Deadly Love | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] this wasn't just a crime scene was it no it was not this one was bad two innocent people that were on
their first date had their lives destroyed for what reason how well did Leslie Reeves know
chrismith first date Chris was in a band and a singer and they had connected and he
asked her rout the night before Thanksgiving they decided just to meet up go to the
bar he lived 65 miles away in a really small farming Community the bar that night was very
busy the place was packed wall to wall Chris and Leslie were talking a lot laughing getting along with everyone
around them she texted me around 10 and she said everything's going okay she did
then text a second text that said I feel like something's a little bit off or something I'm not sure what she meant
was that text the last time you heard from Leslie Reeves mhm yes it was [Music] did you try texting her in the morning
mhm and did she respond no I just started driving towards Farmersville CU I had the address and
called the police department in that area Montgomery County Sheriff's Office this is Jeff hi I'm greatly concerned
about my friend can someone do a welfare check what are you feeling at this point
Nana a lot of anxiety because I don't know what I'm going to walk into uh going up there to this
house I pulled up in front of the address and then who came while you're sitting there while I'm sitting there uh
who's this uh woman parked I said well maybe I'll roll my window down and talk to her I asked her
if she was checking on Chris and she said she was checking on her friend and that's when I went up to the
door I saw the back door was broken and then I saw Chris laying there and then I ran back to my car and
called 911 nobody's answering the door and and the back window's shattered and there's a body and there's a foot I saw
on the floor I'm only 16 I can't deal with this I was in shock I think Sheriff's Office Jeff Jeff give me
some help I got one alive and one dead I just remember theming bringing Chris out
on the stretcher to the ambulance I remember there being a sheet over him so it made me panic a little
bit I got a call from our Command Center in Springfield so you are the lead crime
scene investigator yes were you really prepared for what you faced when you walked into that house I was
not why would somebody do this to him why would they try to hurt my baby that's all I kept thinking he's my baby
someone heard him going on a first date and they both end up getting shot is insane
[Music] [Music] on the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day 2021 Nanette Styer sat in her car and
watched anxiously as EMTs and Montgomery County sheriff's deputies descended on a
house in the Tiny Village of Farmersville Illinois I was quite upset and kind of going crazy in the car
Nanette had been unable to reach her good friend Leslie Reeves Nanette knew Leslie had gone to
that house the night before to go on a first date with Chris Smith a man she had met online she was very excited she
thought oh this would this might be um a really good connection but now Nanette was worried
she'd seen Chris get taken away in an ambulance but there was no sign of Leslie I kept hoping you know okay bring
Leslie out please finally a detective approached and asked Nanette for a photo of Leslie
she showed him her phone and he gave her the horrible news I'm so sorry to have to tell you
this your friend has um been murdered you know shot he said he didn't tell me where but he did
say I want you to know that she went very [Music] quickly EMTs have found Chris barely
conscious and unable to say anything about the shooting they rushed him to the hospital and deputies searched the
house later that day crime scene investigator Josh Easton of the Illinois State Police was called to the scene and
he began cataloging the Mayhem inside what do you see when you first approached the door I noticed the side
door of the house the glass in the door has been broken out the refrigerator was
pulled away from the wall the kitchen table was pushed the the chairs were knocked over no weapon was found leading
investigators to suspect that a third person was involved een took note of every detail including the burnt pizza
in the oven I assumed that maybe they were cooking a pizza for the night and the suspect shows up at the door
they both tried to fight him off and when Chris was shot Leslie went to the living room to try to hide how many
times was she shot she was only shot one time in the head in the head Leslie's body was in the living room while Chris
had been found in the kitchen e said of the 1,800 crime scenes he had been to this
was one of the most horrific there was blood everywhere the cabinets the refrigerator the countertop there was
blood from corner to corner in the Kitchen East spotted two silver colored bullet casings from a 9mm gun one in the
kitchen and the other near lesli's body as Easton processed the scene detectives
began learning about the victims Chris Smith was a 48-year-old divorced father who worked for a pool
contractor Chris was a nice guy he would hang out here frequently was friends with most people in town everybody knew
him bartender Dena lran says Chris was well known in town as the guy who grew banana trees and giant pumpkins I
remember one Halloween he donated hundreds of pumpkins for decorations for any of the kids to
paint he gave back to his community did either one of you ever worry about Chris no
no Sharon castanza is Chris's mother Ashley hul his sister Chris is a stayhome person that literally would
just work in his backyard Chris lived with a dog named Tiki and an EMT told the family that tii
may have helped Chris make it through the night by huddling with him for the roughly 12 hours that Chris was bleeding
before being rescued I think Tiki protected Chris I think she probably laid right right next to
him Chris's close-nit family could not imagine anyone wanting to kill him it was like no way how why like who yeah
who would have done that investigators had the same questions about Leslie and learned that
she was a divorced mother of two children who lived in Troy about an hour south of
Farmersville although Leslie had a master's degree in engineering she chose instead to teach Pilates and to promote
self-defense classes for women hi I'm Leslie from all studio and Leslie posted this video to her YouTube channel to
advertise one of her classes Empower yourself against aggression and assault as we teach you easy to learn
self-defense techniques power up Leslie tried to help women in abusive relationships but friends say she had
her own TR Tres Nanette told deputies she was worried about a former boyfriend a contractor by the name of Robert tar
known as Bobby she said I am going to completely block Bobby from email texts phone calls I I have to go no
contact later that evening news of Leslie's murder began circulating and reached another close friend Amy
steinhauer she had met tar a divorced father of three and did not have a good impression of
him but you never see someone and think that they can kill my friend Amy called the Sheriff's Office
that night to give them T's name by then detectives had already set out to find Bobby tar while 85 miles to
the north surgeons were fighting to try to save the life of Chris Smith a bullet
St still lodged in his [Music] brain I just want to get there I just want to get there as fast as I could
after learning that Chris had been shot in the head his family rushed to the hospital in Springfield Illinois 2 hours
from their home I was on the phone to everyone I could think of cuz I just needed prayers from
everybody doctors removed part of Chris's skull and some bullet fragments in his brain before putting him in a
medically induced coma his family struggling to piece together what had happened learned that he had been out
with a woman named Leslie Reeves had you ever heard the name Leslie Reeves before
no I looked her up and then I triy to reach out to her friends and then I found her best friend Nanette Nanette
told them the same thing she had told investigators she suspected Leslie's ex-boyfriend Bobby
tar that night sheriff's deputies went to T's home in Collinsville an hour south of the crime scene authorities say
he never asked why they wanted to talk to him and he agreed to go to the police station without a lawyer
t m although her friends said the couple had broken up tar told investigators that he and Leslie were still together
you Leslie have a lot of problems I wouldn't say no worse than any average couple it was Leslie the
detectives wanted to talk about I want you to to dig down deep here and be as honest with me as you can
okay um Leslie is dead what can you help me shed some light on this how did she die she was murdered what
happened that's why we're here with you you help me believe that you're not involved in this I'm not involved in
anything investigators asked tar about Farmersville the scene of the crime you know where Farmersville is
Farmersville no I can't say that never been there I've never heard of it and they asked tar where he had been the
night before Thanksgiving I went to a buddy of mine's house he left and left me some money out
of his shop and go pick it up the friend lived a short distance from T's home remember time he came
back yeah it wasn't that long um maybe 630 something like that investigators believe the shooting took
place sometime early on Thanksgiving morning after 1:00 a.m. tar said after he got back he was home all night you
can talk to my daughter about me being home that's exactly what they did detectives brought T's 17-year-old
daughter Shelby to a different room at the police station and she told them that her father actually left home twice
that night so the first time he left was roughly 6:30 right and then he he came home about a half hour later and I said
he had to go back right and then it was 9:1 15ish when he got back home Shelby said he had been gone for more than 2
hours and when he got home he was upset he gets home he was crying he was soing he said he missed Lesley Shelby said she
went to sleep around 9:30 and was awakened by her father around 2:45 a.m. he started laundry he was pacing walking
around and he was like I can't sleep detectives went back to Tar and told him Shelby's story did not match his tar
then changed his story and said he had gone to his friend's house twice but still insisted he was home by 8 as tar
sat at the police station detectives searched his house and found his phone and a Glock pistol Shelby had told them
her father had a different gun but they didn't find it it's little it's like this big I look at my cre the Army cleen
Shelby told investigators she had seen it the day before Thanksgiving in her father's sock drawer yesterday morning
actually I went to get S it was there and no it's not there was there yesterday and gone today okay Bobby tar
sat at the police station overnight while authorities continued to investigate they had already learned
that his car had been captured by License Plate Reader cameras just after midnight the night of the shooting the
cameras were near a gas station and investigators discovered the tar had bought gas there just after midnight
back at the police station they confronted him with the gas station receipt see your Al cuz I don't remember
doing that you don't remember being out after midnight when you have told us you are 100%
positive the gas station is here in Troy yes and the murder occurred here in Farmersville
correct the gas station was near tars home an hour from the crime scene Andrew AR fronti is the Montgomery County
State's Attorney he has distonia a condition that causes muscle ticks and tremors so why is it significant cuz it
so he went out and got some gas it was significant to us cuz why would he lie about it so I got fuel what does I Pro
investigators believed it was proofed tar was lying about his whereabouts that night they placed him under arrest
you're under arrest Forder a frony says they arrested tar immediately because they feared Chris's
life was in danger and they hadn't found the murder weapon if he was out of custody could he
take further steps to dispose of the evidence just one day after Leslie Reeves was killed and Chris Smith was
left fighting for his life investigators believed they had the man responsible in
custody I'm Aaron morard Bobby but in his only media interview Bobby tart tells 48 hours they got the wrong guy
there is so many things Untold that will prove my innocence Bobby tar charged with the
murder of Leslie Reeves and the attempted murder of Chris Smith is nothing if not
unflappable did you kill Leslie reefs no did you shoot Chris Smith no he kept his
cool even when confronted with a Litany of Lies he told investigators you told the police you only left the house
once that wasn't true correct you told the police you had no idea where Farmersville is MH that was a lie mhm
you lied about getting gas in your car that night mhm when he spoke with us tar admitted he was at Christmas house the
night before Thanksgiving placing himself at the scene of the crime he says the night began when he met Leslie
at her part-time job at this Loft store she had said she was going to go meet some friends because one of their
friends was playing in a band she asked me if I wanted to go and I said well you
know I would go but I have my youngest daughter staying with me for a week tar says that when he declined the
invitation Leslie asked if if he would follow her to Farmersville because her van was unreliable and so he did that
makes no sense to Leslie's friend Amy steinhauer she was terrified of him rightfully
so just a few weeks earlier Amy Says Leslie told her that tar had shown up while she was on a first date with a
different guy after that incident Leslie told Amy she was frightened by tar and texted Amy I could be killed by him
someday if I don't cut all contact so you're telling me now that this woman who was scared of you who had actually
texted a friend that she thought you might kill her asked you to follow her to another man's
house does that make any sense no I understand U so I don't understand that text in general why did she think you
might kill her I don't know I've got no clue tar says Leslie lied to her friends
about their relationship he insists she asked him to follow her North to Farmersville so I went with her up there
I think we arrived there around 7:30 I parked in front of her van in front of his house as as far as I went I
left I never went back to Farmersville again if he had an innocent explanation for why he was in Farmersville why did
he lie to to detectives my daughter her and Leslie there was a little bit of tension between both them I did not want
her to know that I was going to meet Leslie that night tar claims that after he lied to his daughter Shelby about
seeing Leslie he stuck to that lie at the police station because he was afraid they would tell her and he never
corrected those lies even when detectives arrested him why not just say look between you and me I lied to my
daughter so let me tell you the truth but let's just not share that with her why wouldn't you do that I should have
done that he's quick to point out the lack of physical evidence connecting him to the bloody crime scene investigators
searched his white Jetta but did not find any shards of glass or blood stains two tests by the state police were done
on my car zero blood found in my car there's zero DNA of mine at the crime scene anything from the crime scene in
my car or on me or any of my clothing or my shoes zero prosecutor of frany has to concede
that point was any of Ty's DNA found inside the house no were any of his fingerprints found inside the
house and authorities still had not found the murder M weapon but a week after the shooting they got a phone call
from T's friend Billy Adams Adams said tar called him from jail that call was recorded what's your day look like today
cuz I need 10 minutes of your time tar ask Adams to go to his house and look for some deck brackets I got some
special aluminum brackets and that I need you to get because there for another job that I
didn't tell that about yet so don't say nothing to him instead Adams contacted the Sheriff's Office deputies suspected
tar knew the phone call was being recorded and was speaking to his friend in code about something other than deck
brackets yeah get them and get rid of them they thought that was suspicious which was why they went over and
searched investigators were on their hands and knees in T's yard looking for a gun Dan fultz is T's defense attorney
they searched that area thoroughly no gun you know what they did find deck brackets a few days later they got
another phone call this time from tarr's Brother asking them to come back to the
house tarr's family gave deputies a Ziploc bag they said they had found in the same yard that had been searched
just days earlier inside a Springfield Hellcat 9mm pistol and silver colored ammunition the
Illinois State Police determined the gun was the murder weapon and the ammunition
matched the casings found at the crime scene we still to this day don't know how that ended up there specifically in
the spot that they searched are you saying you were set up someone was framing you yes
but if someone was framing tar he or she would have to be pretty detail oriented
the state police say T's fingerprint was on the Ziploc bag he is adamant that he
would not have been dumb enough that he would have carried it all the way back to his home and said hm where would I
put this gun on my 1 acre lot I think I'll put it next to the front door and tar points out neither his Prince nor
DNA were found on the gun itself nothing on the firearm no DNA no Prince of mine
on the firearm what I think what happened is that the gun was cleaned and then Mr tar just missed a spot that spot
was Leslie's DNA say police found on the guide rod of the gun T's explanation the
gun wasn't his it belonged to Leslie I purchased the Hellcat and Leslie purchased it from me
as investigators continued to build a case against Bobby tar they say he was hatching a plan to silence the only
eyewitness did you ask a inmate to shoot Chris Smith what do you make of Bobby T's
story chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook andex [Music] Lesly accompanied me here on several
occasions if there's anyone who knew what guns Leslie Reeves owned it's Howard Bolton her close friend and
firearm instructor when I would hold classes she would actually shoot with us Leslie was becoming a very good shot
Bolton says Leslie had organized a class called girls with guns not long before she was murdered we put the girls
through their Paces they would move and fire they would go forward and fire they
would come back and fire and Leslie did very very well at that Bobby tar insisted to us that Leslie owned the
Hellcat that was used to kill her but Howard says he never saw her use it Leslie never brought a Springfield let
alone a Hellcat to class so then how did Leslie's DNA get on the guide rod of the
murder weapon Howard believes that Leslie's DNA could only be on that guide rod if the gun was fired at her at close
range so when he shot her wherever it was he shot her would have contaminated that part of the gun in fact Howard says
Leslie owned a different gun her friends say they wish she had taken it with her
the night she was killed had Leslie Tak the gun with her I assure you the outcome would have been
different tar declared his innocence but the case against him could hinge on what
Chris Smith the only Survivor remembers would he be able to identify him that was the question as Chris remained in a
coma we were talking to him singing to him and I was always holding this [Music]
handu well Chris Smith Lay helpless authorities say tar was plotting to silence him
forever a grand jury indicted tar on two counts of solicitation of murder those charges are based on allegations by an
inmate who says tar paid him $10,000 to shoot and kill the lead detective and Chris did you ask a inmate
to shoot Chris Smith no ma'am and to kill detective roach no ma'am tar says the alleged plot was a
lie concocted by a former cellmate tar says he loaned that cellmate $10,000 for his bond and that it had nothing to do
with Chris Smith were you worried he was going to testify and point to you as the
shooter no I was not worried one iota the truth was that no one knew what Chris Smith remembered the first time he
regained Consciousness was in early January 2022 about two months after the shooting like egg F young egg fu young
Chris's voice was so weak in those early days it's already over there that his old friend Mark Reen a talk show host in
St Louis 522 971 FM talk barely recognized Chris on the phone I could not believe that I was hearing from this
guy and I cried he cried just talking about that moment really brings me chills because I just thought he was
never going to be someone that was in my life ever again what did Chris tell you
well when Chris came out of this I was pretty sensitive to ask him about what had happened that night because I think
I was a little afraid of even having those conversations so most of the conversations that we had were really
focused on hey how are you are you going to be okay after intense Physical Therapy he's made incredible strides
he's much stronger than when he awoke from a coma but he discovered there are gaps in his
memory what does he remember from that terrible night I wish to God I could remember something I mean even just a
smidgen of something but I remember nothing he remembers nothing of the shooting or Leslie Reeves I said who
heex Leslie I don't know Lesley you had no idea no nothing nothing nothing is Chris the same person who used to come
on your show before he was shot yeah I think at the core he's still the same guy that I knew he's still the smartass
he's still the guy that's going to talk about how good he is and how good he was
and how much he could lift weights Chris works out at the gym most mornings trying to regain muscle so that
someday he'll be able to walk without assistance straight them he's even back to being the lead
singer in his rock and roll band I don't know how he did make it I don't understand how he did he's a
miracle but Chris is aware his life is very different from what it once was so I'm half the man I used to be but I'm
trying to get it back as hard as I can and then my left leg is uh partially paralyzed my hip to my knee then from my
knee to my toeses completely paralyzed so if there's any neurosur out there any researchers out there please get a hold
of me I'll be your guinea pig just make me normal and give me my life back please it's tough isn't it
Chris it tough doesn't even describe it doesn't describe it Chris is resigned to
living with part of that hollow point bullet in his brain doctors say it's in a spot that makes it too dangerous to
remove so that's where you got shot yep right here there's a y you still feel it
on my skull right there after decades on his own Chris had to move back into his
mother's house I thank my blessings daily that he's here with us I just wish that this guy didn't take everything
away from him Chris visits with his loyal dog Tiki but no longer lives with her and he'd love to see his 12-year-old
daughter more often but he can't drive and he's living in St Louis almost 2 hours away from his daughter and ex-wife
I miss her she was my little pee in the pot I mean we did everything together the trial of Robert tar was set
for April 2024 but Chris would not be there he told the prosecutor he was too angry to attend you didn't think you'd
be able to just sit there oh no no way I I know myself I doesn't know why know but Chris's alleged shooter Bobby tar
will be there and he said he was eager to tell the jury that he's not a violent man but on this one night early morning
did you snap no that's not my nature I don't lose it [Music] snap follow along with Chris's
remarkable story at 48 hours.com [Music] when Bobby tar went on trial in April 2024 prosecutors told the jury that he
killed Leslie Reeves rather than allow her to live the life she wanted a life without him Mr tar couldn't deal with
the fact that Leslie was seeing somebody else and he had to go and take care of it Andrew affronti says tar secretly
followed Leslie to Farmersville early that evening and shortly afterwards his phone began showing some interesting
activity he had actually searched Chris Smith on his phone had tried to find his
Facebook profile tar headed home and texted his friend Billy Adams I don't feel like she would drive that far for a
party or go out with a girlfriend I think it's for a dude he also searched whether police could track his phone if
he was using a VP n a virtual private Network he was researching to determine whether or not that would Mas where his
location was while he was using the phone authorities say around midnight tar left home stopping at that gas
station and then according to a fronti surveillance videos and cell tower records show that tar drove back to
Farmersville you believe he intended to kill both Chris and Leslie I 100% believe that he went up there with the
intent to do serious harm to both with one victim dead and the other with no memory it's difficult to say with
certainty what happened but the prosecution argued that sometime after 1:00 a.m. Bobby tar tried to enter
through the back door of Christmas house Leslie and Chris tried to keep him out there was some kind of altercation or
struggle and that's when the glass was broken crime scene investigator Josh East told the jury what he had observed
inside the kitchen the refrigerator was pulled away from the wall where it appeared it normally was prosecutors
believe Leslie was trying to use the refrigerator to block the door and based on where Chris was shot in his head they
think he was crouching down down to help Leslie I think that while Chris was crouched down trying to hold the door
shut Bobby shot through the door and shuck Chris with Chris incapacitated Arron says Leslie hid in the living room
tar tracked her down shot and killed her I strongly believe that he walked in an
Executor defense attorney Dan folz disputes all of that there is simply no evidence that that's what happened
there's no evidence that Leslie pushed the refrigerator there's no fingerprints and blood on the refrigerator of
Leslie's F says evidence of a fight in the kitchen tells a different story the amount of blood in that kitchen was
astonishing from looking at that crime scene do you believe that Christopher Smith had to fight his his as salent in
the kitchen it would appear to me that there was some sign ific struggle in that
kitchen between him and someone else and he says the as salent could not have been Bobby tar because he would have
been covered in blood they did not identify a single piece of DNA in his car they didn't identify a bloody
fingerprint they did not identify anything tying him to that crime scene but prosecutors argued the house wasn't
bloody when tar left they said Chris bled heavily in the 12 hours it took for help to arrive and while the prosecution
did not have a lot of forensic evidence linking of the crime scene affronti says his phone activity his lies to
investigators and the evidence found on the Hellcat all prove his guilt when you
put all of that together that's when you get the clear picture of what happened when it was the defense's turn tar says
he wanted to tell his story to the jury but he chose not to testify why didn't you just decide you
were going to talk to the jury and tell this story if in fact you have a story to tell I should have I very well should
have we made a strategic decision because it may have opened the door for a whole lot of other more damaging
evidence to be used uh to cross-examine him the defense didn't put on any Witnesses and counted on the jury to
find Reasonable Doubt in the lack of physical evidence after 3 hours the jury found
Bobby tar guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder everyone clapped and Bobby just sat there shaking his
head two months later tar was back in court for sentencing and this time so was Chris to tell the judge how the
shooting impacted him and his family C were not allowed in the courtroom lost my house lost my truck
I've literally lost my life about being killed tar also spoke and denied shooting Leslie and Chris the judge
sentenced him to 85 years I hope the rest of his time on this Earth is Hell Leslie Reeves friends are focused
on keeping her memory alive she was a light of a lot of people's lives she was always smiling she was a very good
mother lived for her kids and was an advocate and champion of women women's rights and especially women that were
abused if it can happen to her it could happen to anyone so we all need to be careful Chris Smith says he never
expected he'd be a victim of domestic violence and cautions other men to take a hard
look at their behavior if guys you feel like that you want you want to hurt a woman get
help while Chris Mourns his old life he's writing a book about his experiences and says he's working to
make what he calls Poor Man's Margaritas out of the lemons and limes he's been handed I've got a do over good Lord give
me a do over and how many people will get a second chance life Chris has found love with Michelle
albre she's an angel loving me and accepting me the way that I am he proposed to her on stage I just asked if
she married me guys what's the most important lesson out of all of this don't ever give up on
anything ever no matter how bad things are don't ever give up [Music] as a kid growing up in Chicago there was
one horror movie I was too scared to watch it was called Candyman but did you know that the movie Candyman was partly
inspired by an actual murder listen to Candyman the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder wherever you get
your podcasts I'm Erin morard of 48 hours and of all the cases I've covered this is the one that troubles me most
listen to murder in the Orange Grove the trouble case against Crosley green wherever you get your
[Music] podcast moment's emergency my wife and I need an amance from bleeting I was called at approximately
4:00 in the morning on February 3rd 2018 there had been a home invasion robbery in the area of hail Plantation you said
someone was in your house yes I'm being advised that the wife has severe injuries and was currently being trauma
alerted to our area Hospital you woke up to First scam and told old figure with he Master starts uh
fighting with you see I felt something sharp Susan relle almost died that night if Susan had died the truth of
what happened that night would die with her when Susan relle comes out of surgery she tells investigators that
there is no Intruder and that the person who inflicted all of the injuries that she
is suffering from is Michael relle this case is about the power of money it's about the power of desire for
control when Susan asked for a divorce Michael relle snapped when he was faced with the
prospect that he would have to give her half of his fortune he made a calculated
and premeditated decision to [Music] kill this is the knife that was used used to stab Susan the bending in this
knife you believe is a result of it hitting bone and it bent the blade that's correct all rise for the
jury members of the jury we're just going to lay here until you die Sue we're just going to lay here until
you die those are the words of that defendant Michael relle spoken to his wife of 10 years Susan relle
I got close to her right here and her hand comes out and was there anything in her hand yeah
a [Music] knife there's no way on God's green earth that my father would stab anyone was Mike's daughter Caroline a
source of conflict in the marriage AB absolutely didn't you tell Michael relle that you hated
Caroline those words came out yeah and in fact you called her a is that right [Music]
yes never in 1 million years would I think that my wedding would be the Catalyst of all of this
who do you believe brought the knife into that incident Susan relle who do you believe was the
attacker in the February 2nd incident Susan rouel and who is the victim my father
[Music] [Music] where were you and how did you learn that your father on February 3rd 2018
had been arrested I was in Chicago with my husband and I got an incoming call on my cell
phone this is a collect call from it was a recording that said in inmate from the
alacha county jail has called you an inmate at the alacha county department minutes later the phone rang again
Caroline relle quickly answered and heard the voice she'd known her entire life and he said Caroline you have to
get me out of here you need to call my lawyer and I dropped to the sidewalk and I just sat on the
sidewalk the events leading to the arrest of Mike relle began to unwind very early that morning after he called
police tell me exactly what happened I don't know someone's in the house and next I know I wake up next to my wife
and we bleeding Mike reported that he and his wife Sue had been stabbed by an intruder inside their home in an upscale
section of Gainesville you're fine with the subject and he just ran off you man to scare him off yeah I guess Sue's
injuries were life-threatening and as men's rushed to save her detective David Visconti was called to the scene there
was no for entury initially observed by any of our deputies no broken window no knocked down door nothing like that at
all no sir still Visconti had no doubt that something terrible had happened inside
that house there was no certainly a struggle there was a vast amount of blood around the bed that was located on
the wall of of the bedroom but overall the scene was missing something visanti said and he
did not believe a violent Intruder had been there typically we'll see many things knocked over Furniture items
broken um indentations in the walls in the drywall did you see any of that none of those things were present what's more
the rell's had security cameras covering the outside of the house the Intruder allegedly fleeing the house from that
direction is something that would have been captured on video the veteran detective was becoming suspicious then
hours later Sue awoke from surgery and broke this case wide open telling detectives that the story about an
intruder attacking them was a lie she claimed that Mike concocted the whole thing and that he was her true as salent
Mike was arrested and charged with attempted murder he could never have done anything
anything like this Mike's ex-wife Dee Hoffman was incredulous I have known Michael James relle since I was
19 and I wouldn't be here today if I thought Mike was possibly capable of harming another person Dei met Mike in
college they married and had two daughters Caroline and Kate during your many years with Mike was he ever
physically abusive to you he never touched me me not ever never but like in many marriages there
were problems Mike made millions in the technology business but his job required
him to travel all over the world truthfully he wasn't around much so it was it was hard in 2005 after 25
years of marriage deei asked for a divorce deei said she moved out of the family home so their children away at
College could always return to the house where they were raised but soon another
woman unexpectedly joined the family I moved out in July but then all of a sudden Susan moves into our house Sue
was then 38 years old and a hospice nurse she and Mike 49 met on Match.com and Dei says Sue quickly became the lady
of the manor Dee says everything Left Behind including her dog became Sue Mike and I were really opposites he was
engaging and outgoing and I was really and I think I still am more reserved not quite so
exuberant and I think he was looking for exuberance Caroline remembers the first
time she met Sue at a dinner and my dad seemed to be laughing and having a good time but Caroline says she couldn't help
but notice how much Sue was drinking we've never seen anyone take down 5 to six martinis and be able to
stand and speak some 2 years after they met Mike married Sue in August 2007 Mike stopped traveling and bought a
local business the couple's happier times are reflected in some of the thousands of text messages that surfaced
during legal proceedings Mike refers to sue as his trophy bride and writes that their lives together are simply
amazing but Caroline says Sue became jealous of the close relationship she had with her father and tried to keep
them apart she had such walls around him he wouldn't call me unless he was in a car alone
he wasn't allowed to take my call in front of her but surprisingly when Caroline
announced in 2016 that she was getting married Sue was happy to help but Caroline says Sue wanted to do it her
way Sue was pretty adamant about throwing me a shower my mother was invited but none of my mother's friends
were invited so the majority of the guests we Sue's friends and family but Caroline admits the shower
was a lot of fun and she was looking forward to the wedding Sue helped her pick out a dress I tried on a dress and
I liked it and Sue kept telling me like this is your dress this is your dress it's so beautiful you have to have this
Sue handed over her credit card and it was done you mind me asking how much the dress was
worth this is so go I think it was 11 $111,000 the wedding itself in November 2017 would be a royal like of
fair the setting was the Sumptuous oeka Castle on Long Island 160 people attended the wedding
and Caroline says the day was magical my husband and I know how lucky we are to have had that weekend it was beyond
beautiful Caroline says it was nearly perfect except for something that caught her eye an unusual mark on her father's
face the last thing I saw before walking down the aisle at my wedding was this White Scar from here to
here and in my mind I was like what is that weeks later she found out Mike revealed to Caroline what he said was a
dark disturbing secret he claimed Sue had been physically abusing him for years [Music]
I called him on his birthday and I said how are you doing and he just started crying it was late November 2017 just 3
weeks after her fairy tale wedding when Caroline says her father shared a disturbing secret about Sue that he had
promised not to tell and he said sue was arrested and he said she started ATT attacking me and I think he was so
victimized that he was really scared to tell anyone Sue had been charged with domestic battery but the details of what
happened that day would not become public until 2 years later at Mike's trial for attempted
murder he were at the when they both testified about the last tumultuous months of their marriage
ma'am please be seated speak clearly microphone what was the state of their marriage I think it was in the lowest
place that it could possibly be before a divorce I was upset Sue told prosecutor
David Byron that shortly after Caroline's wedding Mike told her it had gone nearly
$150,000 over budget was it fair to say that you were partially upset with defendant but mostly at Carolyn yes Mike
says Sue attacked him when the fight escalated she throws the phone at me charges around the bed pushes and just
start her typic eating like this but Mike didn't call 911 that day Sue did I just felt as though things were a
little out of control when police arrived Sue admitted to pushing Mike and agreed to go to
their beach condo to diffuse the situation but she was arrested half an hour later
when she hadn't yet left the house he said please place your hands behind your back you're under
arrest Sue told the jury that she was ordered to stay away from Mike she moved to their beach condo and got counseling
for alcohol and anger management Weeks Later Mike declined to pursue the battery charge and it was dropped
prosecutor Shan Brewer did she have a problem with alcohol SU has testified that at times when she
would drink um she would lose her temp but Mike says Sue's actions went Way Beyond a bad temper he told the jury she
had tormented him for years she lunged at me again punch me in the face um scratched my face punched him in the
arms and bent my glasses actually she would throw things at him very heavy things like
vases and very heavy coffee m Sue denies abusing Mike and Mike never reported any of the alleged incidents to
police is it true that you have seen your father with a black eye he's sent me multiple pictures of him with the
black eye Mike did take photos of some injuries which he shared with Caroline and later the
jury he is a picture that he showed me of his face gushing blood and there was one mark from here to here the
prosecution admits this injury may have been caused by Sue but they say the evidence shows Sue was fighting for her
life after Mike attacked her there are text messages where she accuses him of smothering her with a pillow which in
fact is the same instance that she ended up scratching him in the face despite the alleged abuse and Sue arest rest
Mike says he still loved his wife and wanted to stay married in February 2018 he asked Sue to come to Gainesville for
the weekend Mike had asked me to come in he wanted us to work on the marriage they decided to go to their
favorite Steakhouse that Sue on home security video getting ready and enjoying a glass of wine my arrives home
and the two share a kiss before heading out but over staks and more wine Old Wounds reopen he just received a text
message from Caroline Sue says that's when Mike admitted he had betrayed her trust by telling Caroline about Sue's
arrest he and I both agreed that we weren't going to discuss that Mike drove home alone Sue followed in an Uber her
anger spilling into a series of text messages about Caroline good luck with your she will ruin any
relationship you have once home they went to separate parts of the house Sue continued her angry
text I am filing for divorce I will leave in the morning the last text from Sue is sent
at 10 10:13 p.m. you have serious boundary issues with your daughter later Sue says she was alone in
the guest room when Mike entered there are no cameras inside that room and he just hopped on top of me and
I felt like this pressure right here and then all of a sudden I saw a knife come out I said oh my god mik did
you stab me and he said yes at some point does he say something to you he said uh Sue we're not getting
a divorce Sue says Mike was on top of her pinning her arms with his legs in the struggle her left thumb was sliced
then she says mike stabbed her again am I ne right here Sue says mike then started slashing
her wrist felt like he was mutilating me my hand it was like just I couldn't feel
anything and I could see into my arm losing blood her life in danger Sue says she vomited and lost control of her
bodily functions she says she tried to wriggle out from under Mike and they ended up lying
sideways across the bed he just said to me Sue it's going to lay here until you die Sue says as she was lying there
struggling to stay awake she saw Mike raise the Knife yet again desperate she offered him a way
out I said mik we don't have to divorce I won't divorce you just put the knife down Sue says after
Mike Put The Knife Down she begged him to call for help but he would only do that if she agreed to say an intruder
had stabbed her when she agrees to go with his story of The Intruders she saved her life a
toxic marriage tax brimming with hate and a bloody room Mike rell's future will now depend on whether he can
convince jurors that he is the real [Music] [Applause] [Music] victim when First Responders entered
this bloody scene in the early morning hours of February 3rd 2018 they'd been told by Mike relle that a stranger had
broken into their home and assaulted his wife and then him with a knife but in court now with his defense
attorneys Patrick mcginness and Anne finel Mike admits that story was a lie and says he's finally ready to tell the
truth he says despite Sue's drinking and violent outbursts he was hoping to reconcile that night I don't care if
she's a melod drunk the rest of her life just the anger's got to go but at dinner once again they fought
about Caroline and that fight continued back at the house after that Mike and Sue stories diverge Mike says he came
into the guest room a little after 10: and was startled to see Sue kneeling on the bed holding a knife I said sue give
me the knife and then next thing I I felt searing heat that's that's all I remember and
I'm just trying to get my hands on it and I'm on the bed with the now we on our knees Mike doesn't say how he got
his hands on the knife but he says as they struggled and fell over on the bed he felt the blade go into Sue's stomach
she's falling backwards and I'm falling in front on top I felt the knife penetrate here and I I rolled off as
fast as I could because I was afraid if that went in her it would kill her Mike offers no explanation for how Sue was
stabbed in the neck or thumb but he does say about 1 minute into the struggle he
somehow calmed her down and put the knife Out Of Reach now you're both bleeding during this point in time right
yeah but it's not spurting and there's no blood at all you can see on Su through the through here Mike says he
wanted to call for help right away but Sue wouldn't let him because she was afraid she'd be arrested again I said Su
we need to go to the hospital and she said then make up a story so I don't get arrested Mike says they argued about a
possible cover story but then as bizarre as it sounds they just lay together bleeding for several hours having what
Mike says was one of the best conversations of their lives about future vacations to Europe we talked
about going to Germany on the rine and Mosel river cruise maybe we'll do burgundy next if Mike is speaking the
truth this happy conversation happened on a bed soaked with blood and human waste Greece cuz we've never been to
Greece in Carol Mike never mentions that Tuscany and Florence and prosecutor David Byron suspects why is this
believable I don't think it's believable at all he held her there and he can't admit that Michael relle had months and
months to go over the evidence and construct a story that fit with things that he couldn't admit according to Mike
at about 3:00 a.m. their dog Susie wandered in to this bloody scene where violence was about to erupt again I get
up out of the bed to deal with a dog and and behind me was the knife and next thing I know she sliced her right wrist
with her left hand did you talk to her about why she had cut herself yeah she said she doesn't want to go to jail I
said sue I'm not going to send you to jail I'm not going to get you arrested calm down she goes you promise you
promise I said yes as Mike tells it sue cooked up the whole idea to lie to police and he reluctantly agreed in
order to protect her I said then the only chance I have is to turn the cameras off to give a window of
opportunity to say someone brok in and did this to us Mike says after Sue cut her own wrist he left the room to turn
off security cameras and stage of Breakin 25 minutes passed before he called 911 and turned the cameras on
again and he's doing that with the knowledge that With Every Beat of her heart more of her blood is pouring into
that bed but the defense thinks the blood at the crime scene helps to prove their case people lie the forensics
don't lie and that's why the blood spatter was so important in this case Michael Berkland is a former doctor and
blood stain pattern analyst who testified for the defense what do you consider the most
important blood evidence inside that bedroom the arterial spurt patterns berkeland says he reviewed records which
stated a small artery in Sue's wrist was cut that night and he believes the blood
here on the pillowcase and here on the nightstand came from that artery the important thing about AR though is that
you get blood coming out of that With Every Beat of the heart berkeland uses stage blood and a small syringe to
demonstrate the way Sue's blood may have traveled making a line or fine spray of
drops so the blood in your opinion gives us a timeline as to when Sue's wrist was
actually cut correct because arteries don't close up on their own remember SU says the attack including the cuts to
her wrist started sometime after 10:13 p.m. but Mike says Sue cut her own wrist at around 3:00 a.m. hours later
berkeland says if Sue's wrist was cut before 11 she would have died long before help arrived how much time does
she have to live in your opinion if the wounds happen no later than 11:00 she's dead before it ever ever
hits midnight which leads you to believe what when it comes to this injury to the
wrist Michael story makes more sense the defense team says if we can't trust Sue's account about what time things
happened then her entire story is suspect it is absolutely impossible to have happened the way she claims it did
[Music] [Music] inside this box this is the knife that was used to stab Susan encased in protective plastic
this is a lot of blood this is a lot of blood are the remnants of the vicious confrontation inside that bedroom that
prosecutor Shan Brewer is certain contain evidence of an attempted murder this is Mike rell's pajamas yes
and they are soaked in Blood and whose blood is that well Susan is the one that had the injuries that
provided uh the mass amount of bleeding so if blood could talk this blood is telling you what this blood is telling
me that um Michael was on top of her while he was stabbing her and um she was bleeding quite a bit without any
Aid prosecutors say this evidence backs up Sue's testimony that Mike attacked her they also say the items on that
bedside table help prove this was not a dynamic fight between two people David Byron says that only one person had
control of the situation Mike relle there's a full glass of wine there's some glasses there's a lamp and it's
evidence of the fact that Michael relle was so physically capable of constraining her that none of those
things are Disturbed and the prosecution disputes defense expert Michael birkeland's claim that these stains on
the nightstand came from spurting blood from Sue's wrist instead their expert says the blood was most likely cast off
flung from the knife and not from Sue cutting her own wrist the cast off shows that he was swinging that knife as he's
plunging it into her stomach and into her neck call Dr B to the Head prosecutor Brewer not only attacks
Berk's conclusions he also challenges his credibility letting jurors know that his medical license was suspended and he
was later arrested for storing body parts from autopsies in Tupperware containers in an unusual place you were
storing them at Uncle Bob's storage shed weren't you in a climate control room were you storing that at Uncle Bob's
Storage yet yes and the actual organs that you were storing included brains and hearts I did
have some hearts and brains yes berkin says the organs were preserved for private cases he was working on while he
was still a licensed doctor I used the storage locker because they were safe and secure either that or I put them in
my house this was safer than my house the charges were later dropped prosecutors also want the jury to know
that the severity of Sue's wrist wound suggests she did not do it herself the one that was truly life-threatening was
the the cuts that the defendant made to her wrist she was cut all the way down to
the bone Mike's injuries were a lot less serious as you can see he had some small
cuts on his fingers and stomach and Sue says these larger cuts to his forearms were in fact
self-inflicted he put the knife in my hand and he stabbed himself in the arm and what about that story Mike told
investigators that an intruder did all this the prosecution says it was all his idea to cover up what he had
done he turned off the cameras and did things to make the police believe that there had been a
burglary and the motive for this alleged attack the prosecution believes it was all about money that Mike didn't want to
give up half of his fortune millions of dollars in a divorce you didn't tell this Jan that
after all you've been through it didn't seem fair for Susan to take half your money yeah that is true do seem
fair the prosecution refutes Mike's claims that he still wanted to reconcile the troubled marriage by pointing out
that he had visited three dating sites Ukrainian single girl Arena she's 18 years old
right I looked at pictur women with clothes on yes sir understand they had close on Sir
question I'm asking is you were looking for your next girlfriend right yeah I'll
tell you exactly was looking for sure all I want out of a woman in my life is someone to be kind and nice to me that's
all I care about I looked at pictures and descriptions of how they would treat their male and soon and I looked at
these together many times and in our relationship and saying Sue that's all I need from anybody please be nice to me
please the defense counters that Mike's other internet searches prove that he was being abused by
Sue did did you visit numerous sites related to battered husbands yes I do he has all of the
economic resources he's not cut off from any family members Michael relle doesn't
meet any of the criteria for what a battered spouse is the defense also tries to counter Sue's claim that Mike's
attack came after she threatened divorce they produced dozens of text messages going back to 2015 that show Sue had
made that threat many many times you actually say for the 50th time I want a divorce it's just an expression like
saying for the you know 100th time but it is about 50 times isn't it I don't know I didn't count and defense attorney
and Fel suggests those texts also reveal Sue's destructive intentions have you told him I hate you
yes okay you've said I will destroy you yes and on your anniversary in 2017 hate you happy 10th anniversary I'm
divorcing you you you said that yes in her closing argument finel insists Mike would never
try to kill for money she says Sue was the aggressor that night and Mike was just defending himself she hates
everybody she hates his daughters she hates his former spouse that's how hateful this
woman was and is but the prosecution says there is no question Mike wanted Sue dead this is not a frenzy struggle
between two adults this is a blood bath committed by one person who has imprisoned the other on that
bed in the war of the rell's jurors will soon decide which one they [Music] believe as the jury goes out to
deliberate um what are those minutes and hours like for you I I just like couldn't talk to anyone I spent the past
year and a half like mentally preparing myself for the worst and hoping for the best Caroline does not have long to wait
all rise for the jury after a 9-day trial it took little more than 4 hours for the jury to reach a verdict they say
a quick verdict is often a prosecutor's verdict it's a thought that creeps into your head but you never really know what
a jury is going to do members of the jury I understand you have riched a verdict we have your honor would you
please pass that to my we the jury unanimously find as follows to defendant Michael James Melle in this
case as to count one the defendant is guilty of attempting first-degree murder as charged in guilty Mike relle is
convicted of the most serious count against him we were all so shocked as to count to the defendant his guilty of
false imprisonment in quick succession the jury also finds relle guilty of four additional crimes including false
imprisonment and tampering with evidence J number 51 is this true vered yes jurors utterly reject Mike's story of a
knife fight with his wife prosecutor Shan Brewer says justice was served to a man who lied to
investigators and to the jury Michael went through Great Lengths to try and kill Susan he just wasn't very good at
it and what's more Brewer says mike rouselle tried to kill Sue not once but twice while he was in jail awaiting
trial an informant came forward to claim Mike tried to hire a hitman to kill sue
a charge Mike strongly denies do you believe that your father in jail plotted to hire someone to murder his wife no
honestly I don't mean to laugh but it is beyond laughable as we were interviewing Caroline she got
a phone call that surprised us Dad hi I'm good I'm with 48 hours right now literally with cameras Mike relle
allowed me to ask a few questions Mike I just want to hear you tell me did you take a knife into the
room that night on February 2nd 2018 and attack your wife absolutely not and you're telling me the
truth absolutely on my children's lives all I did was defend myself I got attacked in December 2019 everyone
returns to judge William Davis's courtroom for sentencing the victim in this crime suru shelle does not appear
in person remain standing face the judge and raise your right hand please when it's Caroline's turn to speak the moment
is charged with emotion no one is as positive caring and generous than this man I will
say I am and will always be a proud daughter one of the most caring kind gentle people I've ever met
several colleagues and friends speak of Mike in glowing terms he's a good person
the Mike relle I know is a standup gentleman heard then judge William Davis took Center Stage Mr Melle will you
please stand Mike was about to learn his fate the person I heard through the evidence and the witnesses was somebody
who was cold they were brutal on count one the attempted U first degree premeditated murder I'm going to send
you to 30 years imprisonment in Department all told the judge gives relle 30 years not the 50 years
requested by prosecutors but for Mike who is 64 years old it is in essence a life
[Music] sentence here are two sophisticated people very wealthy living in Paradise
in one of the most beautiful parts of Flor Florida and yet they couldn't work this out it's a real tragedy isn't it
absolutely I mean when you hear who Michael and Susan Michelle were before this all occurred they lived exemplary
and mostly normal lives and to see it get to this point really is a tragedy the war of the rousell is not
over Mike and Sue are divorcing and continue to fight over the marital assets including the house where Sue was
nearly stabbed to death [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] okay make a wish y Lisa buan was a very attractive
young lady it's about love and friendship she was a very creative type oh honey you
look marvelous very freespirit fabiio oh F my name is Tara Bentley I'm Lisa's older
[Music] sister when I first saw I just saw her as a patient and while she was waiting
to see her dentist she saw a sign saying free consultations she walked in she was
wearing a ball cap no makeup this incredible little smile and her bright blue eyes there's something we saw in
each other we enjoyed they looked like a wonderful couple but that really was a veneer that
really hid what was really going on between the two of them it was her intention to put an end to their
relationship ship that [Music] weekend the July 4th 2005 weekend uh certainly a weekend that you would think
that folks would be out picnicking going to fireworks concerts but they're holed up in Lisa's
apartment having this um sex Marathon I think he really liked the way that she reacted and responded when she
was under the influence of drugs the only time that she was experiencing these drugs was when he gave him to her
she was addicted to Chris koulis and their relationship the drugs were certainly a part of that
relationship he was injecting Lisa repeatedly with this concoction of Oxycodone that was pulverized ground up
the drugs were coursing through her veins they caused her to collapse suddenly Lisa stopped breathing
I immediately began CPR and call 911 911 what emergency start breeding she wasn't
breathing and there was no pass I think that he is a predator I think that he is a
manipulator I'm Eric Anderson I'm the lead investigator in the case involving the death of Lisa Buchanan
I didn't give Lisa any drugs I loved her they're looking for someone to blame he wanted her under his control
and when you're a doctor and you want control you just have tools at your disposal that other people don't
have Addicted to Love tonight's 48 Hours mystery Happ [Music] [Applause] [Music]
when police were called to Lisa VI Canon's apartment in Franklin Tennessee straight ahead is the living
room kitchen area they were surprised by what they found in this quiet gated community a cash of prescription
drugs and sex toys they found needles they found a lot of syringes [Music] Lisa and Chris kouis had spent most of
that final July 4th weekend of 2005 in her bedroom they stayed in that apartment that weekend engaged in this
Marathon sex session there was so much evidence to collect it was a massive undertaking most crucial say detectives
was the discovery of used syringes with traces of Oxycodone oxycodone is a powerful narcotic used to
kill pain it can be a very addictive and Dangerous Drug abusers like the calming
Euphoria creates the high is immediate and potent it's a controlled substance it's
something you can only get from a prescribing physician you can't just buy it but when Lisa was rushed to the
emergency room the doctors trying to save her say do Dr kouis told them nothing about the drug she had been
using in fact paramedics say Dr kouis claimed Lisa had collapsed after a trip to the swimming
pool Chris was deceptive he totally misled them Chris stood there in that ER room didn't tell them about the illegal
drugs didn't tell the ER staff what could have been crucial in Saving her life I just wish that at some point she
had realized how dangerous he was Tara Bentley believed her sister Lisa did not see kouis as she did I think that the
rest of us just felt that any day now she would realize who he was on paper kis looked pretty good he
was a young handsome plastic surgeon he was a graduate of Vanderbilt University and had a thriving practice by the time
he was 30 Lisa's mother Peggy was thrilled when her daughter met a doctor I thought finally she had met somebody
that was going to make her very happy Dr kulus was very Charming was extremely confident kouis had served his
internship at a Chicago hospital and loved working in the emergency room that was the most exciting for him because it
was rescuing people from Death it was in Nashville in the year 2000 that kulus had that chance meeting
with Lisa Buchanan he became her boyfriend friend and her doctor you performed numerous procedures on her for
free oh yes how many a redo breast augmentation or eyelids forehead lip augmentation lipos suction full face
laser Botox collagen list goes on coolis also helped Lisa pay the [Music] bills she was struggling to make it as
an actress and model [Music] even at a young age Lisa Buchanan had Big Dreams for herself she was going to
get on TV and she was going to be heard we if you Canon how are you she auditioned for soaps I heard about this
General Hospital thing and I think i''d be really really good tried out for TV shows I can do love scenes and I can do
drama her most recent Pursuit was to develop a children's puppet show I do have quite a lovely singing voice
don't you think but things just never click for Lisa professionally or personally no
matter how beautiful she was or how beautiful people saw her there was insecurity in
her before kulus Lisa had a string of failed relationships she married young and divorced but from that broken
marriage came one of the best things things in her life her daughter Jesse she was so much fun we were best friends
I could tell her anything anything Jesse was happy at first when her mother met Dr kouis we just moved
into this big house and that was so cool I got a huge room and my girlfriends came over and we had a huge big screen
TV on the wall and and I was cool but it wasn't long says Jesse before she know noce how controlling the
doctor was once I got to know him I didn't really like him he would always call her every 10 minutes wanted to know
where she was it's like stalkerish so protective in a creepy kind of way Lisa and Dr kouis were on again off
again for 5 and 1/2 years according to her sister Tara Lisa was just about to break things off again that final
weekend you just had to hope that maybe this time um it was really going to stick Tara had wondered if Lisa could
ever break away Lisa appeared locked in cis's grip even though the couple spent much of the relationship
apart he lived and practiced in other cities and frequently called Lisa accusing her of seeing other
men there were times that she have to hand the phone to me so that I could tell him she's with me he wouldn't trust
it he over the years Cut Her Off from all her friends alienating all her friends because of Jealousy on his
part and there was something else that concerned Lisa's family Lisa was becoming ill more frequently in fact her
family believes that Dr kulus would convince Lisa she was sick and that he alone could fix her in one
conversation could absolutely abolutely convince her that the world was coming to an end but at the same time he was
going to save her from it did you ever see Chris kouis give your mother drugs yes Jesse has a vivid childhood memory
of seeing kouis inject her mother with an unknown drug She fainted and I started screaming
mommy you shut the bathroom door and started Bing on the door and he wouldn't let me see her you saw him administer a
shot to her mhm I'll never forget it investigators now believe it was kulus who introduced Lisa to the idea of
using drugs to enhance their sexual encounters I don't think that there's a shred of evidence or proof that she was
a drug addict Anderson like Lisa's family believes she only used drugs when Dr kulus gave them to
her but kouis claims he knew Lisa better than anyone and like it or not he says she was a drug addict Che certain demons
just like we all do and one of them was drug abuse Kula says Lisa hit her Ivy drug use by injecting herself in
concealed areas of the body like her groin it's a favorite spot of people that want to conceal
it but detectives aren't buying it after a 5-month long investigation Chris kouis
is arrested in charge with murder they say he supplied the drugs he injected her and he is responsible for Lisa
Buchanan's death I do believe that he gave her at least one injection if not multiple injections and he is absolutely
responsible for her death it's been extremely traumatic I am quite concerned as to what is going to happen
charged with killing his girlfriend Lisa Buchanan Chris kouis faces the possibility of spending the next 25
years in prison but he says he's innocent did you kill Lisa Buchanan absolutely not the autopsy concluded that Lisa died
of an overdose of Oxycodone during the search of her apartment detectives found only one mostly intact oxycodone pill
but the used syringes contain crush pills and liquid mixed into a slush prosecutors say Lisa was injected
with that Slush at least three times that weekend and in cis's travel bag detectives found an unopened 18 gauge
needle the same kind that had been used that piece of evidence is extremely incriminating Chris kouis is Accused not
only of injecting Lisa Buchanan with the drugs but of supplying them as well despite his denials he's about to be put
on trial facing four charges ranging from simple assault to second degree [Music]
murder BC good morning ladies and gentlemen morning sir is the state ready to proceed yes sir thank you Kim helper
is Prosecuting Dr kulas the evidence supports the fact that it was this defendant who was injecting Le of Canan
with that oxy too mixture Lee Offman is defending the doctor so what does the evidence show it shows he didn't do it
from the facts I could not see how he could be convicted of anything [Music] but prosecutors are convinced they have
a strong circumstantial case thanks in part to this small video cassette detectives found in Lisa's
apartment they had videotaped these sex acts all weekend long it documents the final hours of
Lisa's life and provides Clues to her death the tape is disturbingly graphic and in some scenes Lisa seems barely
conscious so the jurors from this fairly religious and conservative southern city
must sit through a screening of the entire two hours of the sex tape in open court it's extremally
embarrassing this was never intended to be seen by anybody else but for Lisa N then to be destroyed your B
perfect that video clearly showed she enjoyed what she was doing she participated willingly cis's attorneys
believe the tape is more damaging to Lisa than to their client I think the prosecution made a mistake in trying to
portray her as just a victim with no fault because clearly she was not but prosecutors are convinced kouis
injected Lisa with drugs to control and dominate her you can see in in the background on occasion where there is a
needle laying on the carpet the tape does not show who gave Lisa the injections but it does show Lisa holding
gauze against her groin covering fresh injection marks incriminating evidence prosecutors say against kulus the
evidence on the video clearly shows Chris kulus being aware of uh those pads and the presence of uh syringes on the
tape kolis can be heard telling Lisa to apply pressure to the area to stop some bleeding it was being portrayed as proof
that I gave Lisa narcotics in fact it did not show that at all all right ladies and gentlemen that will conclude
everything for today kouis maintains Lisa injected herself in the groin that weekend it's quite easy it is
absolutely not so according to Tennessee's Chief State medical examiner Dr Bruce Levy when you see a series of
injections in a nice straight line like that you know that it had to have been done to her he feels quite strongly that
the injections in her groin were made by an expert like a doctor if you're off by as much as a
half of an inch it can be deadly and making it even more difficult for Lisa to inject herself says Levy is
the fact that she was impaired by drugs at the time I think it was very clear evidence that Dr kulus was responsible
for the injection there there's just no other alternative that makes sense to bolster that claim Lisa's
family points to this picture they say was taken just days before her death there was not a mark on her body and
there was not a sign of drug use in her behavior her attitude nothing all week long she was perfectly
[Music] healthy the fans we call Dr Chris kouis to testify on his own behalf all right
Dr kouis if you come around please sir Chris kouis and his attorneys believe he has no choice but to take the stand to
defend himself will be betro to self do I do please he tells the jury that he tried
repeatedly to get Lisa to stop abusing drugs Lisa promised she'd stop she'd go up and down she'd stop she' start she'
stop she start I told her do you have to do that and then I told her I know you want to but I don't want you to you're
going to kill yourself we've talked about this why didn't you just leave aside the fact I'm an idiot because I
loved her and I wanted to be with her I want to be with her and so to make her happy you look the other way I was
unable to stop her one way or the other she wanted to get high and she was going
to get high what precise was I supposed to do tackle her prosecutor Kim helper doesn't
believe koulis she confronts him about his col behavior that weekend well you've just said that in this case Lisa
was laying back because she became High correct in this case she laid back yes ma'am so she wasn't walking around no
she wasn't alert she was impaired but she went ahead and had sex with her anyway didn't you sir yes ma'am
in fact the doctor repeatedly had sex with Lisa even though she had complained of shoulder and chest pain that weekend
symptoms that kouis concedes could have signaled a heart attack Lisa had a very bad headache she
was also complaining of shoulder pain and left arm pain and uh she was having palpitations
her heart was beating rapidly but you continued to have sex with her because she said everything went away she felt
fine it's a woman you love sir yes ma'am and is it a fair assessment to say that you were thinking
about yourself on that day I was and you were not thinking about Lisa were you I
was thinking about myself yes that may not have been the only time Kus was just thinking about
himself prosecutors are about to introduce details of a previous incident one in which k has freely admitted
injecting Lisa Buchanan with addictive drugs prosecutors firmly believe Chris kouis killed Lisa Buchanan that lost
weekend and they say it isn't the first time he put her life in danger I think it's extremely relevant
and important for a jury to understand that in the past it has been his Habit to inject her with drugs Kim helper
points to an incident back in 2002 that was eerily similar at the time Lisa and kulus were briefly living together in
Kentucky I was going through a very difficult time financially things were falling apart and one day there was Dem
roll that was left over and I had the really bad idea to try it and I did and I was probably instantly
addicted to it Dr kouis says he was shooting up frequently where didd you get the demoll
it was from my office I had a surgical center so you stole it from your office it's from my office and in the midst of
his own downward spiral kouis admits he got Lisa addicted as well when she asked
me for it I gave it to her I was impaired at the time I realized as it some certain
friends of mine that this couldn't continue and I was not myself I was not as productive and I realized that I
needed help things got so bad that kiss's parents intervened and came to take him to rehab Lisa stayed behind
someone called me and said that I needed to go check on her Lisa's mother Peggy says she will never forget the condition
in which she found her daughter it was the most horrific sight I've ever seen in my
life bottle syringes Blood on the floor they had her on a mattress she was completely
incoherent it was horrific Peggy says she and her friend quickly scooped up some of the drugs and
rushed Lisa to the hospital I mean she had injection sores on her body that were that big around
right over here on our left is uh where Lisa and Chris culis lived in 2002 Bobby
Pate at the boom County Sheriff office was assigned to investigate she was jaed in both hands in the arms the groin area
and in the feet they were infected and her hands and feet probably about twice as size as normal Pete met with Lisa at
the hospital and says she accused kouis of injecting her against her will there was times where she he chased her around
the room to get her a shot when she didn't want one and that he called her in hypochondriac cuz she was complaining
about the infections the sores and stuff and he shot her up some more she stated
that Chris said that he this was just do it for fun uh it would enhance the sexual
pleasure let's do this for fun let's just do this for fun at his trial prosecutor Kim helper confronts the
doctor about the earlier Kentucky incident she was in pretty bad shape when you left is that true no ma'am
she's walking talking and loose said we had breakfast she said goodbye to me at the door I didn't just leave her in the
basement and leave that's a misc characterization maybe so but Kentucky authorities arrested him anyway on
several serious charges including drug trafficking Lisa Buchanan was our star witness in the case Lisa gave
authorities this handwritten letter she received from Dr kouis after he entered rehab in it he takes the full blame for
getting her hooked on painkillers supplying them injecting her and admitting she had no prior history of
drug abuse before they met but it wasn't enough to convict him he hurt Lisa in 2002 and you know he he got away with it
Lisa's family believes he got away with it because he scared her out of testifying against him they said he
convinced her she was also in trouble and could lose custody of her daughter Chris just absolutely convinced her that
she could lose Jesse and that the police were lying to her that the da was lying
to her and no matter what she just believed him I think the fear was so real kouis denies he made any threats
but Lisa stopped cooperating and the case against him collapsed Kus ended up pleading guilty to just one of the 20
drug charges and was given probation no prison time and within a short period he
was back to practicing medicine again what happened in 200 too that was horrific we went to hen
back she did and I did but despite that hell Lisa could not let go of Chris kouis for her family it was difficult to
accept you don't understand why why she was listening to him there aren't words because you can't because
you don't understand it you're the one that rejected her first true yes sir I did in court Dr kouis accepts blame for
introducing Lisa to illegal drug use you're a doctor what were you thinking what else thinking that was
wrong I shouldn't have done it I shouldn't have done it to me and I should certainly sure as hell not have
done it to her I was responsible I felt responsible if he appear contrite when speaking to the jurors it was a
different Chris kouis who spoke to us later blaming Lisa Buchanan for her own drug problems did you get her addicted
to drugs I provided her I made available to her did you get her addicted to drugs I
think the choice of addiction is her own when I recognized that I was addicted I
got help I got her help from that point on all bets are off you realized how addictive this drug was the first time
you used absolutely and you introduced this to your girlfriend you provided the drugs
to her you gave her the syringes I was wrong in doing so and you're saying that it was her
responsibility to get clean yes it is her respons to stay clean I don't think I be respons for her death guilty or not
call cis's lawyers are hoping to throw a huge wrench into the case with experts who will testify that it was not a drug
overdose that killed of Buchanan after [Music] all an early fall morning in Franklin
Tennessee as most of the city's police force proudly gathers for a group photograph it's a department that may be
unaccustomed to the attack it's facing from Chris kol 's attorneys we realized that they were going to hold us under a
microscope and look to exploit anything that wasn't absolutely 100% perfect defense lawyers are highly
critical of what they consider sloppy police work even suggesting that detectives failed to properly isolate
Lisa's apartment the crime scene how do you know that those items that you say were in that apartment they hadn't been
moved around Detective Anderson bristles at the question saying the apartment was
secured almost immediately the locks were changed no one had access the apartment was Secure from that point on
unless well unless what unless your client broke in to the apartment then the apartment was secured but mistakes
were made like losing evidence medicine bottles from Lisa's apartment that detectives forgot to take from the
hospital the day she died we had been going several hours into days in this investigation so it had slipped our mind
at that time to go get those pills and when we finally realized we need to go back and get those pill bottles by the
time we went back there the hospital had already destroyed it slipped your mind an even bigger problem for
prosecutors is a defense challenge to the very heart of this case what killed Lisa Buchanan if she did take the
oxycodone that's not what killed her Dr Michael Graham a forensic pathologist and medical examiner testifies for the
defense that the drug didn't kill her the filler did that's the pattery material used to
give shape and form to the pills when they're made it was the filler and then the reaction to that
filler is what I think tipped her over the edge drug abusers crush pills mix them with liquid and inject them into
their veins for a quicker high but Graham explains that over time tiny particles of crush filler can build up
and clog blood vessels in the lungs and that he says is exactly what happened to
Lisa Buchanan injecting crushed up pills over a long period of time caused her death suddenly she was so plugged up
that it stopped the heart and she died of a heart attack you don't get that from an occasional use it took months to
years to form those things it came from Le Lisa injecting herself when he wasn't
around but prosecutors argue the defense theory of what killed Lisa is only partially true that in fact it was both
the filler and the narcotic working together that caused her death the filler was impacting the lungs the
oxycodone was suppressing some of her breathing mechanism and I would suggest to you that the evidence fully supports
the state's assertion that Lisa Buchanan died at the hands of this defendant there's no proof he did and because of
that you just got to find him not guilty as the case goes to the jury Lisa's family is concerned over what the
verdict may be we hope he's convicted and there's nothing he can say to me there's nothing he can say to that Court
there's nothing he can say to my family to change what's happened so Dr kulus is left to wait
facing the possibility of spending his next 25 years in prison left unanswered is the question of how an ambitious
young doctor a plastic surgeon ended up here Dr kulus is an extremely intelligent person he went into medical
school at age 19 if that tells you something all he did was work work work so Dr culus never had the time to enjoy
his youth his immaturity caught up with him so he was in the middle of an extended adolescence
when he met Lisa Buchanan I don't think he ever matured standing trial for murdering his girlfriend though may be
very sobering and Lisa's family hopes the jurry holds kouis responsible for her death it is just my prayer and it
has always been my prayer that he can never do this to anyone else [Music] over the course of a number of months or
years Lisa did something which caused her significant internal damage and ultimately that's why she died
and that would have happened I believe whether I was there or a day later or a week later a month
later she's responsible for own actions just as I [Music] am ladies and gentlemen this does
conclude the instructions and the closing arguments it is time for you to uh to take this case and make your
decision they began deliberations about 9:15 this morning here at the courthouse
nearly 2 weeks after the trial began the jury begins deliberating in the Lisa Buchanan murder case it is tense
everybody right now waiting it's been a challenge for prosecutors who've had only
circumstantial evidence to rely on do you think you'll win a conviction I would like to think
so but I think I've been around long enough to know uh that when it gets into the hands of the jury you just can't
can't predict jurors have four charges to consider ranging from simple assault to
second degree murder you are so beautiful the wild card is there's no telling how jurors
will react to the sex video oh my God but prosecutor Kim helper felt she had no choice the evidence on the tape from
the state's perspective was too important uh to not show it they say they want to see exhibit two of 3 2122
and 213 that is the videotape in fact just 1 hour into the deliberations the juror's request to see the video
again we're just hoping and praying that they understand that this man is [Music]
guilty because of the chemistry between the two and the drug use it was just destined for something terrible to
happen it was just a Fatal Attraction all right the jurors take less than a day to reach a verdict the
courtroom is tense as each charge is read as count one of the indictment on the charge of second deegree murder what
say you not guilty as to count two of the indictment on the charge of Reckless homicide what
say you not guilty as to the charge of criminally negligent homicide what say you guilty
very well that shall end your deliberations guilty but not of murder Lisa Buchanan's family is devastated
kouis now faces just months in prison instead of years Lisa's daughter Jesse runs from
the courtroom in tears I was really upset almost more upset than the night when I found out
like she passed away what was hardest was hearing the same cries from Jesse that I had to hear the night her
mom died for kulus and his attorneys the verdict is welcome news even with the felony conviction I'm relev that it's
over I accept the verdict of the jury a traged Lisa died should never have happened
did the jury conclude that Chris kouis Bears some responsibility for Lisa Buchanan's death with the finding of
criminally negligent homicide they are saying that as a doctor he should have done more to
prevent her from killing herself not according to the jurors we spoke with ag they told us they didn't buy the
doctor's testimony or his innocence but felt there just wasn't any hard evidence to convict him of murder a good
majority of us thought that he probably did the injection but we couldn't there's no way to know for sure they
couldn't prove that he directly acted to kill her you still maintain that Chris kouis killed Lisa Buchanan yes sir and I
think the jury agreed with me and quite frankly we just didn't have a photo uh putting Chris kulis with a needle in his
hand injecting La Buchanan Court finds the defendant's testimony to be lacking incredibility at sentencing
judge Jeff Biven showed little sympathy for kulus while the court is mindful of the fact that the victim Miss Buchanan
was in many ways a knowing and willing participant in the activities of that tragic weekend that does not diminish
the defendant's criminal conduct and culpability he sentences kulis to two years in prison the maximum sentence
allowed but he's expected to serve less than half of that can you do the time can I do the time to have a
choice after he's sentenced it's unclear just when the doctor will be imprisoned
he leaves the courtroom not in handcuffs but on $500,000 Bond paid by his parents
to keep him free while his attorneys appeal the conviction cis's Limited sentence and
the fact that he's free pending appeal is hard for daughter Jesse to accept I get mad I like to tell myself that I've
forgiven him because we were close I mean I I lived with him and I've known him for so long too
but when the really hard days come it's really hard to forgive them she even reached out writing a
personal letter to Kus Chris I've been thinking about this letter for months it's consumed me what do I say to the
man that took my mom away it's been a long 2 years and I still tell myself she's coming
back you know you're responsible for her death and you think of me and my family
try to imagine what we have been through and how much we miss her Lisa's sister Tara in the end this two
shall pass and someday he'll stand before God no one could have predicted the next
bizarre twist in this story 5 years after Lisa's death and with his appeal still pending Chris
kouis was found dead at her friend's apartment a former nestville plastic surgeon convicted in
the death of his modal girlfriend has died toxicology reports just released list the cause of death as bronchial
pneumonia due to opiate intoxication a drug overdose my duty to my client extends Beyond his death because cis's
case was in appeal his attorney David Raven was able to get his 2007 conviction dropped by the state's Court
of Criminal Appeals however the Attorney General's office is fighting to have that
conviction reinstated an off enough this case is over with the conviction should
be vacated um and let Dr culus rest in peace Dr Chris Kus never served one day of his sentence in jail there's no
satisfaction there's no real peace there's no Vengeance there's no anger there's no there's no
hate just you're dealt a certain set of cards and you just have to do what you can
with them [Music] he [Music]

“48 Hours" reports on cases involving love and relationships turned deadly. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "Fatal First Date," "Reuschel vs. Reuschel" and "Addicted to Love."

00:00 Fatal First Date 41:36 Reuschel vs. Reuschel 1:23:12 Addicted to Love

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

Leslie Reeves was murdered on a first date with Chris Smith, who survived and faced a long recovery while the investigation targeted her ex-boyfriend Bobby Tar.

Key points

A First Date Turns Tragic. Leslie Reeves and Chris Smith's first date ends in violence, leaving one dead and one fighting for life.
The Investigation Begins. As detectives search for answers, they uncover a web of lies and a chilling murder weapon.
Chris Smith's Recovery Journey. Chris Smith, a shooting survivor, fights to regain his strength and memory after a traumatic event.
Bobby Tar's Trial. Bobby Tar is found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting of Leslie Reeves.
A Magical Wedding Day. Caroline describes her wedding as magical, but a dark secret looms.
Disturbing Family Secrets. Caroline's father reveals a dark secret about Sue's alleged abuse.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I think Tiki protected Chris.

A family member reflecting on Chris's dog during the ordeal.

8:56WatchJan 18, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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