Deadly Dreams | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] oh my oh my Lord it was disguise a limit for a 21y old that was talented and that everybody
[Music] loved I'm Kevin Harris's Dad okay he's my son and he was named after me it was going to be a suay like any
other even if he didn't go to church that day he was naive Kevin Trust Soul maybe a little too
much he'd say why you got to tell everybody I'm your son I said because I'm proud of
you my best friend my teammate I haven't been able to watch a a father take his son to the park with a ball you know for
a while so [Music] he was making a name for himself cuz I heard where Britney and Rihanna actually
were interested in some of his material Kevin always had it the Beats were great I knew he was going to make it
some people have that thing where it's like you're Relentless to a point where nothing can stop you
the stuff that he would send me was a lot of like an R&B feel mixed with like pop pop and
Hip-Hop Church like gospel like those ches a lot of things were happening too quickly
it videos camera shoots Ice Cube tracks and he went to that dog on Studio that night and that
happened last day and he kissed me on it on my left cheek he hugged me and he just held me
and I said what's wrong Kevin and he said nothing mom he said everything's just happening
so fast I feel like something's going to happen I said don't think like that 10 to 17 shots two different
handguns how much do you have to kill him a lot of suspicious things happened that
night the clues are absolutely out there we just need that one piece that one Smoking Gun
[Music] [Music] [Applause] time is of the essence I've hate how long my breath takes those are are the
words of Kevin Harris on his Twitter account in the summer of 2009 Kevin was just 21 when he was
gunned down shortly after 8:00 p.m. on a September Sunday that same year he had been sitting in his car alone in
Englewood California a small City in Los Angeles close to LAX I got a call at 9:15 are you at the
hospital I said for what what happened what's wrong Kevin's been shot Kevin Harris senior is Kevin's dad
we ran every light just to be told that we couldn't see him I was in denial Catherine is his mother the night that
he was murdered and I do say murdered people like to say he passed he did pass on but someone actually took the time to
murder him the harrises couldn't believe that somebody wanted their Son dead this is this is Kevin this was
during the the the photo shoot that they had so handsome confident very confident tell me about your angel our
Angel our Ang she called him angel face his mother his mother I wish he could have met him he was beautiful man and he
was still close with his childhood friends like Cameron Woods we've known each other since we were like two three
years old we continue going to the same school with each other all the way to all the way to
here um it's still so fresh yeah hold on sorry what are you thinking I don't want to
cry it's a little harder a little H yeah it's okay you know that right what do you miss most about him
his smile his generosity never heard anybody tell me anything bad about him say anything bad
about him never really heard him say anything about about anyone besides my be feel you know I
mean no one's perfect but he was he was close he was close to that the harrises led by example were
working hard dad at the LA airport and selling cars and Mom working retail they were regulars in church and
they sent Kevin to a Catholic school she and I were like helicopter parents under
surveillance at all time as a form of protection yes if he hadn't come home at a certain time I would text a question
mark just knowing the the possible hearts that lay out there in the street one of Kevin's h H Cameron says was
hanging out with his mom spending time with his mom really yeah he love yeah wait wait wait a teenager enjoying
spending time with his parents I don't know if I should say but he was like kind of like a mama's boy but I mean I'm
a mama's boy so there's nothing wrong with that Kevin was a perfect date Jasmine
Tanner was Kevin's high school sweetheart not really a hugee dancer but like you
know he had his little twostep that he would do everything that he did was in from a
very loving place the harrises kept their son involved in sports especially basketball I'll take you through my
house right now right here in my room but his real calling was music much of the music you're hearing in this
broadcast is his see this all you need right here is a little kid right here see turn up the music a
second see got all that got the turntables mix [Music] s he taught himself to play he taught
himself he had Rock he had Classics he had Jazz uh East Indian music soon after high school graduation
Kevin landed a gig apprenticing at a local music studio yeah he start boobing that head then he just the next thing
you know he's like oh oh listen to this and then he'll click something it's like
going to the next level by the summer of 2009 he'd stacked up hundreds of hours in the studio he began breaking into the
Los Angeles hipop scene but he just wanted to be the best producer ever Kevin's Vibe was he was comfortable
with himself Sonia techly is a poet and singer one of a number of artists working with Kevin I had never felt
comfortable in recording sessions until my sessions with him and a lot of times like you
know guys are just trying to like get at girls and do all these things but he was
just he stayed in his Lane he was focused on his work as Kevin's career picked up speed
he bragged about working at a big fancy Studio where Michael Jackson once recorded Thriller and he was like right
there like you know like a pinball and you get your ball ready and and you pull it back and then let go but everything
would soon come to an abrupt and violent end my naive loving son probably just could have been possibly Sleeping with
the Enemy and had no idea [Music] [Music] to this day no one has been charged for
the murder of Kevin Harris they thought we're going to do this sneaky stuff here and we'll get
away with it they effed with the wrong father this [Music] time Kevin Harris senior is determined
to change that he spent the past 11 years Seeking Justice for his Nam sake I never got to speak to Kevin that day at
all I went to work 9:00 a.m. he was still asleep and I looked in on him and I left that Sunday morning in the summer
of 2009 Kevin shared breakfast with his mother Catherine I saw have the plate the paper the
napkin the last carton of juice I have all of that from that day you memorialized L
him I just love him I love him retracing their son's steps the harrises say nothing seemed unusual that
day from what I hear at some point he wound up at a Pop Warner football game and then later on he went to his
aunt's Karen Staten is the last known person to see Kevin alive he was his regular happy goodlucky self hi Auntie
how you doing where'd you cook and he stayed we ate we laughed we talked and after a few hours Kevin left saying he
was headed to the music studio I said Kevin don't go we're having too much fun I don't want you to go
yet and he said auntie I have to go because the studio is quiet no one's there I can record I can go over some
things I can write I can perfect what I'm working on and we hugged each other and he was out the
door he drove to the studio in his beloved Green Camaro he was supposed to meet up with a friend known in the
community as a wannabe rapper but that friend was a no-show a lot of suspicious things happened that
night the studio was in a converted Garage in a residential neighborhood Hood Kevin arrived but never made it out
of his car he was shot multiple times from two different guns I never expected anything
like this to happen to Kevin Kevin's friend Jasmine says he didn't have a chance to find out that he was shot
outside the studio that he loved to go to so much it was just like nowhere is safe the harrises went to the crime
scene no more than 3 hours after their son had been shot the police were already gone it was already cleaned up
it was so weird and strange it was like why is this crime scene already done car
was gone everything it seemed as if there were more expeditious in cleaning up their crime scene than they were in
trying to find out who did this within the proverbial 24 to 48 hours that's what it seemed
like Catherine and took what was left behind I walked around in front of the studio and I saw blood wipe the blood up
off the street and uh the glass from his window was on the ground and I used my hands as a broom to gather the
glass this young man deserves better than what happened here there was early speculation that Kevin's death was Gang
Related an assumption that upset his father you hear shot and killed the first thing you want to say he drive by
was he in the game no no he wasn't he was just a loving young man with a heart as big as his
church music journalist Raman Duke says no matter how innocent the victim is people assume a crime like this is Gang
Related cuz there a young black man so it's automatic yeah and in that and specifically within that neighborhood
100% young black man shot in the music business yeah those are all elements and the odds of solving crimes
with those elements are slim for one thing witnesses can be hard to find people in these communities they stick
together when these situations occur they're like I'm not not dealing with with the law enforcement they weren't
here to help us why we going to why we going to help them I have seen people step forward but
the majority of the time that doesn't happen why a lot of times cuz they're afraid that person still has to live in
that neighborhood there there might be some retaliation there's this mentality where it's like just mind your own
business as time past Kevin's parents felt that the police pushed their son's case to the back burner even when they
tried to help and they would tell me just go home just go home we'll take care of
this we let the law enforcement handle it unfortunately it didn't work it was sat on the police told 48 Hours quote
our hearts go out to the parents and family of Kevin the Englewood police department has done everything possible
to bring closure and Justice to the family the harrises continued to push for answers they held memorials for
Kevin inviting the police and local officials but the stress of losing their son took its
toll the gun kills more than this intended victim and it always will and after he died not right away but a lot
of everything that meant everything to our family was destroyed [Music] two years after Kevin's murder the
harrises ended their 23-year [Music] marriage it was a dark time for Kevin Senior he searched for
[Music] Solace and he found it in church a Baptist Church in the Los Angeles community
[Music] of my heart is broken but God has piece by piece put it back together Pastor Winford Bell helped the
heartbroken father Channel his grief into a newfound purpose speaking out against gun violence for Bell's
organization Silver Lining of hope my heart has been ripped smiing Dre I really Revel in this because it's
medicine to my soul to speak about the loss of my son Kevin stepped up when they kill your
baby it's few people that want to fight to fix it so that your baby or my baby or anybody else's baby doesn't suffer
the same [Music] thing now more at peace with himself Kevin Senior found more will to keep up
the long fight to find out who murdered his son and he was about to get some unexpected help we're going to put as
much time and energy as it takes we will not stop we will figure this out [Music]
Kevin Harris senior continued to speak out 6 years after his son's senseless murder his heartbreaking story finally
had an impact the local police brought in the FBI to work the case when I heard I was going to get a call from the FBI I
felt that all my aggressiveness wasn't in vain have you met the parents I have the parents are fantastic and as soon as
I met them we immediately bonded and they have begged us to just find the people that did this and that's my
commitment to them vet Morgan is in charge of FBI criminal investigations in Los Angeles I'm vested so we'll find
them and we'll hold them accountable Welcome to the New [Music] FBI I think there was a tough case with
you know not a lot of evidence there was no DNA there was no actual physical touching FBI special agent Sean sterley
got the case he started with the crime scene photos and with what witnesses that did speak out saw a dark sedan that
pulled up next to Kevin Harris's Camaro the shots were fired from that car we believe there were probably three people
in the car the driver and two Shooters they were approximately about 6 in door too so so close that the shell casings
from the shooters guns two of them end up inside Kevin's [Music] car also new to the case former LA
detective John scags know the streets and I know how to talk to people where are you taking us right now
we're going to the crime scene where Kevin was killed there's a couple things I need to
look at and then there's a uh resident that I want to talk to scags came out of retirement to work with the local Cold
Case unit and assist the FBI so is this a hopeless case or a stalled case uh it is stalled and absolutely not hopeless
and what's the difference well there's still clues that haven't been burned out this is the street where Kevin was
murdered exactly [Music] detective scags walks into the house attached to the music studio hey John
skags from Englewood police and comes out a half an hour later with owner Randy Thomas Hi how are you I'm Michelle
Miller 48 hours so Michelle had a really good talk with Randy uh he was friends he knew Kevin for about four years and
Kevin would use his studio for for his music Randy says by the time he got outside that night the shooters were
gone I heard cap cap cap I thought it was firecrackers then the neighbor came outside and said somebody shot and you
saw Kevin's I saw the green camar I said oh my God oh my God the amms came in the
fir truck and they pulled him out tried to revive him but it was bad to see him here on the street in front of your
house broke my heart it's almost like someone had to have follow him here so you think it was
someone he knew that I don't know but I know that no one comes here on Sunday [Music]
nights the new detectives confirmed what Kevin's parents and friends had said all
along Kevin Harris was really quite a remarkable kid we probably did somewhere close to 70 to 80 interviews we could
not find anybody who would say anything you close remotely uh negative about [Music]
him and they learned that in the months before his death Kevin's career was on a
roll this studio was his home base there's a lot of steps be very careful okay so you have a sound mixer right you
have a sound booth right so this is where we do the music at and Kevin had key he can come anytime he' like to come
[Music] in the summer of 2009 Kevin was becoming better known by his stage name track
bully I think he was just really positive about the way his life was going I mean his name was track bully
for exactly cuz his tracks was crazy one of the artists Kevin was closest with was jizzel a hip-hop poet
and rapper seen in this video with Diddy I look at this picture and what do you see oh man that was just bro when he was
hungry like just trying to figure it out he got the TV on his hat for track bully
but by then he was already like lit kind of huh yeah yeah he was lit and I used to go by Lady g at the time so he' be
like what's up lady G like man you got to mess with me on the music man and so he finally like sent me a a like a batch
of be [Music] we can get it we get it get it we jizzel and Kevin work together on
Poppin a catchy tune they believe could break through and become a hit this is poppin this is poppin wow that's you
yeah man is that him there yeah right there off to the side yeah Kevin was clearly proud of that song
jizzel may have been the star but Kevin made sure everyone knew he was the force
behind it and then there was his Triumph of scoring a really big sale it was to hipop Star Ice Cube once again proudly
tweeting about his feet right before he was killed he had sold the track to Ice Cube I mean how big of a deal was that
it's a very big deal Ice Cube was a legend in music not just hip-hop is music it's a really big
deal Kevin's career was skyrocketing and his dad was feeling a little uneasy if I
would have had a chance I would have reeled him back in just a little bit looking back Kevin Senior believes his
son was playing with fire put it this way there's not this evil Grim Reaper with a hood that's just
standing around on streets normally is someone that you know or someone you've had an acquaintance with a friend one
day and a me the next [Music] [Music] [Music] the new detectives continued to study
the crime scene photos is kind of like you see his life right there I mean high school basketball player great outside
shooter his laptop and his uh hard drive with all his his music so in his car for
all his loves and horribly that's where he died since Kevin's reputation was golden
they wondered if his death could could have been a case of mistaken identity they learned Kevin wasn't the only one
in town with a green Camaro there was an active gang member that lived less than
two blocks away from Kevin at the time that gang member they say had a look alike car I was able to interview
him the guy's changed his life and he's told me about some of the stuff that he was doing back in that day there could
easily be a cause for somebody to retaliate against anybody driving a green Camaro
when you grow up in La no matter how sheltered you are or how strict your parents are you're going to run into the
culture it's no secret that Los Angeles does have a gang culture even though he wasn't in the streets I think we all
kind of know what that's like you know your parents can't protect you from everything but detectives now say they
took a hard look at that mistaken identity Theory and ruled it [Music] out they believe that Kevin rolled down
his window to talk to the people who drove up next to him that night and that he would not have done that unless he
knew them so they're looking at each other eye to eye that kind of dispels gang retaliation shooting where Kevin
was misidentified for another gang member they were convinced Kevin Harris was the intended target but why were
there clues in his surging career for one thing in the hip-hop business you can get rich
overnight you have like really young artists like 18 19 years old and they're millionaires two three years before that
they probably have $10 in their pocket Kevin hadn't made any big money yet but he definitely was a prospect a kid with
big potential he was really hustling trying to get artists and putting music together and getting his music heard
Kevin was all over the place he was putting himself out there more people more parties and his tweets
show it party in Baldwin Hills pool party at the [Music] custom there's no other way to kind of
attain your goals and aspirations without going at 24/7 I could just see that in him you
showing up where you're supposed to show up and yourself out there putting himself out there he was
getting a little more flashy he put extra wide chrome wheels on his Camaro his dad didn't approve now you're kind
of blinging a little bit too much for maybe the average young man you have to be less visible and Kevin was also
getting louder on Twitter Kevin got real cocky his name was like really getting out there I did feel like you know maybe
he was kind of feeling himself a little fluffing his uh his little feathers I felt like blessing people with my
presence he tweeted word was that Kevin didn't want to work with people who weren't up to his level when you start
getting hot everybody wants a piece of you you just can't work with everybody and sometimes some people get
offended by that things could happen out of those situations and Kevin wasn't shy about
calling some people out that's clear in his tweets I'm getting bored by my so-called peers and here he says someone
was quote exceeding their talent in the music business words like that could be a problem there's no
difference between that and dissing someone in the streets what is a diss a diss is disrespect it's a very real
thing and again it goes back to like these Street rules so a lot of this conversation is through social media
Twitter specifically I'm sure that Kevin was aware of it did he think it would lead to him potentially losing his
life I don't think so just who was Kevin dsing in those tweets no one knows for sure could it
have been that wannabe rapper who stood him up at the studio that night was there bad blood between them the people
who knew Kevin best sensed he was uneasy in the weeks before his death his demeanor did seem a little different I
couldn't really pinpoint like what it was but I can tell when someone's Vibe is off he'll come home couple
times I'd see him look back out the door I'd say what's wrong man somebody following you no no I'm
okay the harrises that prepared Kevin for life growing up in a tough neighborhood there was sometimes gunfire
in the area but they belied they taught Kevin how to avoid it still Kevin Senior
was taken aback by a question his son had at one point he did ask me about what do you think about
bulletproof windows I said why I said Kevin is somebody bothering you no it's all right I'm okay I said
just let me know I left here long enough we could we could speak on and we can get it taken care of
peacefully no I'm all right Dad it was always I'm all right Dad I love you Kevin but something must have been wrong
after Kevin died Catherine was surprised to learn that he was thinking of joining
the military and getting out of town a week after uh he was murdered I received a letter from the recruiter's office for
him to go see the recruiter you know a lot of people say timing is everything and gosh I wish I kind of wish it would
have came a week [Music] [Music] earlier we get we can get we can get we can get we can get
Kevin Harris never lived to see his recording played on the radio that song by jizzel I was at work and then someone
told me that it would be coming on and then I hear it and I kind of broke down right
there everybody came running over you know I said that's that's Kevin that's my son 11 years later his father is putting
his faith into the new invest instigation the clues are absolutely out there we just need that one piece that
one Smoking Gun that we need to solidify this this is an active case so the detectives won't name the names of
anyone they have in their sites but scags did drop this clue about Kevin's last day he had made plans with one of
the individuals who's definitely a suspect in this case to meet him at at the studio at 8:00 as far as I know that
individual was the only other person that knew that Kevin was going to be at the studio at 8:00
p.m. we have now learned that that man was Desmond Carter the wannabe rapper that Kevin was supposed to meet at the
studio that night he definitely caught the attention of the police in fact 48 Hours has learned that Desmond Carter
was arrested for the murder of Kevin Harris in 2017 and here's the record Carter was questioned but never
charged with anything authorities told us the evidence they had did not cross the threshold of Reasonable Doubt still
Desmond Carter remains a suspect that's partly because there had been bad blood between Desmond and Kevin
word on the street was that Kevin had dissed Desmond by refusing to give him beats whatever it was that brought Kevin
to the studio that night authorities suspect it was a trap I believe Kevin Harris was set up Kevin's own words may
support that theory 10 days or 2 weeks before his death when he told one of his best friends that something's come up
missing I'm getting blamed for it I didn't have anything to do with it but I'm really scared of what might happen
what had gone missing that Kevin was being blamed for was it money drugs police have told 48 hours they do not
believe that Kevin was dealing drugs somebody blamed him for doing something that they did and blamed him to some big
hitters that were going to seek revenge this is a classic story of a kid who trusted too much in several other
people that he didn't really know that well but he gave them all his trust and he ended up being killed as a
result we reached out to Desmond Carter he didn't want to go on camera or comment directly but through a friend he
said he had nothing to do with Kevin's death and that he thought of Kevin as one of his best friends I'm angry yes
I'm angry I'm angry with certain people that were hanging around my son because it has all the ear marks of someone that
he knows well that was in the circle I grew up at the beach I really love the ocean and it's always been part
of my life detective Scag says walking on the nearby Beach helps clear his head and reminds him to be
patient it does not discourage me if these cases were easy it'd all be solved I know that some of the people that I'm
interviewing are not telling me the truth so you know just makes it so hard detectives are hoping for new
information there's a ton of circumstantial evidence that kind of end ends up adding up into one big
significant theory that I think we're very close to proving we think we're 80 85% there I am fully confident that this
case is going to be solved yeah so anybody who has any information about what happened to Kevin
that day whether they were an eyewitness overheard something at a later date or later got knowledge of what happened to
Kevin and who hurt him that person needs to come forward for so many reasons first of all for justice justice for
Kevin and his family it's the right thing to do and could be preventing these bad guys from hurting more people
we really need help from the public and anybody who knows anything about this case and what happened to him and what
happened that night to come forward and that's what our plea is to uh to the public as the case stands today the
murder of Kevin Harris remains unsolved you still miss him what do you miss most I just miss his spirit I think um
it's just not knowing you know not knowing not supposed to cry but um just not knowing like to
see all that potential just to see that the path that he was on to know the support that he had from everyone around
him it's just really unfortunate to not be able to see that just you know reach his full
potential you know so I just I just miss the spirit I miss having him around I miss I miss the fact that I that we all
missed the chance to see how he would grow you know Kevin's parents say they'll never
give up I have nothing else to do with the grief that I feel every day but to be motivated by when I walk out the door
each day let's kick some doors in let's stay relentless with this you can't hide from God you
can hide here on Earth duck and Dodge go to another state go to another continent
whatever but you can't hide from God the FBI helped fund Billboards to help get new information they've also
contributed to a $50,000 reward the harrises say the reason they agreed to talk with 48 hours is their hope this
will finally bring Justice for their son but when I go to sleep and I dream he's
always there with [Music] me for my son I'm never going to stop [Music] grieving murdered he was
murdered these pictures are in my room and to be honest with you since we resemble each other so much I turn them
backwards it's kind of hard hard to look at him all the time like that Kevin Harris senior doesn't need to look at
those pictures anymore because the image of his son is fresh in his mind every single day and he is consumed with
solving this case for one reason so I can lay my son soul to rest properly his mother and I will make sure
his passion and his dream lives on [Music] the FBI is asking for information from
the public the tip line phone number is 3104776565 take an in-depth look into the
investigation to find who killed Kevin Harris at 48 hours.com I just my boyfriend in the
night but police say she confessed to murder I one big problem you can't hear it how do you mess up the
confession what will a jury believe 48 hours Saturday at 109 Central on CBS [Music]
[Music] I remember having a nightmare that something was terribly wrong Jesse [Music]
was was killed and when I woke up it was just a dream my name is Gary Bardwell Jesse
Bardwell is my daughter go this way do it Jesse do it I called her my beautiful daughter and I still do a beautiful
Jesse she lived in Orange Beach Alabama she just loved being around water she would be in the water fighting
the waves and having fun she worked at a place called uh cobal the restaurant it's beautiful
place I don't know why she decided to move she just up and moved to Texas and she said like I'm just going
out there to clear my head I'll be back I just going for a couple weeks and I'll
be back my name is Kimberly Asbury I was friends with Jesse it just went from hearing from her a lot talking to her to
nothing I knew something was wrong I was the father of three girls I was very determined to get to the bottom
of what had happened to Jesse bwell my name is Kon hail I was the lead detective on Jesse's
case Jesse was nowhere to be found when we got to Texas I had the fear that we would never find her tell me what it
felt like then to go 2 days 3 days 4 days it was hell after so many days it's kind of
hard to believe that she's just going to come back with shopping bags In Her Arms
it was just like brace for impact I knew she was dead how did you know I had that
Nightmare and I felt it she was not on this Earth anymore this story is about a young
girl thinks she finds love and it turns out he's Pure Evil [Music] [Music] 48 Hours taken away
[Music] yesterday uh I went down to the river and just uh sat there and watched the
boats go by and took some deep breaths and said I don't know how much of this I can take you know any
longer there are days when it's hard for Gary Bardwell to get out of bed but he always does determined to get Justice
for Jesse his 27-year-old daughter who went missing from Richardson Texas in May of
2016 I'm doing it for Jesse taking one day at a time one step at a time Gary knew something was wrong before he even
knew Jesse had gone missing something from my soul was gone and I was afraid that it was her
that connection that Bond Deeper Than Words formed the moment Jesse was born says Gary as soon as she was born
immediately started crying it was just such a happy moment such a happy moment Jesse grew up alongside her older
brother Brandon me and Jesse have been two pe's in a pod since we were young there's Brandon and Jesse Gary a
now retired firefighter with the Pascagoula Mississippi Fire Department loved being a dad she kind of didn't
want me out of her sight she just just like to know where I was she slept with this every night I just love those days
dad is a little girl for sure when Jesse was 14 Gary and her mother Carla divorced she loved her mother too very
much so Jesse spent her high school years with her father I just have my Cofe you want some and her new
stepmother Gina this is Jesse's graduation picture after few tries at college life somewhere along the line
she was having more fun than school that's when Jesse moved to Orange Beach and started working tables at Cobalt a
popular Beachside restaurant we talked every day she text me every day like he came and they went boating and they went
fishing Jesse's good friend restaurant manager Kimberly Asbury found out Gary was an accomplished musician and booked
him at the restaurant she go to his gigs I mean they were friends they weren't just
father and daughter Jesse had been living with a long-term boyfriend but surprised
everyone when she fell for a new guy Jason low it kind of came out of nowhere Jesse's friend Terry saw the romance
start Jason seemed friendly he definitely um was outgoing as well he was handsome had two college degrees and
ambitious for Jesse not just a new love but a ticket to a more exciting life when Jason went to Dallas for a
six-figure job in the tech industry Jesse decided she would join him and pursue her own dream of Cosmetology she
thought of it as more of an adventure like I'm I'm trying something new but Jesse failed to mention that she was
about to go to Dallas when she saw her family that Christmas I had no clue of what was
going on she knew that she was fixing to leave for Texas and I would have done everything I
could to try to talk her out of it shortly after the holidays Jesse left for Texas and suddenly the girl who
always had her iPhone was now never on it you couldn't reach her the moment that I really started to get worried was
when her phone number was cut off and everything that we talked to her had to go through Jason the only way to get
Jesse was to call Jason's phone or the house phone they would come to find out that Jason was monitoring all her calls
eventually every time Gary called Jesse he only got Jason I said let me speak to
Jesse he said uh she said she'll call you later two months later Gary finally got his
chance to meet Jason low Jason and Jesse came to pasula for a visit Gary tried to
persuade Jesse not to go back to Texas I remember Jesse was was hugging me more than normal and I was
going are you okay yeah yeah I I definitely want to go to Texas I just want you to be proud of me you
know they left I watched the car drive away even though Jesse never let on that anything
was wrong Gary had a bad feeling he went into his Studio Jesse's childhood room she said Daddy don't wor and wrote this
song it's going to be all right that song taken away was written the very last time I saw
Jesse as they were leaving it was written about seeing them leave Tak away me getting a gut feeling
of something was bad wrong take on away she said there is nothing you can say on in May 4 months after Jesse moved to
Texas she stopped answering his calls all together Gary called Jason and insisted on knowing where Jesse was he
says Jason told him he didn't know what was he saying I don't know where in the hell she is we don't live codependent
she can go and come as she pleases but when she didn't call her mom and stepmom on Mother's Day Gary had had
enough I said we're leaving in the morning let's pack some bags and we're going to
[Music] Texas when Gary Bardwell got in his truck and headed to Texas he was angry
very angry I get so angry that it scares me his little girl was missing and he believed Jason low was behind it I text
him on the way there I said if Jesse is not there when I get there you are in a tremendous amount of trouble but when he
got to Jesse and Jason's apartment she was nowhere to be found Gary immediately filed a missing person's Report with the
Richardson police department 804 2017 over the next 24 hours the police repeatedly visited the apartment and
still she never showed up that's when detective hail got assigned to the case Jason low please uh speaking he first
made contact with Jason by phone he stated the last time he saw her was on May 8th which was Mother's Day that
morning at 10:00 a.m. and she left in her acur and is that car still gone yes the next day detective hail made a
house call and made another audio recording still hadn't heard from Jesse right by then Jesse had been reported
missing for 3 days it seemed everybody was desperate to find Jesse except the man who claimed to be in love with her
we just did our own thing always I didn't question her she didn't question me and it
worked the detective looked around the apartment and saw no sign of a struggle Jason stuck to his story that she left
home home in her Acura there was just one problem with that story the police learned that Jesse
and Jason had sold that Acura 3 weeks before Jason claimed she drove off in it they found it in the new owner driveway
Jason's lies were not very smart who would lie about an Acura that had been sold it was pretty clear that there was
definitely something other going on other than just a missing person it became even CLE clearer the
following day a team of detectives including hail and his partner Eric willson returned to the apartment they
saw what appeared to be a line of cocaine you have Coke on the countertop a line of it yes or no yes sir but it
was an odor coming from the garage that really got their attention so it smells really bad in here yeah I know thanks
the yeah it does it's a smell that you never forget once you've smelt it you know instantly when you smell it again
it was the smell of death and it was coming from the back of Jason Low's black Audi detective Hil opened the
hatch door there was no Jesse Bardwell but a body had clearly been there there was standing fluid in the back hatch and
it smelled like just decaying flesh it had front end damage it did not have the bumper the bumper was inside
the vehicle and it had a lot of mud on the inside and on the out Side Jason told the detectives he'd
gotten stuck in the mod while searching for Jesse he still held on to the fact that he did not know where Jesse
was but when they sprayed the chemical blue star in the cargo compartment of the Audi it lit up like crazy indicating
the presence of blood it pretty much turned into a homicide investigation at that point we're wondering if you would
mind coming down to the station so we could talk like right now yeah Jason low was initially arrested on
drug charges and thrown in jail my name is detective okay detectives used the opportunity to further question him on
Jesse's whereabouts want to talk with you for a few minutes we spent a long time speaking with him you see this
picture look at the picture Jas to try to relate to his emotions his feelings the girl you were in love with the girl
that you wanted to marry and nothing seemed to work don't patronize me he didn't seem to care he seemed irritated
and thought that we were trying to pin things on him that he hadn't done well you tell me where she's at I don't know
man I'm wrapped up like I'm I'm not going to be accused of stuff and I'm done talking even without a body Jason low
was charged with murder I had no doubt that he had killed her but they did have doubts grave
doubts that they would ever find Jesse Texas is a huge state we've got lots of rivers lots of lakes lots of ponds
Fields there are 100 million different places you could hide a body in Texas back home in Pascagoula the town
rallied around the family Jesse's grandmother Miss Kitty they had a candl light visual at the
beach praying that she'd be found maybe safe somewhere on May 19th almost 3 weeks
after Jesse was last seen alive they finally got an answer the police had reason to believe
Jesse was on a remote Ranch in north Texas Gary says they wouldn't tell the family how they knew only that it was a
reliable source Chief Jimmy Spivey called the Bardwell family into the station the
chief said it's going to be a bad day for y'all today because we do not expect to find your daughter alive
a team of detectives FBI investigators and prosecutors made their way to that remote Ranch detectives where are we
we're in Farmersville Texas they arrived late afternoon and started walking through the fields we
saw where he had gotten stuck in the mud you could still see the car parts on the
ground you could we found a piece of metal looked like it was shielding something kind of a makeshift burial
area and at that point you can start to smell you know decaying flesh so we walked walked closer she was covered
with the Sheep so we could tell but you can see the outline of the body under the
Sheep Jesse Bardwell had been crudely wrapped in a blue fitted sheet and covered with a pile of debris including
a red blanket and two red and gold towels what was the condition of this body it's one of the worst we've
seen it would take 7 days to officially identify her body the medical examiner ruled J Jess's death a homicide but her
body was so badly decomposed officials could not say how she was murdered I got Jesse's ring that's her ring that's her
ring against his better judgment Jesse's father read the autopsy report I felt it was my responsibility
as Jesse's Daddy to read the report she was toally murdered and she was thrown away like a
piece of trash wrapped up in a sheet barely looking like a person and they sent the hearse to Texas
to pick her up and my firman buddies loaded her into the back of the hearse this is my life now
I love you over 900 people showed up at First United Methodist Church to mourn the death and celebrate
the life of 27-year-old Jesse Bardwell if this town could be washed with all the tears that were shed over
Jesse it'd be real clean we wouldn't even need for it to rain for the tears that were shed for Jesse
while the bardwells spent the next year grieving a very different looking Jason low was in a mckin Texas jail cell
preparing his defense one of the key issues in this case is whether or not to have our client
testify Jason's courta appointed attorney Andy farcus says he is sure that Jason did not murder Jesse he's not
so sure Jason can convince a jury but he has a plan I've been a lawyer for 42 years I have never done this before
never done this [Music] before as the months passed after Je 's death her father Gary struggled through
his grief and through his rage I'd get a 12lb sledgehammer and had a stump outside the house and I would print out
pictures of his face and I'd set it on the stump and beat the hell out of it until I couldn't swing
anymore there was only one thing that kept him going waiting to see Jason low face a judge at and jury in a court of
law and be convicted of the murder of his only daughter I think about what I think happened to
her and I couldn't protect her it's just unimaginable it's Unthinkable it's [Music]
unforgivable I don't feel he's guilty of murder in August 2017 we went to the Colin County jail
with attorney Andy farcus to meet his client he is in which one this one this one right here Jason
low we met Jason low but he would not talk to us on camera he told us he's saving his story for the witness stand
farcus believes that allowing Jason to tell his version of what happened to Jesse will help him get acquitted of
murder and to gauge how a jury will react okay good morning everybody farcus is doing something he's never done
before he and co-consul Maria to are conducting a mock trial be seated it's essentially a simulated trial with
pretend jurors who will pass judgment Maria too will act as the prosecutor and we know that the
defendant put her there and farcus the defense the state can't tell you you how where when or why this happened while
the defense Maps out its strategy in mock Court the real prosecutors westwin and santhia Walker are fitting together
the pieces of what they admit is a mostly circumstantial case do you know how Jesse is murdered no do you know why
Jesse was murdered no and do you know where Jesse was murdered no no so we don't know how we don't know why and we
don't know exactly where that's correct but you have the body and that's enough for you to create the picture yes they
have no doubt that Jesse Bardwell was murdered by Jason low a man whose dark side she didn't see they believe until
it was too late Jesse really thought she was in love with this guy and everything
was good at first Jesse told her father life in Texas was eight but then only a month after moving they had a big fight
Jason would later say it was because Jesse had a brief affair before moving to Texas and got pregnant he was Furious
when he found out eventually he says Jesse had an abortion she called me uh really upset she was crying said you
were right I should have never come out here Jason kicked me out I'm freezing fortunately a friend of a
friend took her in for the night Gary bought her a plane ticket to Alabama for the next morning one of her friends went
to the airport the next night when she was supposed to be there and waited 7 hours for her to get there and she never
came Jesse told her father that Jason felt bad about the fight and would try to trust her again she was 27 a grown
woman so Gary reluctantly Let It Go a decision that haunts him to this day my mind never stops it never
stops thinking why did you not go out there sooner if there were any more incidents Jesse didn't LED on to the
folks back home and she was even less forthcoming with her new Texas friends messed up my hair Regina and Tommy
Jordan she was just real timid and quiet we just seemed to be real shy mhm we could never pull anything out of her she
didn't really talk much did they seem like they were a happy young couple he made it seem like that the Jordans were
so fond of the couple we took them in our wing like one of our own children they asked them to house sit their home
and dog while they went out of town for a few days they left on May 1st the last
time you saw Jesse alive was here at your home yes when they returned everything seemed
normal but then they heard the shocking news Jason had been arrested for murdering Jesse did you think he was
capable of doing something not at all we all kind of thought he was innocent Tommy went to the jail to talk
to Jason all right can you pick up the phone and that's your bu a videotaped conversation what's up brother what's up
man that would become a key piece of evidence in this case back up from the monitor a little bit they scaring me I
go man I didn't know what happened I mean I like I up I made a mistake like it was an accident and I
know what I'm guilty of I'm guilty of criminal negligence it was a stunning statement Jason was now admitting he was
there when Jesse died back at the mock trial criminal negligence acting prosecutor Maria 2 I hope everybody
heard that seizes on those words as evidence of his guilt he know he's guilty he's guilty of criminal
negligence Andy farcus knows that tape will be one of his biggest problems that's the only piece of evidence they
have that ties him to her death so farcus rot tests Jason's Story it was all an accident so the story that Jason
is going to tell on the stand does the prosecution have any idea have they heard this story at all no they have no
idea no idea but farcus tells Jason's entire story to the pretend jurors he's eager to learn their
verdict they deliberate over lunch we don't have any evidence to show what actually happened neither does the state
that's right I can't believe the da even took this T Frankl and the mock jurors reach a verdict what was the verdict
after they heard the whole story it was 15 to zero acqu not guilty of murder murder after hearing
those two words not guilty Jason thinks there's a good chance he'll walk out of jail a free
[Music] man the time had finally come Gary Bardwell said goodbye to his fireman buddies and then the hardest goodbye of
all you're going to be all right in Texas his mother you're going to do a good job you're going to do this for
Jesse Justice for Jesse you remember that just I love you son I love you I love you for the first time in 30 years
Gary got on an airplane as he and his wife Gina headed to Texas for the trial of the man accused of murdering his
daughter Jesse he had waited a year and 4 months for this day that's stomach is in knots I just don't know how I'm going
to react when I get in the courtroom each of youly swear prosecutor West Wind calls Gary as his first
witness I was shaking so bad that I was afraid that people could see me shaking is that a photo of
Jesse yes it is and sir I know this is this difficult just take your time pay the state
portrays Jason low as a man with a dark side a man with a long history of drug abuse a pathological liar who often told
people he was a Navy SEAL but was never actually in the military a man who Abused Women I think I would most
certainly be killed by him if I had continued dating him the state managed to find two of Jason's ex-girlfriends
Haley McDaniel and Chrissy Chambers both say Jason drove a wedge between them and their families just like he did
with Jesse it was just all manipulation and control they say he would get furious
accusing them of cheating one night Chrissy says he pushed her to the floor and sat on top of her he had one hand
over my mouth and another his another hand over my nose and um was just pushing pushing pushing pushing on top
of me and he wouldn't get off um I'm thinking that he's going to kill me because he looked me in my eyes and
he told me he was he said I'm killing you right now Jason denies any of this happened
but the jury won't get to hear Chrissy and Haley's stories because in the end prosecutors decided it wasn't necessary
and likely inadmissible they are confident Jason Low's sadistic side will come through he about as cruel of a
individual as I've dealt with and I've been doing this a long time it wasn't just the act of murder say the
prosecutors it's what he did and did not do after the murder to cover up his crime while Jesse lay dead in the back
of Jason's Audi decomposing Jason was using her phone to send these text messages pretending she
was still alive that's what criminals do they want to find a way to get away with
it and one of those ways is to pretend that this other person is still alive prosecutors think Jesse was killed
on or about May 1st the last day she was seen Alive by the Jordans they believe Jason kept her body in his car day after
day after day eight days in total before dumping it and when Jesse's body was finally found on May 19th prosecutors
say the way in which she was discarded said it all this wasn't some accident it's not how you would leave someone
that tragically died someone that you love someone that you care for it told me that she was
murdered the physical evidence at the scene the red blanket the red and gold towels the blue fitted sheet Jesse's
body was wrapped in all LED back to the home where they had been house sitting this is your linen closet yes
Reg still has the matching top sheet to the blue one Jesse was wrapped in you kept it I kept it I don't know why I
kept it it just uh gives me creeps just even thinking about it after the first week of trial Gary
facetimes his mother our lawyers have a plan they they know what they're doing you got to remember that you got to
remember that but I know it's exhausting it's got to be exhausting I have heard that Jason low is actually going
to take the stand it's going to get harder this week that's when it's going to get
nasty you've got enough prayers to hold you up and give you strength you're going to have the strength that you need
love you love you too bye bye bye it was the moment Gary had been dreading and Jason had been waiting for
the defense calls Jason low his chance to convince the real jury he is innocent of murder the defense tries to humanize
him he admits getting hooked on drugs at age 13 oxycoton heroin and xanax with his
parents listening in court he talks about growing up an only child in a well-off family working on his master's
degree and meeting Jesse Bardwell we you on laugh yes sir he says they had plans to get
married and buy a house and then it all came crashing down it was the evening of
May 1st he and Jesse were house sitting at the Jordans he claims they had taken GHB a sedative often called a date rape
drug they were getting intimate in the shower while we're having sex I'm standing here bracing myself and I start
to slip first he slips then Jesse he says she falls and hits her head on the porcelain tub and then sits on the edge
she just kept saying I I I feel hot she was like I feel a little bit dizzy and she was I mean like what I would say
kind of bugging out is what I thought instead of getting medical help they go to sleep when Jason woke up in the
morning he says Jesse was lying on his chest I tried to kind of shake her and kept knocking the dog working she didn't
move she was dead the defense would claim of a possible brain injury what was it like for you to watch him get up
on the stand and tell his story it was like somebody ripped my heart out it ripped my soul out my
soul Gary does not believe a word of it but Jason continues he says he heard a knock on the door I just panicked and I
opened the door it was Robert Gwyn AKA Cowboy Jason says he's his drug dealer and it was he Jason claims who took the
sheet from the linen closet he wrapped her up and together they put Jesse's dead body in the back of Jason's
Audi Wes wi wasn't buying it you're just watching has the love of your life gets
bagged up in a fitted sheet and then the two of you carry her outside right yes sir and you toss her in the back of your
alley plac her oh affectionately I'm sure prosecutors don't even bother to call Cowboy to the stand do you believe
that Robert Gwyn Cowboy had anything to do with the murder of Jesse no no do you
think he had anything to do with covering it up no after after Jesse's body was loaded
into the back of his car Jason admits he parked it in the garage left her there for days and began reaching out to other
women sexting or I'd love to have you bend over like that while I'll give you what you want and sexting I want to
taste you so bad and sexting you were sending photos of your penis to other women while the love of your life rotted
in the trunk of your car well was that like for you to hear him talk about that my first thought is
I was that I had to find a way to get to him and kill him with my bare [Music] [Music]
hands prosecutor West win is gunning for a guilty verdict never once said there's
been an accident and J low is in his line of fire never once call the police he aims right for the bullseye the love
of your life it's rotting in your trunk and after all it was just an accident and hits his Mark you didn't
want anyone to know she was dead you didn't want anyone to find her body after 7 hours of tears I just she
was asleep sleep excuses I didn't know what to say and denials knew I didn't willingly and intentionally kill someone
killed Jesse killed the girl that I was in love with the defense plays its last sympathy card who pointed out to the
police where Jesse was buried I didn't remember when the police wouldn't tell the bardwells how they
found Jesse's body well it was Jason low who told them where to find her his lawyer says Jason did it for the sake of
Jesse's family but the prosecution says the only reason is because he cut a deal
you're getting something in exchange for that agreement right if convicted instead of
serving 99 years the most Jason low will serve is half that 50 years and why was
that deal offered it's important for the family it was important to find her after 5 days of testimony taking some
items out of the vehicle the lawyers sum up their cases you can't trust a word that comes
out of his mouth for the state it comes down to Jason Low's character evil typically doesn't announce
itself you rarely see it that's what we have here but the defense argues the state did not prove
murder over accident their case is built on he lied to the cops he hid the body therefore he's
guilty that's not proof beyond all reasonable doubt it was now up to a jury to decide after 6 hours of deliberations
the jury hands its verdict to Judge Scott Becker and it please rise we the jury find the defendant guilty of murder
as charged in the indictment so sweet to know that monster is going to be put away for a
long time before sentencing Gary finally got the chance to face the man who killed his
daughter I looked him straight in the eyes and it frightened me for about 5 Seconds there was nothing in his eyes
nothing I am very sad and angry standing beside Gary for support Jason's ex-girlfriends if I could say anything
to Jesse I would say run save yourself that same day judge Becker sentenced Jesse's killer to the
negotiated maximum you can go with the deputies 50 years we took one last trip to Colin
County jail to see if Jason would finally own up to what he had now been convicted of so I am walking in right
behind me into the jail and I'm going to ask him face to face did you kill Jesse
Bardwell hey Jason hello thank you for doing this yes ma'am have a seat please thank
you did you have anything to do with the death of Jesse Bardwell no ma'am did you
murder Jesse Bardwell No Ma'am why are you sitting here for 50 years I'm reaping what I swed like I said you know
I was I lied I was scared and I thought I could fix this I thought I thought about just myself I didn't think about
her family I didn't think about her he'll have half a century in a Texas prison to think about all that pain he
sowed if her parents were here right now is there something you would want to say
to them I'm sorry and what are you sorry for for being a piece of dirt after the trial Gary Bardwell and his
family went back to Mississippi where he used to spend long summer days on the water with his
daughter Jesse only now is he able to get back in a boat and go to some of the places they
used to go a Bittersweet reminder of the daughter he [Music] lost Jason low took away a Beautiful
Soul a beautiful heart the life of the party a smile that would light up this dark room she will live forever I always
called her my beautiful little girl in my heart and soul my beautiful daughter Jesse how many
breaks can my heart take until it's taken away [Music] [Music] this is a murder case that began with a
nightmare and a woman who had visions of violence to me it was a dream I woke up
and it just startled me I usually have very strange dreams when I wake up in the morning I remember
bits and pieces and within half an hour it's completely gone I said I'm worried about Kelly I
think Kelly's hurt Kelly Brennan was a nurse at one of the local hospitals well thought of at
the hospital Kelly was beautiful when she came in the room it was like glamorous she was patient oriented
wasn't afraid to take charge we called her the sge tell me what happened what did you
dream about Kelly everything was black and she was arguing with somebody and I saw the sign for Mark's landing on
February 15th 2010 Kelly Brenan went missing she didn't show up for work there was like A unsettling Panic that
we didn't know what what happened to Kelly something was not right it was not adding up and that's why we called the
police 911 what's the problem there I think there's been a murder we sent people down to start to look at Mark's
landing and in that area to see if they could find Kelly and actually put a Aviation unit up in the air helicopter
had had spotted what they believed to be a a person laying in the wooded area shortly later we were able to uh
identify that it was Kelly brunn if you follow me Peter right back in here toward the scrub wow back in the
bush and this is where Kelly ended her life right here most of the injuries are are directed direct at her
head so there's a frenzy attack with many blows being struck there's a lot of anger and rage in that once the body's
found and it's where she says it is Mark Landing I said I can see Mark's Landing
of course then she becomes your prime suspect in the dream is just like I told them she was arguing with somebody my
name is Todd darany I was a criminal defense lawyer and one day Sheila Trot came into my office and told me that she
was accused of murder Sheila was trying to convey to me that she didn't commit any murder and that she merely had a
dream a vision about this that came to her like she was Clairvoyant if it hadn't been for me
they wouldn't have gone to Mark's Landing looking for her I told the truth and I'm continuing to tell the truth I
did not kill Kelly Brennan you don't believe that she has some Supernatural ability that all these facts came to her
in a dream no I don't think she's clar voyant I think she's a killer I'm Peter vanand tonight on 48
Hours a vision of murder [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's hard to imagine this picturesque
Seashore marks landing on Florida's Space Coast as a Beachside [Music] grave is this the spot where Kelly
Brennan was lying on the ground you noticed her legs sticking out from the bushes a little bit and kind of
the lower part of her TSO it was on the morning of February 16th 2010 that Chopper pilot John Copa of the bravard
County Sheriff's Department spotted a body we landed I got out of the helicopter ran over to her I saw a lot
of trauma to her head it's it's a very sad moment to see somebody dead like [Music]
that it was 46-year-old Kelly Brennan who had vanished from her home in Indie Atlantic less than 24 hours
earlier there was no saving Kelly Brennan no unfortunately no there was no saving her she was so alive she was
always you know running around doing things and then to know that she was dead it was just a total
shock Lou irvy and Kelly were close friends and nurses at a local hospital they often kayaked together when you
think about Kelly Brennan what do you miss the most her friendship working with her was was good because she was a
good nurse she knew her stuff and but also just as a friend Kelly was committed to her patience even after she
was diagnosed with an incurable disease multiple sclerosis it would flare up at times and she would just keep working
and work right through it which was another thing I admired about her Sheila Trot the woman at the center of this
murder says Kelly Brennan was her friend as well what is it about her that you liked we had the type of friendship
where we wouldn't see each other for four or five years and then something would bring us together she hosted
parties she liked to be the center of attention Kelly was a great girl there was nothing that she did to deserve that
at all so how did it come to this Sheila Trot suspected of brutally murdering her
friend and dumping her body right here among these bushes well it's a complicated tale of Secrets lies and
Intrigue a story that begins with an eerie dream and ends like a Shakespearean tragedy does this case
have an affair yes sex sure Jealousy on both sides major Todd gooder is the lead
investigator and a nightmare and visions and who knows what Clairvoyance of course that's our our suspect saying
that she's Clairvoyant for us that's somebody that's trying to live with what they've done I woke up and it just
startled me and I said I'm worried about Kelly I think Kelly's hurt in this dream
was Kelly Brennan dead mm-m did you see her blooded no mm-m did you see her body
at Mark's Landing uh-uh no you did not kill Kelly no no I would never have hurt Kelly no I never would have hurt
Kelly but to truly understand just how strange this story is you have to go back in time 20 years Kelly Brennan a
nursing student and Sheila Trot were friends she was working three jobs to put her husband Daniel through flight
school Dan was an uly mobile kind of guy liked Limelight a little bit some of the
things we heard was he a little narcissistic one of those people that liked to believe he had a little more
power and a little more status she was Head Over Heels Allison Bartlett remembers when her best friend Sheila
fell for the tall handsome aspiring pilot I never heard or saw that spark in her that did when she talked about Dan
and sent photos of Dan and I could see that they were going to be getting married and what did she tell you about
his personality fun like the same things that she did I think in a lot of ways she found a soulmate at least she
thought she did at least she thought she did Sheila and Dan were married on August 26th
1989 the couple had two sons kraton and Graham she became a real estate agent and Daniel Trot achieved his dream of
becoming an airline pilot in 2002 his political career also took off when he was elected mayor of their small town in
the Atlantic based on your investigation were Dan and Sheila Trot considered a power couple in India atantic I think
within town because of his status of being uh you know formly in the political circles there and her being a
real estate agent and being fairly well to do I think they were in that Social Circle to where they would be well known
throughout the community from the outside Sheila and Dan seemed to have the perfect
life but images can be deceiving what did you see in his behavior what happened he began having
Affairs I would notice his ring was on the counter he wasn't wearing his ring and then when I would say look at we
need to talk what's going on he would swear and cuss at me that's story 48 Hours reached out to Dan Trot about
these allegations but he refused to comment by January 2009 Sheila had had enough so you asked for the divorce oh
absolutely yes I said I'm done while her marriage was crumbling Sheila and Kelly met for a girl's night
out and it wasn't long before Sheila realized that Kelly's six-year marriage to restaurant manager gin Rallo was on
the rocks too she had made a point of saying that she wouldn't care if Gino had an affair
which I thought was a really strange thing to [Music] say Dan Trot moved out and joined a
Cycling group where Kelly Brennan was a member and soon they were going out on more than long bike rides Dan and Kelly
were both lying to everybody saying that they weren't having an affair and while
this whole thing was going on I was having my problems with Dan he was just being very belligerent Sheila's mother
repeated to investigators her daughter's claims of other Affairs but major goodar
says it was Dan's admitted relationship with Kelly that led to murder she's going to lose Dan I'm going
to kill the thing that he now loves or I'm going to take that away and I'm going to hurt him as bad as he's hurt me
and then you get the third thing if I can't have him nobody's going to have him you've been portrayed as being
obsessed with Dan but you laugh you you that you're saying that's not true oh no
he would I'm sure he wishes I was obsessed with him no absolutely not you couldn't bear the thought of losing him
you couldn't bear the thought of him with another woman oh I no well the fact that I set him up with Kelly would you
know that would be a little different but uh with Kelly Brennan yes absolutely you set them up yes absolutely wait a
second yeah she was my ticket out of a bad marriage but police aren't buying one
word of Sheila's story and they want to question her about Kelly Brennan's murder God's honest truth if I was going
to kill anybody for any reason it would have been [Music] him that's the place that's the place
that she loves that's where her heart is right there Sheila Trot had a lifelong love affair with the water yeah I should
have been born with gills I suppose long before she was accused of murder she spent Carefree Summers on this
picturesque Canadian Island this is where she learned to swim and this was her favorite place in the whole
world Margaret Byer says her daughter doesn't belong at the center of this murder investigation but back with her
family in Canada jila used to just love to run through these rocks if she could see this right now she would just be in
tears this is where she belongs it was Sheila's love of the water that Drew her to live on the Florida coast where she
was a diving instructor and went to college now she swims in a sea of Suspicion I did not kill Kelly Brennan
she was the best thing that could have ever happened to me in fact Sheila says she orchestrated the relationship
between Dan and Kelly one night over over dinner to speed up her own divorce so I said to her I said you know
something Kelly I said you and Dan would be great for each other and she just perked up and she said really and I said
yeah I said but Kelly you're going to have to lose weight but prosecutor Samantha Barrett
says Sheila is making up the Matchmaker story Barrett says that Sheila was simmering with anger and jealousy over
the relationship anger that finally boiled over when she savagely killed Kelly on this lawn right behind me
it was horrific she was lying in wait for Kelly When Kelly came out of her house I believe once she started the
attack and she knew Kelly wasn't going to be able to fight back that that's when the the rage came to the
surface authorities begin building a timeline that prosecutor Jim McMaster says started on the night of February
15th 2010 when Kelly misses an appointment with her personal trainer and they couldn't find her we couldn't
contact her and couldn't find her Kelly's roommate files a missing person's report two hours later they
checked every Police Department every hospital fire rescue Highway Patrol they went to her residence and were clueless
as to where Kelly Brennan was meanwhile according to her sons Graham and kraton Sheila arrives home
after a 4-Hour trip to Walmart she was dizzy shaking and acting strangely so our rescue was to address the emergency
so her son's girlfriend calls 911 a paramedics arrived they couldn't find anything physically wrong with her so
they left an hour later another call to 911 my boyfriend's mom just had a seizure about an hour ago and they said
to call back if she's been acting weird or anything and she's acting very strange she was then transported to the
hospital and they ran routine tests and nothing of medical significance was identified she was released from the
hospital and came home when they returned from the hospital in the wee hours of the morning Sheila begins
talking about the dream she called her younger son Graham into the bedroom she told him she had a bad dream she kept
seeing Kelly's face in the dark and that she believed that she hurt Kelly worried Sheila's Sons telephone
their grandmother Graham just said to me Margaret we need you we need you she drives from her Florida condo to
Sheila's house where she finds her daughter curled up in a fetal position on her bed she was shaking from head to
toe and she said call the police I said what happened she said mom everything's black everything's black and all I can
see is Kelly's face it was Graham that said to me Margaret I think Mom's killed Kelly
fearing her daughter was having a nervous breakdown Margaret buers makes yet another 911 call um we just need a
policeman please what's the problem there please this call would change Sheila's life
forever I think there's been a murder my daughter I has had a nervous breakdown and she's saying she's killed somebody
your daughter's telling you she killed somebody yes all right she she didn't tell you who she saying she killed she's
saying she I don't know Kelly Kelly do you did she tell you where this happened well she it's down Mark's Landing Mark's
Landing it's sort of the defendant's own words through her mother and and through
her sons I mean she's basically confessing to the crime in the 911 call after that explosive call officers
rushed to Sheila trt's home and she continues rambling about the dream she's making some statements I believe I heard
some someone I keep seeing Kelly's face to the point that the Indi Atlantic police believe we may have a homicide on
our hands then detectives put two and two together wait a minute we had a missing person report last night of
Kelly Brennan and when you make that connection what are you thinking you're talking to the
killer that's when Kelly's Body is spotted from the air and cops on the ground rush to Mark's Landing detectives
have been at this India Atlantic home for some time all after the body of 46-year-old Kelly Brennan was found 10
miles away in this sandun area Kelly's body was found exactly where Sheila dreamt it would be and so less than 2
days after Kelly Brennan disappeared Sheila Trot is arrested for murder I'm going to be in jail for a
very long time okay Sheila Trot calls her son kraton right they're charging me with first-degree
murder she says but it's not true I didn't do it Sheila hires defense attorney Todd deratany and even though
that dream led to Kelly's Body darany insists the prosecution's case Isn't So Ironclad the police didn't have DNA they
didn't have fingerprints Witnesses and they didn't have any blood that matched the Sheila Trot looks like you've got at
a minimum a case of Reasonable Doubt absolutely reasonable doubt it a dream case
so little physical evidence prosecutors say because Sheila Trot planned it that way it's not like she all of a sudden
found out that Kelly was having an affair with Dan Trot and then confronted her immediately and beat her to death
she'd known this had been going on for months and months and months and she planned it down to the Last Detail she's
a murderer my daughter I has had a nervous breakdown and she's saying she's killed
somebody did you kill Kelly no I didn't kill Kelly brenon absolutely not Sheila Trot remains behind bars for 4 and a
half years awaiting trial for the brutal murder of her friend Kelly Brennan she said all I want to do is hug my boys and
I understand that cuz all I want to do is hug my girl today you absolutely believe in your daughter's innocence
correct absolutely 110% as the trial finally begins in September of 2014 remain seated come to order please
for investigators believe they've built a strong but admittedly circumstantial case beginning with that bizarre dream
the defendant began saying that she'd had a dream that she may have hurt Kelly and that it happened at Mark's
Landing do you have an eyewitness to this murder no do you have a murder weapon no do you have Sheila trt's DNA
on Kelly Brennan no no I don't believe so but major Todd goodar does have a theory of the murder based on blood
stains and divots in the grass in front of Kelly's home Peter this is the house where we believe that Sheila Trot laid
in wait waited for Kelly Brennan to come out to Reve vehicle snuck up behind her
at nightfall hit her in the back of the head and then continued to hit her in the head multiple multiple times with
some type of object we believe a hammer good your believe Sheila then put Kelly's body inside Kelly's own SUV
where CSI found her blood on the passenger side floor he says Sheila then drove Kelly's SUV to Marks Landing where
she dumped the body then she abandoned the SUV at a nearby condo what kind of a murderer could I have been that I didn't
leave fingerprints I didn't leave hair I had no bruises I had no broken Nails no cuts
on me or anything like this nothing connects me to this crime whatsoever this was not a physical fight
this was an ambush where she bashed in This Woman's brains with a hammer um she probably didn't have to break a nail to
do that what the lack of physical evidence means to me is how premeditated the crime actually was defense attorney
Todd deratany couldn't wait to bring this case to trial I was absolutely certain that this was 80% chance I could
have won this case working at half speed it was that good of a case but as the trial begins darany won't be able to
show how good a case he thought he had he's nowhere near the courtroom you looking for 4x4 or two wheel drive he's
selling used cars across town at a dealership he now owns Big Boy Motors he has had his own legal troubles
Florida state supreme court has permanently disbarred him for harming clients by taking their money and then
failing to represent them so while dar's counting the cash from his car business
Sheila is fighting for her freedom the prosecution plays that damning 911 call from Sheila's mother all right she she
didn't tell you who she's saying she killed I don't know ke did she tell you where this happened Mark Landing the man
at the center of this alleged love triangle takes the stand my name is Daniel Trot last name is spelled t TT
it's Sheila's husband and Kelly's boyfriend at the time of the murder clearly annoyed Dan Trot wishes he could
be anywhere but here do you recall the date of February 15th of 2010 yeah you have specific memory about
that day I've been spending nearly the last 5 years trying to forget it but yes I
suppose I remember a few things prosecutors need to establish Dan's affair with Kelly as the motive which
pushed Sheila to kill you're looking forward to seeing her that evening absolutely very much so Sheila's new
attorneys public defenders see an opening they used Dan Trot to point the finger at a man they believe had the
strongest motive to Kill Kelly her jealous husband Gino Rallo who reacted with violence when he learned of the
affair he physically shows up at your house and confronts you he physically broke through the door and came up and
essentially assaulted me yes did he have a weapon in his hand when he barged through the door yes he did
describe that weapon uh it was some sort of Jack Dan suffered injuries to his face and neck
he says moments later Kelly followed Gino home where Gino turned his rage on her he uh attacked her in the garage
essentially was choking her it was rather rather violent encounter less than two months later Kelly was murdered
State calls Gin Gin r testifies Sheila Trot was the master manipulator who taunted him into attacking Dan she would
call me from time to time and say hey this is going on and they're having an affair how many times was the defendant
calling you about this a lot did you believe it at the time I did not prosecutors say Sheila used emails
to light Gino's fuse as well but they also revealed her own deep-seated anger in one email she wrote he was sitting in
front of you lying to your face were you hoping that Gina was going to go over and attack his wife or attack your
husband putting an end to this affair so you could have Dan back oh no oh no I wasn't upset that Dan was having an
affair with Kelly I was upset that he was spending the money that he was still trying to prove no one was more upset
than Gino Sheila's attorneys want the jury to hear a voicemail that he left Ban 2 months before Kelly's murder you
mother come on you want to this marriage I'm going to cat your mother but the judge refuses declaring
it irrelevant G's the only person who knew where Kelly specifically was that evening it sounds like you think Gino's
the killer I'm not going to say who I think it is Gino could absolutely do it Kelly wanted out of that marriage
prosecutors say Gino has a strong Alibi they say the security video from a drugstore in another town proves Gino
couldn't have been at the murder scene and Kelly's nextdoor neighbor Scott Vickers testifies that he saw a blonde
woman not a man on Kelly's lawn that night um it was a light colored a light colored outfit which you know that's or
else I wouldn't have been able to to really see but it was uh some type of light outfit that light colored outfit
detectives theorize could be a reason why none of Kelly's blood blood was found on Sheila what do you think about
their contention that you were wearing some sort of Hazmat like Su that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard
we're next to Disney World why didn't they just put me in a Mickey Mouse suit are you serious things are about to
get very serious at Sheila trt's trial her two sons are about to take the stand against her and what they have to say is
another nightmare for their mother in a tragedy that seems to know no bounds Sheila trt's two sons are about
to testify at her murder trial for the prosecution how are you related to her she's my mother and do you see her in
the courtroom here today yes can you with his mother watching and listening just 15 ft away Graham Trot first
describes helping her when she seemed to be having a seizure the night Kelly Brennan was killed I picked her up and
put her on the couch cuz she was hitting her head against the wall prosecutor Samantha Barrett quickly cuts to the
chase asking him what happened after his mother came home from the hospital a few
hours later she was telling me she was seeing things what did she say she saw she saw Kelly's face and she said she
thinks she's hurt and a beach despite the prosecutor efforts did you ever hear her say I think I hurt
Kelly no Graham won't repeat what he initially told investigators in a recorded interview she says I think I
hurt Kelly and I keep seeing her face and then I hurt her and I was like well that's not
good but what he does reveal next is a bombshell and it's something he did not tell law enforcement until shortly
before the trial I said do you want to drive down to this beach that you're seeing and we can see there's nothing
there and then we can call tonight and go to sleep Sheila agreed taking her son's Graham and kraton and Graham's
girlfriend on a maob field trip to Mark's landing and there with Sheila leading the way the boys 16 and 18 years
old at the time saw Kelly's bludgeon body you could see I mean it was just a lifeless body just lying there was your
mother with you when you saw that yes um what did she say I don't nothing really she just in
shock why would you take your two teenage Sons out to Mark's landing and show them where the body was the kids
took me you led them to that place I didn't take them right to the body we walked around and we were just on our
way out when we saw her feed why is it when your mother came over to the house you didn't tell her we just got back
from Mark's Landing where we saw a dead body uh you'd have to ask the kids that I don't know it just never really came
up when my mother first came come up didn't come up Sheila didn't come up You' just been to see a dead body a
woman who whose skull was crushed well when my mom came in I was in bed and she woke me up I don't remember the
conversation very well as inexplicable as that seems the horror of the night didn't end there for Sheila's Sons she
told them she also had visions of a nearby vacant lot and that's where kraton Trot tells the court they made a
second damning Discovery a bag mom opened it up went into the purse and saw opened up the wallet and we saw
Kelly's driver's license what did you do next after you saw the bag with uh Kelly
Brennan's driver's license in the wallet um told her that we didn't want to have
anything to do with it that me and Graham were going to go to sleep and that she had to deal with it on her
own how important are these boys to your case their testimony is absolutely critical it seemed that they were
determined to do what was really the right thing and tell the truth sir you're free to go but after her son's
scathing testimony Sheila's defense team faces a huge uphill battle they try to poke holes in the forensic evidence
gathered at Mark's Landing well we know that Kelly's Body comes out of the car and comes down this way and we know that
because there's blood transfer found on this Pole right here Kelly's blood was on this very post right the defense says
not so fast the spots on the fence post and did you afford them for forensic testing they were not
so as to whether those items are blood or a kid's red slurpie we're left to guess right if you would like to put it
that way and the defense tries to tear apart the alleged motive that Sheila was jealous and murderously angry over her
husband's affair with Kelly Elizabeth McHugh was Sheila's divorce attorney she says Sheila seemed fine with the affair
she really didn't have a problem with because she knew her and so she knew she would be very good with the children and
wouldn't really be a problem in the divorce okay Mo of aside Sheila's dream about Kelly ly hurt here at Mark's
landing and that field trip with her two sons here are among the strongest evidence against her but there is a new
twist to this tale Sheila says that dream was actually a memory of witnessing Kelly being killed by a
strange man she was was arguing with him and I heard him say but Kelly and she said enough and then she went and bent
into the car to do something and I saw him hit her while behind bars awaiting trial Sheila says that her memory has
come back to her and she's written a detailed account of what happened then you right he dragged her
into the grass and kept hitting her mhm is that what you saw yes yes and I didn't do
anything you didn't call police why not I don't know Sheila shared this memory in a letter to a friend she claims that
she had decided to stop at Kelly's house that night to ask Kelly to stop driving
by her house looking for Dan and at the exact moment she arrived Sheila saw a strange Man attack
Kelly how would you describe this man who was with K it was too dark it was too dark this letter prosecutors say
this is a confession no it's not a confession letter that's my account of what happened that
evening but Sheila's new account becomes even more bizarre instead of running for
her life or to the nearest police station she followed the stranger's car all the way to Mark's landing and
watched him dispose of Kelly's Body and belongings do you understand as you sit across from me right now that your story
is a fantastic story you follow the killer which doesn't make a lot of sense to anyone MH and then you don't tell
cops what happened what unfolded you don't even tell your own mother all these things are consciousness of guilt
are they not well if they're consciousness of guilt why would we call the police if I committed this crime and
I had killed her I would have taken off I'm not stupid enough to stick around come please and Sheila believes this new
memory could set her free but the question is will the jury get to hear Sheila tr's version of what happened the
night Kelly Brennan was killed [Music] is Sheila Clairvoyant has she had Visions throughout her life dreams that
have come true I don't think so Peter with her daughter's dream now being described as an eyewitness account
of Kelly's murder 48 Hours has brought Margaret a copy of that document Sheila wrote Ask do you recognize the
handwriting on this letter yes who is it Sheila's she reads for the first time from its 22
Pages he dragged her into the grass and kept hitting her I felt the blood rush out of my arms and legs and I started to
shake are these the writings of an eyewitness to a murder or the writings of a murderer describing what she has
done I think she must have seen it she couldn't have done it Peter I did not murder Kelly I witnessed it
now came the moment in court where Sheila Trot could take the stand and persuade the jury her new story is true
but on the advice of her attorneys first of all have you made a decision about whether you wish to testify in your case
or not yes sir what is your decision not to Sir that you've chosen not to testify
yes sir Sheila's first lawyer thinks he knows why Sheila didn't testify and explain that letter obviously this was
just her confessing to the crime she needed to get it off her chest Todd daratan Todd deran is a liar so the case
goes straight to closing arguments with prosecutors zeroing in on what Sheila did say after Kelly
disappeared The Smoking Gun in this case are the defendant's own words telling the police where the dead
body is they play Margaret's damning 911 call one last time and my daughter I has
had a nervous breakdown and she's saying she's killed somebody your daughter's telling you she killed somebody
yes defense attorneys make no mention of Sheila's new claim she saw Kelly's killer instead they try to pick apart
the state's case you're being asked to believe 115 lb personing is going to be able to pick up 146b person probably
deceased at this point and no pun intended but there's dead way but she's going to pick her up from the floor lift
her up and place her in the seat of not of a Honda Civic but of an SUV Place her in there when no neighbors
hearing a thing no neighbors hearing blow after blow after blow does that make any logical
sense they end by pointing the finger at Kelly's jealous husband she had no ill will no spite no evil intent no
premeditation you saw the person you heard from the person that had all those things and how he acted on those
feelings ladies and gentlemen the decision that you need to speak is that Sheila grah Trot is not
guilty thank you less than 3 hours after beginning their deliberations jurors reach a
verdict Margaret can't wait to hear the good news I was dancing I was dancing in
the elevator I was so excited cuz I knew I knew and I kept saying we're going to
bring our girls Home Instead the defendant Sheila Graham Trot is guilty of first-degree
premeditated murder guilty of first-degree murder Sheila Trot was immediately sentenced it's a sentence of the court
that you serve um life in prison as a minimum mandatory sentence for Margaret buers who wishes
she never made that 911 call The Embers of blame burned deep within her heart you are a loving mother and grandmother
and you love Sheila dearly yes does it tear you up at night to think that I put my own daughter in jail yes it sure does
it just tears me up you think I put my kid in jail for the rest of her life absolutely isn't it time for you to stop
telling these stor stories and tell the truth don't let your loved ones suffer thinking that you're innocent when you
did this MH I told the truth and I'm continuing to tell the truth and I'm going to keep telling the truth she
killed Kelly Brennan she's a murderer she's finished as well she should be for Kelly Brennan's mother the taste
of justice is Bittersweet guys put tragedy for that family as well almost 5 years after her death
Kelly's friend Lou says her kind Spirit lives on when she did come to work she was always happy and she had her little
corner it was called Kelly's Corner a place in the hospital where Kelly gave Extra Care and attention to her patience
and even after she died that was a an area of reverence if you went there um it was it was comforting
why shouldn't this audience believe you're just a clever sociopath that you are a killer you know the difference
between right and wrong but in the case of Kelly Brennan you don't care I do care I do
care when would her body have been discovered you said yourself who led them to the body it was us saying that
it was at Mark's Landing they would never have checked at Mark's Landing but despite leading her sons to
Kelly's battered body and being found guilty by a jury of six Sheila Trot is unrepentant the real killer she insists
still walks free I have to live with a lot of guilt for not stopping the attack now I'm paying the
price Kelly's family has closure but they don't have Justice cuz I didn't kill Kelly
[Music] 48 Hours don't miss an episode [Music]

48 Hours" brings you stories involving dreams, visions and nightmares in this mini-marathon. Binge-watch the full episodes, including "The Ambush of Kevin Harris," "Taken Away" and "A Vision of Murder."

00:00 The Ambush of Kevin Harris 41:49 Taken Away 1:23:27 A Vision of Murder

True crime. Real justice. "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

Kevin Harris, a talented music producer, was murdered at 21; his family seeks justice amid ongoing investigations and emotional turmoil.

Key points

A Tragic Loss. Kevin Harris was shot and killed at just 21 years old, leaving his family devastated.
The FBI Steps In. After years of seeking justice, the FBI is brought in to investigate Kevin's murder.
Kevin's Rise and Fall. Kevin Harris hustled hard to make a name for himself, but his confidence led to conflict.
The Unsolved Murder. Kevin Harris's murder remains unsolved, leaving his family desperate for answers.
A Father's Grief. Gary Bardwell's determination to find justice for his missing daughter Jesse drives him forward.
Trial Begins for Jason Low. Gary Bardwell prepares for the trial of his daughter's accused murderer.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I never expected anything like this to happen to Kevin.

A friend expressing disbelief over Kevin's murder.

13:10WatchApr 27, 2024

Tension

60/ 100Some tension

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