Deadly Prophecy | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] she was my best friend sometimes she was my only friend I wish every single day of my
life that I could have my mom back my mom died when I was 11 some people think it was an accident
some people think it was a suicide but I know it was a [Music] murder my dad murdered my
mom failen is a good person I have never hurt anybody in my life ever I emergency I just got a distress
call from a friend of mine he said that his wife is unconscious Doug called me very frantic he just said he found her
in the tub and that she was not responding to him she's not responding this wasn't
working I had my hand on the door handle to her bedroom as it was happening your
mom drowned in her own bathtub I've been working on this story for a number of years by all accounts
fine Grant is a wonderful woman very very close to her family and especially close to her
church this is something my mom wrote in her journal I love my family and don't want to leave them but it is Heavenly
father's will that I leave this Mortal sphere to fulfill a mission on the other side of the veil she also wrote I must
have faith in Doug's Vision he dreams it every night now that I will get to go to
the Celestial Kingdom Douglas Grant used organized religion in killing failing Grant the
motive in this case is a married man wanting to be with a younger woman I'm the lucky
one think what you want to think that's fine have there been other wom in his life yes but he's not a
murderer I know that my brother Doug is innocent I mean if you saw the volumes of letters that she wrote her journals
it's bizarre here is a woman who has talked to God God has told her that she's going
to die she did not want to die but it was Mr Grant's Vision that she would and she accepted the death sentence that was
Meed out by her husband I didn't kill my wife never in a million years this one is a classic it's got
this epic sweep of sex drugs and religion homicide suicide or accident was there even a murder
here deadly prophecy [Music] [Applause] [Music] things I want to have in a spouse loves the beauty of the
earth sunrise sunset I will be with you always failing it sounds very poetic watching
sunsets it just made all the difference in the world but eight years after faen Grant's
death rejection relevance her husband Doug Grant is fighting for his future sir is that a
yes or a no on trial for her murder you had Visions in church right no so she's a liar isn't it true that you were there
to Snoop no absolutely not you knew he was another woman's husband yes I did she wanted these letters to be rid of
right objection ask and answered sorry I'm confused sorry confused and he swears
not guilty I was just yelling filine filine objection relevance this has nothing to do with failing he just wants
to tell a story indeed he does want to tell his story a story that begins in 1993 the second he laid eyes on a
striking 27-year-old single mother named failen EES at his gym near Phoenix she's
a great person loved life loved her family Doug Grant just another day at the office for Doug Grant Doug is
uniquely qualified at the time Doug Grant was a 27-year-old divorce a single D there's a lot of confusion in the
market and a rising star in the world of nutrition what's the difference of real
F and drunk food the carrot is the real food right with a growing list of celebrity
clients the assist like Charles Barkley and Danny a of the Phoenix Suns Doug gives Good Counsel to the players what
we're trying to do with just focusing on their immune system he remembered faen from high
school she'd recently divorced and had two kids Austin and Jana my mom is the type of lady you meet
and you're like wow I want to be friends with her I came home one day and I had a
new CD and it was that song at no mountain [Music] high I grabbed the shampoo bottle she
had like the telephone and we're jumping up and down on the couch playing the song over and over again and just
singing that's my mom oh there's Doug and bileen at first first Doug's sister Tammy Fuentes says it seemed a perfect
match Fen is a lot like Doug especially since they were both Mormons she also loved nutrition and helping
others they married just four months after their first date she's a good person and brought out the good and
Doug however Jenna worried Doug wasn't bringing out the good in her mother he's the man of the house and she listens to
what he says so there was never any question who was ruling the roost tier it was always
dead doug needed to guide faen says Tammy who was becoming alarmed by her new sister-in-law's mood swings she was
either really up really happy or she was really really sad or depressed but would
never admit she needed help I would go to their house and she would be in her bedroom with the door
locked and the children would just be there and I would want to see her and they would say no no don't bother
her she says fa spent much time alone writing in her journal not uncommon in the Mormon faith or praying at the
temple sometimes for hours I do feel it was fanatical to the point Tammy says that by the late '90s
faen had lost touch with reality she said I've been to the temple and God has told me that I need
to divorce Doug Tammy remembers faen even said God had told her why Doug had a girlfriend faen had no proof of an
affair but God's word was enough she filed for divorce he was devastated he is truly a family man she
thought you were having an affair yes was that true not at the time maybe not right then but Doug had
had affairs including one with a Louisiana beauty queen and then in 2000 in the midst of
his divorce Along Came more Temptation vibrant bubbly great person for the job and a
great person to later feature in his promotional materials real yogurts are a fun and healthy snack a new receptionist
and fellow Mormon Hillary dwit age 19 Doug Grant fell hard I became romantically involved with
Hillary right at the divorce of filine not before Oh No in fact after his divorce from fa
Doug says he had cleaned up his ass act gone through church counseling and planned to marry Hillary I don't know
that I can express my love my devotion I'm in awe of him to be honest in August of 2001 though those
plans hit a snag a big snag Fen had had Revelation in the temple from God that she needed to put
her family back together for the children's sake God now was telling faen to marry Doug all over
again Doug claims nobody was more surprised than he was but the divorce hadn't been his idea after all and he
says he wanted to believe I knew I had to give it a shot you certainly did a 180 on this
didn't you you ended up not only marrying again but marrying the person that you had divorced I have the chance
to be able to try to make things right and get back with her absolutely to celebrate their new
beginning the grants vacationed here in the typog National Park in Utah and Doug
says they were hiking on September 24th 2001 according to him when faen reached roughly this spot she had some sort of
vision she saw something off in the distance so what did she do incredibly she climbed over this rock wall down to
that tiny ledge to get a better view according to Doug this picture was taken just seconds before disaster
struck she looked up and she could kind of see the image of Jesus in the clouds and said come out
here so I start going over that wall to go out there and she fell it was a 60t drop
Doug Grant says he was sure his wife was dead I yelled I screamed and she said shut up I mean
that was her exact word shut up so you knew she was okay I knew she was alive Doug took failen to a nearby
hospital very banged up but alive given how far she supposedly fell that makes no sense at all to Chief
Ranger Michael gosi the height of that fall the jaggedness of the Rocks below a fall of that serious nature a person
would have some severe injuries from she definitely thought she was going to die young but it was an
accident it was an accident but as Doug's sister Tammy was about to discover it may have been no
accident at all you have no idea that you're going to find what you find [Music]
no I got a phone call from Doug from the hospital and he told me that fine had fallen when she heard about fen's close
call in Utah Tammy Fuentes immediately went to the Grant's home to get it ready for their return you have no idea that
you're going to find what you find no she got the shock of her life she had prepared her house as if she was not
coming home Tammy says faen had left notes of Mormon scripture everywhere plus bags of personal items clothing
pictures with instructions to give them all away Fine's fall now made perfect sense to her she thought that she was
going to die on that mountain she tried to kill herself I know she did and I knew then that I
wanted to confront faen about it and I was going to confront her about it but when faen came home two days
later it didn't seem like the time fine was real sore she had been injured you know in the fall she was hurt she was
hurting pretty bad Doug had asked his friend physician's assistant Chad White to examine failen at home she seemed
happy to me regardless of all of her injuries she had no broken bones but still she was in pain and couldn't sleep
so white prescribed a muscle relaxant and the sleep aid ambian recording in his notes that he specifically told Doug
not to fill the ambient prescription without calling him first I just simply didn't want her taking the two together
white next heard from Doug just after 7:30 the following morning he was very alarmed very panicked he told me that he
had gone in to take a bath that he was laying on the bed and had fallen asleep when he woke up Doug said he found phine
unconscious in the tub her head underwater what did you do when you found her cut her
out put her on the bed started CPR you knew CPR I know CP you I asked if he' called 911 what did
he say he informed me that he had not called 911 I asked him why and he he relayed to me he was afraid white jumped
in the car and called 911 himself emergency yes I just got a discr call from um a friend of mine meanwhile at
the house phen's daughter Jenna says her stepfather was freaking out I hear Doug
and he's screaming he's panting and he's having a hard time looks like he's bracing himself and then he told me to
take my little brothers to the next door she ran to the home of Andrea Rogers who
raced to the grants to see if she could help Doug came flying to the door so upset my whole body just reacted to the
terror in his eyes Chad White showed up minutes later and took over he had obviously pulled her from the tub and
she was laying there unresponsive she did not have any vital signs with Doug looking on white tried CPR until the
paramedics arrived he was crying he was balling he was yelling out please help her please help her the paramedics got
her heart going again and rushed her to the hospital where Jenna remembers a bizarre scene as my mom is laying in a
bed unconscious with tubes running through her nose in her arms Doug takes me out into the hallway and he tells me
if your mom wakes up she might say weird things Jenna says Doug seemed too eager
to accept the possibility that failen might not wake up do not tell me my mom is going to die but as she watched her
mother's heart rate on the monitor she knew faen wasn't coming back I kept looking at the screen and just kept
going down and down from 100 7550 and then I realized what was happening she was
dying soon doctors said brain activity had ceased and Doug authorized taking her off life support at 437 p.m. on
September 27th 2001 faen Grant was pronounced dead official cause drowning but Tess showed a whopping 50 mg of
ambient in her system clearly Doug had ignored Chad White's orders you didn't call him when you
chose to fill the prescription I didn't feel I needed to call to fill the prescription still investigators seemed
unconcerned in this bathroom and out here in fen's bedroom they shot just five photos in coming days they would fail to
interview key Witnesses they even lost evidence including the pill bottles then again they had ruled this death an
accident the very day failen was found phen's family was upset it took months of pressure from them before
police started taking a closer look at Doug Grant and that's when detective s Ray
got the case I felt there was a lot of unanswered questions so I primarily focused on just trying to answer some of
the real basic questions the first thing we looked at that helped us do that was
the phone records Ray found a slew of calls from the months before faen died between Doug's phones and Hillary
dtz prosecutor Juan Martinez says authorities became even more intrigued at reports that Doug and Hillary had met
in a park only hours after fen's death when he saw her he grabbed her around the hip area pulled her towards him and
said oh I miss these that scenario is chilling well it is chilling and it isn't a scenario it's something that
happened Hillary admitted meeting Doug in the park but she wasn't sure when and she adamantly denied any conversation
about her hips but nobody denies what happened a few weeks later we got married soon you got married really soon
absolutely in fact less than a month after fen's death Doug and Hillary became man and
wife I know how people feel about us getting married so quick I don't care what people
perceive about me I am who I am and that's my life Doug and Hillary had started a new life but s had no
intention of moving on I had a lot of concerns about the way he reported things happening just some real Common
Sense things that I felt just didn't quite fit in Chief among them Ray says he just couldn't get over that Doug
never had called 911 I know with every fiber of my being that I called them you called I call 911 Phoenix area records
show no such call still Ray didn't have enough for an arrest until the sudden appearance of a new witness a reluctant
witness I didn't want to get involved because I knew what was going to happen once my name hit the papers caught on
tape with a story about what doug Grant told him really happened the day Fen died it's the missing piece of evidence
that we're looking for [Music] after phen's death Jenna and her brother Austin went to live with their
biological father well Doug that good and his new wife Hillary settled into life with a blended
family four children from various marriages including a daughter of their own n tried to land your front flip NAA
there you go that's heaven spelled backwards oh look at that one despite such wholesome
appearances detective s remained convinced Doug Grant was a killer but nothing really jumped out and said this
is what happened she's right here failen sisters always suspected it was Doug he
didn't call 911 he didn't call 911 he married Hillary 3 weeks later 3 years passed then one day fen's
sister Shirlene called Ray with explosive news an old friend of Doug's was claiming Doug had confessed to
killing fine the friend's name was Jim molier he told me that she was ready to go to
heaven he said I put her in the bathtub until she was underwater but there was a problem with
Jim maier's story before he'd tell it to the cops he wanted money from fen's family and how
much money does he want he's asking for $10,000 $10,000 he's very clear that it's a loan
you buy this I have a hard time buying a lot of things that Jim said but at that
point we were obligated to see it through to see what this information is and see if there's any validity to
it so s r set Maier up he told Shirlene to arrange a meeting in a Walmart parking lot hi Jim hi how we doing with
hidden cameras rolling all right back there Jim yeah I'm fine when the money changed hands here you
go Ray moved in and told Maier he could charge him with extortion instead he got Maier to agree to help
get a confession out of Doug on tape the plan at that point is to bring Jim and have him confront Doug on this
information while wearing a wire Maier did just that later that day wired for sound got
a minute he met Doug and told him police were asking him questions they're threatening to arrest me because they
think I have information and he needed to know exactly what happened to filine I don't know what you want me to say I
believe his initial response was I did help her into the bathtub she fell asleep in the tub she had had so much of
those painkillers and stuff Doug admitted nothing directly but when molier tried to leave he kept
saying tell me what you're going to say what are you going to say saying how damaging it sounded if they have anybody
saids that Doug Grant put her in the tub and put her to sleep then it's over trying to get me to reward it if it was
me I would say yeah we were good friends and you're there to conso me and you don't remember it's been years ago it
was hardly a full confession end of story get out of my face but to S it was more than
enough so in the summer of 2005 police arrested Doug grant for the murder of his wife
failen Doug immediately made bail and soon returned home he is not guilty there was no
crime Doug's lawyer Mel McDonald says there's no evidence Doug even wanted faen to die just the opposite when you
look at Doug's efforts after her fall crying for help running to her rescue taking her to a hospital leaving her
alone with people that is hardly the evidence of a murder Doug had been here as far as detective s is concerned
though it was all part of an act their version of the story is just nonsense I think something happened to her while
they were here I don't know what so what do you do when there's no evidence let's
throw in the infidelity let's throw in the younger woman it's got nothing to do with the question of homicide but let's
just throw the dirt on the wall maybe it will stick what the defense wants to stick is
that faen Grant's death was not a murder but rather an accident or a suicide if you doubt it they say I can't
tell you how devastated I feel just listen to fen's own words from those astonishing journals I choosing to give
up the life I have Jenna still reads them today I can't tell you how devastated I
feel and that I'm suicidal and that I think of crazy things to do to myself it's right there in the writings
repeated references to her upcoming death I felt like I should just drive off a cliff and quit wasting space and
air on this planet but daughter Jenna can't seem to reconcile the words in those letters and
journals with the mother she knew she would have never committed suicide if you only read a small portion of
something taken out of context it's not going to be what the writer intended my mom didn't want to die she was a happy
lady she was a great mom a great wife I don't think that points to someone that's
suicidal and if the writing suggest otherwise she says it can only be because Doug planted the idea her
husband who obviously she trusted who she remarried is telling her she's going to die I never encouraged it nor did I
ever dream it nor did I ever say it just as hard to Fathom as fail's relationship with Hill
a rival whom you'd think she might hate far from it remarkably fa's journals show that the two became Fast Friends
fine she filled voids in my life at a time period where I needed it and she's part of this
family I'm so thankful Hillary is able to share her feelings with me and me with her I want so much for her to know
of my love and respect for her so much does she love her that fine names Hillary the perfect new wife for
Doug Grant this desire for you to be married immediately and to see you sitting together as husband and wife at
my funeral has been so strong and even the perfect new mother for her children I have asked Hillary to sit at the table
as your mother while I'm away treat Hillary with the utmost love and respect and you'll always make me very happy
I think fine was right these kids needed a mom so just what was fine really saying
what do these bewildering entries tell us about her about how she died all rise for the jury as the trial begins how the
jury answers those questions May well determine Doug Grant's fate what role did you have in fail's death
everybody ask that is that a yes or a no [Music] sir all rise for the jury on day one of Doug Grant's trial
for first-degree murder please we SE everyone prosecutor Juan Martinez highlights what he says was Doug's
heartless manipulation of his wife he's telling her that he's had visions that she's going to die he will try to
convince the jury that Doug's obsessive Communications with Hillary then at 1213
a 16-minute call then at 1250 a 12 minute call and his failure to make the call that counted most doesn't call 911
reveal a plot to kill the woman he'd married twice so he could marry the woman he really loved he had told
Hillary that they were going to be together and that they were going to be married but defense lawyer Mel McDonald
argues however failen died Doug didn't kill her she writes I am choosing to give up the life I have that is
perfectly the way I want it she is choosing ladies and gentlemen to give up her life I can see under one theory that
Doug did just what Juan Martinez accused him of doing after years covering the grant case reporter Paul Rubin says no
one Theory fully explains what happened to failen I also can see it being a terrible tragic accident and I also can
see suicide but if this was murder what was the motive money well fine did have a hefty new life insurance policy but it
hadn't kicked in yet yet if Doug were after the money why wouldn't he wait as for love even if Doug desperately wanted
to marry Hillary he didn't have to kill philine to do it they could have simply divorced after all they'd already done
it once Mr Martinez's statement Call's first witness prosecutor Martinez ignores the
motive question for now beginning with his star witness fen's daughter Jenna who remembers being unable to get in
into the bedroom that horrible morning I grabbed the door handle jiggled it and it was locked the bedroom door was
locked says prosecutor Martinez because a killer was at work on the other side the locked door is a crucial point and
curiously something Jenna never once mentioned in two interviews with police I didn't want to talk about it I didn't
want to think about it but it's part of the story she was 11 at the time she was
the doesn't mean she doesn't remember exactly what happened step right up here and we have you I was definitely still
in love with d absolutely later Martinez tries to get Hillary to admit she knows
more than she's letting on you knew that if she died there would be a chance for
you and the man that you loved right Mr Martinez that is yes or no no your case certainly wasn't hurt by being able to
paint this guy as a really sleazy womanizer I didn't paint the defendant as a s lazy womanizer that's what the
facts showed exhibit a he says are the phone records hundreds of calls from Doug's
phones to Hillary's but Doug's lawyer claims that many of them weren't made by Doug at all it was fine that was making
the calls remember the defense says the two women were friends the contacts that
were going on during this period of time was fine preparing Hillary to take her place stay C our case mostly Doug's case
gets another boost when prosecutor Juan Martinez calls the medical examiner I have no evidence to support this being a
homicide just as the defense has claimed all along there was no crime also helping the defense raise your right
hand s Ray who spearheaded the case against Doug Grant has to admit that on many important points there's also no
evidence where's the sheets we do not have the sheets where were the pill containers found we don't know where's
our underclothing I don't know detective the evidence that the scene is gone isn't it no not not all of the evidence
that the scene is gone as for the ambient when how and how much faen took a toxicologist says the
evidence is totally inconclusive we just don't know as the months drag on and the
def picks up steam which is your home prosecutor Martinez voices objections objection non responsible over objection
leading speculative and over objection leading and here say and over objection leading sustain you objected by our
count more than a hundred times one day OB sustain non-leading questions please Mr McDonald I assume that's part of the
tactic no it was not a tactic to throw him off his game uhhuh 100 times in a day 200 if
necessary in closing arguments Martinez outdoes himself with another carefully calculated move finally spelling out
exactly what the state thinks Doug Grant did to failen it's a stunner what he did
is he dragged her over there and then he placed her head inside the tub and began
to hold her down failen never was actually in the bathtub he says her injuries and water
stains at the scene prove it there is no doubt that Douglas Grant killed failing
Grant but just in case the jurors don't buy that Martinez reminds them they still can punish Doug without convicting
him of first-degree murder there are lesser included offenses second degree murder and mansl Doug Grant doesn't
testify and his lawyer bids the jury a fond if unorthodox farewell thank you so much for your
commitment and your time and may God bless you this been a priv God bless you it's not
panding I will be devastated if this is not an aquid and he is not the only one every
time the phone rings you know wondering if it's the last time you're going to see your family you know on person and
uh it's real tough this is our life and I believe with every fiber my being Doug will
continue it with us this is a case that took on a life of its own it's an unlikely arrest followed by an unlikely
prosecution followed by we'll see while the jury is out Doug Grant retreats to his home in Pima Arizona
there's only a few things that keep you Saye you know out doing yard work with the family brings a a little bit of
normaly to life savoring whatever time he has left with Hillary and his kids oh look at that one the thought of Doug
being taken away and having to go to jail for something that he didn't do is crippling I don't wish that upon
anybody faced with months of evidence jury deliberations drag on for three agonizing weeks while we're waiting it's
it's tough you just don't know where they're going to go with it very few people could go through what he's had to
go through okay come here Brave it's tough from 9: to 4 while the jury's deliberating pins and needles you
know and then finally a verdict verdict we the jury do find the defendant Douglas D Grant as to
count one first-degree murder unable to to agree on the Lesser included offense of
second degree murder unable to agree on the Lesser included offense of manslaughter
guilty guilty but only of manslaughter the least serious charge Doug faced Doug Grant was taken out of the courtroom in
handcuffs it's a hollow victory for the state and for fen's family I'm glad it's
over and that we can go on a crushing blow for Doug and the defense probably the most devastating result in any case
I've ever tried jurors say though they thought Doug did something they just couldn't
agree that it was murder nothing was proven but it was just a gut feeling so they compromised manslaughter was a
fallback despite their strong feelings about the man on trial we thought he was a pretty much a SK bag how have you
managed to hold it together all this time Hillary it's easy when you know he's innocent Doug supporters aren't giving
up manslaughter means he could face up to 12 and A2 years in prison or he could get no time at all just probation
there's a community that will suffer a great loss if he is in for very long at all because he is a good
[Music] man it may have been too risky to put grant on the stand before the verdict
but as the court considers sentencing a few days later we call that Grant Doug's
lawyer bets that an emotional plea from his client now just might work would you
please state your name for the record Doug V Dewey Grant and Doug is on the edge after his first weekend Behind Bars
he's on suicide watch he look like Jack Nicholson in The Shining was yelling fine
fine he did cry well it looked like he attempted to cry does he turn the tears on and off it
appears that he does doesn't it filine was someone that always made me feel Larger than
Life phen's family takes the stand to argue for the longest sentence possible all that I have left is
memories because he took her from me the usually stoic Hillary now pleads with the judge not to to take Doug from
her if Doug received probation he would still be allowed to pay a debt to society and continue to provide for us
as his family Doug and fen's own Sons Marley 12 I'm here because I know my dad is in it I want my dad back home and
Braven 11 I miss my mom tell the judge that losing one parent is enough but taking my dad away isn't going to bring
her back the seem to hit home a judgment sentence of the court to defend and be in prison for
the presumptive term of 5 years 5 years with good behavior Doug Grant will be out in three the
prosecutor puts on a brave face Justice I believe was served it took a while but we finally got there
where do you go from here what do you do on with my family Hillary is loyal to the end
saying it's just what her dear friend would have wanted they're always going to mourn the death of their mother
always this is what she would want I mean that's just how I feel Jenna has trouble accepting the
verdict let alone the sentence a man took away someone else's life and he's going to be in prison half a
decade you're telling me that's justice but she vows not to let the past destroy her future
I'm going to be okay I've been okay the past seven or eight years and she takes comfort in fen's journals this will be
such a blessing as I go into the next World in those haunting Reflections not just about dying but also about living
life with zest every day which is how she wants to remember her mother love means never having to say
goodbye I will be with you always I love you failing [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
he

A woman has visions of dying before she drowns... was it murder or a prophecy fulfilled? "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Susan Spencer reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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

Failen Grant's death leads to Doug Grant's trial for her murder, revealing manipulation and infidelity within their troubled marriage.

Key points

A Mother's Death. The tragic story of a mother's drowning raises questions of murder or accident.
Doug's Alibi. Doug Grant claims innocence in the death of his wife, but evidence suggests otherwise.
The Shocking Revelation. A witness comes forward with a confession that could change everything.
Doug Grant's Trial Begins. The trial for Doug Grant begins, with accusations of heartless manipulation by the prosecution.
Verdict Announced. The jury finds Doug Grant guilty of manslaughter, a hollow victory for the state.
Emotional Plea for Sentencing. Doug's family pleads for leniency during sentencing, highlighting the impact of the verdict.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I didn't kill my wife never in a million years.

A husband's desperate claim of innocence

2:50WatchJun 18, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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