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I'm Dan Rather. A woman is convicted of poisoning two people to death by tampering with a common drug. But did
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the government get it wrong? Remember the panic over eedran laced with cyanide? What kind of person
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would devise a scheme to secretly poison painkillers? Stella Nickel was convicted
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of poisoning two people to death and sentenced to 90 years in jail. I did not tamper with any products. One victim was
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her husband. His death is due to acute cyanide poisoning. I did not kill my husband. This woman was praying. These
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detectives are convinced authorities got it wrong. She's been falsely in prison for 14 years. To prove it, they say they
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need to find Stella's daughter. Troy Roberts investigates. Did you think when you heard that your own daughter was
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cooperating with the FBI? We have a daughter who sold her mother down the river for $250,000. Should Stella Nickel
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be set free? I don't think there's any chance that she's innocent. I am not guilty. A 48 hours mystery. And I won't
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quit fighting until I prove it. It's entirely possible that the real killer is still out there walking around
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somewhere, too. Bitter pill. There was a time when fears over product tampering were running high. People had
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died and the pressure to put a stop to it was intense. It was in this anxious atmosphere that tonight's story began to
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unfold. Another tampering scare, more deaths triggering a furious search for a killer. Stella Nickel was arrested and
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put in prison. But did the authorities led by the FBI put the wrong person behind
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bars? Hello, babe. Middle of the night, I'll wake up and toss and turn. Can't go back to
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sleep. Dug your pictures out. Wish the hell you knew how I miss you. Take care. Bye-bye.
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[Music] Our life together was happy. In a home nestled in the woods of Washington
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State. I liked everything about him. Stella Nickel cherished life with her husband of 10 years. Bruce, the dreams
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that we had was to sit out there on our property in the middle of nowhere in the
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peace and quiet and grow old together. But that dream was not to be. Mr. Nickel. His death is due to acute
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cyanide poisoning. Bruce Nickel is dead. Stella Maine Nickel was arrested this morning. And Stella will very likely
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spend the rest of her life behind bars. Stella Nickel was sentenced to 90 years in jail. In 1988, Stella was convicted
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of killing Bruce and another woman by putting cyanide in eedran capsules. Do we know the truth about this case? No,
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because everybody is convinced that I killed my husband. Did you? No, I didn't kill my husband or anybody
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else. Good evening. A bizarre and terrifying story today in the Chicago suburbs. It
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was a crime chillingly similar to the Chicago Tylenol murders four years earlier. Doctors found each victim had
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taken Tylenol, each had cyanide in the bloodstream. Seven people died. The case was never solved. No one has ever been
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charged. But it moved Congress to enact tough tampering laws. Stella was the first to be
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convicted. It was quite a shock. But now someone is going to take notice that this woman got railroaded. This woman
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was framed. Private detective Al Far. We're just doing what should have been done 15 years ago. And his partner Paul
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Colino are on a mission to prove what they both firmly believe. Absolutely no proof connecting her to that murder.
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None. Stella Nickel is innocent. They've been traveling the country. Hi. Do we come in? Interviewing
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witnesses and friends. Did she ever express to you she was unhappy in her marriage? No. Her and Bruce were doing
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fine. Talking to anyone who may help them reopen this case. Had you ever heard her talk about killing her
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husband? No. When did you leave? They have a history of helping people they feel have been unfairly convicted. How
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long have you guys been working on this case? I've been working on it for 19 months now and a little better than
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2,000 hours. Hi, I'm Alfar. How you doing? You're not getting paid? No. All of your expenses are out of your own
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pockets. Yes. Yes. Why? Far as we're concerned, she's been falsely in prison for 14 years. and I will
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eventually get out of here and be set free like I was supposed to be. Stella grew up poor in the Pacific
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Northwest. We didn't have much, but we had family and that's all that mattered. Her childhood abruptly ended at age 16
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when Stella gave birth to her own daughter, Cynthia. I don't consider myself mother of the year, but I wasn't
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the worst mother that ever walked either. Uh, very self- assured. Stella's good friend, AJ Ryder. Fun, wild, and
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crazy girl. In the next 12 years, there would be a failed marriage and a second daughter.
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To me, I'm a normal average everyday person. And then in early 1974, when Stella was
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32, I worked at the Hazelnut Cafe. He'd always come over there for lunch. Bruce came into her life.
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I liked everything about him. Within three weeks, they were living together. You wore a miniskirt on your wedding
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day. Yes. That's what he liked to see me in. Up until he quit drinking, he wanted
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the minikirts. Stella stuck by Bruce as he overcame a serious drinking problem. He told me, he says, "I could see where
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I was going to lose everything I had, including you." They were a hardworking couple. Bruce was a heavy equipment
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mechanic. And spent time in Alaska working on the pipeline. [Music] That old baby put in 16 hours yesterday,
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cold shoulder in hell out there tonight. He often sent homesick messages to Stella. laying here at night and God
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knows I miss you. Bruce would tell her, "Go out and have fun while I'm gone." [Music]
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But being a part was harder for Bruce than it was for Stella. Just get kind of the feeling something's not right at
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home. [Music] But we had a normal marriage. Wasn't all a bed of roses. We had our ups and we
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had our downs. After 12 years together, Stella says things were looking up. We were making all kinds of plans. Bruce
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had landed a job with Washington State. So, you were looking at spending the rest of your life with this man. Yes, I
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was. But then one warm June evening in 1986, Bruce came home with a headache and he took four extra strength
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accedans. And I asked him, I said, "Why four?" And he says, "Because I have a headache." Okay. Okay. Fine. Stella says
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Bruce stepped out to watch the birds. Then he suddenly turned and collapsed. Called 911 on the telephone
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and I told him, "He's thrashing around on the floor. I can I could hear him." Bruce was taken by helicopter to a
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Seattle hospital. Two of the doctors came in to talk to me and told me that they were going to lose
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him. And asked me if I wanted to see him. I told him no. I wanted to remember him like he was.
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The doctor said it was emphyma, but to Stella that never made sense. My husband did not have emphyma. But then nearly
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two weeks later, what kind of person would devise a scheme to secretly poison painkillers? Stella heard about Sue
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Snow. Police say the 40-year-old woman took a capsule of Extra Strength Eetedan last Wednesday morning. Reports said
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Snow died after swallowing cyanide lace, Eedin. Police are asking anyone with the
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correct lot number to turn in their Eedrin capsules. I got up and I looked in the cupboard and the lot number was
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on the bottles. I immediately called 911. When we come back, Stella killed her husband, poisoned her husband, and she
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gotten away with it. How Stella, grieving widow, becomes a prime suspect for murder. Money is plain and simple.
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[Music] Come on. We round up the sheet to mark them. That one's stubborn. Right now,
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we're shearing the sheep to get ready to sell the wool. Warm. It's melting. Haley
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Klene says life on her family's remote New Mexico ranch suits her. This is the end of the world, but it's a great end
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of the world. It's a far cry from the spotlight she was thrust into in 1986. Criminal investigators do not know if
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Sue Snow was the intended target for that's when her mother was poisoned to death. Who killed Sue Snow? Haley has
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long believed that Stella Nickel was responsible for killing her mother and Bruce Nickel. This is the photo of her
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arrest. But now, thank you. After meeting private investigator Al Farre, she has her doubts. That was the first
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time that I would say I truly felt really uncomfortable. Why are you so confident in her innocence? Lack of any
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credible evidence against her? Prosecutors were able to persuade a jury to convict her. Smoke and mirrors.
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Lots of smoke. If this woman is not guilty, I don't want her to sit in jail. I mean, that's not right. So, do you
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encourage them to investigate this case? Sure. Yes. Sus Snow was an energetic and
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popular bank manager. Haley was 15 when she was murdered. My mom woke me up every morning. They were alone in their
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suburban Seattle home just beginning their day. She came into my bathroom and okay, you know, and I love you. I love
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you. We always did that thing and I gave her a kiss. And then she went into her bathroom.
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As Haley stepped out of the shower, she sensed something was wrong. I noticed that her water was still running and I
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knew it wouldn't have taken her that long to brush her teeth. She ran down the hall and found her mother on the
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floor. She just looked like it caught her in a moment of, you know, sheer terror. Haley called 911.
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Um, I think my mother fell. Okay. See if she'll talk to you. Tell her to talk to
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you. Okay, if she will come back and tell me, Mommy. Emergency room doctors were baffled.
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Within hours, Sue Snow was dead. An autopsy assistant noticed a faint and fleeting clue, which few people can
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detect, the distinct smell of cyanide. A test later confirmed her suspicions. Sue
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Snow had been poisoned to death. Looking for a source, police found eedrin capsules in her home that had been laced
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with cyanide. Dozens of investigators from the FBI, FDA, and local agencies. Can I come in and talk with you about
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Eed? Swarm the area. Any over-the-counter capsule medicine should be suspect and should not be used. Tens
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of thousands of bottles of pain relievers were swept off store shelves. It's scary. It is really scary.
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Eventually, five bottles were found with contaminated capsules, four eedrans, one
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anison. Former Auburn detective Mike Dunar remembers the pressure. My instructions from my administration was
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that I had a blank check to spend what I needed to, but get to the bottom of it.
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Bet you hadn't heard that before? I'd never heard that before. I was at the burial thinking, what does this crazed
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murderer look like? At first, Haley assumed detectives were hunting a madman, striking at random. I didn't
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rest very easy. But Paul Webb King, Sus Snow's husband of 7 months, figured they'd be looking closer to home. What
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did you think when you got that phone call that your wife had been poisoned with cyanide?
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Uh, actually I thought that it was going to get pretty unpleasant at that point.
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He was right. Early in the investigation, you suspected Paul Webb King. Yes. Why? His his entire demeanor
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just did not strike me as consistent with what had happened. I really got the sense that they thought Paul did it.
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Sue's identical twin, Sarah, also suspected her sister's new husband. We always felt like Paul tried to drive a
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wedge between Sue and anyone else she loved. What was it like being in the house when you have these nagging
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suspicions, creepy about Paul Webb King? It was creepy and scary. Haley and I were scared to death. He acted really
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weird. I mean, he did a lot of very strange things that upset us. And he got a girlfriend right away. In spite of
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whatever happens, the last thing you want to do is go to jail and especially, you know, unjustly and so you become
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concerned about that. Paul Webb King agreed to take a polygraph. You passed the polygraph. Yeah. He was eliminated
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as a suspect. Meanwhile, investigators had concluded that Bruce Nickel had also died from cyanide poisoning and they
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began turning their attention to his spouse. Stella brought herself into the investigation.
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Next, the case against Stella Nickel. [Music] Considering that I was 44 years old and
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they give me 90 years, they might as well set life. Stella Nickel is serving 90 years in federal prison for poisoning
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two people with cyanide. I am not guilty and I won't quit fighting until I prove
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it. But investigators who work the case. Things just didn't look right. Insist they got it right. Stella did in fact
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kill Bruce and Sus. Stella's story began back in 1986. He said, "Babe, I feel like I'm going to
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pass out." when her husband Bruce suddenly collapsed and died after taking four eedran. He was in good health as
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far as I knew. Doctors said it was emphyma. I just knew it had to be something else besides emphyma. And then
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two weeks later, police say Sue Snow took a capsule of Extra Strength Eetan last Wednesday morning. Stella saw
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reports about Sue Snow's death. Police are asking anyone with the correct lot number to turn in their Eedran capsules.
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She says she became suspicious. I looked in the cupboard. The lot number was on the bottles. Stella then called the
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police. When the officer came out, I gave him the one that was open. Well, she says, "Well, you might as well take
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the second bottle with you." Former police officer Ed Stexon took Stella's Eedran in for examination. Two different
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bottles, two different batch numbers. It turned out both bottles had tainted capsules. Bruce had indeed died from
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cyanide poisoning. Investigations are underway by the Food and Drug Administration, Auburn Police, and the
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FBI. Her voice never cracked when she talked about Bruce. From the beginning, officer Ston was suspicious. Things
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weren't adding up. He said Stella told him she bought her two bottles of Eedran at different times, probably in
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different places. You know, that is kind of far-fetched. far-fetched because out
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of thousands of bottles checked in the entire region, authorities found only five with tainted capsules and Stella
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had two of them. Yeah. Statistically, something's not right. It's crazy to think that anybody could have that bad
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luck. Greg Olsen, whose book Bitter Almonds chronicles the case, says that's why the FBI zeroed in on Stella. The FBI
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guys scratched their heads and said, "Nobody could be that unlucky." Stella brought herself into the investigation.
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But why would Stella call the police if she already got away with murder? Money.
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Just plain and simple. Auburn detective Mike Dunar says insurance money. Bruce's
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insurance paid an extra $100,000 if he died by accident, including poisoning. I think that she
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probably killed Bruce and then expected them to find out that he died from cyanide poisoning. Investigators in
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Seattle say Stella's plan was foiled when Bruce's death was attributed to a natural cause, emphyma. They say she was
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desperate to establish an accidental cause of death. So, she put poison painkillers in stores hoping someone
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else would die and the tainted capsules would be discovered. And that's when Sue
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Snow came along and bought a bottle of resulting in her death. As the investigation continued, the FBI lab
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found an important clue. Um, you could see them with the naked eye. Little green crystals mixed in with the
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cyanide. They turned out to be algae destroyer, a product used to kill algae in fish tanks. Stella had an aquarium.
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Did you ever buy algae destroyer? No, I have never bought algae destroyer. Tom Nunan, the local fish store manager at
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the time, remembers it differently. Do you specifically remember selling Stella Nickel algae destroyer? Yes,
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you do. No question about it. No question. No. The theory is Stella Nickel crushed those tablets in a bowl
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somewhere. Later, when she was going to do this product tampering, she used that
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same bowl without cleaning it out very efficiently. Investigators were now certain they had
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the right person, but they had very little to take to a jury. They had no fingerprints, nor any way to prove
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Stella ever bought or possess cyanide. Finally, 6 months after the investigation began, a key witness
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started talking. It was Cindy. The turning point was Cindy Hamilton. Cindy, Stella's oldest daughter, was
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born when Stella was a teenager. Loving and close, I don't think so. In a lot of ways, Cindy was Stella.
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Cindy had been in and out of Stella's life for years. She had a history of abusing drugs. This was a competitive,
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combative mother-daughter relationship. What did you think when you heard that your own daughter was cooperating with
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the FBI? I wondered why. what is going through the child's mind. Although Cindy never said her mother confessed, she
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told agents that her mother had spoken to her for years about killing Bruce. She said you talked about feeding him an
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overdose of drugs. I don't know anything about drugs. You never talked to her about cocaine? A cocaine overdose? No.
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She said you talked about hiring a hitman. Never happened. No. Cindy said her mother even went to the library to
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research poisonous plants and cyanide. I started reading books to find out what plants I might have on the property that
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were a danger to kids and pets. The FBI was able to lift Stella's fingerprints from a number of books.
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That was pretty damning evidence that she had fingerprints all over these books. Stella claims she researched
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cyanide after Bruce died. And I tried to look up cyanide poisoning and pulmonary
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emphyma to try to find out what similarities there were in the symptoms of the two. I never did find out.
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Leading our news this morning, 44year-old Stella Nickel was arrested yesterday. A year and a half after Bruce
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Nickel died, Stella Nickel was arrested and stood trial in federal court. The government's star witness has been
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Nickel's daughter, Cindy Hamilton. It became emotional. Mary Andrews was the jury for me. Cindy, she she was a very
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believable witness against her mother. Cindy testified it was painful to come forward, but she felt it was the right
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thing to do when she said that she remembered certain things that her mother had said. I mean, I I could not
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believe she made those up. Cynthia lied when she testified and I was sitting there watching her the whole time. She
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wouldn't she didn't even glance in my direction. Although the defense challenged Cindy's credibility, the jury
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believed her and convicted Stella of fatally poisoning her husband and Sue Snow. Cynthia was the link that pulled
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all the evidence together and made it the most believable. Stella Nickel was sentenced to 90 years
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in jail. She'll serve 30 before. And Stella's daughter Cindy, the government star witness, left town. Nobody, her
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best friends, not a single person, knew where she went. [Music] When we come back, Cindy has always
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liked money, but she's never really liked to work for it. A startling new theory about Cindy's testimony. We have
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a daughter who sold her mother down the river for $250,000. That's next on 48 hours.
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[Music] It's a very cool time fog around this morning, but that'll clear off the
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mostly sunny sky. It's Mount Reineer, and that's a incredibly pretty area. That's kind of right over where Stella
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lived. Al Far and Paul Celino feel they're making progress improving Stella Nichols innocence. We have blown big
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gigantic holes in virtually every aspect of the prosecution's case. You understand the conversation we're having
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right now. They have spent months videotaping new witnesses. She's driving, Al. Come on. And staked out old
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ones in snowbound, Wisconsin, New Mexico's high desert, and even Alaska. Sunny Anchorage, cold
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anchorage. But along the way, one image has haunted them. This is a photo taken of Cindy and her daughter Rachel in
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1984. Stella's daughter, Cindy Hamilton. Cynthia knows that I did not kill my husband. She knows that I did not tamp
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her with any products. They need to find her. Yes. But even if they do, there's no guarantee that she will
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change her story. Cynthia has never been one to stand up and say, "I'm wrong." She's
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never been one to stand up and say, "I'm sorry. Cindy, it turns out, was paid a $250,000 reward for her help in the case
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against her mother. You're telling me that she did this for $250,000? Yes. The reward money came from a drug
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manufacturers's trade association. I mean, this is so unusual. It's the biggest amount of money I've ever seen
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given to a witness. So, it may have made a difference in the jury coming to a consensus. Jory Foreman, Murray Andrews.
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It might have made Cynthia's testimony a little less credible, but u I'm I'm not
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sure. Unlike most cases involving reward money, in this case, the enormous reward
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was never brought into evidence. They were able to uh to convince the defense attorney that he should not bring this
00:25:00
up at trial. Stella's lawyer said nothing about the reward because a deal was made. The defense agreed not to
00:25:07
cross-examine Cindy about the money and the prosecution agreed not to reveal something else that Cindy said she came
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forward when she heard her mother failed a polygraph and that was a full 6 months
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after the reward was posted. You failed a polygraph test. What was going through
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your mind? I didn't think that it mattered that much. I mean, I did not feel that I failed it. is that
00:25:31
polygraphs aren't always right. There's a reason why we don't admit them into court. Carl Cobar is Stella's new
00:25:37
attorney. Is there any record of the polygraph? Have you been able to see it? I certainly haven't been able to see it
00:25:44
uh to this day. No one has a copy of this polygraph graph that shows that Stella failed it. Stella's first lawyer
00:25:51
said he never saw it either despite repeated requests in 1988. Now, my belief is that the uh polygraph
00:26:00
was a ruse to try and coersse a confession out of her. You failed. Tell me what you know now. You just failed
00:26:06
the polygraph. It's over. Do you believe that they would resort to this kind of trickery at that point in the
00:26:12
investigation? All I know for sure is that we don't have it. And that leads me to wonder about what was done back then.
00:26:18
Is is that an issue, Carl? Back then, says Stella's new team, there was enormous pressure to solve the case. We
00:26:25
have a rush to judgment, a rush to name the bad guy, so the public could be at ease and they could all go to sleep at
00:26:31
night. The detectives questioned the very reason why Stella became a suspect in the murders of her husband and Sue Snow.
00:26:39
Remember how she called the police and turned over two bottles of eedran? Why in the
00:26:45
world would she have a second bottle of contaminated capsules just sitting there
00:26:51
waiting to hand over to law enforcement? The police say Stella told them she bought them at different times, probably
00:27:00
at different stores. You did tell them that that the the two tainted bottles were purchased at two separate stores.
00:27:09
No, you did not say that. I told them that I could not state where I had bought them. She bought them both at
00:27:15
Albertson's. How do you know that? I was there. Stella's friend AJ Ryder says she was
00:27:21
with Stella when she bought those painkillers. Yeah, it's a good boy. Bought two bottles of eedran, two
00:27:27
gallons of milk, some lunch meat, and cheese. Why would she buy two bottles of eetin at once? It was two for one. The
00:27:35
detectives discovered this FBI memo that seems to support AJ's account. It was found among a thousand pages, never
00:27:42
turned over to the defense. In those documents, there are reports of other possible suspects and mysterious
00:27:50
fingerprints on Sous Snow's bottle. This memo mentions that Stella's two Exedum bottles came from one store,
00:27:58
Albertson's. She bought them at one store. So, there goes the theory of buying them. And there goes that odd And
00:28:04
of course, this memo never found its way into trial. The government says all required documents were handed over. You
00:28:12
want it now? AJ Ryder was never called to testify. She lived with the Nicholls months before Bruce died. But by the
00:28:19
time of the trial, AJ says the FBI had convinced her that Stella was the killer. They made me believe
00:28:27
that my family could have taken any one of those pills and been a victim, too. that she would have killed anybody to
00:28:34
get to Bruce. AJ moved out of state refusing to help Stella's defense team. And I said, "I have nothing to say to
00:28:41
you." And closed the door in his face. Please uh meet AJ. But years later, while speaking out against Stella on
00:28:48
television, Stella took Sue Snow and Bruce, but I don't She killed him. AJ had a change of heart. All of a sudden
00:28:56
on this Sally show, I find out that the reason Stella sent up is because Cindy testified and was given $250,000 for
00:29:05
that testimony. And it all just kind of dawned on me. Wait a minute. This was a whole setup. Now she feels she's
00:29:13
betrayed her best friend. It's a hard pill to swallow and I hope that still can forgive me. Well, it's a little late,
00:29:22
but at least she knows. Do you have anything else you'd like to add? Stella didn't do it. To Far and Celino,
00:29:30
AJ's statements are valuable. I don't believe Cindy has a conscience. But now they need to find Cindy
00:29:39
Hamilton. I found her. I know exactly where she is. That's later. [Music] [Music]
00:29:56
Cindy is the hinge pin of this whole case. In their efforts to freeze Stella Nickel, the majority of my time is spent
00:30:06
right now on finding Cindy. Detectives Alfar and Paul Celino are close to finding Cindy Hamilton.
00:30:16
Cindy currently is located in Southern California. These are a partial list of names, so we'll have to find out which
00:30:25
one is her. Stella Nichols daughter was paid a4 million reward for her help in convicting her mother.
00:30:36
To testify against your own mother. Why would she do that? The only reason that I can say that she done that is because
00:30:43
of the reward money that was posted. My daughter never came to see me or call me or anything since a year
00:30:51
before they arrested me. After the trial, Stella reached out to her daughter. You know that you were lying
00:30:57
on the stand through a letter she gave author Greg Olsen to pass along. I was just a kid myself when I was trying to
00:31:04
raise you. And the crazy thing is I do love you. even with what you're doing to me. She wrote this letter for me to pass
00:31:12
along to Cindy. And of course, I never found her. As the detectives continue to search for Cindy, they've been talking
00:31:20
to other people who were rewarded for their role in the case. Stella's neighbor, Sandy Scott.
00:31:27
Hi. Hi. Became a spy for the FBI. I was back in here in the woods. They had asked me to see if she was there, to see
00:31:35
if there was someone there with her, any conversation that I could hear. She was paid $7,500.
00:31:45
And I could see across through the trees. I felt like they were trying to convince me that I really needed to help
00:31:51
them because she was really guilty. Sandy searched Stella's home for algae destroyer, a fish tank product found
00:31:59
mixed in with the poison in the capsules. I just waited till she decided to go to the lady's room and open the
00:32:05
cupboard door. No one ever found allergy destroyer in Stella's home. There is no
00:32:11
algae destroyer there. The jury never got to know about that. I've always wondered if someone else did it and got
00:32:18
away with it. Do you specifically remember Stella Nickel asking you for this product? Yes. Remember, it was the
00:32:27
fish store manager, Tom Nunan, who linked Stella to the incriminating product. Nunan claims Stella bought so
00:32:35
much algae destroyer, he had to special order it just for her. They ordered it in bulk like they did
00:32:42
everything else. He was paid a $15,000 reward. There's no such thing as a special order in here anywhere. The
00:32:50
detectives showed Nan his own store records. So, it wasn't a special order for Stella Nichols. Did he have an
00:32:56
independent recollection? I doubt it. I think he had to be prompted and had to be shown what they were looking for.
00:33:01
Take a take a left. As the detectives continue to investigate the murders, they're learning more about Stella's
00:33:08
life, including previous brushes with the law. She once served four months in jail for check fraud. And when Cindy was
00:33:15
nine, Stella was charged with hitting her with a curtain rod, bruising her legs. Did you ever abuse Cindy? I have
00:33:24
not abused either one of my girls. I corrected them when they were wrong. But as far as abuse goes, no. There's that
00:33:30
record. Yes, there is. She wasn't feeling good. She wanted to stay home. There was nothing wrong with her. I sent
00:33:37
her to school and she told the nurse that I had beat her that morning before she went to school. They arrested me. I
00:33:44
was only in jail for overnight. Stella was ordered to go to counseling. Does she hate you?
00:33:52
I don't know if she hates me or not. I know that Cindy is jealous of me. Why would she be jealous of her own mother?
00:34:00
She looks at me as another female and she considers all females competition. And those were her exact words to me.
00:34:09
Did Bruce like Cindy? Bruce accepted Cindy because Cynthia was my daughter. He thought the world and all of his
00:34:16
granddaughter, which was Cynthia's daughter, Rachel. In my young days, I spent more time with my grandmother did
00:34:23
than I did my own mother. Cindy had left her daughter Rachel with Stella and Bruce for several months. Granted, she
00:34:29
might not be everyone's ideal, but she was my ideal grandmother. I mean, she loved me. Rachel was nine when her
00:34:36
mother testified against Stella. You know, a lot of people believe that she testified against your grandmother
00:34:43
because of the reward money. I see that as something she would do. You know what
00:34:49
you're saying. Yes, I do. And I really don't want to say that about my mother, but it's true. She really doesn't care.
00:34:58
You know, she's like, I don't care if she rots. She was a miserable mother, you know. I don't care if she rots in
00:35:03
there. It's been a long, long road locating her. Next on 48 hours. That's where she
00:35:11
hangs. Cindy's side of the story. We will be visiting her very, very soon. [Music]
00:35:38
I mean, it's more than pictures. It was letters, airline tickets, cards. While writing his book about the Seattle
00:35:45
Cyanide murders, this is dressed to to babe, which is what Bruce called Stella. Greg Olsen ended up with many of Stella
00:35:52
Nichols personal belongings. Oh, here's a Valentine card. I love you, me. And that's from Bruce. Momentos of happier
00:35:58
days with her husband. I look at Bruce and just the way he's standing there, you know, this is the love of his life.
00:36:05
And even some good times, a loving message, mother, with her daughter, Cindy. And then Cindy wrote here, "Thank
00:36:11
you for always being there and for just being my mom." There really was at one time a mother and a daughter that really
00:36:18
did love each other. And how could it turn out so bad? I can't really hate her because I brought her into this world.
00:36:26
Do you still love her, Stella? I'm not sure. I know I'm supposed to, but I cannot really sit here and say
00:36:35
I do. There it is. Off limits. That's where she hangs. After 19 months of searching
00:36:42
for Cindy, Cindy is the key to solving this case. Detectives Alfar and Paul Celino are finally ready to approach
00:36:50
her. Okay, here's where she lives back here. We've got 30 seconds to try and convince
00:36:58
her to talk to us. That's it. To their relief. Okay, thank you. Cindy invites the detectives in. We had a 2-hour
00:37:06
conversation with her about her mother and her role in putting her mother in prison. Mostly, they say she wanted to
00:37:11
talk about herself. Cindy's whole thing is I'm a victim of child abuse. I wanted
00:37:17
that story to be told. I was not allowed to tell it. And while she doesn't change
00:37:21
her story, she basically stands by her testimony. The detectives are delighted now to begin a dialogue with her. I'll
00:37:28
be back to see her soon. Within a month, Alfar visits Stella's daughter again. She could sometimes be
00:37:37
very, very skillfully evasive. this time spending 13 more hours with her over a weekend. Cindy, hi, I'm Troy Roberts
00:37:46
from 48. While she would not sit down for an interview with 48 hours, I have said everything that I need to say, I
00:37:52
have to say to Al, she did answer a few quick questions. Was your testimony colored by the $250,000?
00:38:00
No, it wasn't. It was not. Did your mother kill Bruce? I made my testimony 14 years ago. Was it
00:38:08
truthful? It was truthful. It was very truthful. Cindy stands by her testimony that her mother had talked about killing
00:38:16
Bruce. Al has my permission to tell you anything I've told you. While she never said Stella confessed, Cindy now tells
00:38:24
Alfar she's not sure her mother is really guilty. Does she still believe her mother killed Bruce? No. As of
00:38:32
today, asked, "Do you think your mother did it?" She said, "I don't know. I don't know." eyes. Well, is that a yes
00:38:38
or a no? She said, "On balance, no." And what I believe now and what I believe then,
00:38:48
we all change. On the basis of the new findings, Stella's legal team filed a request for a new trial. I don't think
00:38:55
there's any chance that she's innocent. But police investigators and the federal
00:38:59
government still firmly believe that Stella Nickel is a killer. She's guilty of these crimes. I believe she is. I am
00:39:08
not guilty. I did not kill my husband and I won't quit fighting until I prove it. Since we first aired this
00:39:17
story, a judge has denied Stella Nichols latest request for a new trial. The detectives say they simply don't know
00:39:26
who killed Bruce Nickel and Sue Snow. More importantly, I know who didn't do it, and that was Stella Nickel. Thanks a
00:39:33
lot. Be good to yourself. Thank you very very much. This case has taken up an awful lot of my life and will continue
00:39:41
to do so until the day I die. I will never give up working on this case. For now, that gives Stella Nickel hope. It's
00:39:49
just a feeling. I have the feeling on the inside that eventually justice will come around and
00:39:55
be done right. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music]