00:00:05
Narrator: IT WAS A TYPICAL
00:00:07
WEDNESDAY MORNING IN THE SNOW
00:00:08
HOUSEHOLD.
00:00:09
SUE SNOW WAS PREPARING FOR
00:00:11
ANOTHER LONG DAY AS
00:00:13
VICE-PRESIDENT AT A LOCAL BANK.
00:00:14
MORNING, MOM.
00:00:15
MORNING, HAYLEY.
00:00:17
HOW YOU DOING?
00:00:18
Narrator: AND HER DAUGHTER
00:00:19
HAYLEY WAS RUNNING A LITTLE
00:00:20
LATE, RUSHING TO TAKE A QUICK
00:00:22
SHOWER BEFORE HEADING OFF TO
00:00:23
SCHOOL.
00:00:25
WELL, I HOPE YOU KNOW IT.
00:00:27
I KNOW IT.
00:00:28
Narrator: OVER THE SOUNDS OF
00:00:30
THE RUNNING WATER, HAYLEY
00:00:32
COULDN'T HEAR WHEN HER MOTHER
00:00:33
COLLAPSED.
00:00:35
[ LOUD THUD ]
00:00:40
MOMMY?
00:00:41
Narrator: IT WAS A TRAGEDY,
00:00:44
THEN A MEDICAL MYSTERY -- ONE
00:00:46
WHICH SENT SHOCK WAVES
00:00:48
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
00:00:50
OH, GOD. MAMA.
00:01:16
Narrator: SUSAN SNOW WAS A
00:01:18
SUCCESSFUL BANKING EXECUTIVE AND
00:01:20
THE MOTHER OF TWO YOUNG
00:01:22
DAUGHTERS.
00:01:23
SHE HAD RECENTLY REMARRIED AND
00:01:25
WAS WELL KNOWN IN THE SMALL
00:01:26
SUBURB OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.
00:01:29
SHE WAS VERY WELL LIKED.
00:01:31
SHE LIKED TO FLIRT, I THINK,
00:01:34
WITH MEN, AND PROBABLY USED IT
00:01:36
TO HER ADVANTAGE.
00:01:37
SHE WAS IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY,
00:01:39
AND I THINK THAT SHE HAD A LOT
00:01:41
OF CLIENTS THAT DEALT WITH HER
00:01:42
BANK BECAUSE THEY LIKED SUE SNOW
00:01:44
AND LIKED DEALING WITH SUE SNOW.
00:01:46
Narrator: SUE SNOW WAS ONLY
00:01:48
40 YEARS OLD AND IN PERFECT
00:01:49
HEALTH ON THE DAY SHE COLLAPSED.
00:01:52
I REALIZED SOMETHING WAS
00:01:53
WRONG.
00:01:54
HER EYES WERE OPEN AND THEY WERE
00:01:56
ROLLED SORT OF BACK AND HER
00:01:57
FINGERS WERE VERY STIFF.
00:01:59
AND SHE LOOKED TERRIFIED.
00:02:01
SHE LOOKED VERY SCARED.
00:02:03
Narrator: SUE SNOW WAS RUSHED
00:02:05
TO A NEARBY HOSPITAL,
00:02:06
UNCONSCIOUS AND NEAR DEATH.
00:02:09
SHE DIED SHORTLY AFTER ARRIVAL.
00:02:14
DR. CORRINE FLIGNER PERFORMED
00:02:16
THE AUTOPSY, ATTEMPTING TO
00:02:17
IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
00:02:20
THE INITIAL PART OF THE
00:02:21
AUTOPSY REVEALED WHAT WE WOULD
00:02:23
CALL NO ANATOMIC CAUSE OF DEATH.
00:02:26
THAT MEANS THAT THERE WASN'T A
00:02:28
DEFINITE PATHOLOGIC FINDING THAT
00:02:30
COULD EXPLAIN MS. SNOW'S DEATH.
00:02:33
Narrator: BUT DR. FLIGNER'S
00:02:35
ASSISTANT IN THE AUTOPSY ROOM
00:02:36
NOTICED A TINY CLUE.
00:02:39
IT WASN'T ANYTHING SHE COULD
00:02:41
SEE.
00:02:42
IT WAS SOMETHING SHE THOUGHT SHE
00:02:44
SMELLED.
00:02:45
WHEN JANET MILLER OPENED
00:02:48
SUE SNOW'S CHEST CAVITY, SHE
00:02:51
NOTICED THE FAINT SMELL OF
00:02:53
BITTER ALMONDS.
00:02:55
IT WAS A CLUE THAT CYANIDE WAS
00:02:57
PRESENT, AND A CLUE THAT, UNDER
00:02:59
DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, MIGHT
00:03:02
HAVE GONE UNDETECTED.
00:03:04
IT'S JUST SUCH A DISTINCT
00:03:06
ODOR.
00:03:06
IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING
00:03:08
DOWN THE ROAD AND YOU SMELL
00:03:10
SKUNK.
00:03:11
THAT'S A VERY DISTINCT ODOR, AND
00:03:14
YOU SAY, "OH, A SKUNK WAS NEAR
00:03:16
HERE.
00:03:17
SOMETHING HAPPENED NEAR HERE
00:03:18
INVOLVING A SKUNK."
00:03:19
IT JUST LEAVES AN IMPRESSION IN
00:03:21
YOUR BRAIN THAT YOU DON'T
00:03:22
FORGET.
00:03:24
Narrator: NOW WITH THE
00:03:25
SUSPICION OF CYANIDE POISONING,
00:03:28
SUE SNOW'S BLOOD SAMPLE WAS SENT
00:03:30
FOR A SPECIAL TEST -- ONE NOT
00:03:32
USUALLY PERFORMED IN A ROUTINE
00:03:34
AUTOPSY.
00:03:35
AN ACID SOLUTION SEPARATED THE
00:03:37
BLOOD FROM ANY POSSIBLE CYANIDE
00:03:39
MOLECULES.
00:03:40
AFTER MIXING, THE TEST TUBE WAS
00:03:43
SEALED WITH A SPECIAL REACTIVE
00:03:45
PAPER AND THEN HEATED.
00:03:49
THE PAPER ON THE VIAL TURNED
00:03:52
BLUE -- PROOF THAT SUE SNOW HAD
00:03:55
BEEN POISONED WITH CYANIDE.
00:03:59
CYANIDE IS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST
00:04:01
POISONS BECAUSE IT KILLS THE
00:04:03
ENZYMES THAT TRANSPORT OXYGEN
00:04:05
THROUGHOUT THE BODY.
00:04:07
DEATH OCCURS WITHIN MINUTES OF
00:04:09
INGESTION, LITERALLY STARVING
00:04:12
THE BODY OF OXYGEN.
00:04:14
BUT HOW DID SUE SNOW INGEST
00:04:16
CYANIDE?
00:04:17
IT WAS HER TWIN SISTER, SARAH,
00:04:20
WHO MADE THE INITIAL DISCOVERY.
00:04:24
ON THE DAY OF SUE'S FUNERAL,
00:04:26
SARAH LOOKED FOR SOME HEADACHE
00:04:27
MEDICATION IN HER SISTER'S
00:04:29
KITCHEN AND FOUND SOMETHING
00:04:31
SUSPICIOUS.
00:04:33
SUE AND I BOTH TOOK EXCEDRIN
00:04:34
TABLETS.
00:04:35
WHEN WE GOT THERE, I WENT TO THE
00:04:37
KITCHEN TO GET HER EXCEDRIN TO
00:04:40
TAKE, AND IT WAS CAPSULES.
00:04:42
AND SHE NEVER TOOK CAPSULES.
00:04:45
Narrator: LAB TESTS CONFIRMED
00:04:47
SARAH'S WORST FEARS -- CYANIDE
00:04:50
WAS FOUND IN NINE EXCEDRIN
00:04:52
CAPSULES IN SUE SNOW'S KITCHEN.
00:04:56
SARAH WEBB CAME WITHIN INCHES OF
00:04:58
INGESTING THE TAINTED CAPSULES
00:05:01
HERSELF.
00:05:02
THE FAMILY SUSPECTED THAT SUE'S
00:05:05
NEW HUSBAND, PAUL WEBKING, PUT
00:05:07
THE CYANIDE IN THE EXCEDRIN.
00:05:10
HE WAS VERY UPTIGHT AND VERY
00:05:12
NERVOUS AND MADE CRUDE JOKES, IT
00:05:14
SEEMS, OCCASIONALLY.
00:05:16
AND IT WAS JUST THE WAY HE WAS
00:05:18
DEALING WITH THE SITUATION.
00:05:19
AND IT JUST RUBBED ME WRONG.
00:05:21
I WAS DEALING WITH IT
00:05:22
DIFFERENTLY.
00:05:23
Narrator: PAUL WEBKING HAD
00:05:25
BEEN MARRIED THREE TIMES BEFORE
00:05:27
AND HAD BEEN MARRIED TO SUE SNOW
00:05:29
FOR JUST SIX MONTHS.
00:05:32
HE WAS A LONG-HAUL TRUCKER WITH
00:05:34
A HARD, GRUFF DEMEANOR AND WAS
00:05:35
NOT AS FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL AS
00:05:37
HIS WIFE.
00:05:38
SHORTLY BEFORE THEIR MARRIAGE,
00:05:40
SUE DISCOVERED THAT PAUL WAS
00:05:42
STILL DATING AN OLD GIRLFRIEND.
00:05:44
SUE KNEW ABOUT IT, AND THEY
00:05:46
HAD A LOT OF TROUBLE OVER IT.
00:05:49
AND FINALLY HE TOLD SUE, "WELL,
00:05:50
I'M NOT GONNA SEE THIS GIRL
00:05:52
ANYMORE.
00:05:52
LET'S GET MARRIED."
00:05:53
AND THEY GOT MARRIED, AND SIX
00:05:55
MONTHS LATER, SHE'S DEAD.
00:05:58
Narrator: PAUL WEBKING
00:05:59
ADMITTED THAT IT WAS HIS IDEA TO
00:06:01
SWITCH FROM HEADACHE TABLETS TO
00:06:03
CAPSULES BUT SAID HE HAD NOTHING
00:06:05
TO DO WITH THE TAMPERING OF THE
00:06:07
CAPSULES.
00:06:08
THE MANUFACTURER OF EXCEDRIN
00:06:10
CAPSULES WASN'T TAKING ANY
00:06:12
CHANCES.
00:06:13
THEY ISSUED AN IMMEDIATE RECALL
00:06:15
OF EXTRA-STRENGTH EXCEDRIN FROM
00:06:17
ALL STORE SHELVES.
00:06:19
HEALTH OFFICIALS FEARED THAT THE
00:06:22
DEATH OF SUE SNOW WAS NOT AN
00:06:25
ISOLATED INCIDENT.
00:06:30
IN AUBURN, WASHINGTON,
00:06:32
EXTRA-STRENGTH EXCEDRIN CAPSULES
00:06:34
ARE BEING PULLED FROM THE STORE
00:06:36
SHELVES.
00:06:37
THIS AFTER AUTHORITIES CONFIRMED
00:06:38
THAT A CYANIDE-LACED CAPSULE
00:06:40
CAUSED THE DEATH LAST WEEK OF A
00:06:42
40-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, SUE SNOW.
00:06:44
Narrator: WHEN NEWS REPORTS
00:06:45
OF SUE SNOW'S DEATH WERE
00:06:47
BROADCAST THROUGHOUT THE
00:06:48
COUNTRY, ONE SEATTLE VIEWER,
00:06:50
STELLA NICKELL, TOOK MORE THAN A
00:06:52
PASSING INTEREST.
00:06:53
STELLA NICKELL TOLD POLICE THAT
00:06:55
HER HUSBAND HAD TAKEN SOME
00:06:57
EXCEDRIN CAPSULES SHORTLY BEFORE
00:06:59
HE DIED.
00:07:01
SHE CALLED THE KING COUNTY
00:07:03
POLICE AND SAID THAT HER HUSBAND
00:07:05
HAD DIED A COUPLE WEEKS EARLIER
00:07:07
AND THAT SHE HAD DISCOVERED THAT
00:07:09
HE HAD TAKEN EXCEDRIN FROM THE
00:07:11
SAME LOT NUMBER AS THE EXCEDRIN
00:07:13
THAT HAD KILLED SUE SNOW.
00:07:15
DO YOU HAVE THOSE CAPSULES?
00:07:16
YEAH, SURE DO.
00:07:17
MAY I SEE THEM, PLEASE?
00:07:18
Narrator: A POLICE DETECTIVE
00:07:20
VISITED STELLA NICKELL'S HOME TO
00:07:22
PICK UP THE BOTTLES OF EXCEDRIN
00:07:24
CAPSULES BRUCE NICKELL HAD BEEN
00:07:25
USING.
00:07:27
STELLA ASKED THAT THE BOTTLES BE
00:07:30
TESTED TO DETERMINE WHETHER
00:07:32
CYANIDE WAS PRESENT.
00:07:34
IT'S JUST A SHAME ABOUT THAT
00:07:35
WOMAN.
00:07:36
YES, IT CERTAINLY WAS.
00:07:36
WELL, I ASSURE YOU, WE'RE
00:07:37
CHECKING EVERY LEAD.
00:07:39
Narrator: SHE ALSO WANTED THE
00:07:41
CORONER TO REOPEN HER HUSBAND'S
00:07:43
CASE TO TEST HIS BLOOD SAMPLES
00:07:45
FOR CYANIDE -- A TEST WHICH
00:07:47
HADN'T BEEN PERFORMED DURING HIS
00:07:49
AUTOPSY.
00:07:51
WHEN BRUCE NICKELL'S BLOOD
00:07:53
SAMPLE WAS ANALYZED, THE
00:07:55
REACTIVE PAPER ON THE VIAL
00:07:56
TURNED BLUE.
00:07:58
BRUCE NICKELL DIED OF CYANIDE
00:08:01
POISONING.
00:08:02
AND CYANIDE-LACED EXCEDRIN
00:08:04
CAPSULES WERE DISCOVERED IN THE
00:08:06
TWO BOTTLES FOUND IN HIS HOME.
00:08:09
POLICE CONTINUED TO INVESTIGATE
00:08:11
THEIR FIRST SUSPECT, SUE SNOW'S
00:08:13
HUSBAND, PAUL WEBKING.
00:08:15
HE CAN BE AGGRESSIVE.
00:08:16
AND THE FACT THAT HE REMARRIED
00:08:18
SHORTLY AFTER SUE HAD DIED, THAT
00:08:20
WAS ANOTHER THING THAT MADE THE
00:08:21
FAMILY UNCOMFORTABLE, AND THEY
00:08:23
WANTED TO BLAME HIM FOR WHATEVER
00:08:24
HAD HAPPENED.
00:08:26
Narrator: WEBKING OFFERED TO
00:08:28
TAKE A LIE DETECTOR TEST TO
00:08:29
CLEAR HIS NAME.
00:08:31
TO THE SURPRISE OF ALMOST
00:08:33
EVERYONE, HE PASSED.
00:08:35
THERE WAS ENOUGH
00:08:36
CIRCUMSTANTIAL THINGS POINTING
00:08:37
AT PAUL WEBKING THAT I
00:08:38
PERSONALLY WAS A LITTLE
00:08:40
SURPRISED WHEN HE TOOK A
00:08:41
POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION THAT WAS
00:08:43
ADMINISTERED BY THE FBI AND
00:08:45
PASSED IT AND WAS ELIMINATED AS
00:08:48
A SUSPECT.
00:08:49
Narrator: WITH WEBKING NOW
00:08:51
CLEARED, AUTHORITIES FEARED THEY
00:08:53
HAD A RANDOM KILLER ON THEIR
00:08:55
HANDS, SOME SORT OF
00:08:56
PHARMACEUTICAL TERRORIST.
00:08:59
ALL OF THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES
00:09:01
REMOVED FROM STORE SHELVES WERE
00:09:03
ANALYZED WITH AN X-RAY MACHINE.
00:09:05
SINCE CYANIDE IS MORE DENSE THAN
00:09:08
PAIN RELIEVER, TAINTED CAPSULES
00:09:10
SHOW UP AS DARK AREAS INSIDE THE
00:09:13
BOTTLE.
00:09:13
TWO MORE BOTTLES OF
00:09:15
CYANIDE-LACED PAIN RELIEVER WERE
00:09:17
FOUND ON STORE SHELVES.
00:09:19
NEWSPAPERS AND TELEVISION
00:09:21
STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
00:09:23
REPORTED THE DISCOVERY OF THE
00:09:25
TAINTED CAPSULES IN SEATTLE.
00:09:28
THE FBI FEARED THAT THIS CASE
00:09:30
WOULD WIND UP LIKE THE CHICAGO
00:09:33
TYLENOL MURDERS JUST A FEW YEARS
00:09:36
EARLIER -- A CASE WHICH HAS
00:09:38
NEVER BEEN SOLVED.
00:09:43
Narrator: ALL OF THE TAINTED
00:09:45
EXCEDRIN CAPSULES WERE SENT TO
00:09:46
THE FBI LAB IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
00:09:48
FOR ANALYSIS.
00:09:50
EACH TAINTED CAPSULE CONTAINED
00:09:52
700 MILLIGRAMS OF CYANIDE --
00:09:55
FOUR TIMES MORE THAN A LETHAL
00:09:58
DOSE.
00:09:59
THE FBI ALSO FOUND SOMETHING
00:10:01
ELSE INSIDE THE CAPSULES -- SOME
00:10:04
MYSTERIOUS GREEN CRYSTALS MIXED
00:10:07
IN WITH THE CYANIDE.
00:10:08
THE GREEN CRYSTALS WERE ANALYZED
00:10:10
USING A MASS SPECTROMETER, A
00:10:13
DEVICE WHICH CAN IDENTIFY THE
00:10:15
EXACT CHEMICAL COMPONENTS OF AN
00:10:17
UNKNOWN SAMPLE.
00:10:18
AFTER THE CRYSTALS WERE
00:10:20
LIQUEFIED, A BEAM OF HIGH-ENERGY
00:10:23
ELECTRONS COLLIDED WITH THE
00:10:25
MOLECULES, BREAKING THEM DOWN
00:10:27
INTO THEIR SMALLEST POSSIBLE
00:10:29
UNITS.
00:10:30
THIS PRODUCES A FINGERPRINT OF
00:10:33
EVERY IDENTIFIABLE SUBSTANCE IN
00:10:35
THE CRYSTALS.
00:10:36
THE GREEN CRYSTALS WERE MADE UP
00:10:38
OF FOUR COMMON CHEMICALS --
00:10:40
ATRAZINE, DICHLONE, MONURON, AND
00:10:43
SIMAZINE.
00:10:44
TWO OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE USED
00:10:47
TO KILL ALGAE IN FISH AQUARIUMS.
00:10:51
AN FBI CHEMIST VISITED ALL OF
00:10:53
THE FISH STORES NEAR HIS HOME
00:10:55
HOPING TO FIND A COMMERCIALLY
00:10:58
PRODUCED ALGAECIDE WITH THE SAME
00:11:00
FOUR COMPOUNDS.
00:11:01
DO YOU HAVE ANY ALGAECIDE?
00:11:03
SURE.
00:11:03
THIS AISLE RIGHT HERE -- OTHER
00:11:04
SIDE OF THE BIG FISHTANK.
00:11:06
THANK YOU.
00:11:09
Narrator: AFTER LOOKING
00:11:10
THROUGH HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTS,
00:11:12
ONE ALGAECIDE IN PARTICULAR
00:11:14
CAUGHT HIS EYE.
00:11:16
THE PRODUCT WAS CALLED ALGAE
00:11:19
DESTROYER AND WAS SOLD IN GREEN,
00:11:21
SPECKLED TABLETS.
00:11:23
THE PRODUCT HAD THE SAME FOUR
00:11:26
COMPOUNDS IN THE EXACT SAME
00:11:28
AMOUNT AS THE GREEN CRYSTALS
00:11:30
FOUND IN THE CYANIDE.
00:11:32
THE FBI HAD NO IDEA WHY A FISH
00:11:35
ALGAECIDE WOULD BE IN THE
00:11:37
CYANIDE BUT REPORTED THIS
00:11:39
DISCOVERY TO SEATTLE
00:11:41
AUTHORITIES.
00:11:42
ONE OF THE DETECTIVES IN SEATTLE
00:11:45
RECALLED AN INTERESTING
00:11:46
COINCIDENCE -- WHEN HE VISITED
00:11:50
STELLA NICKELL'S HOME TO PICK UP
00:11:52
THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES, HE
00:11:54
REMEMBERED SEEING AN AQUARIUM
00:11:57
PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED IN HER
00:11:59
LIVING ROOM.
00:12:00
WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT
00:12:02
STELLA NICKELL PLAYED SOME ROLE
00:12:05
IN THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND AND
00:12:07
IN THE DEATH OF SUE SNOW?
00:12:10
THE FBI VISITED 57 DIFFERENT
00:12:12
FISH AND PET STORES NEAR
00:12:14
STELLA NICKELL'S HOME, ARMED
00:12:16
WITH A PHOTO MONTAGE, WHICH
00:12:19
INCLUDED STELLA'S PICTURE.
00:12:21
TOM NOONAN RECOGNIZED
00:12:23
STELLA NICKELL'S PHOTOGRAPH AND
00:12:25
RECALLED SELLING HER THE SAME
00:12:27
ALGAE DESTROYER PRODUCT.
00:12:30
THE FBI WAS MAKING INQUIRIES
00:12:31
IF I'D EVER REMEMBERED SELLING
00:12:33
HER A CERTAIN PRODUCT, AND I
00:12:34
DID.
00:12:36
AND I TOLD THEM, JUST LIKE I
00:12:37
TOLD HER AND ANYBODY ELSE THAT
00:12:39
PURCHASED THIS PRODUCT, WHEN
00:12:40
THEY WOULD TAKE IT HOME, TO
00:12:42
CRUSH IT UP TO MAKE IT MORE
00:12:43
EFFECTIVE, BECAUSE A LOT OF
00:12:44
TIMES, WHEN YOU PUT IT IN THE
00:12:46
AQUARIUM, IT WOULD NOT DISSOLVE.
00:12:48
IT WOULD REMAIN RATHER INERT IN
00:12:49
THE TANK AND NOT EFFECTIVELY
00:12:51
BREAK DOWN AND KILL THE ALGAE
00:12:52
THAT WAS INSIDE THE FISHTANK.
00:12:54
I THINK THAT THEY WERE VERY
00:12:57
SUSPICIOUS OF HER, AND THEY KNEW
00:12:59
THAT SOMEHOW STELLA AND HER
00:13:02
CIRCLE WAS LINKED TO WHAT
00:13:04
HAPPENED TO SUE SNOW AND TO WHAT
00:13:07
HAPPENED TO BRUCE.
00:13:07
Narrator: BRUCE NICKELL'S
00:13:09
LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES REVEALED
00:13:11
THAT STELLA WOULD RECEIVE
00:13:13
$100,000 EXTRA IF THE DEATH OF
00:13:16
HER HUSBAND WAS ACCIDENTAL.
00:13:18
STELLA EVER SAY ANYTHING
00:13:20
ABOUT THEM HAVING ANY MONEY
00:13:22
PROBLEMS?
00:13:22
WELL, YES, BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING
00:13:24
TO SCHOOL AND NOT WORKING THERE
00:13:26
FOR AWHILE.
00:13:27
AND IT WAS GETTING PRETTY TIGHT.
00:13:30
Narrator: IN FACT, THE
00:13:32
NICKELLS WERE IN SERIOUS
00:13:33
FINANCIAL TROUBLE AND HAD
00:13:35
RECENTLY RECEIVED A FINAL
00:13:37
DELINQUENCY NOTICE ON THEIR HOME
00:13:39
MORTGAGE AND ON SOME OTHER
00:13:40
LOANS.
00:13:41
JUST FIVE DAYS BEFORE
00:13:43
BRUCE NICKELL'S DEATH,
00:13:44
STELLA NICKELL WROTE A SERIES OF
00:13:46
LETTERS TO HER CREDITORS.
00:13:49
"DEAR SIRS, I KNOW THAT I AM
00:13:51
TREMENDOUSLY OVERDUE WITH MY
00:13:53
PAYMENTS.
00:13:53
THERE IS A GOOD REASON FOR IT --
00:13:56
I'M HAVING MARITAL PROBLEMS.
00:13:58
THEY ARE ABOUT SOLVED.
00:14:00
BRUCE IS NO LONGER INVOLVED.
00:14:04
I WILL PAY YOU AT LEAST $500 PER
00:14:06
MONTH.
00:14:07
STELLA NICKELL."
00:14:09
Narrator: WHEN FBI
00:14:11
HANDWRITING EXPERT LEE WAGONER
00:14:13
STUDIED THE LIFE-INSURANCE
00:14:14
DOCUMENTS, HE NOTICED SOMETHING
00:14:16
SUSPICIOUS -- BRUCE NICKELL'S
00:14:18
SIGNATURE ON THE LIFE-INSURANCE
00:14:20
APPLICATION DIFFERED FROM HIS
00:14:23
KNOWN SIGNATURE SAMPLES.
00:14:25
THE "N" AND "K" WERE DIFFERENT
00:14:28
FROM HIS NORMAL SIGNATURE.
00:14:31
THE INITIAL STROKE OF THE "N"
00:14:32
BEGINS ABOUT HALFWAY UP THAT
00:14:34
"N," WHEREAS BRUCE'S "N" BEGINS
00:14:38
AT THE TOP OF THAT "N."
00:14:42
THE FINAL STROKE ON THE
00:14:44
SIGNATURE IN QUESTION ENDS UP
00:14:46
TURNING TO THE RIGHT, BELOW THE
00:14:49
BASELINE OF WRITING -- IN THE
00:14:51
SIGNATURE IN QUESTION.
00:14:53
IT DOES NOT IN THE GENUINE
00:14:55
SIGNATURES OF BRUCE.
00:14:58
Narrator: BUT IT WAS
00:14:59
CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY
00:15:01
STELLA NICKELL SIGNED HER NAME.
00:15:03
INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED THAT
00:15:05
STELLA FORGED HER HUSBAND'S
00:15:07
SIGNATURE ON THE INSURANCE
00:15:09
APPLICATIONS.
00:15:10
BUT MONEY WASN'T THE ONLY
00:15:12
POSSIBLE MOTIVE.
00:15:13
STELLA AND BRUCE NICKELL HAD
00:15:15
ALWAYS BEEN A VERY SOCIAL
00:15:17
COUPLE, REGULARLY VISITING BARS
00:15:20
AND NIGHT SPOTS WITH FRIENDS.
00:15:22
BUT ALL OF THAT CHANGED AFTER
00:15:24
BRUCE ENTERED AN ALCOHOLISM
00:15:26
TREATMENT PROGRAM AND STOPPED
00:15:27
DRINKING ALTOGETHER.
00:15:29
AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, IT
00:15:31
GOT TO HER.
00:15:32
IT WASN'T THE LIFE THAT SHE
00:15:34
ENVISIONED, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH
00:15:35
SHE WAS 42 OR 43 YEARS OLD, SHE
00:15:38
SAW HERSELF AS A HOT BABE STILL.
00:15:41
SHE WANTED TO BE SEEN AND GET
00:15:43
OUT THERE, AND BRUCE HELD HER
00:15:46
BACK.
00:15:47
SHE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN
00:15:49
BARS, RUNNING AROUND, FLIRTING
00:15:51
WITH DIFFERENT MEN, THAT KIND OF
00:15:53
THING.
00:15:54
SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND.
00:15:57
SHE DIDN'T PAINT A PICTURE OF
00:15:59
BEING REAL DEDICATED TO HER
00:16:01
HUSBAND.
00:16:03
Narrator: THE FBI INTERVIEWED
00:16:05
CINDY AND TOLD HER ABOUT THE
00:16:06
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THEY HAD
00:16:08
AGAINST HER MOTHER.
00:16:10
CINDY BROKE DOWN.
00:16:11
AND SHE SAID, "WELL, YES, MY MOM
00:16:14
DID KILL BRUCE.
00:16:15
I KNOW FOR SURE THAT SHE DID
00:16:17
BECAUSE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT."
00:16:19
Narrator: CINDY ALSO TOLD THE
00:16:20
FBI THAT HER MOTHER VISITED THE
00:16:23
LIBRARY TO RESEARCH THE SUBJECT
00:16:25
OF POISONS.
00:16:26
RECORDS AT THE AUBURN PUBLIC
00:16:28
LIBRARY REVEALED THAT STELLA
00:16:31
SIGNED OUT A BOOK ENTITLED
00:16:33
"DEADLY HARVEST," WHICH LISTS
00:16:35
VARIOUS SOURCES AND METHODS OF
00:16:38
POISONING.
00:16:39
STELLA'S FINGERPRINTS WERE FOUND
00:16:42
ALL OVER THE SECTIONS DEALING
00:16:44
WITH CYANIDE POISONING AND WERE
00:16:46
ALSO FOUND ON THE PAGES OF
00:16:48
VARIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA DESCRIBING
00:16:51
CYANIDE.
00:16:52
INVESTIGATORS NOW HAD ENOUGH
00:16:55
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE TO
00:16:57
CHARGE STELLA NICKELL WITH THE
00:16:59
MURDER OF HER HUSBAND.
00:17:02
AND THE FBI DISCOVERED WHY
00:17:04
STELLA NICKELL MURDERED
00:17:07
SUE SNOW, A WOMAN SHE DIDN'T
00:17:09
KNOW.
00:17:13
Narrator: BY THE SPRING OF
00:17:15
1986, STELLA NICKELL HAD GROWN
00:17:17
TIRED OF HER MONEY PROBLEMS AND
00:17:18
WHAT SHE CONSIDERED TO BE A
00:17:20
BORING EXISTENCE WITH HER
00:17:21
HUSBAND, BRUCE.
00:17:23
SHE HATCHED A PLAN TO MURDER HER
00:17:25
HUSBAND AND COLLECT ON HIS
00:17:27
LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES, WHICH
00:17:28
WOULD PAY $100,000 EXTRA IF HIS
00:17:31
DEATH WAS ACCIDENTAL.
00:17:34
HER LIBRARY RESEARCH LED HER TO
00:17:36
CHOOSE CYANIDE, A HIGHLY TOXIC
00:17:39
SALT.
00:17:41
BUT STELLA WAS CARELESS.
00:17:44
SHE GROUND THE CYANIDE IN THE
00:17:47
SAME BOWL SHE USED EARLIER TO
00:17:49
GRIND THE ALGAECIDE TABLETS FOR
00:17:52
HER AQUARIUM.
00:17:53
BUT SHE NEGLECTED TO WASH THE
00:17:56
BOWL BEFORE GRINDING THE
00:17:58
CYANIDE.
00:18:00
SHE NEVER SUSPECTED THAT THE
00:18:02
TINY GREEN ALGAECIDE CRYSTALS
00:18:05
WOULD MIX WITH THE CYANIDE AND
00:18:07
LEAD TO HER CAPTURE.
00:18:11
AFTER PUTTING THE CYANIDE INTO
00:18:13
THE HEADACHE CAPSULES, SHE
00:18:15
PLACED THE BOTTLE AMONG HER
00:18:17
HUSBAND'S OTHER MEDICATIONS.
00:18:20
BRUCE SUFFERED FROM CHRONIC
00:18:21
HEADACHES AND TOOK PAIN
00:18:23
RELIEVERS ALMOST EVERY DAY.
00:18:26
AFTER BRUCE NICKELL'S DEATH, THE
00:18:28
CORONER MISTAKENLY RULED THAT
00:18:31
IT WAS DUE TO NATURAL CAUSES, A
00:18:33
MISTAKE WHICH DEPRIVED STELLA OF
00:18:36
AN ADDITIONAL $100,000 OF
00:18:38
LIFE-INSURANCE MONEY.
00:18:40
STELLA NEEDED AN EXCUSE, SOME
00:18:42
REASON TO HAVE HER HUSBAND'S
00:18:45
AUTOPSY TISSUES RE-EXAMINED.
00:18:48
SO SHE DECIDED TO POISON SOMEONE
00:18:51
ELSE TO CREATE THE IMPRESSION
00:18:54
THAT A CYANIDE MURDERER WAS ON
00:18:57
THE LOOSE.
00:18:59
SHE PLACED THREE MORE BOTTLES OF
00:19:01
CYANIDE-LACED PAIN RELIEVER ON
00:19:04
THE SHELVES OF TWO STORES NEAR
00:19:06
HER HOME.
00:19:08
SOMEONE IN THE SNOW HOUSEHOLD
00:19:10
PURCHASED ONE OF THOSE BOTTLES.
00:19:14
YOU KNOW THAT SISTER OF
00:19:15
YOURS DIDN'T GET HOME TILL THIS
00:19:16
MORNING.
00:19:17
Narrator: SUE SNOW TOOK TWO
00:19:18
CAPSULES FROM THAT BOTTLE ONE
00:19:20
MORNING BEFORE WORK...
00:19:23
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA
00:19:24
DO WITH HER.
00:19:25
Narrator: ...AND DIED A SHORT
00:19:26
TIME LATER.
00:19:28
WHEN THE CYANIDE WAS DISCOVERED
00:19:30
DURING SUE SNOW'S AUTOPSY AND
00:19:33
TRACED TO THE EXCEDRIN CAPSULES
00:19:35
IN HER HOME, STELLA NICKELL HAD
00:19:38
THE EXCUSE SHE NEEDED TO ASK
00:19:40
THAT HER HUSBAND'S CASE BE
00:19:42
REOPENED.
00:19:43
SHE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER ONCE
00:19:46
AND TRIED TO GET AWAY WITH IT A
00:19:48
SECOND TIME.
00:19:50
WHEN THE FBI IDENTIFIED THE TINY
00:19:54
GREEN CRYSTALS IN THE CYANIDE AS
00:19:56
ALGAE DESTROYER AND LOCATED A
00:19:59
FISH STORE NEAR STELLA NICKELL'S
00:20:02
HOME WHICH SOLD HER THE PRODUCT,
00:20:04
THE LIBRARY BOOKS AND FORGED
00:20:07
LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES SEALED
00:20:09
THE CASE AGAINST HER.
00:20:11
THE FBI NEVER FOUND THE CYANIDE,
00:20:14
THE ALGAE DESTROYER TABLETS, OR
00:20:16
THE BOWL USED TO MIX THE CYANIDE
00:20:19
IN STELLA NICKELL'S HOME.
00:20:21
AFTER A 4-WEEK TRIAL, ONE IN
00:20:24
WHICH HER OWN DAUGHTER TESTIFIED
00:20:26
AGAINST HER, STELLA NICKELL WAS
00:20:29
CONVICTED OF TWO COUNTS OF
00:20:31
MURDER AND WAS SENTENCED TO 90
00:20:34
YEARS IN PRISON.
00:20:36
IT'S HARD FOR ME TO THINK
00:20:38
THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE
00:20:40
WHO CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT
00:20:42
WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT KIND
00:20:44
OF REPERCUSSIONS THERE ARE ON
00:20:45
OTHER PEOPLE.
00:20:47
IT'S JUST AMAZING TO ME THAT
00:20:49
THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT SELFISH --
00:20:52
TO TAKE A LIFE.
00:20:53
AND NOT ONLY MY MOTHER'S, BUT
00:20:55
HER HUSBAND'S.
00:20:56
I MEAN, THAT'S ALMOST MORE
00:20:57
UNIMAGINABLE TO ME THAN HER
00:20:59
KILLING A PERFECT STRANGER SUCH
00:21:01
AS MY MOM.
00:21:02
BUT THAT SHE WOULD KILL HER OWN
00:21:04
HUSBAND FOR THAT.
00:21:14
HUSBAND FOR THAT.
00:21:24
HUSBAND FOR THAT.
00:21:34
HUSBAND FOR THAT.
