Hey y’all, it’s Julie Mattson, and this week on Pushing Up Lilies we’re peeling back the layers of a case that hit far too close to home, the tragic death of Carrie Zettel. On October 12, 2025 in Milwaukee, 64‑year‑old Carrie was brutally killed in her own backyard. Less than 12 hours earlier, she had called 911 and reported her daughter’s violent behavior. Join me as we navigate the heartbreaking story of domestic violence ignored for far too long, how restraining orders, mental‑health struggles, and warning signs blended into a deadly outcome. We’ll trace Carrie’s efforts to protect her family, the mounting threats she faced, and the night everything collapsed. This episode isn’t just about a murder, it’s about a mother’s final plea for help and the system’s failure to stop the carnage. * Listener discretion is advised.
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00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine tingling, unusual and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey guys, Julie here with Pushing Up Lilies and I'm happy to say that I am back after I've been sick for a couple of days. I missed work the last couple of days, I just felt crappy and literally laid around and did little to nothing.
00:49
I tried to do my homework, I just did not feel well at all, so I didn't get a whole lot done, but I don't think there's anything wrong with just laying around and doing nothing every once in a while.
01:00
I honestly rarely get to do that, so it was kind of nice, kind of relaxing. You know, when you feel bad and you just don't want to do anything, there's always laundry and there's always dishes. There's always something to do, but when you feel bad and you just can't or don't want to, I don't know, it's just different.
01:21
I missed the days when I was younger and I was sick from school and I watched like Bewitched all day and my mom made me tomato soup and made me a grilled cheese sandwich and made me my favorite mustard potato salad and I just laid around and watched Laverne and Shirley, I Love Lucy and didn't have a care in the world.
01:44
You remember those days when we didn't have a bill? Our biggest worry was getting to school and turning in our homework so that we didn't get in trouble when we got home. We thought that our lives sucked so bad and then we grew up,
02:00
it's like man this sucks. Some days it really does. I feel better I'm gonna go to work tomorrow and then we are heading to North Dakota to a wedding and we're super excited. We love going up north. We just don't go as much now that my husband's mom has passed away and it's so blooming cold up there in the winter but I like it because we really don't have winter in Texas so it's not as everyone wants to get a little bit of snow and breathe in some fresh cool air.
02:34
I'm sure those of you that are there can vouch for me. It's just a different but it's beautiful. It's beautiful up there and they have really nice summers too. If you can go in like September, it's so pretty.
02:45
Everything's green because it's been snowing and raining all year long and it's just things grow like crazy. And in Texas, we know that the ground is so dry. I can remember back when I was younger, I used to put bacon on the end of a string and actually run it down into holes in my front yard and catch little crawfish.
03:07
That's so weird. I mean, times are just different. Times are different for sure. Last week, we were super busy at the medical examiner's office here. We had a couple murder suicides. One homicide that I worked was in Carrollton, and the perpetrator actually went to another county and was surrounded by the SWAT team in his vehicle and ended up shooting himself.
03:34
One thing that I talked to her parents about is sometimes you don't know that someone's being abused. As someone who has been a victim of domestic violence, I can say that it's embarrassing. It's not something you want to talk about.
03:51
It's definitely not something that you want to tell your friends about. You don't want your parents to know because then they're not going to lack your boyfriend or your husband, and that's going to cause a whole new set of problems.
04:04
So not only do you have your husband or your boyfriend trying to keep you from your family, but you have your family trying to keep you from your husband or your boyfriend. And man, it's exhausting. And it gets really old, and it's hard.
04:20
It's hard to keep that up. Another case that we had was a son who killed his mother, and that's similar to a story that we're going to talk about this week. But I want to mention first that Pushing Up Lilies actually placed 8th in our second Denton Day of the Dead coffin race.
04:41
And so, we did that this past Saturday, and I could not have done it without my pusher Coleman James and my mentor and coffin builder Lee Fitz. These guys were amazing and helped. me the whole way, this event is really hard to get into.
04:58
They only take 70 racers, 70 cars, and the day that this all starts is usually Cinco de Mayo. I set an alarm so that when it was time to register, my alarm went off, and I immediately got online and registered.
05:20
Now, I was one of the first 25 and when you are, you get a free poster or two posters, two T-shirts. The year before, I was not one of the first 25, but I decided that I'm getting into that race come hell or high water and I set an alarm on my clock and I don't care if I was at a homicide, I was going to pull my bloody gloves off and register for that blaming race because I'm getting in there.
05:46
So anyway, now it's kind of become a tradition for us and it is hard to get into and I'm hoping, hoping, hoping that every year we can. I've already asked Coleman to be my pusher again because boy I was sitting in my car, and I could just feel the strength of that boy just pushing my car.
06:01
It was thrusting forward, and I just felt the energy. It's just fun. It's fun. You're kind of going downhill. You can't have anything that propels your vehicle, but you can have brakes. So thank God I hit the brakes before I got to the hay bales which were at the end, but some vehicles hit the hay bales.
06:21
A couple of them flipped over, I think a handful of people got hurt. Some of the cars were completely obliterated because when they flipped over, they just fell apart. They're all made of different things.
06:32
Some of them are real coffins. Some of them are grocery carts. Some of them are cardboard. And so, there's always that fear of rain. What if it rains? My car is going to completely fall apart. Mine is cardboard.
06:46
So, there's always that fear and we were lucky enough that we had amazing weather. We were scared it's supposed to rain but we survived and so eight our time was great. It was just so much fun. Every year in October Denton's Day of the Dead festival is just a blast.
07:07
You can bring your kids. It's not a scary place to be. It's so much fun. I handed out little bags with the little sugar skulls on them that had like Play-Doh and candy and stuff in them for the kids.
07:19
I ran out. I had a hundred and I ran out really quick. But anyway, so much fun. I went to this hotel this week about the murder of Carrie Zettle, and this story takes place in Milwaukee Wisconsin where a 64 year old woman Carrie Zettle was found bludgeoned to death in her own backyard.
07:42
Now the suspect was her daughter Lauren Spors. The same daughter that she accused of killing her husband seven years earlier. Now this This case is layered with mental illness, family trauma, and missed opportunities to prevent a tragedy.
08:00
On October 12, 2025, Milwaukee police responded to a call that would shake this quiet neighborhood. In Carrie Zettle's backyard, officers found a scene so violent that it stunned even-seasoned investigators.
08:16
And we do have officers again, and I know I've told you this before. They don't wanna go into a crime scene. They don't wanna see blood. They don't wanna look at a person, touch a person. They don't want any part of it.
08:27
So sometimes even-seasoned investigators are stunned by what they see. And someone posted on Facebook the other day that they felt intimidated when they go into a scene, and they feel like they don't know anything.
08:42
And they feel like they have so much to learn. And let me tell you, if you're new to the field or even if you wanna be in the field of death investigation, you are going to continue to learn every day and that's okay.
08:55
You can't possibly know everything. And let me tell you that nine times out of 10, you are the smartest person on the scene. I don't care if an officer has been a detective for 20 years. Sometimes they don't go to the links that they should, to learn everything that they should about a death scene.
09:14
And so, they're going to ask you a lot of questions. And I've been stunned before officers that have been detectives for 20 years that don't know things that they should know. So don't be intimidated.
09:27
Keep pushing forward. Keep learning. Every day is a learning experience. You can't know everything and you're going to make mistakes. And that's fine. That's just like any other career. But anyway, let's go back to this.
09:42
Carrie had actually been beaten to death with a rock. The report described brain matter visible, which is a phrase that no first responder ever forgets. Police quickly identified a suspect, Carrie's 29 year old daughter, Lauren.
10:00
Witnesses reported hearing yelling earlier that day, but not by not fall. Lauren was in custody, charged with first degree intentional homicide. This tragedy didn't come out of nowhere. This family had been living in chaos for years.
10:18
Back in 2018, Carrie's husband, Jeffrey Spors died after what was initially called an accidental death, but Carrie really didn't believe that. In fact, she filed a restraining order against her daughter, Lauren, shortly after Jeffrey's death.
10:36
Now let's talk a little bit about a restraining order or a protective order. Now, this is a court order issued by a judge to protect an individual from someone who has harmed them, threatened them, or someone that they're scared of.
10:52
It can include restrictions like ordering the person to stay away from the victim's home or work and prohibiting all contact. So, violating a protective order or restraining order is actually a criminal offense that can lead to an arrest, but many times it does not.
11:11
A protective order orders the person to stop all communication. It requires the person to stay a certain distance away from the victim. It prohibits them from owning a gun or a license to carry a gun.
11:28
Sometimes it can order the person to attend counseling for abusive behavior. It's a civil court order that requires filing an application and you have to provide an affidavit detailing the violence or detailing the threats to justify the order.
11:46
You can file in the county where you live, where the other person lives, or where the incident occurred. While they can last up to a lifetime in some cases, protective orders often have a duration of up to two years.
12:01
Again, violating your protective order is a criminal offense and could lead to jail time, but you have to get arrested first. And a lot of people know that. The police aren't going to sit out in front of your house 24-7 and automatically be right there ready to arrest this person when they violate this protective order.
12:21
It's a piece of paper. And I mean, I've heard that for years, but the reality is it's a piece of paper. Carrie had a restraining order against Lauren shortly after Jeffrey's death. Now in her petition, Carrie claimed that Lauren had attacked her father.
12:39
She struck him in the head with a bottle and later threatened him with a knife. Lauren in her own writing said, my mom says I killed him, but I don't remember doing it. So, despite Carrie's allegations, the medical examiner ruled Jeffrey's death accidental, citing over medication.
13:02
So that decision would haunt the family. Lauren's behavior continued to spiral after Jeffrey's death. She was charged with misdemeanor battery and theft in 2020. But then at that time, she was found incompetent to stand trial.
13:23
Neighbors said they often heard arguments between Carrie and Lauren. And Carrie's close friend Loretta Moyer said that she lived in fear. Loretta told reporters that Carrie knew her daughter was dangerous and that she had told her more than once that she didn't think she'd survive if Lauren ever snapped again.
13:42
So apparently, non-abnormal to hear these two arguing. Despite all warnings, Lauren continued to live nearby, and mental health treatment was very inconsistent. And the restraining order expired. So, by 2025, here we are, the tension finally exploded.
14:04
Now, on that day in October, this month, the argument between mother and daughter turned fatal. Investigators believe that Lauren used a large rock found near the back patio. And Carrie's body was discovered by a neighbor who noticed something unusual through the fence.
14:25
When officers arrived, Lauren was nearby. She was disoriented and her clothes were covered in blood. Her words were, I didn't mean to, she made me angry. Now forensic evidence at the scene included the weapon, which was a rock and blood spatter on multiple surfaces.
14:47
There were also defensive wounds on Carrie's hands, which was pretty much proof that she fought for her life. Carrie's death obviously devastated the community. And at her vigil, she was remembered as Grandma Carrie, a woman who made cheesecake for the neighborhood kids and volunteered with local mental health groups.
15:08
Her son said that she never stopped trying to help Lauren even after everything. She believed in forgiveness and definitely did not deserve this. So, Lauren now faces a life sentence for first degree intentional homicide with a domestic violence enhancement.
15:29
And court documents show that no plea has been entered. Let's talk a little bit about what went wrong. So, this is a textbook case of untreated mental illness and systemic failure. Carrie did everything right, so she filed a restraining order.
15:47
She reported abuse. She begged for help. She told her neighbors. But the system failed her. And Lauren's incompetence ruling in 2020 meant that she didn't have to serve any jail time and she did not receive long term psychiatric care.
16:06
In forensic nursing, we see this pattern a lot. Families want to protect their loved one and they fear them at the same time. So, this is a very dangerous mix. Now I've had a couple of friends who tell me that they're afraid of their own children.
16:21
They have to lock their door at night cuz they're afraid their kids are gonna come in their room and kill them because they've threatened them at some point during the day. I could not live like that.
16:31
It happens more often than we know. Kids having mental issues and parents just being completely unable to control and just not having the knowledge of how to control these things. So, it's a very dangerous mix.
16:47
Now what stands out here is Lauren's comment, I don't remember doing it. And that's not uncommon in cases involving disassociation or psychotic episodes. But the violence, the blunt force trauma and the choice of the weapon suggests rage, not really a blackout.
17:09
So, Carrie's story is part of a bigger issue. According to the CDC, nearly one in four homicides of women are committed by a family member. And these aren't strangers in dark alleys. They're loved ones, often in homes that look normal from the outside.
17:28
And we've talked about that a lot. People post on Facebook, we're so happy, we love our lives. We're happily married, I love my husband. I see it all the time on Facebook. Couples posting about how great their lives are.
17:42
And I know their lives aren't great. They are telling me. how miserable they are. But on Facebook, they're just happy as larks. So, it's not always the case. This case also challenges the way we view competency.
18:00
So, if someone is repeatedly deemed unfit for trial but remains a danger, where is the line between patient and perpetrator? It's a haunting question, and there's not really an easy answer. We need to think a little bit about Carrie's strength.
18:21
She lived in fear, but she never stopped hoping for her daughter's healing, and it has to be so hard. The story reminds us that sometimes love isn't enough to save someone when they suffer from mental illness.
18:39
I always like to mention, if you, are someone you know, is experiencing violence at home, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline on the numbers 1-800-799-7233. Anyway, what we need to remember is that when we declare someone unfit for trial, we remove that punishment, but we don't always give them the care that they need.
19:02
And so that's how people like Lauren slip through the cracks. The fact that she made a statement that she doesn't remember doing this is significant, but the act of choosing a weapon, delivering multiple blows, striking until death, shows intent fueled by emotion, and proves that she was not confused.
19:24
She was not confused about what she was doing. Anger, guilt, dependency, and fear, it's a cycle that builds until something breaks. But I can say from a forensic standpoint that the rock as a weapon is very telling.
19:41
It's spontaneous, it wasn't pre-planned, there was no concealment. I mean, the rock, was there, remained there when the police got on scene covered in blood. There were no cover ups. It was impulsive violence driven by psychological instability.
20:00
So anyway, again, just remember that family homicides are common, more common than people think. And we had one even just in our area, which is not a large area just this past week. So, when we focus on domestic violence between partners, we forget sometimes the silent epidemic inside parent child relationships.
20:23
Don't forget to visit the McCart Street Merc until if you're here, close in the area. I appreciate y'all so much. Thank you for listening and I will talk to you next week. Bye y'all. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies.
20:39
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