This week’s Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines guest is LinMarie Garsee, a private investigator, mitigation specialist, and author with more than three decades of experience in the justice system. Garsee’s work has been featured on CBS News, NBC News, and at the Tribeca Film Festival. She is also known locally for creating handmade quilts for war veterans.
Garsee’s career began in Beaumont, Texas, where she worked to improve her community.
“I did undercover work for drugs and prostitution and helped clean up my area. I was encouraged by [Beaumont Police Chief] Jimmy Singletary.”
That experience led her into investigative work, where she has built a reputation for being thorough and persistent. Her work often puts her in the middle of emotionally charged cases, where justice can take years to unfold.
“There are times that I see prosecutors that withhold exculpatory evidence that I know is there, but they say that there isn’t until maybe an appeal years later,” she said. “It can be frustrating, but I have learned to compartmentalize my emotions, my feelings, and what I do and don’t know. I make notes. I write — I’m old school — I make my notes in shorthand.”
Faith helps her stay steady under pressure.
“I have a deep faith, and at the end of the day, I know that I’m going home to my bed,” she said.
Among the most high-profile cases Garsee has worked on is that of Melissa Lucio, the first Hispanic woman to be sentenced to death in Texas. Lucio was convicted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah.
“She had 14 kids. She was poor. She was smart in some ways, but dumb in others,” Garsee said. She added that one of Lucio’s daughters later admitted to pushing Mariah down the stairs, which led to her death. “Even though the current district attorney [of Cameron County] has signed off that she is innocent, the [Court of Criminal Appeals] is sitting on it.”
Lucio’s story became the subject of The State vs. Melissa Lucio, a documentary featured at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.
Garsee’s next national appearance will be on Dateline NBC, where she will discuss the recent Sarah Hartsfield case out of Chambers County.
“She was found guilty of killing her fifth husband,” she said.
In addition to her investigative work, Garsee writes books inspired by real cases.
“The first one I did was Justice for Linda,” she said. “That was insurance for me. I knew too much, and after I helped the guy get out of jail, he got kind of squirrelly… so I wrote that story as my insurance policy.”
Garsee’s process is instinctive rather than structured.
“I don’t outline anything. I don’t plan,” she said. “I need the words just to come. So a lot of times I start from the very beginning of who that person was and try to go forward. And then sometimes I start at the back and go backwards.”
Her published works include a book about the trials of Chambers County, and she is currently working on a similar book focusing on Liberty County. Her book titles can be found on Amazon.com.
The LinMarie Garsee interview will air in two parts on Bluebonnet News Headlines and Heartlines. Part one is available this week, with part two to follow next week. Click here to listen to the episode on Spotify. You can also catch the interview on KILEFM.com or KILE FM 94.9 at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4, and Friday, Nov. 7.