Death Comes to the River House: The Murder of Peggy Thornton Lammers

In the summer of 2017, Margaret "Peggy" Thornton Lammers took some time to relax at her family's "river house," in Deltaville, an idyllic community in Virginia's Middlesex County. The home sat right on the banks of the Piankatank River, and should have been a place of rest for the beloved 61-year-old mother-of-three adult children. After all, she had just spent quite a while traveling between her home in Cleveland, Ohio — where she lived with her husband Anthony Joseph or "Tony" Lammers — and Richmond as she finalized her late parents' estate.

Unfortunately, on July 11, 2017, Peggy's body was found in the river house she so loved. She had been murdered. Her case is still unsolved.

In this episode, we interviewed three investigators in the Lammers case: detectives Chris Gatling and John Graca of the Middlesex County Sherrif's Department and FBI Special Agent Mark Matthews. These men are each determined to close out Peggy's case and secure answers for her family. They will take us through this brutal killing, the staged crime scene, and reveal more details about Peggy's cause of death.

The investigators need the public's help. Somebody out there knows something about what happened to Peggy. If you have information on this case, call the Middlesex Sheriff's Office's dedicated tipline at 804-758-5600 or the FBI’s field office in Richmond, Virginia at 804-261-1044. You can also reach the FBI at the email address: tips@fbi.gov or the phone number 1-800-CALLFBI.

Further reading on this case:

The FBI's video footage and information page: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/margaret-thornton-lammers

The Daily Beast's 2022 piece: https://www.thedailybeast.com/margaret-peggy-lammers-murder-in-deltaville-virginia-most-likely-done-by-someone-she-knew-police-say

People's 2022 piece: https://people.com/crime/mothers-unsolved-2017-murder-still-haunts-familys-beloved-virginia-vacation-beach-house/

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