of the random men Jacques picked up could have killed him, or maybe it was something completely different that happened. Perhaps it was one of the men that Jacques had financially ruined over the years. They listed off dozens of businesses that had gone under with dealings from the victim.
Percy Foreman had one last card to play for the jury. The other five lawyers defending the couple called all of the witnesses for the defense. So after the prosecution gave their closing arguments, Foreman was able to give his. Having his words be the last the jury heard before making their decision. His argument took five hours.
Jury Deliberations
The jury took over 16 hours to break their deadlock and return a verdict of “Not Guilty.” Claiming they found insufficient evidence to convict the couple of murder.
Candy was bubbling with joy as she walked out of the courtroom, kissing not just Melvin, but her attorneys, and even the jurors. Then she and Melvin got into a cold Cadillac and drove off.
After her win in court, Candy threw an Acquittal Party. Her children took one of the murder trial posters that had been around town to the guests and had them sign it as a souvenir of the outcome.
Aftermath
Candy cleared of any wrongdoing inherited her husband’s estate, including his real estate and banking business. She changed the name of the company to the Candace Mossler Enterprises.
Soon after the trial ended, Candy and Melvin stopped spending time together. She still didn’t want to talk about it, or that “regrettable circumstance in Florida” in reference to her husband’s murder and her trial. Most who were close to the couple said that he had left her.
A few years later, she remarried Barnett Wade Garrison, an electrician who was 18 years younger than her. Things weren’t going so well for the couple one night when Garrison arrived home to find he was locked out.
For unknown reasons, he had a pistol in one hand as he attempted to climb up the side of the house to gain entry through an open window on the third floor. But before he could, he fell. He spent two weeks in a coma before waking with permanent brain damage. The marriage ended in divorce after this tragedy.
A year after divorcing Garrison, Candy died from a sedative overdose.
The Lover Seemed to Bounce Back, a Few Times
After his aunt, Melvin seemed to do quite well in the Houston Real Estate Market. He was known for wearing ostrich-skin cowboy boots and owning over the top yachts and properties.
In 1979 his fortune was estimated at over $200 million, including a 142-foot long yacht he named “Jan Pamela” that he added a 23-foot section to that included a jacuzzi.
But it was fleeting. A few years after this, Melvin was in court pleading to keep his penthouse while he was going through a bankruptcy.
Eventually, he rebuilt his fortune and lived to the age of 68, dying in Houston in October of 2010.
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