Jealous Partners | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[music] All rise. >> Joy answering. >> Please proceed. >> Kill or be killed. [music]
Kill or be killed. Kill or be killed. The defense calls as its first witness. Virginia Vertitis.
>> This was a case about a woman who shot and killed the person attacking her, Patrick Gilhouie.
>> Prosecutor's position is my client murdered Gili in cold blood. They were the only two people in that
house [snorts] that night. One of them is dead and one of them is on trial for his murder.
>> 911. Where's your emergency? >> Somebody was breaking into my house. >> Police arrive on scene at 10:07.
>> I didn't know who was coming in my house. Everything's dead. >> I'm dead. >> They see Patrick laying there
motionless. Dead. >> Is there anybody else in the house? >> Who else in the house?
>> I live alone. >> Who else is here? >> They see the gun, the 38 caliber. She was immediately handcuffed,
then placed into a patrol car. [laughter] >> This defendant tried to orchestrate a
story to make herself look like a victim. She calls 911 and she lies. So, what happened? We have to know who
these people are. Who was Patrick Gilholi? Who is Virginia Bertitus? [music] >> I know Virginia Vertitis. I've spent
hundreds of hours with her. She had a highpaying corporate job. She gave it up and went to teaching. All the parents
would ask for her because she was such a great teacher, a loving mother, loving daughter.
[music] To me, she got mixed up with the wrong man. [music] This is a guy that retired as a police
officer, was working on security for construction sites. Everybody loved this guy. Everybody
loved this guy. He beat the hell out of her. He choked her. He looked her straight in
the eyes and said he was going to kill her. Why did [laughter] he have to throw me like that?
Look at the evidence. I have this woman's life in my hands. >> This is the moment of truth.
Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Well, see whether the defendant was telling the truth. [laughter]
>> Why did you kill him? >> Because he was going to kill me. Heat. Heat. [music]
>> [music] >> I'm like jumping out of my skin. [snorts] Someone's life is in my hands.
>> This case is a monster. It's a tremendous weight on on my shoulder. >> Just want this to start.
>> Defense attorneys Ed Bolinkis and Sarah Mardell are on edge as Virginia's murder
trial begins. >> I can't sleep anymore. I'm literally bouncing off the walls. If I lose,
she'll spend the rest of her life in jail. >> It's been 3 years since Patrick Ghoulie
was shot to death in Virginia's home in Mount Olive, New Jersey. My client is not guilty. She killed Patrick Gilhulie
in selfdefense. >> But it won't be easy for Belinkas to prove that. >> It's a difficult case. There's a lot of
things that we need to address. >> 911, where's your emergency? >> Starting with Virginia's 911 call.
>> Somebody was breaking out of my head. >> One of the biggest challenges for the
defense is what Virginia said on that call. >> She makes up a story. She lies. >> I didn't know who was coming in my
house. I was in bed. >> I'm dead. >> No one was breaking into her house on the night of March 3rd, 2014.
>> Big problem for her. >> She was with Patrick Cahulie, her on again, offagain boyfriend of more than 5
years. >> There's a legitimate reason why she did what she did. >> There is only one person who can explain
it. How are you doing today? Okay, just very nervous. >> But it's a big gamble. >> It's always a risk to put a defendant on
the [music] stand. >> Even riskier because Virginia, severely depressed and anxious, is now heavily
medicated. If you didn't put her on, the jury would never know what happened that
night. Do you still love Patrick? >> Objection, judge. I'll allow it. >> Yes. Their
story began in 2008. >> How did you meet him? >> I met him online. Match.com. >> Patrick was divorced. His two daughters
are here in court. >> Patrick Yhulie was not perfect, ladies and gentlemen. By no means.
>> He was, says prosecutor Matt Triano, a complicated man. >> He drank too much and too often.
But he had a big heart. He worked hard. He was loved by his family and friends and he loved them.
>> Patrick was working in private security, including a stint as a bodyguard for
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt after he had retired as a cop. >> It was a good relationship. He was very
attentive. >> When Virginia met Patrick, she had been unlucky at love. She had married three
times in search of it. The first time she had married young and it [music] didn't last. She had fallen hard for
husband number two, Scott Fertitus, also a police officer. >> Oh, she loved him very, very much.
>> Virginia's mother, Cranny Kolhoffer, says when the couple's children, Kelly and Billy, were young, Virginia left a
highpaying job at AT&T to [music] become a teacher so she could spend more time with them. Virginia would do just about
anything for her children, wouldn't she? >> Absolutely. She was a marvelous mother.
>> But she says that marriage collapsed when Scott cheated on Virginia. >> That tore her world apart. Just tore her
world apart. She was never the same after that. >> She's has a history of abandonment from
men. >> Jim Faulner was Virginia's husband number three. >> I met her on [music] match.com. That was
back in 2004, four years before Patrick. >> She had her master's degree working on
her doctorate. So, she was very smart and she knew what she wanted. She wanted this [music] perfect life, this uh white
picket fence and the happy family. >> But he says the relationship was volatile. And whenever he tried to
leave, [music] Virginia begged him to come back. >> She sent me a 100 roses. She did everything in her power to get
me back. She said she'll do whatever it takes. And we even went to therapy. >> Do you get the impression that it's very
difficult for Virginia to be without a man? >> Yes. She has to have somebody at all
times. >> The marriage to Jim didn't last either. [music] And soon Virginia was back on match.com.
>> I saw email that she was dating somebody >> Patrick Ahulie. >> Yeah. And that relationship was also
volatile. >> We broke up a lot. >> How many times had you broken up over the years?
>> Countless. [music] I can't even tell you how many. They fought a lot. She says
Patrick was unfaithful. At other times, jealous. [music] >> He did not like me talking to other men.
It made him feel humiliated. >> They even fought over taxes because Patrick hadn't paid his in years.
But mostly, she says, they fought about his drinking. >> When he was drinking, he was terrible.
He was terrible. >> Virginia says there were several times when Patrick was drinking that he was
violent with her. >> He pushed me down on the bed. He shoved me into a wall. He threw me on the
floor. >> A couple of times, this was towards the end. I would see bruises. They would be
on her arms or her legs or whatever. And I would say, "Virginia." She goes, "Oh,
I'm just clumsy." But Virginia never reported any of these alleged incidents to police.
>> But you're convinced that he was abusing her? >> Oh, I am absolutely convinced that he
was abusive to her. >> Why do you think then she stayed with him? >> Every time I ask her those same
questions, I love him, but I would say there's no butt, mom. I love him. >> Why did she remain silent? She had
various medical issues. Virginia struggled with an autoimmune [music] disease. Three months before the
shooting, she went on disability from her teaching job. >> She was weak, vulnerable. Ghoulie took
advantage of that. >> And the [music] defense says there's a bigger reason. >> Throughout the entire relationship,
Patrick Ghoulie had thrown up in her face when he abused her. I'm a cop. They're never going to believe you.
And that is the reason, says the defense, [music] that Virginia panicked the night she shot Patrick and then lied
about it. The cops come running in, "Get down. Get down." At that point in time, while she's on
911, she's thinking to herself after all of the beatings over the years that he beat her and what
he said to her, they're never going to believe you. [laughter] She makes up a story. She lies.
[laughter] on the stand fighting through the haze of medications. Virginia tries to
convince the jury she is now telling the truth. The couple argued that night as they had many times, she said, but this
time was different. >> I never saw his eyes look like that before. He said, "I'm going to kill you. You
was scared to death." I ran up the stairs and ran into the master bedroom. [music] I went over to the bed and I
reached under the mattress and I grabbed the gun. [music] I just kept shooting. I quickly looked
and he was still on the stairs. So, I just kept shooting down the stairwell. >> So, what led up to [music] that horrible
fight? >> She's the ex and I'm the new. So, probably there's going to be a disgruntle there.
A few weeks before Virginia Verta shot and killed Patrick Cahulie, trouble was brewing in their rocky
relationship once again. this time over this [music] woman. Colleen Roer had been seeing Patrick and
when Virginia discovered it, she wasted little time contacting her. >> I was getting prank hangups on my phone.
>> Can you approximate how many prank calls you received? >> Three or four. >> I'd like to direct your attention to
February 4th, 2014. Do you recall whether or not you had received some communication on Facebook?
>> I was getting friend requests. I didn't know who this person was cuz I'm very
selective about who I'm friends with on Facebook. So I said, "Who who are you?" >> Colleen says Patrick had told her about
Virginia but had been less than truthful and said she was an exgirlfriend. Believing him, Colleen sent Virginia
this message back. >> And I'm under the impression the two of you broke up. Please don't friend me
again. I didn't do anything to you. I'm sorry. >> Take your time. >> And she text me back something like, "Do
you think sleeping with my boyfriend of 6 years isn't doing anything to me?" And
I said, "No, not if it's over." >> Virginia's response, she told Colleen she had slept with Patrick that very
morning. Patrick was so angry he broke up with Virginia via text. We are done. So done. Wish you luck.
Find someone else. You can do it. Good luck. A week later, they had another heated
text exchange after Patrick accused Virginia of contacting Colleen again. Patrick left Virginia this angry
voicemail. >> Hey, psycho. Psycho woman. I'm calling your mother up. >> Yet fighting was part of their
relationship. [music] And Virginia and Patrick kept communicating. But the defense says in the weeks before the
shooting, Virginia had bigger problems on her mind than Patrick Cahulie, she had petitioned the school board to
return to work and they had voted against her. >> I was very upset. I was ready to go back
to school and I missed the kids. >> Virginia also missed her own children. Kelly was away at college and Billy,
then 16, had recently decided to move in with his father. Virginia has shared her distress over
her son with her therapist on March 3rd, the morning of the shooting. >> It was just really tough to talk about
Billy. I was heartbroken. >> Later that day around 6:00 p.m., Virginia texted Patrick asking if he was
coming over and he showed [music] up a half hour later. Ebolinka says Patrick had sex on his mind when he went over
there. He had taken Viagra, which not based on personal experience, you're going to find out, takes a while
to kick in, so it had to have been planned. >> And the evidence shows that Patrick
mixed it with something else that night. >> How drunk was Patrick O'Hulie on March
3rd, 2014? >> Crazy drunk. >> What? Almost three times. >> Three times illegal. Absolutely.
>> I unzippered his pants. According to Virginia, after a failed attempt at sexual intimacy that evening, Patrick
grew frustrated >> and he kind of pushed me away and zippered up his pants and put his belt
back on. >> Virginia says she left Patrick sort of dozing off on the floor and went to get
firewood at the 7-Eleven, but when she returned, he was gone. They finally connected in a telephone call and he was
screaming at her and ranting and raving about, you know, why did you leave me? You didn't tell me. And she's trying to
calm him down and she finally convinces him to come back. >> Virginia left open the front door and
while she was in another room, she heard him slam and shatter the storm door, dropping glass on the mat inside. When
he came back to the house, he was a raving lunatic. >> So, this is Virginia's home. We asked
[music] Belinkus to take us through what he says happened in the house next. Patrick eventually calmed down, Belinka
says. But they soon started arguing again. >> And that started the rage that to me was
building up inside of him. She sees that, she gets up and she starts to walk away from him.
But then Virginia says Belinkus made a fatal mistake and [music] said to Patrick, "At least I pay my taxes." Do
you think that line is what set everything off? At least I pay my taxes. >> You know, that's when he comes after
her. [music] >> The defense believes that earlier that evening, Patrick had discovered an IRS
form that Virginia had filled out to turn him in for unpaid taxes. [music] Ed, where did the physical altercation
actually take place? >> It started here. As she was entering the foyer, he grabs her from behind. She's
trying to get away and he pushes her up against the front door. He grabs her by the throat and starts choking her. He
looks her dead in the eye and says, "I'm going to kill you, you." After fighting on top of the broken
glass in the foyer, Belinka says Virginia managed to escape and ran upstairs to her bedroom where she
grabbed the gun she says Patrick had left under the mattress. >> She reaches under, she grabs the gun,
she runs out here. She sticks the gun around the corner and starts firing. >> The defense says Virginia, fearing for
her life, shot at Patrick. The first shot missed. The second shot is to the hand as he's reaching up maybe to try to
stop or grab the gun. The next shot goes to the neck. And the third shot is the one that hit
his arm. He's starting to come down. He gets the shot in the back. It goes through out
and out his chest. He's starting to collapse and his body lurches forward and that's when he gets the last shot.
He's fatally wounded and he collapses and that's where he died. Right here, >> Virginia told the jury she sat frozen in
fear before walking over to him, prone on the floor. >> I um I sat down next to him
and I kept shaking him. Patrick, please wake up. Please wake up. >> [snorts] >> Daddy wasn't waking up.
>> She was lying to the jury under oath. >> The state contends that Virginia's story
about what happened in the house [music] that night is full of holes. Oh my gosh.
In my office, I keep a wall of people that have been killed [music] or the victims of some crime, and it does
become personal. I think it should. Prosecutor Matt Triano [music] can't help becoming invested in murder cases,
especially when he believes the victim has [music] been dragged through the mud. Basically, her defense is blame the
victim. >> Oh, yeah. And it's hard. It's a very one-sided argument because, you know,
Patrick's not there to defend himself. >> You were angry. >> No, [music] not angry.
>> That's why Triano felt pressure to prove to the jury that Virginia was a real
aggressor that night. It sounds like what you're saying is Virginia Vertitus is a liar.
>> It's a good way to say it. >> The truth, Troano says, is that Virginia was obsessed with Patrick. She simply
couldn't accept that the relationship was over. >> Why do you believe that Virginia
Fertitus shot and killed Patrick Cahuli? >> Because she was having problems, you
know, with her son. She was having issues with work. And Patrick, the person that really she felt closest to,
was just up and leaving her. >> And the proof he says is in the text sent after that February 4th breakup
over Colleen. >> You recall saying to him things like, "There won't be another relationship.
I'll be dead first." >> Yes. >> Triano says Virginia tried to get Patrick back [music] by playing on his
sympathy. She claimed she had multiple sclerosis. >> At that time, did you specifically know
that you had MS? >> I specifically believed I had MS. >> I understand that. But you didn't tell
him that you believe you had it. You told him in fact that I do have it. >> Yes.
>> But when that tactic didn't work, Triano says Virginia tried to lure him with
sex. >> Did you ever ask him to come and say that it was just friends with benefits?
>> Yes. By March 3rd, [music] Patrick may finally have had enough. His friends and
family say he went to Virginia's that evening to end things with her once and for all.
>> You may have a seat, sir. Please keep. >> Patrick's brother, Paul Gahuli. >> And he said to me that this is it. I
can't do this anymore. And he also said to me that he wanted to discuss with her
some tax situation. >> But that testimony seems to support the defense theory. And attorney Ed Bolinkis
seizes on this. >> And why would he talk about that tax situation with my client if you know
based on your conversation? >> On prior conversations, he had told me that he was worried about Virginia
talking to the IRS about a tax situation. >> Belinka says it's more proof that it was
Patrick's [music] unpaid taxes that sparked the fatal fight. >> He had beaten her that night. He had
threatened to kill her that night. But was there a physical fight that night at all? Matt Troyano doesn't buy it. He
charges that Virginia's injuries are self-inflicted [music] and shows a jury what he says
appears to be Virginia scratching herself in the interrogation room video. >> So when the state says that she created
those injuries, what do you say? >> Bull crap. You know, how about the injury to the throat? When did she
create that? >> If she did one, she did all. >> You believe that? >> Patrick Goooli was a big guy. If what
she says is true, she would have looked beat up really, really bad. >> And if Patrick had broken the glass
storm door in anger and struggled with Virginia on top of the shards of glass, [music] why doesn't Virginia have cuts
and slashes? You know, you hear about essentially this death struggle that happens in the middle of this foyer, but
there's no cuts from glass. There's none of that. >> And Triano says he knows why
>> Patrick didn't break that glass. I don't think that the evidence supports that at
all. >> This is the glass from the exterior storm door. >> Triano called forensic expert Howard
Ryan to the stand to explain to the jury why Virginia's story about Patrick breaking the glass storm door couldn't
be true. There's generally three types of glass we deal with. They're all going to do certain things.
>> For starters, Ryan says storm doors are not that easy to break. [music] To test the state's position, we hired
Jim Molinaro, who works with Howard Ryan at Forensic Training Source. So, are almost all storm doors now that are used
made of tempered glass? >> Yes. >> What makes tempered glass different? >> Tempered glass is stronger than regular
glass. Generally speaking, it's about four times stronger. >> When the defendant says that she heard
the door break after Patrick Cahuli slammed it, what's your first reaction to that?
>> The likelihood of that happening, I wouldn't expect that to happen. >> Okay. Do you want to try?
>> We can give it a try. Yes. >> Okay. We tried slamming it over and over again.
And when that didn't work, we tried kicking it. Do you believe the defendant when she
says that door she heard the door break before the shooting? >> No. >> And you see them right here.
>> Even giving Virginia the benefit of the doubt that Patrick somehow managed to
break the storm door. Forensics appeared to disprove that, too. Howard Ryan explained that during the shooting, one
of the bullets went through both the front door and the glass storm door. Emanating from the bullet hole were
something called radio lines. And these are telltale clues. >> Radial fracture lines will only occur on
the first break of the window. >> Using a set of doors similar to the crime scene. We asked Jim Molinaro to
show us what happens to an unbroken storm door when it's hit by a bullet. Now, you're not going to be actually
firing the gun. >> No. I'm going to turn this over to Jeff Brion from the Gwinnet County Police
Department. Eyes and ears in place. Everybody behind the 15yd line. >> You ready to go look?
>> Let's go take a look. >> Oh my gosh. >> You can see they point directly to where
the bullet perforated the glass. I mean, this looks almost identical to the photos in evidence.
>> Yes, exactly. We couldn't have asked for better results. >> Just to see what the bullet hole would
look like if the glass was already broken like Virginia said it was. >> All right, range is hot.
>> We had Officer Brandon shoot the door again. [music] But what is not here that we saw with
the very first shot? You don't have the production of any radial fracture lines emanating out from where the bullet went
through the glass. >> All this is proof the state says that the bullet was the only thing that broke
the glass that night. That Patrick never shattered it in a rage. But what do they believe happened right
before the shooting? >> Jory entering. >> Patrick's own daughter, Jennifer Gahuli,
says she heard everything. >> I heard my dad screaming. She's hitting me. She's hitting me. Stop. Stop.
[snorts] >> Mr. Toronto, call your next witness, please. >> At this time, the state would call
Jennifer Gillulie. >> Jennifer was going to be the star [music] witness in the case.
>> Do you know an individual by the name of Virginia Bertitus? >> I do. >> And do you see Miss Vertitis in court
here today? >> I do. >> Could you identify her, please? She's sitting at the table right over there.
>> Stipulating she's identified my client. >> Jennifer Gahulie, Patrick's older daughter, was as close to an eyewitness
as the prosecution had. >> Jennifer, I'd like to direct your attention to March 3rd, 2014. Do you
recall that day? >> I do. >> Do you recall where you were on the evening? >> That night, Jennifer got three calls
from her father in just four minutes, right before he was shot. The first phone call when I picked up, he was
screaming, "She's hitting me. She's hitting me." And I kept hearing him screaming, "Stop! Stop!" He called me
again. I just heard yelling. I didn't really hear words. >> The phone calls proved Royano says that
Patrick was not attacking Virginia. It was [music] the other way around. >> Did you communicate with your father
again? >> I said, "Dad, I'm coming." He's like, "It's too far. you won't get here in
time. And the next thing I know is I heard three loud shots. I heard him say, "Holy, he's shooting." [snorts]
And the phone call went dead. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> That [music] was the last phone call
Patrick Cahulie ever made. But he didn't just call Jennifer those three times. He also made three other
phone calls to friends in those same four minutes before he was shot. Patrick's phone was later found in his
pocket, which is why defense attorney Ed Bolinka says most of those calls were actually pocket dials, but they go to a
number of different people. >> Okay, they go to a number of different people, but there's no real
communication between any of those calls. You know, I made three pocket dials yesterday. Pocket dials would
suggest that Patrick's hands were free to attack Virginia. The defense calls legendary pathologist Dr. Sarah Wet to
buttress their case. >> He's been involved in cases like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King,
Elvis Presley. >> In this case, Dr. Wet draws the jury's attention to the wound on Patrick's
right hand, which Wet says was caused by the first bullet to hit him. >> Shot that was fired as Mr. Ghouli was
reaching up with his right hand would fit in with that grazing gunshot wound. >> And that says the defense suggests
Patrick was coming up the stairs towards Virginia just as she described. >> My opinion is that Mr. Gahuli's right
hand was reaching up toward me Vertitis. It is almost physically impossible for that to have happened that way.
>> So, how do you believe that Patrick sustained that bullet graze wound on his head?
>> I think that he was on the phone with his daughter. He was going down the steps and he had a phone up to his ear
and the bullet came right past. But if the prosecution is right, how did Patrick's phone get back into his
pocket? >> I think she put it there. >> Virginia did have plenty of time, he points out, [music] because she didn't
call 911 for 25 minutes. >> Not 25 seconds, not 2 and 1/2 minutes, 25 minutes. [snorts]
Virginia's explanation. She says she couldn't find her cell phone and the battery on her landline was dying.
But the state believes she was really using that time to clean up and placed Patrick's phone in his pocket, staging a
scene that would match the lie she told police. >> Somebody was breaking in my house.
Police say they found her bedroom shower wet and a single pair of pink pajama pants in the washer, which was running.
>> Patrick Yhulie left a 38 caliber loaded revolver underneath your mattress. >> Yes, he always had it under the
mattress. >> Most important, Troyano is determined to pin Virginia down on where she got the
gun. She claims Patrick left it there in the spring of 2012. 2 years before the shooting and it had been under her
mattress ever since. >> Did he leave it there because he forgot it or did he leave it there because you
wanted it? >> He left it there. He knew I was worried. He knew I didn't like being alone. When
he when um Oh god, I just lost my train of thought. Sitting in the courtroom, Patrick's
younger daughter, Heather, hears this and then realizes she has proof that Virginia's story can't be true. She
calls the prosecutor that night after court. >> I told her that, "Well, you can't just
tell me this. I can't testify about it." Heather, do you recognize this photo? >> Yes, I do.
>> You have to testify. >> She brings in a picture taken when her father was still alive.
>> What is that photo of? Uh, that's a photo of my uh father's first gun that he had when he was a cop.
>> And when did you take that photo? >> August of 2012. All >> right. And do you recall where you took
that photo? >> In Staten Island at my mother's house where I was living at the time.
>> That puts the gun 50 miles from Virginia's house months after Virginia said she had the gun hidden under her
mattress. >> Maybe he took the gun, maybe cleaned it, maybe brought it back. [music]
>> But Triano thinks she stole it. Two weeks before the shooting, cell tower data traced Virginia driving from
New Jersey to Patrick's home in Staten Island when he wasn't there. She says she never went inside.
>> It's just your testimony that you didn't have a key for that apartment. >> Yes.
>> The defense is now struggling and Ed Bolinkus is frustrated because the rules
of evidence limit what he could tell the jury about an incident in Patrick's past. He was suspended from the New York
Police Force for beating his first wife. >> Newspaper articles from 1996 tell the
story of an alleged assault where Patrick slammed his then wife's head against the wall and the sink. But all
the jury heard was this. He told me that at one point he hit his wife, got in trouble with the police, but that he
really just got a slap on the wrist. Patrick was charged with misdemeanor assault and suspended without pay. The
charges were later dropped. >> Let me tell you something. If you put your hands on a woman once, you can do
it again. >> But what would the jury think? >> We heard voicemails. We read text
messages. He had a temper. [music] It's a huge undertaking. There's a lot of responsibility that's
on you. You feel the weight of the world. It's very nerve-wracking. As prosecutor
Matt Troano prepared for closing arguments, he reviewed crucial evidence in the case.
The storm door, Heather Gahuli's photo of the gun, and then there was this Patrick's car
key fob. It was found in pieces throughout the house. Triano thinks he knows how it got that way.
>> My theory is she just takes it and she breaks it herself. The way to keep him there was to break
that [music] key fob. >> But it was just a theory. There were no fingerprints and no DNA on the fob. So
Troyano didn't know whether he'd be able to make that argument to the jury. >> All right, we're ready for someations.
Mr. Belinkus. >> But during the defense closing argument, Triano saw his opportunity.
>> Who broke the key fob? Ed Bolinkis offered the jury his theory of how the key fob may have been broken.
>> Prosecutor's position is there was no signs of a struggle. Well, there's a broken key fob.
>> And that gave Troyano the opening he needed. >> Do you know what you can't do after the
key fob's broken? You can't drive your car anymore. >> If Patrick couldn't use his car to leave
the house, then that would explain the six calls he made in the minutes leading up to the shooting. Patrick Gahuli would
have to call somebody to pick him up. He wasn't going anywhere if this was broken.
>> The defense is hoping the jury will believe that Patrick was a violent man. >> The evidence is clear that my client was
in fear of her life. If she didn't kill him, he would have killed her. Period. >> Patrick Cahulie does have at least one
incident as background. Doesn't that make you wonder if in fact there was some kind of physical altercation with
Virginia? >> No. No. I I will be as emphatic as I can be. No. There was an incident with his wife
a very long time ago. And that wife who was his ex-wife at the time of the trial
sat through that trial every single day. >> This is not self-defense. This is a murder.
>> [music] >> I was in the office and somebody said they have a verdict. >> You got to let everybody know. You got
to get the family. >> All right. >> Morning everyone. Please be seated. >> After almost 7 hours of deliberations,
>> the jury has reached a verdict. >> I'm getting more nervous. >> All right, let's get the jury, please.
>> I was definitely not confident at all. Madam four lady, with regard to count one, what is the verdict of the jury?
>> Guilty. Oh my gosh. >> Guilty of firstdegree murder. [music] >> We will now take a individual polling of
all the jurors. Just >> I prepared them for the worst. I think that they were probably expecting the
worst. So when it turns the other way, it felt good. It was emotional. All right, ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, your service in this case is complete. I hope you found it to be a rewarding experience for you. Perhaps
you >> I felt really comfortable with, you know, our decision. >> We spoke to three of the jurors after
the verdict. John Hoover, Gina Samra, and Patty MW. >> Did any one of the jurors believe that
it was self-defense? >> No. >> No. >> Not one. No. [clears throat] >> No. And they say the key fob was
critical. Do you believe that she broke it so he couldn't leave? >> I really do. I really do. Cuz we
actually took all the pieces in the jury room and >> put it back together >> and put it all back together.
>> It wasn't It wasn't broken. >> There was not one broken piece down to the battery. Put the whole thing back
together. >> And what did that say to you, Patty? >> It looked like it was intentionally
taken apart. >> Not letting him get away. Not letting him start the car and get away.
This is a state of New Jersey versus Virginia [music] Veritus. Matter is on for sentencing before the court. May I
have >> two months after the verdict. >> My name is Paul Gahuli, Patrick's brother.
>> Patrick's family addresses the judge at Virginia's sentencing. >> Patrick would not be there to walk his
daughters, Jennifer and Heather, down the aisles when they married. One of the statements comes from the
woman he allegedly attacked all those years ago. >> Can I get [music] your name for the
record, please? >> It's Teresa Higgins, and I'm going to be reading on behalf of my daughters,
Jennifer and Heather Gil. >> Patrick's ex-wife, the mother of their children. >> Our father will never be able to hear us
wish him another happy birthday or another happy Father's Day. Our father will never again get to hear I love you,
Daddy. [snorts] Miss Ratitz, please stand for a moment on the charge of firstdegree murder.
>> Virginia was sentenced to 30 years in prison. >> You must serve the full 30 years in
prison without the possibility of parole. [music] >> Do you think you will at some point see
Virginia walk out of prison >> before I die? I hope so. >> Her mother, Cranny, [music] is helping
with her appeal. >> One of the things she keeps telling me is, "Mom, don't leave me."
And I [snorts] hope I don't have to before she gets out. >> And now Virginia, who feared
abandonment, could spend [music] the rest of her life alone. Heat. [music] [music]
Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] >> [music] >> It was 7:00 a.m. I don't know whether it was the house alarm that woke me up or
the gunfire. I had no idea what was going on, what had happened until I I heard my uh my mother screaming and then
more shots and they were they were pretty pretty rapid. I heard a real lot of dryfiring.
I knew that the gun was empty and I went far enough to be able to see into the bathroom and I saw my father laying on
the floor with blood. I can still see my father every time I I close my eyes. >> Now an emergency.
>> Yes, this is Admiral Security. I'm calling in because we have a dead person at 408 Mariner.
>> Mr. Horowitz was a 66-year-old gentleman who was found deceased in his home on
September 30th of 2011. >> Did he shoot himself? >> Um, that's what it sounds like to me.
>> Okay. So, he committed suicide, >> correct? >> Impossible. never believed the suicide
for 10 seconds. Everybody loved Lanny. My brother had a lot to live for. Nobody lived like Lanny. He lived like royalty.
>> There's only two people in the house. [music] Bradley and his mother, Adonna.
Donna and Lanny had been married, divorced, and remarried, [music] and divorced again.
>> Well, I don't know who killed Lanny Horowitz, but I know it wasn't Donna. My father did some really, really awful
stuff to me and to my mother. >> Rad did not like his father one bit. He hated him. Absolutely hated him.
>> He was an absolute just evil bastard. >> Did you shoot dad? >> No. Absolutely not.
>> There were a lot of guns in the house. I've never seen that many guns in someone's house. All three of them were
gun afficionados, including Donna. >> This family [music] puts the fun in dysfunctional.
>> Not only was he murdered, he was murdered with such indifference. He died like Caesar, surrounded by enemies.
>> It boils down to a motive as old as time, and that's love, hate, and obsession.
>> [music] >> I still want to know exactly what happened that morning. Bradley Horwitz was asleep at his
parents' Jupiter, Florida home on September 30th, 2011 when he woke up to a nightmare.
>> I jumped out of bed and heard I I don't know how many shots. >> Disoriented and defenseless with the
house alarm blaring, Bradley stayed in his room, not knowing if the shooter would make him the next target. I was
basically pacing back and forth in my room like a trapped rat and I was afraid to go out that door there.
>> You don't know who's been shot. You don't know who's got >> I could hear I could hear my mom
screaming my name. >> When the shooting stopped, Bradley rushed down the hall into his parents'
bedroom. He looked into the master bathroom and saw his father, 66-year-old Lanni Horowitz.
>> I was scared and I I ran out of there. He looked like he was certainly beyond
uh any help. >> When you came out, what was your mother's state? Was she sobbing? Was she
panicked? Was she what? >> She was hysterical. >> Bradley says he then left his mother,
Donna, so he could turn off that house alarm. A security officer in this gated community rushed to the house.
>> He was at the door in a flash. >> Security made that 911 call. We had an alarm go off over there and
our medic responded. >> I received a call to respond to Admiral's Cove for a death
investigation, possible suicide. >> Detective Eric Frank of the Jupiter Police Department responded and found
three family members that lived at the home. >> There was Lanny's ex-wife, Donna. They
actually were divorced, but they were still living together. Uh their son, Bradley, lived with them. Frank spoke to
Luis Garcia, the Admiral's Cove security guard, who found Lanny with the gun in his hand and was one of the few to speak
to Donna that morning. >> I said, "Was anything going on?" She said, "He said he was going to do this."
I said, "What? Kill himself?" She said, "Yes." >> There was blood everywhere. It was very
hard to determine what were gunshot wounds. At that point, once I stepped into the bathroom and
looked back towards the shower door, you can plainly see the bullet hole through
through the glass and through the towel that was hanging over the door. And that
made me stop everyone where we were and say, "Something's wrong here." >> It wasn't until the coroner moved
Lanny's body 10 hours later that it became clear this was no suicide. Lanny had been shot nine times. Based on our
investigation, Lanny was shot while he was in the shower first. And as he's getting out of the shower, he was shot
multiple additional times to where he fell and was basically executed on that floor.
>> Violent crimes are almost unheard of in this wealthy development called Admiral's Cove.
>> Admiral's Cove is a beautiful development. Lanni had a beautiful home on the water and it was a a prestigious
place to live. >> Lanny's older brother, Barry. >> They call me Captain Barry. And Captain
Barry is never seen without his signature captain's hat. He says at one time, Lanni and Donna lived a life most
people would envy. >> They had homes all over the country. They were able to travel all over the
world. He had sailboats. He had airplanes. Anything life could offer was there for them.
>> Your brother was a business whirlwind, wasn't he? I mean, incredibly gifted businessman.
>> Absolutely. I won't argue with that. Lanny was a millionaire at a very early age. At 16, he was a real estate
salesman for my father who did commercial real estate. Within a short time, he became a real estate broker,
and he took to it uh like nothing I've ever seen. The only thing Lanny seemed to make time
for was his high school sweetheart, Donna. >> Donna was a knockout. I think Lanny was
obsessed. He loved her. He didn't want to date anybody else. And they were always together.
>> The Loveirds married [music] in 1967. >> It was a great home life. My parents are
the greatest people in the world. Donna was a stay-at-home mom, and Bradley was their only child. But after
30 years of marriage, his parents' relationship became a soap opera. >> Your parents were first married in
Buffalo in 1967, correct? >> Divorced in May of 2001, remarried in September 2001, and then divorced again
in June 2002. >> That sounds about right. It was a roller coaster. Yes. What led to the first
divorce? >> My mother felt that she was being ignored and uh wound up getting picked
up by a a fellow that worked there that was a security guard. My father was so insensed and disgusted.
>> But after 9 years of seeing each other sporadically, the on-again off-again couple reconciled [music] in 2011 as
described in Donna's day planner turn journal. She called Lannie by her pet name,
Lambo. So happy Lambo and I are getting back together. By April 2011, Donna had moved back into
the Admiral's Cove house with Lannie [music] and Radley, a single dad who worked for his father.
>> And um uh my father's line was, you know, we're all going to be a family again. It did not work out that way. And
my father's behavior towards her very very much changed. He had never forgiven her for leaving him. That was very
obvious. And personality-wise, he could be a difficult person to uh to get along
with. >> But Bradley could never imagine his parents' relationship coming to such a
violent end, he says, if it wasn't [music] for this woman. >> My parents had their ups and downs and
their problems, but this never would have happened if it was not for Francine Ty.
There's no question [music] that this is a tragic, horrible, horrible case. Assistant state attorney Altha McRoberts
was at the crime scene that day and Lanny's [music] bullet ridden body told her this was no ordinary homicide case.
>> It was clear that this was a statement that was being made by the shooter. >> Bradley Horowitz was described as stoic
while his mother Donna appeared visibly upset. Assistant state attorney Lauren Goden
>> at the scene she shuts down. She does not talk to police and she does not talk
to anyone. She puts her fingers over her ears and mouse, "I can't hear you." >> There was no forced entry into the home.
There was nothing. >> CSI investigator Tracy McClendon began processing the crime scene, shooting
video and pictures. >> And this is the bathroom in which the incident took place.
And inside the shower, we have the bullet hole here. >> As investigators look for clues, they
discovered an arsenal of weapons. >> This is a photograph of um firearms that were found in the home
>> from handguns to assault rifles, 26 in all, and thousands of rounds of ammunition in militarystyle ammo boxes.
>> This is all in the same house, >> correct? Most of them were registered to Lanny and his son Bradley, [music] a
former licensed gun dealer and enthusiast. >> Unusual based on your experience? >> Um, I've never seen that many guns in
someone's house. >> But it was these two revolvers that were found in the master bedroom area that
were of immediate interest. One gun was Donna's and the other was registered to Lanny.
>> There was the firearm that had been in his hand. It's a five shot Smith and Wesson revolver. And there's another gun
sitting right on top of the dresser. Both of those guns were matched to projectiles in and around Landing.
>> Incredibly, even though Radley and his mother were obvious persons of interest,
cops let them leave. >> We let them leave the scene because we wanted to have that time to build that
case as best we can. In virtually every murder case I've ever been involved with, if you have a body in a house and
you have two people and you believe that one of those two people is the killer, you take them to the police house, you
separate them and you question them. That was not done here. >> You can't arrest somebody just for
suspicion of murder. The initial focus is clearly it's just uh Donna and Bradley, but we didn't take that at face
value alone. Police spent days collecting evidence and going through the family's personal belongings. What
are you learning? >> We're learning that this is a very dysfunctional house. >> One very telling item that was recovered
was that journal Donna kept >> in the beginning of the journal. She talks about all the positive things.
>> He couldn't stop hugging me, Donna wrote, and telling me how much he misses me.
>> Happy birthday. >> She was spending time with her granddaughter >> to the library. Um, Bradley has a
daughter. Her name is Giana. It's a situation where she is very hopeful. >> She was excited when Lanny asked her to
move back in with him. Lanny loves me and I love him and I want to help him. Even though it seemed to come with a
catch, to loan him $200,000, his [music] once lavish lifestyle had been left in shreds after their
divorces, the recession, and bad business dealings. very special day when Lanny asked about $200,000
to keep both houses afloat and move back in and reconcile. Great day. But just five months later,
>> we see from the entries her mental state was becoming more and more fragile. >> My heart is broken and he is working on
my mind, playing games with me. It was during that time that Donna became obsessed.
>> Hi Franc. >> Hi. with Francine Ty. >> Francine Ty lived down the street from uh from our house.
>> Lanny told his family that he and Francine were business partners >> before >> selling a health food product for a
company called Lifemax. >> Did they have a business relationship, a personal relationship?
>> They claimed that it was uh that it was business, but I saw that it was more than that.
>> How did you know this was more than a business relationship? >> Oh, I mean I I saw it. I saw pictures.
They were always out together. >> Even Lanny's family noticed a change in him after meeting Francine.
>> They were holding hands, you know, kids stuff. It's the first time I saw Lanny
happy in 40 years. >> Francine spoke at length to 48 hours about Lanny, but would not do an on
camera interview. She vehemently denies having ever had a sexual relationship with him. But Donna pictured something
else and began documenting Francine's comingings and goings. Fran texted Lambo at midnight, woke us up. Lanny left at
1:15 to go on an errand with Fran, didn't return until 4:15 p.m. >> It was a daily
um contact with Francine and Lanny via in person and in text and in phone calls. Now, Francine Ty has said that
there was not a physical relationship between her and Lanny, that this was a business partnership.
>> What was important for our purposes was that Donna believed that they were intimate.
>> Lambo home 7:30 p.m. trying to act like he isn't with Fran all the time. >> I think she's heartbroken and angry and
probably angry with herself for being so foolish. foolish, Bradley now says, for
believing Lanny still loved her and giving him [music] that $200,000. It it became obvious to my mother that,
you know, that she had been duped. >> By September 2011, [music] it was clear their onagain, off-again
relationship was over because Bradley believes of Francine. She is the most phony, vicious, backstabbing, vile,
quintessential Disney villain monster that I think I've I've ever encountered. >> Mc Roberts says Lanny told Donna he
wanted her out of the house before he came back from a business trip, one he was taking with Francine. [music]
>> This is a woman who has reached the end of her robe. This was Donna who was not
about to let him go on that trip with Francine. >> Police believed they now had their
killer. Just 6 days after Lanny was brutally shot nine times, Donna was arrested for his murder.
>> Donna is a very meek, timid, soft-spoken individual. Gray Tesh is Donna's attorney.
>> Who had the motive? Who had the opportunity? Who may have had the grudge to commit this murder? Both Donna and
Radley. But see, here's here's the difference, though. Donna left him twice before.
You know, why why now? Most of my life, my father was was a good person, but towards the end, he was an absolute just
evil bastard. It's just that attitude that makes Tesh say cops got it all wrong and that
Bradley is the real killer. >> So all the motivation that is raised by uh investigators in this case for Donna
wanting to shoot her husband, you're telling me Bradley had that in spades. >> He had more motivation to off his
father. My life up until everything exploded was uh was great. >> In less than one week, Bradley had lost
both his parents. [music] His father murdered, his mother in jail, accused of killing him.
>> Did you ask your mother what happened? No, never. What do you say other than I
mean I wanted to know what happened, but I was afraid to to ask. >> Donna's attorney, Gray Tesh, says there
are a lot of holes in the case. >> If she was the shooter, she would have blood all over her body, everywhere. The
shooter, I think, was someone taller than Donna because of the angle. If you look at the autopsy report, if you look
at the angle, they consistently say that they go downwards. Test starts building a shocking defense,
pointing the finger directly at Donna's own son, Radley Horowitz. >> For some people, this is the ultimate
betrayal. A mother through you accusing her own son of a murder to save her own skin. That's what the evidence showed.
>> Why do you believe Bradley killed his father? >> He had half a million reasons to kill
him. >> Bradley alone stood to inherit $500,000 in life insurance money, two homes, and
Lanny's other prized assets. Donna, as Lanny's ex-wife, wouldn't have received a penny.
>> So today, are you a multi-millionaire as a result of all this? >> No. No. He left me two houses that were
pretty much upside down and some very nice cars, most of which I got rid of. But I kept the Aston Martin.
>> But back in 2011, when his father was murdered, Bradley's finances were a mess. That's why he was living with his
parents. >> You were struggling, correct? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Get a job as a convicted
felon. >> That's right. This son of a one-time millionaire served time in prison.
Before his arrest, Bradley was a licensed gun dealer in a business his father helped him set up, Jupiter Arms.
It was my passion. I took to it like a fish to water. I was just absolutely lethal, but disciplined and responsible.
>> Years earlier, Bradley says at his father's urging, he bought an illegal gun part online for his personal
collection, which could convert a Glock pistol into a fully automatic weapon. My
father said his exact words were just order it. >> That attracted the attention of federal
law enforcement. And Bradley says his father [music] took great delight in his misfortune.
>> He got a real kick out of the fact that those ATF guys were there and loved, you
know, saying, "I told you so." and stuff like that. >> Then in 2006, Bradley was arrested by
the ATF after selling a handgun to a felon. >> That's serious, right? >> Oh, hell yes. I wound up with five
months in federal prison. >> Do you blame your father for the fact that you ended up in prison?
>> Ultimately, yes. >> Is there enough resentment for you to shoot him? >> No. That's You know what the hell does
that solve? >> What better way, it's alleged to get your financial house in order than to
off your father who'd been tormenting your mother. >> And it wasn't always very nice to me
either. Bradley said his father was never physically abusive, but that years of verbal taunting was in some ways far
worse. >> My dad, you know, it could be extremely nasty. The psychological uh death of a
thousand cuts uh never never lets up. Just snide, sarcastic, uh aloof. >> Still, as prosecutors compile their
case, they feel strongly that all the signs point [music] to Bradley's mother. >> Is this shooting 10 times? Is this a son
that's angry or is this an angry wife that is has snapped? >> Donna was so angry, investigators
believe she used the last of the 10 bullets to make a brutal statement by shooting Lanny in the mouth.
>> Why shoot him in the mouth? >> I think she was tired of his mouth. I think he she was tired of him being
cruel and biting and condescending. >> Things are not good here, she confided in her journal. His comments are
insulting. A week after the murder, >> Bradley goes to the police station with his attorney to give a full statement.
>> She was saying, "He was so awful. He was so awful." He said, she said that twice.
>> Donna says to Bradley, "He was so awful." Are those words a confession to you?
>> Absolutely. Her immediate response, her gut reaction when she sees someone is to
start justifying what she did. The quote too, by the way, he was so awful, right?
Police never heard that. He doesn't say that on scene. He says that a week later
after he lawyers up. >> Tesh believes that Bradley made up both that quote and the story about the dry
fires. >> You're hearing, as you called it, the dry fire. >> Click click click. Yeah. Empty. When I
heard the clicking in my mind, at least I knew that >> I was safe. Well, he's full of crap.
Tell me, how can you hear dryf fires when you've got a defcon alarm going off? And by the way, his bedroom's on
one side of the house. The master bedroom's on completely on the other side of the house.
>> But unlike Donna, Detective Frank says Bradley cooperated fully on scene. >> He gives us a DNA standard. He allows my
CSI to conduct a gunshot residue test on him. what was the result of that test? >> And it did come back as negative for
gunshot residue. >> Donna wasn't given a gunshot residue test after she asked to speak with an
attorney. >> She didn't want to answer any of your questions. >> Nothing. >> Tesh says police botched the
investigation by never collecting and [music] examining Donna's pajamas or Radley's clothes the morning of the
murder. >> Nobody says she had blood on her pajamas. They the police were right next
to her. They're right next to her. They would have noticed that. >> And Tesh says the state has little to
support their claim that Donna was the shooter. >> They ain't got squat. Here's what they
got. They got no fingerprints on either one of the weapons, right? Or the shell casings. No DNA specifically linking
her. Nothing. Not a zip. >> This is a circumstantial case. It is. You have a journal in which she
complains about her husband, but she never in the journal says, "I'm going to kill him."
>> Correct. >> It isn't just the journal. It's how the journal explains the crime scene. Why it
would have been done in such a cruel and hateful manner. >> As the case goes to trial, prosecutors
insist they [music] have the right person. >> There's absolutely no question that
Donna Horowitz shot and murdered her husband, Lanny. But the defense says Radley's own words speak volumes about
his motive. >> This sounds awful, but I am glad that he was up and alive long enough to know
that what comes around goes around and that uh this was the payback for everything that he had done to not only
my mother but but to me. [music] >> [music] >> Almost a year and a half after Lanni
Horwitz was murdered, [music] prosecutors are ready to present their case in court.
>> I think the essence of the case from the very beginning was this was about a woman scorned.
>> And the accused scorned woman looked [music] nearly unrecognizable to Lanny's
sisters. Marsha Van Crevel and Sheila Goldberg. >> She looked like a witch. She had this
beautiful, gorgeous black hair, gorgeous eyelashes, and here's this little skinny
thing with this gray hair and glasses. >> Attorney Gray Tesh has settled on what
could be called the ultimate betrayal defense, accusing Donna's son to save her own skin. He's a spoiled child
who thinks he's entitled to everything. >> He's got to fund his lifestyle somehow.
And God knows he ain't working for it. >> It's shocking to people that your mother
would agree to a defense that accuses her own son. >> I don't know if it was so much agreeing
to a defense as it was a case of uh him saying, "Hey, this is your only shot." I'm going to show you um what's been
marked for identification states exhibits one and two. >> Do you recognize those guns?
>> Mc Roberts brought the guns up to me or at least one of them in court and showed
it to me and there was just there was was uh blood all over it. [snorts] >> And Tesh believes there is evidence that
some of that blood ended up in Radley's own sink. >> This right here um this is when I did
the lumininal testing. CSI officer Tracy McClendon analyzed every sink in the Horwit's house.
>> This is Radley's bathroom. Um, he was very clean. You can see the entire sink
is full. The faucet is covered. Everything is covered and glowing. >> Could this not be blood?
>> The glow was really, really bright and it faded quick, which tells me that it's
more of a cleaning solution than blood. blood will glow a little lighter and it will last a little longer.
>> McClendon testified that all the sinks in the house had a similar reaction which may poke a hole in Tesh's theory.
>> We do it to show blood, but that doesn't necessarily mean that that is blood.
>> Could be bleach, right? Or household products or things like that. >> Yes. >> Right. It's possible.
>> Yes. >> It's also possible that it's blood though, right? >> Yes. But Tesh claims it's proof that Bradley,
a known neat freak, washed his father's blood off his hands. >> You clean yourself. I mean, you're
obsessive about cleaning. I will bet you >> that you even have $100 says you've got
a bottle in your pocket right now. >> Guilty of guilty of having pure, >> right?
>> Thanks for the clarification. >> Don't want to [snorts] get you too excited. Sorry. Give me a sense of what
you need to convey to this jury. Somebody else did it. >> That somebody else, Tesh claims, may
include a hitman hired by Bradley. Tesh says this smear of Lanni Horwitz's blood
on a gate at its home contains DNA from an unidentified person. >> Someone else's DNA is on that bloody
smudge on the gate. Someone else was involved with this. It wasn't Donna. It wasn't Bradley. It wasn't any of the
security guards. >> Is that the gate that everyone has to come in and out of to go through the
front door? >> Yes, it is. >> The state says the mystery DNA is meaningless. >> The smudge on the post has Lanny's blood
on it and the DNA of someone else who did not match anyone in that house. Isn't that your killer?
>> No. When they swab the gate to get the blood off of it, it picks up the underlying DNA of anyone that ever
touched that gate since the last time it was ever cleaned, which could be countless numbers of people.
>> And to prove that no intruder was responsible, prosecutors point to the alarm system in the house. The very
first alarm was in fact the glass shatter alarm from the sound of the gun being fired in the bathroom, which meant
and corroborated that no other person had come into the home prior to the first shot being fired.
>> Tesh tries to back up his new theory by introducing Hitman, a technical manual
for independent contractors. >> You bought the Hitman book at a gun show. Yes. >> Yes, that is correct. And the essence of
this Hitman book is it teaches you how to kill somebody and get away with it. Yes.
>> As opposed to killing somebody and getting caught. Yes. >> McRoberts says the hitman theory is
bogus because Lanny Horowitz was killed with his own gun. >> What hitman would go to do a hit and
hope to God that people had a gun that they could find to to complete the killing?
>> Your hitman theory. The problem I see with that is that Donna is in the house.
She would have seen this hitman, wouldn't she? >> If you're in your house and you hear
shots, do you just go out and run out to see what's going on, especially if you don't
have a gun on you, or do you stay somewhere safe? He portrays me as a complete screw-up, a nitwit, and uh unemployed.
So, where am I going to come up with the money to hire some hitman? There's someone in this case who can
answer so many questions about what happened that [music] morning, the morning of September 30th, and that's
Donna herself. >> Everyone wonders if Donna will finally break her silence. >> Uh, Miss Horwit, ultimately the decision
to testify or not to testify is your call. I woke up to shooting and screaming. >> In this Shakespearean drama where an
alleged murderous mother has accused her own son of killing his own father. >> I didn't, you know, I didn't do this.
>> Long hours of questioning takes its toll. I I just I want to get through this, but I'm just, you know,
>> a little burned out. >> Prosecutor Altha McRoberts knew she had to save her star witnesses reputation.
>> On the morning of the homicide of your father, did you ever go to any bathroom,
any faucet, anywhere in that house and cleans clean yourself off? >> Absolutely not.
>> Mr. Horowitz, finally, did you hire anyone to kill your father? >> Absolutely not.
>> And did you yourself kill your dad? Absolutely not. >> There were only three of us in that
house and only two walked out alive. So, who else is he going to blame? >> All right. So, everybody have a seat.
>> When it came time for Donna to take the stand and openly accuse her son of murder, she declined.
>> Miss Horowitz, it is your decision right now that you do not want to testify in
this matter. Am I correct? >> That is correct. >> All right. Has anybody forced you to to
make that decision? >> No, sir. >> It is completely your call. Is that correct? >> That is correct.
>> Bradley wasn't in the courtroom to hear his mother speak. >> So, I, you know, did my day of of
testimony and I left. Why the hell would I want to be around those people? The woman Radley blames for pushing his
mother over the edge, Francine Ty, was never called to testify. She made her first appearance in court to hear
closing arguments. >> Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam. 10 times on a naked man when he's in the shower. The last
one in the mouth is the shot of an angry, angry woman. Love, hate, and obsession can bring a person to kill and
it can bring a person to frame their own son. Thank you. >> This is a case about jumping to
conclusions. >> Great Tesh hammers back. >> There's no fingerprints. There's no DNA
matching her. A third party, we know beyond every doubt, left his DNA and that bloody smudge on
the gate. Not only is she not guilty, she's actually innocent. >> And with that, the jury goes out to
deliberate, but not for long. in less than two hours. >> Jurors, I've understand you reached a
verdict. Is that correct? >> I'm thinking I won the case. >> We find the defendant guilty of
first-degree murder with a >> shock, disappointment. I put my hand on her to try to console her, but you know what?
Do you say I think her lawyer was a schmuck? >> Though betrayed by his own mother,
Bradley doesn't want her behind bars. >> You were hoping for not guilty. >> Yes. But if they said not guilty, then
your name is mud in this community because they've convinced your fellow citizens that you're the killer.
>> Yeah, but my mom would have been out and free. >> Sentencing was immediate and
unforgiving. >> Defense, I have no discretion in the matter. So, I adjudicate her guilty. I
impose a life sentence. >> Life in prison with no chance for parole. It's such a huge immense feeling of
relief and to have the family there to be able to see justice for the murder of their beloved brother.
>> Couldn't have done it without you and couldn't have done it without you. >> My brother
was very special. Almost 2 years after the murder, on what would have been Lanny's 68th birthday,
his family [music] and friends take to the sea to pay tribute. >> I miss his true and honest friendship.
>> And Francine Ty spoke about the man she knew. Today, in celebration of my friend
Lanny's life on Earth, let us all never forget this most amazing and incredible human being who is always there for all
of us, no matter what. Lanny, you will never be forgotten and you will always be missed forever. My dear friend, may
you now please rest in peace and grace. And together with Marsha, they set Lanny's ashes free in the Florida
waters. I've still got uh some pretty mixed feelings. I mean, there's not a day that I don't
think of of my mother and where she is right now. >> Though betrayed by his mother, Bradley
forgives her. He has visited Donna in prison many times. >> Has your mother ever just looked you in
the eye and said, "I am so sorry." >> Just that she loves me very much and she's so sorry for everything.
>> Donna now wishes the best for her son. >> I love you and I'm very proud of you and
I pray daily that you will stay strong, healthy, and happy. Love always and forever, Mom.
She was great. She was always there for me. She was a huge huge part of of my daughter's life.
>> You see any lizards? Anything good? >> No. >> Jealousy, murder, betrayal, a once
picture perfect family destroyed. You know, he um died with his eyes open. And I mean, my
father did some really, really awful stuff to me and to my mother, but uh still seeing [music] that just um just
shook me up. You know, nobody deserved to uh to die the way that he did. 4 years after being found guilty of
killing her ex-husband Lanny, a very differentl looking Donna Horwitz returned [music] this past spring to a
West Palm Beach courtroom. She had won the right to have a new trial after an appellet court [music] overturned her
conviction and life sentence. The court ruled that Donna's right to remain silent had been violated during
closing arguments when prosecutor Althia McRoberts told the jury that Donna had refused to speak to police at the crime
scene. >> The officers, they thought this was a suicide call. They're over there trying
to console Donna and she says nothing. There is no right to remain silent at that time. You can take that as evidence
of consciousness of guilt. The Supreme Court of Florida agreed the jury should never have heard this. And so Donna got
a new trial. There was no change in the prosecution's case against a now 70-year-old Donna
Horwitz. >> Once again, McRoberts relied heavily on those journal entries. >> Lanny said if he knew how Fran felt
about him, he may not have gotten back with me. McRoberts again argued that Donna had murdered her ex-husband Lanny
out of anger and jealousy over his alleged relationship with former business associate Francine Ty, who
testified about her relationship at this trial. Francine listened from the stand,
smiling awkwardly as a voice message she left on Lanny's phone was played in open
court. You >> might want to meet for a drink or you want to come over for a quickie. Take
care, buddy. >> Yeah, it was the drink with cookie. That was the drink when it come to drink.
>> She didn't say drink more cookie. >> Whatever I said, that's what it meant. Don't put words into my mouth, please.
>> Okay, stop. >> But Francine continues to deny that their relationship was romantic.
>> Man is divorced 11 years. Why would I say come over a cookie? What? But the defense tried to mark Francine
as [music] a new suspect, suggesting she had a financial motive. Both Francine and Bradley were beneficiaries of
Lanny's life insurance policy. >> Now, the $200,000 that Lanny left you, you didn't know after he died, did you?
>> I absolutely did not know. >> And the defense attorney gets Francine to admit she had a permit for a
concealed weapon and knew how to use a gun. You said weapons permanent would require you to get training in how to
fire a firearm. >> Yes. >> But would any of this matter to the jury? In closing, McRoberts referenced
the day of Lanny's murder in September of 2011. >> Donna Horwitz on September 30th
had had enough. It was over and she now knew it. >> After a 4-day trial and an initial
deadlock, the jury reached a verdict. We find the defendant guilty of seconddegree murder, a lesser included
crime. >> This time, Donna was convicted of second, not firstdegree murder. >> Please rise. Come to order. Court's back
in session. >> At her sentencing just last week, prosecutor McRoberts asked for the
maximum sentence life. >> She's accepted zero responsibility, zero remorse. While Donna's defense
[music] team gave an argument for leniency, >> we have to look at, I think, the whole
person. What we look at here is kind of a history of Donna Horowitz being a great mother, a great daughter, a great
grandmother. >> The judge agreed that Donna didn't fit the profile of a typical killer.
>> She is an older woman who by all accounts has been sweet and loving throughout her life.
>> I don't know what snapped in you that day. I really don't. But that didn't save her from a stiff sentence.
>> I hereby sentence you to 32 years in the Department of Corrections. >> 32 years with 6 years time served. At
her age, virtually a life sentence. Donna could get out after serving 25 years, but she would be in her 90s.
Bradley now lives outside of the US, but came back to see his mother [music] sentenced yet again. I still can't help
but feel a little bad for my mom. No matter what happens in life, just bite your tongue and hold your temper
cuz it it doesn't take much to uh to push some people over the edge. [music] [music]
>> [music] [music] >> Now, a special two-part edition of 48 Hours. >> [music] >> Murderers come in all [music] shapes and
sizes and ages. Didn't matter how young she was, how pretty she was, how smart she was, she
wanted to kill him. She intended to kill him. >> K County 911. Ma'am, I have I I killed my boyfriend in self-defense.
>> Okay. Where are you? >> I'm standing about 10 ft from his dead body. >> Okay.
>> On October 12th of 2012, which was a Friday night, Shanny Ubers had called the police and said that she had killed
her boyfriend in self-defense. I went immediately to the Highland Heights Police Department.
>> You want something to drink? You want some water? She had already been transported there by the first
responders to the scene. >> Okay. What was his name? >> The man that I killed her.
>> Ryan Carter Poston. >> Ryan Poston in 2012 was a 29year-old lawyer. He did mostly civil law.
He was very successful. [music] Um had a very good practice. >> Smart. Oh, so smart. When he walked into
a room, he [music] immediately demanded attention and he got it. He was a very good-looking guy [music] and he had a
very big heart. >> And your name is Shaina. >> Shaina Huber. >> Shaina at the time was a 21-year-old
recently graduated college student from uh the University of Kentucky with a psychology degree. Very, very bright,
smart individual. And and obviously she was very pretty, too. They were together for a few months at a
time and then they were apart for some time period. >> To say that their relationship was on
and off would probably be an understatement. It was a roller coaster. >> He was throwing me around the room like
picking me up and like had my face and stuff. >> I was in an adjoining room with a video
monitor so I was watching this live. >> Pulled me by the ponytail of my hair >> and she talked non-stop.
>> If you go to jail, are you allowed to keep your phone? Hour after hour, >> I knew he was violent. I knew he was
crazy. >> 2 hours and 40 something minutes, I believe. >> I had my head banged into a few
different things tonight. >> The facts and the evidence did not support her claim of self-defense.
>> Picking me up and throwing me the bookshelf and call me a hillbilly. >> My name is Michelle Snodgrace. I am the
prosecutor in the case against Shaina Hubers. [laughter] >> I really love her. >> She was putting on a show.
>> She was dancing. >> She was laughing. >> She was snapping her fingers and saying,
"I did it. >> I did. Yes, I did." >> It was like an evening [music] with Shaina Hubers, like on Broadway. I have
never seen someone who was so desperate [music] to tell her story to anyone who would
listen. >> Can I talk to you? Can I have somebody to talk to? >> I never saw one emotion that would have
indicated remorse. >> I had guns laying on the table. >> If she was that afraid, she could go out
the door. >> Is your daughter a murderer? [music] >> Shaina Hubers is not a murderer. No, she
is not. Are you sure that he is dead? >> He's dead, man. He's completely dead. >> Okay.
>> I think about him every day. You don't think something like that is ever going to happen to someone you
know. Matt Herren still struggles to make sense of what happened the night of October 12th, 2012 when his close friend
Ryan Poston was killed. >> Is there something I could have done that could have prevented that? And I
know a lot of people in his life had to have felt the same way. How did things spiral so out of control between Ryan
and his girlfriend Shaina Hubers that she shot him to death, insisting it was to protect herself?
What was lost when your friend was shot and killed? He's the type of person that you want in
your life. Not just a friend, but a loving son. a protective, adoring older brother. He
had three younger sisters that he absolutely adored. Ryan's family was close-knit, even
though his parents divorced when he was little. He was extremely close to his father, Jay Poston. And when his mother
remarried to Peter Carter, Ryan thought of him as a second father. He had two men who loved him like a son. He wanted
to express how big of a role both of those men played in his life. So he had his middle name legally changed to
Carter. He was very proud of that. >> What did he want to do and what did you see him doing in the years ahead?
>> You know, I used to joke that I would run his first political campaign for him
for free. >> Hi, baby. Sarah Robinson, who grew up with Shaina in Lexington, Kentucky, says Shaina's
future seemed promising as well. >> And how smart was she? >> I thought she was close to genius in my
opinion. I mean, she always was in AP classes, always getting A's and everything.
>> Shaina received countless awards for academic excellence and leadership. >> She liked to succeed at anything and
everything that she did. And that included music and drama. >> Was she a good actress?
>> She thought she was. >> Sarah says back in high school, Shaina also had a real flare for the dramatic
when it came to boys. >> If a guy like broke up with her or something or if a guy just said they
weren't interested in her, she would take it pretty hard, crying and maybe a little screaming. She didn't really like
to let things go. It was a side of Shaina Ryan would come to know all too well. Shaina went to school in Lexington, more
than 80 miles away from Ryan's condo in Highland Heights. The two probably never
would have met if it weren't for Facebook. He spotted provocative photos of her and they started dating in the
spring of 2011. He was 28 and a lawyer. She was 19 and a college student. >> And was she happy?
>> Um, yeah. She seemed to be happy. I mean, she never said that there was anything wrong in the relationship. She
was just always there. >> But according to Ryan's friend, Ally Wagner, there was plenty wrong right
from the start. >> How did Shaina react when she first met you? >> She was so cold. You could just
immediately tell that she was just obsessed with him. I think she had a goal in the beginning to make him settle
down with her and when she wasn't becoming successful that became a problem. >> He was very busy with work. He wasn't
really looking for anyone. He had tried to end things uh a few times. >> But Ryan was having a tough time getting
Shaina to let go. Shaina admitted in a text to a friend. He says he's only with me because I make him feel so awful
about it when I cry. >> He didn't want to hurt her feelings. Unfortunately, she just refused to take
no for an answer. >> And so the two were [music] on again, off again for 18 months.
>> She would come by his place when she was in town >> to show up unannounced. >> Absolutely.
As Shaina became more possessive, Ryan's exasperation and concern grew. In a text
to his cousin, he wrote, "This is getting to be restraining order level crazy. She shown up at my condo like
three times and refuses to leave each time." He also complained about Shaina's obsessive behavior in a Facebook message
to Ally. Literally probably the craziest person I have ever met. She almost scares me. I wish I had said if she
scares you or if she's crazy, just walk away. >> Instead, he kept taking her back.
>> I think it was playing mind games with her. >> Ryan's neighbor Nikki KS claims there's
another side to this turbulent relationship. Shaina complained to her that Ryan was emotionally abusive. She
would always tell me that he would say she needed a boob job or a face lift and um that she was fat, she needed to lose
some weight. >> Why wouldn't she have left? >> I guess because she was young and she
always told me she loved him. She picked up his laundry. She did his laundry. She
took his dog out. Um she went and bought him food. She did everything for him. >> Could there have been a Ryan that you
didn't know? >> No. someone that had a dark side. >> No. In the 10 years I knew him, never
once raised his voice. He's always been the same. Super nerdy, super sweet. Ryan hoped Shaina had finally gotten the
message when he told her he wasn't going to see her that weekend of October 12th,
2012. What he didn't tell her was that he had a date with a worldass beauty. Ohio.
>> Audrey Boly, Miss Ohio USA 2012, whom he also met on Facebook, >> but he did tell Ally, a former beauty
pageant contestant herself, who knew Audrey. >> She's very beautiful, very personable,
and all that kind of stuff. So, Ryan was the perfect match for her. He was really
excited to go. >> Ryan and Miss Ohio were supposed to meet at a bar that Friday night.
But Shaina showed up at his condo and Ryan never made it. >> He beat me and tried to carry me out of
the house and I came back in to get my things and he was right in front of me and he reached down and grabbed the gun
and I grabbed it out of his hand and pulled pulled the trigger. >> And how long ago did you shoot him?
>> I don't know, 15 10 minutes. Not even that long. Like >> 10 or 15 minutes ago.
>> Yeah. someone shooting someone and then waiting 15 minutes to call. That in itself was bizarre.
>> Lieutenant Dave Fornach and his partner were the first to arrive on the scene.
>> I want you to go to your front door. I want you to open it up. Walk outside the
door with your hands in front of you. >> Okay, I will in your hand. >> We instruct her to get on the ground. As
I entered the apartment, I saw Ryan Poston's body on the floor in the dining room behind the dining room table.
Police escorted Shaina to the station knowing she had shot Ryan to death >> and I picked up the gun. But was it to
save her life? Or had she entered Ryan's condo with a plan to take his even seasoned investigators could never
have imagined what would unfold in the hours after Shane Hubers killed Ryan Poston.
It was crazy. You just wouldn't believe it. >> From the moment Lieutenant Dave Fornash
brought her into that interrogation room, Shaina's behavior was bizarre. >> Do you smoke?
>> I will. >> As he started to leave, she started making noise as if she was crying or
trying to cry or wailing. >> I'm leaving just a second. You're fine. >> As soon as he walked out of the room,
she stopped immediately. Police Chief Bill Burkenhower was immediately suspicious.
>> Like a light switch. >> Exactly. >> And what are you thinking when you see that?
>> Right off the bat, I'm thinking that she's, you know, pretending. She wasn't crying. No tears came out of her eyes.
>> Says you have the right to remain silent. >> Shaina was then read her rights and
although she asked to see a lawyer, >> I do want an attorney. >> Okay. So, I can't ask you any questions
at all. >> She found it impossible. I was so out of it >> to remain silent. >> I was like, "He's in self-defense, black
killer, and can you come to the scene?" >> Shaina talked constantly. >> I was raised really, really Christian
and murderer. >> It just seemed like she was constantly just babbling. >> You have very pretty teeth. Did you have
an orthodontia? >> Did she talk so much that the officers were wanting to leave the room?
>> I had to go to jail. Can you shower there or do you just get really dirty? They were switching off so they wouldn't
get burned out. >> What are they going to do with me? >> I don't know. They just told me come
here and sit with you. >> For almost 3 hours, Shaina told anyone who would listen about an alleged
history of abuse by Ryan. >> He's pulled guns on me as jokes before. >> Leading up to a fight in which she says
she feared for her life. and I shot him in self-defense because he's done stuff before where I've hit my head on a
headboard, >> okay, >> and could die. >> But the more she talked, the more her words would come back to haunt her.
>> This story never stayed the same. >> Beginning with exactly how Ryan's gun ended up in her hands.
>> He was screaming at me, telling me I was Ellie that he hates me. By all accounts,
Ryan, who owns several guns and was licensed to carry, had a habit of placing his handgun on the dining room
table after coming home from work. >> And I just picked up the gun and in the middle of him
doing something with his arm or saying something crazy, shot him. >> This time she told police that she
picked up the gun off the table while Ryan was yelling at her. But remember, Shaina had told the 911 operator a
different story about wrestling the gun away from him. And he reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed it out of
his hand and pulled the pulled the trigger. >> But Shaina didn't stop at one bullet. As
she described the final moments of Ryan's life, the details were beyond disturbing.
And he was laying with his face on the table like twitching. And so I knew he was going to die. And I walked
around the table and I think that's when I shot him in the head. I shot him probably six
times. Shot him in the head. He fell onto the ground. He was like laying like this.
His glasses were still on. He was twitching some more. I shot him a couple more times just to make sure he was dead
cuz I didn't want to watch him die. >> She didn't say that she was worried about him suffering.
She said that she couldn't stand to see that. This is why she finished him off. If someone's wounded on the ground,
someone that you love, wouldn't you attempt [music] to resuscitate to save rather than shoot him
>> or call [snorts] 911? >> Instead, Shaina admitted she waited at least 10 minutes to call for help.
>> If we were to pause right now for 10 minutes, it would be interminable to this audience how long a period of time
that is. and she's not calling 911. Why do you believe that's the case? >> If he was to live, then he would have a
story to tell. He was helpless. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass. >> He laid there helpless and she walked
over and shot him again and again and again. That's not self-defense. >> I knew he was going to die or have a
completely deformed face. He's very vain and wants to get a nose job. just that kind of person. And I shot him right
here. >> I gave him his nose job if he wanted. >> My jaw hit the floor and I said to
myself, "Did she really say that?" >> And Shaina had plenty more to say. >> I did.
>> Yeah, I did. >> Even when Shaina wasn't speaking, her action spoke volumes to the
investigators who were watching from the other room. Not only did she dance and twirl,
She even sang Amazing Grace. >> How do you respond to what we're looking at here is a woman in shock.
>> Someone who is in shock does not pureette. Within hours of putting six bullets into
Ryan Poston and watching him die, she danced and sang. Here's what's going to happen right now,
Shaya. Okay. With everything that we have, um, we're going to I'm going to char I'm going have to charge you with
murder. >> Shaina Hubers was arrested for murder. >> What degree? >> Murder. There's no degree.
>> Ryan had been shot six times. >> Pretty much every side of his body he'd been shot at.
>> Doesn't that fit someone who fears for her life at that moment that she's being
attacked, that she has to use excessive force to put down the threat? It it it more likely indicates somebody who's
very angry. >> The investigation was far from over. Shaina claims Ryan had a dangerous
temper and she can prove it. The chessboard today is how it was on the day Ryan died midame
with the pieces unchanged from where it was then. >> Ryan Poston's friend, mentor, [music]
and chess rival attorney Ken Holly relished those competitive matches that would sometimes stretch out over days.
and I haven't been able to let it go really. >> But now that chessboard sits in his
office, frozen in place, a metaphor for a life cut short. >> When somebody is erased at an early age
like that and you know what has the world lost by not having the benefit of what they would have come to be? Ken and
his legal assistant, Lorie Zimmerman, had offices in the same building as Ryan. They witnessed Shaina's obsessive
behavior and the toll it took on him. >> If she couldn't get him on his cell phone, she'd call the receptionist and
ask for him or she'd show up here. Um, I mean, it was relentless. >> She would text him 50 to 100 times a
day. She would just wear him down and exhaust him to the point where he would say, "Okay, Shaina." And he just kept
doing the easy thing, which was staying with her. >> When Ryan left work for the last time
the evening of October 12th, 2012, he told Lorie about his big date, >> and he said with a big smile on his
face, "I have a date with Miss Ohio tonight." >> Ohio. His news gave Lori an uneasy feeling
about Shaina. >> And I said, "I I'm very nervous about what you're doing tonight because I who
knows what Shaina will do. You need to get her gone. I need you to call the police. I need you to call a locksmith.
I need you to make it very final." And and that was when he said, "Hey, Lori, I've got this. Don't you worry about
me." >> Hours later, Ryan was dead. I knew she was a stalker. I thought that she was perfectly capable of causing a
scene, but murder. What do you think happened the night he died? >> I think that she went over there, tried
to talk him out of breaking up with her. >> Ryan's friend, Ally Wagner, >> and I think he just stood his ground for
the first time. I think he just said, "No, like this isn't working." I think she picked up the gun and shot him.
>> In her mind, this was a failure of sorts. And Shaina didn't fail. Shaina Hubers is someone who is used to getting
her way. >> The movie Fatal Attraction comes to mind. >> You won't answer my calls. You change
your number. I mean, I'm not going to be ignored. Dan, >> he was trying to break up with her, and
I think that Shaina was not going to be broken up with. Chief Burkenhower says the proof is in an astonishing trove of
texts and emails investigators discovered in numbers unlike anything they'd ever seen.
>> Hundreds of thousands of messages. >> Hundreds of thousands. >> Yes. And most of the messages were from
Shaina. For every one message Ryan sent, she probably sent 50. She couldn't stop
herself. Here it was, a look inside this tortured relationship. Back in February of 2012, 8 months
before Ryan's death, he wrote Shaina, "You can tell people you broke up with me." Part of her reply, "I love you
dearly, far more than you deserve." Then in March, Ryan pleaded, "Shaina, stop texting me." And in April, he texted, "I
no longer have the patience to deal with you." >> Now, Ryan's a bright guy. He's a lawyer.
Why didn't he get a restraining order? >> Well, under the law in Kentucky, he didn't qualify for a restraining order.
The law in Kentucky basically requires the two to have been living together or to have been married.
>> Instead, Ryan tried to take matters into his own hands. Another text in April.
this time from Ryan to his cousin. She came to my place on Sunday morning and I literally had to pick her up and throw
her into the hall. Still, Ryan just couldn't close the door on their relationship.
The two were back together that summer, but things soured again in late August. And Ryan texts Shaina, "I'm turning off
the phone and padlocking the door." And then she keeps texting. And there are at
least 100 messages until finally it's some 9 hours later under this barrage. Ryan says, "I'm not reading any of
these. Stop." What does that tell you about Shaina's behavior? >> Well, this goes back to she's obsessed
with Ryan Poston. >> Shaina once again showed up at his door. She had her own key. Ryan had to leave
his own condo and leave Shane in there and go spend the night with his father because she would not leave and she
continued arguing with him. >> While the prosecution [music] insists Ryan was the one being stalked and
living in fear. >> Shaina told police that at times she was also afraid of him. >> He keeps loaded guns in the house. Has
picked up a gun, pointed it at my face as a joke. What would you do if I >> A lot of information is going to come
out about this relationship and about what happened that night. >> Defense attorney John Paul Ryan.
>> This was not a case of anything but self-defense. This was a case where Shaina was acting to save her own
dignity and her own safety. The defense team claims there are plenty of Facebook messages Ryan sent his
friends that show he was a young man consumed by anger. He'd had a falling out with his ex- law partner who was
suing him. >> August 16th, 2012, less than 2 months before he was shot and killed. He says,
"And I want to rig explosives to everything I see." Well, I don't think anybody's denying that Ryan wasn't going
through an emotional time. He was upset about being sued by his former law partner. His rage was never in any of
these messages directed at Shaina Hubers. Not one. >> October 4th, 2012, Ryan writes this.
There's nothing I want more than to just scorch the effing earth and leave this entire city in a pile of burnt rubble.
He's fantasizing about doing a violent act. And just days later, according to Shaina, he attacks her.
>> But that wasn't a violent act directed to any person. You have to put it in context. He does not say he wants to
hurt a person. >> Pressure is building up. He's got a girlfriend that won't let go. He finally
snaps. Why shouldn't we believe that? >> There's no evidence at the crime scene to indicate that Ryan Poston went after
Shane Ubers. Nothing was knocked over. No signs of a struggle. >> None. >> Are you buying this notion of
self-defense at all? >> Not one bit. Not one bit. >> These photos of Shaina taken after her
arrest show some light bruising, but police still insist there's no evidence of a life or death struggle.
Now, the young woman suspected of cold-blooded murder heads to court to ask a judge to let her out of jail.
[music] This case was always to me about a senseless [music] act. senseless. Could
never quite make sense of what happened on October 12th. I could never make sense of why Ryan Poston's life was
ended. [music] >> Why couldn't Shaina Hubers, a brilliant and beautiful grad student, simply walk
away from her troubled relationship with Ryan Poston? >> I think it's really sad. It's just it's
kind of heartbreaking. Shaina's childhood friend, Sarah Robinson, barely recognizes the sweet, kind-hearted girl
she once knew. >> I saw a mug shot. That was, I think, the first thing that I saw that really made
me take a step back and just be like, "Oh my god." >> What did it look like? >> It looked like someone was who was angry
and like someone who had just been through hell. >> It is June 10th, 2014. Almost 2 years
since Ryan's death. Shaina has remained in jail the entire time. She has hired a
new defense team led by David Mahia. At a bail hearing, they are joined by Shaina's mother, Sharon Hubers.
>> Shaina was in the gifted and talented program in the >> Sharon, a retired school teacher, is
proud of her child's academic success. She graduated kum lad in three years at the University of Kentucky. Shaina was
pursuing a master's degree in school guidance counseling at the time of this tragedy.
>> And what do you want people to know after reading that? What do you want them to know in relation to this case?
Shaina Hubers is not a child, a girl, a person that would murder someone that would
wake up and say, "Okay, I'm going to shoot somebody. And I want the world to know who Shaina is, and I want them to
hear it from her mother." Through Sharon's testimony, we also learn about the 24 hours leading up to
Ryan's death. Thursday, October 11th, 2012, the night before Ryan died. >> Welcome to the first and only vice
presidential debate. >> The vice presidential candidates were slugging it out in a televised debate.
Ryan brought Shaina over to his mother and stepfather's place to watch it. and then she slept over at his condo.
>> He wants to break up with her. Talk about mixed signals. Why is she staying the night at his place?
>> That is a question that I think a lot of people want an answer to. I don't know
if it was part of Ryan's attempt to let her down easy. I I just don't know. >> Ryan had already said he didn't want to
see her that weekend. Perhaps that's why a distraught Shaina called her mother from Ryan's shortly after 3:00 a.m.
>> Was she emotional, upset? >> Yes, she she wanted mama and yes, she was I knew something was wrong.
>> Sharon says she met up with her daughter at Ryan's place around 5:30 that morning.
>> When he woke up, he saw that Shaina Huber's mom was inside his condo. Shaina's mom was inside his condo.
>> Absolutely. >> Had come in on her own >> in the middle of the night. Had driven
from Lexington to sit with her daughter. >> She wanted to lay on the couch and put
her feet in my lap. And she did. >> Shaina's relationship with her mother. What was that like?
>> I think she was very close to her mom. I think her mom for a good portion of her
life could have very well been her best friend. That child has been a blessing to me. She's my whole life.
>> Sharon Hubers would like her daughter to be released to her custody, but prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass believes
Shaina is a flight risk because of what she told police. >> Part of me wanted to get my keys and get
in the car and leave because I knew that word against his dead. You know, how is anyone else to
know that it's self-defense? To get bail, Shaina needs to convince the judge that she's not a flight risk and despite
shooting Ryan, not a threat to society. On the stand, she paints a picture of herself as a model girlfriend.
>> Ryan was going through a lot and he needed moral support and I was always good to him.
>> But she also suggests she had a reason to fear him, claiming Ryan was obsessed
with guns. Wherever you were in the house, you were always at an arm's length from a gun or a weapon of some
sort. And >> that concerned you? >> Oh, yes. You know, just laying everywhere. He'd pick one up and shoot a book on a
shelf or something and did that with Shaina in the condo on numerous occasions. >> Is it true that Ryan on at least one
occasion did target practice inside his own condo? We don't know if he did target practice inside his own condo. We
do know that there was a book that had, you know, wood on it and and some holes.
>> Bullet holes. >> Yes. >> He was always very careful in his handling of firearms.
>> Ryan's friend Matt Haron insists he was a responsible gun owner. Uh, it was never something that I worried about,
>> but Shaina insists she was worried enough to shoot Ryan in self-defense and she thought that when she explained it
to police that night, they would release her. >> I believed in my innocence and I wanted
to see my mother and go home. >> Now, the witness stand is about to turn into the hot seat.
>> He told you he needed to not be around you. Didn't he say that? Ryan Poston's volatile relationship with
Shaina Hubers had become a house of mirrors. Nothing was as it appeared. His friend Lorie Zimmerman says that while
the couple appeared to have reconciled in the weeks before his death, their romance was rocky.
He wasn't happy about dating Shaina Hubers again. From the very start, he was working to not date Shaya Hubers
anymore. >> Ryan's neighbor, Nikki KS, says from what she witnessed in the months leading
up to Ryan's death, the relationship was toxic. >> I was awoken out of my sleep by some
screaming and yelling outside and they were arguing. This is something that was like happened quite often.
>> Was this a nasty argument? >> Yeah. Everyone has a breaking point. Had Ryan reached his?
>> I think Shaina reached hers. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass believes rejection and rage sent Shaina over the
edge. Snodgrass confronts her about Ryan's repeated attempts to break up with her.
>> Did he invite you over? >> Which night? >> Well, let's say the night you put six
bullets in him. How about that night? Did he invite you over that night? They'd broken up time and time again and
gotten back together. Why did she get violent this time? >> That's a good question. I think that she
believed it was over for good and she wasn't going to have that. >> The fireworks continue at the bail
hearing over Shaina's different accounts of how Ryan's gun ended up in her hands.
You told 911 that you had to grab the gun out of Mr. Poston's hand. Is that correct?
>> I did say that. >> But you told the police something different, didn't you? >> It was a handgun that I used. The gun
was this big. I picked it up off the table. I did have to release the suit. I did. I
remember it now. I can see it in my mind. >> This is a Sig Sauer P238 380 caliber
semi-automatic handgun. This is the weapon that was used in the shooting of Ryan Poston.
She released the safety, pointed the gun at Ryan Poston, and shot him in the right side of the head.
>> Chief Burkenhower believes Shaina's admission that she released the safety on the gun is evidence of premeditation.
I believe as soon as she released the safety, she made the decision that she was going to kill him. It is a sign in
my opinion that she had time to think about it. >> Show me how she released the safety.
>> The safety, which right there, you you can't pull the trigger. In order to make
this gun operate, you have to release the safety. Now, the gun's ready to go and then you just pull the trigger. It
is an extra step that you have to think about. The gun itself also contained critical forensic evidence, a trace of
Ryan's blood. >> And what did that tell you? >> One or more of the shots were so close
to the body when the trigger was pulled, the blood came out and it landed on the
gun. >> Meaning Chief Burkenhower believes that Shaina moved closer to Ryan for the
final kill shots. >> There was never a time after the first shot that he was on his feet. But Shaina
now insists it was Ryan who was moving towards her. Despite what she told police after Ryan's death,
>> he was still moving. He was still coming toward me. First two shots we thought
were firecrackers and then there was four more and then we knew it was gunshots.
>> Ryan's downstairs neighbors, Vernon and Doris West, heard gunshots that night,
but no fight. >> And what was the sequence of the shots? Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
>> Did either of you hear any arguing in that condo above you? Did you hear any shouting?
>> Never. >> Never. >> Never did. Never did, sir. >> If there had been a fight going on up
there, a physical struggle between the two of them, Shaina being thrown across the floor, would you have heard it?
>> Yes, >> I believe I would. Yes. >> The prosecutor insists that even if Shaina initially thought Ryan was a
danger to her, she didn't need to keep shooting him. >> She had the door behind her with no
obstructions. Why didn't she just go? >> The defense maintains that Kucky's so-called stand your ground law says a
person does not have a duty to retreat prior to the use of deadly physical force. But the prosecutor believes
Shaina's decision to keep shooting proves a murderous intent. >> She knew that Ryan [music] Poston had
somewhere else that he had to be and someone else that he was meeting and she wasn't going to let that happen.
>> In his questioning of Shaina, defense attorney David Mahia turns the table on
the prosecution, driving home Shaina's contention that she had to use deadly force [music] to save herself.
Now, what did you believe would happen if he got out after having been shot twice?
>> He would shoot me. He would hurt me. >> As you well know, Shaina has been portrayed as strangely
obsessive, a liar, a murderer. >> It's been horrible. She grew up in the church. [laughter] She's not a murderer.
>> The word evil has been used to describe your daughter. She's far from evil. Shaina has a heart of gold.
She's like her mommy, a loving spirit. That's what I want the world to know. >> In the end, Judge Fred Stein sets bail
at $1.5 million. Too much for Shaina's parents to afford. Now, as [music] the case heads to trial,
how will the defense team overcome the one witness who could destroy any claims of self-defense?
That witness, [singing] the twirling, singing, loquacious Shaina Hubers. >> If you go to jail, are you allowed to
keep your phone? 48 hours. Don't miss an episode. [music] [music] >> [music] [music]
>> This special two-part edition of 48 Hours continues. news. >> The psalmist were affirm that statement
she about to make be the truth or hold truth. >> I don't know why where in her life
something steered her so wrong to make her become so obsessive. >> Ryan Poston was trying to end the
relationship with Shaina. She was obsessed with him. >> How did Shaina and Ryan meet?
>> They met on Facebook. >> What was the attraction, you think? >> Well, you've seen pictures of them.
They're both beautiful people. And in addition to that, they're both very intelligent.
He was a young lawyer who had a great [music] practice that was starting. He was kind and he was compassionate.
I think she had a goal in the beginning to make him settle down with her. And when she wasn't becoming successful,
that became a problem. >> Ryan was the one that initiated, "I love you, Shaina." I really thought that he
meant it. I I really thought that he did. She wouldn't stop texting him, obsessively texting him, and he would
not respond except to say, "If you do not stop, I'm turning off my phone, and in fact, I'm going to padlock my door."
She showed up unannounced all the time. Ryan said that Shaina was restraining [music] order crazy.
>> K County 911. [music] Ma'am, I have I I killed my boyfriend in self-defense. >> Six shots rang out in this condo. Police
say it was murder, but Shaina Hubers claims she defended herself against a man with a violent temper.
>> He was right in front of me and he reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed out of his hand and told the
trigger. >> Orion didn't beat on me every day, but he did put hands on me a handful of
times. She said she gave him the nose job that he wanted. >> I knew he was going to die or have a
completely deformed face. He's very vain and wants to get a nose job. Just that kind of person. And I shot him right
here. I gave him his nose job. He wanted >> I don't know what more you can say after
that. I don't know if anyone will ever want to marry me if they know that I killed a boyfriend and self
[music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Okay. What was his name? >> The man that I killed her. Ryan Carter
Poston. >> [music] >> In April 2015, 2 and a half years after Shaina Huber's gunned down her on-again
off-again boyfriend Ryan Poston, her trial is set to begin. Central to both the prosecution and the
defense [music] will be what Shaina told police. and I just picked up the gun and in the middle
of him doing something with his arm or saying something crazy, shot him. Shaina claims she shot Ryan in
self-defense during a heated confrontation at his condo. Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass contends
that the only person whose life was in danger on October 12th, 2012 was Ryan Poston.
I think in the midst of that, my love turned to hate. >> My love turned to hate. I think at that
point in time, we knew what Shaina Hubers was thinking. And it certainly wasn't that she needed to act out of
fear. She acted out of hate. >> Prosecutors say trouble had been brewing long before that tragic day. Ryan's
cousin, Cararissa Carile, who was also Shaina's friend, testified about the tumultuous relationship.
>> He said to me, "This is getting to be restraining order level crazy. I'm not kidding. You need to talk to her. She
needs help." And I say that without exaggeration. She just really needs help. >> What did you learn about Shaina's
personality? The word obsessive is is a good word for her. An obsession that police chief Bill Burkenhower says can
be seen in the thousands of text messages Shaina sent Ryan. >> We know from text messages back and
forth that when Ryan would end it sometimes Shaina would just show back up and not leave.
>> Refused to leave. >> Yes. Refused to leave. >> By the fall of 2012, investigators
believe Shaina was nearing a breaking point. 11 days before the shooting, Shaina sent a friend an ominous text.
>> She says when she goes to the shooting range with Ryan tonight, she wants to turn around, shoot, and kill him and
play like it's an accident. >> Shaina texted similar disturbing comments [music] to another friend and
sent a gun toing picture. >> She was already making a plan to make sure Ryan did not leave her.
The state believes Shaina confronted him at his condo because Ryan had told her he didn't want to see her that weekend.
Although investigators don't doubt an argument took place, they saw no evidence of the violent struggle Shaina
had described. >> He was throwing me around the room like picking me up and like had my face and
stuff. Shaina claimed Ryan had also thrown her against this bookshelf. >> As you can see, this bookcase is covered
with items that would have shifted that would have been in a different position.
A number of pipes along that shelf, some bullets on this shelf. And if you look at this photograph that shows a little
bit of a closer angle, none of them are disturbed. But what really made investigators skeptical about Shaina's
story, >> I know what happened, right? >> Was her [music] claim that at one point
during their clash, Ryan had locked himself in his bedroom. >> So, what was Miss Huber's Googling how
to do it? >> She first Googled how to unlock a house door with a bobby pin. That was a Google
search. >> She found a way to unlock his bedroom door and get in there. By now, the
argument had moved into the dining room with Ryan on one side of the table and Shaina standing on the other side.
Ryan's loaded handgun was on the table. >> He was screaming at me, telling me I was
Ellie, that he hates me, that he hates my speaking voice. I hate everything about you.
>> The jury would hear Shaina's own account of the shooting. And he was he had his
head on the table and he wasn't completely standing up. He was like this. He was like
>> he was sitting he was enough that when I shot him he was went like this literally. That's when I knew he was
dead or close to it and twitching. >> Despite Shaya's description that Ryan was nearly dead after the first shot.
She went on to shoot him five more times. But the defense maintains Ryan was still a threat. He was moving when
these shots were fired. >> The prosecution doesn't buy it, and they say they have the science to prove it.
>> All right, have a seat. >> Forensic expert Howard Ryan testifies that Shaina's first shot was to Ryan
Poston's head. A significant fact because there was no blood on the front of his shirt. If he was in an upright
position, the gravity would have brought it down straight down the shirt and through the pants through the bottom of
the shirt to the pants. >> Using the very bloodstained table taken from Ryan Poston's condo.
>> How do you think this went down? >> Snodgrass demonstrates why investigators are convinced that Ryan was sitting and
never stood up after the first shot. when she shoots him in the right forehead. At that point in time, his
head goes down on the table. As you can see, this exposes the upper portion of his right back,
which we believe was the second shot. At that same time as well, his right arm is
dangling, which again opens up the area where the third shot occurred, which was
under his right arm. >> And where's his body going? And then at that point in time, Ryan starts [snorts]
to fall out of the chair. He ultimately ends up laying on the floor. >> While Ryan was down on the floor,
Snodgrass says Shaina then finished him off. >> He was helpless. That's not self-defense.
>> And raise your right. >> To bolster their case, the prosecution calls three jail house informants who
befriended Shaina behind bars. Are you a convicted felon? >> Yes. >> Yes, I am. >> Yes, I am.
>> The women who have a history of drug abuse and multiple arrests say they came
forward because Shaina had shown no remorse. They deny receiving any special treatment for their testimony.
>> And what did she say had really happened? >> What really happened? That she was the
aggressor in the fight. She said she was going to plead insanity, but then she she said that she
was too smart because she has an IQ of Einstein and so she's going to plead the wife battered syndrome.
>> Okay. >> And say that he beat her. >> I see no remorse. Um she I she played more the victim
role. >> According to this last informant, Shaina knew that Ryan had a date with this
woman. Ohio. >> Former Miss Ohio USA Audrey Bolty. >> We were going to meet at a local bar and
grab a few drinks and play pool and just have a low-key fun time. Shaina Huber strongly denies she knew about the
planned date. As the state's case winds down, Ryan's parents tell the jury of their profound
loss. >> Ryan was my world. When people would ask me about my child, I wouldn't say that
he was beautiful [music] even though he was or he was brilliant even though he was. I would say my son has a kind
heart. I can tell you one thing. I was the luckiest woman on earth for 30 years.
>> But the defense is about to turn the tables on the prosecution. [music] That child has been a blessing to me.
She's my whole life. My life didn't happen until Shaina was born. >> Retired school teacher Sharon Hubers
can't [music] comprehend how her daughter stands charged with murder. Now she's poised to stand by her only child
as the defense puts on its case. >> Shaina Hubers has never said anything to anybody in this case other than, "I had
to do it to save my life. I did this in self-defense." Defense attorney David Mahia doesn't
deny that Shaina Hubers shot and killed Ryan Poston. But he must now convince the jury that
Ryan was the aggressor that night. >> Is the defense ready to proceed? >> Defense calls Mr. Sharon Hubers.
>> Sharon Hubers. >> Sharon is the first to take the stand. >> Be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. >> Yes, sir. She wants everyone to know about her wonderful daughter.
>> She enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University. She decided she wanted to be a school guidance counselor.
>> In every way, she's been brilliant. >> Sharon then testifies about the time leading up to Ryan's death, describing
that frantic call from her daughter shortly after 3:00 a.m., some 18 hours before Ryan was shot.
Shaina was at Ryan's and complained of chest pains. >> She was sick. She was in pain.
There was fear in her voice. >> Later that day, clearly feeling better, Shaina and her mother went shopping. But
much of that time, Shaina was furiously texting Ryan, writing in part, "I'm being placed on medicine that will help
my blood pressure." And later, I am so thankful that my mom came and took me to the doctor.
>> None of it was true. >> None of it was true. >> Why was she saying these things?
>> To get his sympathy. If he felt sorry for her, then maybe she still had a chance.
>> That evening, Sharon left Shaina in front of Ryan's condo complex. Hours later, she receives another
frantic call. Ryan [music] was dead. She reveals to the jury that Shaina called her first before calling 911.
>> She was hysterical, terrified, in shock. >> What were your words to Shaina? >> Shaina, call 911 and tell them where you
are and exactly what happened. Why would Shaina call mom instead of the police after this traumatic experience
and having to shoot her boyfriend? >> I have no idea why she would do that. This is the only thing that I can
surmise from it is that she was trying to come up with her defense. >> She threw me across the room
and and I was very startled. I was laying on the floor. The night of October 12th, 2012, the defense argues
Ryan Poston had reached his boiling point. >> And he's got a lawsuit confronting him
that he can't take. >> He was being sued by his former law partner. They point to Facebook messages
he sent weeks before he died. >> Referring to the man who's suing him, Ryan writes, "I want this piece of S
destroyed. bury him neck deep at low tide, throw darts at his head. That's a threat.
>> I don't know if it's a threat or if it's a comment about his dislike for the individual that he's talking about.
>> The defense maintains these messages show Ryan had a dangerous temper fueled by drugs he was prescribed.
Eight months before his murder, he wrote to a friend, "The stuff they put me on fills me with rage from what I can tell.
>> He was taking some pretty strong drugs." >> Ryan's friend, Ally Wagner, says Ryan
had turned to the drugs to cope with the stress of the lawsuit. >> He said, "I'm taking Adderall to wake
up, and I'm taking Xanax to go to bed." >> But she insists he was still the same
guy she met 10 years earlier. >> He was still normal. I mean, I saw him the day before he died and he was fine.
>> All right. Would you call your witness, please? >> Dr. Sortani. Say Jordani. >> Now, a toxicologist takes the stand.
>> Sir, if you would have a seat. >> Who says the mixing of those prescription drugs could have
frightening effects. What these drugs do, they basically um cause incidents of behavioral dis control and hostile
outbursts. >> The defense contends Ryan snapped, attacking Shaina. >> And then this look came out of his eyes.
It was like capable of anything. And he takes I think I told you he takes like a
lot of drugs. >> Mahia reminds jurors what he believes happened. that Ryan Poston was standing
and moving when Shaina shot him six times. >> Even Shaina's own words do not support
the theory that was presented in court. She never said that he was standing. >> I walked around the table
and I think that's when I shot him. in the head. I shot him probably six times. Shot him in the head. He fell on
the ground. He was like laying like this. His glasses were still on. He was twitching some more. I shot him a couple
more times just to make sure he was dead. >> Raise your right hand. Do you sound
>> a former medical examiner for the state of Kentucky, Dr. George Nichols, testifies Ryan could still have been a
threat to Shaina even after he was shot. He could move the chest wounds, the front and back wounds, the armpit
wounds, they would not cause him to to lose the ability to walk at least some or move some.
>> Shaina Hubers, the young woman who couldn't stop talking to police, [music] doesn't take the stand, but her attorney
will demonstrate >> the gun is on the table. >> How he believes the shooting went down.
Her statement was, "He reached for the gun and I grabbed it." [music] Self-defense.
[music] [music] As closing arguments begin, defense attorney David Mahia mocks the
prosecution's claim that Shaina Huber's obsession led to Ryan's murder. She keeps calling her boyfriend and he can't
get rid of her. She's a murderer. She keeps hounding him and hounding him with texts and emails. And so she's a
cold-blooded murderer. Are you buying that? Now, in a case that never lacks drama,
>> we're going to take a moment to bring out the table. >> Mahia reenacts Ryan's shooting with Cole
Counsel Rachel Nent playing the role of Shaina Hubers. >> Her statement was he reached for the gun
and I grabbed it. First shot to the head as he's reaching down to her as she's below him. remember.
>> But in a dueling demonstration, >> again, the evidence doesn't lie. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass argues
that Mahia's theory is not supported by the forensic evidence. >> The trajectory was in a downward
downward angle. There is no way that from the ground that that shot occurred. It's just not physically possible.
Snodgrass wants jurors to focus on Shaina's behavior, which she likens to a performance.
>> When the cops walk out of the room, watch what the actress does. >> Do you do you smoke?
>> I will. I'll get your cigarette, too. Just a second. You're fine. >> The minute he walks out of the room, the
crying stops. That's the actress. Within hours of putting six bullets into Ryan Poston and watching him die, she danced
and sang. >> I did. >> Yes, I did. >> She shown us that she's a liar. She shown us that she's a manipulator.
And most importantly, what she showed us on October 12th, 2012 is that she's a murderer.
The case goes to the jury shortly before 6:30 p.m. on April 23rd, 2015. Family and friends anxiously wait as
deliberations go late into the night. Then just before 11:30, a verdict is reached. It is time for Shaina to learn
her fate. We a jury find the defendant Shaina Hubers guilty of murder under >> guilty. 24year-old Shaina Hubers, once a
promising graduate student, is now a convicted murderer. For Ryan's family, there is enormous
relief that justice has been served. For Shaina's mother, there is shock and disbelief. And what was that moment like
for you when you heard guilty? >> That's difficult to explain, Peter, because it I was terrified and and u it
was surreal. It I didn't see how on earth that that it could have been that that could have been the outcome.
[bell] Court reconvenes the next morning as jurors will now hear testimony from both
sides to determine Shaina's sentence. Her lawyers ask the jury for lenience. >> The accomplishments, the good deeds
should not and cannot be ignored. Right. >> Miss Carter, would you raise your right
hand? >> Katie Carter, one of Ryan's sisters, takes the stand to share her heartache.
He made us complete and without him there is always a chair that's going to be empty.
He will never be able to get married. He'll never be able to have kids. He will never be able to have all the
things that he deserved to have in his life. >> It takes the jury only about an hour to
make its recommendation. We the jury fix the defendant Shannon Huber's punishment
for the offense of murder at 40 years confinement in the penitentiary. >> 40 years. The judge will later decide
whether to accept the jury's suggested sentence. [music] For Ryan's parents, it doesn't ease the pain of their loss.
It's >> a shallow victory jury. Our son is dead. said, "I'm so sorry." >> Never for one second did we ever think
that there was any any physical violence from a young man who had a kind and gentle heart.
>> 3 months later, they are back in court for a hearing. >> We are here on a number of issues,
folks. >> The defense wants a shorter sentence for Shaina. So, they're trying to prove that
she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Ryan. That would make her eligible for parole after serving eight
years. But first, under Kentucky law, the defense must prove the two live together despite what she told police.
>> I don't live with him. >> Okay. Is that his address? >> That's his >> Okay. What's your address, sweetheart?
>> Shaina had an apartment in Lexington, more than 80 miles away. Now she takes the stand trying to convince the judge
she was Ryan's living girlfriend by reading texts the two sent each other. >> Shaina says I'm going to fry boneless
chicken breast for dinner. Does that sound good? Ryan says that sounds good. >> But the prosecutor confronts Shaina with
evidence that she was also seeing other men. No. Were you with 10 other men during that during this whole time that
we're talking about 2012? 10 different men. H >> how are you saying was I with them? Like
are you saying did I was I friends with them? Did I sleep with them? >> You slept with 10 different men during
2012. >> In answer to your question, sure. I may have slept with 10 guys in 2012, but I
don't see how that's relevant to any of the >> The judge finds that Shaina and Ryan
were not domestic partners. It's now up to the judge to issue his final sentence, and the defense will make one
last desperate call. It has been nearly three years since Shaina Huber shot Ryan Poston,
including a final bullet as he helplessly twitched on the floor. >> All right. How many witnesses do each
side propose for sentencing? >> Now, at her sentencing hearing, her defense team wants to make sure the
judge hears about Ryan's alleged history of aggressive behavior. Raise your right
hand. Do you solemnly swear affirm that the statement you're about to make would
be the truth? All truth, nothing. >> Did she ever approach you and discuss with you any acts of violence between
her and Ryan? >> Yes. >> In a story not told at trial. >> They were out there arguing.
>> Ryan's neighbor [music] Nikki KS says a few months before the murder, Shaina came to her in tears. She had came to my
door crying and her arm probably from like here to here. She had a big red mark on her arm. She said that Ryan had
slammed her arm in the door and threw her on the floor in the hallway. >> And when she told you this story, what
did you see on her face? >> She was clearly upset. There were handprints on her arm.
>> But Shaina's cellmate, Holly Nven, testified at trial that Shaina made the whole thing up. And she would purposely
like pull her arms up so the neighbors would see bruises on her arms. >> Did she say how the bruises got there?
>> She inflicted them. >> I'm sorry. >> She inflicted them on herself. >> And sir, I'll remind you you're still on
the roof. All right. >> Defense expert, psychologist Ed Connor, who evaluated Shaina, diagnosed her with
narcissism and low self-esteem. I think Shaina was a person who had extreme difficulty with rejection and and
tolerating it. >> Anything else? >> Let's call Shaina Hubers. >> Hubers, come forward, please.
>> Now it's up to Shaina to convince the judge that somehow she deserves sympathy.
>> It's sad when someone pushes you away and pulls you back in and pushes you away and pulls you back in. There were
times when he had my head going 10 different directions to where I didn't even know if that was my boyfriend or
not or what he was to me. >> Shaina seems filled with resentment. >> I feel like I was let on. I feel like I
was manipulated, used, and abused. And no, Ryan didn't beat on me every day. I'm not I'm not going to sit up here and
exaggerate and lie and say that he did, but he did put hands on me a handful of times. And I guess we're [music] just
>> prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass circles back to what she believes is at the heart of this case.
Rejection. >> Isn't it true that you sat here and you heard Dr. Connor say that you do not
take rejection? Well, >> Dr. Connor did say that I were rejected. Whether it had been earlier in the day
when Ryan told you, I don't want to see you. Whether it was the other times where he said, you know, we're done.
This is it. No more. I need space. You were rejected by him. Not just once, but many times.
>> If I killed Ryan over rejection, he would have been dead. >> Let me ask you what you killed Ryan
over. I asked you if you were rejected by him. >> I've been rejected. I've been rejected.
>> Nothing further, your honor. >> But if that were motive, there'd be a graveyard further, your honor.
>> All right. Did Shaina's plan to persuade the court to be lenient backfire? >> I've never claimed to be perfect.
>> As court reconvenes, she offers an apology for the first time. >> And I'm sorry to my family, and I'm
sorry to my friends for letting them down. I am sorry for the money that my parents have had to spend on attorneys.
>> But the young woman who is diagnosed a narcissist [music] never apologizes to
Ryan's family. Instead, she talks about herself. >> I I do want to help people. I I do want
to be um something better. And I and I do want to continue to grow and learn. And I just
don't think that a 40-year sentence will help me. I don't think it would benefit
me any. I don't think that it would rehabilitate me any. Now it's Judge Fred Stein's turn to
speak and [music] he has some choice words for Shaina. What I think happened in that
apartment was little more than coldblooded murder. It's probably as cold bloodooded an act as I've been
associated with in the criminal justice system in the 30 plus years I've been in
it. >> He upholds the jury's recommended sentence of 40 years. And that's about all there is to say.
>> As Ryan's family leaves the courthouse, [music] they can barely contain their
anger. >> Is there anything you'd want to say to Shaya? >> Oh god, no. Rotten hell.
She is going where she deserves to be. Where she's going, her mommy can't help her.
>> Mommy will always be there. Shaina's mother will never accept that [music] her beloved, brilliant daughter
is anything but a victim who had to defend herself. >> I'll draw my last breath helping that
baby. She doesn't deserve this. She's done nothing wrong. >> But this emotional roller coaster is not
over. One year after Shaina's conviction, there is a [music] dramatic development
no one predicted. >> A judge orders a new trial today for Shaina Hubers. >> Today, she learned she will get a new
trial. >> Shaina is granted a new trial after her lawyer discovers a member of the
original jury was a felon. According to [music] Kentucky law, he should have been barred from serving.
We will jump through as many hoops as we have to jump through to get justice for
my son. If we have to do this a 100 times, we'll do it a 100 times. >> Ryan Poston's family is braced to endure
more painful testimony. And Shaina Hubers is about to show just how far she'll go.
>> Would you raise your right hand? You saw >> to win back her freedom. >> He began beating my body with the door
over and over and over. The Campbell County Grand [music] Jury charges that >> Shaina Huber's second trial begins on
August 14th, 2018, almost 6 years after Ryan Poston's death. >> The defendant committed the offense of
murder. A lot has changed. Shaina is now 27 and married. In a brief jailhouse ceremony
in June, Shaina wed a convicted drug trafficker named Richard McB. The two somehow met at the Campbell County Jail
where they were both locked up. In yet another twist, McB sometimes identifies as a transgender woman named [music]
Unique Taylor. You may recall after killing Ryan, Shaina worried about finding love.
>> I don't know if anyone will ever want to marry me if they know that I killed a
boyfriend and help >> now. Newlywed Shaina is back in [music] court >> and that same disturbing interview with
police remains the strongest evidence against her. >> He's very vain and wants to get a nose
job. just that kind of person. And I shot him right here. I gave him his nose job. He wanted
>> Ryan was very aggressive with her. The defense, led this time by attorney David
Eldridge, is again claiming Ryan was abusive. >> What started out that evening as a
normal evening, ended that night with Mr. Poston being both sexually and physically violent. Eldridge takes the
jury on an X-rated journey to prove his case. >> She could not reach orgasm when they had
sex. It is a constant criticism. Mr. Post. >> Okay. Your next witness called Shane.
>> It's a risky move. >> Ma'am, would you raise your right hand? You saw me swear.
>> But Shaina takes the stand, telling graphic tales of rough sex. And I started
to bleed and it it was painful. >> That sometimes turned kinky against her will.
>> Ryan did something I didn't want him to do. >> How did that experience make you feel?
>> It felt degrading. >> She claims Ryan often [music] humiliated her. and he told me that it was
unattractive that I couldn't orgasm. >> Despite the passage of time, Shaina easily recalls specific dates.
>> It was May of 2011, maybe November the 12th, January of 2012 >> and details of alleged unprovoked abuse
by Ryan. >> I was woken up to him just pushing me out of the bed and he just started
screaming at me. Why would Shaina stay with Ryan? >> Borderline personality disorder is a
chronic long-term condition. >> Defense psychologist Thomas Shocked says she has a personality disorder and PTSD
from childhood sexual abuse, but there are no police reports to support Shaina's claims.
>> Miss Huber's psychological condition was seriously abnormal. Shaina admits she did not handle their
breakups well. >> I would often send him countless text messages. >> Did you ever show up at his condominium
uninvited? >> Yes. >> When she showed up at his condo the night of October 12th, 2012. Shaina
claims Ryan exploded in anger and attacked her. >> He picked me up and threw me from the
doorway of his bedroom into the other room. He screamed at me, "You're a person and you're a person
because you're you were touched when you were a little girl." >> After the fight had moved into the
dining area, Shaina says she was left crying on the floor >> and he was reaching across the table and
I don't know if he was reaching for the gun or reaching for me, but I was still sitting on the floor at this point in
time. and I got up off the floor and I grabbed the gun and I shot him. [music] >> It's not the same story Shaya told when
she called 911 >> and he reached down and grabbed the gun and I grabbed it out of his hand and
pulled the pulled the trigger. >> Prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass pounces. >> We need to make sure we get this right.
Your story was different. After all these years, I really don't remember the 911 call.
>> But you remember every other detail, every other detail of relationship that started in 2011.
>> Snodgrass confronts Shaina with other inconsistencies. >> And in fact, you often times described
Ryan to your friends as being calm, didn't you? >> Ryan could be calm at times. >> You told him he was patient and kind.
Ryan was sometimes patient, kind, and nice. Yes. Sometimes he wasn't. >> You want to tell the jury what you told
your friend you about? >> She points out Shaina was a willing participant in the kinky sex.
>> Isn't it true that you told multiple friends, how it was the best sex of your life.
>> I'm sure I said that. >> The way he looked at you was unreal. You said that. >> I'll take your word for it. I don't
remember it, but guess >> I shot him probably six times. >> And Snodgrass reminds Shaina of what she
told police after pumping six bullets into Ryan. >> He was twitching some more. I shot him a
couple more times just to make sure he was dead cuz I didn't want to watch him die.
>> And you told officers that it was too painful for you. >> I said that >> to sit and watch him twitch.
Now, six years later, that story has changed as well. >> I also, when I first shot him, wasn't
sure where the shots had entered or if I had just made him more angry. >> Ladies and gentlemen, the respective
parties have rested their cases. The jury deliberates for nearly five hours and then
>> we the jury find the defendant Shaina Hubers guilty of murder. >> Shaina Hubers is guilty of the murder of
Ryan Poston [music] for a second time. The jury reconvenes the next day to decide on a sentence.
>> Ryan had a heart of gold. He never ever left me without kissing me on the cheek
and telling me he loved me. >> Once again, Ryan's father and sister [music] have to find the words to describe their
loss. >> This is Ryan's shirt on your poster. [clears throat] I'm sorry. unavailable right now. If you can
leave a message and I will call you back as soon as possible. Thank you. [snorts]
>> That's it. That's all we have on voicemail. >> Shaina's devastated mother hopes the
jury will show mercy. My child's life has also been taken. Her family also grieves.
I'm not lessening or taken away from or trying to say that I don't understand the grief of this
family because I do. >> But the defense's bid for leniency fails. We the jury fix the defendant Shauna
Huver's punishment for the offense of murder at life imprisonment. >> A life sentence more than the 40-year
sentence Shaina received at her first trial. >> Ryan's family is relieved. >> This is justice.
>> This is justice from the system. There is never closure. >> There will never be closure. He'll never
walk through that door again. No. >> And they will always wonder about what might have been.
>> I will forever miss the possibilities. We will never know the incredible possibilities that Ryan Poston would
have given to this earth. He was an tremendously gifted young man. [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] [music] >> [music]

“48 Hours" reports on cases involving spouses and broken trust. Watch the YouTube super marathon, which includes "Moment of Truth," "Love, Hate and Obsession," "Ryan Poston murder: Breaking Point (Part 1)" and "Ryan Poston murder: Breaking Point (Part 2)."

00:00 Moment of Truth 42:02 Love, Hate and Obsession 1:25:43 Ryan Poston murder: Breaking Point (Part 1) 2:07:39 Ryan Poston murder: Breaking Point (Part 2)

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

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Brief Summary

Virginia Vertitis shot her boyfriend in self-defense; the trial reveals complex issues of abuse and mental health.

Key points

Virginia's Struggles. Virginia's emotional turmoil and past relationships are explored, revealing her vulnerabilities.
Forensic Expert Testifies. Forensic expert Howard Ryan explains why Virginia's story about breaking the glass door is unlikely.
Key Fob Theory. The defense suggests that the broken key fob prevented Patrick from escaping, raising doubts about the case.
Lanny's Shocking Murder. Lanny was shot nine times in a brutal execution-style killing, shocking the community.
A Family Torn Apart. Bradley lost both parents in a week: his father murdered and his mother arrested.
Verdict Reached. The jury finds Donna guilty of first-degree murder, leading to immediate sentencing.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I never saw his eyes look like that before.

11:21WatchOct 25, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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