00:00:07
He was upset. I think he was angry. He parks around the corner cuz he doesn't want to be seen.
00:00:17
He walks in. He waits and he's watching. He waits over an hour. He waits for the lights to go off
00:00:31
and I don't think she had a fighting chance. The nature of this crime was a very personal crime.
00:00:37
>> Did he pop her in the mouth first and then the head blow? >> There was no other motivation for this
00:00:45
murder but to kill Dana Claire Edwards. >> It just was hard not to like her. Everybody liked her.
00:00:53
>> Well, Dana was my little sister. She was so full of energy from such a young age
00:00:59
through her entire life. She had beautiful green eyes and when she smiled, her eyes smiled.
00:01:06
She loved people. She was happy. And then it was cut off. It was stopped. >> She was laying face down on the floor.
00:01:17
I just wanted to see her green eyes. >> The pieces didn't fit for me. A strangulation just seemed so deep and
00:01:29
so personal. It had to have been someone who knew her very well. >> The first people you go to in a murder
00:01:37
are friends and acquaintances and lovers. >> A wonderful girl, full of energy, full
00:01:41
of life. >> Thomas Ford was Dana Cla's boyfriend for a number of years. >> Thomas Ford became a suspect very early
00:01:49
on. Sorry I had to ask you these hard questions. >> When she was dating Thomas after they
00:01:54
had gotten serious, she really had thought that they would get married and have a family.
00:01:59
>> Dana Clair Edwards and Thomas Ford broke up in the fall of 2008. >> Common sense says Thomas Ford was the
00:02:08
most logical suspect because he had just broken up with Dana Claire. But common sense isn't evidence.
00:02:14
>> Evidence was lost. >> The fingernail clippings of the right hand, >> lost underwear.
00:02:18
If they're that sloppy about what they lose, how sloppy are they about what they bring to the jury?
00:02:24
>> From the beginning of working on this case, I did not doubt that John Thomas Ford was guilty.
00:02:28
>> Thomas Ford did not kill Dana Clare Edwards and does not know who did. >> There's nothing more frustrating as a
00:02:35
prosecutor than to think that he might get away with this. I'm Richard Slesinger. Tonight on 48
00:02:47
Hours, Everything to Lose [Music] It's a place where I come to decompress. I can relax out here, be away from
00:03:26
everything, spend the night in the country, get up in the country. >> It takes a lot to get defense attorney
00:03:32
Dick Darren away from his cattle and into a courtroom. He's one of the most famous defense
00:03:39
lawyers in Texas. He can pick and choose his cases and he's chosen the case of Thomas Ford.
00:03:48
>> Look very carefully at the evidence. You will find that Thomas Ford is not guilty.
00:03:53
>> Thomas Ford is 43 years old from one of the best families in one of the best neighborhoods of San Antonio.
00:04:01
He's charged with killing his former girlfriend, Dana Claire Edwards. I'm worried that an innocent man could
00:04:10
be convicted. >> Darren will do battle with three of San Antonio's top prosecutors led by
00:04:17
Catherine Babbitt. >> Man, you guys are going against Dick Darren. >> Her co-consel Kirsta Melton.
00:04:23
>> I am rock solid in the truth. >> And Kathy Cunningham knew well what they were up against.
00:04:30
>> The Fords had everything they could want. >> We object to it and she >> the best attorney. a lot of money. So,
00:04:36
we were behind the eightball and even if we lost it, we were going to fight as hard as we could for Dana and for the
00:04:41
Edwards. [Music] >> January 2nd, 2009, Dana Cla's body was found face down in her condo.
00:04:56
>> You try to think, well, what could have happened? >> You can never imagine that someone would
00:05:03
murder your child. We thought Dana was in the safest place in the world. >> Deborah and Daryl Edwards raised Dana
00:05:12
Cla in the Tony San Antonio neighborhood called Alamo Heights. >> Dana didn't look down on anyone whether
00:05:21
it was the poorest person or the richest person. >> We were in cheerleading together. We
00:05:27
really bonded over that. >> Dana Cla's close friend, Cornelia Sawatsky. >> And I just I miss her. miss her a lot.
00:05:35
She was a positive energy and a positive spirit. >> I mean, she was just always full of life
00:05:40
and love. And >> Dana's older brother, DJ, >> the ultimate, you know, American girl.
00:05:49
>> She loved horses and she loved dogs. >> Dogs, cats, ducks, anything that walked,
00:05:56
she she was constantly bringing them home. But it was Grit, a Jack Russell terrier
00:06:04
mostly, who was her favorite. She rescued him and he became her constant companion.
00:06:11
>> Grit was always kind of her main little baby and he's a special little critter.
00:06:17
[Music] >> Dana went to medical school but had to drop out after seriously injuring her
00:06:23
back in a car accident. She worked in the family construction business near her childhood home in Alamo Heights.
00:06:34
When Dana Cla was murdered, of course, Thomas Ford, her ex-boyfriend, was a logical suspect, but most people say
00:06:43
he's not an obvious suspect. What What kind of guy is he? >> He's a really decent, nice guy. He had a
00:06:50
great upbringing. [Music] popular in high school, had a lot of friends. Dana Claire and Thomas began dating in
00:07:07
2006. >> It seemed like a healthy, you know, kind of solid relationship. >> We did like Thomas very much.
00:07:16
>> Daryl and Deborah Edwards treated Thomas like family. >> Fun person to be with. Uh he was at our
00:07:23
ranch a lot of times. >> Like Dana Claire, Thomas Ford worked for his family's company, also in
00:07:31
construction. >> From the beginning, I didn't see it as a match, as a good match.
00:07:36
>> But DJ and his girlfriend Tammy Trasher thought that even though Dana and Thomas
00:07:41
had some things in common, they were still an odd couple. >> They seemed too different. She wanted to
00:07:48
settle down. He was more of in the single mindset. >> In October of 2008, after a 2 and 1/2
00:07:59
year relationship, Dana Cla broke up with Thomas, but the two moved in the same social
00:08:08
circles and remained friends. Then, just before Christmas, Thomas asked Dana Cla over to his house.
00:08:17
Her mother says he told Dana he was having a hard time with the breakup. >> She told me that it had been a really
00:08:25
hard meeting, but he was going on and on and crying and she was worried. And she
00:08:29
said, "Finally, I just had to leave. Mother, >> if Dana Cla was worried about Thomas,
00:08:36
she was looking forward to her own future. She got ready for New Year's Eve in Alamo Heights and said goodbye to her
00:08:46
parents who were going to the family ranch. >> I went in and told her, I said, "We're
00:08:51
going to we're going to go to the ranch day early." And she said, "Let me walk you to your car, Mom." Gave me a big hug
00:08:56
and a kiss, stood at the car door and said, "Y'all have fun. I'll call you." [Music]
00:09:03
>> Dana Cla rang in 2009 at this party. >> Thomas was also there. She went home shortly after midnight.
00:09:13
>> Happy New Year. >> The next day, New Year's Day, her parents expected to hear from Dana.
00:09:25
The Edwards called their daughter dozens of times, but of course, she never answered.
00:09:46
hadn't gotten a call from Dana on New Year's Day. >> We looked at each other and just said,
00:09:51
"We got to go." >> Daryl and Deborah Edwards drove to their daughter's apartment as fast as they
00:09:58
could. I opened the door and I yelled for Dana and there was no sound back and no dogs.
00:10:11
>> The apartment was pitch black as they went inside. >> And how long were you in the house
00:10:19
before you found her? Less than 5 minutes. She was lying on the bathroom floor in a
00:10:27
big pool of blood and I felt her leg and it was cold. >> Dana Cla's face was covered with a
00:10:36
towel. >> It was very hard. And I kneled on the floor next to her and uh pushed the
00:10:44
towel off of her head and uh looked at her beautiful green eyes. I have no idea how long I was there. It
00:10:56
was till the police made me get up and leave. >> At 2:30 a.m. on January 2nd, 2009, the
00:11:05
police arrived and began videotaping the scene. >> Evidence item one, blood. Despite blood
00:11:11
droplets, rolled up carpet, and a room in disarray, police chief William McManis
00:11:18
says at first, police thought Dana Cla had fallen and hit her head on the sink. The case was considered an accidental
00:11:26
death. >> I believe that they felt it was there was something suspicious about it, but
00:11:31
they believe that it was not a homicide. >> But there were a lot of questions. What happened to Dana Cla? Where was
00:11:39
Grit? Dana Cla was almost never without her dog and he was nowhere to be found. Hours later on January 2nd, police
00:11:49
called with the results of Dana Cla's autopsy. >> They said homicide liature strangulation.
00:11:58
>> She'd been strangled. >> Yes. >> The autopsy also revealed Dana Cla was hit in the head repeatedly.
00:12:06
But whatever happened here, it did not look like a robbery. There was no sign of forced entry and nothing was taken.
00:12:14
>> When I heard, I just knew it had been deeply personal just because the way the
00:12:20
the killing was perpetrated. >> The news that Dana Cla had been murdered came as friends had gathered to comfort
00:12:26
the Edwards family. And one of the people who came to the Edwards house was Thomas Ford. He gave me a hug and um
00:12:36
then he kind of stood around and talked to a few people. He wouldn't look at me.
00:12:40
He wouldn't look me in the eyes. >> But if Ford was avoiding Mrs. Edward's eyes, he was not avoiding the police.
00:12:49
>> Thanks for coming in. I appreciate that. Oh, absolutely. >> He agreed to be interviewed by
00:12:54
detectives the next day without a lawyer. >> He's been been deaf. >> Sure. Sure.
00:13:03
>> Do you have any idea why somebody would have >> No. >> wanted to hurt her? >> No, I have no idea.
00:13:09
>> And the detective questioned Ford about this New Year's party he and Dana both
00:13:14
attended just hours before she was killed. Ford said he left the party before midnight and went to sleep shortly after
00:13:23
that. >> You go home, change, and within few minutes you're out. >> Washed a little TV and went to bed.
00:13:31
But within a few days, police found evidence that made them doubt Ford's story. This dark and grainy surveillance tape
00:13:42
from a camera across the street from Dana Cla's condo complex. >> What do you think you can tell from that
00:13:48
tape? >> You could at least tell it was a white SUV, uh, the type that Thomas was driving.
00:13:58
That white SUV entered and left the complex twice between 11:20 and midnight. Then a few minutes later, someone is
00:14:08
seen walking into the complex. Police thought that figure was Thomas Ford wearing the same clothes he wore to
00:14:17
the party. >> Do you remember what you were wearing tonight? jeans, a red uh shirt, and a
00:14:26
tan vest. >> Investigators asked Ford for those clothes in the weeks after the murder,
00:14:32
but he refused to turn them over and then promptly hired a lawyer. Two weeks into the investigation, the
00:14:42
battered remains of Dana Cla's dog, Grit, were found near the Almost Dam. almost two miles
00:14:52
from her house. >> And that dog was Dana's dog. That was her baby. >> Prosecutor Kathy Cunningham believes
00:15:00
that Grit was murdered. And the only person who could have killed him was Thomas Ford.
00:15:06
>> Killing the dog. He did not like that dog cuz that dog was probably more important to her than he ever would be.
00:15:16
But as the murder investigation dragged on for most of 2009, Thomas Ford remained a free man.
00:15:24
>> I wanted him to know I was thinking about him and that he needed to think about me.
00:15:31
>> So she began writing Thomas Ford on February 14th, 2009, Valentine's Day. >> You sent Thomas Ford a Valentine.
00:15:41
>> He said, "I'm thinking of you. She sent notes for months. One read, "Mother's Day never the same." Another
00:15:50
one sent from Dana Cla's own email account said, "How long were you planning this murder?" It's an unusual
00:15:59
move, don't you think? >> I don't know. What does a mother do when she's seen her daughter laying in a pool
00:16:06
of blood? [Music] Nearly one year after the murder, police finally got their break.
00:16:15
DNA that analysts called consistent with Thomas Ford's was found on the towel that covered Dana Cla's face.
00:16:25
Police arrested Ford and charged him with murder. >> From the beginning, I did not doubt that
00:16:30
John Thomas Ford was guilty. But when Katherine Babbitt got the case, she and her two colleagues knew proving Ford
00:16:39
guilty would be difficult to put it mildly. >> Every aspect of our case, we had a
00:16:45
problem. >> The biggest problem, lost evidence, and plenty of it. Investigators lost fingernail clippings
00:16:53
taken from Dana Clair. They lost the underwear she was wearing when she was killed. The question has to be to an
00:17:00
outsider, how does that happen? I mean, you know, you can understand one mistake, but not this many.
00:17:05
>> It it was it was troubling. Anytime you lose a piece of evidence that should be
00:17:11
produced at trial, it's always going to be an issue. >> And it didn't stop there.
00:17:16
Prosecutors were counting on much clearer footage from a second surveillance camera. That was until that
00:17:23
footage was also lost. And now they are stuck with this. >> Couldn't tell you male, female, couldn't
00:17:31
tell you type and make of car. >> To be honest with you, there were points in the case that we were desparing, that
00:17:39
we were depressed. Tears, a lot of upset. Absolutely. Because we know we did it.
00:17:46
>> Even though they were facing a bungled investigation and a highowered defense
00:17:50
attorney. >> Did you say that to counsel? >> Prosecutors were ready to go. My biggest
00:17:57
fear was that justice might not be done here. It took more than one year to arrest
00:18:11
Thomas Ford for killing Dana Claire Edwards and her dog Grit. >> Took two more years to get the case to
00:18:21
trial. What we know about the rumor mill is that it started almost immediately. >> When the trial finally began on the
00:18:28
streets of Alamo Heights, neighbors had already reached their verdict. >> Thomas Ford, the exboyfriend.
00:18:36
It must be him. >> You go with Tom or Thomas? >> Thomas. Thomas. Okay. >> From the day he was interviewed shortly
00:18:43
after the murder, Ford has denied having anything to do with it. But his videotaped interview with police is the
00:18:51
first thing prosecutors show to the jurors >> is a calculated move on our part to
00:18:55
start with that statement. >> It's like been deaf. >> They know they are taking a risk.
00:19:01
>> What made me nervous about that is that he looked like the guy next door. He acted like the guy next door and he
00:19:07
teared up at the appropriate times. >> Oh god. >> But it was part of their strategy. I
00:19:14
mean, we needed to start with him a liar and we built from there. >> Ford says he was home by midnight.
00:19:21
>> Once you get home from the party, you went straight home. >> Yeah. >> But two prosecution witnesses cast doubt
00:19:28
on that. Dana Claire's close friend Melissa Federill and Alan Tarver, Thomas Ford's lifelong friend.
00:19:37
>> Um, so I've known him I think it's probably second grade. On New Year's Eve 2008, Melissa and Allan were with Ford
00:19:44
at that party where Dana Cla was last seen alive. >> I'm the one eating. >> They were playing a game called apples
00:19:55
to apples. >> It's for ages 6 to 12. >> It's a word association game that involves a lot of what is supposed to be
00:20:05
good nature teasing. The game turned to the word marriage and Melissa made some jokes at Ford's expense. He had only
00:20:13
recently split up with Dana Cla and Melissa says he got upset. >> He turned to me and said he didn't think
00:20:21
that was funny at all. >> But defense attorney Dick Darren is quick to point out that detail was not
00:20:28
in Melissa's account to police just days after the murder. But what you told Detective Carry on about the party was
00:20:36
that everything was fine. Wasn't that the perfect opportunity? >> The Garren wants jurors to believe
00:20:42
Melissa is lying. >> I'm not trying to leave a false impression of what >> objective respon nonresponsiveness. Am I
00:20:50
being too rough on you? >> Objectively. >> When the game ended, Ford got up and left before midnight. Remember, he told
00:20:59
police he went straight home. No, I just went straight to my house. >> But prosecutors think they can prove
00:21:06
that is a lie. Shortly after midnight, the party broke up. Dana Cla went home and so did Allan and Melissa. But
00:21:15
minutes later, Allan and Melissa drove past Ford's house to return a beer cooler he had left behind. We drove by
00:21:23
Thomas's house, >> but they did not see his Chevy Tahoe in the driveway where he usually parked.
00:21:29
And they also didn't see it in the church parking lot where Ford would sometimes park.
00:21:35
>> He looks to the right in the parking lot, drives through the parking lot, and
00:21:38
there's no Tahoe there. >> Tarver asked Ford about that after Ford became a suspect.
00:21:45
>> Um, he told me that he couldn't really remember where he parked. He thought he
00:21:48
parked in back somewhere. I just thought sort of, well, you know, that's not what I saw.
00:21:55
>> Did you ever talk to him again? >> I do not believe so. >> You didn't look all through that parking
00:22:02
lot, did you? In this dark corner, late at night, shaded by trees, the Tahoe very well could have been there,
00:22:10
couldn't it? >> After a day and a half. >> Okay. Yes. >> Allan got so confused, I think he
00:22:17
questioned himself. And so what started out as a fairly solid witness is now saying, "Well, maybe I did miss
00:22:25
it." >> It's one thing to attack Alan Tarver, but now Darren has to somehow cast doubt
00:22:33
on a grieving mother's story. >> She was laying face down on the floor. >> You could hear a pin drop when Deborah
00:22:41
Edwards described sitting on the floor >> next to her daughter's body. So I pushed
00:22:49
the towel back some and just looked at my baby. >> Darren keeps Mrs. Edwards on the stand
00:22:57
for almost 2 days. >> When did you start the campaign of harassment? >> Asking her about every one of those
00:23:05
messages she sent to Ford and his family. >> The tile is so cold. Happy anniversary.
00:23:12
Did you send that? >> Yes, I did. The evil in your soul sustains you. >> Yes, I did send him that.
00:23:20
>> It's true. >> 15 16 >> You showed me the cards. I said yes, I did that. Yes, I was upset.
00:23:27
>> 27 28 >> But it was irrelevant. >> 29 30 >> Was it hard to keep your composure
00:23:33
though? >> I had prayed for grace when I prayed for justice. >> But the cross-examination is tough.
00:23:40
Remember how you ended her life with a photograph of Dana Claire saying happy new year. Dana Cla as a child.
00:23:51
>> You did that? >> Yes, I did that. >> As tough as he's been, Darren has yet to
00:23:59
put on the heart of his case. It is the police investigation and all the mistakes. Starting with the first
00:24:07
mistake, calling Dana Cla's death accidental. >> Wasn't it apparent to you that this was
00:24:14
something more than just somebody keing over and dying >> at the time? No, sir. >> And he goes through every single piece
00:24:21
of mishandled evidence, the lost fingernail clippings, the lost surveillance tape, the lost underwear,
00:24:28
and that towel with Thomas's DNA on it. Police left it at the crime scene for roughly one week.
00:24:37
>> How do you trust evidence that's gathered by these bumbling crime scene people that lose evidence?
00:24:44
>> Investigators did find that DNA on the towel, but Darren says it proves nothing
00:24:50
because Ford spent plenty of time in that apartment. >> So, he was in the condo shedding his DNA
00:24:57
all over the place just 10 days before she was found. Darren is having a field day
00:25:03
>> and we object to this not responsive. >> Prosecutors are worried. >> We knew that Dick Darren would come in
00:25:11
and try to confuse the issue. >> Christa Milton should know when she was in law school, one of her professors was
00:25:18
Dick Darren. >> I took advanced criminal defense. >> Did you do well in the class?
00:25:23
>> I got the highest grade in the class when I took it. >> I mean, was that strange for you to be
00:25:28
up against one of your former students? No, it was kind of flattering, frankly. >> But Darren now has to consider
00:25:34
>> the real defense in this case is alibi. >> Did he teach her too well? And prosecutors are about to reveal their
00:25:43
most damning piece of evidence. They say it's more powerful than the DNA, more important than the surveillance video.
00:25:51
They say they can put Thomas Ford at the scene of the murder. We realized, oh my
00:25:57
gosh, we know exactly where he's going to be. >> No, I want y'all to know that I will do everything to help out.
00:26:19
>> Okay. Thomas Ford, who didn't say a word during his trial, was about to learn why suspects get the
00:26:26
warning. >> Anybody else use your phone that night? >> No, that would have been impossible.
00:26:31
>> Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. >> Once you get home um from the party, you
00:26:37
went straight home. >> Yeah. >> Prosecutors used almost everything he told police against him.
00:26:43
>> I go straight home. They argue the interrogation locks forward into a story that is a lie.
00:26:50
>> I was home. I was asleep. I didn't leave the bed until 7 a.m. the next day. >> They say these surveillance images prove
00:26:57
he wasn't sleeping. He was driving his SUV to Dana Cla's house. If you just looked at that tape, not
00:27:06
knowing anything, and you saw a white SUV come in, two minutes later, come out, head south, come back, come in,
00:27:14
come out, head north. Your first thought is, what's that guy doing? I mean, are they casing the joint? What's going on
00:27:22
here? When you put that with the time he says he left the party, that's when you
00:27:28
sort of start to build that timeline. It's a very common vehicle. >> But Ford's attorney, Dick Darren, says
00:27:37
as blurry as these pictures are, nobody can tell anything about that car. >> You know, you cannot identify this as
00:27:44
being Thomas Ford's car. Prosecutors knew they needed more than that surveillance tape to make their
00:27:51
case, and they think they found it just before trial in a pile of Ford's cell phone records, which police
00:28:00
subpoenenaed, but never fully analyzed. >> When we did that, I still have chills
00:28:05
thinking about it. >> Kathy Cunningham realized what she was looking at could change everything. Cell
00:28:11
records have the latitude and longitude for the towers the phone is using. Prosecutors used Google Maps to locate
00:28:20
the towers and believed they could now say where Ford went and when. They called an AT&T engineer named Ken
00:28:30
Dah. If you tell somebody that you were home all night long and and you really weren't, then uh if you took your cell
00:28:36
phone with you, we're liable to find that out. >> Dah created this map showing the towers
00:28:44
that picked up Ford's cell phone signals throughout the night. >> We tracked the defendants's activities
00:28:50
from 8:30 that evening until 9:00 a.m. the next morning. Remember, Ford told police he went home from the party, was
00:28:57
in bed before midnight, and turned his phone off. But the records seem to tell a different story. At 11:45, he received
00:29:07
a call that went straight to voicemail. Prosecutors say the signal should have bounced off this tower that serves
00:29:14
Ford's home, but it didn't. According to prosecutors, it bounced off this tower that serves Dana Cla's apartment in
00:29:22
Gallery Court. It showed that his phone was was near her apartment. >> Correct. >> That 11:45 call is key to this case
00:29:32
because minutes before that call, the white SUV entered then left the condo complex and then this blurry figure is
00:29:42
seen walking in. Prosecutors believe Ford parked nearby and entered the complex to lay in weight. So, you now
00:29:51
know that the person that is walking into Gallery Court is John Thomas Ford. >> One hour later, Dana Claire's car
00:30:02
arrives. And then a half hour after that, a text goes to Thomas Ford's phone. Once again, say prosecutors, the
00:30:11
signal bounces off the cell tower that serves Dana Claire's condo. That means they say Ford's own cell phone records
00:30:20
place him near Dana Cla's condo for 90 minutes. How long do you think it took to kill her?
00:30:26
>> I think it took 15 to 20 minutes. >> Prosecutors say the cell phone records even provide evidence about what
00:30:37
happened to Dana Cla's dog, Grit. At 1:32 a.m., Ford's phone is registering with this tower. It serves the area
00:30:47
where Grit's body was found, the dam near Dana Claire's condo. >> What would be the only reason is pinging
00:30:55
near the Almost Dam. >> That device would have had to have been near the almost dam.
00:31:01
>> Prosecutors believe it was Ford who brought Grit there. >> But how did he get there? The same
00:31:07
camera that showed a figure walking into the condo complex shows no one walking out before that 132 call.
00:31:17
Prosecutors have a theory. They say Ford did not walk out the entrance, that he came out of the condo and jumped over
00:31:26
this wall carrying Grit's body. Then they think he drove to the dam, disposed of Grit, and returned here, jumping back
00:31:35
over the wall. And think about how ridiculous that is. Thomas weighed 250 pounds at least when this happened. Even
00:31:44
someone in good physical condition would have a tough time getting over that high
00:31:49
wall. >> Maybe he wasn't at the almost dam. >> Well, his phone sure was. >> Historical cell phone tower usage is
00:31:59
voodoo. It's junk science. >> Voodoo. >> Yes. The defense has found experts who insist it is not possible to pinpoint a
00:32:08
phone's location based on what tower it used. But Darren has to get Ken Dal to concede that the cell phone records can
00:32:17
be unreliable. >> You cannot say to a certainty that it was actually in that sector, can you?
00:32:25
>> I think you have a very extremely high degree of accuracy on that. We make multi-billion dollar decisions based on
00:32:32
what this tool tells us. Sure. >> Prosecutors argue jurors can believe Thomas Ford or they can believe the cell
00:32:39
phone records, but they cannot believe both. >> He had an alibi. The cell phone records
00:32:46
pierced that alibi. >> It's been a tough four weeks of trial. to Garin's last word to the jury.
00:32:54
>> The state has not proved >> the evidence leaves much more than just reasonable doubt.
00:33:00
>> But Katherine Babbett tells jurors that Ford snapped after being rejected by Dana Claire.
00:33:06
>> Well, I'm going to tell you, there's someone else in here that has some right
00:33:09
>> and ask them to focus on the lives that were ended that night. >> And how did he describe her? Full of
00:33:16
life. >> Full of energy. Full of life. >> Full of energy. Full of joy. And if that ain't the picture of that, I
00:33:24
don't know what is. And so is this little guy. And how dare he? >> Lawyers have done what they can do.
00:33:36
>> The jury, it's time for you to begin your deliberations. >> It's all in the jury's hands now. Buzz,
00:33:41
when you have a verdict, [Music] for all sides in any trial. This is the hardest part,
00:34:08
waiting while a jury deliberates. >> I really felt that they would look at it and make a good decision. But the
00:34:15
Edwards family was not waiting alone. [Music] They're the only ones who knew it. But
00:34:22
in his backpack, Mr. Edwards carried the ashes of Dana Cla and her dog Grit to court throughout the trial.
00:34:32
>> You would bring them to court every day with you. >> Every day. >> Why did you do that?
00:34:37
>> A quest for justice for my daughter. >> We owed this to her to find justice. And if you have unanswered questions,
00:34:47
that's a reasonable. >> Prosecutors in the Thomas Ford case were worried that Dick Darren had swayed some
00:34:54
jurors. >> The FBI can't tell what kind of car >> because all it takes for Dick is to
00:34:59
confuse one juror. We have to convince all 12. >> I was optimistic going into it and I
00:35:06
believe that there were jurors who were on the fence. >> According to the jurors, Darren was
00:35:12
right. I just wasn't convinced that he was guilty. >> Some jurors went into the jury room
00:35:18
unconvinced. >> You were one of the not guilties and you were one of the not guilties.
00:35:22
>> Just couldn't say that he was uh guilty beyond reasonable doubt. At that point,
00:35:27
I needed to sleep on it. >> The jurors were at an impass and were dismissed for the night.
00:35:36
When they came back the next morning, they sent out a note asking to review the cell phone evidence.
00:35:45
>> Is that a good thing for you or a bad thing? Really? >> Our first thought was they're right
00:35:50
where they need to be now. Just stay there >> is what we said to each other. >> Shortly after that request, the jurors
00:35:59
took a vote. After 8 hours of deliberating, it wasn't easy, but they had a verdict.
00:36:09
>> Is it a unanimous verdict? >> Yes, ma'am. It is. >> Mr. Ford, would you please stand?
00:36:17
>> We the jury find the defendant, John Thomas Ford, guilty of murder as charged
00:36:22
in the indictment. >> Ford is convicted. It's what Dana Cla's family and the prosecutors have spent more than three
00:36:34
years fighting for. You have been wonderful. >> And now that uh gave each one of the
00:36:42
prosecutors a kiss. >> Thank you so much. And I meant >> he said, "Thank you for giving me back my life.
00:36:59
And so when you talk about um you know doing doing this kind of job, that's really what it boils down to is you're
00:37:06
giving that family back hopefully some peace and some peace of mind. >> But it wasn't completely over. Later
00:37:16
that day, the jury had to recommend Thomas Ford's sentence. >> Think about the pressure she felt around
00:37:23
her neck as the ligature began to tighten. Prosecutor Kirsten Melton reminds the
00:37:30
jurors of why they just convicted Ford. >> Honor your verdict. Stand for what is
00:37:37
right. >> I understand that you all have reached a verdict. >> Jury didn't take long to decide on a
00:37:45
sentence. >> We assess his punishment at confinement for a term of 40 years and we assess no
00:37:51
fines. >> 40 years. If he lives long enough, Ford could be in his 80s by the time he gets out.
00:38:06
The outcome of this trial was an especially sweet victory for the three prosecutors who took a case that had so
00:38:13
many problems at times they weren't sure it would even get to court. When you are
00:38:19
fighting for what you know to be right, that when God brings justice through that jury,
00:38:25
it breaks your heart with gratitude and thankfulness for seeing the truth prevail.
00:38:32
It's been more than three years since Dana Cla was murdered. For the Edwards, time and justice have
00:38:41
helped ease their pain. I guess what was a little bit of amazing was I could feel
00:38:47
all my daughter's good memories come back to me without Thomas and all of that. I felt like I had her back.
00:38:56
>> It's hard to remember Dana Cla without remembering Grit. And following their deaths, Dana Cla's brother DJ found a
00:39:04
way to memorialize them both. >> I didn't want it to be down. I didn't want it to be depressing. And then he
00:39:13
said, you said puppies. >> Puppies. Puppies. >> You said puppies. >> Puppies from the local animal shelter
00:39:21
were available for adoption at Dana Claire's memorial. >> There were all these sweet little
00:39:27
homeless, helpless pets. She would have loved it. >> Almost 500 people walk past these
00:39:34
puppies. >> Everybody's playing, handing them off, >> and every one of them had been adopted.
00:39:42
That was important to give them what Dana would have wanted to give them. >> Love and life and homes. Just what Dana
00:39:51
Cla had done years earlier when she found Grit. >> I know that she was happy when she was
00:39:58
looking down on us and seeing those sweet little animals being offered a a second chance. It was very special. So
00:40:06
Dana [Music] [Music]