00:00:00
[Music] September 13th, 2013, I received the call 3:00 in the morning. I was told that we had a female who had
00:00:18
stated she had been raped and she had shot and killed her rapist. I of course think this is going to
00:00:25
probably be a self-defense case. She's got a rapist off the street. All I thought was, I want to shake her hand.
00:00:33
I'm Summer R. Benton and I am the lead homicide detective on the Victoria Rickman case.
00:00:39
>> I just kept shooting and shooting and shooting. >> Shot him where? >> I shot him all over.
00:00:49
>> Who was the victim? >> The victim was Will Carter Jr. They had been in a relationship. It was off and
00:00:55
on for a number of years. He owned his own business. It was doing very very well. He had his own home.
00:01:03
She she went through some horrible things. This man abused her emotionally, physically, and sexually.
00:01:14
Heartbreaking. She's like the other half of me. Goofy, funny. She's a great mom. just a great
00:01:23
friend to be around. >> As soon as I stepped foot in that back bedroom, I knew we had a problem. There
00:01:30
didn't appear to be any signs of disarray or a fight. Nothing looked like what it should have looked like. And
00:01:37
then when the medical examiner turned him, he had three gunshot wounds to the back. And then a reality TV show came
00:01:44
out. >> Yes. And shocked everybody. No one knew that this was being filmed. And how would you describe this show?
00:01:54
Just filled with lies. >> She's claiming that she was raped. >> She's claiming rape when you haven't
00:02:00
even got on the scene yet to know. You haven't even spoke with her. You don't even know what's happened yet.
00:02:05
>> 4130. Show me 26 on Clifton. There were so many things that were completely false. For some reason, this girl, she's
00:02:11
a tactical reload. >> The fact that she reloaded the gun, that wasn't true. If you guys can get me
00:02:17
every rape case she has ever filed. The fact that she had claimed, you know, that she had been raped by so many men
00:02:23
so many times. It's too big to email. That wasn't true. >> It looks like she was training to kill.
00:02:29
>> Wow. Please give me a break. It just came across as what's going to make a good TV episode. My name is
00:02:38
Amanda Clark Palmer. I represent Victoria Rickman. You knew this was going to happen. We're dealing with an
00:02:44
investigation that wow was done quickly, wasn't done thoroughly. She has no scratches, no bruising.
00:02:51
>> It certainly seems and looks like the TV cameras affected what happened. >> There was no real investigation. I think
00:03:01
she made a lot of things up on camera. >> If she had been raped that night, then
00:03:08
this would have been a justified shooting and I would have written it up as one. But this was not a justified
00:03:14
shooting. This was cold-blooded murder. [Music] [Music] 48 hours. Reality kills.
00:03:54
Atlanta police detective Summer Benton has a name, a job, and some would say an attitude made for television.
00:04:03
>> Tell me about the hat squad. >> The hat squad. Um, we're very proud of our hats. We have summer fedoras. We
00:04:10
have winter fedoras. But you're not allowed to wear a fedora until you've solved your first homicide case.
00:04:16
>> In her 16 years on the job, Detective Benton has been the lead detective on 65
00:04:22
homicide cases. But it was the shooting death of Will Carter Jr. in the early morning hours of September 13, 2013
00:04:32
that put the detective in the spotlight. As Benton investigated, >> this just isn't adding up.
00:04:39
>> Video cameras from that reality show Inside Homicide were rolling. The TV crews were embedded with the Atlanta
00:04:47
Police Department and were following the action that night. The shooter was Victoria Rickman, a 30-year-old divorced
00:04:55
mother. She and Will Carter, also 30, met through mutual friends and dated for three years. They bonded over their
00:05:04
kids. Will had a daughter and Victoria a son who were about the same age. >> He was good around his father and she
00:05:12
admired that about him. They had a lot of things in common. >> Victoria's friend Brittany Morgan says
00:05:17
that at one point Victoria, a marketing consultant, and Will, a local businessman, moved in together and got
00:05:24
engaged. >> She wanted to have a family, be married again, and have that for her and her
00:05:30
son. But the relationship went off the rails. The couple had a lot of arguments and began living apart.
00:05:38
>> It was just back and forth, back and forth, just very toxic. >> And then just after midnight on
00:05:44
September 13th, 2013, Will arrived at the house where she was staying. And Victoria told first
00:05:52
responders he raped her. Victoria admitted shooting Carter with a 40 caliber semi-automatic that was in her
00:05:59
bedroom. I just kept shooting and shooting and shooting. >> She said she shot him to protect
00:06:05
herself. She fired nine times, hitting Will every time. At first, Benton says she was giving Victoria the benefit of
00:06:15
the doubt, but then she called Will's father. >> Hi, is this um Mr. Carter? >> My name is investigator Benton. I'm with
00:06:25
the City of Atlanta Police Department. >> I've got some really bad news. It's 5:30
00:06:29
in the morning and the phone rings twice. So, you know that's not good. >> I'm so sorry, sir.
00:06:34
>> It was Detective Benton and she explained to me that our son had been killed by Victoria Rickman. She did say,
00:06:40
"Right now, this is a self-defense case and can you help me with some details?" >> Well, when she said this was a
00:06:46
self-defense case, what was your reaction? >> I mean, I about puked. I mean, it's
00:06:50
like, "No, it's not either." >> Will's father told Benton that a year earlier the couple was fighting and his
00:06:56
son showed up bleeding. She hit him in the head with a hammer and she bit him in the back. In fact, I told Will after
00:07:04
that incident, I said, "If she'd had a gun, she'd have killed you." >> But Victoria called police and told them
00:07:09
Will had tried to force her to have sex and that she used a hammer to fight him off. Will was arrested for sexual
00:07:16
battery and simple assault. >> Two weeks later, she's standing in her driveway with Will. So, I said, "You
00:07:23
don't can't ever come over here again." She just snapped. She got furious with me and she said, "You can't tell me what
00:07:29
to do." She said, "I have a gun. I know how to use it." It's like, "Whoa." >> Eventually, Victoria declined to press
00:07:35
charges and the case against Will was dismissed. >> No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
00:07:40
no, no. You were not coming in my house. >> And then in May 2013, 4 months before Victoria shot Will.
00:07:48
>> Tori, I didn't tell you to be here. Get the out of here, dude. I'm scared of you. There was this incident captured by
00:07:54
Victoria on her cell phone as she tried to enter Will's house. >> All you are is a toxic web of lies. Stop
00:08:00
it. I'm going to call the police. >> This time, Victoria was the one arrested and charged with battery. Those charges
00:08:09
were pending at the time of Will's death. Benton took into account what Mr. Carter
00:08:15
had told her. And then the medical examiner discovered that Will had three bullets to his back. After that, Benton
00:08:25
no longer believed this was self-defense. >> What we truly believe happened is that
00:08:32
he was standing and he was not facing her at the time. >> This animation shows what police suspect
00:08:38
may have happened. We believe he was standing next to the bed facing the window when he was shot in the back
00:08:45
three times, which then one of those shots filled his lungs with blood, which caused him to cough, causing the blood
00:08:53
spray pattern on the wall next to the window. And then we believe he fell back onto the bed. As he's lying on the bed,
00:09:01
she is then finishing him off, firing more shots into his chest and his head. to Benton. This was straight up murder.
00:09:12
>> There were no signs that she had tried to scratch him. Her nails were pristine.
00:09:17
He had no scratches on his body. I do not believe she was raped. >> Victoria was given a rape exam. It
00:09:24
showed she had intercourse, but there were no signs of internal injuries. Hospital records noted bruising on
00:09:32
Victoria's arm and leg, but that's not what Benton told a prosecutor on that TV reality show.
00:09:39
>> Any indication from the hospital of any injury to her at all? >> There's nothing. She has no scratches,
00:09:44
no bruising. Bye. >> By midday on September 13, 2013, only hours after the shooting, Benton
00:09:54
arrested Victoria Rickman. I advise her that she's being arrested for murder and
00:10:00
she simply says, "Okay, that was it. No screaming up and down. I'm innocent. I didn't do this."
00:10:11
While Victoria appeared stoic, back at the Carter home in Marietta, Georgia, William Carter Senior, and his wife Caro
00:10:19
were shattered. They consoled each other and wondered, as they had many times before, about Will's fatal attraction to
00:10:28
Victoria. >> It's as if nobody could have done anything. He wouldn't listen to anybody
00:10:32
about this. >> His biggest flaw was that he couldn't see the evil in her. >> But if Victoria had personal demons, so
00:10:41
did Will. Years earlier, Will had been arrested several times for property damage and drug use. Will Carter admits
00:10:49
his son had been a drug addict back then. >> Like what kind of drugs? >> I I don't know. You name it. The doctor
00:10:56
said it was more than something like marijuana. It was dangerous. >> After 10 years of drug use, Will went
00:11:02
into a rehab facility. >> He actually overcame his uh addiction and started his own business.
00:11:10
>> I was extremely proud of Will and he never gave up. He didn't give up on anything or anyone. What drew Will to
00:11:19
someone like Victoria? >> My sister, who's a psychologist, said Will that Victoria was his last
00:11:25
addiction? I don't think he realized how dangerous she was. >> But Victorian says Will was still the
00:11:32
dangerous one. And only 4 months before the shooting, Victoria reported to police that Will had beaten her and she
00:11:40
had documented it with these photographs. I think the constant abuse that she was going through, she just
00:11:48
could not take it anymore. >> Victoria went to court for a restraining order, but the office was closed. A
00:11:56
deputy sheriff working there spotted her bruises. Later, for her own protection,
00:12:02
he gave her a gun. >> He encouraged her to use that gun when it came to Will Carter.
00:12:11
[Music] After Victoria Rickman's 2013 arrest for the murder of Will Carter Jr., she was
00:12:28
denied bail and held at the Decab County Jail in Decar, Georgia. >> Do you think you should be on trial at
00:12:35
all for anything? >> To be honest, no. I don't really think I've done anything illegal.
00:12:42
>> Jail officials would not let us interview Victoria face to face. >> Everything was done for a TV show and
00:12:49
there was no real investigation, >> but we spoke to her via an inmate video calling system.
00:12:56
>> I'm innocent of the charges that are alleged against me. >> Victoria stuck to the story. She told
00:13:01
police that she was fighting off Will, who had raped and beaten her. Unfortunately,
00:13:09
I've been humiliated, dehumanized by the system publicly without my consent. >> Did you think your life was at risk?
00:13:19
>> Of course. No doubt in my mind. >> Victoria says that night Will was behaving erratically.
00:13:26
>> He had relapsed and was intoxicated and it was a very, very, very serious situation.
00:13:35
>> But no one will ever know if that's true. Because Detective Benton never requested
00:13:41
a toxicology report. She says she didn't know it was her responsibility because this was her first homicide case in
00:13:49
Dicab County which had a different set of procedures. >> I had no idea that you have to specially
00:13:56
request a victim's tox and blood alcohol. So even though they had taken his blood and held on to it, at some
00:14:03
point they then disposed of it. >> So it was destroyed. the blood was destroyed.
00:14:08
>> From my understanding, it was. >> But Victoria does not believe that was a casual oversight. She thinks it was
00:14:15
something far more sinister. >> I think it's huge that she did not do an officing
00:14:21
she was getting rid of evidence that was permanent to my defense and to my innocence.
00:14:27
>> She's extremely good at trying to play the victim. Benton may not have believed Victoria,
00:14:34
but there was that one law enforcement officer, Cobb County Deputy Sheriff Rick Price, who did. Months earlier, Price
00:14:42
had spotted a black eye and bruises on Victoria that time he met her at the courthouse.
00:14:49
>> Rick Price gave Victoria a gun. It was one of Price's personal guns, and the deputy even brought Victoria to a gun
00:14:59
range to practice, says Atlanta police detective Kevin Leon Packer. >> And lo and behold, she's used that very
00:15:07
gun to shoot and kill Will Carter. >> And right after the shooting, Rick Price was the first one she called. He told
00:15:16
her to call 911. When the phone records came back, we found out that just before
00:15:21
she called 911, Victoria called Rick, and it was about a two-minute phone call. >> Benton believes Price was just one more
00:15:29
male caught in Victoria's web. >> She was extremely good at getting the men to give her whatever she wanted.
00:15:37
>> Victoria Rickman was a very skilled manipulator. >> So, this is your house? >> Yes. And who is this down here?
00:15:49
>> This is Spencer. It's actually a Victoria's dog. >> Andrew Scar is a lifelong friend of
00:15:54
Victoria. >> This is the back bedroom. >> And this was where Victoria stayed. >> Yes.
00:16:01
>> He owns the house where the shooting occurred. Early that evening, Victoria told Andrew
00:16:09
she wanted to be alone and asked him to stay at his mother's house. After he left, Victoria spoke on the phone with
00:16:17
Will. Police don't know what was said, but sometime after midnight, Will showed up. When you're in here, you know that
00:16:27
something happened between 12:20 and about 2:15 in the morning. What do you believe happened in here?
00:16:33
>> Oh, I believe her story 100%. [Music] >> Did Victoria Rickman shoot Will in cold
00:16:42
blood? Did she plan to kill him that night? Did she invite him over to kill him?
00:16:47
>> She didn't invite him over. She didn't want him over there. She didn't plan to
00:16:51
kill him and she didn't murder him. I 100% believe she shot him in self-defense.
00:16:57
>> Defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer says Victoria killed Will Carter after he raped her because he was still close
00:17:04
enough to be a threat. >> You think there's about this amount distance >> for those shots? They would have been
00:17:10
somewhere within 6 in to 2 feet of each other, which is >> Clark Palmer demonstrated what she
00:17:16
believes happened in this king-size four poster bed that is similar to Victoria's. And the gun's over here,
00:17:24
>> right? >> She insists the first shots were to Will's chest, not his back, as the
00:17:30
police believe. So he gets the two shots to his chest and then um turns, he stands up and he coughs and um gets the
00:17:41
blood spatter on the wall and then gets the shots in the back and then kind of sits down and falls back. And as he's
00:17:49
falling back, she's still shooting. >> And so she shoots him two more times in the head.
00:17:54
>> Correct. He gets the He gets the shot through the nose that goes through the nose, chin, shoulder, arm, and then the
00:18:00
shot to the head is the last shot probably. It was a stressful, highly traumatic
00:18:06
situation. The shots happened. I mean, within a matter of seconds, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, right after it was, "Let
00:18:12
me shoot until I think the threat is over." While Clark Palmer was trying to make
00:18:19
sense of the murder scene, investigators were taking a second look at all the evidence.
00:18:27
No one had been able to crack the secret code on Victoria's cell phone. But a few
00:18:32
months before the trial, investigators made a crucial discovery >> and came across a piece of paper that
00:18:41
said phone code and it had a four-digit code on it. and the investigator punched
00:18:46
it into the phone and poof, it opened right up. >> The phone spit out more than 66,000
00:18:53
texts, some 4,000 pages worth sent and received by Victoria. >> So, this was like a motherload of
00:19:02
information. >> Absolutely. It was a motherload. [Music] It's 3 years and 10 months have passed
00:19:18
and we've had no trial. >> Paul Rickman, Victoria's father, has patiently stood by his daughter for
00:19:25
nearly 4 years waiting for this day. >> August 22nd, 2017, the day her trial for murder begins. I'm
00:19:36
hoping that we get through with this and have it over and have her home. >> Victoria Rickman faces life in prison
00:19:43
for shooting her on again, off-again boyfriend, Will Carter Jr. >> We miss him every single day. It's a big
00:19:51
hole in my heart. >> Will Carter's parents attend the trial to stand witness for the type of person
00:19:56
Will was. >> Everything we've done is to get his reputation back and to be able to tell
00:20:02
his story. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good afternoon. >> Sheila Ross, who has a reputation as one
00:20:10
of the most successful prosecutors in Georgia, lays out the case against Victoria Rickman.
00:20:17
>> The evidence will show that she did not shoot William Carter Jr. out of fear,
00:20:25
but rather anger. He and this defendant were involved in what could only be described as an onag again, off again
00:20:33
toxic relationship. Very Jerry Springbridge. >> Why are you naked? >> Why are you taking pictures of me?
00:20:40
>> Ross plays for the jury that cell phone video made by Victoria during the contentious visit to Will's house in May
00:20:48
2013. >> No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You were not coming in my house. 4
00:20:53
months before the couple's fatal encounter. >> Tori, I didn't tell you to be here. Get
00:20:58
the out of here, dude. I'm scared of you. All you are is a toxic web of lies. Stop it.
00:21:02
>> You'll hear a lot out of her mouth that she's an abused woman, that she has PTSD,
00:21:11
that she has been raped. You'll hear the tears and you'll see the tears. So, just
00:21:16
be ready for it. But we're going to ask that you look past that and we're going to ask that you render a verdict that
00:21:21
speaks the truth of what happened to William Carter Jr. that night, which is nothing short of murder. Thank you.
00:21:29
>> May I proceed? >> Victoria's defense attorney, Amanda Clark Palmer, paints a very different
00:21:35
view of the case. >> This case is about domestic violence. He abused her physically, verbally, and
00:21:46
emotionally. She felt like he was going to do something terrible to her based on
00:21:50
the way he was acting and based on the fact that he said, "I'm going to kill you."
00:21:55
>> The defense attorney never shows the footage from inside Homicide to the jury, fearing it will give them the
00:22:02
wrong idea about Victoria. >> Detective Benton didn't come alone, >> but she tells them all about it in her
00:22:08
opening. Detective Benton was the star and she's kind of like narrating what she's doing to the cameras.
00:22:15
>> I just did the initial walkthrough. >> No one asks Victoria, who's just been raped, who's just shot and killed
00:22:22
William Carter defending herself if she's okay being on TV. They just come over and start filming everything that's
00:22:28
going on. >> From the looks of things, it doesn't appear there was a struggle. >> And what happens next was a rush to
00:22:34
judgement in this case. >> And we got a lot of shell casings. The police show up. They collect evidence.
00:22:41
They're not as meticulous as I think they should have been. >> It looks like she was training to kill.
00:22:46
>> Wow. >> She was justified in defending herself. She was in fear for her life and she's
00:22:52
not guilty. >> On the second day of testimony, prosecutor Ross calls Detective Benton
00:22:59
to the stand. >> Did you observe any forced entry into the home? >> No, I did not. Were there any injuries
00:23:07
to her face? >> No, there were not. >> Was her bra torn in any way? >> No, it was not.
00:23:11
>> Did you look for signs of a struggle? >> I did. I was unable to find that there
00:23:16
were any signs of a struggle. >> But the defense challenges that assertion. >> And we can see the lamp on top of the
00:23:24
nightstand, right? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Fair to say this lamp has been knocked over, right?
00:23:28
>> Yes. >> It definitely looks like a struggle occurred there. And we also see the
00:23:32
sound machine hanging down between the nightstand and the bed. Right. >> Correct.
00:23:37
>> It's not a neat and orderly room. >> Did you find a firearm there? >> We did.
00:23:43
>> Detective Benton is questioned closely about the gun used by Victoria. >> What type of firearm was it?
00:23:50
>> It was a 40 caliber semi-automatic. >> Detective Benton believed the gun could
00:23:54
hold only 12 bullets. At the scene, she found nine shell casings, four bullets left in the gun. That adds up to 13. So
00:24:05
Benton concluded that Victoria had to have reloaded and shared her thoughts with the cameras.
00:24:12
>> The gun doesn't hold 13. For some reason, this girl, she did a tactical reload.
00:24:17
>> Wrong. The capacity of the gun is 13. Could not be clearer to anybody who knows anything about firearms.
00:24:23
>> I'm extremely proficient with a firearm. The issue is crucial because Benton says
00:24:28
if Victoria reloaded, she cannot claim self-defense. >> Detective Benton thought that that was
00:24:35
indicative of premeditation murder. >> You recognize now that the maximum capacity of this weapon is 13, right?
00:24:42
>> No, I realized that. >> You didn't write that in your report. >> No, I did not.
00:24:46
>> Weren't you wrong about the reloading? >> No, I was not. >> At this moment, you have no evidence she
00:24:51
reloaded. >> No. You just can't say that you made a mistake. >> I don't believe I did.
00:24:56
>> Did it ever occur to you that you might be putting wrong information and affecting potential jurors who see this
00:25:04
show? >> No. >> That means she had to switch magazines. >> This was a brand spanking new show.
00:25:09
>> 4 5 6 7 8. >> I didn't know if that part was going to air or what was going to air. I didn't
00:25:14
see it until it aired the same day everybody else saw it. >> And did you then say I wish I hadn't
00:25:19
done that? >> No. What's your reaction to that? >> It was incredibly unfair to Victoria.
00:25:26
>> As unfair as parading a rape victim before television cameras, says Victoria's lawyer. And then there's the
00:25:34
information Benton says she got from the Cobb County District Attorney's Office that aired on Inside Homicide.
00:25:41
>> They stated that she has got such a long list of rape claims against so many men
00:25:48
that it's too big to email. They'll have to physically bring it to me. >> Well, that wasn't true.
00:25:53
>> You know, everybody makes mistakes. I'm not saying we didn't make any mistakes.
00:25:56
I'm not saying Pop County didn't make any mistakes. You know, we're all human. >> Still, Detective Benton does not believe
00:26:03
the misinformation from the show will affect the trial. >> I think we have smart people out there
00:26:09
and smart jurors out there. It doesn't matter what they may or may not have seen on television or on a television
00:26:15
show. >> You swear. Following Benton to the stand is her colleague, Detective Kevin Leon
00:26:21
Packer. >> I've developed another uh type of expertise that involves uh the analysis
00:26:25
of cell phone records. >> Leon Packer performed the forensic examination of Victoria's cell phone.
00:26:31
The detective zeros in on the night of September 12th, 2013, just a few hours before the alleged
00:26:39
murder. There were several threads of communication with call records and text messages between Miss Rickman's phone
00:26:47
and other individuals. >> Leon Packer says Will's text to Victoria reveal he was furious because she had
00:26:54
called the mother of his child. Will text Victoria that he's breaking up with her.
00:27:00
>> Liam Packer reads the text in court. >> You are too dangerous to be around. Never contact me or the mother of my
00:27:08
child again. Why are you taking pictures of me? >> And in the text, Will also says he's
00:27:13
going to follow up on criminal charges against Victoria in that incident captured on this cell phone video.
00:27:21
>> I'm going to need you to get out of here. >> Victoria may have feared an assault
00:27:25
conviction would affect custody of her son. She begins sending texts to her friend, Deputy Sheriff Rick Price,
00:27:32
sounding more and more desperate about Will. >> He wants me put away now. My only hope
00:27:38
is to change his mind. >> I think that what the evidence has shown, what the text messages have shown
00:27:47
is that she made a decision um when she called Will Carter that night to kill him.
00:27:55
>> But the texts are not the only surprise Detective Liam Packer finds inside Victoria's phone.
00:28:02
>> I was dumbfounded. I was like, "Wow, she will go to any lengths to prove her story.
00:28:10
[Music] She's just the best person I really know, the best friend I've ever had, and
00:28:24
it's hard to see me to see her go through this." Brittany Morgan has always believed
00:28:30
Victoria Rickman's claim of self-defense. As her closest friend, she had seen the
00:28:36
bruises and hoped to be in court every day to support Victoria. >> I need her to be able to know that I'm
00:28:44
there. I'm there for her. >> Hey, Britney. >> How are you? >> Fine. How you? >> But she and Victoria's father, Paul.
00:28:50
>> It's a sad situation. There's no way you can put it in words. and Victoria's lifelong friend Andrew Scar.
00:28:57
>> It's devastating. It's devastating. >> Are barred from sitting in at her trial
00:29:02
until after they testify. >> She's not a cold-blooded killer. >> Before court begins, Victoria's attorney
00:29:10
wants to ensure Victoria puts her best face forward in every possible way. >> She doesn't deserve to be in jail. So
00:29:20
when I >> Back on the stand, detective Leon Packer details his forensic analysis of
00:29:26
Victoria's cell phone. Remember that photo of bruises to Victoria's right arm the morning of the shooting? It turns
00:29:34
out Detective Leon Packer found these selfies in her phone. >> I looked at the metadata on the photos
00:29:42
to see when were these photos taken, and that's when I found they were 24 hours before the murder ever occurred.
00:29:48
[Applause] This is her whole defense. This is her whole assertion of self-defense, of
00:29:55
justification for shooting and killing Will. And those bruises existed before he ever showed up at her house that
00:30:01
night. >> There was some evidence indicate that maybe the injury she had she actually
00:30:06
had 24 hours before. Isn't that really damaging for your case? >> Not at all. Not really damaging. She had
00:30:13
other bruises that were notated, you know, on her body in the medical records. State calls Wick Price.
00:30:19
>> The Cobb County Deputy Sheriff who gave Victoria the gun she used to kill Will
00:30:24
Carter is now an instructor at Dobbins Air Force Base. He testifies he met Victoria at the courthouse where he
00:30:32
worked 4 months before the shooting. >> She told me that um her ex had um beaten her and she needed a
00:30:44
protective order. I could see the bruises on her arms. I could also see that she had the outline of black eyes.
00:30:52
>> Prosecutor Sheila Ross suggests Price had romantic feelings for Victoria. >> I was interested in Victoria.
00:31:01
>> Um but we never developed past uh just good friends. >> Did you ever have sexual relations with
00:31:08
her then? >> No. >> Did you ever tell anyone that you did? I I've told people all sorts of things
00:31:18
that had nothing to do with reality. >> Price was fired 5 days after the shooting for not cooperating with the
00:31:26
investigation. >> Are going to call Dr. John Lridge. >> Halfway through the second week of
00:31:32
trial, the defense begins its case. Victoria's lawyer calls to the stand Will Carter psychiatrist, Dr. John
00:31:41
Lockidge. When is the last time you saw Will Carter Jr. >> who makes a startling revelation? He
00:31:49
says that on September 10th, 2013, just 3 days before Will's death, Will reported having delusions.
00:31:58
>> He said he thought he was famous. He was on TV. He was talking to and through the
00:32:03
TV. Lockidge testifies that Will had been taking an antiscychotic drug to help him sleep better. But because
00:32:12
Detective Benton never ordered a toxicology report, no one will ever know what drugs Will had in his system when
00:32:21
he was shot. Victoria claims that Will had stopped taking his prescribed medications and had gone back to illegal
00:32:29
drugs. It's a reason why he went crazy and raped me like forced in there and was going to murder me.
00:32:38
>> Also testifying for the defense, a former chief medical examiner for the state of Georgia, Dr. Chris Lee Sperry
00:32:46
bolsters the defense theory that Victoria fired the first shots into Will's chest, not his back. As the
00:32:54
prosecution contends, >> he is turned somewhat towards um the lady with the gun, the person with with
00:33:02
a weapon. >> He could be twisted towards her, you know, leaned over so he gets the two
00:33:07
shots to his chest. Um Britney Morgan. >> And now it's time for Victoria's friends
00:33:13
who have been waiting to tell the jury what they saw in the year and the months before the shooting. The bruising was it
00:33:20
was kind of almost look like fingerprints on the side. >> I've seen bruises on her arm. I've seen
00:33:28
a black eye. I have seen a mark above her eye right about here. >> And where did she have the bruises on
00:33:34
her body? >> Uh on her wrists, on her arms, and the second occasion on her throat.
00:33:39
>> Cobb County Police Lieutenant Robbie Ray says he too saw bruises on Victoria a
00:33:45
year earlier. She had some bruising on her left upper forearm and on her left bicep. She said her ribs were sore.
00:33:55
>> Victoria Rickman decides not to take the stand. >> But in her closing argument, Clark
00:34:04
Palmer makes sure jurors hear what Victoria's voice sounded like the day of the shooting.
00:34:11
>> I don't know. >> That is not the voice of a killer. Imagine how powerless she felt when
00:34:20
William Carter, who was taller than her, heavier than her, and stronger than her,
00:34:26
was raping her. [Music] [Music] She finished him off with a shot to the head. That is cold bloodooded murder. No more.
00:34:52
>> After two weeks of testimony, prosecutor Sheila Ross is ready for closing arguments, and she holds nothing back.
00:35:01
And if he in fact was raping her and she shot him, good riddance, the world could
00:35:07
use one less rapist. But that's not what happened. >> Victoria Rickman is not guilty.
00:35:14
>> Defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer argues there is no way Victoria could have planned to kill Will because she
00:35:21
had no idea he was coming over that night. >> There is zero proof that Victoria Rickman invited Will Carter to her
00:35:29
house. And once more, Clark Palmer slams the behavior of Detective Summer Benton.
00:35:35
>> She wanted to know what's the capacity of the gun and she got it wrong. >> She says that Benton's investigative
00:35:42
work was shoddy and biased from the start against Victoria. >> She was trying to make good TV and she
00:35:50
didn't want to do anything or take any steps in her investigation that would contradict her theory that Victoria
00:35:57
Rickman was guilty. Ladies and gentlemen, the jury, you are considering the case of the state of
00:36:04
Georgia. >> Closing arguments end late on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, but Judge JP
00:36:10
Boule orders jurors to begin deliberating. >> You may now retire to the jury room, but
00:36:16
cannot begin your deliberations until you >> Everybody was sort of standing around
00:36:21
thinking, you know, we're going to be here for hours. And they said, we've got a verdict.
00:36:31
Sir, have you reached your verdict? >> We have, your honor. >> The jury returns with a verdict in less
00:36:37
than an hour. Good counsel. >> The judge has the lawyers look at the jury form to make sure it's proper and
00:36:44
the lawyers clearly see the verdict. >> It was a very simple verdict form. It just had the four counts. It said um she
00:36:52
was guilty on each and every count. Jeff, do you feel >> we saw you whisper something to
00:36:59
Victoria? >> I just said to her, "I'm sorry." >> Yeah. Was that hard? >> It was extremely hard.
00:37:05
>> State of Georgia. >> The next moments make it official. >> Count one, malice murder. We, the jury,
00:37:13
find the defendant, Victoria Rick, guilty. [Music] I think that their verdict, the
00:37:29
swiftness in which they rendered their verdict speaks for itself. >> Was that your verdict in the jury room?
00:37:34
>> Yes, sir. >> When the verdict was read, there was a huge rainbow that came over Atlanta.
00:37:41
To me, that was Will. He was finally at peace. [Music] For Detective Benton, the verdict is
00:37:58
gratifying. >> The gun doesn't hold 13. For some reason, this girl, she did a tactical
00:38:02
reload. >> All along, she has stuck to her conviction that Victoria reloaded the
00:38:07
gun. But after speaking to her superiors, she's reconsidered. I probably wouldn't have made that grand
00:38:16
of a statement. But, you know, it doesn't matter. This case is not about me. This case is about
00:38:22
William Carter Jr. and the fact that what happened in that bedroom [Music] counties now.
00:38:35
>> 5 weeks later, everyone is back in court for sentencing. There's no doubt Victoria will get life in prison. The
00:38:44
most she can hope for is the possibility of parole. Your honor, thank you for the time to
00:38:51
speak and clarify the facts of this case. >> Victoria Rickman, who did not testify on
00:38:56
her own behalf, addresses the court. >> I'm a mother who has been stolen from her son's life. I am a battered woman. I
00:39:06
am a victim who continues to suffer the nightmares and symptoms of PTSD caused from being forced to defend myself in
00:39:14
years of abuse. So I ask you, your honor, return me my son and my life, give me back my voice
00:39:23
and my dignity. >> Victoria offers no apology. >> Miss Rickman, please stand. >> And the judge offers no mercy. This
00:39:33
court sentences you to life without the possibility of parole. [Music] 2 days after the sentencing hearing,
00:39:49
Will would have turned 35 years old. Will's mother says her son's death is a loss for everyone, but especially for
00:39:59
his young daughter. >> She's a good student. She's got a beautiful heart. Never see her graduate
00:40:05
and never, you know, be at her wedding. But his memories is what's important. And that's what I want to be able to
00:40:13
carry on and be grateful that I had this young man in my life. >> Come on, old man.
00:40:20
>> Come on, Loki. Let's go. >> And the memories of Will are everywhere. >> Loki is a connection with Will in a way.
00:40:31
We'll love this dog. He's almost 13. Way beyond his normal lifespan. >> There's Loki. She's swimming.
00:40:41
>> Loki gives me a lot of comfort because I know how close Will was to Loki and he's
00:40:47
we still have that connection with our son of something here on Earth. We're going to be okay. We're going to
00:40:54
make it through this. Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music]
00:41:53
911. What is your emergency? >> I woke up on my boyfriend. He He was outside this morning. He's cold. He's
00:42:00
gone. >> I was scared. I was confused. I was on the phone with 911. >> The kitchen's a bloody mess. He's not
00:42:09
really >> Why is the kitchen a bloody mess? >> I don't know. >> What's your name? I know
00:42:16
that. [Music] >> I couldn't remember a lot. When I realized that he wasn't responding, I
00:42:28
panicked. >> When did you realize that Matthew was dead? >> I think a part of me already knew. Copy.
00:42:35
I'm therapy. >> October 18th, 2019. We got the call that we had to respond here.
00:42:45
Matthew Trussler was found in the patio pool area of this residence. >> And what kind of shape was Melissa at
00:42:52
that time? >> I remember seeing her pretty well covered in blood. >> So on that night, what happens?
00:43:01
>> Matt had gotten upset. Uh he had he had gotten his knife out. I remember he would act more like he was possessed.
00:43:10
He would say things to me like, "Matt's not here anymore. I'm the demon." There were times where he would try and
00:43:18
use it on himself. I was the prosecutor who went to the crime scene that day. >> I thought it was bizarre. There was the
00:43:28
insinuation that he had done this to himself and he had a stab wound in the back. He couldn't have done that to
00:43:34
himself, right? >> His back. I tried giving him CPR. I tried. >> I just thought that there was a lot of
00:43:41
acting happening where she's dialing 911 and make herself cry. >> I don't do nothing. It
00:43:48
>> was exceptional acting. >> Fantastic actress. She wanted to be in movies. >> A cosplay model is uh basically where
00:43:57
you dress up as like uh your favorite characters. Uh I would do Alvara, Misty from Pokemon. I really loved the
00:44:08
makeup and the props and the costumeuming. >> I am Tooth Thorn Rose. I'm a cam model.
00:44:14
I'm an artist. I love fitness. >> Her content was sexual based. >> She had websites. She had an only fans
00:44:21
page. We were very shocked to find this kind of secretive life that we didn't know about.
00:44:27
>> Who do you believe killed Matthew Trustler? >> Melissa Turner. >> I didn't do what they're saying. I did.
00:44:35
If I'm going to prison, then I'm going down biting. I'm going down telling my side of the
00:44:42
story. [Music] [Music] That's a county fire and he was the office of the emergency and tell me
00:45:34
what's wrong. >> He is nonresponsive. >> I couldn't stop crying. >> Melissa Turner can vividly describe the
00:45:45
moment as medics tried to revive her fiance, Matthew Trussler. I watched the EMTs
00:45:57
unfold the sheet and um lay the white sheet over him. >> Two years later, Melissa still struggles
00:46:05
to talk about the day Matthew died. >> And it was it was when that happened that
00:46:12
I just I couldn't hold in the tears and everything. It was around 8:30 a.m. when Melissa
00:46:20
says she found Matthew unresponsive on the back patio of the house they shared in a suburb of Tampa, Florida.
00:46:29
>> I tried to see if he was breathing and I tried to to start CPR. >> Just a couple hours later, still covered
00:46:38
in blood, Melissa agreed to talk to investigators at the Hillsboro County Sheriff's Office. She says she wanted to
00:46:45
help them figure out what had happened to Matthew. >> I was just saying yes and complying with
00:46:52
whatever was kind of said or told to me. The world around me didn't really feel real in those moments.
00:46:59
>> A lot less glamorous than making it on TV. >> Melissa told the detectives the couple's
00:47:03
day had started off just like any other. They took care of their pets, did house
00:47:08
chores as seen in these previously posted Facebook videos. get up. We got to clean that spot.
00:47:16
>> Spot >> and went grocery shopping. She admitted they were also drinking alcohol
00:47:22
throughout the day leading into the evening. I >> mean, that's what we did. We just we
00:47:27
were there at the house ourselves. We had drinks. He always liked drinking. He was a drinker.
00:47:34
>> According to Melissa, around 11 p.m. she got tired and told Matthew she wanted to
00:47:39
go to sleep. He was still up. I slept on that that big chair that's in my little
00:47:45
office area downstairs. [Music] >> What she saw when she woke up the next morning, Melissa told investigators,
00:47:57
didn't make sense. >> I saw the the kitchen was like I didn't see him outside at first
00:48:06
and I went upstairs and I checked the bedroom and then I came back down again. She says that's when she discovered
00:48:15
Matthew outside on the patio and began CPR. >> You're trying to do CPR and help him.
00:48:23
>> They're hard to see, but Melissa is wearing latex gloves given to her by an officer at the scene.
00:48:30
>> He had you put those on because he was getting things bloody cuz I was covered
00:48:34
in his blood. >> Do you want to keep wearing those gloves or do you want to take them off?
00:48:38
>> I'll leave them on for now. Do you have any injuries on your person? >> No. >> Any scratches or cuts or anything?
00:48:48
>> Not that I noticed. >> The detectives eventually told Melissa she would need to take the gloves off.
00:48:53
>> I have a little cut in here. >> And that's from what? >> Anything from grabbing the glass or cuz
00:49:03
there I know there was the broken glass this morning >> so they could take photographs of her.
00:49:08
Open your hand a little more there. >> Hurt to open it up. Sorry. >> Oh my gosh. I didn't
00:49:15
>> This looks pretty good. >> I didn't even notice. >> Oh wow. >> I had no idea that was there.
00:49:25
>> As detectives worked to get to the bottom of what happened. Matthew's family was learning Matthew had died.
00:49:32
His brother Sean got the call from their mother. >> I got a call that he died in an
00:49:37
accident. That's what they told me. >> Sean called his fiance Jennifer immediately.
00:49:43
>> He's sobbing so hard and just screaming at the top of his lungs. He's gone. My brother Maddie. Maddiey's
00:49:54
gone. He's dead. I'm getting chills just talking about this. >> Shawn and Matthew Trussler were
00:50:02
originally from Massachusetts. In 2015, Matthew followed in his brother's footsteps and moved to Florida to work
00:50:10
with him in the construction business. Shawn, who lost one of his eyes due to a work accident shortly after his
00:50:17
brother's death, says the two made a good team. >> I have worked Maddie very hard. He just
00:50:24
needed to be led correctly. Matthew, or Maddie as Shawn calls him, struggled with substance abuse and was looking at
00:50:33
the move to Florida as a chance to start over. >> He was a really good kid. He worked so
00:50:39
hard. He had the biggest heart. He loved everybody and everything. >> 2 years after his move, Melissa, then
00:50:48
24, met Matthew, 23, on an online dating app. We met on Tinder and I just liked how different Matt treated me. He made
00:51:02
me feel more important. He drew me in. >> In 2019, the couple took a big step and
00:51:07
bought a house together. >> We were excited about the house. We were picking out, you know, paint colors for
00:51:15
walls and furniture. >> But Melissa says a few months into their new lives, their relationship became
00:51:22
strained. Matt's drinking was getting worse. It was just becoming really excessive.
00:51:29
[Music] >> At the sheriff's office, Melissa had been adamant that there were no arguments between the couple that night.
00:51:37
>> We were having a great time. >> Was there anything physical violent? >> He was never violent. He was always
00:51:44
amazing with me. But Melissa didn't know that the detectives had been tipped off
00:51:49
by the responding officer. That Melissa had told him there had been an argument at the house the night before.
00:51:56
>> What were you and Matthew arguing about last night? >> I don't really remember.
00:52:02
I mean, we might have gotten argument, but it didn't seem like anything. Weren't like screaming at each other
00:52:07
that I know of. >> You told us that you guys were there. There's only two of you. The two of you
00:52:13
were drinking. My problem is is I got Matthew on the back porch with >> stab wounds.
00:52:21
>> Stab wounds. [Music] >> Meanwhile, another detective, Ryan Legassie, was knocking on doors and
00:52:30
canvasing the neighborhood for clues. >> As I walked over here, you've got the camera located directly above the
00:52:37
residence across the street here. And what was captured by this camera, police say,
00:52:52
>> would prove Melissa knew more than she was letting on. [Music] [Music] An eyewitness can be crucial to solving
00:53:23
a crime. And just hours into the investigation of Matthew Trussler's death, detectives discovered digital
00:53:31
observers. There was an ADT camera inside the couple's home, but at first glance, it
00:53:39
didn't appear to show any unusual activity. >> Most of our information came from that
00:53:46
camera that's posted up above the garage. >> It was this Nest camera on a neighbor's
00:53:51
garage that would prove invaluable. An unblinking eye trained on the side of Melissa and Matthew's home that recorded
00:54:00
sights and sounds. >> So, I started looking at the footage. Legassie, a detective for the sheriff's
00:54:07
office at the time, saw only darkness and heard the near silence of suburbia until around 4 a.m.
00:54:15
>> I started to hear racketing um you know, things that were sounded like they were
00:54:18
crashing and um so then I, you know, I kind of zoomed in my senses a little bit and then from there I started hearing
00:54:25
voices and then I hear what sounds like screaming, um yelling. Legassi says those voices were coming
00:54:33
from Matthew and Melissa's house. >> How would you describe the tone of the voices that you heard?
00:54:39
>> So the little bit of male voice was tough to distinguish. Um but the female voice was very um very loud. Um sounded
00:54:46
very angry. >> What could you hear? What kind of phrases? >> So I heard um get up,
00:54:52
>> get up, get up. >> I heard so and then there was an explicit die. You heard so die.
00:55:01
>> So die. >> And then I heard um you know it sounded like a female voice was crying saying
00:55:07
what what did I do? >> Legassie immediately reached out to his colleagues who were interviewing
00:55:15
Melissa. >> You said that last night you never woke up at all. >> No, I remember laying down. I remember
00:55:22
waking up in the same spot. Investigators now believe they had evidence that Melissa wasn't telling all
00:55:28
she knew. >> Tell me about what happened around 4:00 this morning. >> 4:00? >> What happened at 4:00?
00:55:38
>> I don't know. That's what I'm asking you. >> I don't know either. >> Why? >> Was there any arguing
00:55:46
>> at 4:00? Not that I know of. I believe I was asleep. I have no memory of any argument at 4 in
00:55:54
the morning. >> But after detectives confronted her with the evidence, Melissa's story changed.
00:56:02
>> I have some video surveillance. They're actually yelling and screaming between a
00:56:05
male and a female coming from your house. >> What we need from you that would probably make a lot more sense is to
00:56:14
tell us what that argument was about. I would say he woke me up and we got in an
00:56:19
argument over that because he was still up at 4 in the morning drinking. >> Okay. So, just so I'm clear, you do have
00:56:25
a memory of what happened, right? >> At 4:00. >> Yes. >> Why were you yelling at him, "Bitch, get
00:56:32
up. [ __ ] get up." >> Actually, a lot of the times whenever he is drinking and gets that drunk into the
00:56:38
hours of the morning, he will just fall over. >> You also said a couple of other things
00:56:43
like, "Stay down. So [ __ ] die. What are you talking about? >> That was me being pissed off at him, but
00:56:51
he fell over. >> You got a slice on your hand. A slice. That's what that is. How did
00:56:58
that happen? >> The investigators again focused on that cut on Melissa's hand. >> It's not from glass. I can tell you
00:57:06
that. >> Once again, her story changed. >> He does get his knives out sometimes. he
00:57:13
wasn't him anymore. >> Thinking back on it, this is from me grabbing a knife out of
00:57:19
his hand and things kind escalated from there. >> Melissa later told us she wasn't trying
00:57:26
to hide the injury on her hand. In fact, she had mentioned it earlier to the 911
00:57:32
operator. >> I have a cut on my hand. I barely remembered, even after mentioning it on
00:57:38
the 911 call, that my hand was sliced open. >> 911. >> A few hours after Melissa placed that
00:57:46
911 call, she was arrested and charged with seconddegree murder with a weapon. Shawn and Jennifer learned Melissa was
00:57:55
in custody for Matthew's murder from his mom, who called Melissa by her middle name, Rose.
00:58:02
>> She said Rose killed him. I remember we stood in my kitchen and he just starts
00:58:09
balling. >> Up until then, Shawn and Jennifer say the couple didn't appear to have any
00:58:15
problems, but Shawn says that Melissa did put a wedge between him and Matthew. >> She was totally isolated, him and her,
00:58:24
from the rest of the world. The truth is like how controlling and manipulating Rose was. Shawn says he hadn't seen
00:58:33
Matthew during the last six months of his life. The brothers had had a falling out after Matthew stopped working with
00:58:40
Shawn at his construction business. >> She took Maddie long before she took him forever.
00:58:45
>> Shawn and Jennifer say Melissa had two sides as Matthew's live-in partner and
00:58:50
as a cosplay model who dressed up in costume portraying famous fictional characters. What is that then? That is
00:58:59
actually from >> Scooby-Doo. >> She made a living by producing and acting in her own adult videos,
00:59:06
>> but it's from a movie clip where she actually is performing um sexual acts. >> And it wasn't until after his death that
00:59:14
they learned Melissa had cast Matthew as her partner in her videos. And I really
00:59:20
feel like uh the pressure and the stress and the fact that it was more and more and more just paid its toll on him.
00:59:30
>> You think that maybe he just didn't want to do those films anymore? >> Absolutely.
00:59:34
>> I think he was done with her. [Music] After Shawn and his fianceé Jennifer found out that Melissa had been arrested
01:00:03
for Matthew's murder, they began an investigation of their own. >> We came across things were pretty
01:00:12
disturbing. Shawn and Jennifer believe Matthew was becoming disenchanted with his role in those videos Melissa
01:00:19
produced. >> I think at first it was okay because he was seeing some fruits from his labor
01:00:26
>> money. >> Um, but I think it got a little much. >> They now wonder if Melissa had been
01:00:32
looking for a partner for her videos when she spotted Matthew on that dating app. People
01:00:40
write little bios about themselves. >> She went out and found someone with all the right stuff, the looks, the body,
01:00:48
and everything that goes with it. >> She doesn't do things without a bunch of research.
01:00:52
>> Cameron Mlega, a former boyfriend of Melissa, met her before she began her career in the world of adult
01:00:58
entertainment. >> She was very artistic, so she was able to edit her own videos, edit her own
01:01:03
pictures, very businessdriven. The two met in 2012 when they were studying makeup effects at Douglas Education
01:01:11
Center near Pittsburgh. Back then, Melissa was running a popular fitness blog after losing 100 pounds. Later
01:01:20
documenting her transformation on social media. >> It kept her accountable. She had this
01:01:27
audience that was incredibly invested in what she was doing and watching her evolve as a person.
01:01:35
In 2013, Cameron and Melissa moved to Florida to pursue careers in special effects.
01:01:43
There, Melissa confessed to Cameron that she had started a second blog with racier content.
01:01:52
>> This was meant to be temporary. This was supplemental. But Cameron says Melissa
01:01:56
soon began earning a decent living doing what is called cam work where she performed in various stage of dress for
01:02:05
her internet followers who paid a fee. >> She was so proud of where she got herself. I used to be this incredibly
01:02:14
insecure girl. Now they're paying me to look at me. He says he began to see a change in
01:02:21
Melissa's personality as her business grew. >> It became maniacal to a point where it
01:02:28
was complete obsession. And it was money, money, money, money, money. And the more and more success that she
01:02:35
found, the more and more unstable she became. She would scream at times that it would pierce your ear. There were
01:02:42
times where she was just unpredictable. Absolutely unpredictable. Sean and Jennifer now wonder if Melissa's
01:02:49
volatility may have escalated an argument with Matthew on the night he died. Did he want out of the adult
01:02:57
entertainment business? >> I think like maybe that night he was like, "Yo, I'm done with this.
01:03:03
>> I'm washing my hands." >> She didn't like whatever he said to her and it made her blow her top.
01:03:10
>> But that's not how it happened, says Melissa. after he was upset with me for wanting to go to bed. But, you know, I
01:03:16
stayed downstairs. His demeanor would start to get darker and darker from there. Matt, he had his knife out. It
01:03:23
was the black uh tactical switchblade. There were times where he would um get really upset and try and use it on
01:03:31
himself. And so, it was common thing for me to try and take a knife away from him. On this night, he didn't want to
01:03:39
let go of the knife. Melissa says Matthew was drunk and despondent. They struggled over the knife, she says. But
01:03:47
after she managed to take it away, she says Matthew grabbed her by the neck and squeezed. A detail she failed to tell
01:03:56
detectives during her interrogation. I thought this was it. I thought he was going to kill me. and
01:04:07
and I stabbed him lightly in the back just to get him off of me. >> She says after she stabbed him once in
01:04:13
the back, Matthew pushed her into the kitchen counter and she hit her head. >> He came at me and that's how I fell back
01:04:21
and hit my head. So, I had a pretty severe head injury. >> But that claim would later be challenged
01:04:29
at her trial. I remembered a few blurry steps towards my office, but that was it. I just remember passing
01:04:41
out, uh, blacking out there. >> She's the real victim. She's the one that was suffering the abuse.
01:04:48
>> John Trevina is Melissa's attorney. He describes the couple's relationship as
01:04:53
toxic, >> particularly since she said it was escalating. His drinking was escalating.
01:04:58
his behavior issues were escalating and it just unfortunately escalated into this very odd incident. I don't think it
01:05:06
is a murder case. I think it is a case of self-defense. >> But Melissa's version of events will be
01:05:14
picked apart by prosecutors Katherine Fand and Chimway Faucet at her trial. >> There's just nothing to support her
01:05:22
statement. She never mentions anything about anyone strangling her or anything until days before trial. You really have
01:05:29
to take that into consideration. >> Besides the audio from the nest cam, the state plans to present video from inside
01:05:42
the couple's home. Remember that ADT security footage recovered by investigators?
01:05:49
Prosecutors believed it didn't show any suspicious activity the night of Matthew's death, but just before the
01:05:56
trial, they discovered they misread the time and date. >> I'll be honest, I misunderstood the
01:06:03
timing. It's not recorded in Eastern Standard Time. It's recorded in Universal Time.
01:06:09
>> And what the video did capture, say prosecutors. >> We're going to show you some ADT videos
01:06:15
>> would undermine Melissa's defense. [Music] He's calmly walking and you can see
01:06:22
she's hunched over. She's yelling. She is angry and upset. [Music] On Valentine's Day 2022,
01:06:48
2 years after Matthew Trussler was found dead on his patio, his fiance Melissa Turner went on trial for murder.
01:06:56
>> All right. >> Melissa had been out on bail since her arrest in 2019. But if she's convicted, she knows she
01:07:04
could spend the rest of her life behind bars. >> It'll be a world of weight off my
01:07:09
shoulders for this trial to just be over. >> The jury will hear nothing about her
01:07:17
videos, her cosplay modeling, and acting out fantasies online. The judge ruled it
01:07:23
wasn't relevant to the case. Prosecutor Chimway Faucet sees it differently. I did think that the jury should have
01:07:30
known that she was an actress and she was able to make herself into this victim type person and then cry on
01:07:38
demand. Melissa's attorney, John Trevina, told the jury that she didn't mean to kill Matthew, that she stabbed
01:07:45
him in self-defense during that struggle over the knife. >> Who killed Matthew Trussler? Matthew
01:07:51
Trussler killed Matthew Trussler. >> He did. He did it to himself because of his actions and his behaviors. His
01:07:59
drinking, his emotional abuse. >> You're saying that Melissa had the right to kill him because he was drunk?
01:08:05
>> No, Melissa had the right to kill him to defend herself from being strangled.
01:08:09
>> But prosecutor Faucet says Matthew had no record or history of violence against
01:08:14
anyone. >> Why do you believe that Melissa killed Matthew Trump? I think she was
01:08:19
intoxicated and I do think that she went far beyond anything she thought she would do. Maybe she was just so
01:08:26
frustrated with his drinking that she harms him so badly that he ends up dying. >> At trial, Melissa decided to take a risk
01:08:35
and testify. She described Matthew as an alcoholic who had exhibited abusive. There were times where he would push me
01:08:44
and punch the walls beside my head >> and unsettling behaviors in the past. >> I had seen him cut himself, burn
01:08:53
himself, stab himself. He would stare off at some corners and he would tell me that there was a demon standing right
01:09:01
there. There were times where he would talk in a different voice. >> Did that frighten you?
01:09:06
>> Goodness, I was terrified. And this was happening on that night. >> Yeah. He just had this little smile on
01:09:15
his face and he said, "What's the matter, little girl? Are you scared?" >> Cuz Matt's not here anymore.
01:09:22
>> Authorities never checked Melissa's blood alcohol level. But Matthews was nearly five times the legal limit in
01:09:29
Florida. >> That level of blood alcohol not only is lethal, it can cause hallucinations, the
01:09:35
demon that we've heard about. But the medical examiner didn't say that he died of alcohol intoxication. The cause of
01:09:41
death is that he was stabbed and he bled to death. >> According to the medical examiner,
01:09:46
Matthew had several small cuts and bruises and a possible defensive wound on his forearm. The fatal injury was not
01:09:54
the stab wound to his back, but from a deep incision on his right arm, which punctured a vein.
01:10:02
>> You stabbed him in the back. Correct. >> Correct. >> Okay. The only thing that I did was the
01:10:08
back. >> How did he get cut on his right arm? >> I I couldn't tell you that. I have no
01:10:15
clue. He could have fallen into something. He could have done it himself. I stabbed him once to get him
01:10:22
off of me from strangling me. >> Why didn't you tell the police that he had been trying to strangle you?
01:10:28
>> Because I couldn't remember at the time. I complained multiple times about a headache.
01:10:37
>> Prosecutor Faucet questioned Melissa about her memories that returned before the trial.
01:10:43
>> And so today in 2022, you now claim you had some kind of head injury, correct?
01:10:52
>> Um, yes. >> But a crime scene tech testified there was no evidence of a head injury. And
01:10:59
now in 2022, you speak of some kind of blackout. Correct. >> Yes. >> Correct. >> Okay.
01:11:06
>> The jury won't have to rely just on Melissa's memories as they weigh the evidence. There's also that video from
01:11:14
inside the couple's home. Prosecutors say it proves Melissa was the aggressor that night. At 3:38 a.m., Melissa is
01:11:24
seen running towards her office. At 3:42 a.m., Matthew walks past the camera. Melissa follows him.
01:11:34
>> He's walking calmly, unarmed in the ADT videos, and she's following him, hunched
01:11:39
over, angry. >> At 4:01 a.m., the video shows Melissa running from the direction of the
01:11:45
kitchen. She appears distressed. This is also around the time when the camera across the street picks up audio of
01:11:54
screaming and yelling. Then in the next video clip at 4:08 a.m. >> She's standing at a front door and she's
01:12:03
seeming like she's talking to open air and you can see on her hand, you can see the hint of red as she already has the
01:12:09
cut. >> Prosecutors say the cut on her hand occurred when Melissa stabbed Matthew.
01:12:15
They believe he was still alive at that point. Prosecutors say she could have left then for help or called 911.
01:12:23
>> That's not what she did. She walks back to where he is. >> She is not in reasonable fear of of him.
01:12:31
That's what's clear. >> But Melissa's attorney, John Trevina, rejects the state's timeline and
01:12:37
disputes what prosecutors say is seen on that video. >> I never saw any cut on her hand, and I
01:12:44
don't think it shows that. The fighting continues, say prosecutors, because around 4:30 a.m., they say the couple
01:12:52
moved close to an open window and that Nest camera across the street recorded a woman's angry voice.
01:13:04
>> You said 4:33 a.m. So effing die, right? >> No, I have no recollection of that. I
01:13:14
explained my side and why I did what I did. >> You're crying right now. Is that Is that
01:13:20
what's happening? Are you crying right now? >> Do you know what tears look like?
01:13:24
>> Are you crying because you can just cry on Q? >> I'm crying because because my life is on the line right
01:13:32
now. >> Trevina says it's impossible to clearly understand what Melissa is saying on the
01:13:40
nest recording. and a former FBI audio forensic expert, Bruce Koig, testified for the defense how he believes sections
01:13:50
of the Nest audio had been what he called volume enhanced. >> So, it could be that maybe one voice on
01:13:59
the recording was not amplified and that another voice on the recording was greatly amplified.
01:14:07
>> That's true. I find it highly suspicious that Miss Turner's voice is screeching loud, but
01:14:14
when it came to Matthew Trussler, you could barely hear mumbling. >> Prosecutors deny the audio was
01:14:21
manipulated. >> Based on the outside camera, prosecutor Fan says the confrontation ended at 5:11
01:14:29
a.m. when Matthews somehow got out to the pool area through this window. So, the window was actually open, but when
01:14:37
he decided to flee from her, he pushed out the screen and went out the window. >> Prosecutors say by the time Matthew
01:14:43
collapsed by the pool, Melissa would have seen how injured he was. >> He has already bled all that blood in
01:14:51
the kitchen and then gone out. >> She knows that he needs help and she's awake and she doesn't help
01:15:00
him. But Melissa says that's when she returned to her office and blacked out. The argument ends sometime around 5:00.
01:15:11
>> Yeah. >> But you don't call 911. >> 911 >> until 8:45. >> Correct. Because I was unconscious.
01:15:21
One of the last ADT clips shows Melissa at 8:35 a.m. walking from the direction of her office. In the police report, her
01:15:32
hair is described as quote messy, as if she just woke up. >> That was the most demonstrative of her
01:15:40
not knowing he's dead because you wouldn't go looking for him if you killed him.
01:15:44
>> Is it possible that she did pass out there? She's been drinking whatever and had no idea that he was dying at that
01:15:53
time. >> Well, she knew he was dying because she saw him bleeding out. >> As the jury began their deliberations,
01:16:01
>> one of the jurors, Donald Goodwin, was feeling the weight of his decision. How
01:16:07
does the first vote go? >> Two for guilty in the second degree. >> And where were you?
01:16:12
>> Unknown. [Music] [Music] What do you hope the jury comes back with? what everyone hopes for, not guilty.
01:16:46
>> If you have a reasonable doubt about >> February 18th, 2022, Melissa Turner's murder trial wrapped up
01:16:54
after 5 days of testimony before Judge Samantha Ward. >> Your duty is to determine if the
01:17:00
defendant has been proven guilty or not in accord with the law. >> Melissa's hoping the jury will believe
01:17:06
her story about seeing Matthew alive before blacking out. He was still up and and moving around.
01:17:15
>> She says she had no idea of how badly he had been injured. So, the last I remembered of him, he was still up.
01:17:24
>> Isn't it possible that there may not have been really intent to kill anybody?
01:17:27
It's this drunken fight and somebody ends up bleeding to death. >> That's a homicide.
01:17:34
>> And prosecutor Chimway Faucet says this case is really about domestic violence.
01:17:41
He was cut and stabbed and left to die. I think that's the very definition, especially considering that this was by
01:17:50
his fianceé. In Florida, seconddegree murder cases are heard by six jurors. In this case,
01:18:03
two women, four men, one of them, Donald Goodwin. Come on up, Turner. And >> you see a young lady and you're already
01:18:12
like your stomach drops. You're like, Lord, this let me do the right thing. But behind the looks of a young lady,
01:18:20
the truth was coming out quickly. >> Melissa Turner and >> when she went to the stand, I think it
01:18:26
hurt her big time. Her tears were so fake and you can tell. I'm crying because I still remember all those
01:18:36
places, all those plans. >> She was super angry and super sad. Her emotions were everywhere.
01:18:43
>> You were there. >> I'm like, that tells me that's who she is. >> Goodwin, a part-time family pastor, says
01:18:49
those security camera videos were crucial because of what he says was a lack of other evidence.
01:18:56
>> I looked at the videos over and over, the AT videos that's inside the house. I seen red on her hands, but I couldn't
01:19:04
use this as evidence because the camera wasn't crystal clear >> at that point. Do you think he had
01:19:09
already been stabbed? >> Yes. And I think she snapped. >> You don't believe he was strangling her
01:19:15
at the time? >> I felt like she had enough and attacked him. >> And there was one clip of the audio
01:19:20
recording that convinced Goodwin that Melissa knew Matthew was hurt. Then she said, "What did I do?" And I
01:19:31
was like, "That right there tells me you know exactly what's going on now." She knew he was going to die.
01:19:39
She knew it. And yet she called nobody. >> And as for Melissa's claims about hitting her head and blacking out, you
01:19:49
don't believe that she might have passed out? >> No, not at all. There was no evidence of
01:19:54
head injury. publish the verdict and pull the jurors, please. >> The jury deliberated for seven hours.
01:20:02
>> We, the jury, find as follows as to the charge. The defendant is guilty of murder in the second degree.
01:20:08
>> Guilty of the murder of Matthew Trussler. >> I remember Sean squeezing my hand.
01:20:16
>> It was a happy feeling. >> She was inconsolable. I mean, it it was it was very difficult. I mean, she was
01:20:22
crying profusely. She will be taken into custody at this time. >> On March 18th, 2022, Melissa returned to
01:20:36
court to learn her sentence. She talked about what she had lost. >> On October 18th, Matthew lost his life
01:20:46
and I lost the man that I loved. I lost my future and my hopes and my dreams. >> But Matthew's family also spoke,
01:20:58
struggling with both grief and anger. >> Maddie, 25 years old. Wow. So much life still ahead. The life of a
01:21:10
son, a brother, a brother-in-law, and an uncle. Shawn will never see his best friend again. He will never be able to
01:21:21
replace you. >> Matthew's mother spoke directly to Melissa. >> The story that you have contrived has
01:21:30
caused me as much pain as his death. If Matthew's drinking was escalating, it was because of the lifestyle that you
01:21:37
involved him in. It was not consistent with who he was and with the way that he was raised.
01:21:44
>> This jury did not believe her claims of self-defense. nor does this court. >> Still, Judge Samantha Ward offered
01:21:54
Melissa some mercy, sparing her a life sentence. >> Based on the jury's verdict, you are
01:22:00
adjudicated guilty. Sentenced to 20.5 years in the Florida State Prison. >> Melissa Turner will be eligible for
01:22:09
release before she turns 50. >> What do you guys miss about Maddie the most? >> Oh my gosh.
01:22:16
>> Laugh. Probably. He had a great laugh. >> He was a good kid. He was He was just
01:22:22
starting to be a man. >> One life lost, another ruined on a night juror Goodwin says didn't have to
01:22:32
happen. >> Matthew Trestler didn't have to die. They could have walked away from each
01:22:38
other and started a different life. Melissa Turner chose to kill Matthew Trestler.
01:22:46
Do I think it was premeditated? Absolutely not. Do I think she's guilty? Absolutely.
01:22:56
[Music] CBS next. Here was where the body was at. She had lacerations from head to
01:23:17
toe. What happened in room 15? Three people entered and two came out carrying a body. If these walls could talk or if
01:23:24
they could talk, I'd like to hear them. >> 48 hours next on CBS and streaming on
01:23:29
Paramount Plus. [Music] All rise court >> statements show that on March 13th, 2003.
01:23:52
David Lee was killed by a single gunshot wound to his forehead. >> North County 911.
01:23:58
>> Help me. Help me. My husband's hurt himself. The report uh on the 911 call was that he'd shot himself.
01:24:06
>> Gentleman's laying in a bed. Guns laying beside him. Look, look right here. Here's another hole. He's fired more
01:24:13
than once. Look right over above his head there. There's also a shot into the bed, which is a little suspicious in
01:24:18
itself. >> There was more than one shot. And while that's not unheard of, well, it didn't
01:24:23
look like a suicide scene. And the state will show that the person who delivered
01:24:27
that fatal blow was the defendant, Rainella Lee. >> He was shot almost in the middle of his
01:24:34
forehead, but right above his his left eye. >> There were no signs of forced entry.
01:24:38
There were no signs of a struggle. And there was no one else at the residence but the defendant.
01:24:48
>> Can you connect Rainella to that weapon? Fingerprints. Anyone see or pick up the
01:24:53
gun? >> No. to any of the bullets that were used in that gun. >> No. >> That's a problem, isn't it, in this
01:24:59
case? [Music] >> Everything good about this woman was twisted. Everything good about this
01:25:09
woman was turned around to be evil. There's not any real evidence to suggest a homicide. And if I were to pull the
01:25:22
trigger in this direction, I could strike myself the left eyebrow. Am I right? >> Yes, you could.
01:25:30
>> There was only one person who who wanted to harm David. And at that point, it was
01:25:34
David. He was acting suicidal. >> And he makes his decision and he takes aim. >> He's a great lawyer. He's super
01:25:44
prepared. Fantastic lawyer. Fantastic. A bad actor. I just tried to focus on the evidence
01:25:53
and where that was leading me. >> It was hard for me to determine. >> You'll tell me if that's approximately
01:25:59
one foot >> where we were going with certain things and trying to piece those things
01:26:04
together. Decide each line is an individual stain. >> But you're not making a decision just by
01:26:10
yourself. You're making a decision as a group. >> This is a decision never to be taken
01:26:15
lightly. And I assure you that this court takes this responsibility very seriously.
01:26:21
[Music] As a senior judge, most every case that I try is somewhat controversial. Now, in
01:26:30
this case, it's it's kind of simple. If it was a homicide, did the evidence show
01:26:37
that Rella Leaf committed the homicide? >> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, >> I really could not believe what he was
01:26:44
saying. as he said it. >> You're not quite sure if this is really where this is going.
01:26:50
>> I personally have studied every shred of evidence or testimony just like you have.
01:26:59
>> Oh, I got to breathe. No matter where we think we're going here, that can't be how this ends.
01:27:07
[Music] [Music] 48 hours. The widow on Sway Road. To the flag of the United States of
01:27:45
America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
01:27:55
for all. inside this courthouse in Knoxville, Tennessee. >> Let the record reflect that all the
01:28:01
jurors are in the box and uh all parties are are are present. >> A real life drama is taking place that
01:28:11
rivals any southern gothic novel. >> I'm Josh Hedrickk. We haven't met before, have we?
01:28:17
>> No, we haven't. It's a pleasure. >> This is not a story that would happen in a sleepy New England town. It's too
01:28:25
southern. >> He would bring her a rose once a week and they would go out to dinner. There
01:28:30
is the gentility. >> With your permission, I'll remove my coat because I had some difficulty with
01:28:37
it previously. >> And underneath that very respectable surface, it seems like everything's rotting to
01:28:46
the core. >> Unless you really know what's inside somebody's mind. If I were to then place
01:28:53
it here. >> You don't really know why they do what they do, do you? >> Best-selling author Diane Fanning has
01:29:04
written about this case and the players. >> This is something that a fiction writer
01:29:10
would write about. >> Give us your name, please, ma'am. >> Rainella Leaf. Rainella Leath, a 68-year-old
01:29:23
grandmother, is at the center of this extraordinary tale. >> Have you decided whether or not you wish
01:29:29
to testify in your trial? >> I do not wish to testify. >> Very well. >> You've got an unbelievable character.
01:29:37
There were people she knew in college who said, "Well, she was great. She was a lot of fun. As long as she didn't
01:29:44
cross her." [Music] And ever since 2003, the former nurse has been the prime suspect in the death
01:29:53
of her second husband, David Leath. >> Help me. Help me. My My husband's hurt himself.
01:30:00
>> It was Rainella's 911 call on the morning of March 13th, 2003 that sent police rushing to the Leaf home.
01:30:12
>> This is Detective Moyers with the sheriff's department. We're out on a uh possible suicide,
01:30:19
gunshot wound. >> These are audio and video recordings made by police at the scene.
01:30:26
>> No sign of a nose or anything lying around anywhere. >> Listen to investigators as they begin
01:30:32
wondering about that death called in as a suicide. >> The gun's laying next to his left hand
01:30:39
which is curled underneath me. We got three fired rounds. What I have a problem with is one is where the rounds
01:30:47
at and the way he's laid. I'm not saying it it stinks. I'm just saying it strikes.
01:30:52
>> Detectives wanted to establish where Rainella had been all morning and she agreed to talk. The only time she's
01:30:59
spoken on the record. She remembers watching television with her husband David that morning before leaving his
01:31:06
breakfast on the nightstand. and he kissed me goodbye and he said, "If I'm not here when you
01:31:14
get back, I'll be at the Y." I said, "Okay." >> It was close to 9:30, she says, when she
01:31:21
headed to the hospital to visit her mother-in-law. >> Just call fourth floor. They can tell
01:31:27
you. When she arrived home shortly after 11, she found her husband laying in a bloody
01:31:35
bed with a gunshot to his head. >> I could feel something was wrong when I looked at him. I mean, I've worked in
01:31:43
emergency room where I know >> where'd he keep his gun at. >> I don't know where that gun is from.
01:31:50
I've never seen that gun in my whole life. >> The gun was believed to have belonged to
01:31:56
David's parents. David's sudden death left Reinella a grieving widow for the second time. Her
01:32:05
first husband, Ed Dosset, had died 11 years earlier. Reanella and Ed met at East Tennessee State University where
01:32:14
she was on the rifle team and studying to be a nurse. He planned to go to law school. What drew those two together?
01:32:22
>> Reella was such a confident woman. She had presence and I think that Ed was really drawn to that.
01:32:32
>> They married and moved to Ed's 165 acre family farm in the tight-knit community
01:32:38
of Soway just outside Knoxville where they raised cattle and three children, Maggie, Eddie Jr.,
01:32:48
and Katie. >> Ranella was extremely protective of her children. They became the power couple
01:32:55
in town when Ed was elected Knox County District Attorney General. Reanella was director of nursing at Park West
01:33:03
Hospital. But their lives took a tragic turn when at the age of 43, Ed was diagnosed with
01:33:10
terminal cancer. 9 months later, he died not from his illness, but in a freak farming accident.
01:33:20
But Reella wasn't a widow for long. Six months later, she shocked friends and family when she remarried. David Leath
01:33:28
was a local barber. And Ed Dosit's best friend and neighbor. >> She fixed his food and start his car in
01:33:36
the morning and she just treated him like a king. >> David's daughter Cindy Wilkerson and his
01:33:42
cousin Beth Roberts say the whirlwind romance was all the talk in Sway. What do you think he saw in Rainella?
01:33:51
>> She's charming. I said to my mother, I thought he had hit the jackpot with this
01:33:55
girl because she was so pretty and so interesting. I just thought this is going to be a great fit.
01:34:03
>> But Reella's newfound happiness was short-lived. Less than 2 years after she remarried, her 11-year-old son was
01:34:12
killed in a car crash. She was very sad and very, very heartbroken. >> Cindy says she began seeing changes in
01:34:21
Reinella and her father's relationship. >> They didn't seem as happy as they were
01:34:25
when they first got married. >> 5 years later, more heartbreak. David was hospitalized. He began seeing a
01:34:33
neurologist for signs of dementia and depression. In early 2003, Reella says David's
01:34:41
behavior became more erratic. Concerned, she began making notes in a private journal. On January 19th, she wrote,
01:34:49
"Dave hateful today. I cried and cried." 3 days later, things hadn't improved. Dave hateful. Controlling. His way or no
01:35:00
way. I cried. >> 7 weeks after writing those words, David was dead. >> What did you think had happened to your
01:35:09
dad? Somebody had shot him, but I knew that he didn't do it. [Music] Do you miss your dad
01:35:32
every day? Every haircut, every styling in the middle chair at this Knoxville barber
01:35:40
shop reminds Cindy Wilkerson of her father, David Le. It's the same chair he used for 39 years.
01:35:49
>> My dad was fun, loving, caring, and it's a joy to use the same chair he did. Cindy inherited the chair in 2000 when
01:36:03
her father suddenly retired at the age of 54. What he kept secret were all those
01:36:09
visits to the neurologist. If he was suicidal over dementia, Cindy never saw it. When Rella said your dad committed
01:36:19
suicide, did you initially think, well, well, maybe he did, but it's just hard to believe. No, I never did think that
01:36:26
my dad was scared to death of guns, and I knew that he couldn't have done that. >> And Cindy questioned why her
01:36:33
right-handed father would have used his left hand to shoot himself above his left eye.
01:36:39
>> He was totally blind out of that eye. >> As her doubt soared, so did her suspicions about her stepmother's role.
01:36:48
And she wasn't alone. Within 24 hours, Dr. Dinka Malusnik, the Knox County Medical Examiner, discounted Reella's
01:36:58
claim of suicide and ruled David Lee's death a homicide. Reella became the focus of attention.
01:37:06
It was clear to David's family what should happen next. >> Investigation, indictment,
01:37:15
trial. >> But it doesn't. >> No, not even close. Remember Ranella was the widow of a district
01:37:23
attorney general. Crime writer and 48 hours consultant Diane Fanning says that was the problem.
01:37:31
>> Almost everybody working in that office either worked with Ed knew Ed or knew
01:37:36
Reinella. There was a conflict of interest. >> Finding an outside prosecutor to take
01:37:42
the Leath case dragged on, making things more difficult. No one could figure out
01:37:49
the motive. >> Murder doesn't always make sense. Cindy was becoming more and more
01:37:58
frustrated. She wanted something to be done about her father's murder. >> With the criminal case stalled in March
01:38:06
2006, Cindy filed a civil suit against Reanella to stop her from inheriting David's estate. Prosecutors took notice.
01:38:17
Three and a half years after David Lee's death, Reinella was charged with his murder. And that's when old suspicion
01:38:25
surfaced about the death of her first husband. Ed Dosset had been found in a field in
01:38:32
July 1992, surrounded by his cattle. He had apparently been trampled to death. >> Did anyone wonder about how Ed Dosset
01:38:43
died? Yes, the reports were an agricultural accident, but some folks in the community had a
01:38:56
problem with that scenario. Ed grew up on a farm. For him to have been trampled by his own cattle, that just didn't make
01:39:04
sense. What's more, folks wondered how Ed, weak with cancer and heavily medicated, even
01:39:12
managed to get all the way from his house to the cattle. >> He died in a way that almost sounded
01:39:20
like something you'd hear on a soap opera. >> Diane Fanning says there had been a
01:39:25
theory going around Sawway that Doss's death was actually about insurance. Rainella and the kids would get a bigger
01:39:34
payout if it was an accident instead of cancer. >> It might have even been Ed Doss's idea
01:39:40
himself. Couldn't it have been? >> It could have been Ed Dos's idea and that's what stopped some of the other
01:39:46
people from wanting to pursue it because if Ed knew he was about to die, but he wanted his family to be more secure
01:39:55
financially, he might have said, "Take me out there. Let the cows trump on me. >> Nearly a year after Ray Nella was
01:40:04
charged with David Lee's murder, the same medical examiner who ruled that death a homicide reviewed a dosset's
01:40:12
file. Dr. Musik determined it wasn't cattle that killed him. It was a morphine overdose.
01:40:22
It was a huge story. The widow of a district attorney general was now charged with murdering two husbands.
01:40:31
>> Reella was now being described as a black widow >> even though she had never gone to trial
01:40:37
on any death. >> No, it was just suspicions were gathering around her. >> Which is why Diane Fanny called her book
01:40:47
her deadly web. Is it possible that Ranelo Leath is just a very unlucky woman? >> Yeah, but coincidence makes me itchy.
01:41:02
Prosecutors decided to try her for David Lee's murder first. In 2009, 6 years after his death, Reanella finally went
01:41:11
on trial. But it turns out that was only the beginning. The jury deadlocked >> 11 to1
01:41:19
>> 11 to1 to convict. The judge was forced to declare a mistrial. >> It was here in Knox County, so it it
01:41:28
wasn't shocking to me. >> A year later, Reella was back in court for trial number two. The case was the
01:41:37
same, but this time jurors were unanimous. Reella was convicted of firstdegree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
01:41:50
>> I felt like justice had been served and I was happy. So were prosecutors. With Rainella behind bars, they dropped
01:42:02
the murder charges for the death of her first husband, Ed Dosset. Never expecting what came next.
01:42:10
I would describe her as lucky. Very lucky. >> After she served six years, Reella's
01:42:18
conviction was tossed out. The reason, the trial judge had been seriously impaired with a drug addiction and was
01:42:27
kicked off the bench. >> What was your reaction when you heard the verdict had been overturned?
01:42:33
>> I was devastated. Couldn't believe it. 14 years after the death of David Leath,
01:42:42
>> call the jury in, please. >> It's now trial number three, >> statements show that on March
01:42:47
>> and prosecutor Steve Crump's turn to try Reella Le. Is there a way to describe
01:42:53
this case? >> Snake bit because what can go wrong will go wrong? [Music] It's May 2017.
01:43:16
[Music] Everyone is ready. The trial, one of the last of senior judge Paul Summer's career,
01:43:27
is set to begin. First to present, District Attorney General Steve Crump in what all sides
01:43:36
hope will be the last trial in this case. >> The person who delivered that fatal blow
01:43:44
was the defendant, Reella Leaf. >> He argues Reella's murderous plan unraveled the moment she fired that
01:43:52
first shot and missed. >> Once she missed, it changed the whole dynamic. She ended his life with that
01:43:58
second shot and then in an attempt to cover up, she fired that third shot to get gunshot residue on him.
01:44:03
>> You're describing a pretty coldblooded killer. >> Yes, that's what I think she is.
01:44:10
>> We'll show you what's been marked previously as exhibit 36 and ask if you can identify that.
01:44:16
>> For the prosecution, the gun, a Colt 38 police special revolver, reveals some of
01:44:22
the most important clues. >> May I step down? Don Carman is a former Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent.
01:44:30
>> Like I say, it's a very old, simple firearm. However, very effective. >> This picture of the cylinder was taken
01:44:37
at the scene. The three fired rounds have small indentations or hammer strikes in the center of the casing. The
01:44:46
unfired rounds do not. >> For each particular shot, it goes to the next chamber.
01:44:54
As you look at it right now, it's going clockwise. >> Yes, your honor. >> Prosecutors say that clockwise rotation
01:45:02
of the cylinder tells the order of the shots. >> The first cartridge fired would be this
01:45:10
one. The second would be this one, and the third would be this one. >> The first two cartridges are from silver
01:45:21
Remington bullets. Fragments of those were found in the wall and David Lee's head. But the third is different. It's a
01:45:30
gold Winchester found shot through the mattress. If that gold bullet was fired last, as the prosecution believes, that
01:45:38
means it came after David Leath was already shot in the head, severing his brain stem. Knox County Medical Examiner
01:45:47
Dr. Dinka Malusnik. Was David Lee in any way capable of any sort of voluntary movement after that bullet
01:45:58
transsected his brain? >> None whatsoever. >> Next, prosecutors turn to the blood
01:46:06
spatter. These round drops of blood on the wall tell investigators that David's head had to be raised nearly a foot
01:46:14
above the mattress when the bullet was fired. The only way that all of this works together is that if Rel is
01:46:23
standing at the side of the bed and she misses with that first shot, and we know
01:46:27
that the first shot was the one that went into the headboard, he raises up. The second shot occurs and he falls
01:46:34
straight back down to where he was found. You cannot lay in this bed and face that direction and get that blood
01:46:39
spatter on the wall. Blood doesn't turn corners. But the defense insists that the same evidence
01:46:50
points to David Leath as the shooter. >> Multiple shot suicides are not impossible. They happen.
01:47:03
>> Reella's team consists of Knoxville criminal attorney Josh Hedrickk along with Rebecca Lrand, a Washington DCbased
01:47:12
lawyer with a background in science. She was taking care of a sick husband who she loved. And for that to get
01:47:21
twisted into what it did is is upsetting. She's got hope that the just system isn't so broken that it won't
01:47:28
eventually realize the truth, which is that she's an innocent woman. >> With no clear motive presented by the
01:47:34
state, the defense starts with those three shots. >> Each and every one of these shots could
01:47:41
have been accomplished by David Leaf himself. and then raises doubts to Don Carman about the order of those three
01:47:49
shots. >> You don't know for certain whether the gun was opened or the cartridges
01:47:55
manipulated prior to that photo being taken? >> I do not. >> And as a result, you're unable to say
01:48:01
with any degree of scientific certainty what order the shots were fired in. >> That's correct. Because in my
01:48:09
discipline, they would be not testable. But even if the prosecution's order of shots is correct, Kentucky State Medical
01:48:23
Examiner and defense consultant Dr. Greg Davis says David Leath still could have
01:48:28
been the shooter. >> I'll give it to you. It's unusual. But to say because of that it has to be a
01:48:37
homicide, I just can't go that far. There is a phenomenon called cataaric spasm where a person can actually their
01:48:45
hands can squeeze immediately upon death. >> What would you have ruled this? >> I would have ruled this undetermined
01:48:52
>> which is what he believes Dr. Musnik should have done in this case. Remember within 24 hours of David Lee's death,
01:49:00
Dr. Malucus called it a homicide. She had not yet seen records from his neurologist or received a complete
01:49:08
medical history. >> Didn't have toxicology, didn't have ballistics, didn't have medical records.
01:49:15
It went from, "Can we figure out what happened?" to, "Can we prove this was a homicide?"
01:49:22
>> In a previous trial, Dr. Malusk testified that medications found in David's system would have rendered him,
01:49:29
and I quote, incapacitated. In other words, he would have been unable to kill himself. But in trial
01:49:37
number three, Dr. Musnik did not repeat that claim. I'm glad that she reassessed
01:49:45
and didn't try to make the same claims about toxicology at the third trial, but it's 6 years too late for my client.
01:49:52
>> Dr. Malusnik declined 48 hours request for an interview, but in Reinella's third trial, she stands firm that David
01:50:01
Lee's death was a homicide. >> I was very confident and um 14 years later, I'm even more so confident. Yes.
01:50:15
>> Dr. Davis, can you say unequivocally that she didn't kill her husband? >> No, I cannot. But there's not enough
01:50:22
evidence to say she did it. >> Right. As a forensic pathologist, at least on the evidence that I've been
01:50:27
privy to, there's no way on earth I think she's guilty. >> But there is information Dr. Davis was
01:50:34
not privy to. >> If anybody has any doubts as to whether David was murdered by Renella, maybe
01:50:41
they need to talk to Steve Walker. Well, >> I see a killer cuz she tried to kill me.
01:50:47
[Music] In a final and dramatic attempt to convince a jury of suicide, the defense
01:51:06
brings the blood stained bed to the courtroom, still preserved. >> If the record could reflect, I'm
01:51:13
pointing to the hole in the middle of the headboard. Defense forensic expert Celia Hartnett.
01:51:19
>> I've marked the portion where >> shows jurors how David Leath could have fired all three shots.
01:51:25
>> If I were to lie in bed and I were to aim at my head and pull the trigger and
01:51:31
miss high and create this. >> Yes. >> And then frustrated that I've missed sat up and pulled the trigger. It would
01:51:43
enter my head here. Yes. >> And then if I fell and my hand squeezed again, it would be consistent with this
01:51:53
direction. >> Uh not just with the direction, but also with the distance. >> We're not saying we know exactly what
01:51:58
happened. We're just saying we know there are multiple ways that all of this makes sense that don't have anything to
01:52:04
do with a homicide. There was only one person who who wanted to harm David. And at that point, it was
01:52:11
David. He was acting with his physicians suicidal. >> He's becoming useless. >> And a proud man doesn't want to be
01:52:22
useless. >> But for the prosecution, the most incriminating evidence isn't at the
01:52:29
crime scene. It's at the barber shop where Reinella called Cindy Wilkerson on the morning of
01:52:37
the shooting. Reella had already left David at home. She made the call from Park West
01:52:44
Hospital where she was visiting David's mother. >> She asked me if I had seen my dad and
01:52:52
that he had went to work out on an empty stomach. >> Was that normal? >> No. She never called me at work.
01:52:59
>> That was the first indication on March 13th, 2003 that anything was unusual about David
01:53:07
Lee. The prosecution says the call was part of Reella's elaborate alibi to prove she
01:53:15
wasn't at home with David, but they say she miscalculated. Remember, Reanella told police she put
01:53:23
breakfast by the bed and left the house around 9:30. She made the call to Cindy just 20
01:53:30
minutes later. >> There would have been no reason to say, "Have you seen him?" There would have
01:53:36
been no reason to ask if he'd worked out. And there certainly would have been no reason to say he didn't eat his
01:53:41
breakfast because there's no way she could have known that unless she had been there. And unless the only reason
01:53:46
she knew he hadn't eaten breakfast was because he was dead. >> Have you seen your father today?
01:53:53
>> That's the question the prosecution once burned into juror's minds as both sides
01:53:59
make their final case. >> It's the only explanation. Reinella Leaf is guilty of the firstdegree
01:54:06
premeditated homicide of David Lee. >> We can't say that the facts exclude the theory that David Leath shot himself as
01:54:14
I demonstrated for you. Be as diligent as you have been since we started and to return a verdict of not guilty. Murder
01:54:21
David Le. >> As all eyes turn to the jury, there are things about Reella Le they'll never
01:54:28
hear. They don't know about Ed Dosset. And they don't know about Steve Walker. >> I'm a crouton on a real big salad here.
01:54:39
And this is a big salad in this town. >> Steve Walker's ex-wife was Ed Dosset's secretary. Their relationship, as it
01:54:47
turns out, was more than just professional. In 1995, 3 years after Ed's death, Steve found
01:54:56
out during divorce proceedings that the son he raised was actually Ed Doss's biological child. It came as a terrible
01:55:05
shock to Steve and Reella. I mean, in some ways, you felt that you were on her side.
01:55:12
>> Uh, Reella, yes. I thought we was on the same team. >> He could not have been more wrong.
01:55:18
According to a police report filed by Rainella on the morning of May 26 of that year, she found Steve quote acting
01:55:27
psychotic near Ed's grave on the farm. Probably trying to piss on my husband's grave.
01:55:36
>> She told police she began firing warning shots into the ground to chase him away
01:55:43
and that Steve then took the weapon and fled on foot. But when Steve filed his own report, he
01:55:51
told a very different story. He says that same morning, Ranella picked him up at the auto shop where he
01:55:59
works and drove him to the farm to talk about the affair. >> Till I seen the gun, we was as friendly
01:56:06
as me and you right now. >> When they got to Rella's barn, Steve says she suddenly pulled out a revolver.
01:56:16
In a police interview, Steve told investigators Ranella then said, "I'll kill you, son of a [ __ ] Then I'll
01:56:24
raise the sun." >> She had a tail around her hands and she comes up with it and starts shooting.
01:56:33
>> But the former marksman missed. >> Steve started running but tripped and fell.
01:56:41
>> I'm defenseless. She said, "I used to be a better shot than there, but I can hit
01:56:44
you from here." And she aimed that gun and I closed my eyes. She pulled the trigger. I I knew I
01:56:52
was gone. >> But the gun >> click >> was out of bullets. >> There's no doubt in my mind if she
01:56:58
hadn't run out of bullets, I'd be dead. >> The police believed Steve Walker's story. And Reinella was arrested and
01:57:07
charged with attempted murder, but she took a deal and plead guilty to a lesser charge of assault. After six years, her
01:57:16
record was cleared. Why would she plead guilty? >> It's the same thing I would have told
01:57:21
her is this is a plea that will get expuned. There is no jail time. Take this deal and walk away.
01:57:29
>> Reella Leaf did walk away. >> And I thank you for your time and attention. and Miss Lee, thanks you for
01:57:34
your time and attention. >> 22 years later, she's hoping to walk away again. >> But as the jurors are ready to have
01:57:45
their voices heard as jurors, you are the ones that will decide the case. >> Something happens that no one sees
01:57:55
coming. If you can picture like a cartoon, you know, of someone's jaw hitting the floor,
01:58:02
[Music] >> I really really tried to pay attention and and took notes, so I was really
01:58:14
looking forward to deliberating. >> With her daughter by her side, Reella Le arrives at court for the final time. Let
01:58:23
the record reflect that all parties are present in the courtroom, including the defendant
01:58:28
>> before the jurors can decide her fate. There's just one more piece of business.
01:58:34
>> If it please the court, >> it's a defense motion called a rule 29. >> Pursuant to rule 29,
01:58:40
>> a routine request made in nearly every trial to throw out the case for lack of
01:58:46
evidence. In most cases, the judge simply denies the motion and gives the jurors the
01:58:52
case. >> Only two words are required. Either motion granted or motion denied. >> But then, like so many times in the
01:59:02
story of Reel Le, something completely unexpected happens. >> In short, the state has failed to meet
01:59:10
their burden. The defendant's motion for judgment of a quiddle is granted. The defendant, Rainella Leaf, is not guilty.
01:59:19
The case against Reella Leaf is dismissed. >> Not guilty. The judge on his own acquits Reel Le of
01:59:30
murder after 14 years of suspicion, six years behind bars, and three hardfought trials. Just like that, it's
01:59:42
all over. As the defense celebrates, >> she's free. She's done. The end. >> David Lee's daughter, Cindy, sits
01:59:52
stunned. The prosecution does, too. >> I don't understand it. I don't have an explanation.
01:59:58
>> And under Tennessee law, there's no appeal either because the judge made his extremely rare decision before the jury
02:00:07
began deliberations. >> Put your money. These jurors, initially shocked, become angry.
02:00:14
>> We were just used. I mean, they just used us as set pieces pretty much. >> If Judge Summers was so convinced that
02:00:22
he was right about the evidence, why not let us deliberate it? >> And how do you explain that?
02:00:29
>> I can't. Only Judge Summers can. >> So, we asked Judge Summers, now retired, to make his case to 48 hours. and he
02:00:40
agreed >> strictly based on the evidence that I heard on both sides, but particularly on
02:00:45
the state side, if I'd have been the district attorney general, I would not have brought the case to trial.
02:00:50
>> Did you choose to do this? To end this case, to finally end this case? >> Yes,
02:00:56
>> you did. >> I did. When I realized the evidence was legally insufficient, I decided to end
02:01:01
this case by doing my job and granting the motion for judgment of a quiddle. Judge Summers believed that there was
02:01:08
enough evidence for the jury to decide a homicide may have occurred, but he was convinced the prosecution didn't meet
02:01:15
its burden to prove that Reella Le had the time or the opportunity to commit it.
02:01:22
>> There was no gunshot residue found on her clothes or around her. Uh she had an
02:01:27
alibi that the state could not prove the time of death. the evidence was clearly
02:01:32
insufficient to show that she was the perpetrator of the crime. And finally, the the there was no evidence to show
02:01:41
that she was even the last person ever to see David Le alive. >> If you were so sure that there wasn't
02:01:48
enough evidence for the jury to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt, wouldn't the jury have come to the same
02:01:54
conclusion? I was simply doing my job, not trying to pass the book to the jury. >> Judges sometimes make these
02:02:02
extraordinary decisions when they fear jurors might be swayed by emotion and not evidence. And that may have been a
02:02:10
factor in this case. While we will never know for sure what the whole jury would
02:02:15
have done, we have a clue. >> If you had gotten to vote, how would you have voted?
02:02:21
>> Guilty. >> How would you have voted? >> Guilty. How would you have voted? >> Guilty.
02:02:26
>> Do you feel Rayel Le got away with murder? >> I absolutely feel she got away with
02:02:30
murder. >> For William Mcichael, Jesse Caps, and Michael Persano, it was the gun that
02:02:37
pointed to Rainella as the killer. >> There's no way David Lee fired that third shot.
02:02:42
>> And you don't believe the defense witness who said, "Well, you can have this spasm after death that pulled the
02:02:49
trigger the third time." >> That's fantasy. What most convinced you, Jesse, that this wasn't just a murder,
02:02:55
but that Rainella Leaf was the one who killed her husband. >> When Joshua Hedrickk was sitting on that
02:03:01
bed and he was twirling that cylinder on that gun, a burden to my family, it was just so
02:03:08
corny. >> A proud man doesn't want to be a burden. >> It was fake. He was trying so hard.
02:03:14
After that, I was like, "All right, this they're trying so hard that it's so obvious now." It wasn't just these
02:03:21
three. They say shortly after the judge's decision, a majority of jurors gathered near the courthouse and came to
02:03:30
the same conclusion. >> Admittedly, they did not deliberate, but they would have found her guilty.
02:03:38
>> Um, >> does that make it worse? >> Yeah, I guess so in some ways, but in another sense, it tells me I did the
02:03:44
right thing. And more importantly, our work as trial attorneys was spot on. >> For David Lee's family, it's little
02:03:53
consolation. >> He stole that verdict from the family, from the prosecution, from the jury. It was a theft.
02:04:05
>> Some in this town will always call her a black widow. But for Reanella Le, none
02:04:12
of that matters. >> How do you feel, >> Reella? How do you feel? Do you want to talk to us?
02:04:16
>> Because as she leaves courtroom number two, >> how are you doing, Rainella? >> You guys weren't worried about her
02:04:22
before, so leave her alone now. >> She walks away a free woman. >> Do you have anything?
02:04:27
>> Leave my mom alone. >> Did it cross your mind you might be letting a killer go free?
02:04:32
>> You know, there's a difference between being not guilty and being innocent. If
02:04:39
the state does not prove its case, they are found not guilty. doesn't say that they're innocent.
02:04:44
>> So, you're not saying that Rainella leaf is innocent. You're saying not guilty.
02:04:52
>> There are two entities of which I'm aware that know the answer to that question.
02:05:00
One is the good lord above and the other one is the defendant Rela le. [Music]