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this is the story of a classic love
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triangle husband
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wife
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and lover
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one of these three died
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in what was described
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as an accident
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a forensic computer analysis uncovered
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photographs and emails so revealing
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they even embarrassed a local judge
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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detroit michigan nicknamed the motor
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city for its history is one of the
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world's largest automotive manufacturing
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hubs
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just west of detroit is michigan state
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university with almost 40 000 students
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in 1990 michael mick fletcher was an
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undergraduate student there with hopes
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of one day becoming a
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lawyer at a campus social event mick
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fletcher met leanne meisner who wasn't a
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student but worked as a telemarketer
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nearby
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for both it was love at first sight and
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they were inseparable
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three years later in september of 1993
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mick and leanne married
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that was great he was going to be a
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lawyer so he'd make a lot of money be
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able to buy her a nice house and
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she wanted to stay home and have a lot
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of babies
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that's all she wanted in life
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i saw since she was a little girl all
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she wanted to do
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was to get married and have children
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the newlyweds settled in hazel park a
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working-class suburb just north of
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detroit
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they bought this house on hazelwood
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avenue and mick started law school
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leanne worked to support them and not
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long afterwards the couple had a
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daughter
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hannah was her joy
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she just she was just crazy about hannah
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[Music]
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the fletcher household appeared to be a
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happy one
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i mean she just got a thrill out of
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everything that hannah did
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oh my gosh she dressed her so cute too
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all the cute little outfits it was like
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her little doll
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by 1999 mick was an up-and-coming
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criminal defense attorney working hard
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to build his practice
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on august 12
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1999 the couple had more good news
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leanne learned she was pregnant with
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their second child
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[Music]
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mick was delighted with the news
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and sent her a note
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leanne i might not always tell you but
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you mean the world to me i love you so
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much sweetheart and girl or boy so long
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as they are part of you our children
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will all be beautiful i love you
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mick
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that's sunday night the couple
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celebrated their good fortune with
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leanne's parents
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mick asked his in-laws if they would
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watch their granddaughter hannah the
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next day
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and he said i wonder if you'd babysit
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for about one hour
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and i said for one hour and he said yeah
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he said we want to go to the firing
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range
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mick believed in having a gun in the
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house for protection and he wanted
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leanne to learn how to use
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after visiting the firing range mick and
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leanne decided to return home and to
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spend some quiet time together before
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picking up their daughter
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just a few minutes after they arrived
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home
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mick made a frantic call to police
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[Music]
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hazel park police found leanne dead on
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the bedroom floor naked from the waist
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down
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a bullet hole through her right ear
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[Music]
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mick told police he and leanne were
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sitting on the bed together reloading
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the 45 caliber smith and wesson they
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just used at the firing range
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he had trouble loading the second clip
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so he gave it to leanne to help him
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he put the gun down in the gun box at
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the foot of the bed got up went to the
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bathroom to wash his hands and that's
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when he heard the gun go off
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he came running out of the bathroom and
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saw his wife laying on the floor
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oh my god man
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the last thing i ever wanted in my life
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was to bury one of my kids
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and then to have to bury one so young
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so young so beautiful
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not fair
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at first glance it appeared to be an
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accident
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but police decided to take a second look
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and then
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a third
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[Music]
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as part of the investigation into leanne
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fletcher's death
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police first needed to eliminate the
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possibility of suicide
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perhaps leanne's pregnancy had caused
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some depression
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[Music]
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she was so excited there is no way
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on earth that liam would ever consider
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suicide
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let alone go through with it not in a
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million years
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mick fletcher told police his wife
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accidentally shot herself in their
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bedroom shortly after a trip to the
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firing range as she tried to reload
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their pistol
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leanne's mother suspected that an
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accidental shooting in the head
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was a little too convenient this was a
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terrible accident she would have been
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shot in her hand her arm her foot
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in the wall i said it wouldn't be in her
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head
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in the couple's bedroom
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police noticed blood stains on the
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carpet under leanne's body as well as
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under the gun and clip
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and there was blood spatter on the
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computer stand by the bed
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there was more blood spatter on the edge
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of the bed spread
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the medical examiner dr lubissa dragovic
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performed leanne's autopsy
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there was no gunpowder residue in the
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bullet wound
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but there were some tiny dots of
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gunpowder called stippling embedded in
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the skin around the wound
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gap other stippling is a phenomenon
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that occurs when partly burnt or unburnt
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gum powder particles land on the surface
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of the skin
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the density of this stippling pattern
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indicated that the muzzle of the firearm
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was 12 to 18 inches away from leanne's
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head when the gun went off
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and the trajectory of the bullet was
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almost horizontal
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an unusual path for a self-inflicted
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gunshot wound to the head
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in order to accomplish that your arm has
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to be about four foot long
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this lady had only 23 inches
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or 23 and a half inches long right arm
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when police searched the couple's home
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they found a brown folder in mix office
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containing numerous romantic greeting
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cards
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[Music]
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inside
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were pictures of susan shernowski
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a local district court judge
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investigators also discovered that mick
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had earned seventeen thousand dollars in
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legal fees from cases assigned by and
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presided over by judge susan shernowski
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if the two were romantically involved
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this was a gross violation of legal
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ethics
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investigators seized the fletcher's home
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computer and susan chernowski's office
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computer for examination by a forensic
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computer expert
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for years and years we've always been
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willing to look in a file cabinet for
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some type of an incriminating document
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well people aren't using file cabinets
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anymore they're using computers
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sergeant duke copied the hard drives
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from the confiscated computers onto a
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forensic examination computer
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which is equipped with special software
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that can access password protected files
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and reconstruct documents which have
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been deleted sergeant duke found
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nude photographs of judge chernowski and
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hundreds of emails between her and mick
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they read as love letters
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they appeared to be intimate they
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appeared to be lovers they talked about
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being together
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they talked about wanting to be together
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in the future
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mick had been corresponding with the
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judge for 17 months
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police also learned
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that before she died
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leanne had suspected her husband was
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having an affair and the couple
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separated
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[Music]
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but three months later they reconciled
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and moved back in together
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police no longer believed that leanne's
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death was an accident
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and we're beginning to suspect that mick
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fletcher and the judge
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might be involved
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[Music]
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when investigators discovered that
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attorney mick fletcher was having an
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affair with a sitting judge at the time
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of his wife's death
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both were considered suspects
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he had his
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should i call her his [ __ ]
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because that's as far as i'm concerned
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that's what she is
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judge susan shernowski denied she had
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anything to do with leanne's death but
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she was able to provide some useful
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information
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so i asked the judge
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when was the last time they had sexual
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relations and she
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stated the night before the homicide
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this meant that after having dinner with
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leanne's parents
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mick dropped his wife and daughter off
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at home and made some excuse so that he
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could secretly meet with his lover
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she believed there was no sexual
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relationship between himself and leanne
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and she told us that if
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there was a sexual relationship between
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michael and leanne that their
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relationship would be over
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and all of a sudden now at the time of
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her death she was three weeks four weeks
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pregnant that we believe that that was
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indeed the motive
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for for her death
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mick insisted that leanne's death was an
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accident
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he claimed leanne was reloading their
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gun
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and that he heard the gunshot when he
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was in the bathroom
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but the evidence
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told a different story
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the gun and extra clip were found on the
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floor
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and not in leanne's hand
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in a lot of cases where people shoot
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themselves the gun is still in their
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hand because
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of
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anatomy that i can't explain the body
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grabs a gun
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there was also blood on leanne's palm
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if the gun had been in her hand when the
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shot was fired the gun would have
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prevented the blood from striking the
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palm of her hand
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and there was blood on the carpet
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underneath the gun and extra clip
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well it should have been on top of those
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items there's blood underneath the items
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if she had to shot herself the blood
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would have fallen on top of the gun in
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the top of the cliff
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and by the dresser
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there was a shell casing standing on end
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and everything looked like it was placed
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we swapped leanne's hands
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and sent it to a lab to determine
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whether or not there was any type of
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gunpowder residue that may have been
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left that came back negative
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forensic serologist and blood spatter
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expert dave woodford examined the shirt
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mick fletcher wore the day of the
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shooting
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a phenol phthalene chemical test found
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blood on the right cuff
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using a stereo microscope
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woodford saw high velocity impact blood
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spatter on the right cuff
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a fine mist of tiny blood particles had
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been driven deep into the fibers
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to me it was critical because
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it pretty much took his story
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and
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didn't give it any credibility at all
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there was no way
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that he could have been in the bathroom
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at the time of the shooting
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high velocity impact blood spatter is
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created when a gunshot wound hits an
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area with blood and the fine mist of
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blood blows back toward the gun
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he had to be in close proximity
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to leanne when she was shot
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had leanne shot herself investigators
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say there would have been high velocity
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impact blood spatter on her hand
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and there was none
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it doesn't make any difference
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if there are additional drops of blood
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that occur later
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or contaminate on top of it with some
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some smudging occurs there will still be
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areas that allow for this pattern to be
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recognized and that was not there
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to find out where leanne was when she
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was shot
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investigators analyzed the angle of the
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blood spatter on the computer stand next
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to leanne's body
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the size and shape of the blood spatter
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told investigators that the blood hit
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the computer stand at a 10 to 20 degree
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angle
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strings which were connected to each
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drop of blood spatter revealed the exact
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location of leanne's head when the shot
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was fired
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say for instance the angle you got was
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52 degrees so then you take the string
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from the blood droplet and you measure
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up 52 degrees and you bring that out
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into space somewhere and you do that
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with each blood droplet
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where the strings intersect is the spot
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where the blood originated
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woodford concluded that leanne was on
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the floor when she was shot
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she was not sitting on the bed while she
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was shot
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that she was on her hands and her knees
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while she was shot
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investigators also discovered fresh
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sperm in the vaginal swab from leanne's
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autopsy an indication that the couple
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had sexual relations shortly before the
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shooting it's my opinion that sexual
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relationships occurred
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pretty close to the time of her death
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police repeatedly test fired the gun in
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order to recreate the same stippling
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patterns found on leanne's head
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they fired at close range
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and gradually moved back at six inch
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intervals
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the tests confirmed dr dragovic's
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earlier observation
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the gun was 12 to 18 inches away from
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leanne's head when the shot was fired
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too far away for leanne to have held the
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gun herself
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which in essence takes out
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the possibility of this
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this wound
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being self-inflicted
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leanne's family never believed mcstorey
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that the shooting was accidental
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judge chernowski said she was out of
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town on the day of leanne's death which
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checked out
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and investigators did not believe she
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knew about mick's plans
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police arrested mick fletcher and
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charged him with the premeditated murder
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of his wife
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[Music]
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prosecutors believe that the murder of
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leanne fletcher was premeditated and
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that her husband mick killed her in
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order to protect his romantic
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relationship with judge susan shernowski
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[Music]
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judge chernowski testified that mick had
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lied to her about his relationship with
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leanne
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mick told her he no longer was having
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sexual relations with his wife
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and so susan chernowski believed that
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the two had a future together
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but when leanne became pregnant mick
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realized that the judge would discover
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he had been lying
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i really do think if she wouldn't have
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gotten pregnant she'd still be alive
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i think that panicked him when she got
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pregnant you know
00:18:01
prosecutors believe the couple's trip to
00:18:03
the firing range was probably a setup a
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way to explain why the pistol was out of
00:18:08
its case in the bedroom
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they
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had to pick up their daughter but before
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they picked up their daughter they
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wanted to come home and have
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what he quoted as a quickie
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when they returned from the firing range
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and leanne went into the bathroom mick
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placed the gun near the gun case at the
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foot of their bed
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medical evidence shows that the couple
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had sex on the floor
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[Music]
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we have to go
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as leanne was getting up mick grabbed
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the gun and pulled the trigger
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the mistakes mick made were numerous
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blowback blood spatter landed on the
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cuff of mick's shirt
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and
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he placed the weapon and clip on top of
00:19:20
a blood stain next to leanne's bloody
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hand
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which clearly showed
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she hadn't been holding the gun
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mick then went into the bathroom and
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rinsed off leanne's blood
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blood that was later found in the sink
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trap
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then
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he called police
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you have the evidence of the night
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before where he is professing his love
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to another woman not his wife you had
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the blood in the trap of the sink
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which would indicate that he washed his
00:19:53
hands prior to making a 911 call you
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have the high velocity blood mist on the
00:19:57
cuff of his shirt you have the stippling
00:20:00
patterns that are on the right side
00:20:02
of leanne's face
00:20:04
so it's a combination of all all this
00:20:06
evidence that just just pointed towards
00:20:08
him as the person that committed this
00:20:09
crime
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mick
00:20:12
didn't want to be with lann anymore but
00:20:14
the thought of her being with somebody
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else
00:20:17
he just couldn't handle it
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guilty of the lesser offense of
00:20:22
second-degree murder
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but the jury did not believe mick
00:20:26
fletcher planned leanne's murder so he
00:20:29
was convicted of second-degree murder
00:20:33
we were grateful that it was second
00:20:35
degree but
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it should have been first degree it
00:20:38
should have i mean it was clearly
00:20:40
clearly premeditated and anybody that
00:20:42
knew him
00:20:43
knew that
00:20:44
the trial judge sentenced fletcher to
00:20:46
the maximum penalty allowed
00:20:49
life in prison
00:20:52
in this exclusive phone interview from
00:20:54
prison
00:20:55
mick fletcher tells the producers of
00:20:57
this program that he is not a murderer
00:21:01
i didn't kill my wife
00:21:04
am i an innocent man i had an affair
00:21:07
i did something that i shouldn't have
00:21:08
done i did something that was immoral
00:21:11
all i can tell you is that i didn't kill
00:21:12
my wife
00:21:14
unfortunately for him all the evidence
00:21:16
points the other direction and points to
00:21:18
the fact that indeed he did commit this
00:21:20
murder and he did commit this crime
00:21:22
it's hard when you have two people in
00:21:23
the house and only one left to tell the
00:21:26
story
00:21:27
and so you have to have the forensic
00:21:29
evidence and that basically will tell
00:21:30
the story for you
00:21:33
and i'm so glad
00:21:36
you have to look at the scene and what
00:21:37
does the scene tell you forensically and
00:21:40
that's exactly what happened in this
00:21:41
case
00:21:42
that the story by the defendant then oh
00:21:44
my god my wife accidentally shot herself
00:21:49
was seen through i hope they find him in
00:21:51
the same humiliating way that he left my
00:21:53
daughter half naked
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in the prison somewhere dead
00:21:58
and i hope he rots in him
00:22:01
[Music]
00:22:12
[Music]
00:22:15
so
00:22:17
[Music]
00:22:33
you
