00:00:09
now approaching the entrance way via the front door in the family dining room area we
00:00:16
see what appears to be a large pool of blood I learned never let anyone's emotions Cloud your vision when you're
00:00:28
investigating a crime a hammer covered with what appears to be blood and never jumped to any conclusion
00:00:37
semi-automatic handgun until you've had plenty of time to think about it I had seen many crime scenes where
00:00:46
there was a lot of U blood and gruesome SES but none that bad I was at the uh Springfield Police
00:00:55
Department in the major case office and I heard the radio call emergency emergency emergency emergency
00:01:05
this man he my wife I shot him please help me detective Cox who was my partner at the time
00:01:15
drove dispatch advises that the second victim that was at the scene was actually believed to be the Intruder and
00:01:23
that the husband had shot the Intruder help me what's the problem just shot this man in my house he's inside
00:01:32
your house my he beat my wife he had the hammer in his hand and he was standing over
00:01:39
her and I was like oh my God Donna oh my God are you Mark Winger yes I am yes I am and your wife is Donna yes she is I
00:01:50
got to get to my wife please just let me get to my wife [Music] Springfield is a beautiful little town
00:02:07
it's Midwestern it's small the people are sweet it's just a lovely place it's a very friendly and clean City with very
00:02:17
sensitive and compassionate people my name is Sarah Jane drer and I am Donna Winger's
00:02:23
mother Mark and Donna were just so happy we don't know where she's sleeping tonight
00:02:30
I mean she was just so enthused I mean that's all there was to it to be a mommy I mean that was the best for her she's
00:02:37
beautiful my name is Ira dresser and I am Donna Winger's stepfather Mark told the police
00:02:44
basically what had transpired here he was 31 years old with a 3-month-old child and he had to shoot
00:02:55
a man my gosh our hearts bled for him I don't think there was ever anyone who met her who couldn't love her say hi
00:03:05
who would want to hurt such a beautiful person where's the man at he's laying on
00:03:11
the floor from every case you learn something and this one taught me you never take anything at face value
00:03:22
nothing he was killing my wife invitation to a murder tonight's 48 Hours [Music]
00:03:51
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] mystery [Music] want emergency emergency emergency
00:04:15
emergency please help me my God my wife's breathing okay you need ambulance I need everything I need
00:04:24
everything Mark Winger was calling from his own home after his wife Donna was attacked acted on a Hot August afternoon
00:04:32
in 1995 who is this man I don't I don't know who he is so many of the good things have been
00:04:41
Stripped Away From Me almost everyone who knew Mark and Donna Winger they were terrific together
00:04:52
adorable she was crazy about him thought they were perfect together they were absolutely an adorable model couple they
00:05:01
were both respected and successful members of their Community Mark was a nuclear engineer for the state of
00:05:07
Illinois Donna was an operating room technician I would like to just say hello to Donna and Mark and both sets of
00:05:15
in-laws were delighted when the couple got married in 1989 Donna Mark we love you so
00:05:22
much the Wingers were eager to start a family okay but there was a problem [Music]
00:05:31
they learned Donna could not bear children she's so excited she hasn't slept for days so when Donna and Mark
00:05:42
adopted a baby girl in June 1995 they were elated I mean my heart was just pounding I just couldn't
00:05:50
believe it here's grandma dresser holding our little baby Mark and Donna doted on their daughter are we on Daddy
00:05:58
and here's Dean there's Dean a de and they showed her off to everyone especially Donna's best friend Dean
00:06:08
Schultz Donna was really special very friendly real exuberant full of life but just 3 months later the good
00:06:17
times ended abruptly it all began when Donna returned from a visit to her mother and
00:06:24
stepfather in Florida when I kiss them goodbye the last thing I always say is tell tell the pilot to drive carefully
00:06:32
and I kissed her and off she went Donna Winger and her baby arrived here at the St Louis airport and got
00:06:42
into a shuttle van for the hour and a half long ride back home to Springfield it was an unusual drive with
00:06:50
an unusual driver a man named Roger Harrington who'd been working for the van company for 6 months the guy scared
00:07:00
her she said that he was very frightening he said things about killing people setting car bombs mutilating
00:07:09
people Harrington was also speeding he was telling Donna that sometimes while he drives this Godlike
00:07:18
character would come to him pull him out of his body and he would be flying above
00:07:22
the trees she and the baby made it home but Donna was very rattled she was scared enough to tell me me that she was
00:07:30
uh very uneasy and scared to be alone Mark Winger complained to Roger Harrington's boss I blew up at him told
00:07:38
him about you know his van driver speeding you know with my my wife and my baby the inappropriate things he was
00:07:44
saying then less than a week after Donna's Wild Ride Winger says he was on his treadmill in the basement when he
00:07:52
heard a thumb you come up the stairs and it's very dark in that stairwell I'm just starting to hear
00:08:01
crying from sounded like the bedroom the baby he says was alone in the master bedroom and there were strange sounds
00:08:09
coming from the dining room instantly I knew that that wasn't right at all I just grabbed my gun and uh started
00:08:20
going down the hall Winger says when he came down this hallway he saw one of the most
00:08:27
horrifying things any husband could see his wife was on the floor here in the dining room there was a stranger over
00:08:35
her bludgeoning her with a hammer you can't imagine it you can't when I came down the hallway I had my
00:08:47
weapon pointed at him and I went to pull the trigger and that's when Winger says
00:08:51
he shot the man in the head when police got to Winger's house the victims were in terrible shape but
00:08:59
alive the male was taking real deep labored breaths and I thought his time was uh limited as paramedics went to
00:09:09
work officer Dave baringer got his Polaroid camera so I thought if we're going to have pictures with the showing
00:09:15
where the bodies were located I'm going to have to take these pictures now because they're going to be gone within
00:09:19
a matter of a few minutes he showed us how quickly he took pictures three pictures I only had three
00:09:30
pictures left in my camera within minutes both Donna and the man were rushed to the hospital I just
00:09:36
knew that she was in Dire Straits and Mark Winger began telling police what happened that day and I was like oh my
00:09:45
God you know I was like Donna oh my [Music] God I've been in criming work a long time
00:10:07
and there's been very few as severe and bloody as this one was homicide detective Charlie Cox knew there was
00:10:13
little hope that either Donna Winger or the man lying near her on the floor would survive their wounds I said a
00:10:21
prayer I do that at all my homicides I stand over the body and say a little prayer yeah Cox grabbed the man's ID
00:10:30
from his wallet and then he got Right to Work questioning Mark Winger in the bedroom I was in shock I was in shock
00:10:38
the whole time they were questioning me I did my best and he's uh more or less rocking back and forth as he's talking
00:10:43
to us and he you can tell he's nervous and upset so I'm trying to be as delicate as I can with my questions
00:10:50
Winger told the detectives the hammer was his left out by Donna as a reminder to hang a hat rack and he had a question
00:11:00
of his own he said who is that guy out there is his name Roger at that point I felt compelled to let him know the truth
00:11:06
and I said yes that's Roger Harrington he says oh my God that's the guy that's been harassing my wife and
00:11:15
me oh my God and I fell over on my side and just cried Harrington was the van driver who
00:11:24
drove Donna home from the airport 6 days before Winger told Cox about that harrowing ride he also told Cox about
00:11:34
two Anonymous phone calls that Winger believed were from Harrington I thought I was going to jail
00:11:41
cuz I just shot a man in the head but Winger could not have been more wrong I tried to console him the police had all
00:11:49
but cleared him they didn't consider him a killer they considered him a victim at
00:11:54
least here in my mind you're somewhat of a hero I says you've killed the person person who was killing your wife I said
00:12:01
uh you said he was a hero yes Cox's partner Doug Williamson helped to calm Winger I was trying to let him know what
00:12:10
we were going to do how the police were going to help him after Donna and Harrington were taken away Winger
00:12:16
managed to give the detectives a detailed statement he told them that Donna was on her knees when he took aim
00:12:23
at Harrington Harrington looks up at him yes and he shoot and he shoots him cuz he's getting ready go down and hit her
00:12:30
again and then Harrington from what the position he was in he said at that point he fell off of
00:12:37
her his wife and rolled back like that Cox's investigation of the crime scene backed up Mark's story basic evidence in
00:12:47
here where the crime occurred matched up with what he was saying everything everything matched up
00:12:53
there was blood where Donna was killed there was blood where Harrington's head landed
00:12:59
and and G was on the table as he said it was from when he called 911 what's more Harrington had been a
00:13:06
psychiatric patient with a history of delusions and Cox knew him he once broke up a fight between Harrington and his
00:13:15
wife he had her bent over the couch getting ready to hit her again when I grabbed him Harrington seems to fit the
00:13:23
profile of a murder suspect pretty well very well Harrington died died shortly after
00:13:30
arriving at the hospital and Donna died minutes later she never regained Consciousness oh my
00:13:40
[Music] God I felt deeply for him I'm a very religious person he seemed to be that as
00:13:50
well Donna's mother and stepfather Sarah Jane and Ira dresser were inconsolable when they heard about her murder had to
00:13:59
hold her because she was wailing howling wailing they were shocked to hear that Donna's ride from the airport had
00:14:08
escalated into a homicide she's a good girl was she scared by this driver she wasn't scared no she wasn't scared she
00:14:17
was just Disturbed Disturbed in a way you know that this was such a crazy conversation IRA and Sarah Jane rushed
00:14:26
to their son-in-law's side we felt terrible for him he's lost his wife also and then he had to turn around and shoot
00:14:32
a man he was crying and I said Mark I know you did the best you could and I love you very
00:14:44
much it was an open and shut case one day after Winger shot Roger Harrington the prosecutor announced his conclusions
00:14:53
Mr Winger acted in self-defense uh when he shot Mr Harrington and therefore at this time uh
00:15:01
no charges will be filed against him and I anticipate that there will never be any charges filed against Mr
00:15:09
Winger yeah I was fine with that case closed case was closed before then there was an outpouring of support for Mark
00:15:19
here in Springfield almost everyone believed he was a good family man whose life had been Shattered by a Madman but
00:15:28
one family was wasn't buying that story at all Roger Harrington's family what were you trying to tell the
00:15:36
police I was trying to tell him there is no way you guys are so wrong I knew he was not capable Harrington's Sister
00:15:44
Barbara Howell pleaded with Detective Cox he was very rude very very rude oh very rude he said ma'am anytime you want
00:15:53
to know how your kid brother walked in that home snapped and killed that woman come to my office and I'll show you step
00:16:00
by step Roger's mother Helen felt the shame of a city that believed she had raised a psychotic killer just felt
00:16:08
branded like who are we you know you felt branded how would anybody feel if their
00:16:16
son was called a murderer the Harrington bore their grief quietly believing they were alone they
00:16:27
didn't realize that someone else doubted Winger's story someone close to the investigation how convincing was Mark
00:16:36
Winger that night and the night after it was very convincing detective Doug Williamson were you convinced
00:16:44
no Williamson had a lot of questions why would Donna leave her baby alone on her
00:16:50
bed and open the door to Harrington a man she supposedly feared Roger Harrington was allowed into the house
00:16:57
there was no forced entry somebody let him in and Harrington parked right in front of the Winger home leaving behind
00:17:05
a piece of paper with a puzzling message I saw that there was a note on the front
00:17:10
seat and it had Mark Winger's name his address and 4:30 p.m. he says he doesn't know Roger Harington has never met him
00:17:19
and he does not indicate any appointment when I have already seen the note which
00:17:23
indicates an appointment there's always things in every homicide that don't fit so what
00:17:31
did you do with those things that bothered you just let them bother me like they always do Cox saw no reason to
00:17:37
doubt that the nuclear engineer justifiably shot a disturbed Intruder but Williamson wanted to investigate
00:17:44
further his bosses turned him down flat they discounted everything I said how did they discount it they just
00:17:52
said the case is going to be closed that's it and that's the way it stayed for 3
00:17:59
and 1/2 years until you didn't know what she wanted to say no but you knew it was
00:18:06
going to be big yes a surprise witness came [Music] forward everyone in Springfield Illinois
00:18:28
knew Mark Winger's story it was heroic and heartbreaking but detective Doug Williamson had never believed one word
00:18:42
of it I was argumentative I pointed out what we call red flags pieces that don't seem to fit
00:18:49
at first Williamson couldn't even convince his own partner Charlie Cox that Winger was a murderer but Cox says
00:18:57
he started getting suspicion when Winger kept showing up here at the police station a few months after the murder
00:19:04
Winger came by to ask for his gun back I released the gun back to Mark and we sat
00:19:10
and talked for about a half hour what did you talk to him about just things in general he was want to know how how the
00:19:17
case was going and as far as I was concerned he should have just accepted it was closed Winger denies it but Cox
00:19:23
remembers him dropping by a second time this time to say he was getting REM married to his daughter's new nanny whom
00:19:31
he had hired just 5 months after Donna's murder and he kept coming in I kept feeling like he
00:19:38
was trying to find out if we were checking into anything and I went back to Doug said something's wrong here big
00:19:46
time Winger's Behavior was making Cox believe that his partner had been right all along he thought about the problems
00:19:54
in the case like that note in Harrington's car and now FOX also wanted the case reopened fearing that Mark
00:20:02
Winger had duped the police and the boss has said no way we're not going to open
00:20:08
a case of this magnitude with your gut feeling and embarrass the department and embarrass
00:20:15
Mr Winger as the years passed Mark's new wife adopted his child and they had two
00:20:23
other children and then all of a sudden the whole case got turned on its head we got a lucky break what was that
00:20:35
Dean Schultz deian Schultz was Donna's best friend here a Dean there's de and she
00:20:43
was deeply troubled I was hospitalized um I started drinking I um tried to overdose um I I
00:20:53
wanted to die for 3 and 1/2 years Dean had kept a secret and what she was finally ready to
00:21:02
say would change everything I know the police think that he didn't do it but they maybe if you know if they knew a
00:21:10
little you know just a little bit that I knew um there could be an investigation so she said that uh her
00:21:18
and Mark had been having an affair it was a shock to everyone especially Cox who right after Donna's
00:21:26
murder had written it was very apparent that he and his wife were very much in love and that this should have never
00:21:34
happened and now Dean Schultz just like that says we we were having an affair yes what did you make of that detective
00:21:42
I said we got the evidence we need Deanne told them the affair began a month before Donna's murder and
00:21:48
continued a few months after she died until Winger ended it it was an enormous burden you sort of wanted to unload this
00:21:57
information yes and she dropped an even bigger bombshell she told police Mark wanted
00:22:06
out of his marriage so badly he had talked about killing Donna he mentioned that it would be um easier if if if
00:22:15
Donna just died deian said Winger suggested that she could play a role Daddy's feeding you he had said that he
00:22:24
would be out of town and he mentioned me coming and and finding Donna that was the the gist of the the
00:22:30
conversation yes and and I said you're crazy and deian said Winger even talked about the van driver Roger Harrington
00:22:40
according to Dean Schultz he told her he had to figure out a way to get him in to
00:22:44
the house my my impression was that he was going to give him a hard time and make sure he never messed with with his
00:22:51
family again Winger admits he had an affair with deian I was a good husband to Donna I made a mistake I'm human it
00:22:59
was stupid and it was wrong but he denies everything else she said you said to her you wish Donna was dead that
00:23:07
that's a horrible horrible lie did you ever say that to her no you never said that it would be easier if Donna would
00:23:13
just die at the time deian says she didn't take Winger's comments seriously but as
00:23:20
the years passed she felt mounting pressure from her own conscience I wish that she would have lived and I would
00:23:27
have died I would have tried places why did you feel that because she didn't deserve to die she she shouldn't have
00:23:34
she shouldn't have died with Dean's dramatic Revelation the case was finally reopened looking at the
00:23:43
detectives went straight to the old files and found yet another surprise those three Polaroids taken by
00:23:52
Officer baringer well didn't did you look at them in '95 no why not didn't know they
00:23:58
existed the Polaroids were taken before Donna and Harington were moved to the hospital but were never shown to
00:24:06
investigators when the detectives finally saw these photos they were flabbergasted it didn't take but 10
00:24:13
seconds it was a Smoking Gun it was The Smoking Gun why Roger Harrington's body the placement of that body in that photo
00:24:22
blew Mark story out of the water it was over Roger Harrington's head and feet were in the opposite way
00:24:29
of what Mark told us happen help me in the chaos detectives did not have time to note for themselves where Donna and
00:24:37
Harrington lay before paramedics rushed them to the ambulance to understand why the police now thought Winger had to be
00:24:45
lying requires a little forensic fancy footwork Charlie Cox went with us to the Winger's old house to demonstrate the
00:24:54
story that Winger told us Mr Harrington would have been lying basically like this because he would
00:25:01
have fallen backwards when shot and landed that remember police said Winger told them when he shot Harrington
00:25:09
Harrington fell backwards off of Donna so how was he found he was actually completely 180 180° the different
00:25:21
direction police believe it could not have happened as Winger said he would have had to completely do a flip
00:25:29
and land over here land how land like this and it's physically imposs with a 45 caliber round to have
00:25:38
done that flip barringer's three Polaroids were becoming the centerpiece of the case how could nobody tell you
00:25:46
that there were polaroid pictures of the crime scenes I mean we're talking about
00:25:49
the only three pictures of the bodies as they lay I agree how does that get lost
00:25:56
got overlooked and in a case where it was as closed as fast as this one was it was never
00:26:04
thought of again this thing was closed by the 10:30 news that night for all practical purposes four years after the
00:26:13
crime the detectives had no doubt that they had botched the original investigation they had allowed Mark
00:26:20
Winger to Get Away with Murder By pinning the crime on the obvious suspect Roger Harrington Roger Harrington was is
00:26:28
a perfect py to set up for for this crime police believe Mark Winger began methodically plotting the double murder
00:26:37
immediately after Donna's bizarre ride with Harrington on the way home from St Louis it's a perfect guy to seiz on to
00:26:44
make it look like an intruder had come in and killed his wife he fits Winger's purposes perfectly correct uh front door
00:26:52
the detectives could not afford any more errors after Dean Schulz came forward it
00:26:58
took them two more years to cover every detail and put together a murder case against Mark Winger finally 6 years
00:27:08
after his wife Donna was killed Winger was arrested and put in jail awaiting trial being a religious man like I am I
00:27:18
haven't gloated on that at I'm just glad that we've got the right guy in jail that he didn't get away with you haven't
00:27:25
gloated not even the Teeny tiniest I'm not a perfect Christian I I'm not a perfect Christian detective Charlie Cox
00:27:32
who once called Winger a hero is Now intent on proving him a coldblooded murderer and vindicating the innocent
00:27:40
man who was killed I hurt the Harrington family a lot they buried him as a murderer and yeah that bothered me a
00:27:49
lot but Mark Winger is J as determined to prove that the police got it right the first time Roger Harington killed my
00:27:59
wife saw with my own eyes I am just so sck sad how could a normal human being do something like
00:28:33
this nearly 7 years after Don's death Sarah Jane and Ira dresser came to Mark Winger's trial knowing the evidence
00:28:42
against him was strong but still clinging to the hope that something would exonerate
00:28:49
him why were you so eager for him to prove that he didn't do it because we loved him because he was part of our
00:28:56
family because Donna loved him because they they appeared to have such an incredibly wonderful marriage did you
00:29:05
kill Donna no with that hammer no I did not Mark Winger is a coldblooded calculated uh deceitful person that
00:29:15
planned and staged this event the prosecution team led by John Schmidt said Winger lied from the beginning even
00:29:23
during his 911 call shf place I Just sh this man in my house who is this man I don't I don't know who he is it is a lie
00:29:32
they say Winger knew very well who that man was he invited him to his house and that was the Crux of their
00:29:40
case the question of the case in a lot of ways is very simple what's Roger Harrington doing in the house the
00:29:46
evidence was very clear that uh it was a meeting that was set to lure Harrington
00:29:50
into the home if it's a meeting it's a murder Ray Duffy who owned the air Airport Van Company provided the crucial
00:30:00
link for the prosecution it was obvious that he wanted to talk to the driver direct Duffy testified that Winger
00:30:07
called to complain about Harrington's behavior during the ride and afterwards he just wanted to talk to this driver
00:30:15
and tell him to leave his family alone Winger claimed Harrington was making Anonymous phone calls to Winger's house
00:30:23
so he wanted to talk to Roger Harrington yes was that unusual yes it is usually uh when people
00:30:33
have a complaint they just call the office and Duffy said Harrington was eager to work things out I explained to
00:30:40
him that Mr Winger wanted to talk to him and he said that's fine give him my number and have him call me Mark called
00:30:46
Roger Harrington set up an appointment for 4:30 but police believe there's one thing Winger didn't plan for when he
00:30:52
lured Harrington to his house that note detective Williamson found is in Harrington's car if Mark would have told
00:31:01
us there was a meeting and the guy went berserk in the house this case probably would still be closed it would be done
00:31:07
but he didn't when Harrington went in the house police say Not only was he unarmed Mr Harrington had a coffee mug
00:31:15
and a pack of cigarettes he left a far more deadly object behind Roger Harrington had a tire iron fashion as a
00:31:23
weapon in his car if he was going there to bludgeon someone he had a weapon in his in his car yet he chose a weapon
00:31:29
from inside the house that he would have no idea was there what do you think happened I think that Roger Harrington
00:31:36
showed up they were seated at the table in the dining room and he held a conversation at some point Mr Winger
00:31:44
shoots Roger Harrington in the head I believe that Donna was in the bedroom because she didn't want to be
00:31:51
around Roger she comes running out of the bedroom to see what had happened Mark Winger picks up a hammer
00:31:58
he strikes her several times untangling the evidence in this seven-year-old case was a huge job for
00:32:07
the jurors you wanted to believe he was innocent the timeline of everything going on I just got chill thinking about
00:32:13
it three of them sat down to talk to us the defense told them that unlike Winger
00:32:19
who was successful and a respected member of the community Roger Harrington had a troubled violent past here is some
00:32:27
testimony that really does make Roger look guilty I mean Roger was weird Roger showed up at their house you know there
00:32:34
were some phone calls it could have been him the defense also pointed out that at
00:32:38
the time of the murder in 1995 detectives had the Polaroids they had the note in the car in fact they had
00:32:46
all the same evidence that they now found so incriminating against Winger trained professionals saw this same
00:32:53
scene we saw and they closed the case the next day deian Schulz who was given immunity
00:33:01
provided the only new evidence testimony that Winger had talked about killing his
00:33:07
wife but she had attempted suicide four times and had undergone electroshock therapy the defense called her
00:33:17
unreliable Roger Harrington killed my wife the jurors knew what was at stake by now Winger and his new wife had four
00:33:26
children including the baby he and Donna adopted to tear him away from his family
00:33:31
I had a hard time with that but Roger Harrington's family was looking for justice were you sure that your son
00:33:39
didn't do it oh I know he didn't do it no matter what the decision was one family would feel more pain were you
00:33:48
leaning one way or another no [Music] no [Music] after nearly two weeks of testimony
00:34:09
Sarah Jane and Ira drer are overwhelmed by the evidence against Mark Winger and what is so hard to understand is that
00:34:18
the way he murdered Donna was so vicious and so violent Roger Harrington's family
00:34:27
hopes to to clear his name I was praying I kept going Raj if you're up there you
00:34:32
hear me bring us something good bring us something so that you know Mom and Dad can sleep good
00:34:39
tonight the jury deliberated for 13 hours before reaching its verdict I knew the moment they walked out the door I
00:34:48
remember seeing the jury coming in I remember my heart feeling as though it was going to come out of my chest I can
00:34:53
hear judge Zappa's voice we the jury find the defendant Mark wing [Music] guilty it is the verdict that the
00:35:09
dressers both hoped for and dreaded Ma and papa Iris getting a look now confirmation that they'd been betrayed
00:35:18
and deceived Daddy's feeding you by a man who had been part of their family smile for the camera sweetie I have no
00:35:27
idea what why he did it and I think I will never understand why he did it and I think it's a question that will never
00:35:34
be answered in my mind Winger's parents who had spent a small fortune defending their son were stunned by the verdict we
00:35:43
believe in the absolute innocence of our son we got the best help we could inside we're dying by inches the
00:35:52
jurors say the case against Mark Winger was clear and they believe Dean Schultz she was very emotional up there she
00:36:02
loved Mark at the time I think she was sincerely um telling us the truth I feel free I didn't realize just how Powerful
00:36:13
Secrets can be but ultimately the jurors say the state's best evidence was the first evidence police ever
00:36:23
collected those three Polaroids did did defense offer any acceptable explanation to you about how
00:36:32
the bodies ended up in the position that they were no there was no explanation mark Winger didn't offer any
00:36:42
explanations because he didn't testify but 5 months after the verdict he spoke with 48 hours at a prison in
00:36:50
Pontiac Illinois he now claims that he personally saw the paramedics move Harrington although they all denied that
00:36:58
at trial the bodies have been moved before the Polaroids were taken absolutely why should we believe you why
00:37:05
should you not believe me because a jury didn't what's the best evidence of your
00:37:09
innocence the fact that I had a wonderful marriage everybody knows I had a wonderful marriage with
00:37:16
Donna but Winger cannot explain the note in Harrington's car the thing is I I can't offer you any any answers to you
00:37:26
know why Roger Harrington had 430 written on a note Harrington's family says the
00:37:36
meaning of that note has always been clear Roger went to Winger's home because Mark Winger invited him did you
00:37:44
feel Vindicated yeah yeah how are you doing now pretty good I guess I does it still hurt sure it
00:37:56
hurts [Music] y are you embarrassed oh yes are you very much so former lead detective
00:38:07
Charlie Cox says he learned a valuable lesson how close did he come to getting away with murder very
00:38:17
close instead Mark Winger was sentenced to life in prison which could have been the end of this
00:38:25
story except it wasn't [Music] in Spring 2005 an inmate at the prison in Pontiac came forward and said that
00:38:39
Winger tried to involve him in a murder for H plot I knew in my head that he was
00:38:47
a murderer but my heart had a hard time believing it still the intended victim was Dean
00:38:57
Schulz and Winger's plot was so complicated you might say twisted that it took 19
00:39:04
handwritten pages and hours of secretly recorded conversations to spell it out Dean would be kidnapped and forced
00:39:14
to write and record lengthy statements all scripted by Winger saying that she lied made everything up and believes
00:39:23
Winger is innocent then she'd be killed Winger's notes covered everything only deanne's fingerprints can be on the
00:39:32
tape cassette letters and envelopes her saliva must be found on the stamps and Winger asked for one more victim if
00:39:42
possible oh by the way if there's any money left over kill irod dresser also because he's the son of a gun of a
00:39:48
father-in-law that I dislike in June 2007 Winger stood trial in a Pontiac Illinois courthouse he told
00:39:56
jurors the whole thing was a fantasy he never planned to carry out Ira dresser was there he was chained by his hands
00:40:04
and he was chained by his feet and I looked at him straight in the eye and I said Mark your miserable life is
00:40:11
over this time the jury took less than 3 hours including lunch Mark Winger was convicted of soliciting murder and
00:40:20
sentenced to another 35 years I've always been afraid that he would get out on some technicality
00:40:28
now I know that he will never be free with Winger locked up for good Sarah Jane and Ira dresser are dedicated
00:40:45
to keeping Donna's memory alive Donna really was the ultimate victim of spousal abuse I had to find a way to
00:40:56
keep her Spirit going and they do that by helping other Abused Women raising money for a charity named for Donna we
00:41:06
established a fund at women in distress and not only do we help the women we help the children smile and that is all
00:41:16
in Donna's spirit [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]