00:00:10
Las Vegas is the adult Disneyland of the world. >> People come here to play. Adults come
00:00:16
here to play. The other side of that is there is a community here that services that glitz and glamour
00:00:27
that go to work 9 to5, run the banks, run the police department, run the fire department, and have just steady jobs.
00:00:38
>> That's George, [music] you know, an all-around great guy to hang out with and help you get the job done.
00:00:43
>> Just a very, very kind, generous, and giving person. And that's the George TFA
00:00:48
I know. >> Well, Shauna was so young at heart and she was so fun and she always made me
00:00:56
laugh. >> She looks like Barbie, you know, blonde, beautiful. >> Always had the long hair, you know,
00:01:04
[music] just looked perfect like a little China doll. Well, George and Shauna met in the
00:01:14
casino environment. He saw this blonde person whizzing past him all the time. She was such a hard worker that he
00:01:22
really admired that she was his world. That was his his life. And then when their daughter came around, they just
00:01:30
the cutest trio ever. >> We're at the beach. Okay. >> Maddy's first time at the beach.
00:01:35
>> Turning everybody around. >> Turning us around. >> Maddie was just the light of her life.
00:01:40
It was really her number one priority. >> Nice day today. She was just all in, you
00:01:45
know, 100% there. >> And then a baby. >> They were like a little cocoon. George was so protective. He waited on them
00:01:53
hand and foot. He really did. [music] In the early morning hours on September 29th, 2012, Shauna TFA would
00:02:07
have gotten off work from being a cocktail waitress at a local casino. She went home,
00:02:13
>> parked her car in the garage, entered her house, a killer snuck up behind her, and beat
00:02:21
her to death with a hammer inside her own living room. >> Were you worried that someone was
00:02:29
targeting casino women? >> Yes, >> we were all so scared that, you know, this person was still out there. Was
00:02:40
somebody stalking her? Was somebody obsessed with her? >> Maybe they're going to, you know, come
00:02:46
after one of us. >> I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours, Vengeance [music] in Vegas.
00:03:02
[music] >> [music and singing] >> Shauna TFA loved to laugh and sing with her daughter.
00:03:29
>> When she was with Maddie, it was like nothing else was going on around her. so dedicated and so concerned.
00:03:40
>> Shauna's murder has been a devastating loss for her sister Paula Stokes Richards and her husband John.
00:03:47
>> She just laughed at life. You know, she had this innocence. >> It's sad because I just miss her. And
00:03:54
for something like this to happen to her is just it's unimaginable. Shauna Tf, a Mormon born in Salt Lake
00:04:07
City, was 28 when she moved here to Las Vegas. But to Shauna, Vegas was more than one big glitzy party. It was a city
00:04:16
of opportunity. And it wasn't long before she got a glamorous job as a cocktail waitress at one of the hottest
00:04:23
casinos in town. >> [music] >> She loved the Palms. I think she really felt like the Palms was a a family
00:04:36
environment, which might sound contrary to what you would think, but I think the
00:04:40
the people that worked there were really like family and they looked after each other.
00:04:44
>> I never hardly saw like Shauna with a frown or anything. She was just so bubbly and laughing at everything.
00:04:52
Cindy, Randy, and Sienna all worked alongside Shauna for about 10 years. >> She loved her job, though.
00:05:00
>> She loved cocktailing. >> And customers love Shauna. She made close to $100,000 a year in salary and
00:05:07
tips, often paid in casino chips, which in Vegas is the same as money. In 2002, Shauna hit the jackpot when she met
00:05:17
George TFA at the Palms. George was a star athlete and homecoming king at his California high school.
00:05:25
>> Just to look at him, he's very handsome, very charismatic. What more could you
00:05:30
ask for? >> In fact, George is a West Point graduate who served in the Army Corps of
00:05:36
Engineers. Maria and Bernardet are George's sisters. >> He likes to serve people. That's what
00:05:42
attracted him to being a fireman. And George is so handsome, he was even featured in this firefighter pinup
00:05:50
calendar. >> The all-American boy he sounds like. >> Yes, he was. He looked like it. He acted
00:05:56
like it. He was that guy. >> His sisters also say George is a devoted family man who sent money home to help
00:06:04
their mom care for their disabled younger sister. >> If you need a helping hand, there he is.
00:06:11
>> George and Shauna started dating. George was in love. >> Oh, yeah. Head over heels. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:17
She was his world. That was his life. >> And life only got better for George and
00:06:24
Shauna. Just one year into their relationship, Maddie was born. >> Hey, there's daddy.
00:06:31
>> There's daddy and mama. And little baby. Look at all of us. >> Three years later, they were married in
00:06:40
Hawaii. Mama and dad just got married. There's Shauna Castleton. >> TFA. >> Now she's TFA. Look at that dress on.
00:06:48
Mama. Woo. What a smoking body. >> They really suited each other. It was really nice. They were both hardworking
00:06:55
people. They're both good-looking people. They made a lovely couple. >> But looks, as they say, can be
00:07:01
deceiving. After two happy years of marriage, things started to change. When George lost money in the housing market
00:07:09
crash, Shauna told friends he had become jealous, controlling, and critical of her.
00:07:16
>> He would tell her that she dressed like a [ __ ] when she would get dressed for
00:07:20
work in front of Maddie, which of course would tear Shauna apart, you know, for her little girl to hear these things.
00:07:28
>> Shauna also complained when George brought a homeless man into their lives who he paid to do odd jobs around the
00:07:35
house. Her friend Stephanie Vargas. >> You should call him creepy. God, he's so creepy. Why is he around my house?
00:07:43
>> But George's friend from West Point, Rock Ryder, says he was as kind-hearted as he was handsome. And befriending the
00:07:50
homeless was something he had done for years. >> Every Thanksgiving, he he'd be serving
00:07:56
soup to the homeless people. Just a very, very kind, generous, and giving person.
00:08:01
>> But even though he had a gracious heart, the strains continued in the marriage.
00:08:05
And after nearly 10 years of being together, she had enough and moved into this townhouse. They shared custody of
00:08:14
Maddie. But Shauna was reluctant to file for a divorce. >> She was sad. Her family was [music] breaking up and
00:08:22
this isn't something that she wanted. She wanted the picket fence and the husband and the daughter.
00:08:29
She [music] wanted the fairy tale and the fairy tale was falling apart. [music] Determined to save their marriage,
00:08:41
Shauna and George both agreed to start seeing a marriage counselor. >> I think Shauna was an eternal optimist.
00:08:48
You know, she just kept hoping that things were going to get better. >> Then, weeks before her murder, Shauna's
00:08:56
townhouse was burglarized. Her wedding ring was missing. Strangely, a pair of her bathing suit
00:09:04
bottoms were taken. And strangest of all, the robber left something behind. A pair of boxer shorts, size small.
00:09:14
>> Did this burglary, did it shake her up? >> It did. >> But I just don't think that in her mind
00:09:19
she ever thought that any harm would come to her. >> But in an ominous twist of fate, just
00:09:27
three weeks later, someone was back in her house. this time waiting for her. It is now the early morning hours of
00:09:38
September 29th, 2012. This is Shauna, seen on casino surveillance video clocking out at 3:01 a.m. These are the
00:09:49
last images of her life. After a 30inut drive, Shauna arrives home, letting herself in through the garage.
00:09:58
>> She enters into the hallway. It's dark. There's no light. >> Dan Long and Terry Miller are
00:10:03
investigators with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. >> She moves towards the stairway to go
00:10:10
upstairs to her bedroom >> when suddenly Shauna was attacked by someone wielding
00:10:16
a hammer. >> Her hands were up at some point uh to protect her head in her face. Her
00:10:23
fingers were broken and she was savagely beaten with this metal head of that hammer. until she was dead.
00:10:33
>> At approximately 9:00 a.m., George and Maddie arrived to pick something up when
00:10:38
they walked in and he discovered Shauna's badly bludgeoned body. George immediately called 911.
00:10:46
>> 911 emergency. >> I think I need to report a a break-in in a murder. My wife,
00:10:53
my wife is uh on the floor, bloody, stiff, not moving. >> Naturally, George is going to be our
00:11:02
number one suspect. A woman that he separated from, he finds dead inside of an apartment.
00:11:08
>> Detective Miller interviewed George in a police car at the scene. >> She was lying on the floor.
00:11:15
>> She was covered in blood. I just want to die. and she was surprised with what he
00:11:21
told her. >> What shift did you work yesterday? >> A 24-hour shift. >> He said he was on call at the firehouse
00:11:27
before he picked Maddie up. Maddie had spent the night at her grandmother's house [music] while Shauna went to work.
00:11:34
>> He had an alibi. >> And what did that tell you? >> He's not our killer. It's not just Dan and I.
00:12:01
>> You want a full mag in the weapon? >> Yeah. >> We had our entire team with THIS
00:12:09
>> muzzle down. Lead detectives Terry Miller and Dan Long of the Las Vegas Metro Police had their work cut out for
00:12:17
them. >> The obvious initial suspect in a case like this is the husband, but George TFA
00:12:28
had that airtight alibi. >> They learned right away that he was at work at the fire station and was not the
00:12:38
man that killed Shauna. Shauna's murder was brutal and chilling. >> I remember thinking, do we have a sexual
00:12:50
predator? >> And you got to be wondering to yourselves, do we have some sort of monster out there on the streets?
00:12:56
>> Yes. Uh we're like, who are we looking for? Are we looking for a male? Are we
00:13:02
looking for a female? But 48 hours into the investigation, detectives get a crucial tip from an
00:13:09
unlikely source. William Penn, known as Big Will. >> I've been trying to live a straight life
00:13:17
under the hands of the Lord. >> Big Will had lived in Las Vegas for years, working as a maintenance man at
00:13:24
an apartment complex. He got an urgent call from a friend. >> He said, "Uh, Big Will, I need to talk
00:13:32
to you. The friend came to see him and dropped a bombshell. He just murdered a woman.
00:13:41
When he told you that he had killed this woman, what was the expression on his face?
00:13:46
>> He was happy. Happy like he just completed a mission. A mission to where he's going to get paid a lot of money.
00:13:55
He's going to leave town and live a happy life like that. >> Did he tell you how he killed this
00:14:01
woman? >> Yeah. Yeah. He told me that he was laughing when he said it. He said, uh,
00:14:10
I hit this woman with a hammer over and over and over and over until a hammer broke. The man who called Big Will was
00:14:17
nicknamed Greyhound because he was lean and fast and lived in a tent in the foothills far from the glittering lights
00:14:25
of downtown. Greyhound was an ex-con and Big Will was helping him straighten his
00:14:30
life out. But after the two men spoke, Big Will's mission became bringing Greyhound to justice.
00:14:37
>> This is a damn tragedy. I said, "So if I hear this on the news tomorrow morning, the best thing I can
00:14:47
do is follow his tracks, try to hunt him down so that I can try to bring some kind of
00:14:56
closure to this woman's family." A gorgeous cocktail waitress, a mother, brutally murdered in her own home.
00:15:04
>> That was it. A woman murdered and Big Will knew exactly what he had to do. He
00:15:10
[music] called police. At first, detectives Long and Miller were skeptical. >> Initially, I was thinking to myself,
00:15:19
you've got to be kidding me. He is giving this story about this man who lives up in the mountains in a tent who
00:15:27
is homeless. And it's kind of a crazy story. >> Crazy. But cops [music] felt they had to
00:15:34
check it out. Big Will told them Greyhound often walks miles from his desert tent to this Albertson's grocery
00:15:42
store where he'd been spotted before stealing food. So right away they went with Big Will to look for him. [music]
00:15:50
>> I got out of the vehicle and went in to talk to the Albertson's employees in hopes that they would know who somebody
00:15:57
named Greyhound that matches this description is. >> Big Will knew Greyhound sometimes sold
00:16:04
drugs at the Chevron station right next door. Then a stroke of luck. >> I see Greyhound.
00:16:13
He says, "Hey, Big Will, what you doing over here? So I said, "Wait one minute. I'll be
00:16:18
right back." >> Big Will then whispers into my ear and goes, "That's Greyhound." We got lucky.
00:16:24
To the grace of God, he was there. >> I'm like, "This can't be happening." I walk outside. I want to get as close as
00:16:30
I can to him before he identifies me as a police officer. >> Cops identified themselves and
00:16:36
immediately find drugs in Greyhound's possession. So, they take him to police headquarters. and he's volunteered to
00:16:43
come to our office and help us with their investigation. >> Greyhound's real name is Nol Stevens. He
00:16:50
denies he [music] has anything to do with Shauna TFA's murder. >> I have nothing to do with it's not me.
00:16:56
You have the wrong guy. He tells us that he does live in the desert. He has a tent.
00:17:00
>> All right. Meet you there. >> All right. >> While Greyhound is held on drug charges,
00:17:05
a massive police search is launched to find his campsite. Terry and I walked in that fence. We had
00:17:12
to climb through that fence. That was tough. This case came down to shoe leather. We
00:17:18
ran it all down. Right on top of that little hill was where his tent was. It was [music] out here in these rocky
00:17:29
desert foothills about 8 miles from the Vegas strip, which is behind me, that detectives making their way through this
00:17:36
treacherous landscape, discovered some important evidence. >> We brought a helicopter with us and a
00:17:43
bunch of people to search and we searched every one of these hills. >> Remote. >> Remote. Yes. I walked past a small shrub
00:17:50
and rolled up underneath of the shrub was a pair [music] of pants and looked out of place.
00:17:55
>> Detective Sam Smith had found a crucial piece of evidence near the campsite. A
00:18:00
pair of Steven's pants. They were bloody. Police tested [music] them on the spot. And what did you learn later
00:18:08
about the blood on those jeans? Whose blood was it? >> Uh that was uh Shauna TFA's blood.
00:18:15
Back at headquarters, police confronted Nol Stevens with what they had found. Then they used an old trick to pry more
00:18:23
information out of him. A lot of people don't know this. Investigators are allowed, I'll use this word, to mislead
00:18:30
a suspect. >> No, we're allowed to lie. >> They bluffed Greyhound, saying someone
00:18:36
fingered him for the murder. Stevens stuns the detectives by admitting he killed Shauna TFA. [music]
00:18:45
But why? More clues were found when police examined Null [music] Stevens cell phone.
00:18:52
>> What kind of numbers do you find on that phone? >> We find a guy by the name of George in
00:18:56
his cell phone. And when we ask him who's George, he says that's my friend, the firefighter.
00:19:02
>> George was George TFA, Shauna's husband. And Nell Stevens was that homeless handyman who had caused friction in the
00:19:11
TFA marriage. >> We looked at each other and >> Bing bing bing bing bing. You hit this
00:19:17
is Vegas. You just hit the all sevens, right? Yes, we did. >> Exactly. Yes, we did. [snorts]
00:19:38
There's mama. She's looking hot with the shades on. >> As soon as she heard about the tragic
00:19:43
murder of her beautiful sister, Paula Richards and her husband John immediately had one suspect in mind.
00:19:51
>> Look at everybody. >> Hello. >> We all thought that George was involved, but we couldn't figure out how he did
00:19:59
it. So, they decided to call George, who was [music] still standing outside Shauna's townhouse with police.
00:20:08
>> So, I thought we need to record this. >> Hello, >> George. >> Yes, sir. >> This is This is Paula. Can you tell me
00:20:18
what's going on? >> passed away. >> And [snorts] what did they do to her? >> God,
00:20:27
I don't know. She's laying on the floor with blood on her head. >> How are is she still Is Shauna's body
00:20:35
still there? >> Yes, I think so. >> God, there's Daddy and Mama. >> George then hands his cell phone to a
00:20:47
grief counselor. >> No one else can hear what I'm saying. Correct. >> Correct. >> Paula then makes a startling accusation.
00:20:57
I have my suspicions that her husband may be involved in this based on, you know, many, many conversations
00:21:05
[music] I've had with my sister. Um, I I highly suspect that he may be involved.
00:21:14
>> The day after the murder, the couple caught the first flight to Las Vegas from Nashville. When we landed on the
00:21:22
flight out to Las Vegas, we had both shifted into this investigator mode. >> While John and Paula were conducting
00:21:29
their amateur investigation, detectives Miller and Long were continuing their professional one.
00:21:37
>> You see the telephone poles right along there. >> Armed [music] with a good luck charm, a
00:21:43
casino chip that belonged to Shauna. And I said, "I want you to hold on to this because this has [music] allowed me to
00:21:50
feel like Shauna is near us and uh you can give it back to me when you get an arrest."
00:21:56
>> Soon into their investigation, detectives had discovered dozens [music] of phone calls between Null and George
00:22:04
before the murder. >> You said 87 calls. >> That's That's correct. 87 phone calls in
00:22:12
one month. That's more than I talk to my husband. >> TFA and Stevens met years earlier when
00:22:20
both were living on this middle class street. Null at his sister's house. >> This house right here is the sister's
00:22:26
house which is where null was living. >> And the TFAS down the block right down here.
00:22:30
>> Yes. N got to know George, asked him if he could do yard work for George. >> Cops soon learned from N. Stevens their
00:22:37
relationship was complicated. Null idolized George. He genuinely thought that he and George were very, very close
00:22:48
and would never turn on one another. >> But detectives believed George was manipulating his friend who may have
00:22:55
suffered from mental illness. >> He has a pawn. He has a an implement, a tool in the in the in Null Stevens, and
00:23:03
he's going to use that tool. >> Big Will told detectives that George gave N. Stevens $600 in cash to kill
00:23:12
Shauna with the promise of thousands more to come. He said, "Well, uh, he gave me a key to
00:23:23
get in this lady's house and I murdered her and my heart dropped." And I said, "What?" I said, "You just signed
00:23:31
yourself a death warrant. You don't know if this man is going to try to kill you
00:23:35
or what." When cops were scouring Nol Stevens desert campsite, another intriguing clue they found was a barcode
00:23:44
tag. They scanned it. It matched the style of hammer used to kill Shauna. >> We figure out that Lowe's sells those
00:23:52
hammers. >> That launched investigators on a tedious mission, reviewing hundreds of hours of
00:23:59
video surveillance tape. Finally, they hit pay dirt when they spotted George and N. Stevens shopping
00:24:08
together for hammers. We have our definite connection between Null and George. >> Stevens was singing to cops like a
00:24:21
canary. >> So, he gave you a road map and you're following it and you're finding exactly
00:24:26
what he said you'd find. >> Absolutely. >> Even leading them to where he had buried
00:24:31
the murder weapon. this hammer which broke in two during the brutal attack >> and um there was blood on it.
00:24:40
>> They also discover a possible motive for murder. Money. >> New floors, new carpet, new bathtub, new
00:24:48
sink, new dishwasher. >> Mama's happy about that, huh? >> Shauna liked to spend it [music] and
00:24:55
George liked to save it. There are some financial transactions that appear like he's trying to hide money uh through his
00:25:04
mom. >> With the news tightening on George TFA, detectives meet with his family 9 days
00:25:10
after Shauna's murder. >> So, at the end of the interview, I tell mom and sister that George is involved
00:25:18
in killing Shauna. >> How do they react to that? >> It's traumatic to them. >> No, no, no. They're crying. They're
00:25:26
telling us that we are absolutely 100% wrong. >> Minutes after that conversation, police
00:25:33
who had George under surveillance and were monitoring his phone calls overhear his sister calling him. Suddenly, George
00:25:42
jumped back into his truck [music] and took off quote unquote like a bat out of hell.
00:25:48
>> George weaves erratically through city traffic and onto the Summerland Parkway.
00:25:54
He accelerates to 90 mph and smashes headon into a barrier. Cops believe it was a suicide attempt.
00:26:06
>> He's trying to end his life right now because he can't face the fact of what's
00:26:13
going to come. >> Amazingly, George survived the crash because cops say he was wearing a seat
00:26:20
belt. He was rushed to a local hospital where detectives later arrested him. >> And I said, "George, you're under arrest
00:26:28
for the murder of your wife, Shauna TFA." And his reaction was simply to look up from his hospital bed and say,
00:26:37
"Okay." >> That's when police also charged Null Stevens with Shauna's murder. >> Whoa, look at this. There's Shauna
00:26:50
Castleton. >> TFA. >> Now she's TFA. Wow. She >> It was um a feeling of relief. Um all we
00:27:00
wanted was justice for Shauna. >> Are we ready to arraign Mr. TFA? >> We are. >> Detectives believe George TFA was just
00:27:10
one step away from getting away with it all. >> Commit the murder and then do away with
00:27:17
null. If he can get that done in the right way, he's gonna commit the perfect crime.
00:27:23
>> But George is steadfastly maintaining his innocence. >> No Stevens, >> and prosecutors are worried about their
00:27:31
key witness, Nol Stevens. >> He's at the heart of the murder conspiracy. Right. >> He is a very important factor in the
00:27:39
case. He >> he's mentally ill, right? He has a violent criminal history and he's your
00:27:46
star witness. You know, the defense wants him to be our star witness. George TFA's defense attorney, [music]
00:28:04
Robert Langford, knows how to take command. Whether as an actor in front of a live theater audience,
00:28:16
>> or before a jury in a sin city courtroom, >> there's circumstantial evidence and
00:28:22
there's direct evidence. And now Langford is front and center in a case [music] that even a playwright would
00:28:28
find difficult to imagine. >> It's good story. It's real interesting, but it's not evidence yet in the case.
00:28:37
>> Who is responsible for the murder of Shauna Tf? >> Nol Stevens. Null Stevens says he is. Nvens
00:28:48
beat her to death with a hammer. Was he hired by George TFA to do that? >> There's no evidence of that.
00:28:56
>> It's been 3 years since the murder and Shauna's family and friends like Lacy Green are apprehensive.
00:29:04
>> I'm not confident. It's very scary not knowing what's going to happen. >> I fear that he will be found innocent.
00:29:13
>> At no point during the communication with the police does George TSA ever mention null Stevens. In his opening
00:29:20
statement, prosecutor Mark Djakamo knows he has to make Nol Stevens and George TFA partners in crime.
00:29:28
>> He calls Null Stevens 87 times in the month of September. >> The prosecutor's biggest challenge will
00:29:36
be getting a jury to believe George TFA is capable of murder. You're going up against an all-American boy. That's a
00:29:44
tough challenge. >> It is. As a prosecutor, it's highly unusual to have the resume of George TFA
00:29:51
and then him be a murder suspect. >> I think George TFA is someone who had numerous successes in his life.
00:29:59
>> Pam Wickerly, assistant Clark County DA, has scrutinized what she thinks makes
00:30:05
TFA tick and what may have driven him to murder. >> When his marriage is crumbling, I think
00:30:11
that's something that he just can't cope with. the idea that he wouldn't have complete control over his daughter and
00:30:19
Shauna. Ultimately, >> unraveling the complicated tale of George TFA's intertwined relationship
00:30:26
with N. Stevens is [music] left to prosecution witnesses. Big Will Panics remembers exactly what Stevens told him
00:30:35
the day Shauna was killed. >> He said, "I got something to tell you." And I said, "Well, what is it?" He said,
00:30:41
"Uh, I just, uh, murdered a woman." And right then and there, I said, "You've got to be a damn fool."
00:30:49
>> Did you believe everything that Null Stevens Greyhound told you? >> Uh, it depends on the the day.
00:30:57
>> Yet, Pennix admits under defense questioning that trusting what Stevens has to say is a dubious prospect at
00:31:05
best. At a scale of one to 10, I would put him at a scale of maybe one and a half.
00:31:12
>> 10 being very honest and zero being >> one and a half million not honest at all. That's correct.
00:31:19
>> And prosecutors admit that honesty may be the least of null Stevens problems.
00:31:25
>> He's an alcoholic. He's told a tunnel of lies before and oh, and he's a multiple
00:31:29
time felon on top of it. Despite all that, the courtroom falls silent as a very differentl looking null Stevens,
00:31:38
perhaps the most unlikely star prosecution witness in Clark County history, takes the stand.
00:31:45
>> He looks like a maniac. I I literally felt like my heart dropped into my stomach when I saw him walk through that
00:31:51
door. Stevens, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to Shauna's murder, agreed to testify against TFA once prosecutors in a
00:32:01
pre-trial deal promised not to [music] seek the death penalty against him. >> Where did you grow up?
00:32:11
>> I California. >> When you get nervous, do you have sometimes a little trouble speaking?
00:32:17
>> I said, >> "And you guys, are you thinking to each other, are we nuts?" Yes. >> I don't know if we're thinking it to
00:32:24
each other. We're we're saying it to each other. >> How did you meet George? >> But Stevens soon settles in and prodded
00:32:29
by Dejakamo recites details of his relationship with TFA. >> Are you just doing work for him or is
00:32:36
there something? >> What kind of things have you done together? >> We worked out stuff like that. He
00:32:43
recounts breaking into Shauna's townhouse three weeks before her murder and admits he's the one who left behind
00:32:51
those size small boxers. >> Who told you to make it look like a robber? >> George did.
00:32:57
>> And without a hint of remorse, Stevens coldly describes how he killed Shauna with that hammer.
00:33:05
>> I hit her in the head. >> What happens when you come out that door and you're holding that hammer? She
00:33:11
tells me why I'm doing this. >> She says, "Why are you doing this?" >> Yes. >> Who told you to kill Shonah?
00:33:17
>> George. >> He is a a zombie parrot. In that he had a response which was always, "George.
00:33:30
George did it. George told me. George." Itching to cross-examine Stevens, Langford rips right into him, getting
00:33:38
the state star witness to admit he not only hears voices, >> but has visions. >> Cuz I hallucinate.
00:33:46
>> What kind of hallucinations? >> I see uh sh sometimes. >> Sometimes. Yes. >> Do you see other people?
00:33:55
>> Sometimes. >> Do you hear voices? >> Yes. Nol Stevens is the craziest person I've ever seen take the stand. What is
00:34:06
reasonable doubt if not Null Stevens? >> I think the more null talks uh the more
00:34:14
believable he is. It seemed impossible to me that he could have fabricated this notion of a conspiracy with that level
00:34:22
of detail uh unless it really happened. Prosecutors replace some of the most damning evidence. [music] That footage
00:34:31
of George TFA and Null Stevens buying hammers, knives, and other items. >> You have this defendant buying two
00:34:41
hammers in 5 days. >> TFA himself sits calmly through the trial, showing no emotion. He never
00:34:50
takes the stand. >> They have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. and they didn't. So,
00:34:57
there's no reason to put George on the stand. >> The only defense witness, TFA's sister,
00:35:03
Maria. >> In all the years that you've known George, have you ever known him to be a violent
00:35:09
person? >> Never. Ever. Ever. >> I have no further questions. >> Along with TFA's family, friends from
00:35:17
his childhood and West Point days are in court to show their support. I'm here because I'm willing to stand behind and
00:35:24
defend George's character. >> George is not the person that is being depicted by the prosecutor.
00:35:33
>> After a week-long trial, hearing from some 40 witnesses [music] and with 400 exhibits in evidence, 12
00:35:40
jurors will now decide the fate of George TFA. Juror Roy Wright had questions. Were they just buying these
00:35:49
things for null to be a handyman with or were they buying them for a murder? >> My fear is that that the defense is able
00:35:55
to discredit null enough that it causes reasonable doubt. >> So cute. >> Oh, look.
00:36:13
You can clap. Good girl. It has been 3 years since Shauna Tf was found brutally murdered. And today, her
00:36:25
family hopes their long, agonizing wait will end in justice. >> I'm just on pins and needles. You know,
00:36:34
my stomach has been in knots for days, and I don't think I've ever been so nervous.
00:36:39
>> A jury will decide if George TFA was the mastermind behind his wife's murder.
00:36:45
George TFA is the evil one. >> On one side of the courtroom sits Shauna's family. Some are dressed in her
00:36:52
favorite color, pink. On the other side sites supporters. His sister, Bernardet,
00:36:59
takes a moment to pray. >> He's been called a monster. People call him a monster.
00:37:06
It's just ridiculous and shocking. After three long days, finally a verdict. >> The clerk will read the verdict. The
00:37:18
defendant will rise. We the jury in the above title case find the defendant George MTFA as follows. Count one,
00:37:25
conspiracy to commit murder. Guilty >> guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and firstdegree murder. Seven counts in
00:37:35
all. George stands silent with the same emotionless stare. he has had throughout
00:37:41
the entire trial. >> Guilty of robbery with a deadly >> his family is simply devastated.
00:37:47
>> Murder with you. >> In your opinion, was an injustice done here? >> Yes, because I believe that the evidence
00:37:55
showed reasonable doubt. >> Paula, who knew from day one that George was behind her sister's murder, is
00:38:02
humbled. It was almost three years ago that Shauna was brutally murdered and we're so happy that justice was served.
00:38:10
>> Prosecutor Mark Takamo [music] says he never lost sight of his good luck charm. That casino chip that
00:38:17
belonged to Shauna and given to him by her family. >> And for you, what did that chip
00:38:22
represent? >> It represented their hope of justice. You know, it sat on my computer for 3
00:38:28
years and uh when I walked over for the verdict, I put it in my pocket. >> Everyone
00:38:33
deserves mercy. >> At his sentencing, a jury must decide George's fate. Life in prison or life
00:38:40
with the possibility of parole in as soon as 20 years. >> We hope he gets the maximum penalty.
00:38:47
George is a controller, a manipulator, and I think the worst hell for him will be staying in prison the rest of his
00:38:54
life and not being able to control anything. >> Paula takes the stand to remind the
00:38:58
jurors of her loss. >> Shauna's greatest joy in this world was being a mother. I remember her always
00:39:06
running her fingers through Mattiey's ponytail and she would call her little monkey.
00:39:11
>> I would call Maria. George's family and friends also speak, hoping their words
00:39:16
will persuade the jury to show mercy. >> George is one of the best of us. He's hardworking, compassionate. You will not
00:39:23
find a better firefighter on the job than than George. >> I'm George's brother. That's pretty much
00:39:28
who I am. >> How did you feel about that? >> I was proud. >> Clerk will read the decision.
00:39:34
>> The sentence >> impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. George TFA will
00:39:40
spend the rest of his life in prison. >> Juror Roy Wright says that while null Stevens is troubled, they never doubted
00:39:51
his story. >> I think the general consensus was he wasn't really smart enough to make up a
00:39:55
elaborate story that would fit the timeline so perfectly. >> And the jury also believed this witness.
00:40:03
>> I said, "Praise the Lord. Justice has been served." Big Will, who jumpst started the
00:40:11
investigation. >> Is Big Will a hero in this case to you? >> He is and he doesn't believe in being an
00:40:16
individual who turns a friend in. Uh but when he heard the story from null, he felt a moral conviction to make the
00:40:24
phone call and for that you know he is a hero. >> With [music] the trial behind them,
00:40:29
Paula and John Richards worry about Shauna's daughter, Maddie, [music] who is now 11 years old. She has lost both
00:40:37
of her parents. Maddie lives with George's mom, but Paula and John visit her often.
00:40:43
>> I'm sure she was hoping her daddy would come home, but when she's old enough,
00:40:48
I'll explain to her why that's not the case and why it shouldn't be the case. >> Oh, fun to ride. Wonderful. [laughter]
00:40:56
>> This is her birthday dress. Sometimes when [music] we're talking about Shauna
00:41:00
with Maddie, I can tell when Maddie is reflecting in her face that she laughed a lot with her mom. I can't explain it,
00:41:08
but I know that Maddie found a lot of laughter, you know, with Shauna. >> You're so pretty. What a pretty girl.
00:41:38
>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> It was a beautiful wedding. We had a wonderful relationship.
00:42:21
I was very in love. Very in love. Very, very in love. [music] Gary had a very big personality.
00:42:32
He was a big gambler and he loved it. When they first met, she claimed that Gary had told her, "I'm worth 10
00:42:40
million, 20 million." It was in the high millions. Gary Triano. He'd been a hugely successful financial developer,
00:42:47
an entrepreneur. He was doing tribal gambling business. >> That money, which he got every month,
00:42:53
was big money. >> The tribe and himself did not agree on certain things. He was basically forced
00:42:59
out of his gambling connection. He was on a downward spiral financially and there were people who were upset with
00:43:06
him. your husband. He owed a casino in Las Vegas, several million dollars, $1.8 million to an ex-wife, $91,000 to an
00:43:16
attorney, hundreds of thousands of dollars to a group of Mexican investors who people said were involved in
00:43:23
criminal activity. >> Probably >> November 1st, 1996 at the La Palama Country Club.
00:43:32
It's a, you know, a luxury resort, spa, and a fantastic golf course. Gary Triano
00:43:40
finishes playing a game of golf. Walks to his car, and there's an explosion. >> There's some kind of an explosion in the
00:43:50
country club parking lot. I don't know. I guess it's a massive fire. >> What kind of bomb are we talking about?
00:43:56
>> We're talking about a pipe bomb. An extremely large pipe [music] bomb compared to what is normally out there.
00:44:03
Was this survivable? [music] No. >> Gary Triano didn't have a chance. >> He was a dead man.
00:44:15
>> I was absolutely hysterical. >> And I'm thinking, "Oh my god, what am I going to do?"
00:44:21
>> But you must have asked, "Who could have killed Gary?" >> I immediately thought, "Who is it that
00:44:25
he hadn't paid?" Before the bombing, Gary was totally in fear going around with a gun. He had life threats. I had
00:44:34
life threats. The children had life threats. We're talking about Mexican mafia people
00:44:40
you don't cross. There was serious serious things going on. >> I saw the list. It was titled to kill
00:44:46
list and it had names and Gary Toronto was at the top. Did Pam ever talk to you about Gary's
00:44:55
business associations with organized crime? >> Never. >> Never. >> Never. >> She was one of your closest friends. No
00:45:06
talk about mob related people. >> Never. >> Threatening phone calls at the house.
00:45:10
>> That's absurd. >> She felt unsafe. She felt her children were under threat. >> No, I don't believe that ever happened.
00:45:16
I think that's just completely made up. Do you believe Pam would have done anything for money?
00:45:21
>> Well, yeah. [music] >> I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours, the hit [music] [music]
00:46:00
>> [music] >> It was back in the '90s and Pam Phillips and her husband Gary Triano were living
00:46:09
large here in the posh foothills of Tucson. They were rich. Gary was a Wheeler dealer, creating businesses,
00:46:17
running Indian bingo, playing a lot of golf. And some say Gary was rubbing shoulders with wise guys.
00:46:27
>> He was flamboyant in a way that I wouldn't normally fall for. >> She sold commercial real estate.
00:46:35
>> I was worth I think a million 8 2 million in there. Made totally on my own. They were socialites with connections.
00:46:45
Connections like their celebrity pals Donald and Mara Trump. Mara I love. Mara is like an angel. And Donald I adore as
00:46:56
well. And he is one of the funniest people to be around you can imagine. >> Donald and Mara came and actually they
00:47:05
went to took him to a basketball game together. Laura Chapman was part of the gang, a
00:47:11
friend. >> We love our Wildcats. [cheering] We're big, huge Wildcat fans. >> University of Arizona.
00:47:17
>> Absolutely. And it was in the paper the next day. You know, here's Gary and Pam
00:47:20
walking down the steps with Donald and Mara. >> Gary and Pam married in 1986. They had a
00:47:28
couple of kids and [music] settled into a comfortable life. >> When she and Gary were married, Pam
00:47:35
didn't even work. She lived a very pampered lifestyle and Gary provided that for her.
00:47:41
>> Tell me about going [music] to Vegas with Gary and Pam. >> That was a trip. It was a lot of fun.
00:47:49
He had his own plane. So he would fly us in. >> What kind of plane? >> Just a It was just a a small jet. It was
00:47:55
like a >> just a small jet. >> Just a small jet. >> Lifestyles of the rich and famous.
00:47:59
>> Absolutely. But all that glitters is not well, you know the [music] story. And after seven
00:48:06
years of marriage, things fell apart. Gary was pushed out of the Indian bingo and his personal gambling debts
00:48:15
skyrocketed. In 1993, [music] Pam and Gary separated and eventually divorced. She moved to Aspen. He stayed in Tucson
00:48:29
until that day, November 1st, 1996. >> The bomb was so powerful, it literally sent debris flying 200 yd into the air.
00:48:39
The windshield actually flew over these trees and into the swimming pool area. >> Just 5 days before Gary's 53rd birthday,
00:48:49
>> Gary definitely was a target. >> Gene Rei is a Puma County investigator. Gary suspected he was being followed and
00:48:56
told people he was being followed by an individual that was driving a green jeep-t type SUV.
00:49:02
>> Was that vehicle seen on the day Gary Triano was murdered? >> There's a similar vehicle or the
00:49:08
specific vehicle was seen up at La Paloma Resort. >> That's where the bomb went off.
00:49:12
>> Where the bombing happened. That's correct. >> [music] >> We're on an explosives range in the
00:49:20
remote mountains of New Mexico. Over those hills, about 40 miles from here, is where they detonated the first atomic
00:49:27
bomb. These ATF agents, >> watch your strap. >> They worked the Triano bombing and came
00:49:34
up with some crucial clues. >> This is the exact location where the device was when it detonated and
00:49:40
murdered Gary Triano. Gary Triano had just finished 18 holes with a pal. He walked to [music] his
00:49:48
car. >> When he entered the car, he leaned over and seen this unknown bag that was
00:49:53
sitting here exactly where it's at right now. >> And like anybody, he probably reached
00:49:56
over and grabbed it, right? What's this? >> ATF bomb expert Tony May. >> This is a reconstruction of the device.
00:50:03
>> And special agent Tom Mangan. >> When you look at something this size, you say, "This is overkill."
00:50:08
>> recreated the bomb at our request. I'll get into count. >> Here we go. >> 5 4 3 2 1
00:50:38
>> lead the way. >> Yep. Let's check out the damage. >> Look at the blast pressures, Tony. Yeah.
00:50:43
Look at that. >> This is all pieces from this last blast. >> Correct. >> What we're looking at here.
00:50:47
>> Correct. >> But for you guys, this is all evidence. >> This is all evidence. But from here, we
00:50:51
have to sort out what is car parts and what is bomb parts. >> Right. You know, >> if you see anything from the bomb,
00:50:56
>> this is an endcap from the pipe bomb itself. Look at the frag pattern on this
00:51:00
door. >> Frag pattern being these holes. >> Frag pattern being these holes. Right
00:51:04
now, we're looking at the seat of the explosion and the explosion itself, right? And you see the fragmentation.
00:51:10
>> Was this survivable? >> No. >> It was quick. It was calculated. And it was murder.
00:51:18
>> This is an exterior door panel that's been blown off. >> There are people who look at this
00:51:22
circumstance and say, "This looks like a classic mob hit, >> right, with the bombing. Everybody
00:51:28
looked at that and said, "That's a signature mob hit." >> Detective James Gamber has been on the
00:51:35
case from day one. I was 2 months into homicide. >> And you get one of the biggest cases in
00:51:40
Tucson history. >> We continue to work it for 18 years. >> 18 years of your life.
00:51:45
>> Yes. >> It took so long because it's been an unusually tangled story filled with
00:51:53
endless leads and with curious characters, many with their own theories. Characters like Dr. Lawrence
00:52:01
De Antonio. >> I'm a family physician here in Tucson, Arizona. I've known Gary Trano since I
00:52:06
was a little boy. >> He's also convinced mobsters killed Gary Triano because he says Gary owed them
00:52:14
money and wouldn't pay. >> He's a very flamboyant man and he's also very good-looking, but he's rotten to
00:52:21
the core. He was a con man. He was a thief and he would rob or steal from anybody, including his own family, his
00:52:30
own wife. That's the way he was. >> Dr. De Antonio says Triano associated with known criminals like the infamous
00:52:39
mafia boss Joe Banano who retired in Tucson. Gary Triano's first business was financed by um Joseph Banano.
00:52:48
>> Was Gary Triano living in a dangerous lifestyle? >> Oh, absolutely. Gary carried a gun all
00:52:53
the time. >> And Dr. De Antonio says he has even seen proof that Gary Triano was on a kill
00:53:00
list. There were a lot of names on this list and some names would come and go, but Gary Toronto was always at the top.
00:53:08
>> The minute the doctor heard about the bombing, he was sure who did it. I was absolutely sure that Gary Trano had just
00:53:16
been murdered by Neil McNe. >> You like the old gum shoe. You like to get out, talk one-on-one to people.
00:53:35
>> I'm I'm old style. I blend in. I fit in. I try and make people comfortable. Investigator Gene Rei was trying to help
00:53:43
Pam Phillips finger the man who he believed killed her ex. >> I'll tell you what I think happened. I
00:53:50
think Gary really burned someone really good and somebody was really upset and someone someone was going to kill him.
00:53:58
>> He's got a pretty good idea of who that someone was. >> This man here is the man that
00:54:03
orchestrated this. >> Like Dr. De Antonio Rei thinks the killer is a man named Neil Mcnes.
00:54:10
>> When Neil Mcnes was on drugs, he was a completely psychotic, insane guy. All I
00:54:15
ever met in his world, his entourage, was drug dealers, drug addicts, strippers, prostitutes, and bad guys. He
00:54:23
had a lot of bad guys that worked for him. >> McNiss was a rich kid. He'd inherited
00:54:28
millions from his family's uranium mining fortune. He also owned a piece of an indie race
00:54:35
car team. But Dr. De Antonio, who once was MC's personal physician, [music] says his
00:54:44
patient slipped into an even faster lane. >> He was heavily on drugs and his drugs
00:54:52
were cocaine and heroin. >> And that's when the trouble started. According to De Antonio, the beef
00:54:58
between Mcnes and Gary Triano was over a huge diamond ring, >> a gorgeous uh diamond wedding ring. And
00:55:06
this thing was magnificent. And Gary said pitched it as a quarter of a million dollar ring.
00:55:12
As the doc tells it, Triano needed cash. So he offered up his wife's $250,000 wedding ring to Mcnes as collateral for
00:55:22
a loan. But there was a problem. the diamond was a fake. And when MC realized he'd been scammed, all hell broke loose.
00:55:31
And Neil went absolutely crazy. And he started to tell me, "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him." And he
00:55:37
said, "And when I kill Gary Triano, it will be spectacular. The whole world will know I killed him."
00:55:45
>> Gary Triano owed him a debt. And I believe that's why Gary Triano was killed.
00:55:50
>> Rei says he's got it all figured out. I'm taking you to where I believe the bomb was built. Let's go inside.
00:56:04
This place looks like a movie set. Thousands of parts, heavy machinery. He has everything here that could be used
00:56:11
to build the bomb. We found at least six pieces of the puzzle within this drawer
00:56:16
right here. We found the shotgun shells. We found bearings. The same type of powder that was used in the bomb. We
00:56:22
found the Radio Shack receipts. >> Linked all this together. >> Linked all this together.
00:56:27
>> Rei says the man who built the bomb right here in this shop was a model airplane hobbyist named Jerry Capuano.
00:56:35
>> This is his bomb builder. He built the bomb. >> Rei's theory of the crime is this. The
00:56:41
bad boy millionaire Mcnes put together a whole hit team to go after Gary Triano.
00:56:47
It was a bunch of low lives. This is his bodyguard who orchestrated and got the hit crew together with these two guys.
00:56:55
And these two guys have a past criminal history. They're complete thugs. MC and his bodyguard also had a criminal
00:57:02
history. They were convicted of extortion for threatening another man who owed MC money.
00:57:10
>> This is where Gary came of his death. >> This is This is where Gary came to play
00:57:14
golf. Rei says he has found a witness who saw that hit team right here in the parking lot.
00:57:21
>> Directly next to Gary Triano when the bomb went off, there was an individual in a vehicle who was sitting there
00:57:27
reading a magazine. Now, he was looking in his mirror and he saw an individual back by the bushes. He also saw another
00:57:34
individual straight ahead up on this null directly in front of us that we're pulling around to.
00:57:39
>> And you believe that person was doing what? I believe those two people were involved involved in the bombing.
00:57:51
So to sum up this tangled story so far, millionaire businessman Gary Triano gets
00:57:57
in big trouble with mobsters and they kill him. Case closed, right? Well, not really. That's just the opening scene of
00:58:05
this mystery. Turns out lead detective James Gamber doesn't buy Rei's mob hit theory.
00:58:14
>> They were all looked at and discounted. >> Police didn't believe the whole Diamond
00:58:19
Ring story. They didn't buy the bomb factory or the hit team. And they didn't believe any of the other mob hit
00:58:26
theories either. >> The Mexican group, the financial group, discounted just a bad business deal. We
00:58:33
went and talked to the casinos and they said, "Yeah, we lose money all the time.
00:58:37
We don't go out and kill people for the money." >> But Tucson detective James Gamber had
00:58:42
another lead. In December 1996, just weeks after Gary Triano's murder, his ex-wife Pam Phillips filed a life
00:58:52
insurance claim, a big one. >> There was a $2 million life insurance policy. $2 million. More than enough reason for
00:59:01
Detective Gamber to travel to Aspen where he spoke to Pam face to face. The money would go to Pam as the trustee.
00:59:11
She's the only person when you followed the money that benefited at all. >> There's nothing about me, nothing about
00:59:17
me that would ever harm a person ever, ever. There was no money motive. There was no insurance motive.
00:59:25
>> Gamber questioned Pam. She told him she divorced Gary Triano, escaped from Tucson, and fled to Aspen. All because
00:59:34
she was terrified. >> There was things happening with him that I couldn't understand. He was off the
00:59:39
wall. Off the wall. >> And you moved because >> because our lives were threatened. I
00:59:43
mean, our lives were threatened. Gary feared everything. Gary was totally in fear going around with a gun.
00:59:52
But Pam's friend Laura Chapman has a different take. Why did things go wrong in their marriage? And
00:59:59
>> when things started to go downward and the money was not going to be there anymore and that, you know, the rich and
01:00:04
famous lifestyle was going to be evaporating, I think she saw the writing on the wall and said, you know, I don't
01:00:11
think I want to be in this relationship anymore. Pam tells the story with such conviction that she'd reached a point
01:00:17
that where she had to leave Gary because of the people he was dealing with, the threats to her family, everyone was
01:00:24
scared and she had to move to Aspen to save her children. >> That's absolutely ridiculous. That is
01:00:32
not why she moved to Aspen. >> Why'd she move to Aspen? >> She, you know, she was looking for her
01:00:38
next ATM, her next bank. She was looking for somebody to provide her that lifestyle again.
01:00:58
After her divorce, Pam Phillips old friend Laura Chapman says Pam was in the mood for love in Aspen. Once she got to
01:01:07
Colorado, what was Pam looking for in a man? >> I think she was looking for is made sure
01:01:12
that he had a basically a net worth probably of at least 10 million or more. >> That was the aphrodisiac. That was the
01:01:19
attraction. >> Yeah, absolutely. It didn't really matter what they looked like, just as
01:01:22
long as they had a lot of money. >> Pam, as usual, gravitated to her people, the rich and famous.
01:01:32
She became a successful real estate agent and resumed her life as a socialite. But she had one friend who
01:01:40
didn't seem to fit the mold. His name was Ron Young. >> I met him at a party next door, the
01:01:46
duplex next door to me, very tall. The guy is like a skyscraper. He was a business manager to people that were at
01:01:54
this barbecue and I could use some help with my business. And so that's kind of what what ended up happening. Pam says
01:02:01
Ron helped her with her business interests and she paid him cash. Pam owned an online company called Star
01:02:09
Babies making astrology charts for infants. >> I hand wrote all the different uh
01:02:16
planetary aspects to understand our children and be a better parent. >> What was your relationship with Ron?
01:02:22
>> Just strictly business pretty much. I mean um doing uh business plans. He helped on pretty much everything you
01:02:29
know. He helped a lot. >> But Pam's nanny in Aspen told police that her relationship with Ron Young
01:02:36
soon moved from the office to the bedroom. >> Now, you're here to tell me the truth,
01:02:41
right? >> I'm here to tell you the truth. >> Did your business relationship with Ron
01:02:46
turn into a romantic relationship? >> No. Not really. >> Cuz it's been alleged that you were
01:02:52
lovers. Were you? >> No, we were not lovers. This is like embarrassing. Could we have crashed out
01:02:58
having wine fully clothed, you know, on a couch or on a bed? That might have happened once or twice. You know, we
01:03:06
were not lovers. No. >> In the summer of 1996, Pam suddenly turned on her partner, accusing Ron
01:03:14
Young of fraud using her credit cards. When she called the cops, Ron disappeared.
01:03:21
[music] Several months later, in November of 1996, Gary Triano was blown up in his car.
01:03:28
>> The bomb blew off the roof and killed Triano only days before his 53rd birthday.
01:03:33
>> And in Aspen, a cop who dealt with Pam in the fraud case saw the bombing story
01:03:39
on TV and called Tucson. Detective James Gamber took the call. We get a call from
01:03:45
Detective Crowley with the Aspen Police Department and he says, "Hey, I have a suspect in a fraud case up in Aspen. His
01:03:51
name is Ron Young. This gentleman right here." >> Turns out that Ron Young had a criminal
01:03:57
record. This was a new intriguing lead, a link [music] between Pam and a small time crook.
01:04:04
>> Where it becomes more interesting is when we actually interview Pamela Phillips and we ask her, we say, "Who's
01:04:09
Ron Young?" And she basically minimizes his relationship to her. Oh, he's somebody who did some financial work for
01:04:18
me. She doesn't talk about the fraud. And she is basically shaken by the question. I mean, visibly shaken by the
01:04:25
question. >> It's a bad movie. It's a nightmare. I would never kill Gary, the father of my
01:04:31
children. It's just I can't even stand it. I'm not even going to go there. It's just not
01:04:37
real. Pam may have been shaken and detectives suspicious, but they didn't yet have a
01:04:47
case. What's worse, Ron Young was nowhere to be found. >> For 9 years, the case languished.
01:05:01
>> Uh, another look at the frack pattern on this door. >> Then in 2005, the case heated up. The
01:05:08
bomb expert Tony May and agent Tom Mangan of the ATF were reviewing cold cases. They took another look at the
01:05:17
murder of Gary Triano. Tell me what this bomb tells you about a potential suspect.
01:05:24
>> Well, it it it tells me quite a bit actually from the size of the battery to the fact that a remote control system
01:05:29
was used. This is somebody that was familiar with model uh boats, model airplanes. But they determined the bomb
01:05:36
builder was an amateur. >> You have sloppy solder points. In this case, the solder points were globbed on.
01:05:43
>> How was this 17in pipe bomb detonated? >> Okay. >> Using a remote control firing system.
01:05:50
>> You just buy this at a hobby shop. >> Buy it any hobby shop. And when he sees
01:05:52
Mr. Triano get into the vehicle and get close proximity to the bomb, initiates the device
01:05:59
>> and boom. >> And boom. Looking at the holes in the roof. The experts were now [music] sure
01:06:04
because of the sloppy workmanship, the bomb was probably not the work of a mob hitman. As far as the cops were
01:06:12
concerned, that took the gangster theory of the crime off the table for good. >> Whose handwriting is this? As he studied
01:06:20
the files, Tucson Detective James Gamber became more and more convinced the key to the case would be the relationship
01:06:29
between Pam Phillips and the vanished con man, Ron Young. Then in 2005, a break. Ron Young was
01:06:38
arrested in Florida on fraud and gun charges. When police searched his apartment, they discovered something
01:06:46
amazing. Ron Young was an obsessive recordkeeper. Gamber learned that during the 1990s, Young had received
01:06:55
significant cash payments from a woman in Colorado. >> Usually between 18 and $2,000.
01:07:02
>> The woman sent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her name Pam Phillips. >> Why did she pay Ron Young $400,000?
01:07:14
>> You tell me. because she was paying him for the murder. >> The murder >> of Gary Triano.
01:07:20
>> Of Gary Triano. >> Yes. >> This has nothing to do with me. My children have to know this has
01:07:28
nothing to do with me. I had nothing to do with the death of their father. Absolutely nothing.
01:07:36
Absolutely nothing. >> But investigators have said you had two million reasons. >> What? What?
01:07:45
>> $2 million in life insurance money. >> I didn't even know that I had that. >> Well, she did money and she wanted to
01:07:51
get Gary out of her life. So, she reaches out to Ron Young and basically if you look at all the evidence
01:07:58
collectively says, "If Gary dies, I get $2 million. If you kill him, I'll give you 400,000."
01:08:06
>> And for you, that's the motive of this crime. >> Correct. Ron Young didn't just keep extensive
01:08:12
financial records. He also recorded dozens of hours of telephone conversations. Listen to this.
01:08:21
>> About enough to live on for about a year. >> Well, could you uh >> That's Ron Young talking to Pam. If I um
01:08:29
ever found out that you compromised me um for your benefit, it um it'd be really unfortunate for you because um
01:08:36
there's just plenty of stuff that um I just literally dig out of the ground and you're a fried duck.
01:08:43
>> Then investigators discovered this startling piece of audio tape. >> Well, I tell you, you're going to be
01:08:49
very serious. When you sit in a women's prison for murder, >> I only know of one murder that Pam
01:08:56
Phillips is associated with. >> Finish your thought. >> That's Gary Triano. So, what murder could they be talking
01:09:05
about? For Detective Gamber, this case was becoming one of sex, lies, and audio tape. But it all came together when an
01:09:15
obscure police report from 1996 turned up. That was the same year Gary Triano was blown up. Back then, a rented van
01:09:25
was found abandoned in Southern California. No one knew it at the time, but that van would contain some
01:09:33
important circumstantial evidence. And guess who rented it? Ron Young. >> They find basically a map of Tucson. As
01:09:42
far as we know, Ron Young has no relationship to Tucson. There were several notes. one that lists out people
01:09:49
that are very close to Gary Triano. We find a receipt for a local hotel. We find where he stayed there for 18 days
01:09:57
under the name of Philip Desmond. Then we find some of the divorce paperwork from Pam and Gary's divorce.
01:10:04
>> With this new evidence that Young was in Tucson prior to the bombing stalking
01:10:10
Triano, Gamber now believed he had a case. And in October 2008, Ron Young was charged with Gary Triano's murder.
01:10:21
Pam Phillips was next in Gamber's sights. By 2008, [music] Pam Phillips had moved to Europe,
01:10:40
Switzerland mostly, to be with her daughter who was a student there. Then there was a revelation.
01:10:51
>> It all came flooding back to me. It was like, "Oh my gosh, she really did do it."
01:10:57
Laura Chapman, [music] Pam's old pal from Tucson, came forward to tell police a story she says she was too frightened
01:11:05
to tell for 15 years. >> Were you scared? >> Yeah, I was scared. Laura says that back in 1993, shortly
01:11:16
after the triano separated, Pam said Gary was acting crazy one night, threatening her and waving a gun.
01:11:26
>> She called me and she called another woman to come over to their home and she
01:11:30
said, you know, I should just hire someone and have them taken out and you know, then I can collect on the
01:11:35
insurance policy. >> And for cops, Laura's story was the last piece of the puzzle.
01:11:43
In October 2008, Pam Phillips and Ron Young were indicted on the same day for conspiracy and murder.
01:11:54
It would take a year before Pam was tracked down in Europe, now in Austria, and arrested. It would be another year
01:12:03
before she was extradited to the US in 2010. >> So, we agree on 1.7. As all this was
01:12:10
happening, Pam's partner, Ron Young, stood trial. >> He denied everything [music] and never
01:12:18
implicated Pam. But in the end, those records and audio tapes did him in. >> We the jury find the defendant, Ronald
01:12:27
Kelly Young, guilty of the offense of first-degree murder. And then back in Arizona
01:12:34
>> in division 27 of the superior court. >> It was Pam Phillips's turn. >> This is your arraignment. Those are your
01:12:41
charges. >> But then a major delay. Pam's lawyers claimed she was mentally unfit to stand
01:12:50
trial. Pam, is it true that you once believed that you had some sort of computer chip or brain implants put in
01:12:59
that was controlling your thoughts and actions? >> Let's just put it this way. I was a
01:13:05
mess. I was a mess. I was a mess. >> Finally, on February 19th, 2014, >> this time we're going to be hearing
01:13:17
opening statements from the attorneys. 17 years after Gary Triano's murder, Tucson's trial of the century began.
01:13:26
>> It is time to hold Pamela Phillips responsible for her crimes. It is time to find
01:13:34
Pamela Phillips guilty. >> The prosecution case was straightforward. [music] Pam was portrayed as a financially
01:13:42
desperate woman willing to kill her husband for that $2 million life insurance policy. The only person who
01:13:50
stood to gain any benefit from Gary Triano's death was Pamela Phillips. >> The prosecution star witness was Laura
01:14:04
Chapman. >> I remember saying, >> who told that damning story of Pam wanting to hire someone to [music] take
01:14:11
out her husband. >> Is Pam looking at you while you are testifying? I don't know, Peter, because
01:14:17
I never ever looked at her. >> Pam was outraged by Laura's story >> that she should just hire a hitman, have
01:14:25
have him taken out. >> No, I know. Those words would not come out of my mouth ever, ever, ever.
01:14:36
And there's one more thing Pam wants people to know >> about Laura Chapman. That she had a
01:14:43
medical condition that affected her memory. >> Poor girl. She had a she had a brain
01:14:48
tumor. Something happened to her medically. That's that is that is so ridiculous. First of all, I didn't have
01:14:54
a brain tumor when she told me this. That happened many years later. It'll be 9 years this month. And it does not
01:15:01
affect my memory one bit. My memory is perfect. The leads that they dropped, the leads
01:15:07
that they dropped. >> Pam's defense was simple. Someone else did it. Who killed Gary Triano?
01:15:14
>> Neil Mcnes. I believe >> Pam's attorney, Paul Eckerstrom, says the angry millionaire had the motive and
01:15:24
the ability. He says that [music] makes a lot more sense than the notion that Ron Young built the bomb. Ron Young
01:15:31
couldn't even fix a flashlight or a screw in a light bulb as far as I can tell. We found out who did this and we've got
01:15:43
strong strong evidence of who did this and it wasn't Pam and it wasn't Ronald Young. It was people that were involved
01:15:51
with organized crime. But the tapes recorded by Ron Young himself haunted the defense.
01:16:00
Well, I tell you, you're going to be very serious when you sit in a women's prison for murder.
01:16:06
>> The problems with this these tapes, they're spliced and diced. We believe they're they were never authenticated by
01:16:13
any expert. The defense argues that if you listen to the entire audio tape, it's obvious that
01:16:22
Ron Young is talking about his own medical problems and [snorts] that if Pam didn't give him money for treatment,
01:16:28
she'd be murdering him. >> I'm the one who's dying. I have a need. You have my principal. I want a little
01:16:36
bit of it so I can proceed. >> Earstrom says the true story behind most of the tapes was extortion.
01:16:45
Ron Young was just trying to get money out of Pam. >> What he had on Pam was the fact that she
01:16:52
had a reputation in Aspen to protect. It was a small town. She was a real estate
01:16:57
agent. She needed her reputation. According to the defense, Pam was afraid that Ron would spread the news that she
01:17:06
was being investigated in the death of her ex-husband. If Pam paid him, Ron would keep his mouth shut. You're
01:17:14
talking about a guy who's an extortionist. This is what he does. >> He's squeezing Pam is what you're
01:17:19
saying. Trying to get money >> with a minor in chemistry. >> Finally, Pam's defense presented what
01:17:25
they were convinced would be a knockout blow. Something discovered among the bomb
01:17:34
fragments. We found DNA on the bomb. DNA. The CSI moment. Would it work? >> Five 4 3 2 1.
01:18:00
>> In the end, the bomb which killed Gary Triano came back to center stage. >> I thought once we had this, we won the
01:18:08
case. The defense claimed they discovered dramatic new DNA evidence. >> This is one of the places we found it
01:18:16
embedded in the wood. We excluded Ronald Young as the bomb maker. >> And if Ron Young didn't do it, then Pam
01:18:25
is innocent. >> So this is a CSI moment as far as you're concerned, right? >> Yeah. And you know, we don't have to
01:18:32
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Pam's innocent. All we need to do is create a reasonable doubt.
01:18:38
After 8 weeks of trial, >> you have to tell the state, "Don't charge somebody with scant innuendo and
01:18:46
insinuation." >> The defense had bottom line their case. Pam didn't do the crime. Someone else
01:18:53
did. And that man was the drug crazed millionaire who thought Triano cheated him. Neil Mcnes.
01:19:01
>> The defense has a pretty simple theory. Neil Mcn is the killer. What do you say
01:19:09
>> that they don't have any foundation or any solid factual basis to make that allegation?
01:19:15
>> They claim MC had underworld ties. He had a kill list and Gary Triano was on the top of that list.
01:19:21
>> Correct. And do they have that list? No. >> They also didn't have MC. He died back in 2002 [music]
01:19:32
of a drug overdose. And they didn't have the alleged bomb [music] maker, Jerry Capuano, either. He's dead, too.
01:19:40
>> It's rather convenient. Yes, it's always it's always nice to accuse somebody who
01:19:45
can't defend themselves. >> As for star witness Laura Chapman and her story that Pam once talked about
01:19:53
hiring someone to kill Gary, >> that she should just hire a hitman. >> The defense says it never happened.
01:20:00
There's a problem with your story in that the woman that was with you and Pam that day in the bedroom
01:20:08
says she doesn't remember Pam saying this. >> That is not true. That is not true. I think she purged
01:20:17
herself. I think she knows exactly what was said. >> If the state is required to prove that,
01:20:22
>> of course, all of this was left up to the jury. And after 13 hours of deliberation,
01:20:30
the jury spoke >> to find the defendant Pamela Anne Phillips guilty of conspiracy to commit
01:20:36
first-degree murder as alleged incount of the indictment. >> When you heard the words guilty,
01:20:43
guilty of conspiracy, guilty of firstdegree murder, >> it's a complete frame. here. I said, "And I am innocent."
01:20:55
And the people that killed Gary Triano were out walking around. >> All right, let's go on the record and
01:21:02
see our 200. >> One month later, back in court, >> Miss Phillips, would you give us your
01:21:06
full name, please? >> Pam is sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
01:21:13
>> I just want everybody to know that I am innocent. I am innocent. I am innocent.
01:21:19
I'm not that person that >> you're not that evil, greedy, money rubbing person who would even kill for
01:21:26
my >> I would never harm anybody. >> It's gut-wrenching for me because I don't just think she's innocent. I know
01:21:33
she is. Two juries have heard this evidence and two juries have convicted Ron Young and Pam Phillips.
01:21:41
>> Right. Aren't you the one who's wrong here? >> No. You know why they were convicted?
01:21:46
Juries believe that you're probably guilty these days because the state would never have brought the case
01:21:52
otherwise. That's the way they think. >> Earstrom also blames the media. He says
01:21:59
because of pre-trial publicity and what he calls inaccurate media reports, he thinks the jury probably made up its
01:22:07
mind before trial. >> Pam didn't have a chance going in. We had a thousand suspects. As for
01:22:14
Detective Gamber, the man who spent 18 years trying to crack this case, >> it all came down to the hitman with an
01:22:22
obsessive need to keep records of everything. >> Do you think there would have been a
01:22:28
conviction without those audio tapes? >> No. >> So Ron, the con man, did himself in?
01:22:34
>> He convicted both of them. >> This is a travesty of our whole judicial system. This could happen to anybody.
01:22:43
You feel like you've been railroaded. >> Totally. Totally. I'm innocent. I am very, very, very
01:22:51
innocent. Stepping. Close the door. >> Is it weird to you? The person that you socialized with, hung out with
01:22:58
celebrities, Donald Trump, the travel, the fun, the parties, the balls, the fancy dress, the lifestyle, is now a
01:23:09
convicted murderer. >> Yeah. It's hard to believe that somebody could stoop so low.
01:23:21
>> In the end, Pam Phillips will sit alone in a cell. Her grown children didn't even come to
01:23:29
her trial. There will be no more ski trips with the Trumps or golf getaways or Vegas weekends. There is just the
01:23:38
prospect of life in prison alone with her belief that the system is rigged and that she is the innocent victim.
01:24:03
>> [music] [music] [music] >> My parents had a very loving relationship. They were a team. They
01:24:49
were always there for us whenever. They always supported us. >> I thought it was great. because I love
01:24:56
you too much. >> She was uh very outgoing and and very bubbly. I loved Kathy. >> Merry Christmas.
01:25:05
>> If you could describe Kathy in one word, it would be fun. She had this musical
01:25:09
laugh. Really enjoyed life. >> There's Mark. >> Mark Wangler is an anesthesiologist and
01:25:15
by all accounts an excellent doctor. >> On your way back, could you bring some of those donuts? You know,
01:25:19
>> Mark's sweet. He's considerate. He's smart. He's funny. >> Thank you. Thank you very much.
01:25:24
>> He's a very spiritual man. [music and singing] >> Mark Wanganger is a religious man. I'm
01:25:30
Greg Suinsky. I'm the crime reporter at the Lyman News. I've been here for 16 years.
01:25:39
On September 4th, 2006, there was a strange incident at the Wangler home on Yorkshire Drive.
01:25:50
My dad said that he woke up in the middle of the night. >> I remember having to go around and and
01:25:54
and figure out, [music] you know, is there a fire in the house? You know, what alarm is going off. I figure out
01:25:59
that it's the the carbon monoxide detector. And I then go up to uh to check on Kathy.
01:26:05
>> So, he ran upstairs to check on my mom and she wasn't responding. So, then he
01:26:09
started giving her CPR and called 911. >> People do die by accident. So, it seemed
01:26:15
like one of those things that we initially were going to write about and probably never write about again.
01:26:21
>> It's like one of these [music] freak accidents that you hear from people of other people's families that this
01:26:26
happened to and you never think it'll happen to yours. >> Nobody lists as a suspect. There really
01:26:31
didn't seem like a reason to list anybody as [music] a suspect. >> Carbon monoxide is a colorless,
01:26:36
odorless, and tasteless [music] gas. There were several things that were red flags, suspicious [music] in nature.
01:26:44
>> 3 years later, you start hearing some whispers behind the scenes. You heard that they were in the house removing
01:26:50
duck work. They were continuing to check into different angles. You think, what's
01:26:56
happening here? Why are they doing all this investigation? Is this a murder case? Now,
01:27:02
>> I had formulated a theory that carbon monoxide had been forced through the duck work at a very high rate of speed
01:27:09
over a short duration of time up the duck work and into the room that Kathy was in. [music]
01:27:15
>> There's a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding this case. >> We felt we had enough evidence to make
01:27:20
an arrest. This was a murder. This whole case hinges on the theory that gas filled the garage, came down
01:27:30
here to the basement, was sucked into this furnace, went up two floors, and killed someone. That's ridiculous.
01:27:40
House of Secrets. [music] As police continue to investigate, the strange strange death of Kathy Wangler
01:28:23
in her home. >> At first, it was just lonely and uh and and devastating. >> Her husband, Dr. Mark Wangler, found
01:28:32
comfort in his church. He also found comfort in an [music] old friend, Esther Urkman. [singing]
01:28:40
>> The the thing is with Esther and I was we had known each other for a long period of time, not romantically, you
01:28:47
know, had just known each other. In fact, Esther and her husband had been friends with Mark and Kathy for years.
01:28:55
>> Yeah, I saw them many times. They would go out with us with my husband and I um
01:28:59
on many occasions. [music] >> Esther, a psychologist with a PhD, had great respect for Mark, [music] a top
01:29:06
anesthesiologist in Lima, Ohio. >> He's a good doctor. [music] He's a requested doctor. He practiced for, you
01:29:14
know, 29, 30 years with, you know, never losing a patient, never being sued for malpractice.
01:29:21
>> They were brought together by an odd twist of fate. Esther had lost her spouse as well when he underwent a
01:29:28
gender change operation and began living life as a woman. >> Some of my friends tell me that I should
01:29:34
write a book, but then I challenged them and I asked them, would it wind up in the autobiography or the fiction section
01:29:40
because nobody would believe it. The couple began seeing each other and soon fell in love.
01:29:48
>> As people sail through life, you know, u in a sense, he's the anchor that I need
01:29:53
and I'm the wind in his sails. >> But Mark was still haunted by what he has always said was a bizarre accident
01:30:02
when Kathy was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning that Labor Day weekend in 2006.
01:30:10
It happened to be a Sunday, so Kathy and I got up and uh went to church [music] uh together.
01:30:15
>> On that night, the two were sleeping in separate bedrooms. >> I would go to bed earlier because I had
01:30:21
to get up earlier. Kathy was very much a night owl. >> Mark was sleeping on the [music] first
01:30:26
floor here in the master bedroom. >> The the next thing that I remember is uh waking up uh or being woken up by an
01:30:35
alarm. We had the carbon dioxide alarm uh down in the in the basement. >> A piercing sound.
01:30:41
>> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. >> Mark says his natural gas water heater had malfunctioned, [music]
01:30:49
sending poisonous carbon monoxide into the duct work of the house. Cathy was sleeping here on the second floor. And
01:30:59
horribly, with this door closed, this room became a gas chamber. Mark says he began staggering around,
01:31:09
feeling strangely woozy and disoriented. The classic signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
01:31:16
>> I was nauseated. I I I remember vomiting somewhere along the line as I was going
01:31:21
through the house. And I then go up to uh to check on Kathy. She was sleeping on a uh one
01:31:28
[music] of those inflatable uh mattresses. >> Was she breathing? >> Um I guess she was at that point. I I I
01:31:36
couldn't I couldn't wake her up. >> Mark quickly calls 911. >> My carbon monoxide detector's gone off
01:31:43
and and my wife's having a seizure. I'm I'm going to start in all the windows and stuff. Please get here quickly.
01:31:49
>> I did do uh CPR on her. 2 4 5 1 2 He's not coming around. >> Okay, just Yes, they're on their way.
01:32:00
Just go ahead and continue CPR. >> The paramedics rushed in. But just 38 minutes later, Kathy was pronounced dead
01:32:08
at the hospital. Their youngest son, Aaron, away at college, received a call with the tragic news. I just cried the
01:32:16
whole time. It was very like I can't believe this is [music] real, you know, like you just
01:32:22
can't believe that your mom's gone or like even one of your parents and [music] especially I was 21 at the time.
01:32:28
You don't expect to lose a parent at so young. >> Aaron [music] and his older brother
01:32:33
Nathan rushed to Lima to be with the family. >> Just devastating. My uh just sobbed on
01:32:39
[music] each other's shoulders. We just honed and boned. >> The only reason he survived, [music]
01:32:45
Mark says, is blind luck. He says Kathy caused the toilet in the master bathroom
01:32:50
to overflow. Mark had [music] opened a window and turned on a fan to air the room out.
01:32:58
Mark was questioned by police, but not charged. With Esther by his side, he slowly moved
01:33:06
on with his life and returned to work. >> You know, just having somebody who's a,
01:33:11
you know, an anchor, a point of sanity in my life was was such a blessing. And 14 months after Kathy's death, they were
01:33:20
married. >> I take it you [music] love this man. >> I do. I love him very much. >> They settled into a life focused on each
01:33:29
other and their church. traveling to Zambia on aid missions. >> We've been providing means to have uh
01:33:41
water wells drilled in that country uh which just has a huge impact. >> But back in Lima, the newlyweds lived
01:33:52
under a cloud of suspicion. You've you've talked about insinuation and you know there's sort of a whisper campaign
01:33:58
out there that absolutely suggests you and Mark were having an affair prior to Kathy's death. Is that true?
01:34:07
>> No. He didn't even hold my hand, Peter, until after my divorce was final. That's the kind of man he is.
01:34:17
While Mark believed the investigation was over, Allen [music] County prosecutor Jurgen Waldick never closed
01:34:23
the case. Always troubled by Mark's story. >> On the very night that your wife is
01:34:29
killed by carbon monoxide, you happen to be sleeping in a bedroom with the window
01:34:32
open and a fan going. >> Okay. Is she still conscious? I mean, is she breathing?
01:34:38
>> No, I think she's breathing. >> And Waldick was bothered by Dr. Wangler's behavior on the 911 call.
01:34:45
>> At the assistance of the 911 operator only, he goes back and checks to see whether she has a pulse or whether or
01:34:51
not she's breathing. >> Sir, I need you to check for me. >> No, she's not breathing.
01:34:56
>> Okay. Does she have a heartbeat? >> No, she doesn't have >> If things look so fishy, why wasn't Dr.
01:35:04
Wangler charged with the crime? >> We continued the investigation. Uh, we had our suspicions. Is there a part of
01:35:11
you that wonders? Could he have done this? >> Never. Never. That's never even crossed
01:35:15
my mind. >> You've never doubted your father? >> Never once. >> Did you murder your wife, Kathy?
01:35:21
>> Absolutely not. >> Kill her with carbon monoxide? >> No. >> Are you living with a killer?
01:35:26
>> No. >> You know, I I if I was living with the evil genius, I think I might be one of
01:35:31
the first to know. >> In fact, you have a PhD in psychology. [music] >> Yes, I do.
01:35:35
>> And as part of that, you can read people pretty well, I take. I'd like to think
01:35:40
so. >> But Cathy's family is convinced Mark has everybody fooled that the man trained to
01:35:48
put people to sleep had come up with a textbook murder. >> Kathy Wagner is dead today because of
01:35:55
money. >> You're sure of that? >> I know it. Before her bizarre and tragic death by carbon
01:36:20
monoxide poisoning, Kathy Wangler touched many lives, says her friend Sher Miller.
01:36:26
>> She looked right into your heart, and if you were a good person, she was going to
01:36:29
pull you right into hers, and she was going to love you with everything she had.
01:36:32
>> Friend Heidi Frederick. There are people [music] in this world that just naturally glow with life and Kathy was
01:36:39
one of those people. >> Kathy was the oldest of five siblings in a tight-knit [music] Ohio family. Her
01:36:46
sister Joanne, >> she was always looking out for everybody and she was a good sister. Everybody was
01:36:53
really close. >> Kathy married Mark Wangler [music] when they were both in their 20s and she
01:36:59
worked to help put him through medical school. Each summer as a volunteer at the Allen
01:37:06
County Fair, Kathy raised thousands of dollars for the local school district. In her 30s, she went back to school here
01:37:14
at Ohio State University [music] to get a degree in business. Rodney Null was one of her professors.
01:37:22
>> She she honestly wanted to learn, grow, and do more things with her life. >> But most of all, Kathy was a dedicated
01:37:30
mother, >> a very loving person. always there for my brother and I through thick and thin.
01:37:36
Always pushed us to excel, support us non-stop, supported my father. >> Her husband Mark says they were
01:37:43
opposites. >> She was uh very outgoing. I I tend to be much more introverted. A lot of people
01:37:49
say I'm I'm I'm awkward around other people and uh and and and that's a fair assessment. I I I am rather awkward.
01:37:56
>> The early years with the children were happy ones enjoying holidays. a bright
01:38:02
box >> and traveling the world >> and here's Gabby. >> But the couple drifted apart after their
01:38:10
sons went to college. >> She would come home from Walmart and pop a bag down and I'd say, "Oh, what'd you
01:38:17
get at Walmart?" And she would say like, "Why do you need to know?" And I'm like,
01:38:21
"Well, I guess I didn't need to know." I said, "I was just curious." So, little things like that. But, did the two of
01:38:27
you talk about separation? No, we never did ever talk about divorce. >> No, no, we didn't.
01:38:34
>> But by 2006, they were sleeping in separate bedrooms. >> Kathy had um gained quite a bit of
01:38:42
weight and uh as she gained a lot of weight, [music] she snored violently. >> Mark was also upset by her lack of
01:38:50
attention to housekeeping and the amount of money she was charging on credit cards. Tens of thousands of dollars
01:38:58
worth of jewelry. uh I came to find that there was about another $60,000 worth of credit card
01:39:04
debt uh that I had not been aware of. >> He also discovered she had opened a secret bank account with $16,000
01:39:13
from their joint account. >> The fact that Kathy had set up a separate bank account, isn't that an
01:39:19
indication? Isn't that evidence that she [music] was heading into a new and separate life away from you with her own
01:39:26
finances? Um, yeah, it was. And, uh, and we were in counseling at the time. >> Would you say that the two of you were
01:39:33
falling out of love? >> No, I wouldn't say falling out of love. Um, at least um, you know, I I didn't
01:39:41
consider that. Um Um, you know, I I I loved Kathy. >> But Cathy's family became [music]
01:39:47
concerned after Joanne witnessed a disturbing incident between them. >> They were literally having a wrestling
01:39:54
match over [music] a checkbook. When I turned around, they kind of stopped and he said to Kathy, "This is no way to run
01:39:59
a marriage." >> Did it upset you when you saw it? >> Yes. I was physically shaking. I don't
01:40:06
know what made me say it, but I looked at Kathy and I said, "Is it safe to leave you here?" And she said, "Yes,
01:40:11
I'll be fine." >> Soon after the marriage hit rock bottom. >> She kind of got emotional and broke down
01:40:18
and told me, you know, things were bad. She said, "If I could imagine everything
01:40:24
awful that could have been done to her other than being beaten or raped, Mark had done it to her." And she said when
01:40:32
the time was right, she would sit down and explain everything to me. But we never got that time.
01:40:38
>> But Mark tried to blame Kathy, making a stunning comment to her mother Sarah, a
01:40:44
year before Kathy's death. >> He said, "First place," he says, "I want to tell you one thing. Your daughter is
01:40:48
a monster." I said, "Oh, really?" I said, "In what way is she a monster?" "Well, she doesn't do what I tell her to
01:40:54
do." I said, "That's a monster." >> Kathy's mother suggested a divorce. >> Oh, he said, "I can't get a divorce."
01:41:02
Then he quoted a couple doctors that had gotten divorces and how much it cost them.
01:41:06
>> But Kathy told her sister Joanne she was reluctant to get a divorce, too. And
01:41:11
>> I said, "Why can't you?" And she said, "He will cut off the boys." And I said,
01:41:15
"Well, what's wrong with that? They're in their 20s, you know, they're out of the house." and she goes, "I can't
01:41:20
leave. He'll cut the money off to the boys." >> With tensions escalating in the summer
01:41:25
of 2006, Kathy told various friends about her fears. >> She had told me that um her husband was out to destroy her
01:41:36
financially, emotionally, psychologically, in the community, at her church. Um that he was in the
01:41:43
process of working to destroy her. Rodney Null remembers his last conversation with Kathy.
01:41:49
>> I say to her, said, "Well, take care of yourself." The usual getting ready to say bye kind of
01:41:56
comment. And she says, "Oh, I will. You have to when somebody's trying to destroy you." And she says, and I mean
01:42:01
that literally. And 3 days later, she's dead. I got to tell you that that that leaves
01:42:09
a feeling in the pit of your stomach, your gut, that something sinister, something
01:42:14
evil's happened. >> It was almost like a Sherlock Holmes [music] kind of a mystery because we we
01:42:23
don't have that smoking gun. [music] By early 2007, four months had passed since Kathy Wangler died from an
01:42:40
apparent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Somehow, while sleeping in the same
01:42:47
house, Dr. Mark Wangler had escaped death. >> Did you ever for a day believe this was
01:42:54
an accident? >> No. Kathy's mother, Sarah, and her family were convinced Mark was getting
01:43:00
away with murder. >> I know we all felt Mark did it. >> The police investigation seemed to be
01:43:08
going nowhere. So Sarah and her daughters launched their own plan. >> It was my strategy.
01:43:15
>> They stayed close to Mark, pretending they believed his story. >> That's what we wanted them to think.
01:43:21
>> Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. >> That was the philosophy.
01:43:26
All the while writing down his actions after Kathy died, hoping to build a case against him.
01:43:33
>> The fake crying, getting rid of all her stuff right away. He kept giving different stories about how she died.
01:43:40
>> He didn't want to be buried beside her. And he didn't care where we buried her.
01:43:44
>> In the limo on the way to the grave site in Salena. Mark was kind of short with
01:43:48
my mom. He told a joke about how people were dying to get in the cemetery. Convinced Mark was responsible, Sarah
01:43:57
called the Allen County Sheriff's Department with an ultimatum. >> I said, "You people have never returned
01:44:02
our phone calls. We have now decided that we're going to the media." >> Soon after, the sheriff's department
01:44:07
assigned veteran investigator Clyde Bridean to the case. >> The family had some doubts, but the
01:44:14
family wanted answers. >> And Brideigan had questions. >> What did kill her? They were looking for
01:44:20
the answer. Was it the hot water tanks? Was it something inside that home? And I
01:44:24
conducted like 80 or 85 interviews with different people. >> Brideigan quickly learned from Kathy's
01:44:31
family that the Wangler marriage had become a disaster. >> Mark and Kathy treated each other
01:44:39
equally evil and that they would do things to each other just to get under each other's skin.
01:44:46
And Mark's story of a faulty water heater that emitted carbon monoxide wasn't quite adding up. Brideigan
01:44:54
interviewed gas company workers who had been at the Wangler house after Cathy's death.
01:45:00
>> And they examined and tested the water heater, the furnace, the vent-free fireplace.
01:45:08
They could not find anything malfunctioning on the morning of the 4th. And Mark's behavior, his lack of
01:45:15
anger struck Brideigan as odd. >> From my point of view, if my wife had died in our home and there was any
01:45:23
suspicion from an appliance, I would be yelling and screaming, "Okay, who installed this and what did you do
01:45:30
wrong?" None of that ever took place. >> And there was that seemingly strange coincidence.
01:45:38
an anesthesiologist whose wife dies from being gassed. >> As an anesthesiologist, you know about
01:45:45
carbon monoxide. >> Not really. Carbon monoxide isn't something that comes into play as as an
01:45:51
anesthesiologist. >> But Brideigan learned from one of Mark's medical partners that simply wasn't
01:45:57
true. >> He had told me Dr. Wangler was a master with gases and that he had been trained
01:46:04
in the old style anesthesiologist techniques and knew all about gases, knew all about carbon monoxide.
01:46:14
But where exactly would the carbon monoxide have come from? Right in Dr. Wangler's own garage, Brideigan figured,
01:46:22
[music] which held two cars and a generator with a camper in the driveway. I had formulated a theory, a mobile
01:46:31
source of carbon monoxide. One of the cars, the generator, whatever, had introduced carbon monoxide into the
01:46:37
home. >> Police performed tests on the camper >> and either by use, and and I can't prove
01:46:43
or disprove this, by use of of a hose, introduced the carbon monoxide into the furnace with the furnace motor running.
01:46:50
The poisonous gas traveled through the duct work of the house into Cathy's bedroom two floors above,
01:46:58
killing her. Crazy. Wrong speculation. >> Mark's defense attorney, Chris McDow, says the hose theory is nonsense.
01:47:09
>> The hoses that were in this house were the hoses that are in anyone's home. A
01:47:12
garden hose. Tests were performed on the garden hose and there's no residue of any of this on this hose. The hose
01:47:19
theory is totally debunked. >> In fact, McDow says any theory involving gas from a motor is impossible because
01:47:28
that hot gas would have had to travel downward from the first floor garage into the basement.
01:47:35
>> According to the prosecution, the gas then goes down these steps and into the basement. It defies the
01:47:43
laws of gravity, the laws of what gas does. Well, according to them, it goes into the furnace area here, and then he
01:47:50
somehow unscrews all of these screws. It's absolutely bogus. It's science fiction.
01:47:58
>> But Brideigan acted on his theory. The [music] detective got a search warrant
01:48:02
and removed sections of the duct work from the Wangler home. He had it tested at a lab for the presence of microscopic
01:48:10
exhaust residue. Their conclusions were that something had been introduced into the duck work
01:48:22
at a very high rate of speed over a short duration of time, >> which is crazy because had that really
01:48:28
occurred, they would have found him dead right here. What really happened, McDow says, was a
01:48:35
tragic accident caused by a defective vent connected to the water heater. And gas from this water heater that
01:48:43
ordinarily would go outside is now trapped inside the home and it eventually makes its way up to the
01:48:50
bedroom where Mrs. Wangler is sleeping. >> But police don't buy that. And three years after Cathy's death, they finally
01:48:59
arrest Mark Wangler and charge him with murder. >> Just in a nutshell, horrible. I just had
01:49:08
a very sick feeling and and you just feel all of that energy, you know, drain out of
01:49:14
you. >> You've gone from being a valued member of this community to in some people's
01:49:20
eyes an evil genius who killed his wife. Yeah, I guess that would be a correct assessment of the situation.
01:49:33
>> While awaiting [music] trial, Dr. Wangler takes comfort in his religion and Cathy's loved ones hope that
01:49:42
judgment day is near. >> If he's killed his wife, he's going to hell along with Satan.
01:50:09
From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say thanks. We prayed for a good jury and my lawyers
01:50:15
tell me that they couldn't be more pleased. 4 and a half years after Kathy Wangler's
01:50:24
poisoned, lifeless body was discovered in her home, her husband goes on trial for her murder.
01:50:30
>> Did you hook up a hose? >> No, I didn't. >> To your motor home? >> Absolutely not.
01:50:36
>> And gas your wife that night? >> Absolutely not. >> He needs to be found guilty for
01:50:44
everybody's sake. Kathy's family arrives at the courthouse ready to absorb every
01:50:50
detail. Go >> ahead, ladies. >> The defendant was deeply obsessed with religion.
01:50:58
>> In her opening [music] statement, assistant prosecutor Jenna Emer cuts to the heart of Mark Wangler's motive.
01:51:05
>> And a divorce would cause him to lose his [music] standing and reputation in the church. And of course, a divorce
01:51:11
after nearly 30 years of marriage would cost him a small fortune. >> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Dr.
01:51:18
Mark Wangler is innocent. >> In his opening, Wangler's attorney, Chris McDow, makes his strategy clear.
01:51:26
>> This case has been brought as a result of a poor police investigation. >> The prosecution begins.
01:51:35
>> 911, what is your emergency? As jurors watch Mark listening to himself on that
01:51:40
911 call. >> Is she breathing? >> No, I think she's not breathing. >> Does she have a heartbeat?
01:51:52
>> No, she doesn't have >> the courtroom is riveted. >> Did you open up her airway?
01:51:58
>> Yes, I did. Anesthesiologist. I >> Well, first of all, he's an anesthesiologist. lead prosecutor Jurgen
01:52:05
Waldick >> and he shouldn't need prompting from a 911 operator to check to see whether his
01:52:12
wife is breathing, to see whether she has a heartbeat. >> You know, are you aware that carbon
01:52:17
monoxide can affect different people in different ways. >> But McDow says any odd behavior is
01:52:23
because [music] Wangler himself was overcome by carbon monoxide. >> Because your brain is starved of oxygen,
01:52:30
you become very confused. You become disoriented. >> He appeared to have no trouble walking,
01:52:35
no trouble talking to you, no trouble relaying information to you. >> But the prosecution argues that Mark's
01:52:42
efforts to give Kathy CPR were all an act anyway. >> Come on, Kathy. Come on. >> Because Kathy was most likely dead.
01:52:50
>> 1 2 3 >> before he dialed 911. >> She's not coming around. An emergency room doctor [music]
01:52:58
testifies Cathy's body was already cold. >> What I can say is that it seemed to me
01:53:06
from my experience of 22 years that she'd been dead for much longer. [music] >> The prosecution then introduces photos
01:53:16
taken shortly after Cathy's death showing soot marks above the vent in her room. They say [music] it's telltale
01:53:24
evidence that engine exhaust was used to kill her. They believe Dr. Wangler closed all the
01:53:31
vents in the house except the one in her room. >> People will testify that those stains
01:53:40
had been on the walls for years before. >> Those marks were actually there before I
01:53:44
moved for college. >> Aaron Wangler tells jurors he should know because that used to be his room.
01:53:50
So that was back in '04. I never really cleaned my room that much at all to be honest.
01:53:57
>> And older brother Nathan Wangler testifies the soot marks are just residue from burning candles.
01:54:04
>> If we enjoyed candles, we burned a lot of candles. Throughout the entire house,
01:54:09
there's actually discoloration on the walls, on the ceiling. >> Investigators were never able to test
01:54:16
those soot stains. Mark had painted the wall in the months after Cathy's death. Yet, it's not soot marks, but secrets
01:54:27
that prosecutors hope will sway the jury. >> These journals written by Dr. Mark Wangler. Evidence Brideigan uncovered
01:54:36
during a search of the Wangler home after a tip from Kathy's mom. >> Then I said to him when they got search
01:54:43
for it, I said, "Did you find the journals?" And he said, "What journals?" I said, "There's journals." Because
01:54:49
Kathy [music] always told me about when every morning he'd get up and write something in his journal.
01:54:53
>> The entries are damning. >> Lord, Satan has found a weak area to attack me. My marriage and family.
01:55:01
>> For the first time, Mark Wangler's most private secret feelings about his wife
01:55:06
and marriage are publicly revealed as Brideigan reads them in court. >> Five things I have asked Kathy to
01:55:14
improve, but has not. Number one, keep the house, cook, clean, make bed. Two, lose weight. She has gained around 80
01:55:23
pounds in the past 20 years. >> The entries >> are extremely personal. >> I feel judged and rejected by Kathy.
01:55:32
Kathy thinks I am boring in bed. Kathy doesn't really listen to me. I do not trust Kathy. I feel picked on and
01:55:41
put down. I just went home after reading them every night depressed. I felt sorry for [music] the guy.
01:55:49
>> But Mark Wangler says the marriage counselor had told him to write down his feelings and [music]
01:55:55
to be brutally honest. >> We were in counseling. I was trying to reconnect. I I I loved Kathy.
01:56:05
>> As time goes on, the entries get increasingly desperate. Sometimes I feel rage. I feel trapped with no escape. I
01:56:15
pray that I can endure life. Please [music] cast Satan and his demons attacking me out from my life for a
01:56:24
time. >> I think he thought [music] Kathy was evil and that was Satan was working
01:56:28
through her. His mind was twisted to the point that he thought that's what God wanted him to do to rid the world of the
01:56:35
evil one. I see that I am sensitive and that I tend to keep anger inside until I
01:56:43
explode. >> Dr. Wangler even wrote about taking his own life in a way that startled
01:56:50
investigators. >> Thoughts of suicide are a little strong again. Satan is attacking in new way
01:56:57
this time using car exhaust. And then on September 1st, >> 3 days before Kathy's death,
01:57:10
>> an ominous plea to God, >> "Dear Lord, I place our marriage on your altar. Please act in a powerful way."
01:57:19
>> Then in November, 2 months after her burial, Mark writes, >> "And I prayed for God to act in a
01:57:27
powerful way that night. Little did I know that three nights later, our marriage would be changed forever.
01:57:34
>> He used God to justify his actions. >> I was thinking he was thanking God she
01:57:38
was dead. >> The diaries are powerful circumstantial evidence, but are they enough to convict
01:57:45
the doctor of murder? Prosecutor Waldick still has one big hole in his case. He hasn't explained to
01:57:54
the jury exactly how the carbon monoxide got into the duct work or what engine was used. But as we talk right now, you
01:58:03
can't say definitively what the source of that carbon monoxide was, right? >> No. [clears throat]
01:58:08
>> No. >> And that doesn't trouble you? >> No. >> And Chris McDow is counting on those
01:58:14
missing facts to set Mark Wangler free. >> There is not a single theory the government has come up with that makes
01:58:21
any [music] sense. whatsoever. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears, the Lord's ears
01:58:37
are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
01:58:43
>> James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another." >> As Dr. Mark Wangler's freedom hangs in
01:58:49
the balance. >> This may be my last Wednesday night prayer meeting. >> Yeah. >> He and his wife Esther find strength in
01:58:57
their faith. >> If the Lord calls me to serve him in prison, uh you know, as an inmate, um
01:59:03
that's what it's going to have to be. >> We just pray for your guidance, strength,
01:59:07
>> and we just have to be prepared for whatever happens and to accept whatever happens.
01:59:16
This is the the day of days for you. Do you have some optimism? >> Yeah. The way the evidence is is just
01:59:22
absolutely overwhelming. So, yeah, I've got a great deal of optimism. >> The problem with lying is that it's the
01:59:31
little details that catch [music] up to you. >> Final arguments begin with prosecutor
01:59:36
Janet Emer zeroing in on Mark's suspicious behavior. The morning Kathy died, >> the defendant started to head into his
01:59:45
own house because he wanted to take a shower. Now, if you really thought that a faulty hot water heater had just
01:59:52
killed someone in that potentially unsafe home, the last thing you're going to do is go in there and take a shower.
02:00:01
>> 911, what is your emergency? >> Emmerich dissects Mark's 911 call, saying it too points to his guilt. Is
02:00:10
she breathing? >> No, I think she's not breathing. >> Consider the defendant's tone of voice
02:00:16
and demeanor. Does it sound a little staged, a little phony to you? Red flag. >> But defense attorney Mcdow has a
02:00:24
different take on that 911 call. >> When you listen to the tape, you can hear the panic in his voice.
02:00:31
>> Okay. Does she have a heartbeat? >> No, she doesn't. and he insists the prosecution never
02:00:40
offered a clear explanation of how Dr. Wangler might have murdered his wife with carbon monoxide.
02:00:46
>> It's their theory it came from an internal combustion engine. If that's the case, there would be the strong
02:00:52
smell associated with that gas. The gas and the vehicle exhaust fumes are intertwined. If you have one, you have
02:01:01
the other. The lack of the exhaust smell is strong evidence of accident. >> He thought he had a perfect crime.
02:01:15
>> As the case goes to the jury, Kathy's mother and siblings [music] wait and pray for a verdict of guilty.
02:01:22
>> We're going to put it in the hands of God. [music] There will be justice with
02:01:26
Kathy's death. >> What is this weight like for you? >> Terrible. No words can describe it.
02:01:38
>> But Kathy's son, Aaron, is praying for [music] an acquitt. >> What if the verdict goes against your
02:01:44
father? >> I'll be devastated. I mean, I've already lost one parent and to lose another
02:01:52
would be it'd be a lot. What was that? >> That's my home phone. Excuse me. >> On the second day of deliberations, the
02:02:06
call comes in. >> Okay, we'll be right there, Bill. >> Uh, that was Bill and they have a
02:02:12
verdict. >> What are you thinking? >> Just praying that, uh, you know, for an acquid. That's all I can say. Peter,
02:02:22
>> would you give the verdict forms to [music] the baiff, please? Kathy's mother and siblings gather on one side
02:02:28
of the courtroom, her two sons on the other. >> We the jury being duly impanled and
02:02:35
sworn find the defendant Mark A. Wangler guilty of aggravated murder. >> Guilty of murder.
02:02:48
>> Tears of relief and tears of sorrow. Mark Wangler appears stunned. Then, Judge Richard Warren has some
02:03:02
scathing words as he sentences him to life in prison. >> You violated the Ten Commandments, "Thou
02:03:10
shalt not kill." You also violated the hypocratic oath as a doctor, which is the first thing, you shall do no harm.
02:03:23
This courtroom drama isn't over. Kathy's mother is about to have the last word. >> We know you have always been a very
02:03:31
selfish person who really did not care about our beautiful daughter only yourself.
02:03:37
>> It's a moment Sarah Schlurman has been waiting for for almost 5 years. >> Mark you senselessly robbed Kathy of her
02:03:45
many most precious moments, her two sons, Nathan and Aaron. She worshiped them. did everything in the world for
02:03:53
them. >> Then the man once revered for saving lives is led away to prison for taking
02:04:00
one. vows to keep fighting to free her husband. >> He's innocent of abuse charges. He'll be
02:04:17
out on appeal. >> We will stop at nothing to get him on. This is a cruel, cruel, biased investigation.
02:04:31
>> But it's clear this fight has taken its toll as she retreats to her home comforted by her son.
02:04:39
>> [sighs] >> It's just going to be shock for a long time just figuring out what to do day by
02:04:44
day. >> For now, the case is closed. But for Detective Clyde Bridean, [music] there is no celebrating.
02:04:52
>> Thank you, sweetheart. >> Only thoughts of a family destroyed. >> Mommy, I love you.
02:04:59
>> Thank you guys. >> Thank you guys. >> I feel sorry uh for everybody involved in this. Kathy's gone. Her family
02:05:07
[music] lost Kathy. >> The two boys, Aaron and Nathan, lost their mother. [laughter] Nobody won in
02:05:18
this case. Nobody won. It's just sad. >> She loved life. [laughter] >> Was always happy. Loved family.
02:05:32
I miss that laugh. [snorts] Hey, hey, hey. [music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music]