Shraman Mitra
When Carole Garton became pregnant at the age of 28, she looked forward to a wonderful life as a mother. However, her husband, Todd Garton, had other plans, and he cooked up a sinister murder plot, which included his ex-girlfriend, Lynn Noyes, as well as Norman Daniels III and Dale Gordon, two of his acquaintances from Cottonwood, California. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Killer Attraction: Frenemies’ chronicles the gruesome murder and follows the investigation that brought the perpetrators to justice. Let’s delve into the details surrounding the murder and find out where Lynn, Norman, and Dale are at present, shall we?
Who Are Lynn Noyes, Norman Daniels III and Dale Gordon?
At the time of Carole’s murder, Lynn Noyes was married and resided with her husband in Oregon. Lynn knew Carole’s husband, Todd, from high school as they were childhood sweethearts who remained together for quite a long time. However, once Todd met Carole through the indie music scene, he fell in love with her and decided to marry her instead of Lynn. Naturally, this made Lynn detest Carole from the beginning, and she was overjoyed when Todd reached out after his marriage, intending to start an extramarital affair. However, since their partners had become a thorn in their side, the pair hatched a plan on how to solve the issue.
Meanwhile, Norman Daniels III met and got acquainted with Todd when they were in the army together. Likewise, Todd met Dale Gordon when he visited the latter’s shop in Cottonwood, California. Interestingly, Dale also shared an army background, and the men connected over their past experiences. However, Todd soon learned that Norman had fallen on hard times and was looking to earn a bit of money for his child. Hence, he decided to use this to his advantage and include both Norman and Todd in the murder plan.
Initially, Lynn planned on murdering her husband, Dean, and Todd conjured up a sinister plan for the same. He met Dale and Norman while pretending to be an employee of an international assassin organization and ordered them to carry out the hit on Dean. Todd even introduced Lynn as another handler for the assassin organization, but the plan failed as the men weren’t able to get inside Dean’s house. Following the botched attempt, Dean decided to distance himself from the group while Norman carried on as he still needed some financial support. That was when Todd sent him a fake letter from the made-up organization, through which he ordered Norman to kill Carole. Hence, Norman, believing he had to follow orders, used a .44 caliber firearm to shoot Carole dead in her own house on May 16, 1998.
When the police began investigating the murder, they learned that Dale, Carole, Norman, and Lynn had attended a gun show on the day of the murder. They also discovered that Norman drove Carole’s car to a parking lot and left it there before returning home in a taxi. This made authorities quite suspicious, and once they searched Norman’s home, they found some bloody clothes, as well as a firearm and ammunition that matched the ones used in the murder. Realizing that the game was up, Norman soon confessed to his role in the crime and claimed an international organization asked him to kill Carole. However, during the victim’s funeral, the police noticed Todd and Lynn behaving more like a couple than friends, and once authorities questioned Dale Gordon, the whole truth came out. Dale talked about the botched assassination attempt on Dean Noyes and implicated Todd as well as Lynn in both crimes, leading to their arrests.
What Happened to Lynn Noyes, Norman Daniels III and Dale Gordon?
When presented in court, the jury convicted Norman Daniels III of murder and sentenced him to 50 years in prison in 2002. Although jail records show that he has been eligible for parole since 2021, he still remains behind bars at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, California. Meanwhile, Lynn Noyes accepted a plea deal and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, for which she was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2002. However, she has since been paroled and currently goes by the name of Lynn Acosta. Besides, she seems to have turned her life around as she is employed as a life coach by the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and in a loving marriage with Chis Acosta.
On the other hand, Dale Gordon agreed to testify against Lynn and Norman, which netted him a reduced sentence of 10 years in 2002 for conspiring to kill Dean Noyes. Yet, the show mentions that Dale was paroled after living behind bars for eight years and seven months, and although he prefers to keep a private profile, he has appeared on the Investigation Discovery episode to share his experience with viewers.
