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[Music] this wasn't just a crime scene was it no it was not this one was bad two innocent people that were on
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their first date had their lives destroyed for what reason how well did Leslie Reeves know
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chrismith first date Chris was in a band and a singer and they had connected and he
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asked her rout the night before Thanksgiving they decided just to meet up go to the
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bar he lived 65 miles away in a really small farming Community the bar that night was very
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busy the place was packed wall to wall Chris and Leslie were talking a lot laughing getting along with everyone
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around them she texted me around 10 and she said everything's going okay she did
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then text a second text that said I feel like something's a little bit off or something I'm not sure what she meant
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was that text the last time you heard from Leslie Reeves mhm yes it was [Music] did you try texting her in the morning
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mhm and did she respond no I just started driving towards Farmersville CU I had the address and
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called the police department in that area Montgomery County Sheriff's Office this is Jeff hi I'm greatly concerned
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about my friend can someone do a welfare check what are you feeling at this point
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Nana a lot of anxiety because I don't know what I'm going to walk into uh going up there to this
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house I pulled up in front of the address and then who came while you're sitting there while I'm sitting there uh
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who's this uh woman parked I said well maybe I'll roll my window down and talk to her I asked her
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if she was checking on Chris and she said she was checking on her friend and that's when I went up to the
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door I saw the back door was broken and then I saw Chris laying there and then I ran back to my car and
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called 911 nobody's answering the door and and the back window's shattered and there's a body and there's a foot I saw
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on the floor I'm only 16 I can't deal with this I was in shock I think Sheriff's Office Jeff Jeff give me
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some help I got one alive and one dead I just remember theming bringing Chris out
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on the stretcher to the ambulance I remember there being a sheet over him so it made me panic a little
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bit I got a call from our Command Center in Springfield so you are the lead crime
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scene investigator yes were you really prepared for what you faced when you walked into that house I was
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not why would somebody do this to him why would they try to hurt my baby that's all I kept thinking he's my baby
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someone heard him going on a first date and they both end up getting shot is insane
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[Music] [Music] on the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day 2021 Nanette Styer sat in her car and
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watched anxiously as EMTs and Montgomery County sheriff's deputies descended on a
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house in the Tiny Village of Farmersville Illinois I was quite upset and kind of going crazy in the car
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Nanette had been unable to reach her good friend Leslie Reeves Nanette knew Leslie had gone to
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that house the night before to go on a first date with Chris Smith a man she had met online she was very excited she
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thought oh this would this might be um a really good connection but now Nanette was worried
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she'd seen Chris get taken away in an ambulance but there was no sign of Leslie I kept hoping you know okay bring
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Leslie out please finally a detective approached and asked Nanette for a photo of Leslie
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she showed him her phone and he gave her the horrible news I'm so sorry to have to tell you
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this your friend has um been murdered you know shot he said he didn't tell me where but he did
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say I want you to know that she went very [Music] quickly EMTs have found Chris barely
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conscious and unable to say anything about the shooting they rushed him to the hospital and deputies searched the
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house later that day crime scene investigator Josh Easton of the Illinois State Police was called to the scene and
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he began cataloging the Mayhem inside what do you see when you first approached the door I noticed the side
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door of the house the glass in the door has been broken out the refrigerator was
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pulled away from the wall the kitchen table was pushed the the chairs were knocked over no weapon was found leading
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investigators to suspect that a third person was involved een took note of every detail including the burnt pizza
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in the oven I assumed that maybe they were cooking a pizza for the night and the suspect shows up at the door
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they both tried to fight him off and when Chris was shot Leslie went to the living room to try to hide how many
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times was she shot she was only shot one time in the head in the head Leslie's body was in the living room while Chris
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had been found in the kitchen e said of the 1,800 crime scenes he had been to this
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was one of the most horrific there was blood everywhere the cabinets the refrigerator the countertop there was
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blood from corner to corner in the Kitchen East spotted two silver colored bullet casings from a 9mm gun one in the
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kitchen and the other near lesli's body as Easton processed the scene detectives
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began learning about the victims Chris Smith was a 48-year-old divorced father who worked for a pool
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contractor Chris was a nice guy he would hang out here frequently was friends with most people in town everybody knew
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him bartender Dena lran says Chris was well known in town as the guy who grew banana trees and giant pumpkins I
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remember one Halloween he donated hundreds of pumpkins for decorations for any of the kids to
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paint he gave back to his community did either one of you ever worry about Chris no
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no Sharon castanza is Chris's mother Ashley hul his sister Chris is a stayhome person that literally would
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just work in his backyard Chris lived with a dog named Tiki and an EMT told the family that tii
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may have helped Chris make it through the night by huddling with him for the roughly 12 hours that Chris was bleeding
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before being rescued I think Tiki protected Chris I think she probably laid right right next to
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him Chris's close-nit family could not imagine anyone wanting to kill him it was like no way how why like who yeah
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who would have done that investigators had the same questions about Leslie and learned that
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she was a divorced mother of two children who lived in Troy about an hour south of
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Farmersville although Leslie had a master's degree in engineering she chose instead to teach Pilates and to promote
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self-defense classes for women hi I'm Leslie from all studio and Leslie posted this video to her YouTube channel to
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advertise one of her classes Empower yourself against aggression and assault as we teach you easy to learn
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self-defense techniques power up Leslie tried to help women in abusive relationships but friends say she had
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her own TR Tres Nanette told deputies she was worried about a former boyfriend a contractor by the name of Robert tar
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known as Bobby she said I am going to completely block Bobby from email texts phone calls I I have to go no
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contact later that evening news of Leslie's murder began circulating and reached another close friend Amy
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steinhauer she had met tar a divorced father of three and did not have a good impression of
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him but you never see someone and think that they can kill my friend Amy called the Sheriff's Office
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that night to give them T's name by then detectives had already set out to find Bobby tar while 85 miles to
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the north surgeons were fighting to try to save the life of Chris Smith a bullet
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St still lodged in his [Music] brain I just want to get there I just want to get there as fast as I could
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after learning that Chris had been shot in the head his family rushed to the hospital in Springfield Illinois 2 hours
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from their home I was on the phone to everyone I could think of cuz I just needed prayers from
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everybody doctors removed part of Chris's skull and some bullet fragments in his brain before putting him in a
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medically induced coma his family struggling to piece together what had happened learned that he had been out
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with a woman named Leslie Reeves had you ever heard the name Leslie Reeves before
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no I looked her up and then I triy to reach out to her friends and then I found her best friend Nanette Nanette
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told them the same thing she had told investigators she suspected Leslie's ex-boyfriend Bobby
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tar that night sheriff's deputies went to T's home in Collinsville an hour south of the crime scene authorities say
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he never asked why they wanted to talk to him and he agreed to go to the police station without a lawyer
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t m although her friends said the couple had broken up tar told investigators that he and Leslie were still together
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you Leslie have a lot of problems I wouldn't say no worse than any average couple it was Leslie the
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detectives wanted to talk about I want you to to dig down deep here and be as honest with me as you can
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okay um Leslie is dead what can you help me shed some light on this how did she die she was murdered what
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happened that's why we're here with you you help me believe that you're not involved in this I'm not involved in
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anything investigators asked tar about Farmersville the scene of the crime you know where Farmersville is
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Farmersville no I can't say that never been there I've never heard of it and they asked tar where he had been the
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night before Thanksgiving I went to a buddy of mine's house he left and left me some money out
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of his shop and go pick it up the friend lived a short distance from T's home remember time he came
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back yeah it wasn't that long um maybe 630 something like that investigators believe the shooting took
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place sometime early on Thanksgiving morning after 1:00 a.m. tar said after he got back he was home all night you
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can talk to my daughter about me being home that's exactly what they did detectives brought T's 17-year-old
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daughter Shelby to a different room at the police station and she told them that her father actually left home twice
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that night so the first time he left was roughly 6:30 right and then he he came home about a half hour later and I said
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he had to go back right and then it was 9:1 15ish when he got back home Shelby said he had been gone for more than 2
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hours and when he got home he was upset he gets home he was crying he was soing he said he missed Lesley Shelby said she
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went to sleep around 9:30 and was awakened by her father around 2:45 a.m. he started laundry he was pacing walking
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around and he was like I can't sleep detectives went back to Tar and told him Shelby's story did not match his tar
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then changed his story and said he had gone to his friend's house twice but still insisted he was home by 8 as tar
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sat at the police station detectives searched his house and found his phone and a Glock pistol Shelby had told them
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her father had a different gun but they didn't find it it's little it's like this big I look at my cre the Army cleen
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Shelby told investigators she had seen it the day before Thanksgiving in her father's sock drawer yesterday morning
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actually I went to get S it was there and no it's not there was there yesterday and gone today okay Bobby tar
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sat at the police station overnight while authorities continued to investigate they had already learned
00:16:00
that his car had been captured by License Plate Reader cameras just after midnight the night of the shooting the
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cameras were near a gas station and investigators discovered the tar had bought gas there just after midnight
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back at the police station they confronted him with the gas station receipt see your Al cuz I don't remember
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doing that you don't remember being out after midnight when you have told us you are 100%
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positive the gas station is here in Troy yes and the murder occurred here in Farmersville
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correct the gas station was near tars home an hour from the crime scene Andrew AR fronti is the Montgomery County
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State's Attorney he has distonia a condition that causes muscle ticks and tremors so why is it significant cuz it
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so he went out and got some gas it was significant to us cuz why would he lie about it so I got fuel what does I Pro
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investigators believed it was proofed tar was lying about his whereabouts that night they placed him under arrest
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you're under arrest Forder a frony says they arrested tar immediately because they feared Chris's
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life was in danger and they hadn't found the murder weapon if he was out of custody could he
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take further steps to dispose of the evidence just one day after Leslie Reeves was killed and Chris Smith was
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left fighting for his life investigators believed they had the man responsible in
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custody I'm Aaron morard Bobby but in his only media interview Bobby tart tells 48 hours they got the wrong guy
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there is so many things Untold that will prove my innocence Bobby tar charged with the
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murder of Leslie Reeves and the attempted murder of Chris Smith is nothing if not
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unflappable did you kill Leslie reefs no did you shoot Chris Smith no he kept his
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cool even when confronted with a Litany of Lies he told investigators you told the police you only left the house
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once that wasn't true correct you told the police you had no idea where Farmersville is MH that was a lie mhm
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you lied about getting gas in your car that night mhm when he spoke with us tar admitted he was at Christmas house the
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night before Thanksgiving placing himself at the scene of the crime he says the night began when he met Leslie
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at her part-time job at this Loft store she had said she was going to go meet some friends because one of their
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friends was playing in a band she asked me if I wanted to go and I said well you
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know I would go but I have my youngest daughter staying with me for a week tar says that when he declined the
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invitation Leslie asked if if he would follow her to Farmersville because her van was unreliable and so he did that
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makes no sense to Leslie's friend Amy steinhauer she was terrified of him rightfully
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so just a few weeks earlier Amy Says Leslie told her that tar had shown up while she was on a first date with a
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different guy after that incident Leslie told Amy she was frightened by tar and texted Amy I could be killed by him
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someday if I don't cut all contact so you're telling me now that this woman who was scared of you who had actually
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texted a friend that she thought you might kill her asked you to follow her to another man's
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house does that make any sense no I understand U so I don't understand that text in general why did she think you
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might kill her I don't know I've got no clue tar says Leslie lied to her friends
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about their relationship he insists she asked him to follow her North to Farmersville so I went with her up there
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I think we arrived there around 7:30 I parked in front of her van in front of his house as as far as I went I
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left I never went back to Farmersville again if he had an innocent explanation for why he was in Farmersville why did
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he lie to to detectives my daughter her and Leslie there was a little bit of tension between both them I did not want
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her to know that I was going to meet Leslie that night tar claims that after he lied to his daughter Shelby about
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seeing Leslie he stuck to that lie at the police station because he was afraid they would tell her and he never
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corrected those lies even when detectives arrested him why not just say look between you and me I lied to my
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daughter so let me tell you the truth but let's just not share that with her why wouldn't you do that I should have
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done that he's quick to point out the lack of physical evidence connecting him to the bloody crime scene investigators
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searched his white Jetta but did not find any shards of glass or blood stains two tests by the state police were done
00:21:53
on my car zero blood found in my car there's zero DNA of mine at the crime scene anything from the crime scene in
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my car or on me or any of my clothing or my shoes zero prosecutor of frany has to concede
00:22:14
that point was any of Ty's DNA found inside the house no were any of his fingerprints found inside the
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house and authorities still had not found the murder M weapon but a week after the shooting they got a phone call
00:22:32
from T's friend Billy Adams Adams said tar called him from jail that call was recorded what's your day look like today
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cuz I need 10 minutes of your time tar ask Adams to go to his house and look for some deck brackets I got some
00:22:49
special aluminum brackets and that I need you to get because there for another job that I
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didn't tell that about yet so don't say nothing to him instead Adams contacted the Sheriff's Office deputies suspected
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tar knew the phone call was being recorded and was speaking to his friend in code about something other than deck
00:23:16
brackets yeah get them and get rid of them they thought that was suspicious which was why they went over and
00:23:21
searched investigators were on their hands and knees in T's yard looking for a gun Dan fultz is T's defense attorney
00:23:31
they searched that area thoroughly no gun you know what they did find deck brackets a few days later they got
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another phone call this time from tarr's Brother asking them to come back to the
00:23:48
house tarr's family gave deputies a Ziploc bag they said they had found in the same yard that had been searched
00:23:56
just days earlier inside a Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol and silver colored ammunition the
00:24:06
Illinois State Police determined the gun was the murder weapon and the ammunition
00:24:12
matched the casings found at the crime scene we still to this day don't know how that ended up there specifically in
00:24:21
the spot that they searched are you saying you were set up someone was framing you yes
00:24:28
but if someone was framing tar he or she would have to be pretty detail oriented
00:24:35
the state police say T's fingerprint was on the Ziploc bag he is adamant that he
00:24:41
would not have been dumb enough that he would have carried it all the way back to his home and said hm where would I
00:24:49
put this gun on my 1 acre lot I think I'll put it next to the front door and tar points out neither his Prince nor
00:24:58
DNA were found on the gun itself nothing on the firearm no DNA no Prince of mine
00:25:04
on the firearm what I think what happened is that the gun was cleaned and then Mr tar just missed a spot that spot
00:25:12
was Leslie's DNA say police found on the guide rod of the gun T's explanation the
00:25:20
gun wasn't his it belonged to Leslie I purchased the Hellcat and Leslie purchased it from me
00:25:29
as investigators continued to build a case against Bobby tar they say he was hatching a plan to silence the only
00:25:37
eyewitness did you ask a inmate to shoot Chris Smith what do you make of Bobby T's
00:25:48
story chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook andex [Music] Lesly accompanied me here on several
00:26:08
occasions if there's anyone who knew what guns Leslie Reeves owned it's Howard Bolton her close friend and
00:26:16
firearm instructor when I would hold classes she would actually shoot with us Leslie was becoming a very good shot
00:26:25
Bolton says Leslie had organized a class called girls with guns not long before she was murdered we put the girls
00:26:33
through their Paces they would move and fire they would go forward and fire they
00:26:38
would come back and fire and Leslie did very very well at that Bobby tar insisted to us that Leslie owned the
00:26:46
Hellcat that was used to kill her but Howard says he never saw her use it Leslie never brought a Springfield let
00:26:55
alone a Hellcat to class so then how did Leslie's DNA get on the guide rod of the
00:27:01
murder weapon Howard believes that Leslie's DNA could only be on that guide rod if the gun was fired at her at close
00:27:10
range so when he shot her wherever it was he shot her would have contaminated that part of the gun in fact Howard says
00:27:20
Leslie owned a different gun her friends say they wish she had taken it with her
00:27:25
the night she was killed had Leslie Tak the gun with her I assure you the outcome would have been
00:27:33
different tar declared his innocence but the case against him could hinge on what
00:27:39
Chris Smith the only Survivor remembers would he be able to identify him that was the question as Chris remained in a
00:27:49
coma we were talking to him singing to him and I was always holding this [Music]
00:27:56
handu well Chris Smith Lay helpless authorities say tar was plotting to silence him
00:28:04
forever a grand jury indicted tar on two counts of solicitation of murder those charges are based on allegations by an
00:28:14
inmate who says tar paid him $10,000 to shoot and kill the lead detective and Chris did you ask a inmate
00:28:26
to shoot Chris Smith no ma'am and to kill detective roach no ma'am tar says the alleged plot was a
00:28:36
lie concocted by a former cellmate tar says he loaned that cellmate $10,000 for his bond and that it had nothing to do
00:28:46
with Chris Smith were you worried he was going to testify and point to you as the
00:28:51
shooter no I was not worried one iota the truth was that no one knew what Chris Smith remembered the first time he
00:29:01
regained Consciousness was in early January 2022 about two months after the shooting like egg F young egg fu young
00:29:12
Chris's voice was so weak in those early days it's already over there that his old friend Mark Reen a talk show host in
00:29:20
St Louis 522 971 FM talk barely recognized Chris on the phone I could not believe that I was hearing from this
00:29:29
guy and I cried he cried just talking about that moment really brings me chills because I just thought he was
00:29:38
never going to be someone that was in my life ever again what did Chris tell you
00:29:42
well when Chris came out of this I was pretty sensitive to ask him about what had happened that night because I think
00:29:48
I was a little afraid of even having those conversations so most of the conversations that we had were really
00:29:53
focused on hey how are you are you going to be okay after intense Physical Therapy he's made incredible strides
00:30:01
he's much stronger than when he awoke from a coma but he discovered there are gaps in his
00:30:09
memory what does he remember from that terrible night I wish to God I could remember something I mean even just a
00:30:17
smidgen of something but I remember nothing he remembers nothing of the shooting or Leslie Reeves I said who
00:30:27
heex Leslie I don't know Lesley you had no idea no nothing nothing nothing is Chris the same person who used to come
00:30:35
on your show before he was shot yeah I think at the core he's still the same guy that I knew he's still the smartass
00:30:43
he's still the guy that's going to talk about how good he is and how good he was
00:30:47
and how much he could lift weights Chris works out at the gym most mornings trying to regain muscle so that
00:30:54
someday he'll be able to walk without assistance straight them he's even back to being the lead
00:31:04
singer in his rock and roll band I don't know how he did make it I don't understand how he did he's a
00:31:12
miracle but Chris is aware his life is very different from what it once was so I'm half the man I used to be but I'm
00:31:21
trying to get it back as hard as I can and then my left leg is uh partially paralyzed my hip to my knee then from my
00:31:27
knee to my toeses completely paralyzed so if there's any neurosur out there any researchers out there please get a hold
00:31:34
of me I'll be your guinea pig just make me normal and give me my life back please it's tough isn't it
00:31:40
Chris it tough doesn't even describe it doesn't describe it Chris is resigned to
00:31:47
living with part of that hollow point bullet in his brain doctors say it's in a spot that makes it too dangerous to
00:31:56
remove so that's where you got shot yep right here there's a y you still feel it
00:32:00
on my skull right there after decades on his own Chris had to move back into his
00:32:06
mother's house I thank my blessings daily that he's here with us I just wish that this guy didn't take everything
00:32:15
away from him Chris visits with his loyal dog Tiki but no longer lives with her and he'd love to see his 12-year-old
00:32:23
daughter more often but he can't drive and he's living in St Louis almost 2 hours away from his daughter and ex-wife
00:32:32
I miss her she was my little pee in the pot I mean we did everything together the trial of Robert tar was set
00:32:39
for April 2024 but Chris would not be there he told the prosecutor he was too angry to attend you didn't think you'd
00:32:48
be able to just sit there oh no no way I I know myself I doesn't know why know but Chris's alleged shooter Bobby tar
00:32:56
will be there and he said he was eager to tell the jury that he's not a violent man but on this one night early morning
00:33:07
did you snap no that's not my nature I don't lose it [Music] snap follow along with Chris's
00:33:17
remarkable story at 48 hours.com [Music] when Bobby tar went on trial in April 2024 prosecutors told the jury that he
00:33:36
killed Leslie Reeves rather than allow her to live the life she wanted a life without him Mr tar couldn't deal with
00:33:45
the fact that Leslie was seeing somebody else and he had to go and take care of it Andrew affronti says tar secretly
00:33:54
followed Leslie to Farmersville early that evening and shortly afterwards his phone began showing some interesting
00:34:03
activity he had actually searched Chris Smith on his phone had tried to find his
00:34:08
Facebook profile tar headed home and texted his friend Billy Adams I don't feel like she would drive that far for a
00:34:17
party or go out with a girlfriend I think it's for a dude he also searched whether police could track his phone if
00:34:26
he was using a VP n a virtual private Network he was researching to determine whether or not that would Mas where his
00:34:36
location was while he was using the phone authorities say around midnight tar left home stopping at that gas
00:34:44
station and then according to a fronti surveillance videos and cell tower records show that tar drove back to
00:34:52
Farmersville you believe he intended to kill both Chris and Leslie I 100% believe that he went up there with the
00:35:03
intent to do serious harm to both with one victim dead and the other with no memory it's difficult to say with
00:35:12
certainty what happened but the prosecution argued that sometime after 1:00 a.m. Bobby tar tried to enter
00:35:20
through the back door of Christmas house Leslie and Chris tried to keep him out there was some kind of altercation or
00:35:31
struggle and that's when the glass was broken crime scene investigator Josh East told the jury what he had observed
00:35:40
inside the kitchen the refrigerator was pulled away from the wall where it appeared it normally was prosecutors
00:35:47
believe Leslie was trying to use the refrigerator to block the door and based on where Chris was shot in his head they
00:35:56
think he was crouching down down to help Leslie I think that while Chris was crouched down trying to hold the door
00:36:05
shut Bobby shot through the door and shuck Chris with Chris incapacitated Arron says Leslie hid in the living room
00:36:14
tar tracked her down shot and killed her I strongly believe that he walked in an
00:36:21
Executor defense attorney Dan folz disputes all of that there is simply no evidence that that's what happened
00:36:29
there's no evidence that Leslie pushed the refrigerator there's no fingerprints and blood on the refrigerator of
00:36:34
Leslie's F says evidence of a fight in the kitchen tells a different story the amount of blood in that kitchen was
00:36:44
astonishing from looking at that crime scene do you believe that Christopher Smith had to fight his his as salent in
00:36:53
the kitchen it would appear to me that there was some sign ific struggle in that
00:36:58
kitchen between him and someone else and he says the as salent could not have been Bobby tar because he would have
00:37:05
been covered in blood they did not identify a single piece of DNA in his car they didn't identify a bloody
00:37:15
fingerprint they did not identify anything tying him to that crime scene but prosecutors argued the house wasn't
00:37:23
bloody when tar left they said Chris bled heavily in the 12 hours it took for help to arrive and while the prosecution
00:37:32
did not have a lot of forensic evidence linking of the crime scene affronti says his phone activity his lies to
00:37:41
investigators and the evidence found on the Hellcat all prove his guilt when you
00:37:47
put all of that together that's when you get the clear picture of what happened when it was the defense's turn tar says
00:37:54
he wanted to tell his story to the jury but he chose not to testify why didn't you just decide you
00:38:02
were going to talk to the jury and tell this story if in fact you have a story to tell I should have I very well should
00:38:10
have we made a strategic decision because it may have opened the door for a whole lot of other more damaging
00:38:17
evidence to be used uh to cross-examine him the defense didn't put on any Witnesses and counted on the jury to
00:38:25
find Reasonable Doubt in the lack of physical evidence after 3 hours the jury found
00:38:35
Bobby tar guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder everyone clapped and Bobby just sat there shaking his
00:38:44
head two months later tar was back in court for sentencing and this time so was Chris to tell the judge how the
00:38:53
shooting impacted him and his family C were not allowed in the courtroom lost my house lost my truck
00:39:03
I've literally lost my life about being killed tar also spoke and denied shooting Leslie and Chris the judge
00:39:11
sentenced him to 85 years I hope the rest of his time on this Earth is Hell Leslie Reeves friends are focused
00:39:24
on keeping her memory alive she was a light of a lot of people's lives she was always smiling she was a very good
00:39:34
mother lived for her kids and was an advocate and champion of women women's rights and especially women that were
00:39:45
abused if it can happen to her it could happen to anyone so we all need to be careful Chris Smith says he never
00:39:54
expected he'd be a victim of domestic violence and cautions other men to take a hard
00:40:00
look at their behavior if guys you feel like that you want you want to hurt a woman get
00:40:08
help while Chris Mourns his old life he's writing a book about his experiences and says he's working to
00:40:16
make what he calls Poor Man's Margaritas out of the lemons and limes he's been handed I've got a do over good Lord give
00:40:26
me a do over and how many people will get a second chance life Chris has found love with Michelle
00:40:33
albre she's an angel loving me and accepting me the way that I am he proposed to her on stage I just asked if
00:40:40
she married me guys what's the most important lesson out of all of this don't ever give up on
00:40:48
anything ever no matter how bad things are don't ever give up [Music] as a kid growing up in Chicago there was
00:41:07
one horror movie I was too scared to watch it was called Candyman but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly
00:41:14
inspired by an actual murder listen to Candyman the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder wherever you get
00:41:19
your podcasts I'm Erin morard of 48 hours and of all the cases I've covered this is the one that troubles me most
00:41:29
listen to murder in the Orange Grove the trouble case against Crosley green wherever you get your
00:41:35
[Music] podcast moment's emergency my wife and I need an amance from bleeting I was called at approximately
00:41:55
4:00 in the morning on February 3rd 2018 there had been a home invasion robbery in the area of hail Plantation you said
00:42:03
someone was in your house yes I'm being advised that the wife has severe injuries and was currently being trauma
00:42:20
alerted to our area Hospital you woke up to First scam and told old figure with he Master starts uh
00:42:29
fighting with you see I felt something sharp Susan relle almost died that night if Susan had died the truth of
00:42:44
what happened that night would die with her when Susan relle comes out of surgery she tells investigators that
00:42:51
there is no Intruder and that the person who inflicted all of the injuries that she
00:42:57
is suffering from is Michael relle this case is about the power of money it's about the power of desire for
00:43:07
control when Susan asked for a divorce Michael relle snapped when he was faced with the
00:43:15
prospect that he would have to give her half of his fortune he made a calculated
00:43:19
and premeditated decision to [Music] kill this is the knife that was used used to stab Susan the bending in this
00:43:29
knife you believe is a result of it hitting bone and it bent the blade that's correct all rise for the
00:43:39
jury members of the jury we're just going to lay here until you die Sue we're just going to lay here until
00:43:47
you die those are the words of that defendant Michael relle spoken to his wife of 10 years Susan relle
00:44:00
I got close to her right here and her hand comes out and was there anything in her hand yeah
00:44:07
a [Music] knife there's no way on God's green earth that my father would stab anyone was Mike's daughter Caroline a
00:44:24
source of conflict in the marriage AB absolutely didn't you tell Michael relle that you hated
00:44:31
Caroline those words came out yeah and in fact you called her a is that right [Music]
00:44:43
yes never in 1 million years would I think that my wedding would be the Catalyst of all of this
00:44:57
who do you believe brought the knife into that incident Susan relle who do you believe was the
00:45:05
attacker in the February 2nd incident Susan rouel and who is the victim my father
00:45:13
[Music] [Music] where were you and how did you learn that your father on February 3rd 2018
00:46:11
had been arrested I was in Chicago with my husband and I got an incoming call on my cell
00:46:21
phone this is a collect call from it was a recording that said in inmate from the
00:46:27
alacha county jail has called you an inmate at the alacha county department minutes later the phone rang again
00:46:35
Caroline relle quickly answered and heard the voice she'd known her entire life and he said Caroline you have to
00:46:44
get me out of here you need to call my lawyer and I dropped to the sidewalk and I just sat on the
00:46:53
sidewalk the events leading to the arrest of Mike relle began to unwind very early that morning after he called
00:47:01
police tell me exactly what happened I don't know someone's in the house and next I know I wake up next to my wife
00:47:07
and we bleeding Mike reported that he and his wife Sue had been stabbed by an intruder inside their home in an upscale
00:47:16
section of Gainesville you're fine with the subject and he just ran off you man to scare him off yeah I guess Sue's
00:47:24
injuries were life-threatening and as men's rushed to save her detective David Visconti was called to the scene there
00:47:33
was no for entury initially observed by any of our deputies no broken window no knocked down door nothing like that at
00:47:40
all no sir still Visconti had no doubt that something terrible had happened inside
00:47:49
that house there was no certainly a struggle there was a vast amount of blood around the bed that was located on
00:47:56
the wall of of the bedroom but overall the scene was missing something visanti said and he
00:48:03
did not believe a violent Intruder had been there typically we'll see many things knocked over Furniture items
00:48:10
broken um indentations in the walls in the drywall did you see any of that none of those things were present what's more
00:48:17
the rell's had security cameras covering the outside of the house the Intruder allegedly fleeing the house from that
00:48:25
direction is something that would have been captured on video the veteran detective was becoming suspicious then
00:48:32
hours later Sue awoke from surgery and broke this case wide open telling detectives that the story about an
00:48:39
intruder attacking them was a lie she claimed that Mike concocted the whole thing and that he was her true as salent
00:48:48
Mike was arrested and charged with attempted murder he could never have done anything
00:48:56
anything like this Mike's ex-wife Dee Hoffman was incredulous I have known Michael James relle since I was
00:49:05
19 and I wouldn't be here today if I thought Mike was possibly capable of harming another person Dei met Mike in
00:49:15
college they married and had two daughters Caroline and Kate during your many years with Mike was he ever
00:49:23
physically abusive to you he never touched me me not ever never but like in many marriages there
00:49:32
were problems Mike made millions in the technology business but his job required
00:49:37
him to travel all over the world truthfully he wasn't around much so it was it was hard in 2005 after 25
00:49:50
years of marriage deei asked for a divorce deei said she moved out of the family home so their children away at
00:49:58
College could always return to the house where they were raised but soon another
00:50:04
woman unexpectedly joined the family I moved out in July but then all of a sudden Susan moves into our house Sue
00:50:13
was then 38 years old and a hospice nurse she and Mike 49 met on Match.com and Dei says Sue quickly became the lady
00:50:23
of the manor Dee says everything Left Behind including her dog became Sue Mike and I were really opposites he was
00:50:33
engaging and outgoing and I was really and I think I still am more reserved not quite so
00:50:43
exuberant and I think he was looking for exuberance Caroline remembers the first
00:50:48
time she met Sue at a dinner and my dad seemed to be laughing and having a good time but Caroline says she couldn't help
00:50:58
but notice how much Sue was drinking we've never seen anyone take down 5 to six martinis and be able to
00:51:09
stand and speak some 2 years after they met Mike married Sue in August 2007 Mike stopped traveling and bought a
00:51:20
local business the couple's happier times are reflected in some of the thousands of text messages that surfaced
00:51:28
during legal proceedings Mike refers to sue as his trophy bride and writes that their lives together are simply
00:51:39
amazing but Caroline says Sue became jealous of the close relationship she had with her father and tried to keep
00:51:47
them apart she had such walls around him he wouldn't call me unless he was in a car alone
00:51:58
he wasn't allowed to take my call in front of her but surprisingly when Caroline
00:52:04
announced in 2016 that she was getting married Sue was happy to help but Caroline says Sue wanted to do it her
00:52:14
way Sue was pretty adamant about throwing me a shower my mother was invited but none of my mother's friends
00:52:23
were invited so the majority of the guests we Sue's friends and family but Caroline admits the shower
00:52:33
was a lot of fun and she was looking forward to the wedding Sue helped her pick out a dress I tried on a dress and
00:52:42
I liked it and Sue kept telling me like this is your dress this is your dress it's so beautiful you have to have this
00:52:52
Sue handed over her credit card and it was done you mind me asking how much the dress was
00:53:00
worth this is so go I think it was 11 $111,000 the wedding itself in November 2017 would be a royal like of
00:53:13
fair the setting was the Sumptuous oeka Castle on Long Island 160 people attended the wedding
00:53:21
and Caroline says the day was magical my husband and I know how lucky we are to have had that weekend it was beyond
00:53:33
beautiful Caroline says it was nearly perfect except for something that caught her eye an unusual mark on her father's
00:53:42
face the last thing I saw before walking down the aisle at my wedding was this White Scar from here to
00:53:54
here and in my mind I was like what is that weeks later she found out Mike revealed to Caroline what he said was a
00:54:05
dark disturbing secret he claimed Sue had been physically abusing him for years [Music]
00:54:26
I called him on his birthday and I said how are you doing and he just started crying it was late November 2017 just 3
00:54:39
weeks after her fairy tale wedding when Caroline says her father shared a disturbing secret about Sue that he had
00:54:46
promised not to tell and he said sue was arrested and he said she started ATT attacking me and I think he was so
00:55:00
victimized that he was really scared to tell anyone Sue had been charged with domestic battery but the details of what
00:55:11
happened that day would not become public until 2 years later at Mike's trial for attempted
00:55:18
murder he were at the when they both testified about the last tumultuous months of their marriage
00:55:26
ma'am please be seated speak clearly microphone what was the state of their marriage I think it was in the lowest
00:55:33
place that it could possibly be before a divorce I was upset Sue told prosecutor
00:55:38
David Byron that shortly after Caroline's wedding Mike told her it had gone nearly
00:55:46
$150,000 over budget was it fair to say that you were partially upset with defendant but mostly at Carolyn yes Mike
00:55:54
says Sue attacked him when the fight escalated she throws the phone at me charges around the bed pushes and just
00:56:01
start her typic eating like this but Mike didn't call 911 that day Sue did I just felt as though things were a
00:56:13
little out of control when police arrived Sue admitted to pushing Mike and agreed to go to
00:56:21
their beach condo to diffuse the situation but she was arrested half an hour later
00:56:26
when she hadn't yet left the house he said please place your hands behind your back you're under
00:56:34
arrest Sue told the jury that she was ordered to stay away from Mike she moved to their beach condo and got counseling
00:56:42
for alcohol and anger management Weeks Later Mike declined to pursue the battery charge and it was dropped
00:56:51
prosecutor Shan Brewer did she have a problem with alcohol SU has testified that at times when she
00:56:59
would drink um she would lose her temp but Mike says Sue's actions went Way Beyond a bad temper he told the jury she
00:57:07
had tormented him for years she lunged at me again punch me in the face um scratched my face punched him in the
00:57:14
arms and bent my glasses actually she would throw things at him very heavy things like
00:57:22
vases and very heavy coffee m Sue denies abusing Mike and Mike never reported any of the alleged incidents to
00:57:33
police is it true that you have seen your father with a black eye he's sent me multiple pictures of him with the
00:57:42
black eye Mike did take photos of some injuries which he shared with Caroline and later the
00:57:51
jury he is a picture that he showed me of his face gushing blood and there was one mark from here to here the
00:58:02
prosecution admits this injury may have been caused by Sue but they say the evidence shows Sue was fighting for her
00:58:09
life after Mike attacked her there are text messages where she accuses him of smothering her with a pillow which in
00:58:18
fact is the same instance that she ended up scratching him in the face despite the alleged abuse and Sue arest rest
00:58:26
Mike says he still loved his wife and wanted to stay married in February 2018 he asked Sue to come to Gainesville for
00:58:36
the weekend Mike had asked me to come in he wanted us to work on the marriage they decided to go to their
00:58:48
favorite Steakhouse that Sue on home security video getting ready and enjoying a glass of wine my arrives home
00:58:57
and the two share a kiss before heading out but over staks and more wine Old Wounds reopen he just received a text
00:59:07
message from Caroline Sue says that's when Mike admitted he had betrayed her trust by telling Caroline about Sue's
00:59:15
arrest he and I both agreed that we weren't going to discuss that Mike drove home alone Sue followed in an Uber her
00:59:25
anger spilling into a series of text messages about Caroline good luck with your she will ruin any
00:59:33
relationship you have once home they went to separate parts of the house Sue continued her angry
00:59:46
text I am filing for divorce I will leave in the morning the last text from Sue is sent
00:59:55
at 10 10:13 p.m. you have serious boundary issues with your daughter later Sue says she was alone in
01:00:06
the guest room when Mike entered there are no cameras inside that room and he just hopped on top of me and
01:00:19
I felt like this pressure right here and then all of a sudden I saw a knife come out I said oh my god mik did
01:00:31
you stab me and he said yes at some point does he say something to you he said uh Sue we're not getting
01:00:41
a divorce Sue says Mike was on top of her pinning her arms with his legs in the struggle her left thumb was sliced
01:00:50
then she says mike stabbed her again am I ne right here Sue says mike then started slashing
01:01:00
her wrist felt like he was mutilating me my hand it was like just I couldn't feel
01:01:12
anything and I could see into my arm losing blood her life in danger Sue says she vomited and lost control of her
01:01:24
bodily functions she says she tried to wriggle out from under Mike and they ended up lying
01:01:31
sideways across the bed he just said to me Sue it's going to lay here until you die Sue says as she was lying there
01:01:42
struggling to stay awake she saw Mike raise the Knife yet again desperate she offered him a way
01:01:51
out I said mik we don't have to divorce I won't divorce you just put the knife down Sue says after
01:01:59
Mike Put The Knife Down she begged him to call for help but he would only do that if she agreed to say an intruder
01:02:09
had stabbed her when she agrees to go with his story of The Intruders she saved her life a
01:02:16
toxic marriage tax brimming with hate and a bloody room Mike rell's future will now depend on whether he can
01:02:26
convince jurors that he is the real [Music] [Applause] [Music] victim when First Responders entered
01:02:47
this bloody scene in the early morning hours of February 3rd 2018 they'd been told by Mike relle that a stranger had
01:02:56
broken into their home and assaulted his wife and then him with a knife but in court now with his defense
01:03:05
attorneys Patrick mcginness and Anne finel Mike admits that story was a lie and says he's finally ready to tell the
01:03:14
truth he says despite Sue's drinking and violent outbursts he was hoping to reconcile that night I don't care if
01:03:22
she's a melod drunk the rest of her life just the anger's got to go but at dinner once again they fought
01:03:29
about Caroline and that fight continued back at the house after that Mike and Sue stories diverge Mike says he came
01:03:37
into the guest room a little after 10: and was startled to see Sue kneeling on the bed holding a knife I said sue give
01:03:45
me the knife and then next thing I I felt searing heat that's that's all I remember and
01:03:53
I'm just trying to get my hands on it and I'm on the bed with the now we on our knees Mike doesn't say how he got
01:03:59
his hands on the knife but he says as they struggled and fell over on the bed he felt the blade go into Sue's stomach
01:04:07
she's falling backwards and I'm falling in front on top I felt the knife penetrate here and I I rolled off as
01:04:14
fast as I could because I was afraid if that went in her it would kill her Mike offers no explanation for how Sue was
01:04:21
stabbed in the neck or thumb but he does say about 1 minute into the struggle he
01:04:28
somehow calmed her down and put the knife Out Of Reach now you're both bleeding during this point in time right
01:04:35
yeah but it's not spurting and there's no blood at all you can see on Su through the through here Mike says he
01:04:43
wanted to call for help right away but Sue wouldn't let him because she was afraid she'd be arrested again I said Su
01:04:53
we need to go to the hospital and she said then make up a story so I don't get arrested Mike says they argued about a
01:05:01
possible cover story but then as bizarre as it sounds they just lay together bleeding for several hours having what
01:05:11
Mike says was one of the best conversations of their lives about future vacations to Europe we talked
01:05:20
about going to Germany on the rine and Mosel river cruise maybe we'll do burgundy next if Mike is speaking the
01:05:26
truth this happy conversation happened on a bed soaked with blood and human waste Greece cuz we've never been to
01:05:34
Greece in Carol Mike never mentions that Tuscany and Florence and prosecutor David Byron suspects why is this
01:05:42
believable I don't think it's believable at all he held her there and he can't admit that Michael relle had months and
01:05:48
months to go over the evidence and construct a story that fit with things that he couldn't admit according to Mike
01:05:56
at about 3:00 a.m. their dog Susie wandered in to this bloody scene where violence was about to erupt again I get
01:06:05
up out of the bed to deal with a dog and and behind me was the knife and next thing I know she sliced her right wrist
01:06:15
with her left hand did you talk to her about why she had cut herself yeah she said she doesn't want to go to jail I
01:06:23
said sue I'm not going to send you to jail I'm not going to get you arrested calm down she goes you promise you
01:06:30
promise I said yes as Mike tells it sue cooked up the whole idea to lie to police and he reluctantly agreed in
01:06:41
order to protect her I said then the only chance I have is to turn the cameras off to give a window of
01:06:48
opportunity to say someone brok in and did this to us Mike says after Sue cut her own wrist he left the room to turn
01:06:55
off security cameras and stage of Breakin 25 minutes passed before he called 911 and turned the cameras on
01:07:04
again and he's doing that with the knowledge that With Every Beat of her heart more of her blood is pouring into
01:07:10
that bed but the defense thinks the blood at the crime scene helps to prove their case people lie the forensics
01:07:20
don't lie and that's why the blood spatter was so important in this case Michael Berkland is a former doctor and
01:07:27
blood stain pattern analyst who testified for the defense what do you consider the most
01:07:34
important blood evidence inside that bedroom the arterial spurt patterns berkeland says he reviewed records which
01:07:42
stated a small artery in Sue's wrist was cut that night and he believes the blood
01:07:48
here on the pillowcase and here on the nightstand came from that artery the important thing about AR though is that
01:07:57
you get blood coming out of that With Every Beat of the heart berkeland uses stage blood and a small syringe to
01:08:05
demonstrate the way Sue's blood may have traveled making a line or fine spray of
01:08:12
drops so the blood in your opinion gives us a timeline as to when Sue's wrist was
01:08:18
actually cut correct because arteries don't close up on their own remember SU says the attack including the cuts to
01:08:27
her wrist started sometime after 10:13 p.m. but Mike says Sue cut her own wrist at around 3:00 a.m. hours later
01:08:38
berkeland says if Sue's wrist was cut before 11 she would have died long before help arrived how much time does
01:08:47
she have to live in your opinion if the wounds happen no later than 11:00 she's dead before it ever ever
01:08:55
hits midnight which leads you to believe what when it comes to this injury to the
01:09:02
wrist Michael story makes more sense the defense team says if we can't trust Sue's account about what time things
01:09:11
happened then her entire story is suspect it is absolutely impossible to have happened the way she claims it did
01:09:23
[Music] [Music] inside this box this is the knife that was used to stab Susan encased in protective plastic
01:09:54
this is a lot of blood this is a lot of blood are the remnants of the vicious confrontation inside that bedroom that
01:10:02
prosecutor Shan Brewer is certain contain evidence of an attempted murder this is Mike rell's pajamas yes
01:10:13
and they are soaked in Blood and whose blood is that well Susan is the one that had the injuries that
01:10:21
provided uh the mass amount of bleeding so if blood could talk this blood is telling you what this blood is telling
01:10:29
me that um Michael was on top of her while he was stabbing her and um she was bleeding quite a bit without any
01:10:37
Aid prosecutors say this evidence backs up Sue's testimony that Mike attacked her they also say the items on that
01:10:47
bedside table help prove this was not a dynamic fight between two people David Byron says that only one person had
01:10:56
control of the situation Mike relle there's a full glass of wine there's some glasses there's a lamp and it's
01:11:04
evidence of the fact that Michael relle was so physically capable of constraining her that none of those
01:11:11
things are Disturbed and the prosecution disputes defense expert Michael birkeland's claim that these stains on
01:11:18
the nightstand came from spurting blood from Sue's wrist instead their expert says the blood was most likely cast off
01:11:28
flung from the knife and not from Sue cutting her own wrist the cast off shows that he was swinging that knife as he's
01:11:35
plunging it into her stomach and into her neck call Dr B to the Head prosecutor Brewer not only attacks
01:11:41
Berk's conclusions he also challenges his credibility letting jurors know that his medical license was suspended and he
01:11:50
was later arrested for storing body parts from autopsies in Tupperware containers in an unusual place you were
01:11:59
storing them at Uncle Bob's storage shed weren't you in a climate control room were you storing that at Uncle Bob's
01:12:05
Storage yet yes and the actual organs that you were storing included brains and hearts I did
01:12:12
have some hearts and brains yes berkin says the organs were preserved for private cases he was working on while he
01:12:19
was still a licensed doctor I used the storage locker because they were safe and secure either that or I put them in
01:12:28
my house this was safer than my house the charges were later dropped prosecutors also want the jury to know
01:12:37
that the severity of Sue's wrist wound suggests she did not do it herself the one that was truly life-threatening was
01:12:44
the the cuts that the defendant made to her wrist she was cut all the way down to
01:12:51
the bone Mike's injuries were a lot less serious as you can see he had some small
01:12:58
cuts on his fingers and stomach and Sue says these larger cuts to his forearms were in fact
01:13:07
self-inflicted he put the knife in my hand and he stabbed himself in the arm and what about that story Mike told
01:13:17
investigators that an intruder did all this the prosecution says it was all his idea to cover up what he had
01:13:28
done he turned off the cameras and did things to make the police believe that there had been a
01:13:36
burglary and the motive for this alleged attack the prosecution believes it was all about money that Mike didn't want to
01:13:44
give up half of his fortune millions of dollars in a divorce you didn't tell this Jan that
01:13:51
after all you've been through it didn't seem fair for Susan to take half your money yeah that is true do seem
01:13:57
fair the prosecution refutes Mike's claims that he still wanted to reconcile the troubled marriage by pointing out
01:14:06
that he had visited three dating sites Ukrainian single girl Arena she's 18 years old
01:14:13
right I looked at pictur women with clothes on yes sir understand they had close on Sir
01:14:20
question I'm asking is you were looking for your next girlfriend right yeah I'll
01:14:24
tell you exactly was looking for sure all I want out of a woman in my life is someone to be kind and nice to me that's
01:14:31
all I care about I looked at pictures and descriptions of how they would treat their male and soon and I looked at
01:14:37
these together many times and in our relationship and saying Sue that's all I need from anybody please be nice to me
01:14:45
please the defense counters that Mike's other internet searches prove that he was being abused by
01:14:53
Sue did did you visit numerous sites related to battered husbands yes I do he has all of the
01:15:02
economic resources he's not cut off from any family members Michael relle doesn't
01:15:06
meet any of the criteria for what a battered spouse is the defense also tries to counter Sue's claim that Mike's
01:15:14
attack came after she threatened divorce they produced dozens of text messages going back to 2015 that show Sue had
01:15:23
made that threat many many times you actually say for the 50th time I want a divorce it's just an expression like
01:15:33
saying for the you know 100th time but it is about 50 times isn't it I don't know I didn't count and defense attorney
01:15:44
and Fel suggests those texts also reveal Sue's destructive intentions have you told him I hate you
01:15:54
yes okay you've said I will destroy you yes and on your anniversary in 2017 hate you happy 10th anniversary I'm
01:16:06
divorcing you you you said that yes in her closing argument finel insists Mike would never
01:16:16
try to kill for money she says Sue was the aggressor that night and Mike was just defending himself she hates
01:16:26
everybody she hates his daughters she hates his former spouse that's how hateful this
01:16:34
woman was and is but the prosecution says there is no question Mike wanted Sue dead this is not a frenzy struggle
01:16:46
between two adults this is a blood bath committed by one person who has imprisoned the other on that
01:16:52
bed in the war of the rell's jurors will soon decide which one they [Music] believe as the jury goes out to
01:17:11
deliberate um what are those minutes and hours like for you I I just like couldn't talk to anyone I spent the past
01:17:21
year and a half like mentally preparing myself for the worst and hoping for the best Caroline does not have long to wait
01:17:33
all rise for the jury after a 9-day trial it took little more than 4 hours for the jury to reach a verdict they say
01:17:42
a quick verdict is often a prosecutor's verdict it's a thought that creeps into your head but you never really know what
01:17:48
a jury is going to do members of the jury I understand you have riched a verdict we have your honor would you
01:17:53
please pass that to my we the jury unanimously find as follows to defendant Michael James Melle in this
01:18:01
case as to count one the defendant is guilty of attempting first-degree murder as charged in guilty Mike relle is
01:18:09
convicted of the most serious count against him we were all so shocked as to count to the defendant his guilty of
01:18:19
false imprisonment in quick succession the jury also finds relle guilty of four additional crimes including false
01:18:27
imprisonment and tampering with evidence J number 51 is this true vered yes jurors utterly reject Mike's story of a
01:18:37
knife fight with his wife prosecutor Shan Brewer says justice was served to a man who lied to
01:18:46
investigators and to the jury Michael went through Great Lengths to try and kill Susan he just wasn't very good at
01:18:53
it and what's more Brewer says mike rouselle tried to kill Sue not once but twice while he was in jail awaiting
01:19:02
trial an informant came forward to claim Mike tried to hire a hitman to kill sue
01:19:08
a charge Mike strongly denies do you believe that your father in jail plotted to hire someone to murder his wife no
01:19:20
honestly I don't mean to laugh but it is beyond laughable as we were interviewing Caroline she got
01:19:28
a phone call that surprised us Dad hi I'm good I'm with 48 hours right now literally with cameras Mike relle
01:19:40
allowed me to ask a few questions Mike I just want to hear you tell me did you take a knife into the
01:19:48
room that night on February 2nd 2018 and attack your wife absolutely not and you're telling me the
01:19:58
truth absolutely on my children's lives all I did was defend myself I got attacked in December 2019 everyone
01:20:10
returns to judge William Davis's courtroom for sentencing the victim in this crime suru shelle does not appear
01:20:18
in person remain standing face the judge and raise your right hand please when it's Caroline's turn to speak the moment
01:20:25
is charged with emotion no one is as positive caring and generous than this man I will
01:20:41
say I am and will always be a proud daughter one of the most caring kind gentle people I've ever met
01:20:53
several colleagues and friends speak of Mike in glowing terms he's a good person
01:20:59
the Mike relle I know is a standup gentleman heard then judge William Davis took Center Stage Mr Melle will you
01:21:08
please stand Mike was about to learn his fate the person I heard through the evidence and the witnesses was somebody
01:21:16
who was cold they were brutal on count one the attempted U first degree premeditated murder I'm going to send
01:21:25
you to 30 years imprisonment in Department all told the judge gives relle 30 years not the 50 years
01:21:33
requested by prosecutors but for Mike who is 64 years old it is in essence a life
01:21:44
[Music] sentence here are two sophisticated people very wealthy living in Paradise
01:21:52
in one of the most beautiful parts of Flor Florida and yet they couldn't work this out it's a real tragedy isn't it
01:21:58
absolutely I mean when you hear who Michael and Susan Michelle were before this all occurred they lived exemplary
01:22:07
and mostly normal lives and to see it get to this point really is a tragedy the war of the rousell is not
01:22:16
over Mike and Sue are divorcing and continue to fight over the marital assets including the house where Sue was
01:22:25
nearly stabbed to death [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] okay make a wish y Lisa buan was a very attractive
01:23:34
young lady it's about love and friendship she was a very creative type oh honey you
01:23:41
look marvelous very freespirit fabiio oh F my name is Tara Bentley I'm Lisa's older
01:23:50
[Music] sister when I first saw I just saw her as a patient and while she was waiting
01:23:57
to see her dentist she saw a sign saying free consultations she walked in she was
01:24:02
wearing a ball cap no makeup this incredible little smile and her bright blue eyes there's something we saw in
01:24:08
each other we enjoyed they looked like a wonderful couple but that really was a veneer that
01:24:16
really hid what was really going on between the two of them it was her intention to put an end to their
01:24:23
relationship ship that [Music] weekend the July 4th 2005 weekend uh certainly a weekend that you would think
01:24:32
that folks would be out picnicking going to fireworks concerts but they're holed up in Lisa's
01:24:40
apartment having this um sex Marathon I think he really liked the way that she reacted and responded when she
01:24:48
was under the influence of drugs the only time that she was experiencing these drugs was when he gave him to her
01:24:56
she was addicted to Chris koulis and their relationship the drugs were certainly a part of that
01:25:04
relationship he was injecting Lisa repeatedly with this concoction of Oxycodone that was pulverized ground up
01:25:16
the drugs were coursing through her veins they caused her to collapse suddenly Lisa stopped breathing
01:25:25
I immediately began CPR and call 911 911 what emergency start breeding she wasn't
01:25:32
breathing and there was no pass I think that he is a predator I think that he is a
01:25:46
manipulator I'm Eric Anderson I'm the lead investigator in the case involving the death of Lisa Buchanan
01:25:55
I didn't give Lisa any drugs I loved her they're looking for someone to blame he wanted her under his control
01:26:04
and when you're a doctor and you want control you just have tools at your disposal that other people don't
01:26:15
have Addicted to Love tonight's 48 Hours mystery Happ [Music] [Applause] [Music]
01:27:00
when police were called to Lisa VI Canon's apartment in Franklin Tennessee straight ahead is the living
01:27:07
room kitchen area they were surprised by what they found in this quiet gated community a cash of prescription
01:27:17
drugs and sex toys they found needles they found a lot of syringes [Music] Lisa and Chris kouis had spent most of
01:27:30
that final July 4th weekend of 2005 in her bedroom they stayed in that apartment that weekend engaged in this
01:27:38
Marathon sex session there was so much evidence to collect it was a massive undertaking most crucial say detectives
01:27:49
was the discovery of used syringes with traces of Oxycodone oxycodone is a powerful narcotic used to
01:27:58
kill pain it can be a very addictive and Dangerous Drug abusers like the calming
01:28:04
Euphoria creates the high is immediate and potent it's a controlled substance it's
01:28:12
something you can only get from a prescribing physician you can't just buy it but when Lisa was rushed to the
01:28:20
emergency room the doctors trying to save her say do Dr kouis told them nothing about the drug she had been
01:28:26
using in fact paramedics say Dr kouis claimed Lisa had collapsed after a trip to the swimming
01:28:34
pool Chris was deceptive he totally misled them Chris stood there in that ER room didn't tell them about the illegal
01:28:43
drugs didn't tell the ER staff what could have been crucial in Saving her life I just wish that at some point she
01:28:53
had realized how dangerous he was Tara Bentley believed her sister Lisa did not see kouis as she did I think that the
01:29:01
rest of us just felt that any day now she would realize who he was on paper kis looked pretty good he
01:29:10
was a young handsome plastic surgeon he was a graduate of Vanderbilt University and had a thriving practice by the time
01:29:18
he was 30 Lisa's mother Peggy was thrilled when her daughter met a doctor I thought finally she had met somebody
01:29:26
that was going to make her very happy Dr kulus was very Charming was extremely confident kouis had served his
01:29:34
internship at a Chicago hospital and loved working in the emergency room that was the most exciting for him because it
01:29:42
was rescuing people from Death it was in Nashville in the year 2000 that kulus had that chance meeting
01:29:51
with Lisa Buchanan he became her boyfriend friend and her doctor you performed numerous procedures on her for
01:29:58
free oh yes how many a redo breast augmentation or eyelids forehead lip augmentation lipos suction full face
01:30:07
laser Botox collagen list goes on coolis also helped Lisa pay the [Music] bills she was struggling to make it as
01:30:19
an actress and model [Music] even at a young age Lisa Buchanan had Big Dreams for herself she was going to
01:30:32
get on TV and she was going to be heard we if you Canon how are you she auditioned for soaps I heard about this
01:30:39
General Hospital thing and I think i''d be really really good tried out for TV shows I can do love scenes and I can do
01:30:46
drama her most recent Pursuit was to develop a children's puppet show I do have quite a lovely singing voice
01:30:54
don't you think but things just never click for Lisa professionally or personally no
01:31:03
matter how beautiful she was or how beautiful people saw her there was insecurity in
01:31:13
her before kulus Lisa had a string of failed relationships she married young and divorced but from that broken
01:31:22
marriage came one of the best things things in her life her daughter Jesse she was so much fun we were best friends
01:31:29
I could tell her anything anything Jesse was happy at first when her mother met Dr kouis we just moved
01:31:38
into this big house and that was so cool I got a huge room and my girlfriends came over and we had a huge big screen
01:31:45
TV on the wall and and I was cool but it wasn't long says Jesse before she know noce how controlling the
01:31:56
doctor was once I got to know him I didn't really like him he would always call her every 10 minutes wanted to know
01:32:02
where she was it's like stalkerish so protective in a creepy kind of way Lisa and Dr kouis were on again off
01:32:13
again for 5 and 1/2 years according to her sister Tara Lisa was just about to break things off again that final
01:32:22
weekend you just had to hope that maybe this time um it was really going to stick Tara had wondered if Lisa could
01:32:31
ever break away Lisa appeared locked in cis's grip even though the couple spent much of the relationship
01:32:38
apart he lived and practiced in other cities and frequently called Lisa accusing her of seeing other
01:32:47
men there were times that she have to hand the phone to me so that I could tell him she's with me he wouldn't trust
01:32:55
it he over the years Cut Her Off from all her friends alienating all her friends because of Jealousy on his
01:33:04
part and there was something else that concerned Lisa's family Lisa was becoming ill more frequently in fact her
01:33:14
family believes that Dr kulus would convince Lisa she was sick and that he alone could fix her in one
01:33:22
conversation could absolutely abolutely convince her that the world was coming to an end but at the same time he was
01:33:29
going to save her from it did you ever see Chris kouis give your mother drugs yes Jesse has a vivid childhood memory
01:33:38
of seeing kouis inject her mother with an unknown drug She fainted and I started screaming
01:33:46
mommy you shut the bathroom door and started Bing on the door and he wouldn't let me see her you saw him administer a
01:33:56
shot to her mhm I'll never forget it investigators now believe it was kulus who introduced Lisa to the idea of
01:34:08
using drugs to enhance their sexual encounters I don't think that there's a shred of evidence or proof that she was
01:34:14
a drug addict Anderson like Lisa's family believes she only used drugs when Dr kulus gave them to
01:34:22
her but kouis claims he knew Lisa better than anyone and like it or not he says she was a drug addict Che certain demons
01:34:32
just like we all do and one of them was drug abuse Kula says Lisa hit her Ivy drug use by injecting herself in
01:34:41
concealed areas of the body like her groin it's a favorite spot of people that want to conceal
01:34:47
it but detectives aren't buying it after a 5-month long investigation Chris kouis
01:34:54
is arrested in charge with murder they say he supplied the drugs he injected her and he is responsible for Lisa
01:35:03
Buchanan's death I do believe that he gave her at least one injection if not multiple injections and he is absolutely
01:35:12
responsible for her death it's been extremely traumatic I am quite concerned as to what is going to happen
01:35:36
charged with killing his girlfriend Lisa Buchanan Chris kouis faces the possibility of spending the next 25
01:35:43
years in prison but he says he's innocent did you kill Lisa Buchanan absolutely not the autopsy concluded that Lisa died
01:35:54
of an overdose of Oxycodone during the search of her apartment detectives found only one mostly intact oxycodone pill
01:36:03
but the used syringes contain crush pills and liquid mixed into a slush prosecutors say Lisa was injected
01:36:11
with that Slush at least three times that weekend and in cis's travel bag detectives found an unopened 18 gauge
01:36:19
needle the same kind that had been used that piece of evidence is extremely incriminating Chris kouis is Accused not
01:36:28
only of injecting Lisa Buchanan with the drugs but of supplying them as well despite his denials he's about to be put
01:36:35
on trial facing four charges ranging from simple assault to second degree [Music]
01:36:44
murder BC good morning ladies and gentlemen morning sir is the state ready to proceed yes sir thank you Kim helper
01:36:52
is Prosecuting Dr kulas the evidence supports the fact that it was this defendant who was injecting Le of Canan
01:37:02
with that oxy too mixture Lee Offman is defending the doctor so what does the evidence show it shows he didn't do it
01:37:12
from the facts I could not see how he could be convicted of anything [Music] but prosecutors are convinced they have
01:37:27
a strong circumstantial case thanks in part to this small video cassette detectives found in Lisa's
01:37:36
apartment they had videotaped these sex acts all weekend long it documents the final hours of
01:37:44
Lisa's life and provides Clues to her death the tape is disturbingly graphic and in some scenes Lisa seems barely
01:37:55
conscious so the jurors from this fairly religious and conservative southern city
01:38:01
must sit through a screening of the entire two hours of the sex tape in open court it's extremally
01:38:11
embarrassing this was never intended to be seen by anybody else but for Lisa N then to be destroyed your B
01:38:20
perfect that video clearly showed she enjoyed what she was doing she participated willingly cis's attorneys
01:38:29
believe the tape is more damaging to Lisa than to their client I think the prosecution made a mistake in trying to
01:38:38
portray her as just a victim with no fault because clearly she was not but prosecutors are convinced kouis
01:38:48
injected Lisa with drugs to control and dominate her you can see in in the background on occasion where there is a
01:38:56
needle laying on the carpet the tape does not show who gave Lisa the injections but it does show Lisa holding
01:39:03
gauze against her groin covering fresh injection marks incriminating evidence prosecutors say against kulus the
01:39:12
evidence on the video clearly shows Chris kulus being aware of uh those pads and the presence of uh syringes on the
01:39:21
tape kolis can be heard telling Lisa to apply pressure to the area to stop some bleeding it was being portrayed as proof
01:39:31
that I gave Lisa narcotics in fact it did not show that at all all right ladies and gentlemen that will conclude
01:39:38
everything for today kouis maintains Lisa injected herself in the groin that weekend it's quite easy it is
01:39:46
absolutely not so according to Tennessee's Chief State medical examiner Dr Bruce Levy when you see a series of
01:39:55
injections in a nice straight line like that you know that it had to have been done to her he feels quite strongly that
01:40:04
the injections in her groin were made by an expert like a doctor if you're off by as much as a
01:40:12
half of an inch it can be deadly and making it even more difficult for Lisa to inject herself says Levy is
01:40:23
the fact that she was impaired by drugs at the time I think it was very clear evidence that Dr kulus was responsible
01:40:31
for the injection there there's just no other alternative that makes sense to bolster that claim Lisa's
01:40:39
family points to this picture they say was taken just days before her death there was not a mark on her body and
01:40:47
there was not a sign of drug use in her behavior her attitude nothing all week long she was perfectly
01:40:56
[Music] healthy the fans we call Dr Chris kouis to testify on his own behalf all right
01:41:04
Dr kouis if you come around please sir Chris kouis and his attorneys believe he has no choice but to take the stand to
01:41:10
defend himself will be betro to self do I do please he tells the jury that he tried
01:41:18
repeatedly to get Lisa to stop abusing drugs Lisa promised she'd stop she'd go up and down she'd stop she' start she'
01:41:25
stop she start I told her do you have to do that and then I told her I know you want to but I don't want you to you're
01:41:32
going to kill yourself we've talked about this why didn't you just leave aside the fact I'm an idiot because I
01:41:38
loved her and I wanted to be with her I want to be with her and so to make her happy you look the other way I was
01:41:46
unable to stop her one way or the other she wanted to get high and she was going
01:41:50
to get high what precise was I supposed to do tackle her prosecutor Kim helper doesn't
01:41:58
believe koulis she confronts him about his col behavior that weekend well you've just said that in this case Lisa
01:42:05
was laying back because she became High correct in this case she laid back yes ma'am so she wasn't walking around no
01:42:14
she wasn't alert she was impaired but she went ahead and had sex with her anyway didn't you sir yes ma'am
01:42:24
in fact the doctor repeatedly had sex with Lisa even though she had complained of shoulder and chest pain that weekend
01:42:31
symptoms that kouis concedes could have signaled a heart attack Lisa had a very bad headache she
01:42:39
was also complaining of shoulder pain and left arm pain and uh she was having palpitations
01:42:45
her heart was beating rapidly but you continued to have sex with her because she said everything went away she felt
01:42:51
fine it's a woman you love sir yes ma'am and is it a fair assessment to say that you were thinking
01:43:01
about yourself on that day I was and you were not thinking about Lisa were you I
01:43:07
was thinking about myself yes that may not have been the only time Kus was just thinking about
01:43:16
himself prosecutors are about to introduce details of a previous incident one in which k has freely admitted
01:43:24
injecting Lisa Buchanan with addictive drugs prosecutors firmly believe Chris kouis killed Lisa Buchanan that lost
01:43:45
weekend and they say it isn't the first time he put her life in danger I think it's extremely relevant
01:43:52
and important for a jury to understand that in the past it has been his Habit to inject her with drugs Kim helper
01:44:01
points to an incident back in 2002 that was eerily similar at the time Lisa and kulus were briefly living together in
01:44:10
Kentucky I was going through a very difficult time financially things were falling apart and one day there was Dem
01:44:17
roll that was left over and I had the really bad idea to try it and I did and I was probably instantly
01:44:26
addicted to it Dr kouis says he was shooting up frequently where didd you get the demoll
01:44:33
it was from my office I had a surgical center so you stole it from your office it's from my office and in the midst of
01:44:41
his own downward spiral kouis admits he got Lisa addicted as well when she asked
01:44:47
me for it I gave it to her I was impaired at the time I realized as it some certain
01:44:53
friends of mine that this couldn't continue and I was not myself I was not as productive and I realized that I
01:45:00
needed help things got so bad that kiss's parents intervened and came to take him to rehab Lisa stayed behind
01:45:09
someone called me and said that I needed to go check on her Lisa's mother Peggy says she will never forget the condition
01:45:16
in which she found her daughter it was the most horrific sight I've ever seen in my
01:45:21
life bottle syringes Blood on the floor they had her on a mattress she was completely
01:45:30
incoherent it was horrific Peggy says she and her friend quickly scooped up some of the drugs and
01:45:37
rushed Lisa to the hospital I mean she had injection sores on her body that were that big around
01:45:45
right over here on our left is uh where Lisa and Chris culis lived in 2002 Bobby
01:45:51
Pate at the boom County Sheriff office was assigned to investigate she was jaed in both hands in the arms the groin area
01:45:59
and in the feet they were infected and her hands and feet probably about twice as size as normal Pete met with Lisa at
01:46:05
the hospital and says she accused kouis of injecting her against her will there was times where she he chased her around
01:46:13
the room to get her a shot when she didn't want one and that he called her in hypochondriac cuz she was complaining
01:46:19
about the infections the sores and stuff and he shot her up some more she stated
01:46:24
that Chris said that he this was just do it for fun uh it would enhance the sexual
01:46:32
pleasure let's do this for fun let's just do this for fun at his trial prosecutor Kim helper confronts the
01:46:39
doctor about the earlier Kentucky incident she was in pretty bad shape when you left is that true no ma'am
01:46:45
she's walking talking and loose said we had breakfast she said goodbye to me at the door I didn't just leave her in the
01:46:52
basement and leave that's a misc characterization maybe so but Kentucky authorities arrested him anyway on
01:46:59
several serious charges including drug trafficking Lisa Buchanan was our star witness in the case Lisa gave
01:47:06
authorities this handwritten letter she received from Dr kouis after he entered rehab in it he takes the full blame for
01:47:15
getting her hooked on painkillers supplying them injecting her and admitting she had no prior history of
01:47:21
drug abuse before they met but it wasn't enough to convict him he hurt Lisa in 2002 and you know he he got away with it
01:47:33
Lisa's family believes he got away with it because he scared her out of testifying against him they said he
01:47:40
convinced her she was also in trouble and could lose custody of her daughter Chris just absolutely convinced her that
01:47:48
she could lose Jesse and that the police were lying to her that the da was lying
01:47:54
to her and no matter what she just believed him I think the fear was so real kouis denies he made any threats
01:48:05
but Lisa stopped cooperating and the case against him collapsed Kus ended up pleading guilty to just one of the 20
01:48:12
drug charges and was given probation no prison time and within a short period he
01:48:18
was back to practicing medicine again what happened in 200 too that was horrific we went to hen
01:48:27
back she did and I did but despite that hell Lisa could not let go of Chris kouis for her family it was difficult to
01:48:38
accept you don't understand why why she was listening to him there aren't words because you can't because
01:48:49
you don't understand it you're the one that rejected her first true yes sir I did in court Dr kouis accepts blame for
01:48:59
introducing Lisa to illegal drug use you're a doctor what were you thinking what else thinking that was
01:49:09
wrong I shouldn't have done it I shouldn't have done it to me and I should certainly sure as hell not have
01:49:15
done it to her I was responsible I felt responsible if he appear contrite when speaking to the jurors it was a
01:49:24
different Chris kouis who spoke to us later blaming Lisa Buchanan for her own drug problems did you get her addicted
01:49:32
to drugs I provided her I made available to her did you get her addicted to drugs I
01:49:40
think the choice of addiction is her own when I recognized that I was addicted I
01:49:44
got help I got her help from that point on all bets are off you realized how addictive this drug was the first time
01:49:52
you used absolutely and you introduced this to your girlfriend you provided the drugs
01:49:57
to her you gave her the syringes I was wrong in doing so and you're saying that it was her
01:50:04
responsibility to get clean yes it is her respons to stay clean I don't think I be respons for her death guilty or not
01:50:13
call cis's lawyers are hoping to throw a huge wrench into the case with experts who will testify that it was not a drug
01:50:21
overdose that killed of Buchanan after [Music] all an early fall morning in Franklin
01:50:40
Tennessee as most of the city's police force proudly gathers for a group photograph it's a department that may be
01:50:49
unaccustomed to the attack it's facing from Chris kol 's attorneys we realized that they were going to hold us under a
01:50:56
microscope and look to exploit anything that wasn't absolutely 100% perfect defense lawyers are highly
01:51:06
critical of what they consider sloppy police work even suggesting that detectives failed to properly isolate
01:51:13
Lisa's apartment the crime scene how do you know that those items that you say were in that apartment they hadn't been
01:51:21
moved around Detective Anderson bristles at the question saying the apartment was
01:51:26
secured almost immediately the locks were changed no one had access the apartment was Secure from that point on
01:51:33
unless well unless what unless your client broke in to the apartment then the apartment was secured but mistakes
01:51:42
were made like losing evidence medicine bottles from Lisa's apartment that detectives forgot to take from the
01:51:48
hospital the day she died we had been going several hours into days in this investigation so it had slipped our mind
01:51:57
at that time to go get those pills and when we finally realized we need to go back and get those pill bottles by the
01:52:03
time we went back there the hospital had already destroyed it slipped your mind an even bigger problem for
01:52:11
prosecutors is a defense challenge to the very heart of this case what killed Lisa Buchanan if she did take the
01:52:19
oxycodone that's not what killed her Dr Michael Graham a forensic pathologist and medical examiner testifies for the
01:52:27
defense that the drug didn't kill her the filler did that's the pattery material used to
01:52:35
give shape and form to the pills when they're made it was the filler and then the reaction to that
01:52:41
filler is what I think tipped her over the edge drug abusers crush pills mix them with liquid and inject them into
01:52:50
their veins for a quicker high but Graham explains that over time tiny particles of crush filler can build up
01:52:57
and clog blood vessels in the lungs and that he says is exactly what happened to
01:53:02
Lisa Buchanan injecting crushed up pills over a long period of time caused her death suddenly she was so plugged up
01:53:11
that it stopped the heart and she died of a heart attack you don't get that from an occasional use it took months to
01:53:19
years to form those things it came from Le Lisa injecting herself when he wasn't
01:53:26
around but prosecutors argue the defense theory of what killed Lisa is only partially true that in fact it was both
01:53:34
the filler and the narcotic working together that caused her death the filler was impacting the lungs the
01:53:41
oxycodone was suppressing some of her breathing mechanism and I would suggest to you that the evidence fully supports
01:53:49
the state's assertion that Lisa Buchanan died at the hands of this defendant there's no proof he did and because of
01:53:58
that you just got to find him not guilty as the case goes to the jury Lisa's family is concerned over what the
01:54:08
verdict may be we hope he's convicted and there's nothing he can say to me there's nothing he can say to that Court
01:54:15
there's nothing he can say to my family to change what's happened so Dr kulus is left to wait
01:54:24
facing the possibility of spending his next 25 years in prison left unanswered is the question of how an ambitious
01:54:32
young doctor a plastic surgeon ended up here Dr kulus is an extremely intelligent person he went into medical
01:54:44
school at age 19 if that tells you something all he did was work work work so Dr culus never had the time to enjoy
01:54:56
his youth his immaturity caught up with him so he was in the middle of an extended adolescence
01:55:03
when he met Lisa Buchanan I don't think he ever matured standing trial for murdering his girlfriend though may be
01:55:10
very sobering and Lisa's family hopes the jurry holds kouis responsible for her death it is just my prayer and it
01:55:18
has always been my prayer that he can never do this to anyone else [Music] over the course of a number of months or
01:55:42
years Lisa did something which caused her significant internal damage and ultimately that's why she died
01:55:53
and that would have happened I believe whether I was there or a day later or a week later a month
01:56:00
later she's responsible for own actions just as I [Music] am ladies and gentlemen this does
01:56:09
conclude the instructions and the closing arguments it is time for you to uh to take this case and make your
01:56:17
decision they began deliberations about 9:15 this morning here at the courthouse
01:56:22
nearly 2 weeks after the trial began the jury begins deliberating in the Lisa Buchanan murder case it is tense
01:56:30
everybody right now waiting it's been a challenge for prosecutors who've had only
01:56:36
circumstantial evidence to rely on do you think you'll win a conviction I would like to think
01:56:44
so but I think I've been around long enough to know uh that when it gets into the hands of the jury you just can't
01:56:52
can't predict jurors have four charges to consider ranging from simple assault to
01:57:00
second degree murder you are so beautiful the wild card is there's no telling how jurors
01:57:07
will react to the sex video oh my God but prosecutor Kim helper felt she had no choice the evidence on the tape from
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the state's perspective was too important uh to not show it they say they want to see exhibit two of 3 2122
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and 213 that is the videotape in fact just 1 hour into the deliberations the juror's request to see the video
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again we're just hoping and praying that they understand that this man is [Music]
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guilty because of the chemistry between the two and the drug use it was just destined for something terrible to
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happen it was just a Fatal Attraction all right the jurors take less than a day to reach a verdict the
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courtroom is tense as each charge is read as count one of the indictment on the charge of second deegree murder what
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say you not guilty as to count two of the indictment on the charge of Reckless homicide what
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say you not guilty as to the charge of criminally negligent homicide what say you guilty
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very well that shall end your deliberations guilty but not of murder Lisa Buchanan's family is devastated
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kouis now faces just months in prison instead of years Lisa's daughter Jesse runs from
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the courtroom in tears I was really upset almost more upset than the night when I found out
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like she passed away what was hardest was hearing the same cries from Jesse that I had to hear the night her
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mom died for kulus and his attorneys the verdict is welcome news even with the felony conviction I'm relev that it's
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over I accept the verdict of the jury a traged Lisa died should never have happened
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did the jury conclude that Chris kouis Bears some responsibility for Lisa Buchanan's death with the finding of
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criminally negligent homicide they are saying that as a doctor he should have done more to
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prevent her from killing herself not according to the jurors we spoke with ag they told us they didn't buy the
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doctor's testimony or his innocence but felt there just wasn't any hard evidence to convict him of murder a good
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majority of us thought that he probably did the injection but we couldn't there's no way to know for sure they
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couldn't prove that he directly acted to kill her you still maintain that Chris kouis killed Lisa Buchanan yes sir and I
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think the jury agreed with me and quite frankly we just didn't have a photo uh putting Chris kulis with a needle in his
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hand injecting La Buchanan Court finds the defendant's testimony to be lacking incredibility at sentencing
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judge Jeff Biven showed little sympathy for kulus while the court is mindful of the fact that the victim Miss Buchanan
02:00:38
was in many ways a knowing and willing participant in the activities of that tragic weekend that does not diminish
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the defendant's criminal conduct and culpability he sentences kulis to two years in prison the maximum sentence
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allowed but he's expected to serve less than half of that can you do the time can I do the time to have a
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choice after he's sentenced it's unclear just when the doctor will be imprisoned
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he leaves the courtroom not in handcuffs but on $500,000 Bond paid by his parents
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to keep him free while his attorneys appeal the conviction cis's Limited sentence and
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the fact that he's free pending appeal is hard for daughter Jesse to accept I get mad I like to tell myself that I've
02:01:31
forgiven him because we were close I mean I I lived with him and I've known him for so long too
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but when the really hard days come it's really hard to forgive them she even reached out writing a
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personal letter to Kus Chris I've been thinking about this letter for months it's consumed me what do I say to the
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man that took my mom away it's been a long 2 years and I still tell myself she's coming
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back you know you're responsible for her death and you think of me and my family
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try to imagine what we have been through and how much we miss her Lisa's sister Tara in the end this two
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shall pass and someday he'll stand before God no one could have predicted the next
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bizarre twist in this story 5 years after Lisa's death and with his appeal still pending Chris
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kouis was found dead at her friend's apartment a former nestville plastic surgeon convicted in
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the death of his modal girlfriend has died toxicology reports just released list the cause of death as bronchial
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pneumonia due to opiate intoxication a drug overdose my duty to my client extends Beyond his death because cis's
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case was in appeal his attorney David Raven was able to get his 2007 conviction dropped by the state's Court
02:03:13
of Criminal Appeals however the Attorney General's office is fighting to have that
02:03:19
conviction reinstated an off enough this case is over with the conviction should
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be vacated um and let Dr culus rest in peace Dr Chris Kus never served one day of his sentence in jail there's no
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satisfaction there's no real peace there's no Vengeance there's no anger there's no there's no
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hate just you're dealt a certain set of cards and you just have to do what you can
02:03:49
with them [Music] he [Music]