Broken Promises | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] Hello 911. Do you have an emergency? >> There's a house that's on fire on the
other side of the fence. There's fire coming out of the window. I think I heard screaming and crying. I don't
know. >> Did it sound like it was coming from the resident? >> Yeah, I think so.
The lead detective called me. He said, "Um, there was an accident in your parents house
and he said, there was a fire. Your parents didn't didn't make it." I just started hysterically crying.
So, I flew up on the first flight um out the next day and that's when they told us um what had really happened. The fire
wasn't an accident. My parents had been shot and the fire was a cover. >> How, why, and who?
>> Neighbors on this usually quiet street are stunned. >> It's not real. I wanted to know why this
happened to Scott and Janet. I wanted to know who did this. They were great people. They were giving people and it's
not the way it's supposed to go. Did your parents have any kind of conflict with people that might want to
hurt them? >> Not that I'm aware of. No. >> It didn't make sense that this could or
would happen. >> How soon did investigators focus on Brandon Pettit as the killer?
>> Instantly, they focused on Brandon as soon as one of the neighbors said, "Oh,
they have a son. That's weird." >> Is there any physical evidence that ties your brother to the murder?
>> No. There is no DNA. There are no fingerprints. There is no blood. But what you do have here is a litany of
statements and actions that point to Brandon. >> The most damaging evidence against
Brandon came out of his own mouth. He's terrible. Um, in his ability to figure out what's appropriate.
>> He referred to his parents as that he wanted his dad dead. I mean, and this is like just a few weeks before the
murder. You have more than once before your parents. I said, "I wish my parents were dead."
>> A lot of people said that about their parents. >> It's clear that your brother isn't like
everyone else, isn't it? >> Mhm. >> He told them he had asberers. >> When somebody's autistic, they're
different than you. He's doesn't act the same way as you or I might act. >> Here's your dad laying on a body bag.
And you know what? You're already past it. >> I'm not past it. He had no emotional
response. You wanted me to break down and cry because I don't normally cry. >> Autism is the reason I focused on him.
It's the reason that they became convinced that he was guilty. >> I don't know who killed my parents. No,
I don't. No. Yes. No. >> Your brother was working that night, right? He has an alibi.
>> Yeah. >> You murdered your parents. I didn't do anything. >> He intended it. He desired it and he did
it. >> I think there's a lot more to this story. >> I loved my parents. >> Words don't make you a murderer.
[Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] The morning of August 8th, 2013 had started out full of promise for then
28-year-old Lauren Pettit living in Los Angeles. >> I remember I had texted one of my best
friends that morning. Today's going to be a good day. >> What's your birthday? What she didn't know was that 300 miles
away in Modesto, California, firefighters have been called to her parents' home at 3:00 in the morning.
Their bedroom had gone up in flames. >> Fire crew is still trying to determine where that fire started. We were told
that three investigators are on scene. >> Lauren's parents, Scott and Janet Pettit, were found dead inside.
How would you describe your mom and dad? You really miss them, don't you? >> They were amazing.
[Music] >> Two of the family's dogs also didn't make it, but one, Bailey, survived. Is
it kind of a miracle she's even here? >> It's insane. Mhm. >> Bailey means a lot to you now.
>> Everything. She's like my lifeline. [Music] Mike Anderson, a close friend of the
family, had arrived at the scene after getting a call that something terrible had happened. When I turned on to Scott
and Janet Street, there was fire trucks, ambulances, and so my heart sank. [Music]
Let's say it's like losing an arm or something. you lose a part of your soul, a part of your body, and that's what it
felt like. This can't be happening. But it was, and things only got worse. Investigators
soon determined the fire was no accident. Scott and Janet had been shot a total of seven times, and evidence of
an accelerant was found throughout their upstairs room. More than 12 hours after
firefighters made the gruesome discovery, police investigators remain sifting through clues in what they are
now calling a pair of suspicious deaths. >> The community lost two people that did more for their
communities than hundreds of people will ever do. Scott was an avid car collector and
owner of a martial arts studio in nearby Riverbank. The local paper once called him citizen of the year. Janet, a
neonatal nurse, had recently earned her PhD. [Music] When you think about your mom, what
comes to mind? >> She was just incredible. You know, very caring and selfless. My dad was very
sarcastic, very witty, loved to give back, loved to help everyone. >> The couple had been in their late 20s
when they first met. Scott was working as a paramedic then. >> I believe the story is he was bringing a
baby in from the ambulance and she was the receiving one of the receiving nurses.
>> The two would later marry and start a family. Lauren was 2 years old when her
brother Brandon was born and the family was complete. >> Your mom writes, "Len was so excited to
have her baby brother home. You do look very happy to have a little brother. >> First kiss from a big sister."
>> I think I thought I had a new toy. Growing up, Lauren says Brandon loved playing pranks on people. But when it
came to career aspirations, that was something he was serious about. What did he want to do?
>> He really enjoyed like firefighting, I guess, just like helping people in some way, shape, or form, like police
force, things like that. >> She says Brandon was smart but struggled socially. Do you remember how old you were when
you noticed any difference with Brandon? When you started realizing that he wasn't quite like everybody else's
little brother? >> Early childhood? Definitely. I was under the age of 10 for sure. Maybe like
sevenish. >> What do you think you first noticed? >> Um him being really stubborn and
disobedient in a sense. >> And she says he had trouble making friends. >> You know, he was almost looked down upon
or looked looked at as if he just didn't fit in and that was hard. >> Was he lonely?
>> I'm sure. >> So lonely, says Lauren, that he would tell stories and make things up just to
get attention. >> I don't think he ever thought that he was telling a story or lying. It was
just, you know, I can do this or I can do that or, you know, I can get this and like, okay, let's come back down to
earth and like, let's figure out whether or not it's reality. >> Scott and Janet had long been aware of
Brandon's struggles. They took him to see numerous specialists. And when Brandon was in high school, he was
diagnosed with Asperers, a developmental disorder affecting his ability to communicate and at times read social
cues. Now, Asperers falls under autism spectrum disorder. with Asperers. I think it's really difficult for him to
be aware of how he's presenting himself and what he's saying and how he's saying
things and how he's reacting to certain things or not reacting and whether or not he's doing what people would
consider the norm. >> So, when Lauren called Brandon, then 25, shortly after they both learned of their
parents' deaths, his unusual reaction, she says, was usual for him. How is he dealing with it
>> in his normal manner, which is, you know, very emotionless when he's sad? Kind of just keeps it all in.
>> But it was a red flag to police, who soon zeroed in on Brandon the day after the murders, before Lauren even got to
see him. Brandon ended up in a police interrogation room for 9 and 1/2 hours. >> And he went along with it.
>> Mhm. And why do you think he was so willing to talk to the police? >> Probably the same reason I was. Like
just wanting answers. >> Brandon was again called in for questioning just over a week after the
murders. Lauren drove him to the station. Did the investigators give you any idea that your brother was a
suspect? >> He was by them, wasn't he? >> Mhm. If you had known what was going on,
if you had any idea your brother was a suspect, would you have taken him over there so willingly?
>> I wouldn't have taken him there, period. We would have had an attorney. >> After nearly 4 hours, police arrested
Brandon for the murder of his parents. >> I think I lost my voice and my breath for a little bit. I was like, "What?
Why? [Music] Just over a week after suddenly losing her parents, Lauren now had to deal with
the news that her brother had been arrested and charged with the murders. >> I think I just started to hyperventilate
and was like, I don't even know what's going on. In addition to Brandon, a man named
Felix Valver had also been arrested and charged. Lauren had never heard of Felix
Valverde, but Brandon and Felix were both members of a group called the Clampers, a more than century old
fraternal organization dedicated to the historical preservation of the American West. But Clampers are also known for
enjoying getting together to drink. I think his the only reason he was a part of that was because he thought they
he thought he would have friends. >> Did your parents ever express concern about any of these people that your
brother might be hanging out with? >> Mm-m. I never heard about them. >> Brandon was staying at his parents
house, but on the night of the fire, he was out working the graveyard shift as a
security guard. And there are people who can say he was there. >> Yep. He has an alibi. boss or his
superior confirmed he was there. >> But his alibi didn't seem to matter to investigators. They believed that
Brandon paid Felix to commit the murders. The alleged motive to inherit his parents' money. But Lauren couldn't
make sense of it. She says Brandon loved their parents and actually benefited more with their parents alive.
>> They paid his bills. My brother didn't even know the value of a dollar. >> If anything happened to your parents,
was your brother going to inherit anything? >> Not that he knew of. Not that I know of
either. >> Police first began looking at Felix after Brandon in his first interview
with police mentioned other friends, but curiously failed to mention Felix. That
led to a search of Felix's apartment, where their suspicions paid off. They found keys to the pet at home, Scott and
Janet's wallets, a box of ammunition, and seven spent shell casings concealed in a planter outside. Significant
because Brandon's parents were shot a total of seven times. Hours later, police called Brandon in for that second
taped interview and confronted him. >> How would he come up with the key and kill your parents? I don't know. Do I
Who gave them to him? I didn't give him. >> But the detective told Brandon that Felix was telling a different story.
>> Felix says she gave me keys. And the keys both fit the garage door and the front door. Brandon, if you think for a
minute that anybody anybody is going to believe your story, including your sister, you're mistaken. And you know
what the thing about Felix is in your life? It makes him more believable. >> He's remorseful.
>> I mean remorseful. >> How does that mean? Sorry. >> The detective also told Brandon that he
had phone records showing that Brandon and Felix spoke the night of the murders.
>> On my break, I was asking him what we're doing for the weekend. Despite the pressure, Brandon repeatedly
denied having anything to do with the deaths of his parents. >> I don't know who killed my parents. No,
I don't. >> No. Yes. No. >> But in that second interview, Brandon made incriminating admissions. Brandon
said that he gave Felix bullets sometime in the weeks leading up to the murders.
He had asked me for the box of bullets that I had because my .22 hasn't been fired in two years because I don't have
a bolt for it. >> And he admitted giving Felix $100 just days after the murders.
[Music] But the most jaw-dropping part of Brandon's story was when he told detectives that about a month before the
fire, Felix had threatened to kill Brandon's parents unless Brandon paid him $10,000.
>> And you haven't told us something that is this important and you're telling us
now? >> I remember in a while. >> You know what? And where'd you go? Did you go to the
police station? >> No. to my parents hallway. >> Oh no. >> Instead, you give a box of bullets.
>> I can see that was a bad idea. >> That was a bad idea. That's a bad excuse. That's an even worse lie.
>> Even if it was the truth, why would Brandon wait 9 days after the murders to tell them all of this?
>> Why? I didn't want to talk to anybody. Did you not want to solve that crime? I
wanted to do it myself. Oh, wow. There's a new one. What did you do? >> I wanted to find out who did it myself.
>> And more damaging, why did Brandon remain friendly with Felix? Not only after the threat was made, but even
after Brandon's parents wound up dead. >> So, he tells you, he's going to kill his
parents. You give him ammunition and then you give him a hundred bucks. He said he had paid his bills and needed
some money. I had a hundred bucks, so I figured I'd help him out. until he got paid. To the guy that just was
threatening to kill with your parents if you didn't pay him money. You're helping
him out. Matter of fact, you're hanging out with him afterwards. All buddy buddy.
>> I didn't believe he would actually do it. >> Investigators were convinced that
Brandon was the mastermind behind his parents' deaths. But Martha Carlton Magna, an attorney appointed to
represent Brandon after his arrest, says the interview proves nothing. >> He didn't have anything to do with it.
He doesn't know what happened. >> She says detectives weren't interested in the truth and they lied to Brandon
when they told him that Felix had already confessed. They've already decided he's the suspect
and they're really trying to feed him a lot of information so that he'll regurgitate it back.
>> She says the detectives knew Brandon had Asberers >> in this whole Asberger thing. I'm not
buying any >> and suggests they mishandled the interview. >> Do you believe they were taking
advantage of his condition? I think they were doing what they always do and because of Brandon's condition, he was
more uh vulnerable to that kind of interrogation. Everything in that second interview needs to be taken with a grain
of salt. >> Lauren agrees and firmly believes her brother's innocent. >> He really is a good person.
>> Does this seem at all in your brother's character to have your parents killed?
>> Not at all. [Music] But Brandon's statements in that interview wouldn't be the only hurdle
that his defense would have to overcome. A young woman by the name of Sarah Wilson had surfaced. In the weeks
leading up to the murder, she says Brandon had been promising her the world, things that only money could buy.
[Music] [Music] Sarah Wilson and Brandon Pettit met when they were in high school, but Sarah says
they reconnected online in the summer of 2013, shortly before the murders. >> We got to talking, seeing how we were
doing throughout the years. >> Brandon had just gone through a messy breakup with a woman named Susan
Sanchez. Susan was pregnant with Brandon's child. >> How did your brother feel about becoming
a dad? >> Very excited. My family was everything to him. So, >> but with his relationship with Susan
over, Brandon was apparently ready to shift his attention to someone new. >> I had some inclinations that he had a
little crush on me, but I didn't pursue anything with them. I didn't give him any hints that I was attracted to him in
that way. That didn't seem to deter Brandon, who ended up making her an offer she
says she couldn't refuse. >> He had mentioned that his parents were going to buy him a million-dollar home
in Georgia, and he said that I can move in with him. I of course said yes. Who wouldn't want to live in a
million-dollar home? I was going through a lot of stuff in my personal life. I just really wanted to
get out of California. As enticing as it all was, Sarah suspected it might be too
good to be true. >> I took it with a grain of salt. I didn't think it was really going to happen.
>> But Sarah says Brandon would send her real estate listings daily. >> Oh, the houses had a shower the size of
my bedroom now. They were just gorgeous. [Music] and he showed her the email conversation
he was having with a realtor, which kind of made me think, okay, this is really going to happen.
>> And the promises didn't stop there. >> He one day mentioned that, oh, my mom,
seeing how happy I am, how excited I am to be moving with you, that after we move, she will open a boutique for you
to run yourself. I did find it kind of strange that his parents would spend this amount of money on a business for
me when I had never met them. Sarah says she thought she'd finally meet them since Brandon told her his parents had
bought plane tickets to take them all to Atlanta to look at homes. But a couple of days before that supposed trip, Sarah
received a strange text from Brandon. I got a text out of nowhere from Brandon saying, "You're getting a boob job for
Christmas, lol." >> The text came in at 10:43 p.m. on August 7th. Just a few hours later, Brandon's
parents were discovered dead. He delivered the news to Sarah the next morning. >> I got a text from Brandon saying, "My
parents died last night in a houseire." I didn't press them for any information.
I just figured that's a touchy subject. His parents had just died. >> On August 9th, after Brandon's first
interview with detectives, Sarah says he called her and they met up. He told me that his aunt had canled the flight
tickets and they just want to keep that under wraps. So, don't tell the detectives that. I thought that was very
odd. That's when I started to think, you know, something's kind of weird. Sarah would later learn there were no
airline tickets, no trip to Georgia planned, and Brandon's parents didn't die in a house fire. They were murdered.
It wasn't long before detectives showed up at her door. >> They just started asking me questions
about Brandon. She told them everything about those million-dollar homes, the supposed trip
to Georgia, and the text Brandon sent promising her a breast enhancement just hours before his parents were killed.
For police, it amounted to a financial motive for murder. But Lauren Pettit believes it actually amounts to nothing.
Do you believe your brother really told her those things? possibly. But I mean, that was just who my brother was.
>> Brandon's defense attorney agrees and says Brandon's conversations with Sarah
shouldn't be given much weight at all. >> That was a fantasy. He was playing out
with a girlfriend to impress her, which he'd always done. >> Brandon actually called a realtor and
actually pinpointed some houses. Is it possible that Brandon decided he was going to make that fantasy come true and
killed his parents so he'd have the money to actually buy that house? >> I don't see that as being realistic. I
see that as being something that Brandon did in order to impress friends. What about
the fact though right before his parents died, he had texted Sarah Wilson and said, "For Christmas, you're going to
get breast enhancement surgery." Just a coincidence, Martha. >> Yeah, >> honestly.
>> Yeah. I'm not sure it was the was the first time he said it either. >> You know, somebody could say, you know,
Brandon lies a lot. He lies to girlfriends. You know, he lies to the police if you're right. How do you know
when to believe Brandon then? >> You don't. Brandon lies a lot and very badly. There's no question about that. So, you
don't you look to the evidence. >> And hard definitive evidence directly tying Brandon to the murder of his
parents, says Martha just isn't there. [Music] Lauren Pettit stood by her brother
Brandon. >> He's so much bigger than I am. >> As he awaited trial, convinced of his
innocence. But as the case dragged on, she was all too aware there was a possibility she might end up losing him,
too. It's a huge burden on your shoulders, isn't it? >> Mhm. I mean, it's not really about me
anymore. My brother depends on me. >> What do you think your parents would want you to do?
>> I mean, fight for my brother, absolutely, cuz that's what they would do. I'd take care of myself.
>> On the 4-year anniversary of her parents' deaths, we were with Lauren as she made the trip to the cemetery.
[Music] On that same day, she visited Brandon in jail as well. >> Instead of it being face to face, it's
video visitation. and I see him on a screen for 30 minutes. >> One court delay after another. It was
seven long years from the time of the murders of Scott and Janet Pettit to when Brandon Pettit's trial finally
began on September 1st, 2020. Cameras were not allowed in court. Defense attorney Robert Winston was now
representing Brandon and he was up for the challenge. I've had a lot of cases over the years. So, the basic case
wasn't that unusual. The fact that Brandon had Aspberers, that put a new dimension on the case.
>> Brandon was initially supposed to be tried alongside Felix Valverity, but about a month before the trial, the
judge made a rare finding that Valverity was incompetent to stand trial. That means the man who may have actually done
the killing is unavailable to the defense. How can Brandon be put on trial when the the person who police believe
actually did the killing is considered incompetent? >> That's our law. >> I mean, is that fair to Brandon?
>> Sadly, fairness rarely enters into it. Valver was placed in psychiatric treatment with the hope that he might be
able to go on trial at a later date. Due to Valver's still pending case, the prosecutor's office declined our request
for an interview. We asked Mary Fuljaniti, a CBS News consultant and former federal prosecutor, to analyze
the state's case. >> You have to look at the totality of the evidence. And as you look at the
totality of his statements and his actions, I think it's very difficult to say he did not plan it. He did not plot
it. He did not desire it. He did not intend it. He did not want it. >> But the physical evidence only connects
Felix Valverde. The prosecution began by calling investigators who detailed all that
evidence found at Felix's apartment. Scott and Janet's wallets, the box of ammunition, those seven spent shell
casings, and most important, they would argue, keys to the pet at home. How would Felix get a hold of the keys to
the house? The keys were given to him by Brandon, and that was so that he could access the house, so he'd get into the
house and and kill his parents easily. The prosecution also called witnesses who knew Felix and testified that he had
obtained a new gun like this one in the weeks leading up to the murders. That gun, however, says defense attorney
Robert Winston, was never found. >> It was a westernstyle 22 revolver. We certainly don't know
that that was the murder weapon. It wasn't recovered. Don't know where it is. We don't even know if that type of
weapon was consistent with the bullet fragments that were found in the bodies. There was no hard evidence of anything.
>> They don't know if a 22 was used to kill the bad. >> What they do know though, and this is
critical in a circumstantial evidence case, they do know they were shot seven times. They found seven 22 caliber shell
casings in a planter outside of Felix Valvverde's house. In an effort to directly tie Brandon to the murders, the
prosecution called Mike Anderson, the Pettit's close family friend, he testified about a conversation he says
he had with Brandon a few months before the murders. >> He just told me, "If my parents weren't
here, my life would be better." Mike says he didn't think much of it at the time. But with Scott and Janet now
gone and Brandon on trial for their murders, that comment carried a whole new weight.
>> I felt like I didn't help him. But I had to tell the truth. It it it was hard. It was sad.
>> And that wasn't all Mike testified to. He also told the jury that in the days
following the murders, Brandon was looking to sell his dad's prized cars, including a 1961 Corvette.
He wanted to sell the vet and move to Georgia. It made me feel very uneasy. It made me
question everything. The prosecution also called Susan Sanchez, Brandon's ex-girlfriend, the
mother of his then six-year-old daughter, who still had a strain relationship with him. She said Brandon
once mentioned that Corvette to her, too. He couldn't wait for his dad to be dead so that it would be all his. And
he's also told Susan Sanchez on at least five or six occasions she testified to that he wanted his parents dead.
>> And there was more. Susan testified she had an ex-husband whom she had mentioned
to Brandon >> and he said, "Look, if you want to make him disappear, I've got a friend, Felix
Velv, who you can pay $500 to and your ex will disappear." Coincidences? Too many. Brandon's high school friend,
Sarah Wilson, also took the stand and testified about all those promises Brandon had made her. And the lead
detective detailed what Brandon had said in that second interview. >> So he tells you, he's going to kill his
parents. You give him ammunition and then you give him 100 bucks. >> He said he had paid his bills and needed
some money. >> It's a circumstantial case. The strongest evidence against Brandon, his
own words and actions before and after the murders. Has there ever been a moment though through any of this that
you've been wondering maybe my brother did it? >> No. But you know, I'm not going to lie.
I'm not naive. I still believe that my brother is innocent. But if someone can prove to me that he's not with actual
evidence, not just words, you know, then it is what it is and I'll deal with that.
>> Brandon did plan and plot the murder of his parents. He wanted the Corvette. He
wanted the house. He did it for money. >> But would Brandon kill the parents he loved and leaned on? The defense has to
raise doubts with their star witness who knows Brandon best. >> You're testifying for someone you love
so much. And in your head, all you think about is what if I say the wrong thing?
[Music] [Music] 7 years after both of her parents were murdered, Lauren Pettit took the stand
to try to save the man accused of killing them, her own brother, now 32 years old.
>> There's so many things going through your head and there's no coaching. There's no nothing. and you're just
here you go. Good luck. >> Defense attorney Robert Winston wanted the jury to see a very different side of
Brandon and his family. >> This was not a family where there was hatred, there was animosity, that there
was a motive to kill. It just didn't exist. >> Lauren described how important family
was to her brother. It was his whole world. >> And the dogs who died in the fire, she
says Brandon loved them, too. >> I have photos and videos galore of him with those dogs. He would skip out on
family vacations just to stay home and make sure the dogs were safe and okay. >> Lauren also questioned the alleged
financial motive, telling the jury that her parents were actually in debt at the
time of their death. And that Corvette that Brandon supposedly wanted, she says it was already partially in his name.
But perhaps the most crucial part of her testimony cast doubt on the prosecution's theory that Felix Valver
got into the pet at home with house keys that Brandon gave him. My parents had a
an extra-large sized dog door um on their back sliding glass door, which is how I had gotten into the house the day
after they passed. It's how the detective told us he had gotten into the house earlier that day, and he was a
much larger man. >> So, the detective himself went through the doggy door, and that was never
considered as the way the killer might have gotten into the house. >> Correct. But then, how did Felix get
those keys to the pet at home? >> I think the keys were probably in my parents' wallets.
>> Lauren says her parents had digital door locks where you punch a code to enter.
But in the event the battery powered locks died, she says her parents kept spare keys tucked inside their wallets
and left those wallets out in the open on the kitchen counter. >> Picture it this way. Felix Verd goes to
the house. He crawls in. Now he's inside. He sees a purse. He sees a wallet. He either thinks, "I'll get
these on the way out." Or he picks them up right then. And he goes upstairs and he does what he
does. But when he picked up the wallet of Scott Pettit, it had a key in it. When he picked up the wallet of Janet
Pettit, it had a key in it. >> If Brandon didn't hire Felix, if he didn't ask him to kill his parents, why
would Felix do it on his own? >> Two motives. One, Felix thought there was money in the house. The other theory
is that he heard Brandon say these things about his parents and he thought that Brandon would be happy with him.
But there was one big problem with the defense's theory. In a section of Brandon's videotaped interview not shown
in court, he admitted giving Felix the keys. >> I know how he got the keys, >> you know. Okay. How did he get the keys?
>> I got the keys. I never intended him to actually do anything. >> He was supposed to scare them. Okay. Not
hurt them. Okay. It was an admission that could destroy his defense. Brandon actually admitted that he sent Felix to
his home to convince his parents to stop contacting his ex-girlfriend Susan. But
because Brandon said it after he had asked for a lawyer, the judge didn't allow it in as evidence. And as bad as
it sounds, defense attorney Robert Winston claims that Brandon made it up in an effort to end the interrogation.
>> It seemed as though Brandon was saying, "I'll tell you anything you want to hear. Just let me out of here."
>> Winston was determined to show the jury why they shouldn't believe much of what
Brandon said. He called Dr. Laura Guyger, a clinical psychologist appointed by the court who testified
that Brandon's asberers could explain his questionable statements and behavior. Dr. Guyger, does she believe that that
Brandon's Asberger's autism interfered in that police interview to his detriment?
>> Absolutely. People with autism take information in differently than we do. So when the police ask a question,
there's always the worry, is it really understood? >> Winston was feeling optimistic when
after nine days of testimony from 23 witnesses, the case went to the jury. Deliberation stretched on for about a
day and a half and then a verdict. guilty. Our camera caught a glimpse of Brandon
as he was led out of the courtroom. How did your brother react to the verdict? >> He was shocked
and then really scared. >> Scared of what? >> His future. Four months later, Brandon was given the
maximum sentence, two life terms without the possibility of parole. Lauren was devastated.
>> It was hard not to feel paternal towards her. >> She's lost everything, hasn't she?
>> Really? Yes, she has. >> Lauren remains convinced her brother is innocent. She hopes one day Felix Valver
will go on trial and maybe then she'll get the answers she's looking for. Do you think Felix Valverde killed your
parents? >> I think he probably had something to do with it. >> Felix has pleaded not guilty and his
attorneys declined our request for an interview. As Lauren begins to pick up the pieces,
she sadly no longer has her dog Bailey to comfort her. He passed away in 2019. Now, a new friend, Jelly, is helping to
put a smile back on her face. And yet, nothing and no one will ever fill that void left by the loss of her once
close-knit family. What do you miss the most about your parents? >> Everything. My dad's jokes,
my mom tirelessly working to, you know, make sure I'm okay. Would give anything to happen back.
[Music] 48 hours. Don't miss an episode. [Music] [Music] Las Vegas is the adult Disneyland of the
world. >> People come here to play. Adults come here to play. The other side of that is
there is a community here that services that glitz and glamour that go to work 9 to5, run the banks,
run the police department, run the fire department, and have just steady jobs. >> That's George, you know, an all-around
great guy to hang out with. and help you get the job done. >> He's just a very, very kind, generous,
and giving person. And that's the George TFA I know. [Music] >> Well, Shauna was so young at heart and
she was so fun and she always made me laugh. >> She looks like Barbie, you know, blonde,
beautiful. >> Always had the long hair, you know, just looked perfect like a little China doll.
Well, George and Shauna met in the casino environment. He saw this blonde person whizzing past him all the time.
She was such a hard worker that he really admired that she was his world. That was his his life. And then when
their daughter came around, they just the cutest trio ever. >> We're at the beach. Okay, we're
>> Matty's first time at the beach. >> Turning everybody around. >> Turning us around. Maddie was just the
light of her life. It was really her number one priority. >> Nice day today. >> She was just all in, you know, 100%
there. >> A little baby. >> They were like a little cocoon. George was so protective. He waited on them
hand and foot. He really did. In the early morning hours on September 29th, 2012, Shauna TFA would have gotten
off work from being a cocktail waitress at a local casino. She went home, parked her car in the garage, entered
her house, a killer snuck up behind her, and beat her to death with a hammer inside her own living room. Were you
worried that someone was targeting casino women? >> Yes. >> We were all so scared that, you know,
this person was still out there. Was somebody stalking her? Was somebody obsessed with her?
Maybe they're going to, you know, come after one of us. >> I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 Hours,
Vengeance in Vegas, [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] >> Shauna TFA. A loved to laugh and sing
with her daughter. >> When she was with Maddie, it was like nothing else was going on around her. So
dedicated and so concerned. >> Shauna's murder has been a devastating loss for her sister Paula Stokes
Richards and her husband John. >> She just laughed at life. You know, she had this innocence. It's sad because I
just miss her and for something like this to happen to her is just it's unimaginable.
[Music] >> Shauna Tf, a Mormon born in Salt Lake City, was 28 when she moved here to Las
Vegas. But to Shauna, Vegas was more than one big glitzy party. It was a city of opportunity. And it wasn't long
before she got a glamorous job as a cocktail waitress at one of the hottest casinos in town.
[Music] >> She loved the Palms. I think she really felt like the Palms was a a family
environment, which might sound contrary to what you would think, but I think the
the people that worked there were really like family and they looked after each other. I never hardly saw like Shauna
with a frown or anything. She was just so bubbly and laughing at everything. >> Cindy, Randy, and Sienna all worked
alongside Shauna for about 10 years. >> She loved her job. >> She loved cocktailing.
>> And customers love Shauna. She made close to $100,000 a year in salary and tips, often paid in casino chips, which
in Vegas is the same as money. In 2002, Shauna hit the jackpot when she met George TFA at the Palms. George was a
star athlete and homecoming king at his California high school. >> Just to look at him, he's very handsome,
very charismatic. What more could you ask for? >> In fact, George is a West Point graduate
who served in the Army Corps of Engineers. Maria and Bernardet are George's sisters.
>> He likes to serve people. That's what attracted him to being a fireman. >> And George is so handsome, he was even
featured in this firefighter pinup calendar. The all-American boy he sounds like.
>> Yes, he was. He looked like it. He acted like it. He was that guy. >> His sisters also say George is a devoted
family man who sent money home to help their mom care for their disabled younger sister.
>> If you need a helping hand, there he is. George and Shauna started dating. >> George was in love.
>> Oh, yeah. Head over heels. Yeah. Yeah. She was his world. That was his life. >> And life only got better for George and
Shauna. Just one year into their relationship, Maddie was born. >> Hey, there's daddy. There's Daddy and
Mama and little baby. Look all of us. Three years later, they were married in Hawaii.
>> Mama and Dad just got married. There's Shauna Castleton. >> TF. >> Now she's TFA. Look at that dress on.
Mama. Woo. What a smoking body. >> They really suited each other. It was really nice. They were both hardworking
people. They're both good-looking people. They made a lovely couple. >> But looks, as they say, can be
deceiving. After two happy years of marriage, things started to change. When George lost money in the housing market
crash, Shauna told friends he had become jealous, controlling, and critical of her.
>> He would tell her that she dressed like a [ __ ] when she would get dressed for
work in front of Maddie, which of course would tear Shauna apart, you know, for her little girl to hear these things.
>> Shauna also complained when George brought a homeless man into their lives who he paid to do odd jobs around the
house. Her friend Stephanie Vargas. >> You should call him creepy. God, he's so creepy. Why is he around my house?
>> But George's friend from West Point, Rock Ryder, says he was as kind-hearted as he was handsome. And befriending the
homeless was something he had done for years. >> Every Thanksgiving, he he'd be serving
soup to the homeless people. Just a very, very kind, generous, and giving person.
>> But even though he had a gracious heart, the strains continued in the marriage.
And after nearly 10 years of being together, she had enough and moved into this townhouse. They shared custody of
Maddie. But Shauna was reluctant to file for a divorce. >> She was sad. Her family was breaking up and this
isn't something that she wanted. She wanted the picket fence and the husband and the daughter.
She wanted the fairy tale and the fairy tale was falling apart. [Music] Determined to save their marriage,
Shauna and George both agreed to start seeing a marriage counselor. >> I think Shauna was an eternal optimist.
You know, she just kept hoping that things were going to get better. >> Then weeks before her murder, Shauna's
townhouse was burglarized. Her wedding ring was missing. Strangely, a pair of her bathing suit
bottoms were taken. And strangest of all, the robber left something behind. A pair of boxer shorts, size small.
>> Did this burglary, did it shake her up? >> It did. >> But I just don't think that in her mind
she ever thought that any harm would come to her. >> But in an ominous twist of fate, just
three weeks later, someone was back in her house. this time waiting for her. It is now the early morning hours of
September 29th, 2012. This is Shauna, seen on casino surveillance video clocking out at 3:01 a.m. These are the
last images of her life. After a 30inut drive, Shauna arrives home, letting herself in through the garage.
>> She enters into the hallway. It's dark. There's no light. >> Dan Long and Terry Miller are
investigators with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. >> She moves towards the stairway to go
upstairs to her bedroom >> when suddenly Shauna was attacked by someone wielding
a hammer. >> Her hands were up at some point uh to protect her head in her face. Her
fingers were broken and she was savagely beaten with this metal head of that hammer. until she was dead.
>> At approximately 9:00 a.m., George and Maddie arrived to pick something up when
they walked in and he discovered Shauna's badly bludgeoned body. George immediately called 911.
>> 911 emergency. >> I think I need to report a a break-in in a murder. My wife.
My wife is uh on the floor, bloody, stiff, not moving. >> Naturally, George is going to be our
number one suspect. A woman that he separated from, he finds dead inside of an apartment.
>> Detective Miller interviewed George in a police car at the scene. >> She was lying on the floor.
>> She was covered in blood. I just want to die. and she was surprised with what he
told her. >> What shift did you work yesterday? >> A 24-hour shift. >> He said he was on call at the firehouse
before he picked Maddie up. Mattie had spent the night at her grandmother's house while Shauna went to work.
>> He had an alibi. >> And what did that tell you? >> He's not our killer. [Music]
[Music] It's not just Dan and I. >> You want a full mag in the weapon? >> Yeah. >> We had our entire team with this
>> muzzle down. Lead detectives Terry Miller and Dan Long of the Las Vegas Metro Police had their work cut out for
them. >> The obvious initial suspect in a case like this is the husband, but George TFA
had that airtight alibi. >> They learned right away that he was at work at the fire station and was not the
man that killed Shauna. Shauna's murder was brutal and chilling. >> I remember thinking, do we have a sexual
predator? >> And you got to be wondering to yourselves, do we have some sort of monster out there on the streets?
>> Yes. Uh we're like, who are we looking for? Are we looking for a male? Are we
looking for a female? But 48 hours into the investigation, detectives get a crucial tip from an
unlikely source. William Penn, known as Big Will. >> I've been trying to live a straight life
under the hands of the Lord. >> Big Will had lived in Las Vegas for years, working as a maintenance man at
an apartment complex. He got an urgent call from a friend. >> He said, "Uh, Big Will, I need to talk
to you. The friend came to see him and dropped a bombshell. He just murdered a woman.
When he told you that he had killed this woman, what was the expression on his face?
>> He was happy. Happy like he just completed a mission. A mission to where he's going to get paid a lot of money.
He's going to leave town and live a happy life like that. >> Did he tell you how he killed this
woman? >> Yeah. Yeah. He told me that. He was laughing when he said it. He said, "Uh,
I hit this woman with a hammer over and over and over and over until a hammer broke." The man who called Big Will was
nicknamed Greyhound because he was lean and fast and lived in a tent in the foothills far from the glittering lights
of downtown. Greyhound was an ex-con and Big Will was helping him straighten his
life out. But after the two men spoke, Big Will's mission became bringing Greyhound to justice.
>> This is a damn tragedy. I said, "So if I hear this on the news tomorrow morning, the best thing I can
do is follow his tracks, try to hunt him down so that I can try to bring some kind of
closure to this woman's family." A gorgeous cocktail waitress, a mother, brutally murdered in her own home.
>> That was it. A woman murdered. And Big Will knew exactly what he had to do. He
called police. At first, detectives Long and Miller were skeptical. >> Initially, I was thinking to myself,
"You've got to be kidding me. He is giving this story about this man who lives up in the mountains in a tent who
is homeless. And it's kind of a crazy story. >> Crazy. But cops felt they had to check
it out. Big Will told them Greyhound often walks miles from his desert tent to this Albertson's grocery store where
he'd been spotted before stealing food. So right away they went with Big Will to
look for him. >> I got out of the vehicle and went in to talk to the Albertson's employees in
hopes that they would know who somebody named Greyhound that matches this description is.
>> Big Will knew Greyhound sometimes sold drugs at the Chevron station right next
door. Then a stroke of luck. >> I see Greyhound. He says, "Hey, Big Will, what you doing
over here? So I said, "Wait one minute. I'll be right back." >> Big Will then whispers into my ear and
goes, "That's Greyhound." We got lucky. To the grace of God, he was there. >> I'm like, "This can't be happening." I
walk outside. I want to get as close as I can to him before he identifies me as a police officer.
>> Cops identified themselves and immediately find drugs in Greyhound's possession. So, they take him to police
headquarters. and he's volunteered to come to our office and help us with their investigation.
>> Greyhound's real name is Nol Stevens. He denies he has anything to do with Shauna
TFA's murder. >> I have nothing to do with it's not me. You have the wrong guy. He tells us that
he does live in the desert. He has a tent. >> All right. Meet you there. >> All right.
>> While Greyhound is held on drug charges, a massive police search is launched to
find his campsite. Terry and I walked in that fence. We had to climb through that fence. That was
tough. This case came down to shoe leather. We ran it all down. Right on top of that
little hill was where his tent was. [Music] It was out here in these rocky desert
foothills about 8 miles from the Vegas strip, which is behind me, that detectives making their way through this
treacherous landscape, discovered some important evidence. >> We brought a helicopter with us and a
bunch of people to search and we searched every one of these hills. >> Remote. >> Remote. Yes. I walked past a small shrub
and rolled up underneath of the shrub was a pair of pants and looked out of place.
>> Detective Sam Smith had found a crucial piece of evidence near the campsite. A
pair of Steven's pants. They were bloody. Police tested them on the spot. >> And what did you learn later about the
blood on those jeans? Whose blood was it? >> Uh that was uh Shauna TFA's blood. Back at headquarters, police confronted
Nol Stevens with what they had found. Then they used an old trick to pry more information out of him. A lot of people
don't know this. Investigators are allowed, I'll use this word, to mislead a suspect.
>> No, we're allowed to lie. >> They bluffed Greyhound, saying someone fingered him for the murder.
Stevens stuns the detectives by admitting he killed Shauna TFA. But why? More clues were found when police
examined Null Stevens cell phone. >> What kind of numbers do you find on that phone?
>> We find a guy by the name of George in his cell phone. And when we ask him who's George, he says that's my friend,
the firefighter. >> George was George TFA, Shauna's husband. And null Stevens was that homeless
handyman who had caused friction in the TFA marriage. >> We looked at each other and
>> Bing bing bing bing bing. You hit this is Vegas. You just hit the all sevens,
right? Yes, we did. >> Exactly. Yes, we did. [Music] [Music] There's mama. She's looking hot with the
shades on. As soon as she heard about the tragic murder of her beautiful sister, Paula Richards and her husband
John immediately had one suspect in mind. >> Look at everybody. >> We all thought that George was involved,
but we couldn't figure out how he did it. So, they decided to call George, who was still standing outside Shauna's
townhouse with police. >> So, I thought we need to record this. >> Hello, >> George.
>> Yes, sir. >> This is This is Paula. Can you tell me what's going on? >> passed away.
>> And what did they do to her? >> God, I don't know. She's laying on the floor with blood on her head.
>> How are is she still Is Shauna's body still there? >> Yes, I think so. >> God,
there's Daddy and Mama. >> George then hands his cell phone to a grief counselor.
>> No one else can hear what I'm saying. Correct. >> Correct. >> Paula then makes a startling accusation.
I have my suspicions that her husband may be involved in this based on, you know, many, many conversations I've
had with my sister. Um, I I highly suspect that he may be involved. >> The day after the murder, the couple
caught the first flight to Las Vegas from Nashville. When we landed on the flight out to Las Vegas, we had both
shifted into this investigator mode. >> While John and Paula were conducting their amateur investigation,
detectives Miller and Long were continuing their professional one. >> You see the telephone poles right along
there. >> Armed with a good luck charm, a casino chip that belonged to Shauna. And I
said, "I want you to hold on to this because this has allowed me to feel like Shauna is near us and uh you can give it
back to me when you get an arrest." >> Soon into their investigation, detectives had discovered dozens of
phone calls between Null and George before the murder. >> You said 87 calls. >> That's That's correct. 87 phone calls in
one month. That's more than I talk to my husband. >> TFA and Stevens met years earlier when
both were living on this middle class street. Null at his sister's house. >> This house right here is the sister's
house was where null was living. >> And the TFAS down the block right down here.
>> Yes. N got to know George, asked him if he could do yard work for George. >> Cops soon learned from N. Stevens their
relationship was complicated. Null idolized George. He genuinely thought that he and George were very, very close
and would never turn on one another. >> But detectives believed George was manipulating his friend who may have
suffered from mental illness. >> He has a pawn. He has a an implement, a tool in in the in Null Stevens, and he's
going to use that tool. >> Big Will told detectives that George gave N. Stevens $600 in cash to kill
Shauna with the promise of thousands more to come. He said, "Well, uh, he gave me a key to
get in this lady's house and I murdered her and my heart dropped." And I said, "What?" I said, "You just signed
yourself a death warrant. You don't know if this man is going to try to kill you
or what." When cops were scouring Nol Stevens desert campsite, another intriguing clue they found was a barcode
tag. They scanned it. It matched the style of hammer used to kill Shauna. >> We figure out that Lowe's sells those
hammers. >> That launched investigators on a tedious mission, reviewing hundreds of hours of
video surveillance tape. Finally, they hit pay dirt when they spotted George and N. Stevens shopping
together for hammers. We have our definite connection between null and George. >> Stevens was singing to cops like a
canary. >> So, he gave you a road map and you're following it and you're finding exactly
what he said you'd find. >> Absolutely. >> Even leading them to where he had buried
the murder weapon. this hammer which broke in two during the brutal attack >> and um there was blood on it.
>> They also discover a possible motive for murder. Money. >> New floors, new carpet, new bathtub, new
sink, new dishwasher. >> Mama's happy about that, huh? >> Shauna liked to spend it and George
liked to save it. There are some financial transactions that appear like he's trying to hide money uh through his
mom. >> With the news tightening on George TFA, detectives meet with his family 9 days
after Shauna's murder. >> So, at the end of the interview, I tell mom and sister that George is involved
in killing Shauna. >> How do they react to that? >> It's traumatic to them. >> No, no, no. They're crying. They're
telling us that we are absolutely 100% wrong. >> Minutes after that conversation, police
who had George under surveillance and were monitoring his phone calls overhear his sister calling him. Suddenly, George
jumped back into his truck and took off quote unquote like a bat out of hell. >> George weaves erratically through city
traffic and onto the Summerland Parkway. He accelerates to 90 mph and smashes headon into a barrier.
Cops believe it was a suicide attempt. >> He's trying to end his life right now because he can't face the fact of what's
going to come. >> Amazingly, George survived the crash because cops say he was wearing a seat
belt. He was rushed to a local hospital where detectives later arrested him. >> And I said, "George, you're under arrest
for the murder of your wife, Shauna TFA." And his reaction was simply to look up from his hospital bed and say,
"Okay." >> That's when police also charged Null Stevens with Shauna's murder. >> Whoa, look at this. There's Shauna
Castleton. >> TFA. >> Now she's TFA. Wow. She looks >> It was um >> a feeling of relief. Um all we wanted
was justice for Shauna. >> Are we ready to arraign Mr. TFA? >> We are. >> Detectives believe George TFA was just
one step away from getting away with it all. >> Commit the murder and then do away with
null. If he can get that done in the right way, he's gonna commit the perfect crime.
>> But George is steadfastly maintaining his innocence. >> State versus no Stevens.
>> And prosecutors are worried about their key witness, Nol Stevens. >> He's at the heart of the murder
conspiracy. Right. >> He is a very important factor in the case. He >> he's mentally ill, right? He has a
violent criminal history and he's your star witness. You know, the defense wants him to be
our star witness. George TFA's defense attorney, Robert Langford, knows how to take command.
Whether as an actor in front of a live theater audience, [Music] >> or before a jury in a sin city
courtroom, >> there's circumstantial evidence and there's direct evidence. And now
Langford is front and center in a case that even a playwright would find difficult to imagine.
>> It's good story. It's real interesting, but it's not evidence yet in the case.
>> Who is responsible for the murder of Shauna Tf? >> Nol Stevens. Null Stevens says he is. Null Stevens
beat her to death with a hammer. Was he hired by George TFA to do that? >> There's no evidence of that.
>> It's been 3 years since the murder and Shauna's family and friends like Lacy Green are apprehensive.
>> I'm not confident. It's very scary not knowing what's going to happen. >> I fear that he will be found innocent.
>> At no point during the communication with the police does George TSA ever mention null Stevens. In his opening
statement, prosecutor Mark Djakamo knows he has to make Nol Stevens and George TFA partners in crime.
>> He calls Null Stevens 87 times in the month of September. >> The prosecutor's biggest challenge will
be getting a jury to believe George TFA is capable of murder. You're going up against an all-American boy. That's a
tough challenge. >> It is. As a prosecutor, it's highly unusual to have the resume of George TFA
and then him be a murder suspect. >> I think George TFA is someone who had numerous successes in his life.
>> Pam Wickerly, assistant Clark County DA, has scrutinized what she thinks makes
TFA tick and what may have driven him to murder. >> When his marriage is crumbling, I think
that's something that he just can't cope with. the idea that he wouldn't have complete control over his daughter and
Shauna. Ultimately, >> unraveling the complicated tale of George TFA's intertwined relationship
with Nol Stevens is left to prosecution witnesses. Big Will Panics remembers exactly what Stevens told him the day
Shauna was killed. >> He said, "I got something to tell you." And I said, "Well, what is it?" He said,
"Uh, I just, uh, murdered a woman." And right then and there, I said, "You've got to be a damn fool."
>> Did you believe everything that Null Stevens Greyhound told you? >> Uh, it depends on the the day.
>> Yet, Pennix admits under defense questioning that trusting what Stevens has to say is a dubious prospect at
best. At a scale of one to 10, I would put him at a scale of maybe one and a half.
>> 10 being very honest and zero being >> one and a half meaning not honest at all. That's correct.
>> And prosecutors admit that honesty may be the least of null Stevens problems.
>> He's an alcoholic. He's told a tunnel of lies before and oh, and he's a multiple
time felon on top of it. Despite all that, the courtroom falls silent as a very differentl looking null Stevens,
perhaps the most unlikely star prosecution witness in Clark County history, takes the stand.
>> He looks like a maniac. I I literally felt like my heart dropped into my stomach when I saw him walk through that
door. Stevens, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to Shauna's murder, agreed to testify against TFA once prosecutors in a
pre-trial deal promised not to seek the death penalty against him. >> Where did you grow up?
>> I California. >> When you get nervous, do you have sometimes a little trouble speaking?
>> I said, >> "And you guys, are you thinking to each other, are we nuts?" Yes. >> I don't know if we're thinking it to
each other. We're we're saying it to each other. >> How did you meet George? >> But Stevens soon settles in and prodded
by Dejakamo recites details of his relationship with TFA. >> Are you just doing work for him or is
there something? >> What kind of things have you done together? >> We worked out stuff like that. He
recounts breaking into Shauna's townhouse three weeks before her murder and admits he's the one who left behind
those size small boxers. >> Who told you to make it look like a robber? >> George did.
>> And without a hint of remorse, Stevens coldly describes how he killed Shauna with that hammer.
>> I hit her in the head. >> What happens when you come out that door and you're holding that hammer? She
tells me why I'm doing this. >> She says, "Why are you doing this?" >> Yes. >> Who told you to kill Shonah?
>> George. >> He is a a zombie parrot in that he had a response which was always, "George.
George did it. George told me. George." Itching to cross-examine Stevens, Langford rips right into him, getting
the state star witness to admit he not only hears voices, >> but has visions. >> Cuz I hallucinate.
>> What kind of hallucinations? >> I see uh sh sometimes. >> Sometimes. Yes. >> Do you see other people?
>> Sometimes. >> Do you hear voices? >> Yes. Nol Stevens is the craziest person I've ever seen take the stand. What is
reasonable doubt if not Null Stevens? >> I think the more null talks uh the more
believable he is. It seemed impossible to me that he could have fabricated this notion of a conspiracy with that level
of detail uh unless it really happened. Prosecutors replace some of the most damning evidence. That footage of George
TFA and Null Stevens buying hammers, knives, and other items. >> You have this defendant buying two
hammers in 5 days. >> TFA himself sits calmly through the trial, showing no emotion. He never
takes the stand. >> They have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. and they didn't. So,
there's no reason to put George on the stand. >> The only defense witness, TFA's sister,
Maria. >> In all the years that you've known George, have you ever known him to be a violent
person? >> Never. Ever. Ever. >> I have no further questions. >> Along with TFA's family, friends from
his childhood and West Point days are in court to show their support. I'm here because I'm willing to stand behind and
defend George's character. >> George is not the person that is being depicted by the prosecutor.
>> After a week-long trial, hearing from some 40 witnesses and with 400 exhibits
in evidence, 12 jurors will now decide the fate of George TFA. Juror Roy Wright had questions. Were they just buying
these things for null to be a handyman with, or were they buying them for a murder?
>> My fear is that that the defense is able to discredit null enough that it causes
reasonable doubt. [Music] >> So cute. >> Oh, look. You can clap. Good girl. [Music]
It has been 3 years since Shauna Tf was found brutally murdered. And today, her family hopes their long, agonizing wait
will end in justice. >> I'm just on pins and needles. You know, my stomach has been in knots for days,
and I don't think I've ever been so nervous. >> A jury will decide if George TFA was the
mastermind behind his wife's murder. George TFA is the evil one. >> On one side of the courtroom sits
Shauna's family. Some are dressed in her favorite color, pink. On the other side
sites supporters. His sister, Bernardet, takes a moment to pray. >> He's been called a monster.
People call him a monster. It's just ridiculous and shocking. After three long days,
finally a verdict. >> The clerk will read the verdict. The defendant will rise. We the jury in the
above title case find the defendant George MTFA as follows. Count one, conspiracy to commit murder. Guilty
>> guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and firstdegree murder. Seven counts in
all. George stands silent with the same emotionless stare. he has had throughout
the entire trial. >> Guilty of robbery with a deadly. >> His family is simply devastated.
>> Murder with you. >> In your opinion, was an injustice done here? >> Yes, because I believe that the evidence
showed reasonable doubt. >> Paula, who knew from day one that George was behind her sister's murder, is
humbled. It was almost three years ago that Shauna was brutally murdered and we're so happy that justice was served.
>> Prosecutor Mark Takamo says he never lost sight of his good luck charm. That casino chip that belonged to Shauna and
given to him by her family. >> And for you, what did that chip represent? >> It represented their hope of justice.
You know, it sat on my computer for 3 years and uh when I walked over for the verdict, I put it in my pocket.
>> Everyone deserves mercy. >> At his sentencing, a jury must decide George's fate. Life in prison or life
with the possibility of parole in as soon as 20 years. >> We hope he gets the maximum penalty.
George is a controller, a manipulator, and I think the worst hell for him will be staying in prison the rest of his
life and not being able to control anything. >> Paula takes the stand to remind the
jurors of her loss. >> Shauna's greatest joy in this world was being a mother. I remember her always
running her fingers through Mattiey's ponytail, and she would call her little monkey.
>> I would call Maria. George's family and friends also speak, hoping their words
will persuade the jury to show mercy. >> George is one of the best of us. He's hardworking, compassionate. You will not
find a better firefighter on the job than than George. >> I'm George's brother. That's pretty much
who I am. >> How did you feel about that? >> I was proud. >> Clerk will read the decision.
>> The sentence >> impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. George TFA will
spend the rest of his life in prison >> next month. >> Juror Roy Wright says that while null
Stevens is troubled, they never doubted his story. >> I think the general consensus was he
wasn't really smart enough to make up a elaborate story that would fit the timeline so perfectly.
>> And the jury also believed this witness. >> I said, "Praise the Lord. Justice has
been served." Big Will, who jumpst started the investigation. >> Is Big Will a hero in this case to you?
>> He is and he doesn't believe in being an individual who turns a friend in. Uh but
when he heard the story from null, he felt a moral conviction to make the phone call and for that you know he is a
hero. >> With the trial behind them, Paula and John Richards worry about Shauna's
daughter, Maddie, who is now 11 years old. She has lost both of her parents. Maddie lives with George's mom, but
Paula and John visit her often. >> I'm sure she was hoping her daddy would come home, but when she's old enough,
I'll explain to her why that's not the case and why it shouldn't be the case. >> Oh, fun to ride. One more.
>> This is her birthday dress. Sometimes when we're talking about Shauna with Maddie, I can tell when
Maddie is reflecting in her face that she laughed a lot with her mom. I can't explain it, but I know that Maddie found
a lot of laughter, you know, with Shauna. >> You're so pretty. What a pretty girl.
[Music] [Music] Day eight in the Alec Murdoch. >> Day nine of the double >> Week three of the ALEC 100 hours of
testimony. >> This is the 14th day of the trial drags into week four. The defense called more witnesses.
>> Day 22 of the Alec Murdoch. >> Week six, day 25. And the double murder trial of Alec Murdoch continues in
college. >> Alec Murdo is on trial for the double homicide of his wife Maggie and his son
Paul near the dog kennels of their family's hunting estate. Local media has called it the trial of the century in
South Carolina. It has attracted media from across the world. murder their family.
>> Alec Murdoch used to be a really predominant lawyer in South Carolina and is a member of this very powerful legal
dynasty. >> On the evening of June 7th, 2021, his son Paul Murdoch was standing in a small
room in some kennels they had on the property. The defendant over there, Alan Murdoch, took a 12 shades shotgun and
shot him in the chest and the shoulder. But after that, another shock went up under his head and did catastrophic
damage. >> The lead prosecutor for the state is Kraton Waters. >> Just moments later, he picked up a 300
Blackout AR style rifle and opened fire on his wife Maggie. Pow pow and killed her instantly. Alex Murdoch's claim is
that he ate dinner with his family, took a nap on the couch. He goes to visit his
mother, comes home just after 10 p.m. and finds his wife and child shot and killed.
>> This is Alex, my wife and child. Copy. I'm going on scene. His immediate reaction was to start telling me about
an incident that had happened with his son with a boating accident. >> My son was in a boat wreck
months back. He's been getting threats. I know that's what it is. I'm Seth Stoton. I'm a law professor at the
University of South Carolina. Paul Murdoch was on a boat with some other individuals. There was drinking. The
boat crash and one of the individuals on the boat, Mallerie Beach, was killed. >> They told you that it was just random
vigilantes from the boat case of which there is no evidence whatsoever. They were alleging that Alec wanted to murder
his wife and son because he wanted to hide the fact that he'd been stealing millions of dollars from his law firm
and his clients for years. This is a spreadsheet referencing each client and the amount that was stolen from each
client. $225,7346. $112,500. $338,56.14. >> And why did y'all have to pay all that
money back? because Alec had stolen it. >> The facts are what matter here. The facts.
>> Murdoch's got some heavy hitters on his side. Dick Carutian is the Johnny Cochran of South Carolina.
>> Did he murder his wife and son? >> No. >> Does he have any idea who did? >> No. There's no eyewitness. There's no
fingerprints. There's no forensics tying him to the crime. >> None. The prosecution has had one major
smoking gun in its case, and it's Paul Murdo's video that he took at 8:44 p.m. >> Hey, he's got burners now.
Come here, mama. >> Come here, C. >> Did you recognize any voices on that video?
>> Paul Murdoch, Maggie Murdoch, and Alec Murdock. >> Do you recognize Alex's voice?
>> Yes, sir. >> How will they explain that Alec was actually at the dog kennels 5 minutes
before the murder when he claims to have been sleeping? Were you in fact at the kennels at 8:44 p.m. on the night Maggie
and Paul were murdered? >> I was. >> You continued lying after that night, did you not?
>> But once I lied, I continued to lie. Yes, sir. >> Would you ever do anything to harm
Maggie? >> I would never hurt Maggie. I did not kill Maggie. I did not kill Paul.
>> The state versus Richard Alexander Murdoch. Verdict guilty. It doesn't matter how prominent you are.
If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina.
[Music] [Music] Heat. [Laughter] Heat. [Music] It was a field trip to a ghost town.
Off a country road, the procession turned slowly up the long driveway of the imposing property. This convoy held
the jury in the double murder trial of Alec Murd. [Music] This is Mel, the hunting lodge of the
Murd family. Alec, his wife Maggie, and sons Paul and Buster. The jury was taken to the dog kennels
and the small feed room where Paul had been shot at close range with a shotgun. A few yards away, Maggie was shot
several times with a 300 blackout rifle. Neither weapon has ever been found. There was a time when this estate
reflected the vast power and prestige of the Murdall legal dynasty. Now the withered ground seemed to echo
Alec Murdo's steep fall from grace. From a rich powerful lawyer to an admitted drug addict.
>> Oxycodone. Oxycontton >> thief. >> I stole money that was not my money. >> And convicted murderer.
>> Verdict guilty. >> What do you think of the verdict? Ale, move against the side of my car.
>> This is where Alec Myrtle's life unraveled on June 7th, 2021. >> This is your wife and son.
>> Okay. >> I knew it was really bad. >> Come on. >> That night, when Myrtle was interviewed
by investigators, he was quick to offer up an explanation for the murders of his
wife and son. >> My son Paul was in a boat wreck. There's been a lot of negative publicity about
that and there's been a lot of people online just really vile stuff. >> The crash that would kill 19-year-old
Mallalerie Beach happened about 2:20 a.m. on February 24th, 2019. >> Where's your emergency?
>> We're in a boat crash on Arthur Creek. when a boat carrying six young friends
smashed into a bridge. Connor Cook made the frantic call to 911. >> There's six of us and one is missing.
>> Okay. Who's missing? >> Female Mallerie Beats is missing. >> She's in the water.
>> She was just this wonderful, fun-loving, happy girl. >> And everybody loved her. Lynn Revvice
and her niece Mallerie were extremely close. >> You always got a hug hello and a hug
goodbye. And the last thing she told me was she loved me. In piecing together events,
investigators learned earlier that night, 19-year-old Paul Mydall used his older brother Buster's ID to buy beer at
this convenience store. >> And if you look at the video footage, when Paul comes out of the store, he's
holding the beer up. He's celebrating. [Music] >> After staying at a party for several
hours, the group took the Murdo family's boat to this bar, where Paul and Connor
had more to drink around 1:00 a.m. >> When they went in, pounded a couple of shots.
>> Michael Dit is an author and editor of the Hampton County Guardian, part of the
Guanette USA Today network. >> Somewhere around 1:30, see the video footage of them leaving the boat dock.
It was kind of a sad, touching moment when you see Mallalerie and her boyfriend. I think it's the last moment
that anybody captured an image of her alive. >> It was around 1:15 when they took off
again on the boat. >> Paul was just driving donuts and just >> passenger Miley Alman told investigators
tempers were running short. And >> so Connor starts driving for a little bit and then Paul like he like stops
Connor and he's like, "No, this is my boat. Like let me drive. I saw the bridge coming.
>> What bridge is it, Paul? What bridge is it? >> First responders dash cam video captured
the mayhem. >> All right. Where's everybody else at? >> Everyone at the bridge. At the bottom of
the bridge. >> Everybody was crying, scared, shocked, >> just worried about their friend. Then
Buford County Deputy Sheriff Steven Domino was one of the first on the scene. After Domino's got Mallalerie's
distraught boyfriend, Anthony Cook into his patrol car, Paul Murdoch, came into sight.
>> He was walking up from where the boat was. >> Get that right there away from me.
>> He actually tried to rush through me to get to Paul because I guess he saw him
smiling. And Paul's smiling while Anony's girlfriend's missing in the water. >> Right.
>> Bro, you smiling like it's funny. >> Sit down. >> My girlfriend's gone, folks.
>> That's when Anthony Cook definitively identified the person he said was driving the boat.
>> Y'all know Alec Murdoch? >> Yeah, I know that name. >> That's his son. >> Driving the boat.
>> Good luck. >> That's when he indicated that he couldn't be touched. Mallerie's body was found a week later.
>> And in the weeks after that, we're just waiting. Is someone going to make an arrest? Is there going to be a a
admission of of guilt or responsibility? >> We're in a boat crash. I think that from
day one, ground zero, the effort was what can we do to get Paul out of this? Who do you think is responsible for
Mallerie's death? I think Paul Murdoch was >> a month after the fatal boat crash.
Frustrated that there was no arrest, Mallerie Beach's family filed a wrongful death suit against members of the Murdo
family, which allowed them to depose the survivors about what happened that night.
>> Paul was allegedly acting rash and reckless. In his deposition, Paul's friend, Connor
Cook, said that the morning of the crash, he didn't tell investigators that Paul was driving the boat because he was
afraid. And while at the hospital, he says he was told by Alec Murd that he didn't
need to tell anyone who was driving. >> Alex reportedly went from room to room to try to communicate with the other
boat crash passengers and get them all on the same page. At the hospital several hours after the crash, Paul's
blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit. >> He was getting belligerent with the the
nurses staff, according to court records, just being loud and troublesome. >> But that morning and for weeks to come,
many felt that Paul Murdo was not treated like a suspect in a crime. >> We didn't think he was going to be
charged. Why? because it was taking so long. We just didn't think we'd see that day.
>> Nearly two months after the boat crash, Paul was charged with causing the death
of Mallalerie Beach. He pleaded not guilty and remained free after posting bond and the Murd began to tarnish.
[Music] Two years passed and on June 7th, 2021, as Paul Murdo was awaiting trial in the
death of Mallalerie Beach, gunfire erupted on the Murdoch family estate. >> Justice Alec Murdoch at 4147 Moselle
Road. At 10:06 p.m., a panic sounding Alec Murd called 911 saying he had just arrived home to find his wife of nearly
28 years, Maggie, and their son, Paul, shot. >> Is he moving at all? Your son? I know
you said that she was shot, but what about your son? >> Nobody's. They're not. Neither one of
them's moving. Maggie's friend Caroline Price called her godson Buster when she heard the
terrible news. >> I said, "Please tell me this isn't true." And you said, "Yes, ma'am, Miss
Caroline, it is." And he immediately, without prompt, said it was premeditated and revenge. They were trying to say
that it was associated with the boat crash, >> that someone was angry at Paul. Yeah.
>> Right. Due to the Murdoch family's close ties with local law enforcement, the
South Carolina law enforcement division known as SLED, the state's top investigative agency took over the case.
>> It was amazing to me how quick this rumor mill started. >> Maggie's friend, Shelley West, heard
about the murders from a friend. >> I just said, "Do you think Ell did it?" And he said, "No, there were two guns on
the scene." >> But it actually crossed your mind that he might have done it. Yeah. I mean,
yeah. I mean, that was my first initial reaction. A lot of times the husband's the first suspect.
>> And Caroline says she had a strange conversation with him after Maggie and Paul's funeral.
>> He talked a lot about Paul, the fact that he wasn't going to get his day in court. He wasn't going to get to clear
his name. >> Murdo offered a $100,000 reward as rumors and speculation swirled. Reports
at the time raised questions about their marriage and claimed that Maggie was consulting with a divorce attorney.
>> Mary and her sister asked me, "Do do you know anything about this?" And I said,
"No." And she said, "She never said anything to me." And she tells me everything.
>> Maggie never mentioned there was any trouble in the marriage. >> At a hearing a few months later, I
questioned the Murd family attorney, Dick Harput, about the Murdo's relationship. Were there any problems in
Maggie and Alex's marriage? >> Absolutely none. None. And I I'm Trust me, I was with them for almost two
years. Always affectionate, always courteous. You just picture of a domestic voice.
>> And as for the theory that the murders were in retaliation for the boat crash,
Maggie's friends say she never mentioned any threats against their family. >> She talked about how unkind everybody
was and mean. um the looks and the snares >> and they didn't seem to feel unsafe. I
mean, they were still carrying on with their normal routine day-to-day activities and things.
>> As investigators tried to figure out who would want Paul and Maggie Murdo dead
and why, a call came into 911 that another member of the family was under attack.
>> Somebody stopped to help me and they tried to shoot me. And it's almost been a case of episodic
television where tune in this week and we'll see what's next from Hampton County, home of the Murdoch.
[Music] 3 months after the shooting deaths of Maggie and Paul, Alec Murdo again called
911. this time claiming he'd been shot. >> Somebody stopped to help me and they tried to shoot me.
>> Alex Murdoch told investigators he was changing a flat tire right here on this
rural road when a person in a pickup truck passed by, asked Alex if he was having car trouble, and then shot him in
the head. >> Murdo's conversation on the way to the hospital was captured on police body
cam. what kind of gun it was. >> I I don't know what kind of gun it was, but it sounded like a shotgun.
>> On September 6th, 2021, 2 days after being shot, Alec Murd released this statement. I have made a lot of
decisions that I truly regret, he said, and announced he was leaving the law firm.
>> Alex Murdoch put out a statement saying he's going into rehab. >> Alec Murdoch said he had been addicted
to opioids for two decades. It wasn't only claims of drug abuse now staining Murdo's reputation. He was also accused
of stealing millions from his own law firm and was asked to resign the day before he was shot.
>> Friday, the law firm has a come to Jesus meeting with him. We know you're allegedly stealing money. You're out.
Saturday, the reported shooting. Monday, Alex releases a statement saying, "I'm going into rehab.
Then came the even more bizarre news that Myrtle had allegedly hired this man, his distant cousin Curtis Smith, to
shoot him. He wanted you to kill him. >> Yeah, he wanted me to kill him. >> Authorities say Murdall wanted his
killing to look like murder so his surviving son, Buster, could collect a $10 million life insurance payout. Smith
says he refused. >> Yeah, ain't happening. It's unclear exactly how Murdoch came to be shot. Why did you
leave the scene? >> I didn't know anything else do. >> Smith was charged in connection with the
shooting, but has not entered a plea. On September 16th, 2021, facing charges of
insurance fraud, conspiracy, and filing a false police report. Alec Murd turned himself in.
>> The fact that uh Murdoch sat in a chair in a jumpsuit with handcuffs is something I've never seen in my
lifetime. Alec Murd was released on bond and allowed to go back to rehab. While Murdall was there, investigators were
looking into all of his business dealings and the suspicious death of this woman,
Gloria Satderfield. >> Gloria was the housekeeper for the Murd family for more than 20 years.
>> Ronnie Richter is an attorney for the Satderfield family. >> She literally helped raise Alec Murd's
sons, Paul and Buster. In 2018, the 57year-old died after a fall at the Myrtle estate.
>> What's been reported is that she was at the house that day on the front steps.
The dogs got a little rambunctious and gave her a push and she fell down the stairs.
>> Satderfield's death was ruled natural and no autopsy was ever performed. >> There's nothing natural about a
57year-old woman falling down a flight of steps and dying from head trauma. At Gloria's funeral, Mydall did
something very odd, says RTOR. He recommended Gloria's sons file a wrongful death lawsuit against him. My
doll even steered them toward an attorney, his friend Cory Fleming. >> A lot of trust was placed in both Alec
and in Cory, to do the right things, and it really went south from the outset. Court documents show a $4.3 million
payout by Mydall's insurance company, but none of the money ever went to Gloria's family. Where did that money
go? >> Well, allegedly it went into Alex Murdo's pocket. >> Alex Murdo was charged with two felonies
for his role in the Gloria Satderfield insurance fraud. This time, a judge ordered him to be held without bond.
As Murdo sat in jail, he was indicted on dozens more charges for defrauding clients out of millions of dollars.
And then in July of 2022, more than a year after the Grizzly murders, disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex
Murdo was indicted today in the high-profile murders of his wife and son last year.
>> Alec Murdo was charged with killing his wife Maggie and son Paul. Maggie's friends were relieved that the case was
moving forward. >> I was kind of like, now finally, and maybe we're going to get some answers.
[Music] Alex Murda, >> why did you kill your wife and your son? >> On January 25th, 2023,
19 months after Maggie and Paul were gunned down near the dog kennels at their family hunting estate,
>> that the defendant, Alec Murdoch, over there told anyone who would listen that
he was never at those kennels. Prosecutor Kraton Waters began laying out the state's case against Alec Murd.
>> But the evidence is also going to show from these things that every one of us,
most of us carry around in our pocket that he was there. He was at the murder scene with the two victims.
>> I could see Mr. Murdo down at the end of the driveway. >> Central 717 scene has secured both
gunshot wounds to the head. >> First responders described the harrowing scene captured by their body cams. The
male victim was close to a small shed in the dog kennel on the left. There was a
large deal of blood that had pulled around his body. >> Turn around for me. >> I don't have anything.
>> Okay. Yes, sir. I see that. Okay. This is your wife and son. >> That's official that they're dead.
>> Yes, sir. That's what it looks like. >> Investigators interviewed Myrtle in a
patrol car. >> My my boy over there. I could see it was My doll said he spent time with Paul
earlier in the evening riding around the property. After Maggie got home, he dozed off on the couch and when he got
up, there was nobody around. >> I called Maggie, didn't get an answer. Maggie's a dog
lover, and I knew she'd gone to the kennel. I left to go to my mom's. My mom's a late stage Alzheimer's patient.
>> His visit with his ill mother would become his alibi. Murdal told investigators when he returned around 10
p.m. there was still no one home, so he drove down to the dog kennels. That's when he found Maggie and Paul.
>> I tried to turn Paul over first. Then I went to my wife and I I mean I could see
>> Mhm. I touched them both. Okay. >> I tried to take their pulse on both of them.
>> When you first saw Paul, you said you tried to >> Detective Rutland interviewed Alec
Myrtle that night and told the jurors. She noted despite his claim of touching the blood soaked bodies of his wife and
son, he appeared clean. >> How would you describe the defendant's hands when you saw them?
>> They were clean. >> How would you describe his t-shirt? >> Clean. >> Did those clothes appeared to be fresh.
>> They did >> like they just come out of the laundry. >> They could be. >> Maggie and Paul died from multiple
gunshot wounds. Daily Beast senior national reporter Polar Melendez shared the investigator's findings.
>> So Paul was shot first and he was shot twice with a shotgun. Paul was found here next to the feeding room very close
by. Right here is where Maggie was found. Maggie was killed with a 300 blackout rifle and suffered five gunshot wounds.
A crime scene specialist described her final moments. >> The shooter was right here. The second
shot was not as close, but it still wasn't a long distance. It was approximately here into the crown
of the head. 3 days after the murders, building their timeline, investigators talked to Alec
Myrtle again. >> We sat down. We ate supper and we hung around the house for a little while. Uh
I know that Maggie went to the kennels. Um I don't know exactly where Paul went,
but he left the house, too. I stayed in the house and I actually fell asleep on the couch.
>> The last time that you saw Paul and Maggie when y'all were eating supper? >> Yes, sir.
The Murdals were avid hunters and had more than 25 weapons on the property. >> I saw one over here.
>> During a search, >> there's one to your right. >> Sled agents found spent shell casings.
>> Yeah. 300. Yep. >> Yeah. >> And ammunition that matched the bullets that killed Maggie and Paul, but the
murder weapons were never found. Maggie's cell phone was also missing the day after the murders. Investigators
found it here on the side of the road half a mile from the property. Sled analyzed the data from Alex, Maggie, and
Paul's cell phones. At 7:56 p.m., Paul sent this Snapchat video of his dad to a friend. Paul is
heard laughing in the background. It's better than it was. >> So around 8:30, Paul's phone starts
moving towards the dog kennels. He also calling and texting two friends. Then responding to Snapchats until about 8:40
when he gets on a 4-minute phone call with his friend Rogan Gibson. >> Rogan Gibson told investigators their
phone call was about his dog who was staying at the kennels. Rogan thought he heard Alec in the background. That
immediately sets a red flag for law enforcement because that totally messes up Alec's timeline. And how could he be
at the dog at 8:40 when he claims he was sleeping? >> Responding units to Mosel Road.
>> Two months after the murders, agents interviewed Alec Murd, this time at a sled office. They asked him if he went
down to the kennels that night. >> I've got information that you were heard in the background. Wasn't you?
>> No, sir. Not if my times are right. >> Think you think it could? >> I have no idea.
>> In November of 2022, there was a breakthrough in the investigation. >> Get back. Get back.
>> Agent showed Rogan a video of his dog Cash that they had found on Paul's phone. Paul had shot it at 8:44 p.m.
minutes before he was killed. >> It's a guinea. >> There's a chicken. Come here, [ __ ] And what voices did
you hear? >> Paul's miss Maggie. Miss Ellie. >> And how sure are you now? >> Positive.
>> 100%. >> That's correct. >> The prosecutor says Alec is heard saying, "Come here, Bubba." Calling the
family dog. >> Come here, kid. >> This is a huge piece of testimony because it places Alec in the kennel
roughly 5 minutes before prosecutors say Maggie and Paul were murdered. Authorities believed Maggie and Paul
were shot around 8:49 p.m. when their phone screens were locked and never opened again. The prosecutor asked
several other witnesses if they recognized Murdall's voice >> on that video. >> And I recognize Ella.
>> Who do you recognize? >> Alec. >> Did you recognize >> on that video? Alex Myrtle.
>> And every single witness has said with 100% certainty that that's Alec in the
background of that video. And it also completely shatters his alibi. >> Alec Murdo's car and cell phone data
showed he drove to his mom's house shortly after 900 p.m. Between then and until he returned and dialed 911 at
10:06 p.m., he made 10 calls to family and friends, including five to Maggie. Prosecutors basically alleged that after
killing Paula Maggie took steps to cover up and show that he is talking to all these people. So how could he murder his
his wife and son? >> As to the motive, the state had a theory that a perfect storm was gathering for
Alec Murd. >> Alec was scared about information coming out that he had been stealing money from
his clients and his law firm for years. On the day of the murders, Murdall was confronted by his firm about missing
legal fees of almost $800,000. Also that week, he was due in court for a hearing on the boat crash civil case.
Murdall was being sued for $10 million by Mallalerie Beach's family. But the prosecution is alleging that in order to
dissuade further questions about his financial crimes and garner sympathy from the community and his law firm, he
killed his wife and son. It's the actions of a desperate man. >> The state would call Jeannie Secure.
>> After the judge ruled Myall's alleged financial schemes could be brought in, the state called the firm CFO Jeanie
Secure. >> Was anybody at all concerned about those missing fees after those murders
happened? >> We weren't because we were concerned about LA and we weren't going to go in
there and harass him about money when his family had been killed. Uh, Mr. Tinsley.
>> The Beach family's attorney, Mark Tinsley, also testified and told the jurors in the wake of the murders, the
civil case against Alec Murdoch, would have gone away. >> If Alec is the victim of a vigilante,
nobody's going to hold him accountable. The case would be over. >> As the state rested its case, Alec
Mydall made the risky decision to take the stand. You lied to Maggie, didn't you?
>> I did lie to Maggie. [Music] >> Have you made a decision as to whether you're going to testify?
>> I am going to testify. I want to testify. >> Against his attorney's advice, Alec Murd
decided to take the stand in his own defense. You swear affirm that the testimony you give today will be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Under questioning by attorney Jim
Griffin, Murdall is hoping the jury will look past his lies and believe that now
he's telling them the truth. >> Did you kill Maggie? No, I did not kill Maggie. I did not
kill Paul. I would never hurt Maggie and I would never hurt Paul ever under any circumstances.
After all the testimony identifying him on that kennel video, >> is forced to admit he was with his wife
and son minutes before prosecutors say they were gunned down. Were you in fact at the kennels at 8:44 p.m. on the night
Maggie and Paul were murdered? >> I was. >> Come here, bottle. Come here, Cash. >> Come here, b cash.
>> You continued lying after that night, did you not? >> But once I lied, I continued to lie.
Yes, sir. >> Why? >> Oh, what a tangled web we weave. But once I told the lie, I mean, I told my family. I
I had to keep lying. I went to >> Murdoch claims he'd been compelled to lie because of an opioid addiction he
battled for 20 years, spending tens of thousands of dollars a week and taking up to 60 or more pills per day.
>> As my addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid
thinking. but he dismisses the prosecution's theory of mounting pressure from his addiction and alleged
financial crimes leading up to the murders. >> Mr. Murdoch, on June the 7th, did you
believe that your financial house of cards was about to crumble? >> Absolutely not. Mr. Murdo, I'll start
with a few things I think we can agree. >> During a 6-hour cross-examination over
two days, prosecutorraton Waters grills Murd. >> And you stole all of the money, didn't
you? about his long history of lying to his financial victims. >> And Mr. Waters, just to try to get
through this quicker, >> I admit >> I know you want to get through it quicker, but we're not. So, answer the
question, please. >> What what what I what I admit is that I misled them, I did wrong, and that I
stole their money. >> Waters contends it was only because he'd been caught in his lie about being at
the kennels that Murdo finally came clean. The reality is you, like you've done so many times over the course of
your life, had to back up and make a new story that kind of fit with the facts that can't be denied. Isn't that true,
sir? >> No, sir. That's not true. >> Waters then tries to box him into his new timeline on the night of the
murders, zeroing in on 4 minutes between 9:02 and 9:06 when his phone logged 283
steps right before he left to visit his mom. That's far more steps in a shorter time period than than any time prior as
you've seen from the testimony in this case. So, what what were you so busy doing? Going to the bathroom?
>> No, I don't I don't think that I >> get on a treadmill. >> To the bathroom? No, I didn't get on a
treadmill. >> Jog in place? >> No, I didn't jog in place. >> No, sir. I did not do jumping jacks.
>> Tell you that. >> Murdall reasserts his theory of the murders. >> That I believe that boat wreck
is the reason why Paula and Maggie were killed. cuz I can tell you for a fact that the person or people
who did what I saw on June the 7th, they hated Paul Murd and they had anger in their
heart. Throughout the trial, the defense makes the case that Alec Murdo was a devoted
family man. His son, Buster, describes a dad who'd coached his little league teams and was now stricken with grief.
>> I mean, he was destroyed. He's heartbroken. I walked in the door and saw him and
um gave him a hug and just just broken down. >> Defense calls Tim Palbot to the stand,
please. The defense calls a crime scene analyst who based on blood spatter, position of shots fired, and the fact
that two different guns were used, says there was more than one shooter. >> My opinion is the totality of the
evidence is more suggestive of a two shooter scenario. >> The prosecution disagrees
>> him. This is Alec, the prosecutor, the lawyer, and he's thinking through this.
He's thought through this. He's going to use two guns because it's going to confuse people that perhaps there were
two shooters. In his closing to the jury, Waters argues that all the evidence points to Alec Murd
from that first shot at close range shot with no indication that he detected a threat from the person who fired that
weapon. And why? Cuz it was him. Maggie sees what happens. And she comes running
over there. She's running to her baby. She got mowed down by the only person that we have conclusive proof was at
that scene just minutes before and who lied about that very fact. >> And he describes how Murdoch could have
cleaned up at the kennels afterwards. It wouldn't take long to strip down and wash yourself off,
get in that cart, and head back to the house. Here we are with a Mr. Clean theory. He takes a hose and washes
himself off and gets in a golf cart, butt naked, I guess, and drives to the house.
>> Defense attorney Jim Griffin pushes back on the prosecution's theory. He would
have to be a magician to make all that evidence disappear. The shooter's covered in blood. The shooter's gun is
covered in blood. Common sense thing here is there were two shooters. >> Instead, said Griffin, investigators
zeroed in on Mydall to the exclusion of other suspects because he was an easy target.
>> Longtime drug problem, his financial issues, misconduct were exposed. Easy. Easy,
easy target for Sled. The evidence is crystal clear. He started fabricating evidence against Alec.
>> Griffin tells the jury Sled also presented false evidence to the grand jury when seeking an indictment against
Myrtle. >> They came up with a report that says Alex Tisher had high velocity blood
spatter on there. The lead sled agent testified he had not received an email update that further testing had shown
there was no blood. >> I did not see that report. I was not made aware of its existence. Sled failed
miserably in investigating this case. And had they done a competent job that Alec would have been excluded year ago.
>> Then he addresses the single most problematic piece of evidence for the defense. Really, we're back to the lie.
Cuz that's all they have in this case. He lied because he had a closet full of skeletons. But when he didn't lie, when
he didn't lie for is because he was covering up the fact that he killed Maggie and Paul. Alec would not have
killed the people he loved the most in the world. This defendant has fooled everyone.
Everyone. And he fooled Maggie and Paul, too. and they paid for it with their lives.
Don't let him fool you, too. >> After hearing from 75 witnesses in more than 5 weeks, the jury deliberates for
just under 3 hours before returning with a verdict. >> The state versus Richard Alexander
Murdoch defend. >> Murdall is found guilty of murdering his wife and son. >> Guilty verdict. We understand there is a
verdict in the double murder trial. >> At sentencing the next day, Judge Clifton Newman gives Murd one last
chance to appeal to the court. >> I respect this court, but I'm innocent. >> Unmoved, Judge Newman sentences him to
two consecutive life terms in prison. >> And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night times when
you're attempting to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you. I can't stop thinking about the fact
that it is a video on Paul's own phone that really >> was critical in this case.
>> Well, I think it is ironic. In a murder case, the victims can't testify. Um, but in many ways they do.
Often times they leave something behind that lets you know what happened to him.
And in this case, it was Paul's video. Come here, Bob. Come here, Cash. Come here, Bob. Catch.
>> It's Paul testifying from the grave. [Music] 48 hours. To miss it would be a crime.
>> Were you at all prepared for what happened in this case? [Music] [Applause] [Music]
[Applause] [Music]

“48 Hours" reports on cases involving unfulfilled or broken promises. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "A Sister's Fight for her Brother," "Vengeance in Vegas" and "The Trial of Alex Murdaugh."

00:00 A Sister's Fight for her Brother 42:07 Vengeance in Vegas 1:24:10 The Trial of Alex Murdaugh

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 Pettit family murders, focusing on Brandon Pettit's trial for allegedly killing his parents and his sister Lauren's fight for his innocence.

Key points

Conflicting Evidence. Despite having an alibi, Brandon's statements raise suspicions about his involvement.
A Shocking Allegation. Brandon reveals Felix threatened his parents before their deaths, raising questions.
Brandon's Defense Strategy. Brandon's attorney argues that his conversations were mere fantasies, not evidence of guilt.
Lauren's Testimony. Lauren Pettit stands by her brother, asserting his innocence during the trial.
The Crumbling Marriage. After two happy years, George becomes controlling and critical of Shauna.
The Alibi. George has an airtight alibi, complicating the investigation into Shauna's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Words don't make you a murderer.

A defense of Brandon's character amidst accusations.

3:21WatchOct 4, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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