Sandy and Tom Bird/Lorna and Marty Anderson - Part 1
Reverend Tom Bird was exactly what the newly formed Faith Lutheran Church in Emporia, Kansas, needed
But beneath the community dinners and Sunday school classes, a quiet, destructive storm was brewing
The Evidence Locker: Timeline of Events
| Date | Event Description |
| August 21, 1971 | High school sweethearts Tom Bird and Sandra "Sandy" Grismer marry in Little Rock, Arkansas |
| June 1973 | Martin "Marty" Anderson and Lorna Slater are married in Hutchinson, Kansas |
| Early 1982 | Tom Bird arrives in Emporia to lead the newly formed Faith Lutheran Church mission parish |
| January 1983 | Lorna Anderson is hired for part-time office help at Faith Lutheran Church, bringing her into close, frequent contact with Pastor Tom |
| Early 1983 | Lorna begins a secret affair with Tom Bird, later boasting to a friend about the minister's behavior |
| Spring 1983 | Church members and neighbors observe intense "electricity" and improper physical closeness between Tom and Lorna |
| April 19, 1983 | Lorna tells a friend she wishes "something would happen to Marty and to Sandy" so she and Tom can be together |
| June 1, 1983 | Sandy Bird walks into the church fellowship hall and discovers an uninvited birthday celebration for Tom, attended by Lorna and all seven children |
| July 16, 1983 | Sandy and Tom go out for a movie and drinks |
| July 17, 1983 | Sandra Bird's body is found floating face down in the Cottonwood River beneath the Rocky Ford Bridge; her car is overturned in the shallows |
| July 18, 1983 | An autopsy reveals Sandy bled to death from a ruptured kidney and had broken ribs, but had no water in her lungs, proving she was dead before hitting the water |
| Late July 1983 | Despite Highway Patrolman John Rule’s intense suspicions of foul play, the county coroner officially rules Sandy’s death a tragic driving accident |
| November 4, 1983 | Marty Anderson is shot and killed execution-style in a field off Highway 177 |
| November 5, 1983 | Barely 18 hours after Marty's murder, Lorna calls her insurance agent to ask how quickly his $250,000 life insurance policy can be processed |
Tina and Rich’s Takeaways
Rich: "The absolute biggest red flag for me in Sandy’s case has to be the timing of Tom's phone calls
. He’s calling campus security and dialing the police to report his wife missing before he ever calls his own house to check with the babysitter if she made it home . Their house was only three blocks from the church ! To me, that says he didn't check because he already knew with absolute certainty that she wasn't there . Plus, the idea of going for a two-and-a-half-mile midnight jog right after drinking wine and bourbon just doesn't sit right with me ."
Tina: "The whole situation in the Anderson house completely broke my heart for those four young girls
. Everyone in the community looked at Lorna and saw this perfect 'super mom,' but behind closed doors, she was bringing multiple lovers into the house while a young babysitter watched her kids downstairs ! And while calling an insurance agent 18 hours after your husband is brutally murdered looks incredibly guilty , I do get the practical panic of living paycheck to paycheck and wondering how you're going to pay for a funeral . But let's be honest—between the strawberry sundae alibi and her previous threats to have Marty shot or run off the road, the whole thing just doesn't add up ."
Key Sources
Breneman, Allie. "Bird Bridge: What lies beneath." The ESU Bulletin, 30 Oct. 2025, https://esubulletin.com/19335/news/bird-bridge-what-lies-beneath/.
Hrenchir, Tim. "Board grants parole to Lorna Anderson Moore." The Capital-Journal, 2 Feb. 2007. Google Groups, http://cjonline.com/stories/020207/bre_moore.shtml.
Kraft, Scott. "Murderous Affair Shocks Kansas Town." Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 1986. Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/401821025/.
Kraft, Scott. "Who Killed Sandy Bird?" Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2004.
Sengupta, Sounak. "Martin Anderson Murder: What Happened to Lorna Elridge and Tom Bird?" 4 Nov. 2022.
State v. Bird. 238 Kan. 160, 708 P.2d 946. Supreme Court of Kansas. 25 Oct. 1985.
State v. Bird. 240 Kan. 288, 729 P.2d 1136. Supreme Court of Kansas. 5 Dec. 1986.
"A Murderous Minister & His Mistress in Emporia, Kansas | City Confidential | A&E." YouTube, uploaded by A&E
What Do You Think?
The local authorities were incredibly quick to dismiss Sandy Bird's death as an accident, leaving a dedicated highway patrolman to lie awake at night knowing the physics of the crash scene made absolutely no sense
Leave us a comment, drop an email at lovemarrykill@gmail.com, or leave us a voice message directly on the site—we want to hear your thoughts
Be sure to join us for part 2 next week.
Judy Malinowski
