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This time on Killers Caught on camera in
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the west of England, a mother's life is
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stolen in a coldblooded execution.
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He's jealous. He doesn't want her life
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to move on without him. He shot her in
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the head.
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And in New Mexico, a family argument
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ends in death. How's he doing? Is he all
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right? Or is he? No, he's not. Just
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something didn't feel like it was adding
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up. You know why he hadn't called 911.
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It just sounds like something bad is
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happening to her. We know what happened
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because the video tells us what
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happened. I heard some gunshots. Drop
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it. Whatever it is, drop it. That does
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not prove that I killed my wife. The
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camera doesn't
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lie. In the UK, in Shroptshire is the
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quiet farming town of
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Newport. But on a suburban street in
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January 2018, the peace was shattered.
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from agency. There's a lady in the car
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next shot. That's everywhere.
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Cheryl, her name. Cheryl. Cheryl, can
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you hear me? She's not moving. Just
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looking.
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Emergency services
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responded. They were met by panicked
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neighbors.
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The police arrive at an extremely
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chaotic and panicstricken scene. That's
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all he can do.
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He shot her in the head. The only
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eyewitness is the daughter of Georgia.
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She's 14 at the time.
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Right. Okay, folks. They're they're
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doing CPR at the moment on her. So, let
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the ambulance crew do what they need to
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do. You Is that your mom? Yeah. Well, we
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don't know yet. We'll let the ambulance
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crew do what they need to do. All right.
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They're going to be doing dead. Do what?
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Did you see what happened? Did you see
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anything?
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[Music]
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The victim was Cheryl Hooper. She was
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seated in the driver's seat of her car,
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which was parked outside the house that
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she was living in at the time.
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Andy, they're going to need to get her
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out, mate.
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Cheryl was found with two shotgun
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injuries to her upper body caused by a
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shotgun
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discharge. Paramedics tried to save
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Cheryl, but she was declared dead at the
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scene.
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[Music]
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I want
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Georgia was initially hysterical, but
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when she'd calmed down a bit, she was
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able to tell the officers who arrived uh
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in simple terms what had happened to her
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mother and who was responsible.
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You um okay to talk to us right now and
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here. Okay.
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[Music]
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My mom was incredibly
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outgoing, loud, talkative,
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bubbly. She's really, really well known
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in Newport for being a nice, bubbly
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person. Cheryl was a single parent.
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Georgia, her only child.
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Do you love mommy? Do you love me? Yes.
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Yeah. I love you, too. My mom was
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incredibly loving. She was all over me.
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Very protective, very caring.
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Hello.
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My mom spent a lot of time with me.
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Being a single parent, she didn't really
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have time for doing things that she
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wanted to do.
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She enjoyed going to church, anything
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that got her out the house really. She'd
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spent a long time working in sales. It
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was something she really, really
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enjoyed. She changed career several
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times and ended up as a manager of a
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dental
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practice. In 2010, Cheryl met a local
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man, a farmer Andrew Hooper known as
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Jack.
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My mom and Jack met through friends.
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They were set up on a date. It wasn't
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something that my mom usually did, but
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she was sort of encouraged to go and do
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it. Um, and that's how their
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relationship
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started. The first time I met Jack was
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when we went to his farm.
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Morning, girl. She'll let you stroke
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her. He was lovely. He was very
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charming. The farm seemed to be a
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successful business, and Jack put across
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that it was really successful. He had a
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Range Rover. He made out that he was
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doing okay.
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And Cheryl seemed happy in the
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relationship.
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I think she liked the fact that Jack had
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his own farm. He was sensible. He was
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clever man and seemed really kind and
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caring. However, this wasn't always the
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truth. Even from quite soon into the
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relationship, his attitude started to
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change. He didn't really like her being
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around her friends. He did his best to
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isolate her away from
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them. Another issue was Cheryl's
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full-time
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job. Jack expected my mom to be at home,
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be the housewife. She cooked all the
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dinners. She did all the cleaning up.
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She did all the housework. Um, you know,
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it was a big farmhouse and she was
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expected to do everything. He did not
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want to lift a finger. And if she wasn't
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home cooking dinner like he expected,
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there would be repercussions. A lot of
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the time it was silent treatment. He
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wasn't he wasn't necessarily physically
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abusive. He wasn't a shouty man. He
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would just ice you out
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completely. But it's really subtle
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behavior and it's like dripfed. It's
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very slow and you don't realize that
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it's happening until it's too late.
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Intimate partner violence doesn't just
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involve physical attacks. When someone
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is ignoring you, ignoring your needs, is
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making themselves emotionally
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unavailable, that can also be a form of
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intimate partner violence, especially if
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it's used with the intention of making
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you feel bad. And so what we see here is
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a systematic use of things that aren't
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physical violence, but are other forms
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of control and violence.
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Despite the warning signs, after 4 years
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together, the couple decided to
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[Music]
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wed. The relationship was very much
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abusive by the time that he proposed to
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mom. But he promised her that things
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would change and things would get
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better. And I think my mom was in a
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position where she thought, "Oh,
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actually, okay, he is serious about
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this." And she said, "Yes."
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Even with all his promises, Jack's
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relationship with Cheryl and Georgia got
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worse over
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time. The farm was in debt. He was
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incredibly stressed over it. And it made
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him even more uncomfortable to be
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around. You wouldn't know what you'd
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done wrong. You he just wouldn't speak
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to you. And sometimes it could it could
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be as simple as like breathing wrong.
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There was no rhyme or reason for it a
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lot of the
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time. After seven years together, the
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relationship had hit rock
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bottom. His abuse really reached a fever
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pitch. He just became so nasty. He was
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drinking a lot more. He became a lot
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more aggressive. He was more degrading
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to my mom and things just started to get
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a lot more severe.
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Jack had come home really drunk and I
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could hear them shouting and I heard a
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loud bang.
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Jack had smashed the television. After
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Cheryl went up to bed, he went to his
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gun
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cabinet. I could hear him at the bottom
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of the staircase with his gun breaking
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the barrels and putting them back
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together again and break which is how
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you would load a shotgun.
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[Music]
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He then stamped up the stairs really
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slowly and and in quite a a menacing
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way. He flung the bedroom door open and
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and he didn't have the gun, but he led
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my mom to believe that he had the
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gun. Cheryl was
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terrified. I've never seen somebody
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shake so much. All she could say to me
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was, "I thought he had the gun and I
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thought he was going to shoot me." At at
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this point, I'd really realized what he
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was capable of. And I said to her,
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"Enough's enough. We're leaving right
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now."
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Cheryl and Georgia left the farm and
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went to stay with her parents near
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Newport.
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You're so vain, mother. Oh, showing my
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No,
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it's so vain. You're always looking at
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yourself.
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Jack tried everything to get Cheryl to
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return to him. following her, attempting
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to get her friends to change her mind,
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and ultimately threatening to kill
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himself. She went round to the house and
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he was in the living room with a shotgun
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between his legs. The only way that she
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really could think of of getting him to
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calm down was was essentially by putting
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her head over the gun, too, and saying,
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you know, you you need to stop this
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because, I'm not going to let you take
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your life.
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The kind interpretation of him saying,
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"I'm going to kill myself." is that this
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is a man in desperate need of help, of
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support, and someone who is in fact
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suicidal. The other side of this is, or
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is he a man who's using this as a form
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of manipulation to play into her fears
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and get her to do something for him that
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she doesn't actually want to do? So, we
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need to be careful with interpreting
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this because obviously it's delicate
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when we're talking about people's
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desires to kill themselves.
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Um, but I think here there's definitely
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a piece of it that feels very
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manipulative. Once we'd moved into our
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house, I was becoming increasingly
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concerned about his
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behavior. I was sat on the sofa and I
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heard a car engine and I thought,
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"That's odd. That's right outside the
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house." And then my mom comes downstairs
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and goes, "My car's gone. It's not on
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the drive.
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Jack had taken the car because it was
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registered to the farm
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business. A few days later, he returned
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it. But from then on, he started to
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appear in the same places as Cheryl.
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Control room. Oh, hi there. Hello. Yes.
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I wonder if you could help me. Right.
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Okay. What was the incident that
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happened? Um, it's it started with my my
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husband sashing the TV and um and then
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different things of threatening to kill
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himself and
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uh then he he took my car from my
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parents' house and I didn't know about
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it. He did sort of follow us around a
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little bit uh over Christmas. We didn't
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see him, but he did ring up to say that
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he'd been looking for us. Right. Okay.
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I suppose upset people and frustrated
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people just do silly things, don't they?
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In this call, she clearly needs help,
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which is why she's making the call. But
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at the same time as she's describing
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really serious things said in a voice
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that is very cautious and careful and
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downplaying and minimizing all of these
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very serious things she's talking about.
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This to me feels like a woman who is in
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desperate need but is not used to asking
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for
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help. In the wake of Jack's threatened
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suicide, the police decided to remove
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his weapons.
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There was a genuine concern that he was
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a danger to himself. And in those
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circumstances, the police can take and
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remove your firearms from
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you. It was a bodyb blow to him.
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Definitely.
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Shortly after New Year's, Cheryl and a
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friend arranged to go for a
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drink. Cheryl arrives at the pub. You
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see her walking in here with her
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friend. The beginnings of what is a rare
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night out for her. She's meeting up with
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some other friends. There's about four
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or five of them.
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[Music]
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Not long after, the pub's CCTV captured
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somebody else
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arriving. It was
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[Music]
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Jack. Fair to say that Cheryl is quite
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shocked. He's not expected to be there.
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She has no idea that he knows where she
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is. And it takes all of them by
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surprise.
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[Music]
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In order not to create a scene, Cheryl
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and Jack stepped outside.
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He's seen her inside the pub with
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others, including a male. He accusing
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her of betraying him, having started him
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a new relationship, which was not
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true. He's jealous. He doesn't want her
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life to move on without him.
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This was the moment where Hooper
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realized that the game was up in terms
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of his
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relationship. Her life had moved on and
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that what for him may hopefully have
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been a temporary separation was
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something which in her mind was
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permanent.
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After a brief conversation, Jack
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left. Cheryl was shaken but rejoined her
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friends.
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I was at her friend's house and I got a
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text message from mom to say, "I think
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Jack has tracked my
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car." I think that was really when the
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penny
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dropped. He had threatened to burn the
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remaining of our belongings at his
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house. I was fed up of being voiceless
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and that I really felt like it was my
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time to say something to him.
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It's over, Georgia. Yeah, I know it is.
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And it's your fault. No, it's not. Yes,
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it is. I'm not being funny, Jack, but it
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is. If you hadn't treated us
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badly, it it wouldn't be over.
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Well, if that's what you think, that's
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what you think, Georgia.
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That's what I know.
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You're 14, you know.
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That's nice.
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This has been going on for a long time.
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It doesn't mean you have a right to
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track the car. It doesn't mean you have
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a right to burn our stuff.
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She's clearly calling him out in this
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phone call. And his reaction is
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initially to be sad and say, "Well, if
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that's what you think." But then
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possibly because he's run out of real
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things to say that are excuses, good
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excuses. and even he realizes this
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potentially at this point. He instead
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attacks her as a person and says, "Well,
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you don't know anything because you're
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so young." And that's a pretty classic
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thing that people do when they're
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floundering and when they have nothing
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left that they can use. And even they
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know that the only thing you can do is
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shoot low.
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12 minutes after he left the pub, CCTV
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at the farm captured Jack arriving home.
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Here we have Mr. The hooper arriving at
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the
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farmhouse, he leaves the pub clearly in
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a rage, clearly his mind set in some
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sort of hostile direction as to exactly
00:17:02
what he's planning to do. No one knows
00:17:04
at this stage. And then a minute or two
00:17:07
later coming out of the
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house. And if you look closely at what
00:17:13
he's
00:17:14
holding. So there's his shoulders, his
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arm slightly wider, and you see there an
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item consistent with a shotgun under
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some sort of wrapping.
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He's highly emotional when he goes home
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and he gets this bundle, which is we can
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assume in hindsight a weapon wrapped in
00:17:40
a blanket. Probably because in his mind
00:17:43
he has tried basically everything else
00:17:46
in terms of attempts at controlling his
00:17:49
exartner and her child. And he's run out
00:17:53
of other things to try. And we can see
00:17:55
this kind of escalation in intimate
00:17:57
partner homicide cases commonly where
00:17:59
there's different things that are
00:18:01
attempted and
00:18:02
different different kinds of violence
00:18:04
that are elicited against someone and
00:18:06
ultimately it culminates in
00:18:12
murder. When she did pick me up, she was
00:18:14
on the phone to him. So I had to get in
00:18:16
the car very quietly. As soon as the the
00:18:19
phone had been put down, I said to her,
00:18:21
"I really want to ring the police now.
00:18:23
I'm really worried. My mom said no. She
00:18:26
didn't want to phone the police and she
00:18:28
wasn't concerned. And she said to me,
00:18:31
"He won't hurt
00:18:33
us." As we pulled up on the driveway, it
00:18:36
was dark outside and you can't really
00:18:39
see a lot. And mom stopped and said, "Oh
00:18:44
my god, he's
00:18:47
here." He had pulled up his truck behind
00:18:50
our car, blocking us in. So mom could
00:18:52
not drive
00:18:53
away. He's then started banging on the
00:18:56
driver's side
00:18:58
window and I could see a long object in
00:19:01
his hands which at that time looked to
00:19:04
me like it may be a broken shovel or a
00:19:06
piece of scaffolding
00:19:08
pole. I made the decision at this point
00:19:11
to get out of the car and burn the
00:19:13
police. I was going to go move him. I
00:19:16
was going to go and try and do something
00:19:17
to get my mom out of the car.
00:19:19
Unfortunately, before I was able to get
00:19:21
round to her, uh, he broke the glass and
00:19:24
he shot
00:19:27
her. He waited a few seconds and then I
00:19:30
watched him fire that next
00:19:34
shot and watched my mom slump over in
00:19:37
the car and I I knew she was dead.
00:19:42
He just turned on his heel and walked
00:19:45
away and I chased after him and I
00:19:48
grabbed him and he wouldn't stop and
00:19:50
speak to me.
00:19:53
Police were at the scene within
00:19:57
minutes. He shot her in the head.
00:20:01
Georgia was extremely courageous. She
00:20:03
was
00:20:05
screaming, shouting Jack, Jack, and she
00:20:09
couldn't get out the car.
00:20:12
I thought he had a spade or a sledge. I
00:20:14
didn't see it was a gun until I got
00:20:15
around the car and he went like that.
00:20:21
So, having learned the name of Cheryl's
00:20:24
attacker, there is an urgent concern to
00:20:28
apprehend him. The police don't know
00:20:31
whether or not he's still walking around
00:20:33
carrying a loaded weapon. They don't
00:20:35
know what his next steps are going to
00:20:37
be.
00:20:39
Somebody there. Movement. Could our
00:20:41
police get your hands in the air?
00:20:45
Move out to the open. We have the police
00:20:48
arriving at Hooper's farm.
00:20:51
Get down on the floor. They're in the
00:20:54
line of fire. Here is a man who is well
00:20:57
acquainted with firearms. Cover the
00:20:59
buildings left and right. Cover the
00:21:01
buildings. That's great. But as they get
00:21:04
closer to him, what they're surprised to
00:21:07
see is that actually he has already shot
00:21:11
himself.
00:21:14
Someone get a med pack. I got a med
00:21:16
pack. You okay? He's
00:21:19
blooded. He's clearly in a lot of pain.
00:21:22
It's a grotesque scene. In layman's
00:21:25
terms, he's blown his face off. Get on
00:21:28
your knees, buddy. Kneel down. We're
00:21:30
here to help.
00:21:32
Jack was taken to the hospital and
00:21:35
police recovered the weapon he'd used to
00:21:37
shoot himself and presumably Cheryl.
00:21:43
It was a Victorian age shotgun hidden in
00:21:46
the barn, which is what he picked up
00:21:47
when he went back to the park. It was a
00:21:50
a shotgun that nobody knew about. It
00:21:53
wasn't on his shotgun certificate,
00:21:55
otherwise it would have been removed.
00:21:58
Jack Hooper's injuries were so terrible
00:22:01
that doctors had to reconstruct his face
00:22:04
and police could not interview him for
00:22:06
almost a
00:22:08
year. Finally, in June 2019, his case
00:22:12
came to
00:22:14
trial. It was really shocking to see his
00:22:17
his injuries, especially going from
00:22:20
being quite a a burly man, a tall man.
00:22:23
It
00:22:24
was a massive contrast to see him
00:22:27
looking frail and sat in a wheelchair.
00:22:31
Georgia was first to give
00:22:34
evidence. The police did apply for
00:22:37
special measures for me. So, if I wanted
00:22:39
to have a screen um so that I wouldn't
00:22:41
have to be in in the main sort of court
00:22:44
with him and see him um I had that
00:22:46
option. However, I decided that I didn't
00:22:49
want to do that and I wanted to go in
00:22:52
open court as normal and stand in the
00:22:55
box and give my evidence and for him to
00:22:57
know that he hadn't broken me and that I
00:23:00
was going to do everything I could to
00:23:02
make him pay for his actions.
00:23:05
[Music]
00:23:06
Jack's case was always that it was an
00:23:09
accident. He'd only meant to frighten
00:23:11
Cheryl and that the use of the shotgun
00:23:14
was to try and persuade her to come back
00:23:16
and he never meant to fire it. He never
00:23:18
meant to hurt her. Utter rubbish.
00:23:23
[Music]
00:23:24
Proving the case against Jack was done
00:23:27
through the ballistics evidence, through
00:23:29
the unlikelihood of him going with a
00:23:31
weapon loaded and cocked, and the
00:23:34
extreme unlikeliness of the weapon
00:23:37
accidentally going off once perhaps, but
00:23:40
twice, no way.
00:23:43
He chose to go and find an antique gun.
00:23:47
He chose to test it and make sure that
00:23:50
it worked. and he chose to track us and
00:23:53
turn up to our property. He chose to
00:23:56
load the gun. There are so many choices
00:23:58
that he made that show just how intent
00:24:01
he was on killing my mom.
00:24:05
The jury were not convinced by Jack's
00:24:08
defense.
00:24:10
Jack Hooper received a sentence of 31
00:24:13
years imprisonment for the murder of
00:24:16
Cheryl.
00:24:17
The evidence from Georgia was pivotal.
00:24:20
And it wasn't just because she was an
00:24:23
eyewitness. It was the
00:24:26
immediacy of the account that she gave
00:24:30
and the bravery and courage with which
00:24:35
she gave
00:24:37
it. It was a horrendous killing. It
00:24:40
shows just how quickly a
00:24:44
relatively normal traumatic yes abusive
00:24:48
familial relationship can turn into an
00:24:51
absolute tragedy. No one could ever have
00:24:54
predicted that he'd behave in the way he
00:24:56
did. And that's the frightening thing
00:24:57
about it really.
00:25:05
My mom wasn't someone that someone would
00:25:08
suspect to be in this coercively
00:25:10
controlling relationship. She wasn't
00:25:13
walking around covered in bruises from
00:25:15
him. And I think it's really important
00:25:17
that people understand coercive control
00:25:19
and just how dangerous it can be. It can
00:25:22
feel so helpless and like you are so
00:25:24
trapped, but it is possible to get away
00:25:27
and you can have a successful life. No
00:25:30
matter how dark or bad it has been, you
00:25:33
can still
00:25:36
recover. I would like to think that my
00:25:38
mom's proud of what I'm doing. I'm
00:25:40
trying to focus on myself now, creating
00:25:42
myself a good career, moving forward in
00:25:44
my life. And I think it's really
00:25:46
important to remember that my mom was
00:25:48
such a kind person who was so involved
00:25:50
in the
00:25:52
community who gave so much for her
00:25:55
family and for me her child and that she
00:25:58
was normal and friendly and loving and
00:26:01
that she's not just a statistic for a
00:26:04
murder case.
00:26:20
The heavy use of alcohol is known to
00:26:22
cause short and long-term cognitive
00:26:27
impairment. Research has shown a clear
00:26:29
link between drinking alcohol and
00:26:32
engaging in violent crimes. But what's
00:26:34
important to note here is that alcohol
00:26:36
does not make people violent. What
00:26:38
alcohol does is it disinhibits you. In
00:26:41
other words, if you already have violent
00:26:43
tendencies either towards somebody else
00:26:45
or yourself and you drink, you are more
00:26:48
likely to engage in bad
00:26:51
decision-m. And in the US, another
00:26:54
family mourns a loved one lost to a
00:26:56
deadly cocktail of alcohol and guns.
00:27:08
In southern New Mexico is the tiny
00:27:11
community of Truth or
00:27:17
Consequences. Truth or Consequences is a
00:27:19
small town in the southwestern part of
00:27:22
New Mexico. It came about its name
00:27:24
through Ralph Edwards doing a game show
00:27:28
production and a promo for his show in
00:27:30
the ' 50s. He wanted a town that would
00:27:33
take on the name of his game show. Hello
00:27:36
there. We've been waiting for you. It's
00:27:38
time to play
00:27:39
truth consequent.
00:27:45
The town voted in favor of changing its
00:27:48
name from Hot Springs to Truth or
00:27:49
Consequences and has subsequently
00:27:51
celebrated the name change every year
00:27:55
since. Truth or Consequences is filled
00:27:58
with just good-hearted people. It's
00:28:00
filled with a lot of tourists who fall
00:28:02
in love and come back and make it their
00:28:04
home.
00:28:06
This little community was home to
00:28:09
75-year-old Vietnam vet Solomon Curtis
00:28:12
Hayhurst, also known as Butch.
00:28:16
Solomon Hayhurst served his country in
00:28:18
the armed forces for the United States.
00:28:20
He was wounded in battle and then he
00:28:23
came home. He worked as a New Mexico
00:28:25
game and fish officer in law enforcement
00:28:27
for many years.
00:28:30
Everyone who knew Saul liked Saul. He
00:28:33
was a great guy, easy to get along with
00:28:35
and very friendly. He loved his job and
00:28:37
loved his community and loved his
00:28:42
friends. Saul had been with his wife Ka
00:28:45
for over five happy
00:28:48
decades. They were longtime sweethearts.
00:28:51
I believe even high school sweethearts.
00:28:53
And and they had a love that never
00:28:55
failed. They leaned on each other in
00:28:56
good times and bad.
00:28:59
They lived in King Canyon, which is in
00:29:01
the rural part of Southern County, and
00:29:04
they had a small, modest little
00:29:06
ranchstyle house
00:29:08
there. Over the last few years,
00:29:10
Solomon's days were spent as a
00:29:12
caregiver.
00:29:14
Ka had been sick and Saul had spent most
00:29:17
of his time recently taking care of Ka
00:29:20
and she was incapacitated and sleeping
00:29:22
in a hospital bed in the living room.
00:29:26
He was having to be the caretaker and
00:29:28
provider.
00:29:30
Also living in the King Canyon property
00:29:32
with Saul and Kea was their 48-year-old
00:29:35
son,
00:29:37
Sam. Sam and Saul spent most of their
00:29:40
time together and they were drinking
00:29:41
buddies and they were friends. Sam
00:29:44
served his country, I believe, in the
00:29:46
Navy. Then after that, he came home. He
00:29:49
had had his struggles with alcohol and
00:29:51
was never really able to hold down
00:29:53
employment.
00:29:57
[Music]
00:30:02
Hi. Security calling because we received
00:30:05
a fire alarm. The guy stated that he
00:30:08
didn't need fire. He stated that he need
00:30:10
EMS and the police. He stated that him
00:30:12
and his dad just got into an argument.
00:30:15
His dad pulled a gun on him. They got
00:30:16
into an argument. He had to defend
00:30:18
himself and he shot his father.
00:30:22
Deputies were dispatched to the scene.
00:30:25
911 call handlers were then able to make
00:30:28
contact with the caller, Sam Hayhurst.
00:30:32
Can you tell me what happened? My dad
00:30:35
and I had a dispute and I ended up
00:30:40
Okay. Is How's he doing? Is he all right
00:30:43
or is he No, no, he's not.
00:30:48
Despite the remoteness of the house,
00:30:50
deputies were quickly on the scene. The
00:30:52
first responding deputies made contact
00:30:55
with Sam on the front porch of the
00:30:57
residence and they placed him in
00:30:59
handcuffs. Once he was secured in the
00:31:01
vehicle, we made entry into the
00:31:03
residence.
00:31:06
They found Solomon Hayhurst on the
00:31:08
living room floor.
00:31:10
Solomon Hayhurst had a close-range
00:31:13
gunshot wound to the face. There were no
00:31:16
signs of
00:31:19
life. I did notice a semi-automatic
00:31:22
handgun next to his legs, so we left
00:31:25
that in place for the forensic team to
00:31:27
come in and
00:31:29
document. Ka Hayhurst was in the bed at
00:31:32
that time. I didn't know her condition
00:31:35
and there was a handgun laying on the
00:31:36
bed next to her. So, I moved that
00:31:39
firearm so if she woke up with strangers
00:31:42
in her house and and her husband on the
00:31:44
floor, she wouldn't be inclined to react
00:31:47
to
00:31:48
that. An ambulance took Kea to the
00:31:52
hospital. She was still unaware that her
00:31:55
husband was
00:31:57
dead. Later that night, Sam Hayhurst was
00:32:00
interviewed at the sheriff's office.
00:32:03
When he was taken into custody, uh Sam
00:32:05
did uh wreak the odor of of an alcoholic
00:32:08
beverage and and did seem to be under
00:32:10
the influence at that time. He was just
00:32:12
being detained. He was not under
00:32:15
arrest. Should never have happened. I
00:32:18
was just defending myself. That's all I
00:32:19
was doing. It's completely 100%
00:32:23
self-defense.
00:32:25
He was after me with
00:32:27
guns and he was highly
00:32:31
intoxicated and he's a bad drunk, very
00:32:35
aggressive when he's drunk.
00:32:38
He talked about his father being
00:32:40
extremely intoxicated, threatening to
00:32:43
shoot him, um threatening harm and that
00:32:46
uh he had to shoot him in
00:32:48
self-defense. Had you guys been fighting
00:32:51
at all or arguing at all before the
00:32:53
drinking? Not at all. Not at all. As a
00:32:56
matter of fact, he was telling me he
00:32:58
goes, "I've really enjoyed talking to
00:32:59
you
00:33:01
tonight. I feel the same way." But then
00:33:05
we started drinking.
00:33:08
Forensic psychologist Lissa Johnson has
00:33:11
studied the case.
00:33:13
He's calmer than one would expect, but
00:33:16
that's not necessarily indicative of
00:33:19
guilt. We also have to factor in that he
00:33:21
is uh slightly at least intoxicated, and
00:33:24
that could be playing a role here. What
00:33:26
we do know is typically there might be a
00:33:29
level of anxiety or distress that's
00:33:30
associated um with having just taken
00:33:34
someone's life. And so, you would
00:33:35
typically expect to see that reflected
00:33:37
in someone's speech.
00:33:42
[Music]
00:33:44
Anytime there's a murder in Sierra
00:33:45
County, though, news spreads quickly
00:33:47
because it is such a tight-knit
00:33:49
community. So, everyone knew very
00:33:51
quickly about Sam killing his
00:33:54
dad. My instant thought went to KA
00:33:58
knowing that she had just lost her
00:34:00
lifetime husband. It was
00:34:02
heart-wrenching.
00:34:06
Having spoken with Sam Hayhurst,
00:34:08
investigators had no reason to doubt his
00:34:11
version of
00:34:13
events. Sheriff Joshua Baker still had
00:34:16
his suspicions.
00:34:19
Something didn't feel like it was adding
00:34:20
up. You know, why he hadn't called
00:34:24
911. So, I was doing a secondary sweep
00:34:27
around the living room area, looking for
00:34:29
any evidence we might have missed or
00:34:31
might have been overlooked. And on the
00:34:33
TV stand, I noticed a what appeared to
00:34:36
be an ADT
00:34:41
camera. In today's age, video
00:34:44
surveillance is a major part of any
00:34:46
criminal investigation. Um, many homes
00:34:49
have surveillance video. Businesses have
00:34:51
surveillance video. We have dash cams
00:34:53
and body cams in law enforcement. It's
00:34:55
instrumental in everything we do in
00:34:57
today's law enforcement.
00:35:00
Baker returned to the sheriff's office
00:35:02
and spoke to Sam Hayhurst a second time.
00:35:06
In the living room, there's a camera.
00:35:09
Yeah. ADT camera. Do you know how that
00:35:11
camera system works? It doesn't. I tried
00:35:15
to get it to work on my computer, but
00:35:17
it's just never never worked.
00:35:24
Despite Sam's insistence that the camera
00:35:27
didn't work, ADT were able to confirm
00:35:29
that in actual fact, the camera in the
00:35:32
living room was recording video.
00:35:38
When we learned that there was actually
00:35:40
video footage on that camera, we were
00:35:43
pretty excited.
00:35:46
It showed the entire living room and the
00:35:50
entry to the hallway where Solomon
00:35:52
Hayhurst had been shot.
00:35:56
The footage had no audio, but
00:35:58
investigators were now able to piece
00:36:01
together what happened in the Hayhurst
00:36:03
residence.
00:36:05
This video is from earlier in the
00:36:07
evening. This is Solomon Hayhurst and
00:36:10
this is Sam sitting in the chair next to
00:36:13
Kea who's in the bed.
00:36:15
And you can see Solomon coming over and
00:36:18
appears to be consoling Sam, patting him
00:36:21
on the
00:36:23
[Music]
00:36:25
shoulder. Appears to be a normal family
00:36:29
[Music]
00:36:32
evening. This video clips from later on
00:36:34
in the evening. You can see Sam sitting
00:36:37
in the chair. The living room light is
00:36:39
on. Solomon's sitting here next to Ka.
00:36:42
And Sam has some papers in his hand. and
00:36:44
seems to be agitated about something,
00:36:48
but Solomon seems to be sitting in his
00:36:50
chair quietly
00:36:56
listening. In the next clip, Sam walks
00:36:59
out from the hallway with two handguns,
00:37:02
one in each hand, and walks up to
00:37:04
Solomon and just hands him the two
00:37:06
firearms and turns around and walks out
00:37:08
of the room.
00:37:09
You can see he seems somewhat surprised.
00:37:12
Immediately sets one on the bed and then
00:37:14
begins to check to see if the other one
00:37:16
is
00:37:20
loaded. When I first saw this video, it
00:37:24
explained where the firearms came from
00:37:26
and how Solomon came in possession of
00:37:29
the firearm that was by him, which
00:37:31
contradicted Sam's statements that
00:37:33
Solomon had retrieved the firearm. And
00:37:36
this was the first evidence we had that
00:37:38
Sam's story was not
00:37:46
honest. Then Solomon walked out the
00:37:49
front door and there was a camera
00:37:50
outside the front door as well. It did
00:37:52
not shoot video, but it took an image of
00:37:55
Solomon on the front porch with the
00:37:57
firearm.
00:38:00
The next video clip showed him walking
00:38:02
back into the house and he was now
00:38:05
holding the firearm with the grip
00:38:07
reversed in his hand. So, not in a
00:38:10
firing
00:38:11
[Music]
00:38:13
grip. What they saw next shocked
00:38:16
investigators.
00:38:23
Solomon comes in, stops abruptly in the
00:38:26
doorway to the hallway, appears to be
00:38:29
talking, shows the weapon that he's
00:38:32
holding it backwards in his hand, his
00:38:34
arms clearly bent below waist level as
00:38:37
he's talking, and then he's shot and
00:38:41
falls to the floor.
00:38:43
[Music]
00:38:51
It's clear in the video that Solomon was
00:38:54
was not acting aggressive. He didn't
00:38:56
come back in the house in a threatening
00:38:58
manner. He wasn't even holding the
00:39:00
firearm in a firing position. It was
00:39:02
facing backwards in his hand. You can
00:39:05
see him quickly retreat back using the
00:39:09
doorway kind of as protection and
00:39:11
putting his right arm up in a defensive
00:39:13
posture.
00:39:15
When we moved the body of Solomon
00:39:18
Hayhurst, we found that firearm had a
00:39:21
loaded magazine but an empty chamber,
00:39:24
but there was a loose bullet uh under
00:39:26
his body as well. So, that was very
00:39:29
indicative that he had gone outside and
00:39:31
removed the bullet from the chamber of
00:39:33
that weapon and had it in his hand
00:39:35
whenever he was shot.
00:39:40
In Sam's interview, he said that he knew
00:39:42
his dad was coming to hurt him and he
00:39:44
had to defend himself. U the video
00:39:47
clearly shows that was not the case, but
00:39:49
he was in fact laying in wait with his
00:39:51
shotgun for his father to walk around
00:39:53
that corner.
00:39:56
What Sam did next only deepened their
00:39:59
suspicions.
00:40:04
It shows Sam walking right over the
00:40:07
deceased body of his father, right past
00:40:09
his mother in the bed and walking
00:40:11
outside. Doesn't stop to check on his
00:40:13
father. Doesn't try to render aid. Just
00:40:16
walks right outside like
00:40:19
nothing. After seeing the video footage
00:40:22
of what had transpired, I was absolutely
00:40:25
convinced that this was a cold-blooded
00:40:27
premeditated murder.
00:40:33
Now armed with the video evidence, Sam
00:40:35
Hayhurst was interviewed for a third
00:40:38
time.
00:40:40
All right, Mr. Hayhurst, you still doing
00:40:42
okay?
00:40:43
Just exhausted. Besides tired, you have
00:40:46
any back with the cameras?
00:40:49
Well, a little bit. What happened? We
00:40:52
again got him to reaffirm his original
00:40:54
story.
00:40:56
Do you know where he got the guns from?
00:40:58
I I was racking my brain about that. He
00:41:01
must have gone.
00:41:03
I was thinking maybe he had them in the
00:41:05
his recliner in one of the like the
00:41:07
sleeves. Uhhuh. Or he must have went out
00:41:10
to his room to get them. We slowly eased
00:41:13
into the fact that we did have the video
00:41:15
surveillance and that we had seen what
00:41:17
occurred.
00:41:19
So we know where he got the guns. You
00:41:22
walked in there and gave them to him.
00:41:25
No kidding. Yes, sir. I don't remember
00:41:27
that at all. Yeah, that's that's pretty
00:41:29
clear on video. His demeanor did change.
00:41:32
I could see his stress uh levels going
00:41:35
up. Like I said, he was screaming and
00:41:38
cursing at me. Mhm. And I knew he had a
00:41:40
gun. At least one gun. When he came back
00:41:43
inside, slammed the door, and I knew he
00:41:45
was coming after me. I I just knew it.
00:41:47
That's when I got my shotgun.
00:41:50
I could see the blood vessel in his
00:41:52
neck. I could see his pulse in it. Sam,
00:41:55
I'm going to be honest with you. Your
00:41:57
dad can be seen in that video. And he
00:42:00
never levels that gun off at you. He
00:42:02
started to, Sam. He never does. As a
00:42:05
matter of fact, that gun is is pointed
00:42:08
down here at the ground the whole time
00:42:10
he's in that doorway.
00:42:12
And as we pressed him harder, he had
00:42:14
some sort of medical episode.
00:42:17
What were y'all arguing about on those
00:42:19
papers?
00:42:21
Sam, I I know you're holding back
00:42:24
telling me what it
00:42:26
was, but
00:42:33
[ __ ]
00:42:36
Breathe, Sam. Breathe. Sam, breathe. I
00:42:39
think he's having a seizure. I'm not
00:42:42
sure 100% if if it was a legitimate
00:42:46
medical episode or or if he was faking
00:42:49
it. But either way, we had to treat it
00:42:51
as if it was a real medical episode and
00:42:53
call emergency services.
00:43:01
Investigators now had enough evidence to
00:43:04
prove Sam Hayhurst murdered his
00:43:08
father. The trial took place 2 years
00:43:11
after the murder happened. The defense
00:43:14
side was working to show that it was a
00:43:17
case of self-defense and not a case of
00:43:18
murder.
00:43:21
Sam plead not guilty in court. The
00:43:23
district attorney's office did offer him
00:43:26
a plea deal prior to going to trial. He
00:43:28
refused it um and insisted on going to
00:43:33
trial. Given the video evidence, I was a
00:43:36
little bit surprised that he chose to go
00:43:38
to trial um maintaining a self-defense
00:43:41
claim, but he did.
00:43:44
A clue to the likely motivation for this
00:43:46
murder could be found in the video
00:43:49
recordings.
00:43:51
Soul and Ka had two children, Sam and
00:43:53
Carrie. Carrie had a daughter. They
00:43:56
raised their granddaughter for 10 years
00:43:58
of her life, and they were very happy
00:44:01
doing so. They were happy to be able to
00:44:03
share their love and their knowledge in
00:44:04
their home with
00:44:06
her. It appeared as though Sam had issue
00:44:09
with the will and their intent to leave
00:44:11
the goods from the family to their
00:44:13
granddaughter and not to Sam. Sam did
00:44:16
not want their granddaughter's name to
00:44:17
be listed in the will. He felt that he
00:44:19
should be inheriting the items and the
00:44:22
family goods instead of the
00:44:27
granddaughter. In the field of forensic
00:44:29
psychology, when we are evaluating risk
00:44:32
of violence, particularly risk of future
00:44:34
violence, we can focus on what we call
00:44:37
the 3Ds. Drivers, destabilizers, and
00:44:40
disinhibitors. In Sam's case, a driver
00:44:43
might be financial uncertainty or
00:44:46
financial dependence. A destabilizer
00:44:49
might be ongoing father-son conflict and
00:44:53
a disinhibitor might be alcohol. So when
00:44:56
we combine heavy drinking with the
00:44:59
circumstances that Sam Hayhurst was in,
00:45:01
so this is losing job opportunities,
00:45:03
ongoing stress, potential ongoing
00:45:06
familial conflict. This creates kind of
00:45:09
a toxic cocktail. It leads to a pressure
00:45:12
buildup within this small home
00:45:14
environment. And then there's nowhere
00:45:15
for this pressure to go.
00:45:20
Sam was convicted for first-degree
00:45:22
murder and received a life sentence in
00:45:24
the state of New
00:45:26
Mexico. Without the video evidence, I
00:45:29
don't think we would have ever charged
00:45:32
Sam with homicide because I don't think
00:45:34
we could have ever disproved his account
00:45:37
of the events.
00:45:41
The video evidence made this whole
00:45:48
case. Any murder is a tragedy. However,
00:45:51
this one has completely destroyed the
00:45:53
Hayhurst family. Saul didn't get to see
00:45:56
his wife to the end. And they moved Ka
00:45:59
to a nearby nursing home where she
00:46:00
finished out her days passing away just
00:46:02
a short time after the murder.
00:46:05
[Music]
00:46:06
It's an extremely brutal case mainly
00:46:10
because of how things transpired. Sam
00:46:12
shooting and killing his father who was
00:46:14
a great man, a great father, a great
00:46:16
grandfather and had a lot of loving
00:46:18
family and he took that away from them.
00:46:32
[Music]
00:46:48
[Applause]
00:46:49
[Music]
