00:00:13
The street was blocked off and there was lots of fire trucks there. The house was
00:00:18
fully involved in flames. I said, "Is that 9:51?" And they said, "Yeah." And I said,
00:00:28
"That's my boyfriend's house." >> And they said, "Do you know how to get in touch with your boyfriend?" I said,
00:00:35
"No, I haven't talked to him today." And I believe it was the police chief. I'm not sure. Came up to me and said,
00:00:43
"Are you the next of Ken?" And I said, "Why?" And they said, "We found a body in the
00:00:53
kitchen. David Coffin [music] was a 41-year-old male who was full of life, very attractive, a lot of fun.
00:01:16
>> He was beautiful and [music] outgoing and athletic. My name is Megan Lee and in 1996 I was
00:01:24
dating David Coffin. He liked to ski hard slopes. He [music] liked to live life to the fullest. Very
00:01:32
Robert Redfordesque. David came from the Coffin family of the Northeast. It's a very prominent family.
00:01:40
>> He was a good kid. He loved the outdoors. He had a big retriever [music] and that dog and he went absolutely
00:01:49
everywhere. Flames were shooting out of his roof 20 to 30 feet in the air. When they got the fire under control,
00:02:02
they walked through once, found nothing, walked through the second time, and actually a firefighter stepped on the
00:02:09
body of David Coffin. People who die from the fire, they're usually found on their stomachs because
00:02:21
they're trying to crawl out of the house. He was on his back when [music] they discovered him. That led the
00:02:26
firefighters to believe that he did not die from the fire. That this was a murder case. He literally was just
00:02:33
executed in cold blood. All that remained of David Coffin was charred remains. My name is Sheila Ross. I'm an assistant
00:02:44
district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. The fire to David Coffin's [music] body and to his home was very, very
00:02:52
devastating and destructive. We're talking no hairs, no fibers, no DNA, no fingerprints from
00:03:01
any of the things that came from the home. >> At that point, I had no idea who wanted
00:03:07
to kill David Coffin. My world no longer made sense. >> It's the hardest case I have ever fought
00:03:16
in [music] my entire career. >> The ghost of [music] David Coffin. Tonight's 48 hours mystery.
00:03:28
[music] [music] >> [music] >> It was the most tragic, unbelievable time of life.
00:04:04
It was late at night on December 10th, 1996 when Megan Lee watched firemen struggle
00:04:11
to gain control of the inferno at the home of her boyfriend, David Coffin. >> His best friend came on scene
00:04:21
and I had to tell him that David was dead. And you see flames shooting out of the
00:04:28
roof of your best friend's house. The feelings are horrible. >> Like Megan, Craig Foster was also in
00:04:35
disbelief. >> You think, Jesus, this like a movie? You don't know what to think. [music]
00:04:44
>> Their grief and fear only deepened when fire [music] officials revealed that David had died before the fire even
00:04:51
started. All I remember is laying down on the pavement. [snorts] Hysterical. Adding to the horror, it was the second
00:05:03
time that same night someone close to Megan was the victim of violence. The first incident involved her
00:05:11
estranged husband, Scott Davis. Scott told her he had been ambushed that evening right in front of his house. The
00:05:19
person was wearing a ski mask, put a gun to his head, sprayed him in the face with mace,
00:05:26
and said, "Stay away from Megan." And my name is actually pronounced Megan. [music]
00:05:32
>> Now, hours later, Megan's soon to be ex-husband had even more bad news. >> He said, "Oh my god, I was attacked
00:05:42
again tonight. I've got police here." In that second attack, [music] Scott Davis
00:05:47
said the asalent used his gun. Patrolman Michael O' Conor took the report. >> The suspect turned around and shot at
00:05:56
Scott Davis. Scott then returned fire with five rounds from a shotgun. Um, the [snorts]
00:06:02
suspect was able to hop the fence and and run off. >> Scott also said that before all the
00:06:09
shooting, the man set fire to the back of his house by the patio. Scott managed to put it out, but the timing was
00:06:18
terrifying. It was just hours after David's house was set a flame. >> It was a fairly bizarre kind of a
00:06:25
copycat kind of a thing going on that was very confusing to all of us. >> Homicide detective Rick Chambers
00:06:32
naturally suspected [music] there had to be a link between the two victims. >> The same person that killed [music]
00:06:39
David Coffin is going to be the same person that attacked Scott. wanted to get his story while it was still fresh
00:06:44
in his mind. >> Although she was connected to both victims, Megan could not imagine who
00:06:51
would commit the crimes. Who would attack her aranged husband? And why would that same person cut down her new
00:06:58
boyfriend, David Coffin, in the prime of his life? [music] >> He was just a really laidback, nice,
00:07:08
easy Kanukica character. He showed [music] me lots of attention and lots of affection and he was
00:07:16
gorgeous. You know, >> Bob Coffin has fond memories of his older [music] brother.
00:07:24
>> He was very much his own man. He was very independent minded and he played by his own rules and it
00:07:31
was a great set of rules. David was a 41-year-old entrepreneur looking for business ventures in Atlanta
00:07:39
when a friend introduced him to Megan. [music] >> They were like any couple that was 6
00:07:44
months into an early romance. >> Craig began to wonder if David's bachelor days were numbered.
00:07:51
>> David and Megan did get [music] serious rather quickly. She had a lot of the qualities that he desired.
00:07:58
>> But there was one rather sticky issue. Megan's divorce from Scott Davis was not
00:08:05
yet final. >> I was very honest with him that I was going to go on with my life and that
00:08:10
included dating other people. >> David Coffin spent Thanksgiving week with his father and told him about his
00:08:18
new girlfriend. >> He would say he'd say, "Dad, he would love her." >> Did you think you would be meeting her
00:08:24
soon? >> Yes. Oh, I would put money on it. But David Coffin, Senior, patriarch of a
00:08:31
wealthy and established New England clan, was a cautious man. [music] He advised his son to take his time.
00:08:38
>> I said, "All right, but be be very careful." >> Did he tell [music] you she was married
00:08:42
still? >> She told me the whole story. >> Were you concerned? [music] >> I was concerned.
00:08:49
>> In fact, Scott Davis was not quite ready for divorce and was having a hard time
00:08:55
letting Megan go. They kept on talking about this line. Don't cross this line. >> And what was the line?
00:09:01
>> Um, the line was having an intimate relationship with somebody. >> And were you sleeping with David?
00:09:05
>> And so I crossed that line. [music] >> After Thanksgiving, David returned to Atlanta
00:09:13
and spent [music] the next weekend at Megan's apartment. >> Here was this smart, interesting,
00:09:19
attractive man, you know, wanting to spend time with me. And um, that felt really, really nice.
00:09:26
That Sunday morning, David came home and found someone had broken in. >> The TV was pulled over. The office and
00:09:33
the desk was all in disarray. The drawers were open. [music] >> Most of his prized possessions were
00:09:39
there, but a few were missing, including watches, guns, [music] and his beloved Porsche.
00:09:46
>> It was a special car that was a collector type car that they didn't make many of.
00:09:53
Two days later, David's house was torched and he was dead. In the wee hours, Megan went to the
00:10:01
police station to give a statement. She wasn't alone, though. Scott Davis was there, too.
00:10:07
>> He was the only person a who had actually seen an asalent or actually had a conversation with an asalent. But the
00:10:14
more Scott Davis spoke, the more suspicious Detective Chambers grew about what he was saying, especially one
00:10:23
critical detail. >> He said, "I didn't shoot him. I didn't shoot David." >> And what struck you about that
00:10:29
statement? >> I didn't know how David Coffin had died. No one knew. >> That was the first time the penny
00:10:36
dropped. And I went, "Oh my god. Oh my god. The whole story itself [music] once you started taking it apart
00:11:09
started to fall apart like a house of cards. Detective Rick Chambers was convinced that the man who murdered
00:11:15
David Coffin had given himself away. >> David was shot. I think you think so. I think I did.
00:11:23
>> Even before investigators knew how David died, Scott Davis was telling them it
00:11:29
was a gunshot. He said that's what Megan, his aranged wife, told him. >> When I heard that from her, that's what,
00:11:36
you know, that's what I thought I heard. thought you thought you heard what? >> Yeah, I thought I heard her tell me that
00:11:42
he was shot. I'm telling you what I thought I heard. You know, I mean, I had guns going off everywhere today. I mean,
00:11:49
this is hard for me. >> But Megan said she had no idea how David died. And the detective in charge now
00:11:56
seriously doubted Scott's claim that someone had also attacked him. >> Whoever had done this had killed one
00:12:04
person and burned a house. Why did he let Scott live? You going to set a fire on try to burn somebody's house down?
00:12:10
You going to set it on their concrete patio? >> So this was not adding up to you?
00:12:15
>> No. >> Scott was [music] the prime suspect, but he was hardly a typical murder suspect.
00:12:22
>> It was disbelief. >> Scott's father, Dr. Dave Davis, is a prominent Atlanta psychiatrist.
00:12:30
>> My whole family was very upset, very brokenhearted, surprised, shocked. a forensic psychiatrist.
00:12:38
>> None of this surprises Dr. Dave Davis in Atlanta, >> who made media appearances profiling
00:12:43
criminals. >> Well, there's not just one motivation. Some are revenge motivated.
00:12:47
>> He now found himself defending his own son. >> Scott has never been in trouble.
00:12:54
I mean, he's never done anything like this. I've never known him to be violent. The whole thing just seemed
00:13:00
outrageous to me. Scott was a 24year-old graduate student when he met 19-year-old Megan Lee.
00:13:08
>> He was running for county commissioner. [music] He had just finished his MBA. I
00:13:13
mean, he seemed very mature to me and at the time that was really attractive and
00:13:17
um he seemed grown up where [music] I was just trying to be grown up. >> They dated for 5 years, but it was a
00:13:24
rocky relationship. We broke up [music] a lot during our relationship, always initiated by me. I
00:13:32
just kept on feeling like we weren't really connecting in the way that I wanted to connect.
00:13:37
>> After every breakup, Scott would beg for another chance, often in writing. >> He would always say that he had changed,
00:13:45
that he had realized all these things about himself and um that he was making big changes in his life. And
00:13:52
>> And you believed him? >> Absolutely. every time I ended up believing him. [music]
00:13:59
>> Eventually, Scott and Megan married. [music] >> I was very able to talk everybody into
00:14:05
this, including myself, that um we always got back [music] together. He loves me so much. We want the same
00:14:12
things out of life. These are [music] all good foundations for marriage. A European magazine featured their wedding
00:14:19
with a photo spread, calling the event the perfect American wedding, Hollywood style.
00:14:26
>> The wedding [music] itself was magnificent and one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever
00:14:31
>> I've ever been to. Yes. >> You think he was happy when they got married? >> Oh, yes. And I think they both were
00:14:37
happy when they got married. Professionally, Scott Davis's star was rising [music] as a technology
00:14:43
consultant, but his personal life was soon in trouble. He seemed to lose interest in the relationship very, very
00:14:50
quickly. Um, so I think he liked the chase more than he liked the prize. He didn't seem interested in me or our
00:15:01
relationship at all the minute we got married. In any area. >> In any area. >> In any area. After just two years, Megan
00:15:11
filed for divorce and left him. When you moved out, in your mind, that was it. >> That was it.
00:15:17
>> You never had a second thought about getting back together? >> Never a second thought.
00:15:24
>> Scott reverted to old habits, pleading with her in multiple, often lengthy letters.
00:15:30
>> I think you're the most wonderful and gorgeous woman on this earth. [music] I
00:15:34
want to give you everything in life you want. letters that took an ominous turn when Scott got wind that Megan was
00:15:40
hitting it off with a man he knew. >> Multiple dates with one person leads to expectations which do not bode well with
00:15:48
me. [music] This is especially true with a person such as Dave. If things with other men are getting sexual [music] for
00:15:54
you, I will never be able to forgive that considering we are married. He was even by his accounts, you know, quite
00:16:02
committed to pursuing her and getting her back. This was a pattern. >> He's a persistent guy. I taught him to
00:16:09
be persistent. So, he kept thinking she was going to come back. >> But persistence seemed to turn to
00:16:17
obsession. In December 1996, during that weekend that David and Megan spent together at her apartment,
00:16:25
Scott called Friday night [music] five, six times, I think, in the middle of the
00:16:29
night. Saturday night, he called 30 times. [music] When David got home Sunday morning to
00:16:38
find his house [music] vandalized, he called police, but he and his friend Craig Foster [music] thought they
00:16:44
already knew who was responsible. >> The only thing we could come up with was that Scott Davis had come over upset the
00:16:51
night before because he knew that David was with Megan and had ransacked the house. Craig advised David to back off
00:16:58
from Megan until her divorce was final >> and he agreed. Now, I don't know whether
00:17:04
he ever could have done that because I think David was falling in love with Megan at this point.
00:17:11
>> That Tuesday [music] night, David was found dead and within hours, Megan's aranged husband was talking to the
00:17:19
police. >> The more he talks, the less believable the story is. On Wednesday, Scott left
00:17:25
Megan one last desperate message. >> I just got back from the police station and uh students really getting in my
00:17:33
face telling me that they thought I had something to do with this and I hope you
00:17:37
don't believe that. >> Please call me. Please call me. Please call me. >> And you never called him back?
00:17:41
>> Never called him back. >> 3 days after [music] David Coffin's body was found, Scott Davis was arrested.
00:17:50
Police do say though that Coffin and Davis knew each other. Perhaps >> the man who claimed to be a victim was
00:17:57
now a murder suspect. [music] >> At which time the details of the state's case against him may be revealed.
00:18:04
>> And you felt [music] the case was strong. >> Oh, I I knew the case was strong. He had
00:18:08
motive. He had opportunity. And he was providing us with our case. [music] >> [music]
00:18:30
>> When I first met Scott, he was absolutely just unbelievably [music] frightened that the police were focusing
00:18:36
on him in a murder case. >> Attorney Bruce Morris began representing Scott Davis the day he became a murder
00:18:43
suspect. you know, he's uh [music] an interesting fellow. Uh he grew up in a in a wonderful family and had all of
00:18:51
the opportunities that you would want to have growing up. >> Morris was hired by psychiatrist Dave
00:18:57
Davis, Scott's father. >> Have you never met anyone who was acting normally all along and snapped?
00:19:05
>> Yeah, but he he I don't he was talking to him through that period of time. He
00:19:10
wasn't snapping. >> But Detective Rick Chambers says Scott came unhinged when his soontobe ex-wife
00:19:18
Megan started showing serious interest in another man. >> Scott Davis had everything he wanted all his life. And
00:19:28
the one thing he lost, couldn't stand it. [music] Chambers believes Scott Davis killed
00:19:36
David Coffin, then tried to cover his tracks by inventing a fictitious asalent. >> What he's actually trying to do was say,
00:19:43
"Hey, there no way I could have done this." [music] See, cuz I'm a victim as well.
00:19:50
>> Police used phone records and witness statements to create a timeline, showing
00:19:55
that Scott had ample opportunity to execute the crimes on Saturday night. They believe while
00:20:02
David was with Megan, Scott ransacked David's home and took a few choice treasures.
00:20:09
>> One thing David Coff love supposedly was that Porsche >> on Monday night. They say Scott returned
00:20:16
this time to confront David. >> Do I think Scott Davids went there with the intention of killing David Coffin
00:20:25
that night? No, I don't think so. I think he [music] went there with the intention to scare him. Bob small
00:20:30
struggling suit. Scott shot him. >> Then on Tuesday night, Chambers [music] says Scott returned again and set the
00:20:41
fire. A lot of physical evidence right there where that fire was at. [music] >> But the timeline had a problem. David's
00:20:52
stolen Porsche was also set on fire. It was found Tuesday morning, miles from where Scott was seen at work.
00:21:01
>> Scott could not have started the Porsche fire. >> After 90 days in jail, Scott posted a
00:21:09
half million dollar bond and was released. Can you definitively answer the question, did Scott Davis kill David
00:21:16
Coffin? >> I can tell you that Scott Davis, from the first moment I ever met him, has
00:21:22
unequivocally said, "I am innocent. I didn't do this. [music] >> The pending case against Scott Davis had
00:21:29
other issues. A gun taken in the burglary was found near David's body, but was too badly burned to have any
00:21:36
prints on it. >> There's no physical evidence against Scott whatsoever. There's no DNA, no
00:21:42
fibers. >> A search of Scott's house and car also came up empty. >> None of the stuff that was stolen from
00:21:49
David Coffin was linked to Scott. Nothing like that. The district attorney chose not to seek an indictment [music]
00:21:56
and in June 1998, 18 months after Scott Davis was arrested, the [music] charges against him were dropped.
00:22:05
>> We believe the case was absolutely completely and forever over. >> Scott's divorce from Megan Lee was now
00:22:14
final, but Megan wasn't taking any chances. Megan says she felt she had to get out of town. First, she moved to
00:22:23
Minneapolis, but she still didn't feel safe. Eventually, she moved here, halfway around the world to Sydney,
00:22:30
Australia, which is about as far away from Atlanta and from Scott Davis as she could get. Who do you think is
00:22:39
responsible for David Coffin's death? >> Scott Davis. I would love to believe that it was anyone else other than the
00:22:46
person that I'd been married to, but I know I know nothing else makes sense and I've tried.
00:22:55
>> Scott also left Atlanta and moved to Palo Alto, California. >> He's technological wizard
00:23:02
>> where he set up shop as a computer consultant. >> He was very successful, had a lot of
00:23:07
friends. He was in hog. But Scott Davis's new found freedom was not sitting well with David Coffin
00:23:17
senior. >> I would I was not a happy camper. >> Did you ever suspect it could have been
00:23:23
someone else? >> No. >> You've always and immediately no question. >> Absolutely no question in my mind.
00:23:30
>> Coffin made relentless efforts to keep the case active. >> Were you pressuring the DA?
00:23:36
>> Well, I told him I wasn't going to go anywhere. >> [music] >> He offered rewards, substantial rewards.
00:23:45
>> The reward [music] went from $100,000 to $200,000 to $300,000. >> Correct. >> But as the years passed, little new
00:23:56
evidence surfaced. Megan was now happily married to an Australian man and had two
00:24:02
children. But she was never able to shake her past. There has not been a day in 10 years that I've not thought about
00:24:11
the events of December 96. Not a day. Scott, meanwhile, was getting ambitious. In 2003, California's governor was
00:24:23
recalled, sparking a wild free-for-all election. San Jose Mercury News reporter Josh Quan got a tip to check out one of
00:24:32
the 135 hopefuls. >> I was I was shocked. I was stunned. a candidate named Scott Davis.
00:24:40
>> He had sort of a sense of himself that he was he was meant for more um and uh
00:24:46
that being a business consultant wasn't going to be his legacy. >> When Quan asked Scott about his arrest
00:24:53
for David Coffin's murder, Scott told him the charges had been dropped. There was no evidence against him.
00:25:00
>> And he said, um, you know, this wouldn't have happened to me if it wasn't for my
00:25:05
ex-wife. And he said that Megan, his ex-wife, was the one who sort of incited the police to go after him.
00:25:11
>> He has to live with the fact that he murdered David. And and I was hoping that was destroying him. When he ran for
00:25:22
governor of California, that's when I realized I thought, you know what, he hasn't given this a second thought.
00:25:30
With his past outed, Scott gave up his run for governor, [music] but he was now under new scrutiny in Atlanta.
00:25:38
>> Would you describe him as a smart person? >> I think he's very smart, but he's
00:25:44
impulsive. >> Enter prosecutor Sheila Ross. She was heading a cold case unit and taking a
00:25:51
fresh look at the old evidence. >> And when I looked at everything, I was literally disgusted. I was disgusted
00:26:00
that he had gotten away with it. >> The state had virtually no new evidence against Scott Davis, but there was now a
00:26:08
very determined prosecutor. >> The defendant is wealthy. And and and let's face it, he's he's wealthy and
00:26:16
comes from a very good family here in Atlanta. And that creates a whole new dynamic. It's a different dynamic
00:26:23
because wealthy people have advantages that poor people do not have. and they work the legal system. [music]
00:26:32
>> This time the DA convened a grand jury [music] and Scott Davis was indicted. In
00:26:38
November 2005, Scott was arrested again and [music] charged with murder. So when
00:26:45
he was arrested, what was your reaction? >> Outrage. Just [music] outrage. >> He was able to post a million dollar
00:26:53
bond and was released. >> Dr. Davis, is there any any shred of doubt in your mind of Scott's innocence?
00:27:02
>> None whatsoever. >> But after nearly 10 years, Scott Davis is about to stand trial for the murder
00:27:11
of David Coffin. [music] >> [music] >> 10 long years after David Coffin's house was set on fire.
00:27:31
>> All right. [music] >> Scott Davis is finally standing trial for murder. >> I'm innocent and I feel very confident
00:27:39
that I will be acquitted. >> Do you believe [music] him? >> Absolutely. >> At his side, Christine Bradley, a
00:27:45
parillegal on his team whom he has been dating. [music] >> I didn't think this would ever go to
00:27:49
trial. >> Just bring in the jury. I wasn't going to give up. >> [music] >> David Coffin Senior's persistence has
00:27:56
paid off. >> I was [music] in it for a life. >> Sometimes to do the right thing, you
00:28:01
just have to take a chance. >> Prosecutor Sheila Ross knows there is no physical evidence.
00:28:07
>> He did not commit these crimes. >> And defense attorney Bruce Morris wastes no time pointing that out.
00:28:13
>> There is no DNA evidence. There is no blood evidence. >> Most of that burned in the fire. And
00:28:21
virtually all the evidence that was collected, more than 40 items, has been lost or discarded by the state. Only
00:28:29
photographs remain. And you believe that any one of these items, had you had access to them, could have exonerated
00:28:36
Scott? >> Certainly could have helped us with leads. Yes. >> But Ross contends [music] she can prove
00:28:42
that Scott Davis had a motive to kill. >> He was a competitive man who wasn't going to lose his wife to the likes of
00:28:49
David [music] Coffin. and he targeted the competition. He hunted his competition. He stalked his competition
00:28:56
and he ultimately killed him. >> Ross called Scott's former wife to the stand. >> Do you recognize the person in states
00:29:05
exhibit 4? >> That's tough. You know, >> Megan Lee, the woman Scott once so doggedly pursued, [music] has
00:29:14
voluntarily flown in from Australia. I didn't feel like I could breathe when [music] I first got up there.
00:29:19
>> Is that the person that you were dating? >> It was. Yes. >> How important is Megan to this case?
00:29:25
>> Megan is is the motive? I think the case would have been very difficult without
00:29:30
her. >> Sorry. >> Over the course of three grueling days, Negan testifies about her failed
00:29:38
marriage. >> The minute we got married, he wanted nothing to do with me. I felt very alone
00:29:43
in my marriage. Megan, please pick up the phone. I need to talk to you about this stuff.
00:29:48
>> She listens to Scott's messages, pleading for her to come home. >> Megan, please. Please. You're killing
00:29:56
me. Please for me. >> And tells jurors about Scott's fixation with the new man in her life.
00:30:02
>> He kept on saying, "I know David's there. I know David's there." >> And was David there?
00:30:07
>> Yes, he was. Perhaps most important to the state's case, Megan contends that when she told Scott about the fire at
00:30:15
David's house, Scott said something very incriminating. >> He said, "Oh my god, the police are here
00:30:23
with me and they said they had just come from a scene in Buckhead where a guy had
00:30:28
been shot in the head and his house had been burned down." >> David Coffin had been shot in the head.
00:30:35
That comment Scott allegedly made is key to the case because at the time, police
00:30:41
didn't even know how David had died. So, the question is, did Scott slip up and say something only the killer could have
00:30:49
known? >> Are you 100% certain that it was Scott who told you? >> 100% certain. >> Remember, Scott said it was Megan who
00:30:58
told him about the shooting. >> If Megan knew first, how do you think Megan knew that information? I don't
00:31:05
know is the answer. >> Megan admits that initially she told police she didn't know how David died.
00:31:11
And all the horror she says she forgot, but she now remembers she told friends about the shooting after talking with
00:31:19
Scott. >> You did not tell Scott. >> No. >> That David Coffin had been shot in the
00:31:24
head. >> No. >> Do you think Megan is lying? >> I think Megan said it. Whether she was
00:31:30
hysterical and doesn't remember it or is lying about it, I don't know. >> Ross says the real liar is Scott Davis.
00:31:38
[music] >> He did himself in. >> He did himself in, she says, [music] by spinning an elaborate tale about being a
00:31:46
victim. >> Like he's being haunted by the ghost of [music] David Coffin. And he started
00:31:50
realizing all the mistakes that he may have made in perpetrating the crime. And then he impulsively tries to cover up
00:31:57
what he had done. [music] It was as if he was coming by us with a flashing sign saying, "Follow me."
00:32:01
>> Police testify they found nothing to corroborate Scott's [music] story. No evidence that someone took a shot at
00:32:08
him. >> Nothing that indicated a shell casing from a handgun. >> No signs that Scott had shot an asalent,
00:32:15
despite his claims that he shot at someone five times in his small backyard. >> Getting shot with a shotgun's fairly
00:32:22
traumatic, so it should have left some indication if he had been hit and we didn't locate anything like that. Ross
00:32:27
says [music] Scott kept digging himself a deeper hole. >> It's his impulsiveness that did him in
00:32:32
because he's always trying to outthink the police. He's [music] trying to outthink everybody, outsmart everybody.
00:32:37
>> Good morning. >> She says Scott even tried to enlist a friend to provide a false alibi.
00:32:43
>> He said, "Let's get our story straight." >> Instead, that friend turned on Scott and
00:32:48
called the authorities. >> It is the cover up that gets him in the end. But Christine Bradley insists there
00:32:55
was nothing to cover up. >> I was sitting next to an innocent man. Was that difficult for you during the
00:33:00
trial dating someone who's accused of murder? >> Stressful, certainly. >> Mhm. Um,
00:33:08
never worked so hard in my life. >> All right, let's bring in the jury. >> When [music] the defense lays out its
00:33:14
case, >> you swore in front of testimony. >> Dr. Davis takes the stand. [music] He tells jurors about the toll the
00:33:20
accusations first took on his son 10 years ago. >> He sounded panicked and terrorized. I'd
00:33:26
never ever heard him like that before. It was consistent with just being accused of a crime that he did not
00:33:35
commit. >> When did you see Scott next? >> Davis also provides his son an alibi for
00:33:42
Saturday evening. Around the same time the state believes David's [music] house was ransacked.
00:33:48
>> Came over to my house. It was about 6:30. I was I remember I was watching the news.
00:33:54
>> That takes prosecutor Kelly Hill by surprise. >> The first time you've ever told anyone
00:33:59
in law enforcement that your son was at your home on Saturday, December 7th is as you sit here today before this jury.
00:34:07
Isn't that correct, Dr. Davis? >> Correct. >> Do you think Dr. Davis was lying? I
00:34:12
think he was. Yeah, >> but the state [music] cannot dismiss the fact that David's stolen Porsche was
00:34:18
found burning around the time Scott had a meeting at work. >> Scott Davis may not have lit the actual
00:34:25
match to the Porsche. >> Do you today believe it's possible that somebody else helped him?
00:34:31
>> I absolutely believe that it is possible that somebody else helped him. Yes. [music]
00:34:37
After nearly six weeks in court, >> he killed his competition >> and [music] more than 60 witnesses.
00:34:45
>> Where is the evidence? >> The trial ends without [music] Scott taking the stand.
00:34:52
>> I watched him like a hawk. Just like a hawk. >> Did he ever make eye contact with you?
00:34:58
>> Yeah, I could stare him down any day. >> With the case in the jury's hands, there
00:35:03
is a lot at stake for Scott Davis. [music] In your mind, it's absolutely not possible that he had anything to do with
00:35:09
this? >> Absolutely not possible. >> There's a lot at stake [music] for Christine Bradley, too.
00:35:15
>> Are you in love with Scott? >> Yes, very much so. [music] >> Is he in love with you?
00:35:19
>> Yes, very much so. [music] >> [music] >> After testifying at Scott Davis's murder
00:35:40
trial, [music] Megan Lee has flown home to Australia. But [music] she is still thinking about
00:35:46
David Coffin. [music] He was the most down to earth, unpretentious guy you can imagine.
00:35:56
>> [music] >> He had a great laugh and a wickedly good sense [music] of humor. >> David's father is glad he finally got to
00:36:07
meet the woman [music] his son was once so taken with. >> I told her, I said, "I I think it's
00:36:13
wonderful of you to come all the way to do this, to set yourself up for a difficult time." And she said, "I felt I
00:36:23
had to do it for the Coffin family." It shows a lot of guts. I obviously saw [music] what David saw
00:36:31
in there. >> As the jury deliberates, Scott's girlfriend, defense team parillegal
00:36:41
Christine Bradley, waits anxiously. >> How was Scott feeling going into deliberations?
00:36:47
>> Helpless. Nervous? Of course. Hours turn into days. Then court recesses for the weekend with
00:36:58
no verdict. Scott and Christine relieve some tension by watching his old high school play
00:37:05
football. >> No way. [screaming and cheering] >> The following Monday, after nearly 4
00:37:16
days of deliberations, >> okay, I understand we have a verdict. Scott and Christine will soon find out
00:37:22
they'll be able to leave the courtroom together. >> We can bring in the jury. >> Defendant, please rise.
00:37:31
>> Prosecutor Sheila Ross warns the Coffin family that there are no guarantees. >> I told them to expect anything.
00:37:41
>> Your honor, on this uh 4th day of December, 2006 >> that anything is possible. State of
00:37:47
Georgia versus Scott Winfield Davis >> and just brace for impact. >> We the jury find Scott Davis guilty.
00:37:59
>> It is a bittersweet victory for David's father. >> When you heard the words [music] guilty.
00:38:05
>> I just broke up. >> Was that the first time in 10 [music] years? >> First time.
00:38:11
>> But for Scott's parents, it is a devastating blow. When the jury walked in the room, I could tell by the [music]
00:38:18
look on their faces they none of them, not one jury person looked at us and my heart sank.
00:38:27
Couldn't believe it. [music] >> Christine can't believe it either. I was absolutely not prepared for a
00:38:49
guilty verdict. >> While Christine faces an uncertain future, Megan is finally able to come to terms
00:39:00
[music] with her past. >> I just felt like, oh my god, I'm not scared anymore. And I don't think I was truly sort of
00:39:10
recognizing how scared I was until they said, "We find Scott Davis guilty." >> At the sentencing, David's brother, Bob,
00:39:24
speaks for the Coffin family. >> Thank you, your honor. Ladies and gentlemen, David Coffin Jr. was
00:39:30
burglarized, shot in the head, and had his body burned at the hands of a coward.
00:39:36
So then was it worth all of the agony and the conversations and the pushing and the proddding?
00:39:41
>> At the end of the day, you bet. Justice served. >> The sentence is mandatory.
00:39:47
>> Okay, Mr. Davis, if you'll please rise. You've been found guilty of [clears throat] the crime charged and I
00:39:52
sentence you to life in prison. >> But just before he is led away, Scott Davis addresses the court for the first
00:39:59
time. Your honor, I have nothing but sympathy and I feel nothing but empathy for the
00:40:07
Coffin family and their loss. However, I've maintained my innocence throughout this and I still maintain my
00:40:14
innocence. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Davis. This will stand. >> After his conviction, Scott asked his
00:40:23
girlfriend to read a letter he had written to 48 hours. I can't explain in words the horrible feeling of being
00:40:29
sentenced to life in prison for a crime you didn't commit. I with my family, friends, and attorneys will fight with
00:40:37
all my strength and courage to regain my deserved freedom. Until then, I will not
00:40:42
rest. >> How long do you think you'll stay together under these conditions? >> I'm not going anywhere.
00:40:52
>> But she may be waiting a long time. David's father is determined to keep Scott right where he is.
00:40:59
>> Should he be in prison for life? >> Yeah, at the least. Yes. This is the last picture that was taken of David.
00:41:08
And that was 2 weeks before he passed away. [music] >> It was on that fateful weekend that his
00:41:15
son told him about the new woman in his life, Megan Lee. He said to his father about [music] you,
00:41:24
"This might be the real deal." How do you feel [music] about that? When he died, we never had a first
00:41:34
fight. We never had a disagreement. So, he [music] died the perfect man. >> [music]
00:42:01
[music] [music] [music]