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[Music] where's the victim who's shoted who is shocked where's the victim on April 20th 2022 my life
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changed forever so we've got Ms coming right now I was shot at Point Blank Range two times right here right here
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this is the victim right here first name Nikki gunshot one to the next all right
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it's a miracle she's alive it's a miracle she wasn't killed you breathing okay okay all right someone wanted me
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dead honestly it was a normal day I had worked the night before I worked the overnight
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shift I'm a forensic scientist for the Minneapolis Police [Music] Department after getting my child to
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school I slept I picked him up from school and then he had a visit with his father that
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night what would you do while he's visiting with his dad so I typically would run errands go grocery shopping or
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do the things that were easier to do without my child when it's time for her to pick up
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her son she steps out of her car and starts walking like dozens of other times that she's done this I'm halfway
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in between my vehicle and the door and this person comes running up from behind me shots were being fired I felt to the
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ground and the shooter stands over me and continues to try to shoot I felt my neck and then could see the
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blood I was just driving home and I saw a person run up to another person and then I heard two bangs and that other
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person collapsed it made maybe looked like a robbery or something there was so fast
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that was the first thought this must have been a robbery that was gone wrong was this a driveby mistaken identity or
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she mugged maybe something related to work you do work for the police department did you think it might have
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something to do with work you know I know a lot of people ask me that I knew that this could happen but I didn't want
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to believe it would whoever did that knows she was coming to pick up her kid did you
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recognize the as salent I didn't could you tell the gender was it male or female so I thought it was male
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I was very sure it was a female shooter what is going on who could have done this
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[Music] [Music] was coming up and I saw the two people and then all of a sudden I heard bang
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bang as Emily Clancy later told police she couldn't quite believe what she saw and heard on the evening of April 20th
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2022 as she drove home from having dinner with a friend I stopped right here at this intersection as soon as the
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light turned green Emily sped through the intersection and pulled up next to the victim I opened the door I said are
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you okay and she said no I've been shot Nicole Nikki lenway Ford was shot and bleeding in the parking lot of
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family wives a Parenting Center the 33-year-old was no stranger to violence she worked as a forensic scientist for
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the Minneapolis Police Department and right after being shot shot she called 911 911 what is the address of the
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emergency she's barely breathing could barely say any words other than her name and I said get in the
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car Emily took over the 911 call I could see that there was blood coming out of her neck and followed the dispatcher's
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instructions they said put a jacket or something around her neck and I said yeah I have one right here within minute
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First Responders arrived were you the one I called where's the victim the dramatic scene was captured on police
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body cameras Oh my God oh my God what's going on she was scared really scared got pressure in the neck she's got shot
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in the arm as well she was in a lot of pain she was having a hard time breathing I just looked her in the eyes
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and I said Nikki we got this you got this just stay with me I don't think we can ever recreate
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how powerful of a moment that was I just wanted her to know that she wasn't alone
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in this and if that was the only thing I could give to this poor girl like that that would mean something to
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me okay all right dear can you walk we're going to get outside we're going to go into the ambulance bring you to
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the hospital all right one of the most surprising things about the video is that you had to walk to to the
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ambulance I couldn't believe it were you aware of how badly injured you were I don't think so I think I was in shock
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maybe I didn't realize how bad it was try not to move your head left or right okay Nicole was loaded into the
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ambulance and soon lost Consciousness breaking news tonight a woman is in the hospital after the news
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spread quickly that a Minneapolis Police employee had been shot But Nicole's then
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boyfriend MPD officer Donovan Ford was at home what is it like to get that phone call that the woman you love has
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just been shot I had no words I went flying down to the hospital I was panic when Donovan arrived at the
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henpen County Medical Center he wasn't prepared for what he saw she was basically unconscious she
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had tubes down her throat and all that when you did finally get to talk to a doctor what did they tell you she's in
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bad shape we're going to do our best to you know save her life essentially Nicole had a perforated lung
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severe damage to her vocal cords and a bullet lodged between two of her ribs she was in critical condition I'm in law
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enforcement so when they say critical that means essentially they're close to the end and where she was shot typically
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people don't survive I was praying a lot as doctors rushed to save Nicole outside the familywise Parenting Center
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her colleagues at the police department got to work can you throw up some tape we've got casings right over here on the
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ground they found three discharg bullet casings and blood they quickly learned that Nicole
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had been it familywise to pick up her son who was on a scheduled visit with his father her ex Tim
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Amer officers caught up with Tim as he was finishing up his visit with their 5-year-old son Callahan he had been at
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the center for hours and then You' been in the back with your son in the community Tim Amer was
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well-liked and a respect local Taekwondo instructor Tim seemed worried about Nicole is she okay she going to be fine
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I mean she's stable right now but it's really serious Andy had an idea about what may have happened he thought it had
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something to do with a case she worked she was afraid cuz she thought people were driving by her house she changed
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her last name to her middle name she shut down her social media she had Drive buys of Minneapolis coming through her
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house all the time she had me bring over um my my shotgun to her house she was she was in
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fear but police didn't find any obvious connections to Nicole's cases they searched Tim's Jeep and asked
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if he owned any other cars this is your only time no no I have a do Challenger too and then let him
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go police continue to look for evidence canvasing the building and surrounding area searching for security footage and
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discovered the cameras from familywise a bank across the street and an elementary
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school around the corner had captured every second the first images are Nicole arriving to pick up her son then someone
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dressed all in black running her down from behind the moment the shots were fired the shooter fleeing on foot and
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then driving off in a black Dodge Ram truck but the truck had no license plates and
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police couldn't tell who was driving the next day Nicole regained Consciousness and she told police that
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she was sure she knew who was responsible I just knew it had something to do with him I just knew well of
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course I'm going to be the first guy you guys look at I didn't know how he was involved but he was
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involved what would you do if you saw a stranger being shot on the street chat now with the 48 Hours team on
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X Taekwondo the tenants of the Korean martial art include courtesy self-control Integrity the most skilled like Tim Amer
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are called Master Nicole would come to believe that Tim was somehow involved in her shooting
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but in the world of Taekwondo he was a very good instructor Pat and Claire Zelmer were
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part of amer's tight group of friends and also familiar with his world taekwon doe Academy people would definitely
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refer to him as Master Amer within the within his school but they would also if they were still students and they were
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friendly outside of the school it would he was still Master Amer people gravitated to Amer his
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physical skill business savvy easy confidence a leader who seemed to have it all figured out he's charismatic
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driven intense he can draw people in and make them feel this connection with him and his reputation continued after
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dark the mayor of nighti here I would say that's a fair assessment very much so very much so Charlie detlof knew Tim
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well before he met Nicole and witnessed firsthand the power of Tim's personality
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so I moved back here in about 2001 and was Tim Amer already living next door he was he was living next door but his
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mother own Tim was a helpful neighbor with a style and appeal you couldn't miss he loved fashion loved the right
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jeans and the right shirt and the right boot and always had to be the best was he a good friend to you yeah he was a
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great friend and where was Tim Living Tim's bedroom was in the back corner here and according to Charlie there was
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a waiting list of women who wanted into amer's bedroom coming and going yeah they would pull up right here the front
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light here was um purple and if that light was on then the women knew that they could go in are you serious I'm not
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kidding it was almost like the you know the red light district juggling a lot of
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women at once yes of course cuz it seemed like there was a different girl every night what did women see in him I don't
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know cuz I didn't see it but many other women seem to see much in Tim Amer how did you meet Tim I met Tim by going to
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his gym and when did you start dating shortly after Nicole was responsible and grounded Tim's close friends quickly
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understood the attraction there was something special about her she's smart she's pretty she's outgoing she's got it
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all at first I actually really wasn't interested but he was was very persistent you know he just kind of wore
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me down and I kind of I started enjoying our time together and he was older right
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he had experienced more life than me and it was exciting they moved in together in early
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2014 but friends say Tim still wasn't faithful did you try to warn her about Tim and his women about his womanizing
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yes absolutely there were a lot of red flags a lot of jealousy yes they fought constantly it was almost
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like a Perpetual argument verging on a fight did you ever see him violent or hurtful toward her I did not no but
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Nicole would tell investigators Amer was violent I mean one night he threw me up
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against the wall holding my neck why did you stay even as long as you did I asked myself that all all the time
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I don't know I think I felt trapped and you know he just got into my brain so badly she says that on a trip to Las
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Vegas an angry alcohol fueled Tim threw a lamp across the room it was terrifying
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I locked myself in the bathroom September 2015 Nicole then 26 years old had more
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than enough but she says now that breaking away from Tim was anything but easy I packed my bags and I started
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walking out and he pulled me back into the house by my ponytail and dragged me into the bedroom and after that I was
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like I am done Nicole moved out and an 18-year-old student of Tim's moved in running out one of his rooms her name
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Colleen Lar seemed absolutely lovely nice girl I think she's very smart um probably book
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smart at Street Smart Colina begun studying with Amaker when she was barely a teenager Tim's friends say she seemed
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infatuated with him he's her instructor he's her her master you know for 10 plus
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years at this point it just seemed like she was like this little puppy dog wanting to impress him like a child and
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an adult in that respect yes they say Colleen seemed delighted to be living with a man she had idolized since she
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was young as for Nicole she hoped to have no further contact with Tim but very soon
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they all got some unexpected news I found out I was pregnant and he wanted me to get rid of the baby and I just
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told him I couldn't and I was in a state of panic investigation are you okay right now I'm going to ask you
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if I can search you for weapons real quick okay for weapons y detectives needed to know all about Nicole's
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relationship with her son's father Tim Amer I have weapons here there's a shooting
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happened down here has nothing to do with me the investigation would track a trail that led back to the fall of
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2015 when Nicole first learned she was pregnant with a taekwan doe Master she alleged had abused her it just got more
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and more volatile we were so excited for them to be having a baby that's a momentous and a a happy thing to normal
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people but the only thing normal was the irrepressible Joy of a new mother she named him
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Callahan he was born on June 20th of 2016 he was a big boy and he was perfect and then she gave him the last
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name vomer Nicole was the primary caregiver but sometimes Cal stayed with his dad did you feel that Co parenting
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was working I felt like it could but he wasn't always reliable says Nicole when she needed him most Tim was halfway
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around the world Tim went to Thailand and totally bailed on Christmas and New Year's Tim may not have been a Hands-On
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dad but someone else was ready to step in calling Larson his longtime Taekwondo student who was renting that room in
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Tim's house she was very kind to Callahan she was a good caregiver to him and with unpredictable hours with the
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Minneapolis Police Department the arrangement seemed to work for Nicole my son really seemed to like her when the
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once young Taekwondo student turned 18 her relationship with Tim Amer quietly changed according to
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Charlie did you get the sense he was in love with Colleen no not at all I think she was very much in love with him
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Charlie says Tim called the relationship easy she would call him Master call him
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the house yep Master Amer and ultimately kind of became you know like a maid or a servant
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to him then in the summer of 2017 Nicole's life took a dramatic turn do you remember when you first met
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Nicole absolutely it was the kind of love at first sight that only a cop on the beat
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could have first time I ever saw her was on a burglary call I definitely took notice at that point why she's
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gorgeous and to Donovan Ford intriguing she processed the scene so she was a member of the real CSI oh yeah he knew
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that I was a single mom and he was divorced when I just mentioned his name you lit up why is that he is truly the
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love of my life he has been the biggest blessing to myself and my son and he's been through a lot with you hasn't he he
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has Nicole's already difficult relationship with Tim only got worse when Tim discovered she was dating
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Donovan who was fast becoming part of Callahan's life did the way he dealt with Cal change
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after you started dating Donovan it did he wanted him all the time and Tim didn't want Donovan around his son he
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accused Donovan of saying negative things about Colleen then Tim called Donovan and left this angry message man
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up for once in your life and quit hiding behind your badge and then I started getting text messages like this one
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where Tim claimed Donovan was destroying his family it ignited what can only be called a war
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that would grow treacherous and it wouldn't be a short one how would you describe the last six years it has been
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chaos Nicole claims Tim tried to destroy her like I'm going to take everything from you did you believe him I did the
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Black belt's new weapon of choice was the legal system it was the Relentless number motions before the
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court he reported Nicole to Child Protection Services multiple times accusing her and Donovan of physical and
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sexual abuse children services show up at your house yes I had them in and out of my home for 3 years Tim filed for
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custody of Cal and Nicole filed for an order of protection from Tim not a single one of the allegations against
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Nicole or Donovan was found to have substance did you see anything that concerned you or made you think that Cal
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had been abused no nothing no he was a well-loved child but Tim didn't stop there he also filed complaints to the
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police department about Donovan you were investigated then and what was the finding nothing happened it contined yep
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allegation after allegation and then in May of 2018 Amer alleged Nicole ran over his foot
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with her car I was charged with domestic assault the proud crime scene investigator was now a humiliated
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defendant I never thought I would be at the defense table how long was the jury out on that less than 15 minutes I was
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found not guilty but the battle for Callahan raged on and the child got caught in the middle you could tell he
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was very conflicted Callahan was a pawn it wasn't about Callahan or Callahan's wellbeing it was about inflicting the
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maximum amount of damage on Nikki in the fall of 2020 the trial for custody of Callahan began when it was
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over the judge awarded Nicole sole legal and physical custody Tim was allowed just one supervised visit a
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week Tim ier once a champion was now boxed into a corner he was allowed no contact alone with his son and cops
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thought that might be a motive for him wanting Nicole dead I've been here the whole time I don't know what happened
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out there police would hone in on the crime scene remember that black Dodge Ram truck that the shooter drove off
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in turns out Tim had lied to the cops he owned a truck just like [Music] [Music]
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it a good homicide detective will tell you it's just good to know what vehicles anybody owns whether they're a witness
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whether they're a suspect whether they're a victim because people use their vehicles and that's how you can
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figure out things that's how you can pursue leads on the night of Nicole's shooting assistant henpen County
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attorneys Patrick Lofton and Jacob Fishman say that police were determined to find out who was driving that black
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Dodge truck a black Dodge Ram is a very very common car and authorities had asked him what he owned wait what do you
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mean this is your only car no no I have a do Challenger too a Dodge Challenger sedan and this
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Jeep but it turned out that Tim did have another vehicle a black Dodge Ram truck
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that looked a lot like the one seen leaving the area after the shooting that raised the alarm bells for the
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Minneapolis Police Department this is a picture right here police called Tim in for a second interview that's not my
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truck they showed him stills of the truck from that video seemingly unruffled he insisted that it wasn't his
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those pictures were not pictures of my truck Tim claimed his truck unlike the one in the video had a license plate and
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Superman decal stickers near both front doors where is a Superman logo Case Closed Superman logo is not in
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the truck couldn't have been me I've been here the whole time I don't know what happened out there I'm not what's
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more he had an alibi he was inside the familywise center when Nicole was shot so even if it was his truck he couldn't
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be The Driver who else has access to the truck uh colen has access to it Callen Larson Tim's former Taekwondo student
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she the only one um to my knowledge to police the pieces of the puzzle were coming together Nicole had said she
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thought the shooter was a woman let me ask you this is there any reason why Colleen would want to shoot Nicole oh
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hell no she wasn't hurt anybody Tim insisted Colleen was incapable of violence and Colleen who was also
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brought in for questioning insisted she was nowhere near familywise that night she said that she came home from work as
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usual went inside took a shower and was there until Tim got home but police didn't believe either one of them and
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turned to FBI special agent Richard fener a technology specialist he discovered that Tim's Truck had Wi-Fi
00:27:32
and like a cell phone creates a digital Trail we could track it much like we could at the cell phone vener wanted to
00:27:39
know everywhere Tim and colim went the day of the shooting there's cell phones and the black Dodge truck left plenty of
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digital breadcrumbs with phones with cars whatever you have they're going to tell
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you the truth their records always tell you the truth on the the afternoon of the
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shooting Tim and Colleen were both at the Taekwondo Studio around 400 p.m. Tim left to go to familywise for the visit
00:28:08
with his son he was driving the jeep later Colleen left the studio in the black truck to go home how can you tell
00:28:17
that that's from the cell phone records so not only the truck but her cell phone
00:28:22
correct just after 700 p.m. fener says the black truck left the couple's residence and headed straight to
00:28:31
familywise now we see that person who is walking right here that is Colleen Larson Colleen Larson did leave her
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house and detectives placed her directly at the scene she appears to be walking around essentially scoping out the area
00:28:49
I believe that she is planning her next steps a rid of the couple's house yielded more evidence bullet casings
00:28:59
matching the ones found at the crime scene on April 28th 2022 Colleen lson was arrested she was
00:29:10
charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder but was Tim involved agent fenard suspected that Tim
00:29:22
had deliberately altered his truck's appearance to throw cops off his path he he discovered that several hours before
00:29:30
the shooting Tim had driven the black truck to a drive-thru at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken and we pull
00:29:37
surveillance video there's that same truck without the decal without the license plate for police it was enough
00:29:45
Tim Amer was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder and aiding an accomplice after
00:29:55
the fact when you do something to to significantly further or assist in a crime you are just as culpable as the
00:30:03
person that actually pulls the trigger Nicole was not surprised to hear that Tim had been arrested but she was
00:30:10
shocked to find out about Colleen why would she shoot you I don't know this time when Colleen was
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questioned by police she broke down and confessed to shooting Nicole the TRU and she says Tim was behind it whose
00:30:36
idea was it to to shoot the [Music] call so he asked you if you felt if you feel comfortable would you shoot Nicole
00:30:50
from you yes yes she said she believed Tim's story that Nicole was abusing Callahan
00:30:59
he was doing bad things to the child and I wanted to help the little man after the shooting she told police
00:31:07
Tim disposed of the gun he just said he would take care of it he just said he would take care of it so you have no
00:31:14
idea what he did with the gun not exactly know still Tim continued to deny any involvement Timothy Amer and
00:31:27
Colleen Larson are charged with attempted murder on November 3rd 2022 Tim amer's trial began there were no
00:31:36
cameras in the courtroom prosecutors knew that they had to show the jury that Nicole wasn't
00:31:43
abusing her son and that it was Tim who had been victimizing her for a long time
00:31:51
what happened behind the scenes wasn't just this couple seconds of horror that Nicole had to suffer at familywise it
00:31:59
was 10 years of hell that he put her through Tim and his lawyers refused our request for an interview but 48 Hours
00:32:08
consultant and defense attorney Matthew troyano reviewed their case for us there's obviously no direct evidence of
00:32:16
Tim's guilt zero he has a rock solid Alibi about where he was at the time that this happened according to Triano
00:32:26
prosecutors needed to build their by focusing on Tim's lies and his past treatment of Nicole because there was no
00:32:34
smoking gun that directly tied Tim to the shooting there is circumstantial evidence the truck the lies those are
00:32:43
all kind of circumstantial pieces that tie back to him but there is no direct evidence of him specifically buying or
00:32:53
doing or having something that led to this act the defense called No witnesses to the
00:33:02
stand Triano thinks they were betting the prosecution just hadn't made its case where's the proof where's the
00:33:11
evidence as the jury went out to deliberate prosecutors were concerned of course we were very worried there's a
00:33:20
chance this guy is going to walk absolutely how nervous were you really nervous do you believe Colleen Larson acted on
00:33:34
her own see more evidence from the case at 48 [Music] hours.com those sacred tenants of
00:33:48
taekwan doe self-control Integrity could the master win this battle the jury took an hour to
00:34:00
decide he was found guilty guilty on all accounts Tim Amer guilty of premeditated
00:34:08
attempted murder and aiding his accomplice Colleen Larson and how did you both feel about that relieved joyous
00:34:18
and justice for Nikki I almost didn't believe it finally we had some type of closure at sentencing Nicole wanted
00:34:29
judge Shireen askalani to hear all she endured to protect her the judge kept most of Nicole's statement off camera
00:34:39
you're breathing okay okay but the memories of that point blank moment will clearly never be forgotten I can still
00:34:47
feel the burning sensation and the utter fear of not being able to speak or to help
00:34:53
myself I truly thought I was dying that day even though I feel like the truth is
00:35:00
starting to come to light I still live in fear Amer who' refused to testify at his
00:35:07
trial now decided to speak the court allowed his plea for leniency to be heard and filmed it is no secret how
00:35:17
broken this system is the main message that I felt called here to say goes as this for all who are led by
00:35:26
the spirit of God are sons of God but with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human
00:35:36
Court how would you describe his statement erratic blaming everybody else he was the victim and this happened to
00:35:45
him did he show any kind of remorse no judge osani had no patience for Amer and his claims that Nicole had been abusive
00:35:58
it appears that you have been promoting this false narrative about Miss Ford for
00:36:02
so long that you may actually believe it at this time then she sentenced him to 18 years in
00:36:11
prison Just 4 days later Colleen Larson pleaded guilty at her sentencing hearing rather
00:36:19
than speak for herself Colleen had her attorney read a statement she took full responsibility for all that had happened
00:36:30
your honor I stand before you with the utmost respect for the decision to come I accept all the consequences for my
00:36:36
actions I understand and want to atone for what I have done a simple apology cannot cover the long-term damages that
00:36:43
I have caused anything additional from you at this time no your honor Colleen's got a killer in her she did it there's
00:36:51
no no question that she had the capacity colen was sentenced to 16 and 1 12 years for doing what prosecutors say
00:37:02
was amer's bidding I think she wanted his approval and his love so badly that she would do anything and she was in
00:37:11
this delusional fantasy land where she thinks you know if I wasn't around that they could run off into the sunset with
00:37:19
Callahan and be a happy little family but how does somebody convince an another person son who's never committed
00:37:29
a crime to shoot someone it's wild I love the answers to that because that's where we're stuck to attorney Matt trian
00:37:40
wonders if Amer has been controlling Colleen for years why would she do this it's the fact that she had known this
00:37:49
person since she's 12 years old they had been in this kind of dominant subservient relationship where he's the
00:37:57
master she's the student he is the boss this woman who once dated Amer doesn't want to be named or have her
00:38:06
face shown but she says she knows firsthand the hold Amer can have on the women in his life yes it was a high when
00:38:15
I was around him and that you wanted to do whatever you could to hang on to that
00:38:20
high yes she says she was once under amer's spell but it's certain she would never kill for him still she sees some
00:38:30
of herself in coling lson and I feel like that was me yep I definitely feel like I was willing to do
00:38:39
whatever I could to make him approve of me and want to be with me with good behavior Tim Amer could be out of prison
00:38:47
by 2034 do you think you'll ever feel truly safe again no you'll always have to be looking over
00:38:57
your shoulder I think so it all still haunts Donovan the shots fired the woman he loves fighting for
00:39:09
her life do you still see that in your head absolutely oh yeah still fear that you
00:39:16
could lose her yeah mhm all the time yet alongside the destru there are miracles in this
00:39:31
story to see you too almost exactly a year I know and he look so well thank you you been feeling we asked for this
00:39:39
one-of-a-kind reunion Emily Clancy who raced to help a stranger saving Nicole's life we are expecting a
00:39:50
baby you I'm so happy for you thank you Donovan and Nicole now husband and wife wife had just gotten the good news and I
00:40:01
was like are you serious and she's like yep and then we're just hugging and happy as for the child Nicole had with
00:40:10
Tim Amer how old is Callahan now he's six does he know that his Dad tried to kill you he does
00:40:25
now and how did he take that better than I thought he would he's come out amazing that's a miracle too
00:40:35
just him being able to deal with all the stuff he's been through and still be the
00:40:40
kid he is thank you [Music] thank CBS next Saturday 48 Hours brings you backtack episodes all summer long
00:40:55
next week serial killings he went to Great Lengths to conceal these bodies it just want answers 48 Hours Crime Time
00:41:04
double feature next Saturday 98 Central on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus [Music]
00:41:28
I'm anarie green welcome to 48 hours postor I'm joined today by longtime correspondent Aaron morard to discuss
00:41:36
her latest episode who wanted Nikki lenway dead hi Aaron thank you so much for joining us again oh I wanted to be
00:41:43
here this is a particularly great case and there are always things that we can't include in the hours so we can
00:41:49
talk about it here well I always have questions what about this case stood out to you what Drew you to it well first
00:41:56
thing we have a thir 33-year-old victim and she survives I mean we don't have that very often in at 48 hours but in
00:42:05
many ways she was an unusual victim she was actually a member of the Minneapolis
00:42:09
Police Department and because of that that raised all kinds of possibilities this is a woman who was shot point blank
00:42:18
and the big question was was this a robbery that went wrong or was this connected to work I mean there were so
00:42:25
many possibilities oh and you know the legal issues were great so that's what made this show special yeah you don't
00:42:32
often get an opportunity quite frankly to talk to the victim I mean she survived this which is remarkable um I
00:42:39
want to get to you know who investigators initially thought was behind this but first I want to play a
00:42:44
quick recap of the episode on April 20th 2022 Emily Clancy was driving home from
00:42:50
dinner with friends when something across the street caught her attention I saw a person run up to another person
00:42:58
and then I heard two bangs and that other person collapsed Emily sped through the intersection and pulled up
00:43:06
next to the victim I opened the door I said are you okay and she said no I've been shot the victim was 33-year-old
00:43:14
Nicole Nikki lenway a crime scene investigator for the Minneapolis Police she was on her way to pick up her
00:43:21
5-year-old son when she was shot she was in a lot of pain she was having a hard timea breathing where's the victim who's
00:43:29
shot Emily did her best to help Nikki until First Responders arrived so we've got EMS coming right now Emily told
00:43:38
police what she thought had happened it maybe looked like a robbery or something
00:43:43
that was so fast take it to the hospital Nikki lost Consciousness but she recovered when you do work for the
00:43:51
police department did you think it might have something to do with work you know
00:43:56
I know a lot of people asked me that I knew that this could happen but I didn't want to believe it
00:44:04
[Music] would so those first critical moments after Nikki was shot Emily Clancy she's
00:44:14
a total stranger she not only she happens to be driving by at the moment that this happens but then she jumps
00:44:20
into action she puts herself in danger a lot of people would not have stopped when I watched this I thought to myself
00:44:28
would I have stopped or would I have kept on going it's remarkable it is um you know people sometimes ask me how can
00:44:36
you do these shows and I often tell them for the heroic people that we meet and we often do and Emily Clancy was one of
00:44:45
those heroic people you know it's so interesting I rode in the car with her she showed me how it all happened and um
00:44:51
she didn't hesitate at all she just pulled up without any thought of her own safy
00:44:57
she then told Nikki to get in the car cuz Nikki was standing there bleeding and at that moment again just
00:45:04
automatically she doesn't think about maybe the shooter is still out there she helps Nikki apply pressure on her neck
00:45:11
Nikki of course was hit in the neck and her vocal cords were damaged so she couldn't talk to the 911 operator so
00:45:18
Emily stepped in and did that um I was struck by how emotional Emily was she was almost more emotional than Nikki
00:45:27
retelling this well you know and you are so right Emory I talked to Nikki a long
00:45:33
time and she had been through hell and she was so calm but when you bring it up with Emily the idea that that Nikki
00:45:44
could have died and it was because Emily stepped up Emily keeps thinking about how close Nikki came to Dy um so she
00:45:52
gets very emotional Emily was actually given a good citizen award following the shooting and that's where Emily and
00:45:59
Nikki initially first met after you know after the first meeting that was kind of
00:46:04
their second meeting but in the hour you include their next reunion it's really really touching um what was that like
00:46:12
well you know if you look in in the background you'll see me and you could see that I'm really moved it was very
00:46:19
very teary um because Nikki also believes she only survived because of Emily's efforts so they have this very
00:46:27
strange Bond um that connects them and Nikki wanted to see her because she had very big news to tell her and tells us
00:46:35
at the same time that she's pregnant so you guys didn't know before no no no no and so that's always again Emory you
00:46:43
know that you work on these shows that you know you always get surprises when you're in the field and spend as much
00:46:49
time as we do with with the people that we interview it it really was very exciting um Nikki she actually works in
00:46:58
a crime lab how does she find herself being the victim of an attempted murder well that was the whole question at the
00:47:08
outset and it really was uh she was an unusual victim so of course there were so many possibilities was this shooting
00:47:16
connected to something some investigation she worked on she's a forensic scientist you know she works
00:47:23
primarily with um fingerprints but was there's something connected to her job and then of course as it is with any
00:47:32
case you have to look at someone close to her was this a personal attack and the early evidence in this case did seem
00:47:39
to indicate that it was very personal so one thing that comes up over and over again um for me when I watch these
00:47:45
episodes is you know you you need like the old school investigative uh knoow but technology plays a huge role too I
00:47:55
don't think you can have one without the other um but in this case surveillance video
00:47:59
really made a big difference um incredibly this is a shooting that was caught on there's Bank surveillance
00:48:05
video that picked up on the shooting uh there were School cameras that showed the shooter actually getting out of this
00:48:11
black truck and then driving away uh we also got to see body camera footage of Nikki right after she was shot which I
00:48:19
was stunned by CU I couldn't even tells she was shot or that she was injured the
00:48:23
surveillance video even though you couldn't tell who it was did it help investigators sort of narrow
00:48:30
things down oh it did and don't you sometimes Amry when you work on these stories you think why would anybody
00:48:36
commit a crime in this day and age knowing that everything is getting caught on video now I think the shooter
00:48:44
thought that uh this person would be able to outsmart investigators because the shooter is all in black and ha is is
00:48:53
covered and there's a mask but in fact the surveillance video was crucial because you see that person run up uh
00:49:01
that person is targeting Nikki uh that person shoots Nikki once and when Nikki starts getting up shoots again clearly
00:49:08
this was a personal attack and so that's what investigators know then they see the shooter run to a truck you can tell
00:49:15
what kind of truck it's a Dodge Ram truck it does happen to be a very popular vehicle but that certainly
00:49:22
Narrows down um the shooter takes off um but the limitations of video is also apparent in this case because you
00:49:33
couldn't tell the gender uh you could not you could not tell how tall this person is but it certainly did give
00:49:40
investigators a lot of evidence to start off with yeah and then it's not just the
00:49:46
surveillance video but our own devices are tracking Us in ways that you know I think it becomes kind of the fabric of
00:49:55
how we move so we forget that we are being tracked all the time you think if you turn your phone off that's good
00:50:00
enough in this case it didn't turn out to be good enough for Tim so most vehicles that are made after
00:50:07
2022 have Wi-Fi capabilities what that really means is go ahead leave your phone at home thinking you won't be
00:50:15
tracked but as soon as you get in the car you are driving a cell phone that is essentially what you are doing and in
00:50:23
fact Tim amer's uh Dodge Ram truck was a 20 22 and it had Wi-Fi capabilities um and because of that he
00:50:32
left this digital Trail even when he wasn't driving the truck they could identify that black Dodge Ram truck as
00:50:40
his track the route of that truck that led to someone who knew him very well and that is how they made their arrest
00:50:50
so in our last postor you and I talked about Tim bnck who was convicted of murdering his wife Becky you know I mean
00:50:58
that's what the allegation was too for him that he had turned off his phone and so he believed that he couldn't be
00:51:04
tracked just a couple of similarities between the two cases but you know there was all they were separated um Nikki had
00:51:12
started dating somebody new much like Becky had started to date somebody new and there was this really like
00:51:19
contentious um custody battle going on over their son no question and you know you had asked me at the beginning what
00:51:26
was it that Drew me to this case and the biggest thing was uh the issue of domestic violence and this case was the
00:51:35
scariest domestic violence case I have ever covered let's listen to a clip how would you describe the last 6 years it
00:51:44
has been chaos Nicole claims Tim tried to destroy her like I'm going to take everything from you did you believe him
00:51:53
I did the Black belt's new weapon of choice voice was the legal system it was the
00:52:01
Relentless number of motions before the court he reported Nicole to Child Protection Services multiple times
00:52:10
accusing her and Donovan of physical and sexual abuse children services show up at your house yes I had them in and out
00:52:20
of my home for 3 years Tim filed for custody of Cal and Nicole filed for an order of protection from Tim not a
00:52:29
single one of the allegations against Nicole or Donovan was found to have substance so I have to tell you I would
00:52:37
the more I read about it it gave me chills it scared me you know the whole time you're wondering how does she end
00:52:44
up with a guy like that but Tim seemed to have this power over a lot of people in his life so next I want to dig into
00:52:52
Tim and and Colleen's relationship was she manipulated by him to commit coldblooded murder it's it's
00:53:00
such a leap but we're going to dig into that we'll be right [Music] back welcome back uh let's get right
00:53:14
into it aarin do you believe Colleen Larsson acted on her own or do you think Tim manipulated her let's listen to a
00:53:23
clip from the hour when the once Young quando student turned 18 her relationship with Tim Amer
00:53:31
quietly changed according to Charlie did you get the sense he was in love with coli no not at all I think she
00:53:39
was very much in love with him Charlie says Tim called the relationship easy she would call him Master call him the
00:53:47
house yep Master Amer and ultimately kind of became you know like a maid or a servant
00:53:54
to him I know the prosecutors believe that she was completely manipulated by Tim and all of Tim's friends told me the
00:54:03
same thing um it's hard for me to believe that he could actually have so much power over
00:54:11
somebody that he could have her shoot someone in his place um but in fact when you look at calling larsson's background
00:54:21
she didn't know Nikki very well so there would be no reason to want her dead she
00:54:26
had know criminal history but according to the prosecutors Tim you know she did call him Master at home that's still I
00:54:33
can't get over that that Bonkers because you know Colleen had started as a student when she was like Preen almost
00:54:40
and um and called him Master when she was learning Taekwondo and continued to call him Master even when she started
00:54:46
dating him so it that kind of if you look up to someone and he's telling you that Nikki is abusing their son
00:54:57
maybe maybe but certainly um here's this woman with no criminal history and she not just she doesn't just shoot Nikki
00:55:06
once she shoots her twice so something was going on there and of course you know Colleen uh didn't want to talk to
00:55:13
48 Hours uh her family did didn't want to talk either so we don't necessarily know what Drew her to him but you did
00:55:20
get an interview with a woman he had previously dated I want to place some of that sound this woman who once dated
00:55:29
Amer doesn't want to be named or have her face shown but she says she knows firsthand the hold Amer can have on the
00:55:37
women in his life yes it was a high when I was around him and that you wanted to
00:55:44
do whatever you could to hang on to that high yes she says she was once under Amer spell but it's certain she would
00:55:53
never kill for him still she sees some of herself in calling lson and I feel like that was me yep I
00:56:02
definitely feel like I was willing to do whatever I could to make him approve of
00:56:08
me and want to be with me that was so Illuminating listening to her talk and you know you also were able to talk to a
00:56:15
neighbor and the way he's describing him the way you know Tim's got women coming
00:56:20
in and out well everyone you know that was pretty standard men and women both told me that Tim had this amazing
00:56:30
Charisma and power over people now I've got to be honest I didn't get to see it he didn't testify but my favorite detail
00:56:38
Amry I'm sorry was the purple light do you remember the purple lights the purple light was on you could
00:56:46
come on over no I wasn't busy it was I thought you could come over if the purple light
00:56:51
was but Charlie deop I is The Neighbor Next Door who I just I think he was living vicariously through Tim because
00:57:00
Tim had this you know this line of women coming and going and let's be honest Nikki was drawn to him too um so the
00:57:10
line that really struck me was the young woman who dated him who said it was a high to be around him and she didn't
00:57:17
want to get rid of that high that that just stays in my head so you know clearly he has some kind of power that
00:57:26
comes across to people tell us what Tim was like at his sentencing he was talking about how uh he really couldn't
00:57:34
be judged in a a court of law that only God could judge him and no remorse never
00:57:41
talked about never accepting any responsibility never accepting any responsibility for poor Colleen getting
00:57:48
in the middle of this it it's as Nikki had said to me afterwards it was a bit of blaming other people people for the
00:57:56
situation he was in what's interesting Amar is he told everybody that after he was arrested there was new evidence that
00:58:03
was going to come up and it was going to save him but you know it hasn't happened
00:58:08
yet wow um Colleen Did confess to shooting uh Niki pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the first-degree
00:58:15
attempted murder of Niki Tim was charged with attempted first-degree premeditated
00:58:20
murder and aiding an accomplice after the fact this was a tough prosecution yeah we know Colleen was a shooter okay
00:58:28
Colleen confesses and says she was the shooter but the prosecutors have charged him with the exact same charge and we
00:58:37
know he wasn't there we know he was inside the familywise center so basically what prosecutors had to
00:58:44
convince a jur is that Tim had so much power over calling that he was kind of using her as a weapon that she was his
00:58:54
weapon for shooting uh now the the way the law is written if you do enough um to help this happening then you're just
00:59:03
as responsible but as we point out in the hour there was no direct evidence that showed him doesn't show him buying
00:59:10
the gun doesn't show him him putting the gun in her hand yes there were spent shell casings inside his home but the
00:59:17
shooter lived inside his home so the idea of getting the jury to believe that he was involved um and that he used
00:59:27
Colleen to do his dirty work that was tough that was really tough the thing about this Saga is it's likely not over
00:59:35
for Nikki uh Tim was sentenced to 18 years in prison uh Colleen was sentenced to 16 and a half years I don't even know
00:59:42
if that means that they're going to serve the full term but for sure they're going to be out it it doesn't seem like
00:59:50
they got a lot of time is this typical yeah it is uh unfortunately cuz it's attempted murder it would have been very
00:59:57
different um yeah they they got the Mex you know so um what's scary is you know I've done so many stories on stalkers
01:00:07
and that's what this is you know domestic violence um will he you know see the light of day while he's in
01:00:15
prison and feel remorse or will he just kind of do in prison cuz he'll get out he could get out in 12 years you know
01:00:25
it's POS possible um and so Nikki's aware of that um her boyfriend now her husband Donovan Ford is aware of it but
01:00:36
no the legal system can only go so far to protect people that's the problem and we see it all the time yeah you know
01:00:44
sort of the lucky thing for both Nikki and her son is that they both have Donovan and it's sort of remarkable uh
01:00:53
they meet at another crime seen a burglary and he seems just perfect for her oh my God so you know I asked him
01:01:04
you know no offense Donovan but like you just start dating this woman and all of
01:01:08
a sudden her ex starts making your life hell so I finally said to him like why did you stay with her and he just looked
01:01:15
at me he didn't even hesitate and he goes because I love her I was so touched so touched so out of this awful awful
01:01:24
situation this night M relationship Nikki did find true love and a wonderful man um how is Nikki's son doing they say
01:01:35
he's doing great they say he is that he's Nikki did tell him that uh his father tried to kill her he they they
01:01:43
had to along with counseling uh but she says he's doing well right now and they are having another child so you know
01:01:51
hopefully he'll be focused more on school and family and um and get lots of counseling to deal with what is really a
01:02:01
very very tragic situation it really is but um the fact that she survived and is
01:02:08
flourishing um it's one of it's a 148 hours that was inspiring to see her rebuild her life in this way there's
01:02:15
just one other detail I want to share um when you look at Nikki she looks fine you know barely a scar but what you
01:02:23
don't realize is that she was a singer and she was shot in her neck it she had terrible vocal cord damage and she could
01:02:31
no longer sing so you know she still carries uh scars with her it's a really good reminder Erin um another great
01:02:41
postm morom thank you so much it's always great being here and I'll be back with another show I promise I know you
01:02:50
will um so for everyone be sure to join us next Tuesday then for another postmortem and if you're liking the show
01:02:58
please rate and review 48 Hours on Apple podcast you can watch 48 hours on Saturdays 109 Central on CBS and
01:03:06
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01:03:11
podcast you can also listen ad free on the Amazon music and wry app [Music]