00:00:05
[music] What's address the emergency? >> Hello, my name is Harold Hwood. I'm in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
00:00:16
>> My wife has fallen from a rock on the north summit of Deer Mountain. And I have a series of texts from my
00:00:30
brother-in-law Harold Henthornne regarding my sister Tony Henthornne. This says Barry urgent [music]
00:00:37
Tony is injured fall from rock. She has been in a critical accident [music] falls off of a ledge
00:00:47
140 [music] ft and she does die there on the mountain that night. being the big brother and supposed to
00:00:57
take care of your sister, you can't do it. It's a bad feeling. >> I need to be there for my sister
00:01:05
and I couldn't. >> Tony Hanthorne died in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012 in a fall.
00:01:12
It's not that unusual at all that people die in falls in the Rocky Mountains. I'm
00:01:18
now at 9,354T and counting. Take a look at this. Talk about rugged terrain. This is [music] crazy.
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>> Since we first brought you this story, new evidence, some right here on the mountain. [music] And that's just the
00:01:37
beginning. >> What's unusual is that in this case, it happened with a guy whose first wife
00:01:44
died in such a freak accident 17 years earlier. >> Her name is Lynn Hanthorne. >> A closeup. I thought Harold was a great
00:01:54
guy, very charming. I thought, [music] "This is good. My sister needs a good man like this."
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Lynn and Harold, they had been on a drive late at night. They [music] had stopped to fix a soft tire, not even a
00:02:11
flat tire. >> And what were you told? How had [music] your sister died? >> That she'd been crushed under a car
00:02:18
changing a tire. We all were shocked at the bizarness, but the police ruled it an accident.
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>> There are so many similarities in these two deaths. Both occurred in very remote locations
00:02:34
in Colorado. In both cases, Harold Henthornne is the only witness. [music] This is either the unluckiest guy in the
00:02:44
world whose two wives have died under freakish unusual circumstances or it could be murder.
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[music] [music] Rocky Mountain [music] National Park is a place known for its soaring beauty,
00:03:29
majestic wildlife, and inspiring serenity. But in September of 2012, it was a sight
00:03:42
of heartbreak. We've hiked up to the 10,000 ft level in the Rocky Mountain National Park to a
00:03:52
place where either a tragic accident occurred or did Harold Henthorne [music] push his wife to her death.
00:04:05
The story of how love might have [music] gone murderously wrong begins with a joyful time.
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>> I was extraordinarily happy for my sister. It appeared that she found her true love. And if she was happy, I was
00:04:20
happy. >> Tony, a sophisticated southern bell, met Harold in 1999. Tony's brother Barry was
00:04:28
pleased his 37year-old sister [laughter] had found the kind of man she was looking for.
00:04:35
>> She experimented with Christian matchmakers and she met this guy named Harold Henthornne. Her comments were
00:04:42
that he was very kind. He was very romantic. He was very smart. >> Both had lost their first spouse under
00:04:49
dramatically different circumstances. Tony's marriage had ended in divorce while Harold's first [music] wife died
00:04:58
in a tragic incident. >> What did you know about Harold's first wife, Lynn? >> When we had asked Harold about that, the
00:05:07
only response that we had was that she died in a car accident. >> Barry's wife, Paula, not wanting to
00:05:14
upset Harold, didn't want to pry. >> I thought it was just a bad car wreck and she died. Well, so we, you know,
00:05:21
didn't want to ask him to elaborate. We just took it for face value. >> He seemed like a good match for Tony.
00:05:27
>> Tony's parents, Bob and Ivonne, had a good feeling when they first met Harold.
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>> He said, "I was just smitten by Tony." >> It was easy to be taken with Tony. She
00:05:39
was attractive [music] and successful. A prominent eye doctor and surgeon in Jackson, Mississippi.
00:05:46
>> That looks very pretty on you. Nice job. >> Oh, thank you. >> Mostly though, Tony was known for her
00:05:53
caring nature. >> She loved people and if she could make somebody feel better, she would. And
00:06:01
this started early in her life. >> The middle child with two brothers, [music] Tony was a standout in school.
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>> Did you compete academically? >> Oh, yeah. And she smoked me. [laughter] >> She did.
00:06:13
>> She's probably the smartest lady I've ever met. No small praise coming from Barry
00:06:19
himself a prominent cardiologist and Harold seemed accomplished as well. >> Really nice
00:06:26
>> describing himself as a fundraising consultant with his own company. >> I work with nonprofits that be churches,
00:06:33
schools or hospitals. >> I thought that was a interesting but an odd business in at that time too.
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>> A year after meeting the couple got married in Mississippi. [music] They soon moved to the Denver, Colorado
00:06:49
area where Harold previously lived and said he had business contacts. Tony joined a local opthalmology practice.
00:06:58
But Tony's strong family ties. >> There's Tony and Harold >> would often bring the loving couple.
00:07:04
>> It's always good to come back home. >> Back to Mississippi for holidays. >> It's an exciting year. We love you all
00:07:11
and want you to come out and visit us in Denver. One thing was missing from their life, a
00:07:16
child. And in 2005, Tony and Harold celebrated the birth of their daughter, Haley.
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>> I have daddy and mommy trained very well. He had his daughter. He had his wife. He had his nice life. Daniel
00:07:31
Jarvis was a longtime family friend of Heralds. >> He seemed like good husband. It seemed
00:07:37
like he provided. He's a very good father. When Daniel decided to move to Colorado, Harold and Tony let him stay
00:07:45
with them for several months. And what was it like inside the Henthornne household?
00:07:50
>> Tony went to work in the, you know, most mornings. Harold, he worked down in his
00:07:55
basement. He would say that he was meeting with a client going to lunch or he was traveling.
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Christmas newsletters painted a picture of a happy family with successful careers for both Tony and [music]
00:08:08
Harold. But in 2006, their lives took a terrifying turn. While Barry was demonstrating his new CAT scan machine,
00:08:17
he discovered that Harold's arteries were dangerously clogged. >> Harold was in the throws of the
00:08:24
beginnings of a heart attack. >> Harold was rushed into surgery. >> Do you believe that you saved Harold's
00:08:31
life? >> I know that I did, and Harold would confirm that. >> Tony had her own brush with death in
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2011. She was injured in an unusual accident at their [music] mountain cabin when a heavy wooden beam fell on her.
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>> She said, "I saw something on the floor and if I had not picked it up, it would
00:08:52
have killed me instantly, but it hit the back of my neck and fractured a vertea."
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>> And with that, she did lose some sensation in her hands. When I would call Harold, it was like, "Oh, it's no
00:09:04
big deal." I didn't learn about this until much later. And I said, "Why didn't somebody call me?" And she said,
00:09:11
"Harold didn't call you." And I said, "No." >> By this time, Tony's family says Harold
00:09:17
[music] had become a demanding and controlling husband. Even talking with Tony on the phone seemed impossible.
00:09:26
>> Harold would always answer. See, he had the house phone hooked to his cell phone. The only one-on-one conversation
00:09:35
I ever had was with Harold. If I tried to talk to Tony or a Haley, it was always on speaker phone. Why do you
00:09:43
think he did this? >> I think that he likes to control everything. >> That was also the impression of workers
00:09:51
in Tony's eye practice. Christy Drews noticed Harold wanted to be involved in everything.
00:09:58
>> When our doctors would have meetings, [music] Harold had to be part of it. He
00:10:01
had to know everything she was doing. >> While the staff adored Tony, office manager Tammy Abuscato says their
00:10:09
feelings for Harold were quite different. >> He made us uncomfortable. He was kind of
00:10:16
um kind of there was something creepy about him. She was not able to schedule anything outside of her normal schedule
00:10:24
without first consulting with Harold. So, it was a pleasant surprise when in September of 2012, Harold asked Tammy to
00:10:33
help plan a 12th wedding anniversary surprise trip [music] to Rocky Mountain National Park. She gladly obliged,
00:10:42
secretly clearing Tony's schedule so she could leave early. >> The guy was creepy to me, but she was
00:10:48
married to him and if he was going to do something nice was kind of exciting. You
00:10:53
know, maybe for just a moment I thought, "Huh, that's kind of cool. Maybe he's not so bad."
00:10:58
>> The entire office got involved. Christy took out her cell phone to record the
00:11:04
surprise. >> Hi. >> It's the last image. It's the last time anybody who was close to her saw her
00:11:11
alive. On September 29th, 2012, on a beautiful day like this, Harold and Tony set out
00:11:31
on this trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park on their anniversary hike. About 2 miles up, Harold led them off
00:11:39
trail into rough terrain. She had bad [music] knees, so she was not a well person to go hiking,
00:11:51
particularly in a rugged terrain. These photos were taken on that anniversary hike. A hike that went
00:12:00
terribly wrong, as Barry learned through those text messages from Harold. >> It says Barry, urgent. Tony is injured.
00:12:11
critical requested flight for life and then he texts me back saying that she's gone.
00:12:18
>> Tony had fallen nearly 140 ft to her death. Barry had to break the news to his parents that his 50year-old sister
00:12:28
had [music] died. >> And Barry said, "She's gone. It's the worst two words I've ever heard in my life."
00:12:39
It was like, "No, this didn't happen." >> And for Tony's [music] family, what happened here wasn't adding
00:12:48
up. From Tony with her bad knees taking a strenuous hike to Harold texting Barry
00:12:55
during the accident to the multiple explanations Harold gave about how Tony died.
00:13:02
The story is is that he notices that she was lagging behind and he can't find her. So he starts looking over edges and
00:13:11
and then he sees that she's down at the bottom. >> Then says Barry, that story quickly
00:13:18
changed. >> And he tells me then that he got a text message. And so he has his head down
00:13:24
looking at that phone text and he sees there's like a little flash and then Tony's not there. And does that
00:13:33
story change? >> That story changes by the next day. Tony now is taking a picture of Harold and
00:13:40
Tony has presumably while setting up a shot of him fallen backwards off of a cliff. And so here are three
00:13:50
stories in basically less than 48 hours. >> And what are you thinking? >> Warning buzzers are gone off.
00:13:59
What about the notion that maybe he was suffering post-traumatic stress and those crazy versions of stories was all
00:14:06
a result of shock? >> I think that you got to take all of that in context. If he does have this
00:14:11
irrational emotional behavior, how does he have it together so well to plan her funeral? [music]
00:14:19
Not even 48 hours after his wife has died, he's got a video made. He's got the songs picked out. [music] He's
00:14:27
already contacted the people that are going to sing the songs. It's too well planned.
00:14:34
>> 5 days after Tony's death, hundreds gathered at a memorial service. >> Our purpose today is to honor and to
00:14:42
remember Tony Henthornne. By then, Harold had already cremated Tony, a decision which added to the list of red
00:14:50
flags for the Bertolays. >> We did not want Tony cremated and um Harold insisted. We wanted to
00:15:00
bring her home in burial. >> I think he was trying to hide evidence. I think that Harold Henthornne pushed my
00:15:08
sister off the mountain. Here you are grieving her death, which you now believe may have been a murder. And
00:15:21
if that's the case, the murderer is sitting right next to you, right? >> Yes. Correct.
00:15:26
>> Law enforcement, as it does with all deadly falls, was immediately investigating and discovered something
00:15:33
that raised suspicions. They found this map inside Harold's Jeep with a handdrawn X on the spot where Tony fell.
00:15:43
>> After the service, he came up to me and his first thing was, "They found a map.
00:15:47
They found a map." >> He didn't come up and give you a hug and say, "What a tragedy. I'm so glad you're
00:15:51
here." The first words out of his mouth is, "They found a map." >> Yeah. >> Did you have any idea what he was
00:15:57
talking about? >> No clue. No idea. But a few weeks later, Harold brought it up again, explaining
00:16:04
to Daniel the map was meant for him to highlight a nice trail. Harold also told Daniel he could never hurt Tony.
00:16:13
>> He's saying, "You lived with us. You know that there was nothing wrong in our
00:16:18
marriage. You know that I could never do this." >> And what did you say? >> I said, "Yes, I agree. I don't believe
00:16:24
you could ever do this." The Harold that you knew, was he capable of murder? >> Not the Harold I knew.
00:16:32
>> I knew he did it. >> Co-workers and close friends kind of privately were talking and saying, you
00:16:38
know, I I really feel bad to say this, but I think that Harold did this. [music]
00:16:44
>> In fact, many tips were coming into law enforcement. 16 calls and letters, all
00:16:50
requesting Tony's death be further investigated, with fingers pointing at Harold.
00:16:58
And then there was a tip received by Brian Moss, Denver's CBS4 investigative reporter and 48 Hours consultant. It
00:17:08
changed everything. >> And it just said his first wife died in a freak accident as well.
00:17:15
>> So it was right up about up here. Brian began investigating both deaths and was
00:17:21
shocked by what he found. >> In both cases, the accidents are freakish or bizarre, extremely unusual.
00:17:30
He tells lots of different stories. Both wives had a lot of insurance money on them. He was the one who was going to
00:17:38
benefit from that. >> [music] >> Tony, you say something? >> Tony Hanthorne had a lot of friends. She
00:17:55
had a lot of people who loved her and [music] right from the start wanted to see
00:18:00
justice. They didn't feel good about what happened. With questions being raised about how
00:18:08
Tony Hanthorne fell to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park, investigators seen here were retracing
00:18:16
her last steps. Now focusing on the only witness, her husband, Harold. Remember,
00:18:23
his first wife, Lynn, had also died in unusual circumstances in 1995, crushed under their jeep.
00:18:33
>> She was a great woman. She was awesome in heart and soul. You >> decided while we have a chance.
00:18:42
>> It's so hard to convey the beauty of anyone's spirit, but Lynn was >> truly >> she was the real thing.
00:18:50
>> Lynn's siblings, Kevin, Lisson, and Eric were delighted when their loving sister,
00:18:56
a social worker, found Harold to share her life with. >> He was charming. He was a a fun guy to
00:19:04
be around. She adored him. >> Grace Relle, Lynn's sister-in-law, remembers how happy Lynn seemed during
00:19:12
her 12-year marriage to Harold. >> She looked at him with very loving, adoring eyes.
00:19:21
>> It was a feeling Grace could understand. >> He began to be like this wonderful big
00:19:27
brother to me. >> Would you say a loving personality? >> Oh, incredibly. There were a lot of
00:19:32
times as my family began to grow of watching Harold relate to my girls and how engaging he was with them. He and
00:19:40
Lynn never forgot a birthday Christmas. You just you couldn't ask for, you know,
00:19:45
more loving family. >> But on May 6th, 1995, tragedy struck. >> We got a call from a paramedic
00:19:58
letting us know that there had been an accident. and and she was gone and it just it was
00:20:09
horrible pain. It was horrible. We all came as quick as we could to be there and to comfort Harold.
00:20:23
>> And what did you know about the circumstances of Lynn's death? What were you told?
00:20:30
It was just a freak accident. >> Harold told law enforcement he and Lynn had gone out for dinner and a drive in
00:20:41
this remote area called Sadelia. While driving, Harold thought he was getting a flat tire.
00:20:49
He pulled off the highway here onto the shoulder you see right behind me in the dark to change the tire. Linny said was
00:20:58
helping out holding the tires lug nuts as he removed them. Harold says she dropped one and it went under the
00:21:05
vehicle. And at the same time that Lynn went under to retrieve it, Harold says he threw the flat tire in the back,
00:21:12
knocking the jeep off of its jack and onto Lynn. The Lynn that you knew so well, was she the kind of woman who
00:21:22
would crawl under a car? Was that her nature? >> No. No, it wasn't at all. That's why it
00:21:27
it did seem odd. >> Lynn's siblings also thought the accident bizarre, but they too couldn't
00:21:35
imagine Harold was involved. >> This was a man that we vacationed with and spent hundreds of hours with and um
00:21:46
we just didn't allow ourselves to go there. There she is. >> The Douglas County Sheriff's Department
00:21:56
responded to the accident and started investigating. And just like in Tony Hanthorne's case
00:22:04
17 years later, Harold told a number of conflicting stories. Reports say Harold told one deputy they were driving back
00:22:13
from dinner, told another they were going to dinner. According to one report, Harold said Lynn called out his
00:22:20
name after the Jeep fell on her. But he told another investigator that Lynn said, "I think something's on me."
00:22:28
Harold told one deputy he pulled Lynn out from underneath that Jeep. He later said that people who stopped to help
00:22:35
pulled her out. The sheriff's office investigated Lynn's death for 6 days, then closed the case,
00:22:45
calling it an accident, as did the coroner at the time. In the following years, investigators say Harold
00:22:53
continued telling various versions of what happened the day Lynn died. One bewildering contradiction
00:23:02
after another. the CPR people or the people do, the EMTs didn't know what they were doing and they actually
00:23:08
crushed her. That um she was killed in an automobile accident. A head >> a head-on automobile accident.
00:23:17
>> Not under the car. >> No. >> No. >> There were lots of conflicts. >> Laura Thomas became the Douglas County
00:23:24
Coroner in 2011, 16 years after Lynn's death. A Colorado state trooper for decades,
00:23:32
she hadn't known about Lynn's accident until she heard about Tony's tragic fall and learned both women had been married
00:23:41
to the same man. And you hear this story. What are you thinking? >> Well, I'm thinking that I need to go
00:23:49
into investigator mode. There were lots of things in this story that don't make any sense to me at all. If Lynn
00:23:56
Henthornne's accident had been properly investigated, could Tony Henthornne be alive today?
00:24:09
>> You know, Peter, you ask a question that I have asked myself for over two years.
00:24:16
[screaming] So, if I let the air out. What really happened in 1995, the night [music] Lynn Henthornne, Harold's first
00:24:39
wife, was crushed under their jeep. We asked Arnold Wheat, a nationally recognized [music] accident
00:24:48
reconstruction specialist, to review Lynn's case. >> That's right. Uh 15 to 16 pounds right
00:24:55
there. [music] >> Using a similar make and model as the Henthornne's Jeep Cherokee, wheat, a 48
00:25:02
hours consultant, deflated the tire to the pressure that Harold claimed forced him to pull over on that remote,
00:25:10
darkened highway. >> This doesn't look flat. >> No. Is this undrivable in your opinion?
00:25:16
>> No. In most people's mind, a flat tire is flat with the rim on the ground. >> I've driven on a rim. This isn't
00:25:23
anywhere close to being on the rim. >> No, it's not. >> Then there's an unusual kind of jack
00:25:33
that Weep thinks was similar to this that Harold in one report told investigators he used to change the
00:25:40
tire. Is this a bit precarious to be putting up a 4,000lb Jeep Cherokee? >> Absolutely.
00:25:47
>> Harold told investigators he had to use an unconventional jack because the one
00:25:52
that came with the Jeep didn't work. A claim wheat finds suspicious. How often have you heard a jack like this failing?
00:26:01
Never. Never. Never. What's worse, says coroner Laura Thomas, is it seems investigators just took
00:26:12
Harold's word that the jack was defective. >> There's no indication that the sheriff's
00:26:17
department tested that jack. >> They never tested it. >> Not in the information that I've read.
00:26:24
[music] >> Another issue, one of the tires lug nuts. >> This is a lug nut. It has flat surfaces.
00:26:32
Harold says Lynn dropped a lug nut that somehow rolled all the way under the Jeep, causing Lynn to go retrieve it.
00:26:40
>> They're on a gravel surface. Lug nuts don't move very far when you drop them on a gravel surface. How that lug nut
00:26:47
got underneath there just doesn't make sense. >> That certainly is suspicious to me. Do
00:27:00
you believe as you sit across from me right now that Harold Hanthorne has gotten away with murder in Lynn's case?
00:27:08
>> I think there is a very good chance that he has. >> In December 2014, shortly before her
00:27:17
term as coroner ended, Laura's suspicions led her to make a dramatic decision. >> I don't believe that Lynn Hanthorne got
00:27:25
justice. She changed the manner of death in Lynn Hanthorne's case from accident to undetermined.
00:27:38
The Douglas County Sheriff's Department also reopened Lynn's case, but has not charged Harold Heenthorne with any
00:27:46
crime. >> You say something into the camera. Um, he goes. [laughter] >> Meanwhile, federal investigators looking
00:27:55
into the 2012 fatal fall of Harold's second wife, Tony, were zeroing in on him. They interviewed Daniel Jarvis, the
00:28:05
friend who briefly lived in the Henthornne house. >> She asked me what Harold had told me
00:28:10
about his job, and I gave her the details of he said he was a fundraising consultant for nonprofits. The
00:28:18
investigator listened to Daniel's story and then presented some jaw-dropping news.
00:28:24
>> She said, "Let me go ahead and tell you something. Harold has not worked in 20
00:28:28
years." And it's kind of like a bomb exploded. [music] Federal investigators have come out and
00:28:37
proven he had no income at all. That he wasn't raising any money, but he was telling everybody that he was this
00:28:43
incredibly successful entrepreneur and businessman who was raising all this money for various organizations.
00:28:50
>> Harold reportedly told others that Tony knew he wasn't working. A claim Tony's
00:28:55
family says is untrue, as Harold controlled the finances. >> [bell] >> Law enforcement also thinks the time
00:29:04
when Tony was accidentally struck in the head at the family's cabin may have actually been the first time Harold
00:29:12
tried to kill her. Everyone wanted answers from Harold. >> Is Mr. Henthornne here? Is he here?
00:29:20
>> And he wasn't talking. >> Is there a time when we could get together with you? I want to give you
00:29:25
another opportunity to explain what's going on. I just want to give you a chance to
00:29:29
>> my attorney. I really don't appreciate being my property like this. >> Federal authorities do not believe that
00:29:34
Harold Henthornne is any kind of a hard luck husband who's just the victim of circumstance. They think he is a killer.
00:29:41
[music] A killer they believe with a motive and a bizarre business model collecting life
00:29:48
insurance proceeds worth millions. Nearly $645,000 on Lynn and potentially millions on
00:29:57
Tony. Do authorities believe that Harold had basically started up a cottage industry here, marry someone, get life
00:30:05
insurance, and off the wife? They've connected the dots that way. And Grace Relle, Harold's
00:30:19
exister-in-law, thinks she could have been part of that industry. something she learned when the FBI told her about
00:30:27
a secret $400,000 life insurance policy Harold had taken out on her. Grace says Harold forged her
00:30:37
signature, making himself the sole beneficiary. >> That was his doing. I did not authorize
00:30:45
that policy. >> You die, he profits. >> He profits. >> What do you think he was up to?
00:30:52
I think it's logical to conclude that he was planning on taking my life at some point.
00:30:58
>> You potentially were going to be victim number three. >> He's a dangerous man. He needs to be
00:31:05
behind bars. >> Did you kill both of your wives? >> Finally, in November of 2014,
00:31:12
>> how did Tony die? Harold Hanthorne was arrested and charged by federal authorities with the firstdegree murder
00:31:20
of Tony. And justice for Tony could bring justice for Lynn Henthornne. >> She didn't deserve to be crushed under a
00:31:29
jeep out here. >> As a judge ruled, the circumstances surrounding Lynn's death can be
00:31:35
presented at his trial for Tony's murder. It will strengthen the case enormously for Tony to have Lynn's case
00:31:44
added in. >> And in September 2015, 3 years after Tony's death, Harold Henthornne's trial
00:31:52
for her murder began. >> Going into this trial, I'm really thinking this is a tossup. You have no
00:31:58
eyewitnesses. There's no confession. So, you're wondering if there's one hold out
00:32:03
juror, if one person doesn't buy circumstantial evidence, can the government really sell this case?
00:32:13
[music] I'm going to step off here, show you the scene in front of the federal courthouse
00:32:27
right now. national and local media gathering. They are waiting for the families. There's a lot of interest in
00:32:33
Denver and frankly around the world in this trial. They're interested in justice because the circumstances are so
00:32:40
unusual. A husband whose two wives die in these freak accidents. >> The federal judge in the case told
00:32:47
prospective jurors this trial quote will be a doozy. >> Did you kill both of your wives? The
00:32:52
murder trial of Harold Heenthorne, where cameras were not allowed, begins with the prosecution laying out its
00:32:59
circumstantial case. They portray Harold Heenthorne as an abject liar who's lied about everything in his life.
00:33:09
They say that he stood to make about $4.7 million in life insurance if Tony Henthorne died. So, your mom's doing
00:33:18
okay, >> precious Molly. [laughter] Henthornne's defense attorney stands up and says, "My client's a very unusual,
00:33:27
quirky guy, and he has lied, but that doesn't necessarily make him a killer." >> I just remember the defense attorney
00:33:34
saying, "I don't have to prove anything." >> Juror Don Roberts. >> This is up to them to prove. The
00:33:41
prosecution set out to do just that using drone footage. Video and photographs documenting the couple's
00:33:50
ascent along the mountain trail they believe became a murder scene. >> And they were able to establish a
00:33:57
pattern of him visiting that same area because his phone when he would text or call was hitting the same exact [music]
00:34:03
tower. Juror Marcy Miller Zan says the FBI presented evidence using Henthornne's cell phone records to show
00:34:11
he made repeated scouting trips. And how many times did he visit that area? >> Nine times.
00:34:17
>> And what does that tell you? >> It tells me he's planning. >> Also compelling to jurors was that 911
00:34:26
call. Give two more regular breaths and then pump 30 more times. >> That's exactly what I'll be doing.
00:34:36
>> And how evidence didn't seem to support the efforts Harold claims he made after
00:34:41
climbing down the mountain [music] to revive Tony, including mouthto-mouth resuscitation.
00:34:48
>> And her lipstick was still on, so you'd know that would be impossible. And there was the testimony of Barry
00:34:55
Bertolay, Tony's brother, who is a doctor, about the texts he received from Harold.
00:35:02
>> At one point she's slow heart rate, at another point she's fast heart rate. Well, which is it?
00:35:09
>> There was also this powerful piece of evidence, that map taken from Harold's Jeep, where he had drawn an X at the
00:35:17
very spot where Tony had fallen to her death. Longtime friend Daniel Jarvis testified
00:35:27
how Harold told him at Tony's funeral that the map had been made for him. >> It wasn't made for me. I believe it was
00:35:37
made for that time. >> And he put an X on there. So >> So what do you think this all adds up
00:35:43
to? I think he planned to go out there and have nobody around >> and do what? >> And push Tony off a cliff.
00:35:56
>> It was like, okay, um, he's trying to hide something. >> Juror Jerry Tabota >> and trying to get Mr. Jarvis to be on
00:36:04
his side of the story. Another point of drama came when the [music] prosecution presented evidence
00:36:12
that Harold may have stolen a precious item from his dead wife's body. >> After Tony Henthornne's fall, they find
00:36:24
her wedding ring on her finger. Her hand not severely damaged, but the diamond is
00:36:30
missing from the wedding ring. And it's worth about $30,000 according to Harold.
00:36:36
>> And that area was scoured, right? >> Scoured. Investigators combed through that area. And so it was a real mystery.
00:36:44
Where did the diamond go? >> But 8 months later, an investigator returning to the scene, suddenly found
00:36:52
the diamond suspiciously sitting on the ground in plain sight. During the investigation, Harold Henthornne got a
00:37:01
lot of pressure from the FBI about that diamond and it got to him. The prosecution believes Harold Henthornne
00:37:08
put the diamond back. And there was that information allowed about the unusual way Harold's first wife, Lynn, died,
00:37:18
crushed under that jeep. Once we learned more about Lynn's death and the circumstances of her death, then it
00:37:24
started coming together for me that there were very many similarities in the two cases.
00:37:30
>> Pattern of behavior. >> Pattern of behavior. >> There was only one person these jurors
00:37:35
now wanted to hear from, someone they felt had some explaining to do. >> I wanted to hear from Harold. I would
00:37:42
have loved to see him get on the stand and give another account to the jury of what happened that night.
00:37:49
>> Yeah. and it didn't happen. >> In fact, Harold's defense attorney rested his case without calling a single
00:37:57
witness, confident jurors would see Tony's death as an accident. Tony's brother, Barry, looked over at Harold.
00:38:06
>> Yes. >> What did you see on his face? >> It was a defiant look and it was like,
00:38:12
you know, one of these come and get me and I hope we did. The jury began its deliberation.
00:38:20
>> We're all somewhat anxious and waiting the decision if there's a hung jury. >> Gathered together for the wait is not
00:38:27
just Tony's family, but Lynn's as well. >> We hope to be able to have a celebratory
00:38:33
dinner tonight together. So, we're just praying that the jury will come back and
00:38:39
uh get a quick verdict. After 10 hours of deliberation, the jury took a vote. >> Our four person said, "Who's for
00:38:49
guilty?" And every hand in the room went up. >> Every hand. >> Every hand quickly.
00:38:56
>> Harold Hanthorne was convicted of firstdegree murder. >> After the trial officially ended, you
00:39:04
know, all the years I've been doing this, I've never seen that before. What happens? I went and hugged Ivonne,
00:39:13
>> the mother of Tony, and just whispered in ear, "No mom should ever go through
00:39:17
what you've gone through." She just said, "As one mom to another, I feel your pain."
00:39:27
>> While the verdict means justice for the Burlays, Barry's mind still wanders back
00:39:33
to that time he saved Harold from a certain heart attack. The man he now knows went on to kill his sister.
00:39:42
[music] >> You know, I think as a physician, you know, you have this oath and this
00:39:46
obligation to do that, but I'd like to have my sister back. Barry is not alone in regrets. [music]
00:40:05
Lynn's family has its own. >> We grieve for the burlades. >> Because had we come forward at that time with
00:40:16
with more suspicions, [music] then maybe Tony would be alive today. >> One tragic [music] connection they share
00:40:24
is the fact that Harold spread Tony and Lynn's ashes 17 years apart at the same spot.
00:40:33
And I'm glad that we're here with you, little girl. I >> know. >> Now, young Haley Henthornne is the focus
00:40:40
of attention. [music] She is slowly learning details about her mother's death. >> Your mama was about my height, wasn't
00:40:47
she? >> Yeah, she was about 5'4. People in Mississippi don't get to see mountains
00:40:51
that much. >> Barry and Paula worked [music] through the courts to bring Haley as their ward
00:40:57
to Mississippi, the place her mother considered home. Where might she end up? >> Hopefully right there.
00:41:11
[snorts] >> Hopefully right there. >> You'd like to adopt her? >> Absolutely. >> We're excited about you coming. There's
00:41:19
actually >> in that [music] she can be in a place where she's loved by family and grow up
00:41:24
in an environment where everybody knew her mom as intelligent, smart, [music] as a hero. I want her to know who her
00:41:35
mom really was. >> Wow, that's awesome. Good job. >> [music] [music] [music] [music]
00:42:24
[music] >> Stephanie and I did a dance together [music] and it was a dance about love and loss
00:42:57
and it was an empty chair on the stage. [music] The empty chair symbolizes the loss of a loved one.
00:43:08
I thought, how ironic is this that we [music] do this dance and now Stephanie is the one that's in my empty
00:43:20
chair. [music] My name is Jennifer Vauakis and Stephanie is my best friend. I think about Stephanie every day. Every
00:43:31
time I dance, she's with me. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving in Silverthorn, very [music] small town,
00:43:44
Colorado. It was dark night. It was a blizzard that night and very cold. Temperature
00:43:56
was 1° with wind chill of -20 or lower. Stephanie Roller Bruner, mother of three.
00:44:08
While her young children are asleep, she supposedly goes out for a walk on this cold, snowy, blizzard night,
00:44:17
and she disappears into thin air. >> My job was to find Stephanie, and if I couldn't find Stephanie, I felt like I
00:44:26
would fail. >> My name is Teresa Berger. I'm a detective for the Silverthorn Police
00:44:31
Department. I was hoping for the best, but I was thinking of the worst. Summit County, Colorado. It can get very
00:44:40
cold and it can be very dangerous. First 24 hours is the most imperative when finding a missing person.
00:44:50
I didn't find her. >> The scenario that you hope happens is that Stephanie would be found safe and
00:44:58
unheard somewhere. I'm Mark Robert and I'm the district attorney up here in Summit County and we
00:45:07
were called in early on in the case because up here every missing person we look at is possibly a homicide.
00:45:18
>> Each day that we looked into Stephanie's life, we learned many things. We learned
00:45:23
that Stephanie had secrets. >> She was very scared. She was scared for her life.
00:45:32
>> I don't know what it is about beautiful, kind women who [music] fall into these
00:45:36
kind of traps. That's the biggest question now is why [music] >> [music] >> This is a story of a mother of three,
00:46:10
[music] a lovely person who loved to dance, who disappeared in a blizzard in the
00:46:19
cold. No leads, no shoe print in the snow. And it's a puzzle. Where is she? When Stephanie Roller went missing in
00:46:36
November of 2010, Teresa Barger was still a uniformed police officer. But before it was over, her determination to
00:46:45
find out what happened to Stephanie would earn her the title detective. I take most of my cases personally, but
00:46:53
because she was alone and we couldn't find her, that became my project. That became a passion to find her.
00:47:02
Officer Barger helped launch a massive search and rescue effort to find the missing mother of three. Stephanie's
00:47:09
husband, Dale Bruner, said he last saw his wife around 10:30 [music] p.m. on Monday night. 24 hours later, there was
00:47:17
still no sign of her. >> [music] >> We've called everybody that we can call that we know of. I've got the kids at
00:47:23
the house at this point. Mommy didn't come home and I don't know what to tell the kids. You can't tell them anything.
00:47:28
You don't know anything yet. I'm scared. >> The thought of losing Stephanie was too
00:47:35
much to take in, says Dale. He'd been in love with her from the moment he set eyes on her at a ski resort in Oregon.
00:47:42
>> She was wearing sunglasses, and I didn't know what she really looked like at all
00:47:45
until she took her sunglasses off. And I was just stunned. And I was like, "Wow,
00:47:49
this she's beautiful." >> They moved together to Silverthornne, Colorado, a town near the popular ski
00:47:55
resort of Breenidge. Athletic and adventurous, Stephanie fit right in, says friend Jennifer Vakus.
00:48:03
>> When Stephanie [music] moved to the county, the first thing she wanted to do was dance. And so I was the lucky
00:48:09
recipient of that call because I owned a dance studio. We were friends from the very start. From the first word, I knew
00:48:17
that she was something very special. >> Stephanie went to work for the county reviewing home building plans and Dale
00:48:24
built a business as a photographer. They eventually married in Fiji and had three children, a girl,
00:48:34
a boy, and a second little girl. >> She really wanted children, and she was very happy.
00:48:41
>> We weren't rich, but we did. We were doing okay. We were able to take the vacations to Mexico and Disney World,
00:48:50
you know, every year and Hawaii, you know, three or four times in the last few years.
00:48:55
>> It sounds like an idyllic life. >> Yeah. >> But a few months before she disappeared,
00:49:01
Dale's best friend, Brad Olivanti, says he watched that idyllic life morph into something unrecognizable.
00:49:09
>> I called it the perfect storm. It just seemed like things started going on a different direction quickly.
00:49:18
>> Stephanie was laid off and Dale's photography business dried up in the tight economy. But that wasn't the worst
00:49:26
of it. >> What state was your marriage in? A >> juggling act. >> In what sense? >> Well, Stephanie wanted out. She said,
00:49:35
"I've fallen out of love with you. I've met someone else. I want to move on." That someone else was a physical
00:49:42
therapist named Ron Hold House. They met when Stephanie was teaching him to dance
00:49:47
for a local benefit. Dancing with the mountain stars. >> Hey Mark, how are you? >> Good. How are you doing?
00:49:52
>> District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. >> Even though there did not appear to be anything physical, emotionally they
00:49:58
appeared to be very connected with each other. Their secret blog called Souls Seeking tells the story of two lovers
00:50:06
longing but unable because of circumstance [music] to be together. >> It was definitely a love affair. It was
00:50:12
a affair of the heart. >> About 6 months after meeting Ron, Stephanie asked Dale for a divorce.
00:50:19
>> Were you willing to get divorced? >> Yes, absolutely. I wanted Stephanie to always be happy,
00:50:25
>> even if it was with someone else. >> That's not my choice. I mean, that's her. If if that's what makes her happy,
00:50:31
then, you know, [music] if being with me wasn't going to be make her happy, then
00:50:35
that's not why would I want that. >> But to the police, the combination of jilted husband and missing wife raised a
00:50:42
red flag. >> I heard the door and there was two police officers. One of them flat out
00:50:48
was yelling at me. He said, "Did you kill your wife?" And I was just stunned. I'm like, "What are you talking about?"
00:50:54
>> But Dale wasn't the only one on their radar. Turns out Mr. Holt House had a Mrs. Holt House. And despite what he
00:51:03
said in those romantic love letters, Ron had no intention of leaving his wife. He
00:51:09
broke it to Stephanie the day before she disappeared. >> He was trying to break it off with
00:51:14
Stephanie. >> Yes. He said that he would he needed to step back and work on his relationship
00:51:19
with his wife. But Stephanie was so upset, Ron told officer Barger that he agreed to meet her in the parking lot
00:51:27
where they often came to talk. >> Stephanie and Ron met here about 5 hours before Stephanie went missing.
00:51:34
>> They parted, but later that night, Officer Barger says Stephanie was still fixated on getting Ron back. She wrote
00:51:42
him an emotional email detailing her love for him. >> And at that point, the trail went cold.
00:51:49
[music] Dale told officer Barger that around 10:30, Stephanie told him she needed to
00:51:56
clear her head. He heard the door shut and then she walked off into that dark, snowy night.
00:52:19
It's hard to admit [music] that the worst could happen to you. You don't think it's going to ever
00:52:26
happen to you. From the minute Stephanie Roller disappeared, Jennifer Vakus and her
00:52:36
husband Mike scoured the county looking for their missing friend. >> I searched in the river. I searched
00:52:42
under bridges, covered outlets, even dumpsters and that sort of thing. >> We had to look for her. Who knows where
00:52:49
she was. It was better than not doing anything at all. >> They went from hotel to hotel.
00:52:55
>> We took every lead that we could and we explored it. >> They called Stephanie's cell phone
00:53:01
countless times hoping she would answer. She never did. >> I was in shock. According to Dale,
00:53:10
Stephanie had left that night in a lightweight jacket. She had no purse, no money, no car keys, only a phone she
00:53:18
wasn't answering and a computer she wasn't using. >> What? She took her computer, but she
00:53:25
didn't take her purse for a walk in freezing temperatures. That wasn't adding up.
00:53:33
Though technically still a missing person's case, the Silverthorn PD started treating it as a murder
00:53:39
investigation right there. >> And this was one of the people officers wanted to talk to, Ron Holt House, the
00:53:46
boyfriend. >> I just want to ask straight up again, not you. Do you know where Stephanie is
00:53:53
right now? I absolutely >> He was nervous, but he was very forthcoming on the information that we
00:54:00
had asked. And I was actually trying to tell her that it was over. And then she said asked me again one more time like,
00:54:08
"But we can make it work." I said, "No, we cannot make this work." He appeared to me genuine at that point. But we
00:54:15
didn't give up because you never know. He could be a really good liar. Oh, yeah. He could have been.
00:54:25
The search for Stephanie slowed down on Thanksgiving Day, but not for Officer Barger. She kept grinding away.
00:54:33
>> There was nothing leading me to her, and that's not normal. Usually, there is a
00:54:37
trace somewhere. >> By that evening, she was at her wit's end. >> It became a horrible evening. All I kept
00:54:47
thinking is, we need a locator. The next day, Friday, >> I want you to stay in the same tracks
00:54:55
you came in on. >> Barger sadly got her wish. >> Around noon, the frozen body of a woman
00:55:04
was found just a few minutes walk from Stephanie Roller's home under melting snow in the Blue River.
00:55:11
>> The majority of her body was was submerged. >> Agent Greg Sedar with the Colorado
00:55:15
Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist the local police. She was lying face up in the water and she was naked
00:55:24
with the exception of a long sleeve teal t-shirt was still attached to her right
00:55:28
arm. >> That was it. >> Yes, ma'am. >> There was no sign of sexual assault, but the clothes she was reportedly wearing
00:55:38
were never found. It was very hard to look at her cuz I could tell [music] from the pictures it
00:55:49
was her. It was the same person that I've been looking for and it was very hard.
00:55:57
It's unescribable. I just was so shocked. I couldn't react. I couldn't react. My first thought was, what happened to
00:56:12
her? And my second was my kids. Like, oh my god, my kids have lost their mom. This was a very brutal, brutal murder.
00:56:25
She was hit over the head, which caused her skull to break. She was strangled so
00:56:32
hard that a bone in her neck broke. while still alive, thrown into the Blue River and left to drown and die of
00:56:41
hypothermia. >> How horrible that it had to be for her to be in that that river and to sit
00:56:50
there and not be able to do anything. She suffered. I had to focus now and bring that person
00:56:59
to justice because she needed that. And her children, her children needed that. Tonight is about celebration to take
00:57:08
away memories of Stephanie Roller Bruner. >> One week after Stephanie Roller's battered body was pulled from the icy
00:57:16
waters of the Blue River, >> when I met Stephanie, I just knew I had to be her friend.
00:57:21
>> Friends, >> my heart is with you. >> Family and people who had never even met
00:57:26
her gathered in the theater where she once danced to celebrate her life. Stephanie, thank you for teaching us
00:57:33
strength and courage. >> It was very important [music] that we called it a celebration because that's
00:57:38
who Stephanie was. She always wanted her life to be happy. >> It was a beautiful service.
00:57:45
>> People are just griefstricken. >> But Agent Sedar wasn't just there to pay his respects. He was there to work. And
00:57:53
that meant keeping a close eye on another of his suspects, Dale Bruner. As I watched Dale, he would look around the
00:58:02
room comfortable and calm. Then when somebody would walk up to him, he would break down crying, no tears,
00:58:10
and then when that person filed away, he'd snap back into just a normal demeanor again. It was one of the oddest
00:58:16
behaviors I've ever seen. >> But Dale's best friend, Brad, a longtime funeral director, says there's no
00:58:24
accounting for behavior in times of grief. Nevertheless, he suggested it might be time for Dale to lawyer up.
00:58:32
>> I kind of had a little chat with him. I said, "Pal, um, I don't know if you watch TV," and he does, "But do you know
00:58:39
that, you know, the husband usually is the person that they're going to come after in a situation like this when a
00:58:47
wife goes missing and is now deceased." Investigators were definitely eyeing Dale, but he wasn't the only one. There
00:58:58
were still two others high on their list. >> One was Ron Hold House and the other was
00:59:03
Cynthia Holt House. >> Cynthia Hold House. >> Hi, Cynthia. Hello. >> The boyfriend's wife.
00:59:08
>> How are you? >> She at one point had said that she wished that Stephanie was dead. And she
00:59:15
said this, "Well, Stephanie was missing." Have >> you ever taken a photograph exam before?
00:59:20
No. >> Ron Hold House and his wife Cynthia both took lie detector tests. How'd they do?
00:59:28
>> They both failed. >> They failed. What did that tell you? >> We needed to do digging.
00:59:49
So, this is a bridge where Stephanie used to like to walk. >> That's what Dale told us that this was
00:59:54
one of her favorite places. >> Sadly, it now overlooks the stretch of river where Stephanie Roller's body was
01:00:01
found. A cruel irony that made Agent Sedar all the more determined to find her killer. Mario.
01:00:09
>> Yeah. >> What's your strategy to solve this case? >> Narrow down who would have motive,
01:00:17
opportunity, and ability to kill Miss Bruner. >> In his mind, that came down to three
01:00:24
people. The jilted husband, the married boyfriend, and the boyfriend's jealous wife.
01:00:30
>> The jealous wife. I'm the jealous wife. >> At this point, I think everybody's a
01:00:36
suspect. Investigators believed each one had the motive and the ability to kill Stephanie. They just had to figure out
01:00:43
which one had the opportunity. Starting with Ron Hold House. >> Did Ron have an alibi?
01:00:49
>> Yes. His wife. >> So Ron's alibi was Cynthia and Cynthia's alibi was >> Ron. Yes. Husband and wife said they were
01:01:01
home together all night. And in interview after interview, their stories matched. Something that made Agent Sedar
01:01:09
believe them. >> It's almost impossible to lie consistently, not only about yourself,
01:01:14
but about someone else and have those lies continue to sink up. >> You don't think they could have been
01:01:18
covering for each other. >> I found that at that time to be highly unlikely. >> Cynthia didn't even learn about the
01:01:25
affair until after Stephanie went missing, says Sedar. He believes she was too angry to lie for her husband.
01:01:33
>> You didn't know you love him as much as you do. I didn't tell you love a lot.
01:01:36
>> Yeah, I love him. But no, I wouldn't love him. >> No, because >> you know he was still going to go to
01:01:42
prison if he did. >> You know what? If he made his bed, I'd go away. >> But what about those lie detector tests?
01:01:50
The ones they both failed. Agent Sedar thinks Cynthia's distressed emotional state caused her to fail. As for Ron,
01:01:59
this person. >> I think he was telling us the truth. I think that deep down inside I think he
01:02:04
really felt like he was on some level responsible for her disappearance. >> He had that guilt that
01:02:09
>> absolutely. >> So ultimately you focused on another suspect. Who was that? Dale Bruner.
01:02:16
>> From day one Dale's behavior didn't add up, says Barger. >> He was casual. He was calm about things.
01:02:23
He did not seem like a person who was looking for his wife. [music] Jennifer was just as perplexed by Dale's
01:02:29
demeanor. She got to the house about 6 hours after Stephanie was reported missing.
01:02:34
>> First thing he did was set me down at the kitchen table and start complaining
01:02:38
about Stephanie, how she didn't keep the house and how he did everything for her.
01:02:43
And in my mind, I'm thinking Stephanie's missing. What are we talking about here? And I
01:02:52
asked him, "What have you done so far?" He had done nothing to help find her. Well, okay. Who have you called? Nobody.
01:03:02
Nobody. He called nobody. What would you do if your spouse went missing? Would you sit there and call
01:03:11
nobody? >> What's more, he never even left the house to search for her. >> It's human instinct. If you love
01:03:18
someone, you go search for them. >> But where? Just go out and start walking. Yeah, canvasing.
01:03:26
>> But I was told I was told the police will do that. >> It must have taken a remarkable amount
01:03:31
of self-control as a husband who loves his wife, if she's missing, to stay home and not search for her.
01:03:37
>> Where am I going to look? >> The next day, officer Barger called Dale into the station for questioning. At
01:03:44
this point, his wife had been missing almost 2 days. Yet, he still seemed unconcerned.
01:03:50
>> I walked in, there he was, asleep. Dale was asleep in the chair. I was speechless. I really didn't know what
01:03:58
else to think. I mean, he was sleeping right there, sleeping in the chair, and we're still looking for her.
01:04:04
>> During most of the interview, Barger says he was eerily calm and relaxed. >> And I'm like, what if she just comes
01:04:12
home? I don't want to worry her parents. What if this is just silly, >> right? And I only give her parents a
01:04:16
heart attack just by, you know, some stupid information. Officer Barger says she will never forget the look in those
01:04:23
eyes. >> You know how you can tell somebody isn't genuine? Their eyes, they look
01:04:30
different. You know, there looks like there's nothing behind them. There's no care, there's no love, there's nothing
01:04:35
behind them. >> Dale says he keeps his emotions in check for a reason. >> I know. I could just fall on the floor
01:04:41
and just start crying. I mean, and then I don't know if I'll be able to get up. So instead,
01:04:52
>> instead I do this and I hold on. And so that's that's counted as insincere cuz I don't know if I'll stop
01:05:05
>> stop crying. >> Yeah. >> Investigators might have been able to overlook some of Dale Bruner's weird
01:05:10
behavior, but they couldn't overlook his timeline. Dale told the police that Stephanie left for her walk on that
01:05:17
bitterly cold night between 10 and 10:30. He didn't report her missing until 8:45 the next morning. He said to
01:05:27
give her space. >> I didn't know where she went. I half worried, half is she with the
01:05:33
boyfriend? Is she not? If she needs her space, whatever she's doing, I don't know. And the last thing I wanted to do
01:05:40
was badger her. When did you start to worry? >> The morning. I mean, I worried that
01:05:46
night late, but I'm like, you know, she she's a big girl. >> Why do you think he waited 11 hours to
01:05:52
call police? >> Waited 11 hours because he was he was getting rid of evidence. >> When you realized that Dale Bruner was
01:06:00
your prime suspect, were you concerned for the kids? >> Absolutely. Without her there to protect
01:06:05
him, we were very worried about the kids. The day after their mother's memorial, children's services swept in
01:06:12
and removed the children from their home. They were sent to live with Stephanie's family. At this point, Brad
01:06:19
confronted his friend. >> I asked my best friend and looked at him in the eye and said, "Did you have
01:06:26
anything to do with this?" And he looked me straight in the eye and said, "No." But authorities were learning that Dale
01:06:38
was a master at hiding the truth. They began to uncover deep secrets in Dale Bruner's past, which gave them enough
01:06:46
ammunition to arrest him. 8 months after Stephanie Roller's [music] death, Dale Bruner was indicted for the murder of
01:06:53
his wife. >> We got him. We are going to get justice for [music] Stephanie. >> [music]
01:07:15
>> District Attorney Mark Hurlbert was sure he had the right guy, but he knew [music] he had his work cut
01:07:24
out for him. >> Biggest challenge is that we have no direct evidence. I mean, this was a
01:07:28
circumstantial evidence case. >> Dale, released on bond, remained adamant that he was innocent. So adamant, he
01:07:37
rejected a deal of 24 years in exchange for a guilty plea. >> I'm going, "Dude, you might want to
01:07:45
think about that." And he was adamant. He goes, "I am not going to admit to a crime that I did not do."
01:07:56
[music] Instead, he chose to take his chances in court. In July of 2012, a year and eight
01:08:04
months after the slaying of Stephanie Roller, Dale Bruner went on trial for her murder.
01:08:12
>> Here is our victim right in the center of the river. We are hoping to prove that Dale Bruner,
01:08:17
>> the white material you're seeing right here is snow. >> Hit Stephanie over the head with some
01:08:21
blunt forced object, strangled her, carried her body in the snow to the Blue River, and threw her body in the river.
01:08:31
>> There is not a shred of evidence to directly link my client to these crimes. Dale's defense attorney, Rob
01:08:42
Burnernhard, zeros in on the lack of direct evidence, hoping to show reasonable doubt.
01:08:49
>> What we know is that they didn't find anything. Nothing, not one footprint, not one track,
01:08:59
not one fingerprint. I've never seen him do a violent thing in my life. This guy is just a mellow,
01:09:08
grounded, nice, good guy. He's a good guy. Everyone that knows him loves him. >> Dale had us all pretty well fooled. You
01:09:20
know, he was very kind and nice and, you know, almost too nice. So, I would say beware of that too nice.
01:09:30
Jennifer says it wasn't until the last month of her life that Stephanie finally opened up about
01:09:38
the other side of Dale Bruner, the dark side. >> She finally got the courage to tell me
01:09:46
what was going on in her life. >> Stephanie told her Dale had been violent with her in the past. Even during her
01:09:55
first pregnancy, [music] >> he had gotten angry somehow and threw her on their bed and put his knee on her
01:10:02
stomach on her belly and um threatened her. >> Dale promised he would get help and she
01:10:11
decided to stay, but she never forgot. >> She warned me that if she were to get hurt, he did it.
01:10:21
Turns out Stephanie wasn't the only woman to have experienced Dale Bruner's fury. Terresa Barger got a call on the
01:10:29
tip line from an old girlfriend of Dales. >> What was the specific thing that she
01:10:34
said that you went, "Uh-oh." >> He killed Stephanie. He had to have killed Stephanie because
01:10:40
this is what he did to me. Jodie Eberhart was in her 20s and living with Dale Bruner in the early 90s when
01:10:48
she says the mask came off. He'd come home late and she accused him of being out with another girl.
01:10:56
>> He pushed me down onto the carpet and put his hands around my neck and said, "Um, if you ever say or do that again,
01:11:03
I'll kill you." He was actually physically holding me down on on the floor >> with his hand around your neck.
01:11:10
>> With both hands around my neck. Yeah, it it all happened so fast. I never saw
01:11:17
it coming. >> In a huge win for the prosecution, the judge allowed Jodie Eberhart and another
01:11:24
woman with a similar story to testify at trial. >> Do you think it could have been you in
01:11:30
that river? Had I stayed with him, it could have been. Mhm. >> This one's to Ellie for me, but you have
01:11:36
to wait. >> Wait. For Stephanie, with three little kids, leaving was a daunting prospect.
01:11:44
>> But six weeks before she was killed, Stephanie came home to find Dale angrily
01:11:51
striking their [music] son for refusing to listen. That was it. >> She said, quote unquote, "He can do
01:11:59
anything he wants to me, but when he starts hurting my kids, that's where I draw a line in the sand."
01:12:05
>> [music] >> Stephanie immediately filed a restraining order forbidding Dale to
01:12:10
come near her or the children. A recording of the hearing was played in court. [gasps]
01:12:16
>> So, I'm here asking for help. >> The room fell silent as Stephanie spoke from the grave about Dale's history of
01:12:25
abuse. >> I can't go back to him. He has threatened my life years ago, but you know, with a hand on my throat, didn't
01:12:35
squeeze it, screaming in my face, I will kill you if you leave. >> It was incredibly powerful to hear that
01:12:41
cuz you don't hear that in murder cases. >> As soon as he finds out from social services that I've entered the system,
01:12:48
I'm going to run with my kids. I mean, I don't know what he's going to do. >> You were painted as a violent husband.
01:12:56
Are you violent? Absolutely not. >> Did you ever threaten Stephanie? >> Never. Ever.
01:13:03
>> She testified at the restraining order hearing. You threatened to kill her. >> I can only I can only think that was
01:13:09
about custody of the children. That's a guess. >> But they're all lies. >> Absolutely.
01:13:15
>> Here's the thing. I guess it might be more believable to think that Stephanie
01:13:20
was lying if she didn't end up dead. But you hear all of these stories about how
01:13:24
she says you threatened to kill her, that you were a violent man, and then she ends up dead.
01:13:30
>> It's horrible, isn't it? >> In the weeks leading up to her death, Stephanie's behavior became more
01:13:37
erratic. First, for reasons only Stephanie knows, she rescended the restraining order.
01:13:44
>> I think she rescended the restraining order because she was afraid of him. Afraid what he could do to her.
01:13:50
>> So, she let him come home. Then two days before she was killed, >> she actually moved out to the right side
01:13:58
of this duplex right here, right there, >> she packed up the kids and tried to get
01:14:03
away again. But within hours, Stephanie and the kids were back home with Dale. It seems to me that in her most
01:14:12
desperate hour when she realized she couldn't afford what she was trying to do, it must have been so hard for her to
01:14:20
actually go back. >> Why Stephanie didn't knock on her door instead of going back to Dale is a
01:14:29
question that haunts Jennifer to this day. >> You would not believe the guilt, the
01:14:36
remorse, whatifs all the time. What if? And I understand it's not my fault. It's
01:14:44
a situation where she was a victim and victims don't always see clearly or think clearly.
01:14:51
The day after moving home, Stephanie made a decision that may have cost her her life. Remember that email she was
01:14:59
writing to her boyfriend Ron the night she disappeared? Well, that email became the smoking gun of the prosecution's
01:15:06
case. This last email that Stephanie wrote is very frank with Ron. I love you so much. You're the love of my life.
01:15:15
But then there's no closing. >> Yes. >> What happened? >> It was never sent. Even though we were
01:15:22
never able to find her computer, we were able to go to the internet company and find out that this email was never sent.
01:15:30
Herbert thinks Dale saw that email, flew into a rage, hit her over the head, possibly with the computer they never
01:15:39
found, and then strangled her. >> Did you see the email she was writing that night and then strike her?
01:15:48
>> Absolutely not. >> Did you strangle her? >> Absolutely not. >> Did you kill Stephanie Dale?
01:15:54
>> Absolutely not. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I absolutely had nothing to do with her death.
01:16:02
>> You're 100% sure that it was Dale? >> Yeah. >> No doubts? >> No. >> No doubts.
01:16:13
>> After a two week trial, both sides rest. It is now up to a jury to decide who to
01:16:19
believe. Stephanie Roller, >> I will kill you if you leave. >> Or Dale Bruner. Did you love your wife?
01:16:26
>> Yes, abs. I still love my wife. Jennifer Vakus had walked the entire journey alongside her dearest friend,
01:16:51
Stephanie Roller. She danced with her. She searched for her. >> Hello, Miss Bosakis. Would you stop
01:17:05
there and raise your right hand, please? Do you >> She confronted Dale Bruner in court for
01:17:09
her. There I was, as close as you and I are to Dale, telling people that he murdered his wife.
01:17:19
knowing full well that this could ruin him. She said that if anything happens to me, he did it. And I had no problem
01:17:28
saying that cuz it's the truth. But waiting in that courthouse for the jury to come back was something she
01:17:40
couldn't do. >> That was the worst time. That was so awful. I was crawling out of my skin.
01:17:50
>> So, she got in her car and drove, stopping by the side of the road next to an osprey [music] nest
01:17:58
and waited. >> Ladies and gentlemen, the court has been informed that the jury has in fact
01:18:06
reached its verdicts. >> It didn't take long. In just under 4 hours of deliberation,
01:18:14
>> the verdict was in. We the jury find the defendant Dale Bruner guilty of murder
01:18:21
in the second degree. >> Guilty on all six counts. >> You may take him into custody.
01:18:29
>> From murder to assault to tampering with evidence. >> I remand you to the custody of the
01:18:35
Summit County Jail immediately. >> Jennifer got the news on her cell phone. >> And I'm watching these birds thinking,
01:18:42
how appropriate is this? because Stephanie was such a nature lover that I'm in this beautiful place
01:18:49
watching these osprey getting the call that yes, the jury found Dale guilty of all counts.
01:18:57
You'd think I would have been ecstatic and super happy, but it was probably one of the worst moments just to know that
01:19:05
Stephanie's gone and that yes, Dale's guilty and that's great, but that doesn't bring Stephanie back.
01:19:14
For Teresa Barger, it was a bittersweet victory for a woman she never knew, but whose voice she vowed would not be
01:19:22
silenced. All I could think of is I hope that we have justice for you and that she can rest in peace.
01:19:31
>> Two months later, Stephanie's family and friends gathered in this courtroom for
01:19:36
the last time for the sentencing. quarters back on the record in people of the state of Colorado versus Dale
01:19:42
Bruner. >> One by one, they stood before Judge Thompson and before Dale Bruner in his
01:19:49
prison stripes. >> I'm not going to cry. >> To describe the impact of Stephanie's
01:19:54
murder on their lives >> because I get to do that every night when I'm lying in bed feeling guilty
01:19:59
about what I did or didn't do to help Stephanie. Even the man who'd stood by Dale Bruner
01:20:08
through it all was beginning to question his friend's claim of innocence. >> The bottom line is
01:20:16
someone did this to her. I hope it's not him. If it is, I would like to know the truth.
01:20:26
Was this a horrible accident where you guys got into a fight and you didn't mean to kill her, Dale, but you hurt
01:20:35
her? >> No. You can ask it a thousand ways and it's the the same answer. >> Someday he may face that question again.
01:20:47
>> There we go. Hi. Yeah. >> From three other victims in this story. [laughter] his children.
01:20:57
>> There we are. >> If at some point they come to you and say, "Dad, what happened? Did you kill our mom?"
01:21:10
>> Well, I'll tell them the truth. I've never lied to my kids. >> And you can look in your children's
01:21:16
eyes. >> Absolutely. >> I've never hurt your mom, >> Mr. Bruner. Clearly, Judge Thompson
01:21:22
believed otherwise. >> You took Miss Roller's life. You took your children's mother. And you did it
01:21:29
without remorse and in a brutal fashion. >> The judge sentenced Dale Bruner to 112
01:21:36
years in prison. >> And Mr. Bruner, I can only hope that you will come to realize the magnitude of your actions.
01:21:46
Courts attorney. >> Thank you, honor. Last [music] fall, a room in a local safe house was dedicated to Stephanie
01:22:00
Roller. A reminder of the beautiful woman they lost, but also of all the women still to
01:22:10
be saved. These bad things can't be kept in the dark closet anymore. This happens. And
01:22:24
you know what? It happens in your neighborhood. It could be your neighbor and you don't even know it. It was my
01:22:29
best friend and I didn't even know it. Right under my nose. She was murdered. So if you're a woman and you have these
01:22:40
worst fears, man, run fast and stay gone. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music]
01:23:33
>> [music] >> What was lost when Alyssa was taken? What was lost with her murder? my
01:23:56
daughter, Willow's mother, everything. >> How do you keep Alyssa alive for her daughter, Willow?
01:24:10
>> Show her pictures. This is your mom. This is your mom. Every Mother's Day, we visit the grave.
01:24:18
We take flowers. We take cards. You know, we talk about her all the time. >> What does this say?
01:24:26
Mother of Willow An. >> I hope that when she learns what happened, she doesn't let it tear her
01:24:33
apart. >> October [music] 2nd, 2020. >> Any crime scene is going to be inside that tape.
01:24:46
>> It's inside that tape. >> All right. I remember my phone was continuously [music] ringing ringing
01:24:54
and I finally answer it cuz it's [music] my supervisor and she's frantic and she's telling me you've got to get to
01:25:00
Green Tree Apartments. >> And I heard that pop. I turn around. I knew it was a gunshot.
01:25:06
>> And she says something [music] has happened to Alyssa. What What happened to her?
01:25:12
>> We're going to start having family members show up here. >> I pull up. police, fire trucks,
01:25:16
ambulance, everywhere. >> She got shot in the car. >> Okay. She can see her handprints.
01:25:22
>> Who are you? >> I'm Detective Harding. >> I remember asking that officer. I said,
01:25:26
"She didn't make it, did she?" And he said, "No, she didn't." And I just lost it at that point.
01:25:36
[laughter] >> When you learned that your sister was dead, did you have a suspect in mind? I
01:25:43
knew immediately it was Andrew Beard. I knew that the only person I could think that would want her dead was
01:25:52
Andrew Beard. >> She even said, "I think he's the kind of person that's going to try to kill me."
01:25:58
And he did. And he did. Oh my god. [laughter] >> It was one of the most brutal scenes
01:26:09
that I've been to in 32 years law enforcement. You could see the rage. >> Don't touch anything. Okay.
01:26:18
>> What does it tell you when it's this vicious about the killer? >> It's personal.
01:26:23
>> She apparently has had a history with baby daddy. >> Within an hour of getting to the crime
01:26:28
scene, we knew that we needed to look for Andrew Beard. >> Andrew Beard is the suspect.
01:26:34
>> Yes. >> He cannot get away WITH THIS. HE CANNOT GET AWAY with this. >> At first, this seemed like an openand
01:26:41
shut case. But as it turned out, Andrew Beard was only half the story. In the months after Alyssa Berquette was
01:27:39
murdered, she appeared to her mother, Teresa [music] Collard, in a dream. >> I see her across the room. And in my
01:27:50
dream, I knew she was gone. But I was hysterically happy that I was seeing her and I was thinking, "You're
01:28:02
back." She came to me and said, "No, I'm not back and I don't want to come back and I
01:28:12
never want to be [music] there again." I was [music] puzzled. why don't you want to come back? And she said, because
01:28:21
I was always afraid there. >> Although 24year-old Alyssa Berquette had been afraid for months, the attack at
01:28:30
this apartment complex where she worked in Carolton, Texas, north of Dallas, came as a surprise.
01:28:39
>> So, when you arrive here, what do you see? According to one of the lead detectives, Michael Harding, Alyssa
01:28:45
pulled into her usual parking space at around 9:00 a.m. >> Alyssa's car was actually parked right
01:28:51
here where this green van is right here. And the asalent's vehicle had parked right next to her in this spot.
01:28:58
>> Were you here when everything happened? >> Yes, I was sitting at my desk. >> Witnesses say the asalent exited his
01:29:04
vehicle, a black Ford Expedition SUV, with a gun in his hand. She had the window up and he shot right through the
01:29:12
win. Right through the window. >> Maintenance supervisor Darren Ikler about 15 ft away.
01:29:18
>> It's horrible. I mean >> heard the gun blast and turned around. >> What do you see?
01:29:24
>> Uh I see a a black SUV starting to back out of the parking spot. >> Investigators believe the shooter
01:29:33
thought Alyssa was dead. The blast had destroyed her left eye and part of her face, but Alyssa Berquette was still
01:29:41
alive. >> She gets out of her car and she walks up to this landing to try to get help cuz
01:29:47
she knows her her co-workers are here. >> The shooter, described by some as a black man.
01:29:54
>> Why would I say a black baby? >> Got out of the vehicle and began sprinting toward Alyssa. this time with
01:30:01
a new weapon in his hand. Something more personal. A large hunting knife. >> Did you see him holding the knife?
01:30:08
>> Uh, yeah. In the hand. >> After he starts to to stab her, she's still fighting. On this window right
01:30:15
here, there was a blood handprint smear where Alyssa was trying to get anyone to
01:30:21
come out and help her. But fearing it was an active shooter situation, they stayed inside.
01:30:30
>> We're just getting our day started. >> And the attacker launched into a rabid
01:30:35
killing frenzy, plunging his knife into flesh and bone again and again. Incredibly, Alyssa was still breathing
01:30:44
when her asalent fled. >> Once the suspect left, her co-workers came out to try to render aid.
01:30:50
>> One of her colleagues made this call to 911. >> 911. What is the address of the
01:30:56
emergency? >> Someone came up and just shot my my assistant manager. >> Where is the shooter?
01:31:00
>> I don't have enough information. I need He's gone. He left in his car. He literally left a second ago.
01:31:06
>> Fire department pulled up first. They come up. I get out of the way and let them do their thing. And
01:31:11
>> they start working on her right here. >> You know where she was headed? >> Immediately. Yeah. And it was too late.
01:31:17
She was gone. Alyssa had been stabbed and slashed a total of 44 times. Alyssa's mother, Teresa, immediately
01:31:29
gave the police a name, and it wasn't a black man. It was Andrew Beard. >> I know he did this. He's an evil person.
01:31:37
>> Teresa told detectives that Andrew Beard and Alyssa were in the throws of an ugly
01:31:42
custody battle over their one-year-old daughter, Willowanne. A battle that began when Alyssa was still pregnant,
01:31:50
says her friend Brandy Reagan. >> He initiated by asking her if he could have full custody of the baby after the
01:31:57
baby was born. >> And what did Alyssa have to say to his idea of him getting full custody?
01:32:03
>> You better be effing kidding me. >> Alyssa and Andrew were worlds apart from the beginning. He was almost 9 years
01:32:12
older, established with a good job at a tool company, [music] a nice house, even
01:32:17
had a plane. She was 22, loved eating turkey legs at state fairs, and was still figuring life out. After meeting
01:32:26
on a dating app, they had a fling. Nothing serious. But then she found out she was pregnant. Says her friend and
01:32:33
roommate, Shelby Wright. >> I'll never forget. She's just standing there hysterically crying.
01:32:40
um and upset. She couldn't even speak and she hands me a pregnancy test that said positive
01:32:47
and I honestly had no words for her. >> But as the pregnancy progressed, Alyssa's fears turned [music] to
01:32:55
excitement, says Shelby. Especially when she learned it was a girl. On July 23rd,
01:33:02
2019, Alyssa gave birth to a baby girl she named Willow. And when you saw them together,
01:33:12
>> Alyssa and Willow, what was that experience like? >> Amazing. Motherhood looked great on her.
01:33:19
It did. >> Yes. >> Just looking at the two of them, [music] you could tell that their relationship
01:33:27
was I mean, everything. >> I always love how she's looking at her in this picture.
01:33:33
>> Madison Grimes is Alyssa's younger sister. Willow clung to her [music] every second of every day. And I think
01:33:40
that tells you a lot about the mother Alyssa was. >> Alyssa went back to college and got a
01:33:46
good job as an assistant property manager. >> I think everything [music] she did at
01:33:51
that point in her life was for Willow. She wanted to be successful for Willow. She didn't want Willow to grow up and
01:33:57
struggle. She just wanted Willow to have an easy life. Andrew, who had joint custody, had
01:34:05
Willow a few days every week, but he kept pushing for primary custody. Dragging Alyssa in and out of court
01:34:14
hearings, emptying her bank account. >> She was terrified. Um, Willow at [music] this point was the
01:34:22
most important thing in her life. And when she, you know, looked at the bigger picture, Andrew, he made more money than
01:34:29
her. You know, he had a house. He had all of the nice things that she didn't have. So, she was afraid that, you know,
01:34:37
he wanted Willow and he was going to get her. >> Andrew's mother, Lette Bowers, says her
01:34:42
son was acting out of love, not malice. >> My son, Andrew Beard, is a loving, warm
01:34:50
individual who always operated from his heart, from his core center. When he had
01:34:56
Willow, she was constantly strapped to the front of him. He was reading to her. He wanted her to see the whole world
01:35:04
every day. He just felt that he could provide her more stability. >> In March 2020, when Willow was 8 months
01:35:11
old, things seemed to change for the better. The feuding parents found common ground, finally reaching an agreement on
01:35:20
visitation and child support. >> And so things seem to calm down. >> Things calm down. Yeah.
01:35:28
But a gathering storm was about to come barreling in. >> POLICE WARN. IF YOU'RE IN THERE, COME
01:35:37
OUT YOUR hands up. In the spring of 2020, it looked like the bitter custody battle between Alyssa
01:35:58
and Andrew had finally come to an end. Alyssa had a new guy named Ben. And Andrew [music] fell hard for a woman
01:36:06
named Holly Elkins, someone his mom, Lette, was thrilled about. Ador from Minute One. She just has this charm and
01:36:16
energy. I warmed to her very quickly. Alyssa was happy that he started dating [music] someone else.
01:36:24
>> I guess hopeful that Holly would help this situation, that Holly would be supportive [music]
01:36:32
of the mother that's involved. >> Holly sent this text to Alyssa. Look forward to having a super healthy
01:36:39
relationship with you and Ben. Alyssa responded, "I hope your influence helps because I'd love nothing more for us all
01:36:48
to have a healthy relationship." Despite Holly's message, Andrew suddenly became hostile with Alyssa. He was once
01:36:57
again demanding primary custody of Willow, dragging Alyssa back into court. >> He was always very short, very rude,
01:37:06
very hateful. It just totally changed the way that they communicated together. >> Alyssa couldn't shake this uneasy
01:37:14
feeling that she was being watched and began telling family and friends that Andrew always seemed to know what she
01:37:22
was doing. >> He knew where she was. He knew where Willow was. He knew just other places
01:37:28
that she had been. I remember one night she was out with one of her friends and they were at a bar in downtown Dallas
01:37:36
and she's like, "Text me, oh my gosh, Andrew is here." And in my mind, I'm like, "The odds of that happening are
01:37:43
slim to none." You know, she didn't know how he was tracking her. She just knew that she was being tracked.
01:37:48
>> How would you describe what she went through? >> Hell. I mean, every day you feel like
01:37:55
you're having to watch over your shoulder. That's how I felt she lived. Hi everyone. Um, my name's Alyssa.
01:38:01
>> Madison found this video after Alyssa's death. It was never posted. >> Past year, I have been going through a
01:38:08
custody battle, a very ugly one. I have a one-year-old child. Um, it's taken a toll on my mental and physical health.
01:38:17
With that being said, I've become a lot stronger in the process. And I guess just my
01:38:24
message is um no matter what you're going through, stick it out. You can do it and stay strong.
01:38:32
>> But she would continue to be tested. In September 2020, one month before her murder, it reached a whole new level. A
01:38:41
man who said his name was Frank Marorrow called 911 and reported that Alyssa was
01:38:46
selling drugs out of the trunk of her car at work. I saw what I thought looked like someone just selling some drugs out
01:38:54
of their truck and I could smell it and I could see it and >> Okay. What kind of vehicle is it?
01:38:59
>> It's a little Toyota Corolla. I have a license plate at that. >> Okay, great. What was your last name?
01:39:06
>> Maro. >> Acting on this tip, Carolton police officers descended on the Green Tree
01:39:12
Apartments leasing office and confronted Alyssa. She gave them the keys to her car and they opened the trunk.
01:39:20
Inside they discovered drugs, a pistol, and some cash, exactly where the caller said they would be.
01:39:32
So, your daughter suddenly now looks like a drug dealer and a dangerous one as well. She's armed.
01:39:38
>> Yes. >> I mean, is Alyssa worried that she's going to get arrested, lose her job?
01:39:42
>> Yes. All of the above. She's worried about her job. She thinks, "Yeah, she's going to be arrested now. He's going to
01:39:47
use this in court. So, she's for sure going to lose Willow." >> After questioning Alyssa, it was clear
01:39:53
to police that she knew nothing about the drugs and pistol in the trunk of her car. They concluded those items had been
01:40:01
planted. The caller had tried to frame her. Alyssa knew in her gut that caller was Andrew Beard. Later that day, she
01:40:11
texted her roommate, Shelby. Alyssa messaged me and said he is going to try to get someone to kill me next.
01:40:20
>> And when you read those words, >> my heart dropped. >> That wasn't who she was. She wasn't a
01:40:26
fearful person. Showing and asking for help shows me that she was genuinely scared.
01:40:32
>> She knew that, you know, whatever was coming next was going to be serious. The once fearless
01:40:42
young woman had become scared for her life. These are some of the texts she sent to her sister Madison.
01:40:50
Come over while I walk inside. Lock the door behind you. Do you see anyone around you?
01:40:58
And Alyssa wasn't the only one who was terrified. >> It kept progressing. Each thing that he
01:41:04
would do just kept getting worse. And after this point framing her and she didn't get arrested, I thought, well,
01:41:11
what else is there to do besides kill her? >> One month after the drugs and gun were
01:41:28
planted in Alyssa Briquette's car, she was dead. >> I knew that it was him when when the
01:41:34
drugs didn't work in the car. for him to get the baby. >> Once we talked to Alyssa's mom, we had
01:41:40
an idea who we were looking for. >> And who [music] was that person? >> That person was Andrew Beard.
01:41:44
>> Oh my god. >> And to Teresa's horror, he had visitation with Willow that day. The
01:41:50
baby was with him. >> Yes. I want my grand baby away from him. >> My first thoughts were if he's going to
01:41:59
kill Willow. Within hours of the murder, the police pulled over Andrew Beard's F-150 [music]
01:42:06
pickup truck for an alleged traffic violation. Andrew and his fianceé, Holly Elkins, were asked to get out of the
01:42:13
vehicle. >> The daughters in a car seat in the back seat. >> Much of the body cam footage in this
01:42:20
program has been resized so you can see it better. >> They've been pretty cooperative.
01:42:26
Andrew seemed unfazed by the whole thing, says Detective Harding. >> He was very calm. He wasn't amped up. He
01:42:33
He didn't seem nervous. >> My part was to just find you. That's all they asked me to do.
01:42:39
>> Ultimately, Andrew and Holly were allowed to go. And because he had courtmandated visitation rights, take
01:42:46
Willow with them. But the police seized his F-150 pickup and instructed him not to return home.
01:42:55
Andrew, Holly, and Willow went to a hotel. >> And that night, a search of Andrew's
01:43:03
house turned up critical evidence. >> This was found inside a living room in one of Andrew Beard's backpacks,
01:43:10
>> such as this envelope scribbled with incriminating notes. >> Upon reading the notes, we realized
01:43:16
those were tied to the Frank Marorrow 911 call. Frank Marorrow, the caller who had reported Alyssa was selling drugs
01:43:25
out of her car. >> Alyssa's [music] license plate number, the color and model of the vehicle.
01:43:32
Frank Marorrow, everything that he needed to make that 911 call was on this back of this.
01:43:37
>> Looks like you discovered the screenplay to this FOD call to 911. >> I was kind of shocked. I was like, did
01:43:44
he he kept this? So, we found this GPS tracker box. >> Also in plain view, says another lead
01:43:51
detective, Jeremy [music] Shioalier, charging stations and batteries that match the tracking device
01:43:57
detectives discovered on Alyssa's car after the murder. >> So, this is the device that was put on
01:44:03
her car. That was all part of his plan to to catch her doing something that he believed that she shouldn't be doing
01:44:10
to gain an advantage in that child custody dispute. A search of that Ford F-150 seized at
01:44:18
the traffic stop turned up more jaw-dropping evidence. >> So, this is one of the makeup vials that
01:44:24
were recovered from inside one of the bags in the F-150. >> It was a foundation called Java.
01:44:31
>> It's really dark. >> Very dark. And the purpose of that was what do you believe?
01:44:35
>> Was to disguise Andrew Beard's face to make him look like an African-American.
01:44:39
The police found the knife sheath at the scene, but never found the knife or the
01:44:44
gun. But the day after the homicide, they found something just as important, that black SUV. They learned Andrew had
01:44:52
bought it specifically to commit the murder. And there it was, abandoned less than a mile from Andrew's house.
01:45:00
>> He drove it to that location and he fled back to his house the morning of the
01:45:04
murder. That's Andrew Beard captured on a home security camera fleeing through the neighborhood.
01:45:12
>> He is doing the Bigfoot run from this vehicle. >> What' you find [music] when you guys
01:45:17
process the inside of this vehicle? >> We were able to recover multiple spots where blood was recovered. That was
01:45:24
later tested to be Alyssa's blood. >> They also found another part of his disguise, a fake beard.
01:45:32
>> That looks like a Halloween kind of beard. Exactly. Yes. He purchased a Halloween
01:45:37
costume. >> So that's what led us to get the arrest warrant for Andrew Beard. >> Andrew Beard, who still had Willow, had
01:45:45
been staying in an Airbnb with his fiance, Holly Elkins, and mother, Lette. >> When we were at the Airbnb, he got a
01:45:54
call. He was going to be arrested. Just 3 days after Alyssa was killed, Willow was sent back to Teresa and Andrew Beard
01:46:04
[music] turned himself into the police. >> He was charged with murder. >> I was confident they had the wrong man.
01:46:13
>> So was Holly Elkins. She volunteered to speak to the police. >> I want to help. I really do, but I don't
01:46:19
have any answers. >> Incredulous that the man she planned to marry was capable of murder. So, I just
01:46:26
told all my friends and family that I'm engaged to the most wonderful man on the
01:46:30
planet. And now people want me to believe that he's not that. >> And there are so many emotional
01:46:35
roadblocks for you to try to believe that. I get that. >> I can't believe that my fiance would do
01:46:41
something like that to a woman or to anybody but a woman. Detective Shiovalier on the right and
01:46:49
Detective Harding on the left interviewed Holly for about an hour, hoping to turn her into a witness for
01:46:56
the prosecution. >> I'm telling you, there's a side of him that you do not know.
01:47:00
>> But she stood by Andrew, insisting that he had an alibi. He was home with her
01:47:07
when the murder took place. >> There are a few hours that, you know, he was not in that house. You cannot tell
01:47:14
me that I feel that way, sir. >> I can tell you that because I know that for a fact that he was out of the house.
01:47:19
Holly, >> I don't know that for a fact. That's what my problem is. >> Holly remained adamant that she would
01:47:26
have known if he had left. >> I am a total stage five clinger girlfriend. I'm always up his ass. I
01:47:34
find it hard to believe. >> The interview ended with Holly standing by her man. She and Andrew's mom, Lette,
01:47:43
continued living together in an Airbnb. They became [music] extremely close and bonded over their
01:47:50
shared belief that Andrew was innocent, says Lette. >> We stayed so close, we were just
01:47:58
connected at the hip and made agreements to never go anywhere without one another.
01:48:03
>> Finally, after two weeks behind bars, Andrew was released on bond. Lette was overjoyed. Holly, as Lette would soon
01:48:13
discover, not so much. >> They've told us he's coming home tomorrow. And Holly says, "I'm going."
01:48:20
She holds it's holding her suitcase and she goes, "I'm going. I'm leaving. I'm going home." But the day before Anne
01:48:27
gets home, what? Why are you choosing now? during this scary scary time for his in
01:48:34
his life. She'd already ordered her her Uber and never came back. Detective Shiovalier says he was so
01:48:43
worried about Willow's safety, he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm
01:48:49
laws. Because an unregistered silencer was found in Andrew's home, the feds agreed. Andrew Beard was rearrested
01:48:58
eight days after he bonded out. >> Ultimately, at that point, our goal was to get him back into custody.
01:49:06
>> Andrew was [music] ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
01:49:13
One year and 8 months after Alyssa's murder, Andrew called his mother with unimaginable news.
01:49:21
>> He said, "You know, Mom, I'm I'm going to plead guilty." So, I immediately said, "Well, Andrew,
01:49:28
you're not going to you're not going to plead guilty to anything you didn't do because clearly he didn't murder her in
01:49:33
my mind because that's out of character and not who he is and it was stupidly done and he's not stupid. So, it never
01:49:40
was him." >> But she would learn it was him. He admitted he did it. He killed the mother
01:49:47
of his child. >> I have physically dropped to my knees sometimes. feeling like I've gotten punched in the stomach.
01:50:01
And I have to tell myself, I have to tell myself that that was [snorts] a a moment, a heinous,
01:50:09
awful, out of character, broken moment. >> Andrew Beard pleaded guilty, but the investigation wasn't over.
01:50:21
Andrew Beard was talking and he had a lot to say. >> How come you waited so long to talk
01:50:27
about what like what Holly did? Holly Elkins left Texas and returned to her home state of Michigan 2 and a half
01:50:53
weeks after the murder of Alyssa Berquette. She gave no hint of what she'd left behind says her best friend
01:51:00
from childhood, Stephanie Goddard. >> Did she ever mention the name Alyssa Berquette to you? Never.
01:51:08
>> Never. >> Never. Never. >> Not once. >> She didn't talk about Andrew Beard either.
01:51:13
>> Not even once. Nope. >> Stephanie, who met up with Holly about 7 months after she returned to Michigan,
01:51:20
says her old friend appeared to be starting life a new a new condo, a new Lexus, a new man.
01:51:28
>> She had this boyfriend with her, so everything just seemed really normal. Stephanie says from the time she was a
01:51:34
teenager, Polly always had a guy and she knew how to wrap them around her little
01:51:40
finger. >> It was like a cat and mouse thing. >> When you say cat and mouse, she was the
01:51:44
cat. >> Oh, absolutely. Yes, she was the cat. >> She controlled the relationship.
01:51:50
>> Absolutely. She was the one in the driver's seat. Back in Texas, investigators were just
01:51:59
beginning to learn more about the fiance who had skipped town after the murder. One year and 9 months after Alyssa was
01:52:07
killed, Andrew Beard spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal, which >> I'm assuming absolutely does look
01:52:14
planned out cuz it was the process was planned out. >> It quickly became clear to investigators
01:52:19
that this Holly Elkins >> I'm trying to help and no one's helping me. The Holly Elkins seemingly torn
01:52:26
apart by Alyssa's death. I >> just feel bad to not I just feel bad to not help something that I think is very
01:52:32
sad that happened >> was giving [music] the performance of her life. >> I've literally cried myself to nauseium
01:52:39
every single night over this. >> What did you learn about her true feelings about Alyssa?
01:52:45
>> She hated Alyssa >> with a with a burning passion. Investigators dug back into Andrew and
01:52:52
Holly's text messages, many of which Alyssa's family also saw. >> Both of you learn that Holly had um some
01:53:02
derogatory words about Alyssa. What did she call her? >> Ugly, fat, a bad mom. all things that she wasn't.
01:53:14
And baby mama is was [music] my sister's contact name in Holly's phone. >> See, baby mama, derogatory word that any
01:53:24
woman [music] finds despicable. What the heck's all that? >> Jealousy. >> Holly wanted something Alyssa had and
01:53:32
she didn't, [music] says Madison. >> She wanted Willow. >> Why was she so obsessed with Willow?
01:53:38
That was her life. She wanted a a perfect family and that was her way of getting it. Alyssa was going to stand in
01:53:45
her way of doing that. >> If it was Friday, >> the more Andrew talked, the clearer
01:53:52
Holly's role became, says Detective Shiovalier. >> What portrait did he paint of Holly
01:53:59
Elkins? >> That she was the one running the show. uh that she was telling him what he was
01:54:06
going to do, when he was going to do it, how he was going to do it. >> Remember that drug plant?
01:54:11
>> If you were to ask me whose idea was what, drugs and and the planting of drugs was was was Elkins.
01:54:18
>> Holly Elkins even tried to get Alyssa's mom, Teresa, arrested. The incident started when Teresa and Alyssa drove by
01:54:26
Holly and Andrew's home. Teresa says Holly and Andrew had failed to return Willow at the appointed time.
01:54:33
>> We see Holly on the golf cart with Willow in her lap coming towards the end of their driveway. And I got out of the
01:54:40
car and I grabbed Willow, went and got back in the car, handed Willow to Alyssa and sped off.
01:54:47
>> Holly immediately called the police who arrived with body cams rolling. and the
01:54:53
grandmother. >> Holly told them Teresa assaulted her when she grabbed Willow from her lap.
01:54:59
>> She literally attacked me from behind or from behind side. I was facing the lake.
01:55:03
>> Teresa says she never touched Holly, but Holly pulled up her shirt to show cops
01:55:09
scratches she claimed Teresa had inflicted. >> I have no Oh, you have some in your on
01:55:16
your stomach. >> What did you think of those pictures? >> That they were ridiculous. that it was
01:55:22
so apparent that she had done that to herself. >> How would they even think someone else
01:55:27
did that to her? Because they're going downwards like your own hand did it. >> The police agreed, concluding the
01:55:35
injuries looked like they were self-inflicted. But it only made things more dangerous
01:55:40
for Alyssa, says Detective Shiovalier. >> The things that they were doing to try
01:55:46
to get custody of Willow wasn't working at that point. And I think [music] that they decided we we got to up the game.
01:55:53
And uh upping the game meant getting rid of of Alyssa. >> Holly began playing her game of cat and
01:56:00
mouse. >> It was made very clear to me that your previous methods aren't working. This is
01:56:06
what you're going to do now in order to prove that um >> that that that you're basically you're
01:56:12
worthy >> worthy of being a man who deserved her love. Holly Elkins writes to Andrew, "I
01:56:20
don't want anyone who is a to some low life or a pushover. I want a man who protects his women and child before
01:56:26
[music] anyone and doesn't give two Fs otherwise." >> Your comment, >> just straightforward manipulation. She
01:56:34
was going to make him do what she felt needed to be done no matter what. >> And Andrew told investigators it worked.
01:56:43
like I was emotionally drained and at that point I just basically said okay and became submissive to whatever she
01:56:51
wanted me to do. That's the task I did. >> A week and a half before the murder, Holly left for Mexico, but didn't let up
01:57:00
on Andrew. Here's a text. This is one week before the murders. This is September 25th, 2020. Holly Elkins
01:57:09
writes, "I hope you handle it. I'm not coming home to BS. Andrew Beard says that's my goal.
01:57:17
>> To that Paulie texted back, >> well, it will be a whole different conversation if I feel like you are ride
01:57:26
or die. If not, then I don't know. What is she saying to him? >> To me, it means that you're either with
01:57:33
me or you're not with me. Uh you're either going to ride with me and die with me or you're not going to be with
01:57:38
me at all. After he killed Alyssa, Andrew told investigators Holly begged for details about the crime.
01:57:45
>> Her request was that he described uh the murder to her while they were in bed
01:57:51
together. >> It's one of the most degrading things I've ever heard. >> In May of 2023, Andrew Beard was
01:57:57
sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Investigators believe Holly Elkins thought the case was over. I think she
01:58:05
believed that the further she got away from this, the less involved she was going to be, but it didn't work out for
01:58:11
her. >> These are the photos of the grave. We always decorated for every holiday.
01:58:30
>> In July of 2023, >> Valentine's Day and then Christmas, >> almost three years after Alyssa's death,
01:58:39
>> happy Mother's Day, >> Paulie Elkins was arrested by federal agents at the Miami airport as she was
01:58:46
returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic. >> Lantern. That was, I think, one of my
01:58:52
favorite things that we did. An arrest a long time coming for Alyssa's family. >> What is that balloon?
01:59:00
>> I thought we were never going to see that happen. I felt relief. >> Holly, who pleaded not guilty, was
01:59:08
charged with conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death. The FBI had built a
01:59:17
compelling case against her, says Detective Shioalier. Holly's phone really had a lot of stuff on it.
01:59:24
Searching for tracking devices. There were indications that they were together whenever the ammunition and the knife
01:59:31
were purchased. >> And they also tied Holly to the makeup Andrew used to disguise himself as a
01:59:38
black man. >> It was um you're going to dress dress up as a as a different person. Essentially,
01:59:45
you're going to wear this dark makeup. That was her plan. That was how it's going to be done.
01:59:51
While Andrew seems harmless in this video, never forget that he was the one who chased Alyssa down like a hunter
02:00:00
tracking a wounded animal. He furiously stabbed [music] her with a brutality these detectives had never seen. Andrew
02:00:10
ends up saying about why he came back to finish her. What did he say? His statement to us during the interview
02:00:18
with Agent Hansen was that he did it out of mercy, that he knew that she was still alive and he was somehow doing her
02:00:26
a favor by by killing her. >> Andrew may have committed the murder alone, but according to the US
02:00:33
Attorney's Office, he didn't plan it alone. In April 2024, Paulie Elkins went on trial as a co-conspirator.
02:00:43
In the courtroom, where no cameras were permitted, one of the prosecutors put it
02:00:48
like this, says Detective Harding. >> Andrew Beard is a monster, but he was Holly Elkins's monster.
02:00:56
>> I don't want or need a lawyer because I don't have anything to hide. >> US attorneys painted a picture of a
02:01:02
woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Well, I feel like the dumbest, most manipulated woman on the
02:01:09
entire planet, if this is true. >> Yes. >> And what she wanted was a little girl
02:01:15
named Willow. And do you believe Holly Elkins was a puppet master in all of this?
02:01:22
>> 100% I do. She orchestrated this whole thing. >> I think Holly is wicked. I think she's wicked to the core that
02:01:32
she would ever want this to happen to another woman, to a mother, to a mother of the child that she had come to love.
02:01:41
>> What if these two had never come together, Holly and Andrew? Would Andrew have committed this murder?
02:01:46
>> I I don't think they would have. I [music] 100% believe that if Holly and Andrew had never met that Alyssa
02:01:55
Briquette would be alive today. >> After a oneweek trial, the case went to the jury.
02:02:02
>> The jury takes just 90 minutes to deliberate. When they come back to that courtroom, what is the verdict?
02:02:09
>> Guilty. Holly was found guilty and sentenced to two life terms, much longer than Andrew.
02:02:20
For Alyssa's family, the verdict was a bittersweet victory. >> I was thrilled but heartbroken at the
02:02:27
same time. I'm so happy that Alyssa is getting the justice she deserved, but at that point,
02:02:33
it's over. Our fight is over. Two families are left to grapple with the wreckage Holly Elkins and Andrew
02:02:41
Beard left behind. Lette Bowers will forever be known as the mother of a murderer.
02:02:50
>> He killed someone and that is beyond awful. It's the worst thing anyone can do. But that's not who
02:02:58
I love. and Teresa and Madison must try to make sense of a world without Alyssa in it.
02:03:08
>> We don't get to live the normal life anymore. It was always me and her, my best friend. Like, that was my person.
02:03:16
And only getting to be with her for 20 years, that's not just not fair. >> After the trial, Teresa was allowed to
02:03:25
take Alyssa's things out of her car. It was pretty emotional for all of us actually. This was the mirror that she
02:03:33
used so she could see Willow from the driver's seat. >> You know, just knowing that was the last
02:03:41
place she was sitting when it happened. >> I want mama. >> Willow, who was with Teresa, had never
02:03:51
cried over her mother until that day. She was crying, asking me if I could please bring her mom back just so she
02:04:01
could see her one more time. And I tried to explain to her that she's in heaven.
02:04:06
And then she asked me if she had a phone number in heaven. >> One day, Willow will learn the whole
02:04:15
story of what happened to her mother. >> Do you know what this is? >> Willow tree.
02:04:22
>> Yep. And when [music] that time comes, her family hopes Willow will see the beauty
02:04:28
in Alyssa's life, not the tragedy of her death. >> I hope that one day she grows up and she
02:04:36
[music] feels the love that her mom sincerely had for her. 48 hours. Don't miss an episode.
02:05:11
>> [music]