A look at the evidence: Did Donnie Brantley conceal a crime? | Forensic Files

what's in this box Steve there are a number of items that we had intended to use during the trial we thought it was
important that you all see exactly what we saw and then can also hopefully remember something what are you holding
in your hand there are two separate receipts here one is a Walmart receipt where specifically
the things that were important to us was a poly sheet and a drop cloth certainly
something that could be used to have have hidden or rolled up the body to kept it from some sort of public view
what's the drop cloth it's something that a painters would use that put to put on the floor you to keep it things
from when you're painting from getting on your floor or on furniture that sort of things and what's the big one here
this is a receipt from Bradley Reynolds he rented roughly at the same time a pressure washer and we're your
detectives ever able to find a job he was contracted to do in which he used a power washer say to take paid off of
someone's house nothing specific no nothing specifically there was never an explanation for that now certainly again
viewed individually without any of the other evidence this is all innocuous there's nothing inherently guilt-ridden
in any of this it's only when you view it in the context of all the other evidence that this comes together as
something my name is Lee Davis I'm a defense attorney and I represent Donnie Brantley so where did these things come
from these receipts were in his business records with the house doctors in the office files in his office do you really
think somebody who went to great lengths to make sure that there was no murder no
crime scene no DNA and no fiber would leave a receipt for a pop-tart a banana and a tarp for investigators to
find a year later let me give you an example we went and subpoenaed the records for
that tarp it is a clear 2 mil piece of plastic that you can see your hand clearly through next to that is a
thicker tarp that is black that you cannot see through personally if I was going to commit first-degree murder I
wouldn't get the banana or the pop-tart but I get the black tarp in this case they bought the thin clear tarp so as I
suggested to the prosecutors and the investigator maybe he was using it for painting like he did that week that he
used the tape for on the floor so he didn't get somebody's floor dirty work miss build with paint the defense would
say well he had a home repair business and he used drop cloths and these items in that and and again in the context of
every day yes certainly if you view it individually I there's no way in the world to disagree with that fact but
jurors and juries and and prosecutors and law enforcement don't view things in isolation we're at circumstantial you
take all of these sorts of things and build a frame around a picture that then you fill in with other pieces of
evidence so in the context of this case absolutely we thought these were important

When Marsha Brantley went missing in June 2009, prosecutors zeroed in on her husband Donnie as a possible murderer. They say his behavior around the time she disappeared was suspicious. Donnie's defense attorney offers a possible explanation and says the allegations are ridiculous. He says his client is completely innocent and that there is no proof Marsha is dead.

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Brief Summary

Defense attorney Lee Davis discusses trial evidence and its implications in a murder case involving receipts and circumstantial evidence.

Key points

The Importance of Context. Evidence may seem innocuous alone, but in context, it tells a different story.
Questioning the Evidence. The defense attorney challenges the logic of leaving behind trivial receipts.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Do you really think someone would leave a receipt for a pop-tart?

Questioning the logic behind leaving evidence.

1:38WatchApr 8, 2018

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