Against the Truth | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] You go back to the first days after the murder. This might have been a dispute between
teenagers. It might have involved a girl. It might have involved drinking. Whoever knew about John's killing kept
this secret for over 40 years. >> That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
[Music] >> September 26th, 1969 is the day that changed the lives of Bill and Neville
and McCabe forever. [Music] I I don't think I've had a whole night's sleep since it's happened.
>> If it's not too painful, can you tell me about his last day? >> Went to a dance, his second dance.
>> 15-year-old John McCabe was looking forward to going to the Knights of Columbus dance that evening. took a
shower, scrubbed his hair, put his father's after shave on. He didn't shave, but put his father's after shave
on. Oh, yeah. He got all spruced up. 11:00 I started looking out the window. That's when the dance closes. He should
be home by midnight. So, I went down to the dance and checked the road, screaming out the window.
John. John. No. John, I started praying at that point. >> The day after John McCabe went missing,
three young kids were cutting through a vacant lot when they made a horrifying discovery, which was the body of John
McCabe. He had been bound and gagged and tied with rope. After John's body was found, Bill
McCabe, a pillar of strength, had to do the unspeakable. That was identify the body of his dead son.
>> Never forget it. People keep talking about closure. You can't shake it. >> He then had to go home and inform his
family of what had happened. >> Bill said, "Honey, our son's dead." Well, I was a senior in high school.
>> Were you fearful? >> Yes. They hadn't caught the people that killed my brother.
>> Did you think when you looked at kids in your classes, maybe it's him, maybe it's
him? >> Maybe it was them. Maybe they knew something. How could they not know anything?
>> Without physical evidence, without a witness, this case remained unsolved for
several years. And several years became decades. >> Ready? >> This is it. I pray every day justice
will be served. >> There was only one way this case was going to be solved. >> Do you solemnly swear?
>> And how old were you in 1969? >> 17. >> And that's if someone came forward and
talked. >> How do you know how John McCabe died? I was there. [Music] [Music] It took almost every ounce of strength
left in his 85year-old body to get to the witness stand, but Bill McCabe waited 43 years for this day and the
start of this trial in January 2013. >> Good morning, Mr. McCabe. Do you remember September 27th, 1969?
>> Yes, sir. >> How old was John at that day? >> He was 15 years, 6 months, and two weeks.
>> I always visualized him as being a big shot somewhere. John Joseph McCabe, my
son JJ, you know, but I never got to see any of those things. In the fall of 1969, two men had just
landed on the moon. >> Beautiful. Just beautiful. >> Thousands had just crashed at Woodstock.
And John McCabe, 15 years, 6 months, and 2 weeks old, was living with his family
in Tukesbury, Massachusetts. >> I think we have a right to be proud of them. Yeah. John's father, Bill, was an
engineer. His mother, Evelyn, worked at the school library. His sisters, Roberta, who was six, and Debbie, who
was 17, remember a brother who was always busy doing what brothers do. >> It was pretty interesting. You open the
closet door and your closet's filled with grasshoppers. >> I just remember his hands were always
dirty, like with oil or grease or a frog in his hand. >> So, you brought home a goose once, too.
>> Oh, yeah. Canadian goose. Big sucker. >> It's fun to watch you talk about this
because your eyes light up. I mean, you have very fond memories of those days. >> Yeah.
>> Evelyn holds on to any reminder of her son. >> I have John's money. >> I can't spend it.
>> And you've had it all these years. >> Yeah. 45 years. Every now and then I the
smell's gone off of it now. it. I almost put it in the casket with him and then I
thought, "No, I'll just keep it with me and when I see him again, I'll give it to him."
[Music] >> When she last saw John, Evelyn gave him permission to go to that dance at the
Knights of Columbus Hall. >> I let him go. I let him go out the door. I shouldn't have.
The next day, police came to the house and took Evelyn's husband to the basement to talk.
>> They didn't want me to know anything. >> But you heard. >> I heard them. >> Evelyn got on her knees and pressed her
ear to a vent in the bathroom. >> This is where I could hear everything that was going on down solo.
The police were telling her husband John's body was discovered in a vacant lot in the neighboring gritty city of
Lel. Well, what did you hear? >> I heard that he was tied up and there was tape on his eyes and his mouth.
I heard a lot. I cried. I laid there and cried. A huge investigation was launched by the
lol Tukesbury and Massachusetts state police. What evidence did they collect at the scene?
>> The rope that was used to tie John up. Uh tape that was used to tape his eyes
and his mouth. Um all of his clothing. Um his shoes. >> Jerry Leone was the local DA who years
later took on the case. Today he's a partner in the law firm Nixon Peabody. >> There was forensic evidence, but it
wasn't really meaningful because it you couldn't tie it to anyone in particular.
[Music] >> But the case looked promising at first. A witness had spotted a car near the
crime scene that night. I believe the way he had described it was a 1965 Chevy Impala colored uh plum or maroon.
>> Then another tip led police to a schoolmate of John's, 16-year-old Mike Ferrer, who says he barely knew John.
>> I probably seen him like a handful of times in my life. I don't, you know, I didn't really, he wasn't a friend.
Ferrer and his friend Nancy Williams were questioned because they had picked up John when he was hitchhiking on his
way to the dance. I picked him up and I gave him a ride to the corner and I never saw him again.
>> Ferrer told police that while the dance was underway, he left Nancy and met up
with his best friend, Walter Shel. >> Me, Walter, and Bob Ryan took a ride to LOL try to get some beer.
>> They were in Walter Shel's car. It was maroon and it was a 1965 Chevy Impala.
Police searched it but found no evidence. Still, Walter Shel was now a person of
interest. He was brought in for questioning and later polygraphed five times. The test showed he was lying in
all vital areas of the questioning. >> If you read the reports now, you start seeing Ferrer and Shelly, Shel and
Ferrer. Ferrer was questioned multiple times. >> I know where they were going. Not
totally stupid. >> But Ferrer wasn't helping himself. At one point, while joy riding with some
friends, he suddenly blurted out that he killed John. >> I was 16. We're drinking, joking, and I
said, "Yeah, I did it." They knew I was joking. I was a joker. Leone says police
were not amused, but there was no way to corroborate what Ferrer said. >> Without physical evidence, without a
witness statement putting him at the scene, the Ferrer lead kept drying up. >> There were dozens of other people police
investigated, other teens, local drug dealers, and pedophiles. Detectives worked this case hard for two years
while Bill McCabe worked on a record of his son's life. I wasn't trying to be an author or
anything like that. I I I was just looking ways to hold on to him, keep his keep his memory.
>> He also tried to make sure the police never forgot his son. >> I was always on the phone talking to the
police. I'd be up in the middle of the night. She'd be saying, "What the hell are you
doing up? Get back to bed." >> Despite Bill's persistence and the intense police effort, there were no
arrests. >> Shelley and Ferrer went into the service in 1970. So, the following year, the two
of them left the area. >> And the McCabe family was left without any answers for decades.
[Music] This is the little compass so he can find his way home. With each passing season, John McCabe's
case grew colder. But his mother kept asking the most painful questions about how he died.
I tried to strangle myself just to visualize what it felt like. I wondered, did he call for me?
What kind of a mother was I? I wasn't there for him. >> For a time, Evelyn set a place for John
at the dinner table. His absence was a constant presence in the house. You can't just do something
wrong and not have to pay for it. >> The case stalled for some 30 years until November 2000. Sean and I went just
about everywhere. You know, >> when Jack Ward, a childhood friend of John's, made good on a decades old
promise to Bill McCabe. >> He would say, "Jackie, you hear anything about John? You keep your eyes open. Let
me know." I says, "If I ever hear anything, Mr. McCabe, you know, I'm going to tell you."
>> Ward had been at a cookout at this house in Tukesbury where he ran into a kid
from the old neighborhood, Mike Ferrer. This photo was taken that day. >> We're all sitting around drinking and
that's when he just blurted out, "I know who killed John." And he said it to me again, "I know who killed John." And you
know, finally I said, "Who?" And he says, "Walter." I said, "Walter Shel." He says, "Yeah,
>> Walter Shelly." >> I said, "What would be Walter's motive to kill John?" He said, "Mala." because
of Mila. >> Mara Shiner. Ward said she was Walter Shel's girlfriend back then, but he said
the trouble was Mara also seemed to like John McCabe. And by all accounts, Walter
Shel was one very jealous young man. The footage you see was taken a few years after the murder. Ward admits he sat on
the information for a while, worried about how to tell Bill McCabe. You go knock on assembly's door and say,
"Hey, I know who killed your son. You better have it right." I was shocked when he told me. So, I scribbled it on a
piece of paper and I put it in the Bible on the page beginning the book of John so I wouldn't forget it. And I
immediately called the police. But it took many more calls from Bill McCabe and three more years for police
to show up at Ferrer's door. It was now 2003. Ferrer worked as a forklift operator, lived in Salem, New Hampshire,
and Nancy Williams, his friend back in the day, was now his wife. >> Mike wouldn't hurt a fly. No, I know he
wouldn't. Ferrer says he remembers the cookout conversation with Jack Ward very differently.
>> Jackie went and told them I said Walter Shel killed him. I never said that. And
at this cookout, you know, I already had a few drinks and he's running his mouth. Shel did it.
Shel did it. And this went on all afternoon. And finally, I got sick of hearing that. I says, he probably did
it. Next thing I know, three years, four years later, I had the cops down my house wanted to talk to me about John
McCabe. >> Ferrer also denies discussing the jealousy motive with Ward. >> That's his theory. I never said that.
>> But again, there was no corroborating evidence. So again, the case stalled. >> Well, what did they tell you about the
investigation? >> It's going fine. It was always going fine. >> And how long did they tell you that?
And you know what? It was sitting on a freaking shelf. >> But the police had not forgotten John
McCabe. >> All right. Thanks. >> In January of 2007, 37 years after the murder, Jerry Leone was sworn in as
Middle Sex County District Attorney. The lower police department took it upon themselves to visit me weeks after I'd
been elected to say, "We'd actually like you to focus on this one and and take a
hard look at it with us." >> Investigators had gone back over the files and a name jumped out at them in
Mike Ferrer's latest interview with police. In recounting the night of the murder, Ferrer said he was with Walter
Shel, but this time he added a name and said the other guy with them was Allan Brown.
>> Edward Allen Brown's name surfaces as someone who we're going to focus on. >> Edward Allen Brown was 17 and lived not
far from the McCabes when John was killed. He had long since moved away, but when
police tracked him down, he said he knew nothing about the murder. Never even heard of it. So, how likely is it that
he would never even heard of the murder of John McCabe in a town the size of Tukesbury?
>> I'd say curious at the time. >> And police got a call from Brown's wife that was even more curious.
>> His wife told police that she thought he was lying. his wife said that she thought he was lying.
>> Right. Carolyn Brown indicates to police that 20 to 25 years earlier, her husband
had told her about an evening um where he was involved in a young man being killed.
>> But even that wasn't enough. It was the same old story. There was no corroborating evidence and no real
movement in the case until 2011 when Detective Linda Coughlin was assigned to find the killers.
>> You think this case really took off when you met Detective Linda Coughlin? >> Yes, definitely.
>> Why did you feel that way? >> Because of her attitude. She She said, "I'm going to get them."
And she did. Detective Coughlin zeroed back in on Edward Allen Brown. He was retired from
the Air Force and living in New Hampshire. Coughlin interrogated Brown just twice. But when Brown learned he
failed a polygraph, he suddenly broke down. He confessed that he was there when Walter Shelley and Mike Ferrer killed
John McCabe. Why? >> Lowel police brought in the McCabes and told them Brown's story about John's
final hours. >> My dad started crying. He killed over on the table. [Music] On April 15th, 2011, nearly 42 years
after John McCabe's body was found in that vacant lot, his father's perseverance finally paid off.
>> Mr. McCabe held our feet to the fire. He never let us forget John McCabe's murder. The DA's office announced the
indictments of Edward Allen Brown for manslaughter and Michael Ferrer and Walter Shelley for firstdegree murder.
Two names known to police since day one. Two names also gathering dust here in John's Book of Mourners.
>> The murderers came to the wake and they came to the funeral. [Music] Why do you think Edward Allen Brown
confessed? Chat now on Facebook and X. [Music] It would take almost 2 years to bring
the men accused of killing John McCabe to trial. Two more years the McCabes would have to wait. Do you solemnly
swear the testimony? >> January 18th, 2013. >> Would you please be seated? >> Edward Allen Brown was called to testify
against his one-time friend, Mike Ferrer, the first defendant to go on trial. >> Do you see Michael Ferrara in the
courtroom today? >> Yes, over there. >> Mr. Brown, >> for the first time, Brown publicly
shared the details of the night John died. Brown says he was at home watching television when Mike Ferrer and Walter
Shelley pulled up to his house. >> They wanted me to go with them to help them. >> Help them do what?
>> I didn't know at the time until I got in the car and we left. >> Brown testified they were on their way
to the Knights of Columbus Hall when he learned of their plan. They said they wanted to go u find this kid that had
been uh you know messing around with Mara to teach him a lesson. >> And how did you know Mara Shiner?
>> That was Walter's girlfriend. >> Michael noticed John McCabe was thumbming and he said, "There he is."
And we pulled up next to John. Michael got out and grabbed him and uh pushed him in the back seat where I was.
Michael was facing back um at John trying to to to smack him and John had his arms up to try to to stop him from
doing that. We went under the spaghetti bridge. >> Brown says they drove up a dirt road to
the vacant lot and pulled over >> and we got him outside the car. >> Who pushed John out of the car?
>> I did. I thought they were just going to slap him around. >> What happened next? Then Michael and
Walter uh wrestled John, tripped him up and got him on the ground. >> Brown testified that he and Shel held
John McCabe down while Ferrer tied him up. >> Michael tied his ankles, then went
around and tied his his uh wrist together. Then he took another piece of rope around his ankles and attached it
up to his neck. They had put tape on his mouth. John's uh squirming, wiggling, trying to get out. He's lying on his
belly uh with his legs up in the air and his um his head turned sideways. Then they said um
that this will teach you to uh to mess with Miler anymore and we got in the car and left.
>> Brown says they drove around drinking beer for a while. >> Then um I I told him that we we should
go back and let him go. Brown says they eventually returned to the lot. >> Michael and Walter got out of the car
and went over to him. They were there for about 30 to 45 seconds and they came quickly back to
the car. We started to drive off and one of them said that he wasn't breathing. >> John McCabe had died of strangulation.
[Music] I wonder I wonder what he thought of that night. >> Then they uh they brought me home.
>> What did you do? >> I remember I think I cried. Brown says he kept the murder a secret
for 41 years because he was afraid of Michael Ferrer. >> Michael said if anybody talks to anybody
about this, I'll kill him. >> Ellen Brown's a freaking liar. And I mean, they know that. According to the
prosecutor, he's been a Iraq in Afghanistan five tours. Maybe he's got something wrong in his head.
>> They talk about these people that give false confessions. Either he did it with somebody else or by himself or he
is really a messed up human being. >> My sense of Edward Brown was he was easily led.
>> Eric Wilson, Michael Ferrer's attorney, believes that police pressured Edward
Allen Brown because he was someone they could force into confessing to a crime he did not commit. They also offered him
a deal, no jail time. Edward Brown did not walk into LOL Police Department headquarters and say, "Look, I got to
get this off my chest." After being interrogated by trained detectives over the course of many days, he was faced
with the threat of spending the rest of his life in jail. Uh, or he could tell the police what they wanted to hear.
>> Walter Shel and Mike Ferrer picked you up at your house at 10:30, right? >> Yes.
>> The question that I had to answer for the jury is why would he tell them that
if he didn't do it? >> Did you think you could do that? That's a tough cell. >> It was a tough cell. Um, but
Ed Brown gave me a lot to work with. >> You were fed information it was a dirt lot, right?
>> Yes. >> Over the course of two days, Ferrer's attorney grilled Brown relentlessly.
>> And in your four or five trial prep sessions >> until Brown admitted that the
prosecution had fed him parts of his story. >> You were fed information that it was
near a railroad tower, right? >> Yes. And you're being told that Shelley was jealous over Mara Shiner, right?
>> Yes. >> There are certain pieces of information that an investigator may provide to
someone who they're interviewing to see whether or not they know anything about that to see whether or not it jogs their
memory. >> Well, but couldn't that also be a way of telegraphing to the witness what you
want him to say? Well, in this case, that didn't have to happen because Brown was the one who talked about the rope,
the tape, the binding of John. However, Brown got his story, Wilson claims it cannot be true because it does not fit
the evidence. In fact, in the 1969 police reports, detectives noted that they were unable to find any evidence of
a scuffle. There was no suggestion anywhere around John McCabe's body or the scene that
that struggle described by Edward Brown ever took place. >> Why would Edward Allen Brown lie and
implicate himself so directly in what happened unless it was the truth? >> Your testimony has not always been
10:30, has it? >> Wilson thought it was not enough to try to discredit Brown. He also had to punch
holes in the alleged motive, jealousy over a girl. He'll do it by calling that girl.
>> My name is Mara Shiner >> to the witness stand. >> That you would have known each other
from being [Music] Mr. Brown. You've lied under oath when you're scared, right? >> Yes.
>> You've lied under oath when you're nervous, right? >> Yes. >> You've lied under oath when you're
frightened, right? >> Correct. >> Prosecutors had a problem with their star witness, Edward Allen Brown. He
seemed to wither under strong cross-examination from the defense. >> You still can't get your facts straight,
can you? >> No. So, prosecutor Tom O'Reilly called Detective Linda Coughlin to counter
accusations that she'd forced Edward Allen Brown to confess and fed him details.
>> At any point, did you feed him information as to the investigation? >> Never.
>> But Eric Wilson says Coughlin also had tunnel vision and ignored evidence of other suspects. There were a number of
investigative reports and material that you either overlooked or didn't even know about. True.
>> I don't know what you're referring to. >> How about Richard Santos? >> Richard Santos was flagged in this
Tukesberry police report as a suspect in the McCabe murder in 1974. Santos was arrested for committing a
crime eerily similar to John McCabe's murder. This young woman was abducted on Route 38. Her feet were bound, her hands
were tied behind her back, her mouth was duct taped, and her eyes were taped shut. All of the facts that surround
Santos as a possible subject lead you to be suspicious. But there was never anything tying him to mode of
opportunity, means information on Richard Santos. Still, the judge allowed the jury to hear about Santos and
another suspect >> with respect to Robert Mley. >> Robert Mley, a local 25year-old who
reportedly knew both Ferrer and Shelley and was suffering from mental illness. >> He was labeled long before you were
assigned this case as a strong suspect. Right. There is a report that uses the word for
him strong suspect and the very same report mentions Mr. Ferrer as a prime suspect.
>> But it's how Mory became a strong suspect that makes him so interesting. Police learned about him shortly after
the crime from his own brothers. Well, Morley's own brothers went in and said that they thought he might have been
involved in it. Yeah, they thought he might have. >> Former DA Jerry Leone says Morley's
brothers were mistaken. >> I think what happens in matters like this is people will say, um, sure, you
should take a look at X or Y because they have a profile of somebody who would do something like this and they
were around the area at the time. But then you have to look at the evidence and see whether or not the evidence
leads you to believe that they had anything to do with it. Do the brothers have any specific evidence that you're
aware of? >> They did not. >> He split to Florida the day after he was questioned by police.
>> Mr. Moly, years later, in my estimate, committed suicide. >> You learned of his death is suicide,
right? He jumped off a bridge, right? >> His brother says he fell off a bridge. >> The defense also tried to punch holes in
the alleged motive for the murder and called a surprising witness to do it. Yes, my name is Marla Shiner and my
spelling of my last name is S H I N E R. >> Thank you. >> Mara Shiner, the girl who Walter Shelley
and Mike Ferrer allegedly killed for. Edward Allen Brown had just testified that Mara was Shel's girlfriend in
September of ' 69 and Shelley was jealous because Jon was flirting with her. But Mara says John never flirted
with her. Did you ever go to a dance with John McCabe? >> Never. Did >> they ever convey to you that he had any
type of romantic interest in you in August or September of 1969? >> None. >> The McCabe say it doesn't matter if the
flirting was real or imagined. >> She could have been just stopped and said hello to John and Shelley could
have walked by and seen it >> and he's going to explode. >> Next, Mara threw the prosecution a
curveball. September 26th, 1969. Were you dating Walter Shelley? >> No, I was not dating Walter when when
John McCabe died. >> When did you start dating him then? >> I believe it was after that death.
>> How old were you? >> 13. >> You 13 September 69. >> I don't know. I can't do the math right
here. But according to police, Mara told them she was dating Shelley at the time
and was just 12 years old when they started seeing each other. >> You didn't tell the police that you were
dating Walter Shel >> in 1969 when John McCabe was killed. >> I No, I don't believe I did tell him
that. >> Why lie about dating someone unless it was because of her that John was
murdered? 48 Hours had questions for Mara Shiner, too, but she declined our request for an interview. Mara
eventually married Walter Shelley, but it didn't last. She said he was very violent.
>> Miss Sha, was Walter Shel a jealous man? >> Absolutely. >> It appears that we're ready to proceed
then. >> Judge, at this point in time, the defendant would rest. >> This was a hardfought trial till the
end. And then it was up to the jury to decide. Did Mike Ferrer help Walter Shelley kill John McCabe over a girl?
>> Or was Edward Allen Brown telling a story the prosecution wanted to hear. >> It only took jurors 5 hours to decide.
>> I told Michael that we had to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.
And uh he was ready for that. >> May I have the verdict slip, please? For the McCabe family, more than four
decades of waiting and working came down to this moment. What did you think the verdict was going
to be? >> Guilty. My god, he was guilty. If for no other reason, he was there. >> It's hard to understand how the jury
could, you know, anticipate otherwise. M >> Bill McCabe was too nervous and too sick
to sit in the courtroom that day. So he waited in another room while Evelyn and their daughters heard the verdict.
>> What say you to this indictment, ma'am? Is the defendant guilty or not guilty?
>> Not guilty. >> Not guilty. >> Finder. >> Everyone, including Mike Ferrer, was so
stunned. It took a while to sink in when the verdict came in. When you heard that
that Ferrer had been afraid, >> I had to go tell my husband that. >> Were you afraid to tell him?
>> Yes. >> Why? >> I was afraid he was going to die. >> Tragically, Evelyn was right.
Just 4 days after the verdict, Bill McCabe's heart gave out and he gave up. >> What do you think killed your husband?
>> Stress. the stress of the trial. >> While Evelyn McCabe laid her husband to rest next to their son, the DA's office
had a decision to make after losing the case against Mike Ferrer. Would it go ahead with the trial of Walter Shelley?
[Music] There goes Jack. There goes Jill. Down to love. >> All the girls are singing love songs.
All the boys are >> I still don't believe Bill's gone. >> I can still hear him snore in the night.
And then I I feel the bed. He's not there. Evelyn McCabe was determined to honor
her husband's dying wish. >> He laid in the hospital bed and I says, "I'll pick up and take over for you."
>> She'd see to it someone would pay for John's murder. >> The jurors find Michael Ferrer not
guilty. >> Watching Michael Ferrer go free was tough for some jurors, too. So, how hard
was it for you to acquit him? It was very difficult. >> One of the jurors, Michael Duket, says
the biggest problem was Edward Allen Brown. >> Plan was to teach him a lesson for
messing with Maron. >> Did the majority of the jurors believe him? >> No. >> Why not?
>> They just felt that he was not telling the truth. >> I thought they were just going to slap
him around. And >> they felt that he had been fed information. And that didn't make a ton
of sense to me. Maybe he wasn't the best witness, but I just can't see somebody saying I did it when they didn't do it.
>> Det came to believe Brown and wanted to find Michael Ferrer guilty of something,
but the only choices the jurors had were first and seconddegree murder. So, what
did you want to convict him of? >> Manslaughter, and it wasn't an option. We are extremely pleased with the jury's
verdict. >> Despite the Ferrer loss, prosecutors decided to try to convict the other
suspect in the murder, >> Walter Shel. >> The acquitt in the Ferrer case didn't do
anything to lessen our belief that we had the right people who were responsible for killing John McCabe.
>> All right. >> September 3rd, 2013, 7 months after Michael Ferrer's acquitt, >> this murder was about John McCabe. It
was Walter Shel's turn to stand trial. Shelley was 17 the night of John's murder. He's now 61, remarried, and has
lived quietly in Tukesbury ever since, just a few miles from Evelyn McCabe. >> Walter Shel is sitting on the small of
his back holding the hands. >> If convicted of first-degree murder, Shel could spend the rest of his life in
prison. >> They wrestled him to the ground. It was the same case prosecutors presented
against Michael Ferrer. The same motive, >> jealousy, >> and the same evidence. >> The ropes that came off the victim's
body >> presented by the same witnesses, Marla Shiner, Detective Linda Coughlin, and
once again, the state's star witness, >> Edward Allen Brown. >> I heard one of them say he's not
breathing. >> Was it any easier to sit through the second trial? No, I want to say it was
harder. Dad wasn't there for backup. >> You were called a liar repeatedly. >> Yes, I was.
>> Brown seemed less rattled this time, more confident, and the McCabes allowed themselves to hope.
>> I can keep my fingers, my toes, everything crossed. >> During closing arguments, the defense
called Brown a liar. >> He'll tell you whatever you want to hear. But the prosecution argued that
Brown would never implicate himself in a crime he did not commit. >> What did he confess for?
>> He was talked into it. >> The weekl long trial went to the jury. This would be the McCabe's last chance
to see someone held accountable for killing John. >> We had faith that the jury was going to
come with the right answer this time. >> Finally, two days later, a verdict. person. Has your jury agreed upon its
verdict? >> Yes, we have. >> Pass the verdict of solo, please. >> Walter Shel's wife and family waited
nervously. Evelyn McCabe couldn't bring herself to even sit in the courtroom and
had to wait outside. >> She couldn't hear another not guilty. >> Can the verdicts be reported? Your
honor, >> she was scared she was going to drop dead. >> Charging the defendant, Walter Shel,
with the offense of murder. What say was the defendant guilty or not guilty? Guilty murder.
>> Guilty of what? >> First degree. >> Guilty. And life behind bars for Walter Shelly. This jury believed Brown.
>> So when you heard guilty, do you remember the first thing you thought? >> I thought my father would be proud.
We got one of them. It was the final twist in a mystery filled with them. For the same crime and
on the same evidence, one man walked free, one man went to prison. [Music] >> Hey, John, guess what?
We got him. Billy, it turned out beautifully. >> He didn't live to write about it, but
Bill McCabe finally got the end he was looking for to the story he wrote about John's life and death. A story that took
four decades to play out. He was 15 years, 6 months, and two weeks. >> About his boy who will be 15 years, 6
months, and two weeks old forever. >> He's done. Please take good care of him till I get
there, please. And then I will [Music] [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] CBS Next. A stepdaughter's trust
betrayed. >> She found naked photos of herself on her stepdad's computer. >> Hundreds. Hundreds.
>> Then Tom Marman is found dead. Was it revenge? >> Did you want your stepfather dead?
>> 48 hours crime time double feature continues next on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.
[Music] [Music] It's like ghosts. You just see the ghosts of them everywhere. [Music]
If you close your eyes, can you still see it? All of it. The focus of the case is Michelle Renee.
She was living with her uh her daughter Bria. They were living um in a kind of a
secluded house. >> Does it feel like 22 years? >> Sometimes it does. Sometimes it feels
like a lifetime ago. Sometimes it feels like it was last week. >> I asked the FBI to take Michelle back to
the house to help reconstruct probably the most traumatic night of her life. >> We came in the door. I put the groceries
away. went in the kitchen. >> Michelle was a single mom. She was a bank manager, somebody who worked hard
to gain a job of position of trust and respect. >> It had been such a long day and I was
just excited to be home with Bria. We were on the couch. It was just the two of us.
>> I was sitting here. She was right beside me and we were playing Game Boy. A group
of individuals put Michelle under surveillance knowing she was a bank manager and they devised
a plan >> and we just heard this huge the this sound just the biggest noise from behind
us and we I turned to look and just saw three people. They were all lined up one
right after the other just rushing in, running in the door at like SWAT style and they had their guns and they were
all in black and I just screamed super loud. My daughter screamed super loud at that point. My daughter took off this
way, but two of them came to me, put guns in my face. One guy grabbed me back of my head, forced me down in front of
the couch that was right here. They bind her up with duct tape. They put her a seven-year-old on the ground and bind
her up with duct tape. And uh they tell them that uh if they don't cooperate, they're going to be killed. They're
going to be shot. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. They let me turn around and see my daughter laying face
down on the floor right here by the door. Um face down with her hands tied and her feet tied.
Um, right there on the ground, I heard my daughter say, "Are you going to kill my
mommy and are you going to kill me?" And they said, "No, not if your mommy does everything that we tell her to do."
>> They said, "You're going to rob the bank for us or we will kill you and your daughter will be first.
[Music] [Music] The only monsters that had ever scared Michelle Rene's 7-year-old daughter,
Bria, were make believe. But on November 20th, 2000, just a day before three masked men broke in,
>> she calls me, "Mom, there's somebody outside the window." I looked out there.
I didn't see anything. I didn't see anybody. I just brushed it off. >> Michelle had chocked it up to her
child's imagination, but this time was different. >> She saw them looking through the window.
They were there the night before. The same men now held Michelle and Bria at gunpoint in the living room. The
gunman said they'd been following the 35-year-old bank manager for months. It was very much that mind control thing
that they were doing that we know everything about you. >> Michelle would recount the events inside
the house for investigators. and we're going to be here all night with you to make sure you know exactly what you're
going to do or you will die. >> Throughout the night, the ring leader gave specific instructions about how he
wanted Michelle to rob her own bank the next morning. >> We're going to go over this again. This
is what you're going to do. When Brinks gets there, you're going to get Brinks's
money. >> As she huddled with Bria on the couch, now duct taped, Michelle could hear him
talking to a woman on a two-way radio. Money one to Money Two were >> That's what they called each other.
>> Yeah. They called each other money one to Money Two. >> Money one was the ring leader. Around
11, the voice on the walkie-talkie got his attention. >> Car coming up the driveway. The
roommates there. It was their roommate Kimbra. >> And they put the gun right here in her
face right up her nose and said, "Don't make using use this." I pushed the guy's
hand out of her face and said, "Don't do this. don't hurt her. And he just pointed it right at me and said, "Don't
ever touch me again." >> Michelle realized this might be the last night she ever spent with her daughter.
>> It was almost morning. I just rubbed her hair so she could try to get some sleep.
>> Wondering if that was going to be the last time I was going to get to touch her hair and see her sleep was pretty
tough. In the morning, the nightmare would continue. It was like 6:00 a.m. He said, "Get up.
It's time to get ready for work." >> I got dressed and started doing my hair when he came in and stopped me
and said, "We need to put the dynamite on you now." >> Michelle, her roommate Kimbra, and Bria
would all be strapped with dynamite. Then, Money One showed Michelle what looked like a doorbell. This is a
detonation device. >> One false move. I push this button. >> You will disintegrate. Your daughter
will go first. and they sat me right here and said, "Now we're going to take your daughter."
>> The gunman put Bria in her bedroom closet. >> I'm just telling her I'd be right back.
That everything's going to be fine. >> Be brave, Mommy. That was the last thing she said when before I walked out to go
to the bank. >> Did you feel brave? >> No. As two of the gunmen stayed in the house, Money One handed Michelle a
briefcase stuffed with a duffel bag before he crouched in the back of her Jeep. With dynamite on her back and a
gun to her side, she drove to work. So, you pull up into your spot. What does he
tell you before you get out of the car? >> Don't Don't this up. And the Brinks truck came at 8:50. I believe right
around 8:50 was the drop right over here. That's when Michelle grabbed her briefcase and headed to the vault.
>> I brought my teller in the vault with me and said, "I'm getting ready to clear
out this vault or my daughter and I are going to die. This is what's happened all night."
>> And you whispered to her, "I have dynamite on my back." >> Yeah. I whisper. I pulled my shirt up.
>> And then you just opened up the duffel bag and started shoveling in money. >> I did. My heart was racing. My Am I fast
enough? Michelle's colleagues would alert the authorities, but not before she walked out with $360,000.
>> Just get to the Jeep, hurl it in the Jeep, >> and go. >> And just do what's next.
>> Money. One directed Michelle to get out a few blocks later. >> And that I would find my Jeep down the
street. She found her car and raced home. I don't know if Bria's going to be there. I don't know if she's going to be
alive when I get there. And I went to open the door and I was just screaming and hello, hello. It was eerily silent
[Music] >> and I just heard Bria and I remember screaming, "We're back here. We're back
here." >> Bria was still in the closet right where Michelle left her. >> What was that like to hear and see her?
>> Oh my gosh. She was alive. I did it. We did it. We didn't die. probably the happiest moment of my life. But then I
could still see the panic on her face. >> The dynamite's still on me. >> Before leaving, the gunman had ripped
the dynamite off of Kimbra and Bria, so they cut it off of Michelle's back before running to the nearest neighbor.
>> I opened the gates, went down the hill real fast, helped them up to the house.
>> Rick Brown lived up a steep hill. >> I called 911 right away. >> Sheriff, can I help you? Yes. Uh, some
neighbors of ours were held hostage. I need somebody out here right away. >> Soon the place was crawling with
investigators from the FBI, San Diego Sheriff's Department, and the bomb squad. >> This is the dynamite that was taken off
of um Michelle. >> San Diego prosecutor Tom Manning would lead the task force investigating the
case. They quickly figured out the dynamite was fake. They realize that it actually is two
painted dowels or broomstick candles. >> But as you can see from a distance in the lighting, plus it's on your back
with the stress of the situation, you're not going to take a chance that it isn't
real. >> But during the very real 14 hours they were held hostage. Michelle had held on
to any detail that might help identify the attackers. >> Remembering details is just sort of this
part of my DNA about people. That was kind of my superpower. >> Details like money one's eyes.
>> When I turned the light on to go to the bathroom and I saw his eyes in there, I
I said that those eyes were at my desk. Those eyes were at my desk today. Oh my god.
>> Michelle says it was a man with whom she'd had an odd encounter at the bank hours before being taken hostage. and he
sat at my desk for a really long time asking sort of the same questions over and over. And then a woman walked in and
said, "Chris, we need to get going." And they got up and left. The man had handed
Michelle his business card. And the name on the business card was Christopher Butler.
[Music] After hours of police questioning, Michelle and Bria were sent to a hotel.
Michelle called her brother Dave. >> It didn't sound like her. It was someone, you know, heavily traumatized.
>> Dave, who lived 3 hours away, rushed to his sister's aid. What I saw when I opened that door, it
scared the daylights out of me. Are you okay? And she would shake. >> How about Bria?
>> Same thing. >> In the days ahead, Michelle struggled to hold it together for her daughter.
>> She was the strongest person for me. >> While investigators wanted answers, they grilled her about that odd
encounter with Christopher Butler. Why was he in the bank? What was he saying he was there for?
>> He came in to say that he was a potential client and that he wanted to talk about investments.
>> Before Butler handed Michelle his business card, a woman he introduced as Lisa came in and whisked him away.
>> Hey Chris, we need to go. >> It was the same voice Michelle says she heard later that night on the
walkie-talkie. >> I kept saying it over and over. Check my desk. >> Check my desk. Get that card. I know
that it's them. >> Through that card, they started the investigation. >> The FBI soon discovered Butler was a
convicted felon with a history of robbing banks. >> They figured out where he was staying
and then uh the team that I work with set up surveillance. >> Butler and his fianceé, Lisa Ramirez,
lived in a house just a few miles from the bank. Some of the people in the house were telling the police who was
there when they planned it. >> Within days, detectives identified the two other men. Christopher Huggin.
>> There was a big guy maybe maybe 6'4. He's gang ties >> and the man who' held a gun to little
Bria, a gang member called Bones. Real name Robert Ortiz. >> Ortiz was a connection who got the guns.
On December 1st, they decided to arrest Butler and Ramirez during a traffic stop.
>> In the glove compartment was a uh weapon. It's a It's actually a BB gun. If you look at that in a stressful
situation that looks as real as it can get. >> What' they find when they pump the
trunk? >> Plethora of evidence. >> All this. >> All this. They found the uh the black
bag that Michelle described the money being carried in. Uh several pairs of black gloves. and um a homemade ski
mask. >> Oh yeah, look at the eye holes there. >> Yeah, >> that they clearly cut themselves.
>> Michelle's credit cards were all found in the uh trunk of the vehicle. And then
of course the money straps from the bank. >> Also in the trunk, that doorbell detonator.
And there was even more at the house. >> They found all the ingredients uh to make the fake bomb. There were broom
handles which were cut up into small dowels which actually were used in making the the fake dynamite. They also
recovered the the actual spray cans. Ramirez's uh fingerprint was on one of those cans. It was crazy. I've never
seen that much physical evidence left at a crime scene. >> They thought they'd gotten away with it.
>> One thing investigators didn't find on Butler and Ramirez, any of the bank's $360,000.
But after arresting Huggin that same day, they did recover 93,000 of the cash that he'd stashed away. Huggin confessed
and said that he'd already spent several grand on a trip to Vegas. The fourth suspect, Robert Ortiz,
was on the lamb. When authorities arrested him three months later in Wisconsin, Ortiz still had $32,000 of
the bank's money and gave a full confession. Did Huggin and Ortiz's confessions corroborate each other?
>> Yes, very much so. >> So, did Huggin and Ortiz's confessions corroborate what Michelle had told
investigators? >> Yes. Almost identical. >> Butler denied everything, even when confronted with direct evidence,
his thumbrint on the fake dynamite sticks. >> And we got fingerprints that are yours
that went you to the bank robber. find out because I wasn't involved with anybody.
>> He tried to protect Lisa. >> Lisa wouldn't have been involved with that. >> But Lisa was about to start talking. She
admitted she was the female voice on the walkie-talkie. >> She even took credit for the idea to use
fake dynamite and kidnap the bank manager. >> Let us know whose idea that was about
8 months ago. jokingly mine. >> Lisa said they'd split the money three ways, but that her and Butler's share,
more than $100,000, had been stolen. And to everyone's surprise, she said Michelle was in on the plot.
>> They had told me that Michelle Lady, that's how they >> walked out of that um thinking, okay,
Lisa's Lisa is the mastermind behind all this. And um is it possible Michelle's involved?
>> Manning says ultimately he knew Michelle was innocent. >> The first time I interviewed her, she
had Bria with her and I I I saw that bond and relationship and when she left, I went, "She's not involved in this."
>> But that wouldn't be enough in court. San Diego County Sheriff's detectives Rudy Zamora, Dale Martin, and Randy
Demurs would have to rule Michelle out as a suspect. Every time we pushed a button, she would
react in a way a true victim should. >> They recreated the dynamite packs and strapped them on Kimbra, Michelle, and
Bria. >> She was very upset. >> And Michelle was emotional when asked to revisit the horrific
details of the kidnapping. And then they I had to put her in there and they shut
the shut the closet. >> She was shaken up. I thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown
>> when Michelle did those reenactments. Were her story, Kimbra's story, and Bria's story consistent?
>> Yes, completely consistent. >> In fact, investigators couldn't find any evidence Michelle was involved. Still,
they worried. >> She was not our normal victim. >> As they took a deep dive into Michelle's
life. What did they find out about Michelle's past? >> She didn't hide anything,
>> including the fact that for years she had worked as a stripper. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed by any of
that. >> Michelle says it was one of the choices she had to make for survival at a young
age. >> I ran away at 15. I worked really, really hard to get to where I was. >> With no high school diploma, she had
climbed the corporate ladder all the way to regional vice president before taking
the bank manager job to be home more with Bria. >> And while you were working at the bank,
you were still dancing, still stripping for a while. >> I was for a while. The money was really
great. >> But more worrisome were things that went directly to Michelle's credibility. She
falsified resumes, claimed she had various experience, various education, which she didn't have.
>> Bounced a check, filed for bankruptcy, >> right? >> That doesn't look good. >> It doesn't look good. And if you're a
defense attorney, you're licking your chops. >> Oh, the best verdict I ever got in my
life. By spring of 2001, the suspects were in custody, awaiting trial for kidnapping
and bank robbery charges. But Michelle and Bria were still reeling from that night of terror.
[Music] I could still hear them. I could still hear the the sounds. I couldn't get it
to turn off. >> I just wanted to hide. I thought they were going to find us. They were going
to kill us still. >> In June, Michelle decided to move Bria to Alaska to live with her grandmother.
I was going to fly her up there and get her to safety. I was going to figure out
what to do from there. After a few days, Michelle says she had an epiphany >> to go back to San Diego and get rid of
everything I could possibly get rid of and drive back to Alaska with a dog. >> Come here.
>> Some cash. >> Can do this on a budget. >> And a camcorder. >> Today is July the 6th.
>> She embarked on a 9-day drive. >> I'm on my way, baby doll. >> To the last frontier.
You had a deadline. >> I had a deadline. Bria's birthday was in 9 days, and I promised her I'd be back
before her birthday party. >> That's when Michelle and Bria say they began to heal.
>> Did you feel safe in Alaska? >> Safer. I could be a kid again. >> Happy birthday to you.
>> By the time they returned to San Diego a year later for the trial, Michelle says
she was ready. There was so much evidence. There was no way I thought that this trial was going
to be anything but slam dunk. >> Butler and Ramirez would be tried first. >> When her case came across your desk,
what did you think at first? >> She's guilty. >> You thought she's guilty? >> Well, yeah.
>> Herb Weston, who represented Lisa Ramirez, had a problem. His client had confessed on camera. There was a female
voice that came all at once a lot of times. >> If they play that tape, saying that she
wasn't involved would have been difficult. >> Weston proposed a plea deal, hoping to
save Ramirez from a potential life sentence, but the prosecution turned him down.
>> We thought we would definitely get state the key statements in that she was involved. But since Ramirez had also
implicated Butler, the judge ruled her entire statement inadmissible. >> We now can at least argue to the jury
that she wasn't involved. without her confession. The case against Ramirez relied almost entirely on Michelle.
A fact Manning was keenly aware of during his opening statement to the jury on June 3rd, 2002.
You told the jury that this case was about credibility. >> Right. Michelle's uh background was was
going to be an issue. I knew there were issues, but I believed her. >> And you thought the jury would believe
her, >> right? but not if the defense had its way. >> What was your strategy going into trial?
>> My strategy was to beat the hell out of the victim and show all these inconsistencies that the victim is
saying. >> It got very confrontational. >> I was really really off. >> That played right into Weston's hand.
>> Angry witnesses don't come across as credible. I was treated like I was the criminal.
>> During his cross-examination, Weston implied Michelle was lying about recognizing Lisa Ramirez's voice on the
walkie-talkie. >> Wait a minute, ma'am. I've looked at all this stuff. Isn't this the first time
you've said that? >> In fact, he pointed out it wasn't in any of the FBI reports.
But Michelle insists she told them. >> I did. I 100% did. And Manning says she identified Lisa's voice to him before
taking the stand. >> Does it bother you that Lisa actually admitted that that was her voice on the
walkie-talkie? The fact is it was Lisa. >> But that's not the issue for me. It made
a great opening to attack her credibility. >> Weston then grilled Michelle about bait
money. The traceable bills banks keep in their vaults to trap bank robbers. You didn't take the bait money.
>> Did not take the debate money. >> Why not? >> They said no funny money. You say that's
suspicious that she must have been in on it. >> Correct. >> Maybe worst of all for Michelle Weston
question her maternal instincts. >> Would a mother run to a place where her daughter was? If she believes that I
have a bomb on my back? >> She wasn't sure whether her daughter was dead or alive. Don't you think it's
possible that she wasn't thinking straight? Sure. But also what could be true is she knew there wasn't a bomb and
so she didn't have to worry about it. >> Did you feel like you were on trial? I 100% felt like I was on trial.
>> I would be sitting in the front row and all I could think about was it's going
to take me maybe 6 seconds to get from this point to the offender. That is how I rape I was
>> day after day listening to this. >> Listening to this. >> Is it fair to beat up the victim?
>> Absolutely. While Weston hammered on every decision Michelle made that day, the attorney representing Butler went
after everything else. >> What was the worst thing they asked you about my sex life? They were trying to
paint me as somebody that was irresponsible, a selfish, terrible mother that would do anything for money.
>> And they picked apart Michelle's finances. She's in uh financial uh distress and that could be the motive.
>> Isn't it kind of odd that we're talking about motive when we're talking about a
victim? >> It is. The defense in the case was to uh make Michelle a uh uh a culprit here.
>> After Michelle's grueling three-day testimony, it was Christopher Butler's turn.
He protected Lisa on the stand, claiming Michelle was the mastermind and that they'd had an affair. I was shocked.
>> It's almost laughable. What was his story about how the two of you met? From what I understand, we met in a grocery
store and that I recruited him. Butler claimed that he'd gone to Michelle's house that night with Huggin and Ortiz.
He said that in the early morning hours while smoking pot, Michelle brought up the bank robbery idea again and decided
they should do it that morning. >> His evidence of this, his proof of this, >> zero. If any of this were true, he would
have thrown Michelle down in a heartbeat in his interview. >> The jury deliberated for five days
before finding Butler guilty of the bank robbery and Bria and Kimbra's kidnapping, but they hung 9 to3 on the
charges of kidnapping Michelle. >> When we talked to the jurors, you know, we discovered it was one juror who
completely believed Butler, and the other two jurors were unsure. And they found Lisa Ramirez not guilty on all
counts. >> Oh, the best verdict I ever got in my life. >> Mindboggling. The fact that it was her
idea to do this to a mother and a child and laughing and proud of it. How involved do you think she was in this?
>> Very involved. The investigators kept saying she she was the brains of the outfit.
>> So the brains of the outfit walked, >> right? The second trial would go very differently with Huggin and Ortiz easily
convicted. >> In so many of uh the stories that we tell, the ending is the conviction. But
in your case, in a lot of ways, that's just the beginning. All righty. Is it working?
>> Yes. >> If you close your eyes, can you still see it? >> Okay. >> All of it. I can still see all of it.
>> Even though the men who had terrorized them were now serving multiple life sentences,
Michelle and Bria would never be the same. There's aspects of that night that are
going to be with me for the rest of my life. >> They were treated for post-traumatic
stress disorder for over two years. >> They had their guns. >> Michelle says dealing with the breakin
led to a breakthrough. It was two choices. Call them monsters and stay angry and blame everything of
my life on them. Or I can take this other road. The best thing I could do for Bria is to be an example. Enjoy the
book. >> Michelle wrote a book >> action >> which was made into a TV movie >> and she and Bria went on speaking tours
to discuss their experience with trauma. >> A lot of people coming out of this would
want to just forget about it, put it behind them. But you and your mom talked openly about it.
>> Yes. And I think it was the best decision for us. >> We're speaking out about our experience.
I was showing people that it's not always the end all be all when something bad happens to you. You can come out of
it stronger. >> 2. >> And by 2011, >> she really turned the corner and started enjoying her life again.
>> The girl who had hidden from everything was a high school senior and competitive
cheerleader. She loved it. It was her absolute passion. >> Yeah. >> You're thriving. You're living the
dream. You said you dreamed of this. You were living the dream. >> I was. >> Then suddenly
>> senior year in December, I started feeling a little off. I was dropping things. Showed up at my work at
6:00 dragging her leg going, "Mommy, something's really wrong. Something's wrong. I don't know what's happening."
>> I said, "Mom, I'm really scared." >> They had no idea Bria was in for the fight of her life. And we rushed her to
the hospital and they started pricking her leg and she couldn't feel it and her heart rate
started going crazy. >> Oh my gosh. >> By 8:00 p.m. that night, I was paralyzed on my left side. Couldn't talk, couldn't
swallow, blind in my left eye. >> We found abnormalities in the brain is all they could tell me that night. It
almost sounds like there's that same feeling of helplessness that you had the night that you were held hostage
>> completely. >> The next morning, Bria was diagnosed with an acute onset of multiple
scerosis, an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own
tissues. >> Based on the scans, she has tumactive MS, which is not only rare in and of
itself, but people Bria's age at 18 rarely get MS. Bria says she was told she might never
walk or talk again. >> Just like that. >> Just like that. >> One, two, three, go.
>> My life just ended again. >> I was 18 trying to go off to college, do cheer in college, and that was never
going to happen for me. >> So much of your healing had been talking, and now you couldn't talk.
>> No, I couldn't talk. What's it push? >> I couldn't feed myself anymore. >> She had to relearn all of that.
>> Up good. >> But it was as if they'd been training for this for years. >> Do you think in some way what happened
to you when you were seven prepared you for battling MS? >> Yes. I think it made me strong enough to
go through what I went through with MS. >> It was here we go again. Here we go again.
Bria would spend six weeks in the hospital, >> two to three times a day of physical
therapy, occupational therapies, speech therapy. >> After she could talk again, she turned
to me and said, "Kidnapping was a piece of cake compared to this. >> Do it again."
>> And just as with the kidnapping, Bria wanted to inspire others. She wrote her
college essay from her hospital room, from her wheelchair. >> It is my hope that my college experience
>> and said, "I'm going to college. I am going to be the first person in my family to graduate college no matter
what. >> I now know that there is no time to waste. Life can change so suddenly."
>> She chronicled her journey on her Facebook page. >> Bria, what? >> I love you.
She fought tooth and nail every single day for every single step she took. She walked out of the hospital.
>> This time it was Michelle doing the cheerleading. >> Pray for you. >> The rehab started in the hospital, but
the real rehab was Michelle, constantly on her. We're going to do this. >> It's okay. Good job.
>> We were a total team. We just ended up going into full gear. We lived in a house with stairs.
>> Good. That was really good. >> She couldn't do stairs anymore. >> So, once again, you're out of a home
that you've been living in. >> Yeah. And I had to become her full-time caregiver for about a year and a half,
two years, and rebuilding our life again, >> despite the odds. >> Four, five. Oh, she made it to college.
>> She relapsed three times her first year in college and had to come home, but she
did it. She follows in her mom's footsteps, >> teaching her how to get her foot to stay
on the line >> with the tenacity and the never give up philosophy that they have.
>> Lift your knee up. Ready, go. >> Bria is walking talking proof. So they told you you would never walk again.
>> Yeah, I would never walk again, never see again, never anything like that. >> And
>> I would say I beat the odds >> yet again. >> Yes, exactly. But 20 years after their
world first came crashing down, they'd be faced with the unimaginable once again.
Christopher Butler could be released. [Music] It's been over 20 years. What stands out about this case in
hindsight? The victims. >> From the very beginning, the case hit close to home for prosecutor Tom
Manning. >> The fact that there was a a little girl. My daughter was the same age as Bria
when this happened. Nearly 20 years later, in June 2020, Christopher Butler was up for parole.
>> He's the one who lied about me. >> Manning made sure he was at the hearing. >> And you had a plan going in.
>> I did. >> He saw a chance to set the record straight by asking Butler about the
story he'd told on the stand. >> I told Michelle if I felt it was right, I was going to go for it. What' you
think about that? >> Go for it. Ask away. Even though that's risky. >> It's a little risky. This guy could go
to the grave with these lies. >> The risk paid off. Butler recanted his whole story, admitting he and Michelle
never had a relationship. >> How did that feel to hear that? >> It's about time. I wanted everybody who
ever doubted me to read this parole transcript. I want to blast it all over the internet that there was never ever a
chance that I would ever ever have been involved in anything like this ever. >> Bria says it's a bittersweet victory for
her mom. >> Feels good, but it's a little too late. You can search my mom's name and it can
come up on the internet. You can't take that back. Why has it take him so long to come
clean? And it's probably because he had an opportunity to be free. >> Even though Butler was unequivocal that
Michelle was not involved. >> He still hasn't really taken responsibility. He blamed his old flame
Lisa Ramirez. But Butler said he was sorry for what he put his victims through and even said
he'd read Michelle's book more than once. He said some of the passages in your book really got to him.
>> Yeah. On the road trip to Alaska, I really started to think about what it would be like to try to just understand.
Michelle says that's when she started to wonder about the people behind the masks.
This is someone's son. This is someone's brother. This is someone's grandson. What happened to them in their life that
got them to the point where they thought the only option was to attack a mother and her daughter? Do you accept
Christopher Butler's apology? >> I do. Yeah. A thousand%. I appreciate him finally being honest
after all this time. I hope he keeps digging deeper. >> Yeah. I forgave him a long time ago and
I accept his apology. But neither Bria nor Michelle want Butler released. He's already been
denied parole twice. The irony isn't lost on Dave. >> All he really did is free everybody
else. He's held hostage with his life. >> In a very weird way, I could breathe. I could exhale finally
after all this time. While they don't believe Butler has changed his ways, they feel very differently about the
other two men who held them hostage. >> They confessed. They take accountability
for what they did. And that's a big thing. >> Are you actually rooting for these guys
to succeed at this point? >> Yes. They were younger than what I am now. If they are doing the work, I want
nothing but the best for them. especially Robert Ortiz. >> Robert Ortiz >> at the sentencing. Robert Ortiz is the
only one that turned around and looked at me and said, "I'm sorry." He mouthed it.
>> They wrote to Ortiz back in 2011 and received a reply 9 years later. >> Out of respect for him, I'm not going to
say everything that's in the letter. I can say that it's beautiful. It's heartfelt. And I can't wait to see where
that leads. >> This is the young man who held a gun to your daughter's head. >> Yes. And she spoke at his parole hearing
in his favor. >> There's my puppy. We're road tripping. >> In the meantime, Michelle has written a
follow-up book. >> So, we're on our way >> about the road trip that changed her point of view.
>> Great morning. Really great morning. >> It is about healing. just called 9 days which is how long I
was on the road to Alaska. >> It is possible to forgive. >> I do believe that through this terrible
tragedy, >> it's possible to see beauty again >> that something beautiful was meant to
come about. >> It has built these people into these incredible human beings. And through it all, they say they
wouldn't change a thing, even the kidnapping. >> So, if you look back at the last 20
years, what is this journey been about? >> Raising a remarkable daughter, it's the
best thing I've ever done in my life is be her mom. >> It seems like both of you look at this
at least a tiny bit as a gift. >> Mhm. Yeah, I wouldn't change it. It gave us the chance to build the bond that we
have today and it's just gotten stronger. Yeah. [Music] [Music] I can only describe it as evil,
something horrible. >> From 48 hours, this is trained to kill, the dog trainer, the ays, and the
bodyguard. >> He couldn't control his obsession. >> Who was the hunter and who was the
hunted? Follow and listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.
[Music] I've thought about a thousand times the whatifs and that's kind of nauseating
that we were that close. >> In my time as district attorney, we have had some odd cases. This one was a
complete roller coaster ride towards the end. As far as an emotional situation, this
was by far um the toughest one. Tracy Harris was a hardworking young mother that disappeared March 7th, 1990.
She was a very sweet friend, a very shy person, and people really liked her and respected her. Her her daughter was a
toddler, a four-year-old named Carolyn who she had with Carl Harris. She had been married for several years. They had
recently divorced, but had never really split. >> They still lived in the same home. They
slept in the same bed. I did hear that Tracy was missing and was very concerned something had happened to her.
>> Carl came by our house. She'd been missing for a couple days. He was genuinely concerned and he said, "You
know, I can see her leaving me, but she would never leave this baby." >> Her body was discovered about 150 yards
further downstream about 7 days after she went missing. Based on the autopsy, the manner of
death was homicide. >> Tracy was a kind and loving person who did not deserve what happened to her.
Most people did think that Carl Harris had murdered Tracy. >> Prior to her going missing, there had
been a confrontation or two concerning a girlfriend that Carl had. Carl Harris did have a reputation for being very
violent, in particular towards Tracy Harris. There was several instances where the witnesses would say it didn't
take anything for him to just go off on her. He was incredibly abusive to her. >> I never put my hands on Tracy. Never.
>> So, all those people were lying. >> Yes, ma'am. I love Tracy. She was the love of my life.
I think from the very get-go, there was only one suspect in this case, Carl Harris.
>> Everybody thought I killed him. Everywhere I turned, they they, you know, you can hear him whispering in the
background, there's the man that killed Tracy. >> A lot of people were were waiting for
him to be arrested and then surprised when he never was. Ozark Police Department had created a
cold case unit and in 2016 they picked up the Tracy Harris, Carl Harris case. >> They told me they was looking at me as
as a suspect again after 27 years. >> The evidence was circumstantially strong. The domestic violence, the
circumstance with the girlfriend, and comments he made that she wouldn't be back. Who else would want this sweet,
innocent young lady murdered? >> Jordan and her team had spent a lot of time building a case that I was about to
torpedo. I kept the secret for 30 years. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Tracy was alive when she came to this
location and traveled down this access road to the beachy area. >> 22-year-old Tracy Harris disappeared on
March 7th, 1990. A week later, her body was found in the Chattahatchee River, a few miles from
her home in Ozark, Alabama. The area around the river was a place Tracy and her friends would get
together. >> It was certainly one of the first places that investigators were looking for
Tracy. >> Dale County District Attorney Kirk Adams. Her body had come to rest upon a
log after the water started to recede a bit. >> The autopsy revealed that Tracy had
drowned, but also noted marks around her neck, likely indicating strangulation. The missing person case became a
homicide, and Ozark police started interviewing those close to Tracy and her ex-husband Carl, with whom she still
lived. >> Carl had let the police in his house a couple of times for them to look around.
Carl was believed to have been the last person to see Tracy, picking her up the night she disappeared from the
restaurant where she worked as a waitress. He then dropped Tracy off at their house and headed out to his job at
a supermarket. >> There were not any clues at home. It didn't appear that anybody had taken her
by force. >> Police thought that location by the river might provide more clues. They
learned that while Tracy might have enjoyed spending time by the river, she would never have gone in the river.
>> Every witness we spoke with, she could not swim. She was terrified of water. >> She was so scared of the water. When she
was baptized and she went under, she was hysterical. >> Selena Dodson and Tracy were about 11
years old when baptized. They were childhood friends spending a lot of time together at church. It was there she
first saw Tracy with Carl. >> Tracy and Carl started dating when we were probably 16, 17 years old. And I
was happy for her that she, you know, had a boyfriend and somebody that she really liked.
>> In her senior year of high school, Tracy became pregnant and she and Carl, who
was 3 years older, married. When she had Carolyn, she was adorable. Everybody just loved her and she was like Tracy.
She looked like her and she had a personality like her. Tracy's mother was taking care of
Carolyn. You know, young parents, you could tell that her and Carl, you know, struggled some.
>> Tell me about your your family as a young family. You and Tracy and Carolyn. >> We was all happy and everything. We
didn't have a problem with each other or nothing like that. The picture Carl painted of a happy home, though, was not
what police found when they started questioning friends and family. Assistant Dale County District Attorney
Jordan Davis, >> there was about 14 different people that had come forward that witnessed some
type of domestic violence between Tracy and Carl. >> One of those people was Dawn Beasley.
She and her soon-to-be husband Jeff, who worked construction with Carl, lived with the Harrises for about a month.
>> Tracy and I were a lot alike. >> Dawn, who was pregnant at the time, and Tracy, a young mother, quickly became
friends. >> I think that she appreciated having someone, you know, Carl was uh real
controlling and, you know, he didn't want her to have a lot of friends. >> What did you see going on between Carl
and Tracy? So, one time we were uh sitting at the table and she told uh Carl, "Hey, listen. I'm going to need
some money for the water bill." And he flew into a rage. He's got her bent over backwards with his hands around her
throat. >> Did he verbally threaten her? >> He threatened to kill her in front of
me. I intervene. I I'm telling him, "Let her go." >> Did she talk to you about it at all?
>> Yes. She just wanted to be a family. She felt like if she could just get through
the rough stuff, you know, that it would be okay. >> Dawn told police about those
altercations she said she saw and her feelings about Carl. >> Well, they asked me, "So, what do you
know about Carl Harris?" And I said, "Well, I know he's a rat bastard. He was not good to Tracy." He
asked me about fights I'd seen. And I made a statement and I signed it. And every word of my statement was true.
>> There are quite a few people who said that they saw you being abusive to Tracy. Were you abusive to Tracy?
>> No, ma'am. I was not. >> We all saw it. Everyone in town was talking about it. I did my grocery
shopping and I'm in the milk section and there's a couple standing there talking
about it. The husband says, "Well, looks like that boy done finally killed that girl."
Despite all the talk in town, Tracy never filed police reports about the alleged abuse.
>> Back then, the domestic violence law was much different. If the police arrived
and nobody wanted to make a report or there was just no reports done, >> it wasn't just stories about abuse that
made law enforcement take a hard look at Carl. There was that young girlfriend. >> He did have a 17-year-old girlfriend at
the time who several people said he had had conversations with about marrying her. um but that he couldn't leave Tracy
because he'd have to pay child support. >> He also made comments prior to her going
missing and after, including, "Come back whenever. Tracy won't be home." >> Carl admits to having a girlfriend.
>> Honestly, it wasn't their business. >> And talking to her about Tracy, but says
any comments he made were misunderstood. You didn't tell anybody that she wasn't
coming back. >> No, ma'am. I'd never said that. It was just so many things, most of all of
which were circumstantial, but they all pointed at Carl Harris. >> But no arrest was made and the case went
cold. Carl claims that through the years he occasionally called authorities to ask about the investigation, but they
say otherwise. Has there ever been a time that Carl Harris said, "I want you to find out who killed Tracy?"
>> Never. >> Does that strike you as odd? strikes me as very odd. [Music] [Music]
[Music] A lot of people, you know, just assumed Carl would be arrested, assumed that he
did it, and we're waiting for him to be arrested. >> For years, Selena Dodson wondered if
there would ever be justice for her friend Tracy Harris, who in 1990 was found murdered in Alabama's Chhatche
River. Selena's thoughts would often wander to Tracy and Carl's daughter. >> So, I would wonder, you know, I wonder
what happened to Carolyn. I wonder what she looks like. I wonder what she's doing.
>> I was 4 years old when my mom was murdered. When I was four or five, I would cry
nonstop if I would get in trouble and say, "I want my mom. I want my mom." Carolyn was immediately adopted by
Tracy's mother. They soon left Ozark hoping to start over and moved to Texas. >> What did you grow up thinking happened
to your mom? >> I knew my mom was murdered and then as the years went on, I found out that it
it had to do with my dad. >> What did people tell you about him? >> I've always heard that he was very
abusive towards my mom. that he was just a a bad individual. >> Carolyn had no interest in a
relationship with her father whom she did not see while growing up. Her grandmother provided a loving home and
Carolyn says that was more than enough. >> She she was like the best. Like she did
everything for me. [Music] When Carolyn was about 21, she says Carl did reach out and they met, but did not
talk about Tracy. >> Did you want to ask him about her? >> Yeah, I've always wanted to ask
questions, but the way that everybody portrays him to be, I didn't think that he would tell me the truth.
>> Still, Carolyn wondered about her mother, wanting to know what really happened.
>> I have tried to piece it together. That's what I do. I try to I try to piece everything together and make it
all make sense. >> This was definitely something Carolyn was passionate about. She wanted some
type of justice for her mom. When her grandmother died in 2015, Carolyn returned to Ozark to bury her next to
her mother. She started asking people in town what they knew about Tracy and the
investigation. And there was one lady, she said that her son happened to be best friends with the sheriff.
>> Carolyn spoke with the sheriff who put her in touch with the Ozark Police Department. At the same time, the cold
case unit was starting to reopen the investigation. As it turned out, their number one suspect had not changed.
>> There was nobody whose name had ever come up that had any reason to kill Tracy Harris. And I think when they
reopened the case, they were just trying to prove Carl did it, not look for anybody else.
>> And so they went back through all the witnesses that had given statements in 1990. All the ones that they could find,
they got back in touch with. >> Among those who police went back and interviewed, an acquaintance of Tracy
and Carls, >> he said, "The police are so dumb. I could kill somebody and get away with
it." Tracy's aunt >> because it kind of shocked me because I mean he was saying that it was like
Katie is smart police you know >> I was a young naive teenager. >> Investigators also track down that
girlfriend of Carl's who was 17 when Tracy was murdered. >> Did Carl at any time tell you that you
didn't have to worry about Tracy showing up into the house? >> He could have. >> When do you think you said that?
>> I don't know. Although she recalled little about her time with Carl, she did remember learning Tracy was dead.
>> I I just couldn't believe that she was dead. >> And her realization that perhaps her
boyfriend was a murderer. >> I just remember thinking that, you know, people were talking and
it it even took me being questioned to even think that maybe he could have done it. that
after it all happened, we just stopped seeing each other. >> And there was also several people that
they found since then that he had made statements to that were incriminating. >> While police were reinvestigating the
case, Carl was trying to get on with his life. Several years after Tracy's murder, he had left Ozark, feeling like
the cloud of suspicion had destroyed his life. I had to go out of town to get jobs where people don't know me. He
worked as a bouncer in construction, had a girlfriend and another daughter. By 2016, he had moved to South Carolina
where investigators gave him a call. >> I thought it was good news. I thought they found somebody they was looking at.
And when they told me they was looking at me as suspect again, they come up two weeks later arresting me.
More than 26 years after Tracy Harris's body was found, Carl Harris was arrested
on September 13th, 2016 for her murder. >> There's absolutely no evidence at all
that connects Carl Harris to this murder. None whatsoever. >> David Harrison is Carl's defense
attorney. He says Carl's arrest was motivated by politics and nothing more. In 2016 in this area, they were unsolved
murders. They had a lot of political pressure to to charge somebody. The environment of Ozark, Alabama was we
need to do something. >> Were you worried that there was some new piece of evidence that they had?
>> No, I was never worried. Never. Cuz I was innocent. >> Well, Carl may not have been worried.
There was someone who for years was Dawn Beasley, that friend of Tracy's who with
her then fiance briefly lived with the Harrises. >> Every time I would have a police officer
get behind me, I would wonder, is this where we're all of a sudden they know what's happening? This is the moment.
[Music] I've always wondered what happened to my mom since I can remember. For decades,
Carolyn wanted to know more about the 1990 murder of her mother, Tracy Harris. And in 2016, with the arrest of her
aranged father, Carl, Carolyn thought finally she would get some answers. How do you react when the thing you want is
justice for your mom, but it's your dad who's been charged with her murder? It's
a relief that we found somebody, but then in the back of my mind, I'm like, was it really him? Could he have really
done this? Why? >> Motive was also a question prosecutors Kirk Adams and Jordan Davis thought
about as they prepared their case against Carl. >> I don't think there was one particular
motive. I think that the domestic violence was definitely in the back of our heads, but also this 17-year-old
girlfriend that he had. Based mostly on statements from the interviews originally done back in 1990, an
investigator from the Ozark police put together this scenario of what he thought happened the night Tracy went
missing. Quote, "It was determined that Carl Harris left his job at Superfood sometime around 900 p.m. and went to his
home. Carl Harris jumped on top of Tracy Harris and began choking her. Carl Harris then placed her seemingly dead
body into his vehicle and subsequently drove her to the Chuckahhatchee River and placed her body into the water."
Police say Carl then picked up her friend reportedly at 9:30. making all those stops, Carl would have traveled
about 20 miles. >> You can take all the statements of anybody you want to put together in this
investigation here. There is no evidence whatsoever that is true. When you put the timeline to this case, Marine,
unless he was on a le jet, that was impossible. >> Defense attorney David Harrison says the
entire investigation is not just flawed, but that the police narrative is fabricated.
This officer made this up to make this arrest. >> The defense also offered up an alternate
suspect, that friend police say Carl picked up the night Tracy disappeared, named Bobby Herring.
>> Bobby Herring was convicted of raping a woman in a sister county. >> But prosecutors say Herring had an alibi
for the time Tracy was murdered, and they remained confident that Carl was their man. What's different in 2016 that
wasn't there or obvious in 1990? >> I think the major thing was getting these witnesses together, which is what
we did for the grand jury presentation. And once you heard those people, it was very clear that Carl was violent. He had
threatened Tracy. He had said, "One of these days, I'm gonna kill you." Those things just add up. As they prepared for
trial, Kirk and Jordan sifted through statements looking for more potential witnesses to testify. I was actually
three when this happened. So, from 1990 and we're trying to track down witnesses. We were dealing with people
that had moved all over the country. Several had passed away. There was a lot to go through. So, we just kind of
started with a long list and we just started trying to narrow it down. The prosecutors also visited the area
around the river where Tracy's body was found. >> Part of our job is to paint that picture
for a jury. And I just think it's always important to try to get a feel for the area.
>> They spent time on the bridge where police believed Carl threw Tracy into the river.
>> This location is approximately 7 miles from where Carl and Tracy Harris lived.
It's very quiet and very rural. They also went to the area under the bridge where people would sometimes
gather. >> There's a lot of graffiti under this bridge, a lot of names as well. >> Putting the case together was an arduous
process, one filled with continuences and delays. Carl was out on bail having spent two and a half weeks in jail after
his arrest. As confident as the prosecution was, so was the defense. I've tried 140 criminal jury trials. I
know a bad one from a good one. They never had a shot with this case. >> But they maintain that the case was
specifically built on the statements of all the people who said that they saw Carl being abusive to his wife, his
strange behavior afterwards. Was that a concern for you as you were preparing a defense?
>> Never. Never. because the credibility of the people that were going to testify,
they had no credibility. None whatsoever. >> But Carolyn, who traveled to Ozark for
every single hearing, was convinced of her father's guilt. >> I was I was ready to put him behind
bars, ready to see it happen. >> Finally, more than 3 years after Carl's arrest, the trial was scheduled for
January 13th, 2020. The week before trial, Jordan continued to scour over old witness reports, deciding who should
testify. That's when one statement from 1990, not followed up on, caught her attention. The one in particular that we
found that they hadn't talked to in 2016, was this Don Halbert, now Beasley, and she had witnessed domestic violence
while living in their home. What we thought was interesting was that she had witnessed it in the same manner as how
Tracy was actually killed. >> It took Jordan several calls to wrong phone numbers to find Dawn Beasley.
>> And she says, "My name is Jordan Davis. I'm with Dale County DA." This is about
Carl and Tracy Harris. >> Dawn, who had moved away from Ozark and was now divorced, says she didn't even
know there was an arrest for the murder of her friend Tracy until that call. They asked me, "We need you to testify."
And I said, "No, I uh I can't possibly do that. My job is uh very stressful." >> I texted her the next morning and said,
"We really would like for you to come." She texted me back and said that she was
going to decline our invitation, that she couldn't help us. >> So Jordan, for you, this wasn't an
invitation. This is a murder trial. >> I was aggravated. I simply got a subpoena ready and we gave it to our
investigators the next day. She made a scene. It was very dramatic. >> I was very unhappy. I said, "You're
ruining my life and you don't understand why. You guys don't want me to testify.
[Music] [Music] It was unbelievable to me that I should end up with this incredible secret.
>> Dawn Beasley's secret weighed on her when she was asked to testify in the 2020 murder trial of Carl Harris. Dawn
refused to come, saying she was too busy. Then after being subpoenaed, she called prosecutor Jordan Davis again. I
told Jordan, "I have given you completely honest reasons why I don't want to testify. But the most important
reason I can't testify is because you have an innocent man on trial." >> I thought, "Wow, she's coming up with
crazy story as to why she can't get here." And she said, "Well, how do you know he's innocent?" I know he's
innocent because the man that did commit the crime confessed it to me the night he did it. That's my ex-husband, Jeff
Beasley. Dawn told Jordan about the night of March 7th, 1990, when Tracy went missing. Dawn, about to celebrate her
21st birthday the next day, was pregnant with her first child. Her fianceé Jeff came home waking her in the middle of
the night. >> He said, "I I accidentally heard her and now she's dead." "Who?" Tracy, what happened? I went over to
Carl's to talk to Carl. Carl wasn't there. I talked to Tracy. I tried to talk her into leaving him. She got mad
at me. We had a fight. We tussled and I accidentally hurt her and now she's dead.
He said he took her down to the river because he didn't want them to come home and find her body.
>> Dawn says she told Jeff they needed to go to the police, but he insisted they
keep quiet. >> I had an impossible choice to make and I really struggled. Tracy deserves
justice, but the cost was going to be so high. What was the cost going to be if you went to the police?
>> I was going to have to throw my entire life away. I'm about to get married. I'm
pregnant. This baby deserves a chance at a life with a loving family and a mom and a dad.
>> And so Dawn made her decision. She would stay quiet, she says, out of her desire
to keep her life intact and also out of fear that police might not believe her. They're going to ask him some questions.
He's going to deny it. Then what happens to me? >> Dawn says she was honest when police
questioned her after Tracy's body was found and described the abuse. Seeing Carl grabbed Tracy by the throat and
threatened to kill her. >> And every word of my statement was true. They just never asked me, "Who do you
think did it?" I walked out and I do remember the sense of relief because I hadn't actually had to lie.
>> Did it feel like you were lying though by not telling them? >> Sure. I've gone back, Moren, and
questioned that decision over and over and over and over and over again. >> Did you feel badly at all that he was
under such scrutiny and suspicion? I would like to say that I did, but I didn't. Carl made Tracy miserable.
>> While Ozark police questioned Dawn, they never got a statement from Jeff. Even
though they both spent time together living with the Harrises, >> they had a statement from Dawn. And that
was things that they had witnessed while living in the home together. I'm sure they thought that Jeff's statement would
be very similar to Dawn's. But Jeff Beasley should have raised some red flags for police. He had a criminal
record. Dawn met Jeff shortly after he was released from prison, having served four years for burglary and escape
attempts. But Dawn was willing to overlook his criminal past and the information about killing Tracy. They
married and started their own family, keeping the secret to themselves. I never talked about it ever to another
living soul. Not even Jeff. >> You and Jeff never talked about it ever again. >> Never.
>> Never once. >> You just pulled the dark curtain over and that was it. It was done.
>> We just pretended it never happened. >> Were you ever concerned that you might
get into trouble having not gone to the police right from the beginning? >> Sure. Yeah, of course. Dawn says she
worried. Yet, life proceeded mostly as if nothing had happened. Dawn and Jeff would have another child. Her growing
family eventually made her think of Tracy's daughter, Carolyn. I should have been sorry for Carolyn and I was sorry
for me. >> Even after Jeff was arrested again in 1991 for burglary and spent 5 years in
prison, Dawn kept the secret. wanting her family life to be normal when he got out.
>> Jeff comes home from prison, but very quickly I realized that this is not going to be what I anticipated it was
going to be. >> Dawn claims Jeff became abusive. After 13 years of marriage and four children,
she and Jeff divorced. As time went on, she did think about ways to tell authorities what she knew.
Maybe I do it on my deathbed. Maybe I make an anonymous phone call. Maybe I write a letter.
>> But she says the fear of upending her own children's lives always stopped her.
That however changed with Jordan's insistence that she testify at Carl's murder trial. She dreaded what she now
had to do. tell her adult children that their father killed someone and that she
kept it quiet for 30 years. >> The only thing I was ever afraid of was how they were going to respond.
And they responded with support and love and understanding. >> Meanwhile, the prosecutors on the Friday
before the start of the trial were also processing what Dawn had just told them.
I knew we couldn't have a trial Monday because we had to figure out what's going on here.
>> Jeff Beasley's name until they spoke to Dawn was unfamiliar, but they did remember something from that trip to the
river where Tracy's body was found. >> While we were here, we were looking under the bridge and in big huge spray
painted letters was the last name Beasley. But he doesn't mean anything at that time because on the statement, Dawn's
name was Dawn Hbert. It didn't even say Beasley. >> Prosecutors do not know why or who spray
painted the name Beasley under the bridge. Carl Harris's trial was put on hold. Police tracked down his old friend
Jeff Beasley, who was living in Ozark, working as a trucker, and brought him in for questioning. I'm being accused of of
of murder, of of taking someone's life. I couldn't I wouldn't. [Music] Can we really do this? Can we really
solve this for Carolyn? Can we really give her the peace? >> Prosecutors Kirk Adams and Jordan Davis
spent more than three delayedfilled years putting together their case seeking justice for Tracy Harris. Now
with Dawn Beasley's revelation that her ex-husband Jeff told her that he killed Tracy.
>> I appreciate you coming in. >> They hope to learn the truth. Did you uh hurt Tracy in any way? No.
>> Did you? >> Jeff Beasley not only agreed to talk to investigators. >> Yeah. Just have a seat for me.
>> But also to take a lie detector test. >> Are you the person that caused the death
of Tracy Harris that night? >> He maintained his innocence even after being told
>> you did not pass. >> He failed the polygraph. >> I I didn't do this. I I did I didn't do
this. This was not me. For more than four hours, Beasley insisted he had nothing to do with Tracy's death.
>> Seems like you guys are wanting me to say I did something when I didn't. I'm not put I'm not going to put a word in
your mouth. Only you know, >> and that's what I need. >> I don't know. [Music] >> And then
>> I want it done. >> He confessed. We went down to the river >> claiming he and Tracy were having an
affair. >> She said she was leaving call. They wanted me to leave. Dawn said she was telling Dawn.
>> Jeff said he and Tracy had been waiting in the river. >> And we got into an argument.
Was in the river. >> Don't tell me what happened. She went down >> and didn't come back up.
>> But some things in Beasley's story were not adding up. Dawn said Jeff had told
her that Tracy and he fought at the Harris's home. And those who knew Tracy did not believe she was having an
affair. Not one witness we had ever mentioned that she was possibly seeing someone else because it was clear
from the witnesses that Carl wouldn't allow that. >> I cannot imagine that she was cheating
with with Jeff or anyone else. He told me it was an accident. You know, now sitting here, I think that maybe he hit
on her. Maybe she rebuffed his advances. Maybe she said, "I'm going to tell her."
And maybe he freaked out. And made sure she wasn't going to ruin his family. And there was the issue of why Tracy,
known to be terrified of water, would voluntarily go in the river. >> Everybody in the case of knew Tracy said
she was scared of water. >> We went to the river a couple times. >> They also wanted Jeff to explain those
bruises the autopsy noted on Tracy's neck. Mark's authorities felt were consistent with strangulation.
One of the uh pathologist reports uh said that she was possibly strangled. I didn't strangle her. I remember
taking her pushing her underwater. I mean, all tops she says it I guess. >> Was it an accident?
>> Yeah, I would hope. Yeah. >> But police and prosecutors did not believe it was an accident.
And Jeff Beasley was charged with the murder of Tracy Harris. >> He confessed in a way that matches the
evidence. I don't know how many times that happens when you get a confession from the real killer technically 17 18
hours before trial. >> The DA's broke the news to Carolyn. >> Jordan called me to come to the police
station that they had to tell me something and I broke. We finally did it. Like we finally found out who killed
my mom. You could just see so many emotions going through her. She'd been told all
her life, "Your dad did this." But to find out he didn't do it, you could tell not only was she relieved, but you could
tell she was so grateful that somebody had solved this case. On January 13th, 2020, the day prosecutors had planned to
be in court starting Carl Harris's trial. Instead, they held a press conference.
>> I have dismissed the murder case against Carl Harris. An arrest has been made of
54year-old Jeff Beasley of Ozark with the murder of Tracy Harris. >> It hurt our pride that we had the wrong
person. You've got to, you know, check your ego at the door because what's important is the right person got
charged. Carl Harris heard the news that he was a free man from his attorney. >> It just blew my mind. I was happy that I
was standing my ground and I was telling the truth the whole time and they finally caught the boy that did it.
>> Beasley pleaded guilty and received a 30-year sentence. >> Did you ever consider filing charges
against Dawn? >> No. >> There are a lot of people who are going to say maybe she should be charged with
something. I think it was extremely difficult for her to come forward, but the fact is she could have kept that
secret for forever. She could have come up here. She could have lied on the stand.
>> The goal was to find the truth and to seek justice for Tracy Harris. And ultimately, Dawn did that.
>> Was there any relief for you after all this time? >> It was extraordinary relief.
>> For Carl Harris, his relief is mixed with anger. along with his attorney, David Harrison. They held their own
press conference. >> I think it's negligent. I think it's incompetence. We're talking about an
innocent man. >> Alleging that police fabricated information like that investigator's
report describing how Carl killed Tracy. Carl filed notice that he plans to sue the city of Ozark for $6 million for
damages, including false imprisonment and pain and suffering. We wanted to ask Ozark police about the
investigation, but they declined, citing the pending claim. >> We're mortified that we were that close
to putting the wrong man on trial. And we were very confident that we would be able to get a conviction in this case. I
do think about that all the time and that's kind of nauseating to be honest um that we were that close and I think
we we definitely learned a lesson with this case. Tracy Harris's murder more than 30 years ago has left many
wondering what might have been, especially Carolyn. She still has no relationship with Carl.
>> Carl has not come forward and actually been truthful to me about the abuse. And I can't forgive him if he can't be
men enough to look at me and tell me what he did and that he's sorry for it. Caroline's focus remains on the mother
she never had a chance to get to know. >> Everybody I've talked to said that she
was so quiet. She was so modest. She was the sweetest person that they've ever met.
>> Do you wonder what your mom would be like today? >> Every day. Every day. [Music]
48 hours. To miss it would be a crime. >> Were you at all prepared for what happened in this case?
[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]

“48 Hours" reports on investigations that uncovered lies. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "The Pact," "The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee" and "The 30-Year Secret – The Tracey Harris Murder."

00:00 The Pact 43:17 The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee 1:25:02 The 30-Year Secret – The Tracey Harris Murder

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode details the 1969 murder of John McCabe and his family's decades-long fight for justice against his alleged killers.

Key points

Evelyn's Regret. Evelyn McCabe reflects on the moment she let her son go to a dance.
A Long Wait for Justice. Bill McCabe's relentless pursuit of justice for his son spans decades.
The Long Wait. Bill McCabe's family reflects on decades of waiting for justice.
The Final Goodbye. Evelyn McCabe mourns her husband just days after the verdict.
A Mother's Nightmare. Michelle Rene faces a terrifying situation as masked men invade her home.
Lisa's Confession. Lisa admits to being the mastermind behind the robbery, shocking everyone. "Let us know whose idea that was... jokingly mine."

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I tried to strangle myself just to visualize what it felt like.

Evelyn McCabe expresses her anguish over her son's death.

12:35WatchJul 12, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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