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Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.

March 05, 2026 /

This episode covers the murder trial of Corey Richens, the case of Scott Spivey in South Carolina, and the murder trial of Rashawn Jones. Key discussions include witness testimonies, legal strategies, and updates on ongoing trials.

Corey Richens is accused of poisoning her husband, Eric, to gain life insurance money. The prosecution's star witness, Carmen Lauber, testified about purchasing fentanyl for Corey. Carmen's credibility was challenged by the defense, who argued she had a history of substance abuse and inconsistencies in her statements.

The case of Scott Spivey involves his shooting death and the subsequent lack of charges against the shooters, Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Bradley Williams. Spivey's sister, Jennifer Foley, is fighting for justice, uncovering evidence suggesting a cover-up by local police.

In Miami, the trial of former college football player Rashawn Jones ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. The prosecution argued he killed teammate Brian Pata out of jealousy, while the defense pointed to a lack of solid evidence.

Additionally, a retired police chief discusses the importance of proper procedures in photo lineups, emphasizing the potential for eyewitness misidentification to lead to wrongful convictions.

TLDR

Corey Richens' murder trial updates, Scott Spivey's case, and Rashawn Jones' mistrial highlight ongoing legal battles in crime news.

Episode

34:48
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Let's go ahead and jump in. You're listening to the Dateline story meeting. What was she charged with?
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Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. She was like filing reports and reports and reports.
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The whole backdrop for the fire department is kind of interesting. She's starting to believe in her father's guilt.
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Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Lester Holt. It's March 5th and here's what's on our docket.
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In South Carolina, two and a half years after a man was shot dead on a country road, a judge listens to witness testimony, body cam video, and 911 calls to figure out what happened.
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Hey, I've got a guy pointing a gun at me driving. In Deadline Roundup, closing arguments are set to begin at the murder trial of Michigan farmer Dale Warner.
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And in Miami, the trial of the former college football player, accused of gunning down his teammate 20 years ago, comes to a surprising end.
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The Pata family, they've been very emotional throughout the proceedings. They seemed like they were in disbelief.
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Plus, it's a tool we see investigators use a lot to zero in on a suspect. photo lineups.
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A retired police chief tells us how it's done. Even subtle cues, you know, breathing, posture, tone of voice,
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can influence the witness's choice. Before all that, we're heading back to Utah,
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where Corey Richens, the mom of three accused of fatally poisoning her husband, came face-to-face with the prosecution's star witness,
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her former housekeeper. It's week two at the murder trial of Corey Richens, the woman who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband Eric's mysterious death
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only to be charged with his murder. Prosecutors say Corey poisoned Eric in March 2022 so that
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she could cash in on his life insurance and start life over with her lover. She says that's not true
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and has pleaded not guilty. So far in the trial, we've heard from Eric's family members about the
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couple's relationship and the devastating impact of his death. Eric was one of the most likable
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people. I'm sorry, guys. This is the worst in my life. I'm sorry. Now prosecutors are telling the
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jury how they think Corey went about poisoning him, calling to the stand Corey's 54-year-old
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former housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, the person they say purchased the fentanyl that killed Eric.
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Here to bring us the latest is Dateline producer Karen Israel. Thanks for coming back on the podcast, Karen.
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Thanks for having me. So let's get straight to this important testimony. Remind us why Carmen Lauber is such a key prosecution witness.
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Sure. So Eric's cause of death, according to the medical examiner, was a fentanyl overdose.
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The defense doesn't dispute that Eric died from a fentanyl overdose. They argue that Eric could have gotten it himself or accidentally ingested it.
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So the prosecutors need to be able to make the connection between Corey and the fentanyl.
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Carmen does that for them. And it was a big moment when Carmen took the stand. What was your impression of her?
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Did she seem nervous? Did she look at Eric's family? Because she's basically testifying about procuring an illegal drug that may have resulted in his death.
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She stayed pretty calm and seemed confident. but she was also emotional at several points and clearly seemed disturbed by the possibility that
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she may have played a role in Eric's death by purchasing the fentanyl. The investigators told you that Eric had died.
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I already knew Eric had passed away, but when they had mentioned that it was from an overdose,
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that hit hard only for the fact that if that's what happened I needed to step up and take
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accountability of my part in this that happened. The prosecutor revealed right out of the gate that
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Carmen was testifying subject to an immunity agreement. Why do you think he did that?
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This was a way to deal head on with the defense saying that Carmen's testimony might be less
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credible because she was working with prosecutors. The prosecutor made it clear Carmen had to testify truthfully to meet the terms of that
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agreement. So what did you learn about who Carmen was when this all happened? So Carmen told the jury about her long history of substance abuse on top of a criminal drug
00:04:34
history. She testified that she's sober now and has been for some time. Corey Richen's aunt runs a housekeeping business, and Carmen used to work for her.
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She cleaned Corey's house about every other week for years, and she said she'd discussed
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her drug use with Corey. Then she said in early 2022, the nature of their conversations changed.
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She reached out and asked if I could do her a favor, and I said, yeah, probably, what
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is it? and then she had called me and asked me if I could reach out to somebody for some pay meds for an investor that she knew,
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and I told her I could see what I could do. Carmen said she bought some opiates from a friend, but then Corey asked her for something stronger.
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What time did you do? I had texted Corey back and told her that I had a friend that could get them, but they were fentanyl pills.
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How did Corey Richardson respond? She said, okay, go ahead and get them. She said she bought pills from a friend of a friend named Robert Crozier, who was a drug dealer.
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And Carmen testified that she got those pills to Corey a number of different ways.
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One time she handed her a bag of pills in person. Another time she hid them at a property Corey was flipping Did she tell you what she wanted you to do with those She responded back with take him over to the Midway house put him in a shed I didn feel comfortable leaving him
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in the shed out in the open. So I went to the fire pit and kind of dug a little hole and put
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the gravel back on top of it and then kind of turned a brick to the side to kind of cover it up.
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And what do we know about the dates of these drug purchases? For context, Eric Richens was found
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dead almost four years ago exactly on March 4th, 2022. Carmen couldn't give exact dates for any of
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the purchases, but the prosecutor showed the jury a Facebook message Carmen sent to the person she
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said connected her to Robert Crozier, the drug dealer. That was in February of 2022. And she
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testified about buying drugs for Corey a few days after Eric's death. So the drug buys are roughly
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the month around his death. All right, then it was time for the defense. How did they attack
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Carmen's credibility as a witness? They kind of had a two-pronged approach. They went after her
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memory and her relationship with prosecutors. They said she'd regularly been using drugs at
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that time when she made these alleged purchases, so her memory couldn't be trusted. In fact,
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they pointed out that she told investigators herself when she was first talking to them that
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She couldn't remember stuff. They're trying to help you pin down a date, but you just you said I really you told them
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multiple times. I really don't know. There was snow on the ground. Really wasn't absolutely correct on the dates.
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Now, the defense read snippets of Carmen's various interview transcripts to the jury
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and pointed out that there were some inconsistencies between her testimony and what she
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initially told investigators. That's right. Perhaps the biggest difference being that Carmen initially denied buying fentanyl for
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Corey. The defense suggested that the detectives were the ones to plant this idea that Carmen had bought fentanyl for Corey.
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The only person up to this point who has put the word fentanyl in your head are these detectives, correct?
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Ms. Lauber, you're on the stand. At that point, they are the ones that told you it was fentanyl.
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They're the ones that told me that Eric passed away from fentanyl. They're the ones that put the word fentanyl in your head.
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they're the ones that told me that that's why i passed away from okay the defense also challenged
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carmen on her immunity agreement and you are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself
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from getting kicked out of drug court and going to prison correct i'm going to go forward with the
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truth yes one of the next witnesses the prosecution called was robert crozier the man she says she
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purchased the fentanyl from for Corey. Give us the rundown of his testimony. Something important to know about Crozier is that when he first spoke to investigators years ago,
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he corroborated Carmen's story that he sold her fentanyl and signed an affidavit. But he has since
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recanted and said he didn't start selling fentanyl until late 2022, months after the
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alleged drug purchases. I'm curious how the prosecution handled that. They told the jury about his signed affidavit, and they said even if he didn't know he was selling fentanyl,
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other drugs can be laced with fentanyl without the user or dealer's knowledge. How were the pills that you sold the common law of a package?
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Have you ever seen a bag? And you got that bag from your plug, right? Correct. You did not get that bag from a pharmacy, correct?
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No. Thank you. Did any other witnesses get your attention this week? We heard more about the state of Eric and Corey's marriage from the wife of Eric's former business partner, Allison Wright.
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She said that years before Eric's death in 2019, Corey told her they were having trouble and she felt trapped because of their prenuptial agreement.
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We've also heard from a forensic accountant who was describing how deeply in debt Corey was in the months leading up to Eric's death.
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All right. Well, Karen, thanks for bringing us these updates. It's great. Thanks, Lester.
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We have our own quick update for you about this trial on Wednesday afternoon after I taped my conversation with Karen.
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The prosecution called Robert Josh Grossman to the stand. The man prosecutors say was Corey Richens' lover at the time of Eric's murder.
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And the man, they say, fueled her murder plot. We'll tell you all about his testimony next week.
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Coming up, after a man was shot dead on a country road, no criminal charges were filed.
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Now, the man's sister is fighting to change that. For our next story, we're headed to a stretch of Country Road in South Carolina.
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Two and a half years ago, a 33-year-old man by the name of Scott Spivey was shot dead there.
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Oh my God, he's free! Oh my God! What happened, ma'am? What happened? The men who shot him, Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Bradley Williams, told police they were acting in self-defense.
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And the state's top prosecutor believed them. They have never faced criminal charges.
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But Spivey's sister, Jennifer Foley, refused to let it go. All my family has ever asked for was a fair and honest investigation.
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And after filing a wrongful death suit, she uncovered phone calls, 911 calls, and other material she says proved Spivey was killed in cold blood.
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And local police officers may have helped cover it up. At a recent four-day hearing, a civil court judge got to take a look at all that material.
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Dateline producer Carol Gable was there. Carol, good to have you. Thanks for being with us.
00:11:53
Thanks, Lester. It's good to be here. So first off tell us a little bit about the man Scott Spivey who was killed in all this Well he was 33 years old an insurance adjuster And apparently on September 9th he was at a local bar watching football and drinking for several hours before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Silverado
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And witnesses saw him drive very erratically down U.S. Highway 9. Sometimes he would wave his gun out the window, sometimes, according to some witnesses, at them, but most times just waving it in the air.
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I am on Highway Number 9. There is a guy that is waving a gun in front of me. He's all over the road, and I have his license plate number.
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That's when he crossed paths with Weldon Boyd and his passenger, Bradley Williams.
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Where were they coming from? Well, they had been running errands all day. They were going up Highway 9 as well.
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Okay, so walk us through how this escalates. The clearest sort of window into Weldon's thinking is the 911 call, because he calls 911 and then leaves them on speakerphone the whole time this is happening.
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Hey, I've got a guy pointing a gun at me driving. And he's describing how Scott Spivey continues to weave in and out.
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And in fact, at one point, Scott Spivey drives Weldon Boyd off the road into the grass median.
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And he basically said several times on this 911 tape that if this guy does not slow down and stop, that he would put him down.
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Listen, this dude shoots at me. We're going to put him down. Sort of like you talk about putting a rabid dog down. According to some witnesses, Weldon Boyd was behind Scott Spivey, and both of them were driving at rates of speed more than 100 miles an hour at times.
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Finally, they come to an intersection of Camp Swamp Road. So instead of moving forward to his destination, Weldon Boyd is still going after Scott Spivey.
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People were still calling 911, which is why we know what was happening. So Scott Spivey eventually comes to a stop at Camp Swamp Road in his black truck.
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Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams are in a white truck behind him. Take us through what happens next.
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So by now, Scott Spivey has jumped out of his truck, and he has a gun by several reports,
00:14:38
is down by his side and he's yelling, stop following me. He told the guy, do not follow
00:14:46
me anymore. The guy in the white truck had his gun drawn pointed at him. And the guy in the black
00:14:52
truck kind of like moved his pistol. And as he turns to go back to his truck, he shot in the back.
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So the guy in the white truck just unloaded a complete magazine at the guy, shot through his
00:15:04
back window and I think he might have hit him. Now, there is also testimony that Scott Spivey
00:15:11
fired a round that went into the dirt, but he climbs back into the cab of his car and he's
00:15:18
mortally wounded. So let me ask you about the attorney general who declined to prosecute the
00:15:23
men saying it was a clear cut example of self-defense under the stand your ground law.
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Explain exactly what it allows you to do. What stand your ground in South Carolina is supposed
00:15:33
to do is protect you and give you civil and criminal immunity if someone is attacking you
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or threatening you with deadly force in a place you have a right to be. Scott's family didn't
00:15:48
accept the stand your ground explanation. They did not. And chief among those would be Scott's
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sister, Jennifer, very, very close siblings, you know, peas in a pod. So she decides to file a
00:16:04
wrongful death suit against these two guys. She finds buried within the discovery more than 90
00:16:13
phone calls that Weldon Boyd had made. How is it that all these recordings exist?
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Well, Weldon Boyd had a girlfriend and she got pregnant and they broke up. So he started trying to get custody.
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So he flipped a switch on his phone that meant all of his phone calls were recorded all the time because he thought he might catch her in some incriminating statement or something that would help in his case.
00:16:45
What did they reveal, those phone calls? After the shooting that kills Scott Spivey, he says things like to his mother, I had a blast.
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To someone else, I had a good time. So it didn't necessarily paint the picture of someone who was fearing for their life at that particular moment.
00:17:05
Some of these calls that raised eyebrows were ones that Boyd exchanged with local police officers.
00:17:12
Oh, yes. The first one when he calls his friend on the force, who's, you know, a high up person and says, I just shot somebody. I had to shoot them and is told.
00:17:25
Look, I got the robbie. I got the people coming that need to come. And then there's another moment in body camera tape when another officer walks up to Weldon with a piece of paper, a pad in his hand that says, act like a victim.
00:17:45
After the calls became public Boyd friend on the police force resigned although his attorney told us he denies any wrongdoing and had nothing to do with the investigation into the shooting And the police officer who wrote the message Act Like a Victim was fired The way the shooting was investigated is now under review by a grand jury and Carol that not all This seemed to shake loose how prosecutors were
00:18:10
thinking about the criminal side of things. After this happened, the attorney general appointed a
00:18:17
sort of special prosecutor to have another look at this case. So take us to the hearing that
00:18:22
concluded just a few days ago. What was it about? It was significant because Jennifer's quest to sue
00:18:30
Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams in civil court for wrongful death depended on the two of them
00:18:38
being stripped of their stand your ground privilege. So this was a four-day hearing
00:18:46
geared to a party of one because the judge was the one who had to make that decision.
00:18:52
This was the first time we heard Weldon Boyd tell his story under oath. Let's take a listen to some of it.
00:18:58
Did you intend to hurt that man? No. Did you have fired him had he not fired you?
00:19:09
No. I gave him every chance I ate. He really just got back in the truck. Weldon started his testimony sobbing and extraordinarily upset.
00:19:24
But then he just stuck by a story that he didn't have a choice but to shoot Scott Spivey.
00:19:31
So what did the judge decide? He said he was basically stunned and shocked at Weldon Boyd's behavior,
00:19:40
that it didn't seem like stand your ground at all. It's not credible. It seems that driving over 100 miles an hour trying to keep up with the guy with a gun is foolish.
00:19:49
I find that Mr. Boyd's request for immunity is denied. The net net was Weldon Boyd can be sued civilly,
00:19:59
and there's a possibility the AG's special prosecutor may in fact get charges levied against him criminally.
00:20:08
So what did the judge decide about the other person who was in that vehicle, Mr. Williams?
00:20:14
Well, the judge wanted to take a little more time to make that decision, and he has asked both sides, the defense and the plaintiffs, to submit briefs for him to look at.
00:20:25
And I believe there's going to be due in the next week or so, and then he will come back and make that decision.
00:20:32
After the judge gave his ruling, Jennifer spoke outside court. Let's take a listen.
00:20:38
It's been a lot of no's in the last two and a half years, and this is the first yes.
00:20:41
This is just a start on the road to trying to get justice for him. Okay, fascinating case, Carol.
00:20:47
It'll be interesting to see what happens. Coming up, it's time for Dateline Roundup.
00:20:53
We'll bring you the latest from the murder trial of former college football player Rashawn Jones.
00:20:59
And the one-time MLB pitcher Dan Serafini, convicted of shooting his in-laws, finally learns his fate.
00:21:06
Plus, the do's and don'ts of photo lineups. A retired police chief shares his tips.
00:21:25
Welcome back. Joining us for this week's Roundup is Dateline field producer Alex Loray.
00:21:30
Hi, Alex. Hey, Lester. First, we are going to head back to Miami, Florida with the latest in the murder trial of Rashawn Jones.
00:21:38
The University of Miami football player accused of killing his fellow teammate, Brian Pata.
00:21:44
He's pleaded not guilty. And Alex, you've been in Miami covering this one. And on Monday, there was huge news from inside the courtroom.
00:21:52
Before we get to that, remind us where we left off in this case. Yeah, sure. So we left off right as closing arguments were getting underway.
00:22:00
The prosecutors told the jury that Rashawn Jones killed Brian Pata out of envy and jealousy.
00:22:06
They leaned hard on the videotaped testimony of an eyewitness who identified Rashaun from a photo lineup as the person that he saw at the scene that night.
00:22:14
As for the defense, they said there just wasn't any evidence connecting Rashaun to the crime.
00:22:19
The eyewitness wasn't even 100% sure of his ID. Deliberations began last Thursday.
00:22:24
On Monday, the jurors sent a note to the judge. What did they say? Yeah, they said that they were deadlocked.
00:22:30
The judge encouraged them to keep trying. But after another hour of deliberations, the jurors again said that they would not be able to render a verdict.
00:22:37
And so the judge declared a mistrial. At this time, I will declare a mistrial and a hung jury.
00:22:43
You were there in the courtroom for that moment. What was it like? Yeah. So, you know, obviously the Pata family, they've been there every single day.
00:22:50
They seemed like they were in disbelief. Outside of the courthouse, after everything was over, Brian's brother Edwin spoke to the media.
00:22:57
and he said that he's convinced now more than ever that Jones is guilty. Let's listen to Edwin's interview with our affiliate NBC6 South Florida.
00:23:06
There are some things that I heard throughout this trial that I've never even heard of,
00:23:11
and that gave us more confidence that he's the guy, he's the actual killer. And we're confident with that, and we're going to stay with that.
00:23:18
He knows that he did that. Alex, you were able to speak with one of the jurors afterwards.
00:23:22
What insight did the juror give you into deliberations? Many of the jurors had questions about the eyewitness.
00:23:29
And for this juror, the motive didn't really make sense. Did this juror share the breakdown of how the jurors were divided?
00:23:35
They did. By the end of the first day of deliberations, which was last Thursday, it was 5-1 to acquit.
00:23:45
They went away over the weekend and returned Monday, and the holdout juror wouldn't change their mind.
00:23:49
And that's what led to the mistrial. And prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will retry the case against Rashawn Jones.
00:23:57
His retrial is scheduled to begin May 18. Of course, we'll be watching it closely.
00:24:02
Next up, we're turning to a Michigan courthouse where a trial we've been watching closely is winding down.
00:24:09
Dale Warner is charged with murdering his wife, Dee, in 2021 and concealing her body inside a fertilizer tank on his Lenawee County farm.
00:24:19
He has pleaded not guilty. Alex, what's happening in court at this stage? A lot. The prosecution and the defense both had big moments.
00:24:27
The prosecution took the jurors on a site visit. So they didn't just hear about the Warner Farm, they walked it,
00:24:34
giving jurors a firsthand look at the property where Dee's body was found. And Alex, the prosecution rested on Tuesday.
00:24:40
So the jury also got to hear from some defense witnesses. What were the highlights there?
00:24:45
The main witness the defense called was Dee's brother, Greg Hardy. The defense challenged Greg about a text that he'd sent.
00:24:51
You indicated that you have potential liability if the prosecutor is not successful
00:24:57
in getting a conviction against Mr. Warner, correct? That's what the text says. And you wrote that text, right?
00:25:03
I did. The defense was suggesting that this was suspicious behavior. And after that, the defense rested.
00:25:10
We'll have an update next week. And finally, we're off to California, where former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini
00:25:19
learned his fate this week. He was found guilty back in July for the murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spohr,
00:25:26
and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood. Alex, first remind listeners about this case.
00:25:34
Sure. So prosecutors say back in 2021, Serafini ambushed his in-laws at their Lake Tahoe home, shooting both of them.
00:25:41
Prosecutors said Serafini plotted to kill his in-laws over money so that he'd have access to a multi-million dollar inheritance.
00:25:48
Serafini made several attempts to win himself a new trial since he was convicted back in July.
00:25:54
That's right. All those attempts, however, were denied by a judge, and Serafini's sentencing moved forward last Friday.
00:26:00
The court hereby sentences you to life without the possibility of parole. Victim impact statements immediately followed.
00:26:07
Adrienne Spohr, the victim's daughter, had this to say about Dan Serafini. He's a monster that knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself.
00:26:18
She even asked the judge to put Serafini in solitary confinement because she's afraid he will conspire with fellow inmates to have her killed.
00:26:25
Then Serafini himself got to say a few words. In this court, I was called arrogant, manipulative, and a liar.
00:26:33
I accept my failings but I have never heard of her The judge wasn too keen on what Serafini had to say about himself What I heard from you was all about you and not enough about the victims that died in this case
00:26:47
Some of the jurors who convicted Serafini returned to court for his sentencing. They talked to our affiliate KCRA outside the courthouse afterwards.
00:26:57
I think it's a moment for closure for all of us. We really wanted to be here in support of the family.
00:27:03
It was a tragedy. And, you know, these are real people and real lives. And just to hear the devastation caused by these murders, it's awful.
00:27:13
Well, Alex, so much from jurors this week. Thanks for bringing us these updates.
00:27:17
Thanks for having me, Lester. For our final story this week, we're talking about something that got our attention while we've been covering the trial of Rashawn Jones over the past few weeks.
00:27:31
photo lineups. As we just talked about in Roundup, the prosecution's star witness
00:27:36
was an eyewitness who picked Jones out of a photo lineup, but the defense had questions
00:27:42
about his identification. It made us curious about how detectives conduct a photo lineup
00:27:48
in the first place and the obstacles that exist to getting a solid ID. My next guest,
00:27:55
Ken Wallentine, is a retired chief of the West Jordan, Utah Police Department with over four
00:28:00
decades of experience in law enforcement. Welcome to the show, Ken. Great to have you with us.
00:28:05
Thank you. Ken, we've all seen photo lineups done in movies, and we've heard about them on
00:28:09
certainly on Dateline episodes, but walk us through what the procedure is actually like
00:28:14
in real life. You know, the first thing in a photo lineup is we want to start out right. Typically,
00:28:19
you'll see a minimum of six photographs, sometimes a few more, I hope, nevertheless.
00:28:25
And typically, that's one suspect, one person we believe might be the perpetrator,
00:28:29
and at least five what we call fillers. In other words, people who are similar in appearance,
00:28:35
not to the suspect, but similar in appearance to the description given by the witness.
00:28:40
We want the witness to be told, you know, the perpetrator may or may not be present
00:28:45
in the photo lineup. We assure the witness that the investigation will continue regardless of their identification
00:28:52
or inability to make an identification. We caution them not to look to the detective
00:28:57
or whoever's administering the photo lineup for any guidance. And then one final thing in administering is that best practice today, I believe, is
00:29:07
a blind administration. And what do I mean by that? It's a blind administration where the photo ID lineup administrator doesn't know the suspect's
00:29:15
identity. And the purpose of that is to eliminate either intentional or unconscious cueing because even subtle cues from the administrator in a breathing posture tone of voice can influence the witness memory and also the witness choice You been in law enforcement for four decades a police chief for two of them
00:29:32
How has the process of police lineups evolved over the years? Oh my gosh. So we go back in my family to 1869 in law enforcement.
00:29:40
And when my grandfather was doing identification, they were still doing live lineups.
00:29:45
We typically don't do those anymore. Photo lineups became fairly popular in the late 1950s, the late 1960s, when we started
00:29:53
really collecting photographs, mugshots, if you will, and making them available.
00:29:57
In the 1960s, there was very limited training on how to administer an eyewitness identification
00:30:02
procedure. The detective who was the investigator took the photographs, put them in front of people,
00:30:06
might have even pointed to photographs as he moved along. And then when I became a cop in the late 1970s, really about the beginning of the 1980s, there
00:30:15
was a scientific awakening. And so in the 80s and 90s, we moved from assuming memory works like a
00:30:22
video recording to understanding that it's reconstructive and vulnerable to suggestions.
00:30:28
Finally, in the last even less than decade, we have seen courts and legislatures drive best
00:30:33
practices as they're embedded into evidentiary rules and evidentiary laws. What I'm hearing is
00:30:38
that this is a useful technique, but one that has to be handled very carefully because of just human
00:30:44
reaction and how we process information. So with that in mind, how common is it for police to use
00:30:50
a photo lineup? Well, you wouldn't see a photo lineup used, for example, in a shoplifting at a
00:30:55
convenience store, typically. Certainly in serious felony cases, aggravated assault, sexual assaults,
00:31:02
people who may witness a homicide. In those kind of cases, it's all stops are pulled, all hands on
00:31:08
deck, and we'll do everything we can to identify the perpetrator. And very often, if we have an
00:31:14
eyewitness, that will involve a photographic lineup procedure. All right, I was struck by this
00:31:18
one figure. According to the National Institute of Justice, mistaken eyewitness identifications
00:31:23
have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions. That's a pretty alarming high number. Ken,
00:31:30
what could make an eyewitness pick the wrong person? One thing is that they haven't been
00:31:35
given proper instructions. They go into the procedure believing, and it's a little logical,
00:31:41
I think, to believe that one of those six people is the perpetrator. And they also feel like they
00:31:46
have an obligation to identify someone. And Luster, we all inflate our confidence in our
00:31:53
memories. And when you couple that with the pressure or the direction to identify a suspect,
00:31:59
maybe you think it your civic duty maybe you anxious to see justice done for a crime that was perpetrated against you That a dangerous combination Once a witness or victim has made an identification how does that impact the investigation Is there anything the police should or shouldn do afterward
00:32:16
Really good detectives will consider that eyewitness identification, and then they will
00:32:22
balance it with the other information that they have, and they will pursue any other leads they
00:32:27
can. We don't want officers, we don't want investigators to be overconfident. Eyewitness
00:32:33
testimony can be powerful. It can also be vulnerable. So I would hope, Lester, that
00:32:38
once an identification is made, that's simply another brick in the wall, that's simply another
00:32:43
step taken, but not conclusive and not a terminal point for the investigation. Well, Ken, you've been great on all this. Thanks so much for spending some time with us.
00:32:52
Thank you. That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Make sure to check out Josh's brand new original podcast series, Trace of Suspicion.
00:33:04
After a Marine dies unexpectedly, investigators suspect his widow had something to do with it,
00:33:10
setting off a criminal case that takes a stunning turn. This case started because of the breast implants.
00:33:17
Think about it. If she had a nose job, would we even be talking about it? On March 10th, you can listen to the first two episodes completely free or subscribe to Dateline Premium to start listening now, ad-free, with early access to subsequent episodes.
00:33:35
And if that's not enough Josh for you, coming up this Friday on NBC, he has a brand new Dateline episode for you.
00:33:43
After a beloved professor is found murdered at home, the prime suspect is just within investigators' reach, but not for long.
00:33:51
He said to bring my Kevlar. Bring your Kevlar because Mexico's a dangerous place or he's going to shoot you.
00:33:58
Right. I'm not sure. Watch The Professor and the Poet Friday at 9, 8 central on NBC.
00:34:05
Thanks for listening, everyone. Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Carolyn Casey, and Keanu Reid.
00:34:12
Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone-Groff and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown-Kuriloff.
00:34:21
production and fact-checking help by audrey abrahams veronica mazeka is our digital producer
00:34:28
rick kwan is our sound designer original music by jesse mcginty paul ryan is executive producer
00:34:35
and liz cole is senior executive producer of dateline all right thanks bye

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 75
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Biggest twist
  • 70
    Most emotional

Episode Highlights

  • Corey Richens' Trial
    Corey Richens faces trial for allegedly poisoning her husband for life insurance money.
    “Prosecutors say Corey poisoned Eric in March 2022.”
    @ 01m 50s
    March 05, 2026
  • Scott Spivey's Shooting Case
    Jennifer Foley fights for justice after her brother's shooting was ruled self-defense.
    “All my family has ever asked for was a fair and honest investigation.”
    @ 11m 27s
    March 05, 2026
  • Mistrial in Rashawn Jones Case
    The jury deadlocks in the trial of Rashawn Jones, accused of killing a teammate.
    “The judge declared a mistrial and a hung jury.”
    @ 22m 43s
    March 05, 2026
  • Dan Serafini Sentenced to Life
    Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini receives life without parole for the murder of his in-laws.
    “The court hereby sentences you to life without the possibility of parole.”
    @ 26m 00s
    March 05, 2026
  • Eyewitness Identification Concerns
    A discussion on the reliability of eyewitness identifications and their role in wrongful convictions.
    “Mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions.”
    @ 31m 23s
    March 05, 2026
  • New Podcast: Trace of Suspicion
    A new podcast explores a case involving a Marine's unexpected death and his widow's potential involvement.
    “This case started because of the breast implants.”
    @ 33m 14s
    March 05, 2026

Episode Quotes

  • I'm sorry, guys. This is the worst in my life.
    Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.
  • He's a monster that knows no moral boundaries.
    Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.
  • I think it's a moment for closure for all of us.
    Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.
  • 75% of wrongful convictions involve mistaken eyewitness identifications.
    Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.
  • If she had a nose job, would we even be talking about it?
    Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.

Key Moments

  • Justice Fight20:41
  • Mistrial Declared22:43
  • Court Plea24:19
  • Prosecution Rests24:38
  • Defense Witness24:45
  • Life Sentence26:00
  • Victim Impact26:07
  • Podcast Tease33:10

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown