Murders involving people in law enforcement | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] when I was in Vice as an undercover I spent approximately 18 months walking
the streets of Queens doing prostitution the only difference was that I was working undercover and this was their
actual life but we had a lot of similar stories to hear their stories and not able to talk to them about my story and
how I survived it was heartbreaking a lot of the times my name is Katrina cook brown Lee
and when I was 22 years old I lived with my ex fiance in a house of horror I don't remember not having a black eye
whether it been the right one the left one it was a busted lip it was always something that's why Shades became a
signature for me I called the police on him several times he was a New York City correction
officer and every time he would flash that badge and every time he flashed that badge badge they would walk away
that badge was much more important than my life she got to the point where she feared for her safety and the safety of
her kids and that's when she decided no more but when the decision was made to leave the risk factor for Katrina went
through the roof my name is Carrie Herzog in January of 1993 I was an assistant district
attorney I don't think she in any way could have foreseen what was going to happen to her when she came through that
[Music] door he opened the door and he just had like a weird look on his face it was
strange and he pointed a gun to me and said this is the day you die and he shot me in my
stomach and then he shot me again and he emptied the gun after the first five reloaded and proceeded to shoot her
again five more times each time he would say to Katrina are you ready to die Katrina bang is
this the day you're going to die Katrina Bang bang you know you deserve this Katrina
bang this was a man on a mission and he was armed and deadly this could have easily been a
homicide but because of Katrina's will to live and will to survive it wasn't God had a whole different plan
for me my story starts from a very dark place and and it becomes a story of Grace a story of love and a story of
Hope why did you want to become a cop I wanted to become a good cop there's a difference
yeah a good cop has empathy a good cop cares about people that they have to protect and have to
serve I was a great cop [Music] [Music] [Music] this is the photograph that says
suffering to me assistant a Carrie Herzog will never forget opening the case File this shows a path of blood
through the living room and leading into the adjacent room it literally took my breath
away Carrie rushed to the Intensive Care Unit at Brook Haven Memorial Hospital on
Long Island as soon as she learned the victim was still alive there was a horror show unfolding right before my
eyes the first thing that came to my head is how did this woman even survive in the afternoon of January 9th
1993 a car came screeching up to Brook Haven's emergency room entrance the driver hurriedly put a woman in a
wheelchair and pushed her in the door then sped off that woman was Katrina cook brownley barely conscious and riddled
with bullets the 22-year-old mother of two somehow managed to tell authorities who did this to her and where he lived
that's the house that's the house right there lead detective Raymond Blasco raced to the house where a man calmly
opened the door and said I was expecting you it was Katrina's ex- fiance Alex Irvin I proceeded to arrest him at that
point the crime scene indicated a violent brutal attack and that the victim during
it was moving around from room to room trying to get away during the attack the floor of the bathroom there a lot of
blood on everything in the bathroom it shows extensive bleeding because of the blood loss I did not believe she would
survive neither did the Young assistant DA carry took a dying declaration from Katrina at the hospital to use as
evidence for a grand jury her voice was just above a whisper each breath took a certain
amount of labor on her part but she was able to do what we needed to have her do
I didn't think I'd ever see her again but Carrie didn't know just who she was dealing with Katrina had been
been beating the odds most of her life right there that was my bedroom right there Katrina was a struggling
18-year-old single mom living in the breor projects in Brooklyn when she met the man she thought would get her the
house with a white picket fence she'd always dreamed of a correction officer on New York's notorious Riker's Island
it was Alex Irvin so when I get into this relationship with this person it's a way out it's a way out I was in
survival mode and he had a car wasn't used to riding around in a fancy car he was a
correction officer he had a job he had a great a good a career a gun so to me it
was like okay my man got a gun he got a good job I'm from the projects and look at me you thought you'd Escape
correct right that's what I'm thinking like I'm winning when actually I was losing Katrina says he showed his
violent temper almost immediately that's where it began here out in those streets and yeah he would
beat you in the streets oh yeah Katrina knew she should end it but says her grandmother the only adult in
her life she trusted convinced her toay my grandmother said to me you know this man has a job and he can provide for you
and you have a daughter and he's willing to take on your daughter and to take care of you and I think that this is
something you should try to consider so when your grandmother tells you that then you think well maybe you know what
maybe I should do this this is knowing that he had physically assaulted you yeah how do you see that now
was the worst advice that I could have ever gotten they soon had a baby together a
girl Katrina's second daughter but Katrina says it didn't stop the beatings what would spark his anger um maybe it
was just a bad day at reich's Allen maybe I didn't want to have sex with him maybe the baby was
crying Maybe I had on something he didn't like to see me in he was that abusive yeah was that
abusive krina says she called 911 several times every time that I called the police on him they either would come
and tell us to work it out or he would have a separate conversation either outside or in the room with them and
they would walk away she called it the blue wall of Silence the minute they saw his badge she says they left after a
while Katrina says she stopped calling I had no respect for cops I had no respect
for them at all in 1992 Alex Irvin moved Katrina and the two girls from Brooklyn
to a small house in Medford Long Island but she says the abuse continued and only got worse finally after 5 years of
getting beaten black and blue Katrina said enough I was pregnant and I said to myself I'm not bringing another child
into this toxic violent relationship with this man and that I am going to save my money get some strength from
somewhere somehow and get out of this relationship and that's what I did Katrina and her daughters moved to a
local motel but after a month she ran out of money desperate she called Alex servant Katrina says he was like a
different person and even offered to help her get back on her feet we talk and were friendly with one another
something that I had never experienced with him ever you were hopeful yeah and I didn't think he was clever enough to
like try to set me up on January 9th krina says she walked straight into a trap she left her older daughter with a
neighbor and went with her younger daughter to Irvin's house this is what she told us happened next a warning you
may find it disturbing he opened the door and he just had like a weird look on his face
it was strange I went to place my youngest daughter in her bed cuz she was asleep
and as soon as I came out he shot me in my stomach and then he shot me again I fell back on our couch and I
looked down and my stomach had flattened and I wasn't like bleeding and I said to
him I'm like why am I not bleeding and I remember him saying shut up and um I remember trying to get up and
crawl and he shot me in my arm here I remember picking up the phone and trying to call 911 the phone lines were
cut you in the living room there crawling on the floor like a dog I remember I looked up to him and he
took his foot and he kicked me in my face this man tortured me tortured me he tortured me
[Music] this was an angry angry man Alex Irvin didn't just want Katrina dead says Carrie Herzog
he wanted her to suffer you can almost hear the defendant saying it ain't over till I say it's
over he was mocking her as he was firing on her is this the bullet that's going to do it
Katrina and he was in no hurry says Katrina when she could no longer crawl he put her in the bed and covered her
gunshot wounds with Band-Aids and at one point he carried her to the bathroom leaving behind a
Blood Stained blueprint of the attack this didn't happen like within like 20 minutes or 30 this was like a
long period of time that he's torturing me and shooting me over the course of an hour and a
half the correction officer emptied his service revolver two times at the pregnant mother of
two and ultimately he shot me 10 times Alex Irvin had planned for everything says Katrina the locked doors
and windows the cut phone line everything but a knock on the door as Katrina lay bleeding on the
floor There Was An Unexpected visit by a family friend of Katrina's fiance and upon entering the home he
looked at something which can only be described as something out of the Texas Chainsaw
Massacre according to the friend statement to police Alex Irvin told him he had shot Katrina and then he flipped
out Irvin then LED his young friend only 20 at the time to the bathroom Katrina was lying face down on the bathroom
floor panicked the young man picked her up and carried her to the car Irvin helped him put Katrina in the back
seat the two men headed to the hospital with the friend driving the entire way Katrina was in
and out of Consciousness and he was begging her to hold on that they were close to getting help don't go Katrina
don't go it was the young man who put Katrina in the wheelchair that day her wounds still covered with Band-Aids if
he hadn't come by that house oh I wouldn't be talking to you I would not be talking to
you Katrina was rushed into surgery as soon as she got to the hospital after the attack multiple operations followed
in the days ahead but doctors were unable to remove six of the bullets that had entered her
body says Carrie the placement removal could have been more dangerous to her than leaving the bullets in place after
days of drifting in and out of Consciousness Katrina finally woke up the first thing I wanted to know where
was my baby that I was having where were my children that was the first thing I said there she was having been
brutalized and her first concern was for her children it made me want to cry it makes
me want to cry right now Katrina was told her two daughters were safe and staying with a relative
sadly Katrina says the baby she was carrying a boy didn't make it most of the injuries were concentrated between
her chest and her pelvis and it became evident that future children were were not going to be in the cards for for
Katrina that wasn't all says Carrie she was very limited in her Mobility there were
concerns that she might not be able to walk again Katrina remembers the day the doctor delivered the Grim news I said
what when you say that and I'm not going to walk again and never have a normal life like what does that mean and he
said you know you you're going to be confined to a wheelchair and you have people to have
to take care of you and then I said to him I don't have anybody to take care of me I'm homeless
I don't I don't have a place to live I said I didn't have a place to live before I came
here and you're thinking what am I going to do was it fear desperation at your Wood's end or all of
that wrapped up into one yeah I mean I'm now I'm really all alone I really am Rock Bottom I'm at the lowest place
that I think a human being can be at at that point your son is murdered you can't take care your
children you have nowhere to live you have no family it doesn't get no worse than
that Alex Irvin's mother let Katrina move into her house in Brooklyn unoccupied at the time Katrina had
round-the-clock care and daily sessions with a speech and physical therapist but
deeply depressed she refused to work at her therapy Katrina fell into a hole that was so deep and so wide that she
couldn't see bottom and she couldn't see side to side then one day her physical therapist gave her hope that she would
fully recover he said I believe something tells me that you're going to walk again and I don't know what it was
that day gave me the will gave me the hope that it would be done and I started from the wheelchair
then I went to the Walker and then I went to a cane and then I started to walk so that was a process Katrina
devoted her entire being to showing the doctors she could get better so what were the things they said you couldn't
do I wasn't going to walk again I wasn't going to have a normal life again so you
went check right it was like check check check check check check check she also checked
off another box self-esteem I started to believe in myself I started to build up
who I was as a person but the fates weren't done with Katrina cook brownley she was about to
be tested yet [Music] again there were many stops along the way that could have derailed Katrina
cook browny's Journey out of Darkness Katrina says that getting thrown out of Alex Irvin's mother's house in Brooklyn
while still recovering was one of them she asked me to write a letter stating that I shot myself 10 times so that her
son did not go to jail when Katrina refused she says the mother booted her to the street I became even more
homeless I don't know how much homeless you could be but then I really became homeless I am standing in front of a
shelter and where I used to live Katrina who by then had her two girls back ended
up in this homeless shelter on the Lower East Side of New York rats were there roaches was there it was really really
bad here really bad what is going through your head as you were looking at your two
daughters I'm in survival mode everything for me at this point is survival stay alive just stay alive
protect my girls protect my girls because I felt like I had already failed they didn't choose him I chose
him you know Katrina says the shelter was so filthy she wouldn't use the bathroom I remember putting my youngest
daughter in the sink in McDonald's to bathe her and me as a grown woman having to wash
up in a at a sink while Katrina and her girls were struggling to survive Carrie Herzog was methodically building
a strong case against Alex Irvin I was going to do everything in my power to bring Justice to Katrina I fought for
her tooth and nail but Katrina who had been cooperating with the prosecution started
backing away Carrie discovered that Alex Irvin against court orders had been calling and threatening Katrina from
jail I wanted to rain down on him with the white hot intensity of a thousand Sons the arrogance for him to be having
this conversation with her from inside the jail was outrageous he needs to pay but then the
defense presented this letter to the judge purportedly written by Katrina herself by Katrina cook the victim in
this case has decided that I don't want to press charges due to duress at the time of my accident this is a woman who
had been shot 10 times and here she's portraying it as an accident and then the icing on the cake if I am subpoenaed
to court I will testify on the defendant's behalf I was horrified but I wasn't necessarily surprised Katrina had
already been placed in the position of of nearly seeing her life ended if she showed any cooperation with me or the
court it could be worse for her years later Katrina would tell Carrie she did not write that letter but at the time
Carrie was convinced she had she got Katrina on the phone she said I'm not coming in I'm not going to talk about it
in fact I'm going to disappear and you're never going to find me rage was starting to build up inside
of me I let out this Bellow and said Katrina I will hunt you down like a dog if I have
to and then she hung up on me despite issuing a subpoena Carrie didn't expect Katrina to appear in court
but even without her star witness Carrie believed she would win a conviction in April
1994 1 year and 3 months after the attack jury selection began they were on day four when suddenly the courtroom
door flew open I turn around and I I see her she's in a a brightly colored dress and her presence
that day actually made me gasp out loud I never ever never expected her to appear but there she was I had decided
that I'm going to walk in this courtroom and whatever is going to happen is going
to happen I didn't even look at him I wasn't giving him that power cuz at that point I had got back my power
and got back my control so I wasn't even going to look at him he didn't even matter to me I think that the defendant
saw the whites of her eyes that day and knew that the game was over and she was going to do whatever she needed
to do to take him down she was back she was back with a vengeance soon after Alex Irvin plad
guilty to all charges attempted murder in the second degree assault in the first degree and criminal use of a
firearm there would be no trial his sentence was now in the hands of the judge I was very angry that he took the
plea she was more angry I think than I was she lost her mind I was calming her down because I told I said I've been
through this already ain't not going to happen to him he got that Shield it's nothing going to happen to him Carrie
made an impassioned plea to the judge to give Katrina's abuser a minimum of 20 years behind bars but the judge did not
heed car's pleas he gave Alex Irvin the lightest sentence possible 5 to 15 years
after hearing that it was almost a Blind Fury that that took over me I gathered up my belongings and returned to my
office and I kicked my garbage can from one end of the office to the other and I
actually kept that garbage can for the rest of my career with this huge dent in its side Carrie couldn't deliver the
sentence they both wanted but she did deliver something perhaps even more important nobody ever cared enough to
fight for me she fought for me when I couldn't fight for myself she gave me hope when I didn't have hope for myself
I'm grateful to [Music] her what do you think of the prison sentence that Alex Irvin received go
inside the case at 48 [Music] hours.com with her ex fiance and would be killer imprison Katrina cook brownley focused
on her future a future that included a job at a very unlikely place the New York City Police
Department so the criminal justice system failed you they failed me and then you go and enter the criminal
justice system yeah that was logical for you yeah I was like nope I'm doing it you
could have knocked me over with a feather no one was more surprised than Katrina's former Advocate and now friend
Carrie Herzog Katrina and I actually talked about why she would join the police department and one of the things she
mentioned that you know the best way to change a system is from the inside out a
system that Katrina says repeatedly turned its back on her when she'd call 911 after being beaten in the years
before she was shot Katrina wanted to become what she says she needed all those years ago a
good cop why not why wouldn't I want to help protect and serve just because I didn't receive
it um it doesn't mean that I shouldn't want to help [Music] others in July 2001 8 and a half years
after her brutal attack Katrina was one of 1600 new recruits sworn in at the nypd's police academy they would go on
to be known as the 911 class when just 2 months into training Katrina and her fellow police Cadets became First
Responders on September 11th that was like one of the times where I was like uh maybe I don't think I can do
this I pushed through it because the other people that was in the academy also you know we always was feeling the
same and I think we just basically was going off of each other's strength as Katrina started a new life within the
criminal justice system Alex irin the correction officer turned convict was released from prison
after serving 10 years Carrie recalls Katrina's reaction it was almost a a sigh of of resignation when the time
finally came up I was at the beginning of my career and I wanted to really just put the energy into that and not into
him coming out [Music] from the start Katrina sought out a tough assignment going undercover in
Brooklyn and Queens even adopting this cigar smoking Persona to catch drug dealers anything that would inail
undercover I did anything anything so it put you in some dangerous situation oh absolutely I asked myself why would
would someone who's been through what Katrina has been through put herself into that
situation and then I think what can anyone do to scare her at this stage of her life she was right at death's
door and came through right now we are on a strip that I used to work when I was in Vice doing
undercover work and this was kind of like home for me many of days many of nights though
the mission was to arrest pimps and those soliciting prostitution Katrina felt a connection to the women she
encountered being out there um in the streets I realized that each and every one of these young ladies were were me
in some form or fashion it allowed me to realize how it was important for me to do my work to
the best of my ability while I was out there after five hard years working under cover on the streets Katrina took
to the streets again as a Community Affairs officer I just felt that I had so much that I could give back being a
police officer despite being the good cop she had always wanted to be Katrina worried
that the secret of her past would hurt her career so you're on your dream job you're doing
a great job MH and yet you're living with always the fear of being discovered correct your past my past coming back to
haunt you y every single day I went to work I always thought that you never shared this secret nope
it was painful not to be able to painful because Katrina believes that the trauma she suffered would have made
Su the NYPD questioned if she was fit to serve I don't want her on this job she's
a domestic violence she may go off and kill somebody she might not be mentally stable though still in fear of being
outed Katrina forged ahead becoming a detective first grade the nypd's highest investigative rank it wasn't many women
that were first grade Detectives [Music] no one handed anything to Katrina what Katrina has done she has
earned it's still amazing to me now to think about the progress that she made and not not just progress
success she and I have have talked about it that a lot success is the best revenge and Katrina wasn't done yet
never ever ever ever give up on yourself I don't care who's against you believe in
[Music] yourself Katrina cook brownley had spent a lifetime defying the odds climbing out
of poverty surviving a near fatal attack walking after believing she would never
walk again and in the final years of her NYPD career she would Buck the odds once
again when you were growing up in Brooklyn had you did you ever expect you would be
working at the mayor's Mansion no never not even even remotely close in 2014 Katrina became one of the few black
women in NYPD history assigned to protect a New York city mayor when she was chosen to serve on Mayor Bill
deblasio's Advanced security detail you're just one step ahead I'm just one step ahead if I if I'm walking
into a ditch he's going to follow me into that ditch right if I'm walking into the sunset he coming in that
sunset in 2020 1 after 20 years on the force Katrina retired from the NYPD in her last meeting with the mayor
she finally opened up about something she had been hiding for decades her [Music]
past and I said um well Mr Mayor I wrote a book and he said well what is the book
about and I said well um Mr Mayor I got shot 10 times and he took a deep breath and he was
like but you never said anything and I said you wasn't I wasn't supposed to she was carrying around a secret and
now she has been unburdened I think people looking at you would never have an inkling that you had
Liv the life you lived I often wonder and ask myself that do I look like this has happened to me you know and I have
scars right um so for a long time the scars used to bother me so I I put tattoos on my stomach so that when I
looked in the mirror when I'm getting dressed I didn't see it if I may be so bold ask what are your
tattoos roses this a bunch of roses yeah flowers cuz that's what I felt like that's what I became
Katrina has also found a way to let go of the emotional scars in spite of everything that has happened to me
Ryan I [Music] forgive I forgive you forgave you're a salent you're abuser yeah I I had to I
had to forgive him so I can get back my control so I can get back my power and so that I could have a peace
Within Myself there's no peace when you Harbor in Anger when you're mad there's no
peace in it you remember K when she was young yes I remember her we went back with Katrina
to the projects where she had grown up I remember when you was growing up with your
grandmother Trina you know Trina she's moved away but not so far that she has forgotten all the other katrinas who are
now where she once was what's next for you um just to tell my story and um to continue to work on my organization with
my girls young ladies of our future Katrina's organization has been mentoring young ladies for the past 10
years you don't want any other girl or woman to ever ever ever have to go through 5% of what I went
[Music] through if you build and you teach and give young people these tools you save them every single time oh
you know I'm checking report cards she has that helping Jean in her this is what I have to give to these girls is
love good she is offering help that surpasses what she had how does the Katrina sitting here
today differ from that 22-year-old Katrina oh wow the 22y old Katrina was lost broken
forgotten violated at the lowest point that a person can be and now today I feel like
I am a beautiful black queen that fought the fight [Music] yeah a young woman vanishes her missing
phone could provide critical Clues just one problem a needle and a hay stack and
a huge moving body of water how can police do what seems impossible I think I got the phone 48 Hours next on CBS and
streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] I wake up every single day and I cry and I miss
her it's so frustrating because you just you can look back and you you wish you did
more maybe my sister was scared to go to the law because her husband was a police
officer Jones County District Attorney's office office I believe Seth peralt was
an individual that had a lot of people fooled say hi Honey hi he doesn't want to say I think you hid behind a badge
and wore a mask every day nice house nice car law enforcement but behind that door to that house he was pretty abusive
stop the k no let's not let's tell the truth stop the camera no maybe she was scared to get out
it's February 3rd 2020 set the scene for me what happened I'm sitting at my desk
in my office I see and the phone rings and it's the police chief he said I got Seth peralt on the phone he's told me
his wife killed herself and I knew that we need to get there and get this man investigated and
do it right describe what you saw when you got to the scene Seth paral sitting on the
front steps he's sitting there hands holding over his face I ask her to go inside search
the house and he gave consent for that had you ever seen a suicide that looked like that I never seen anything
like that her body is flat on the back her legs are almost together and her arms
are tucked against her side with her hands cut this wasn't right he's worked a lot of cases he told told me he said
the scene is not right there's something not adding up and the more we investigated the otter it got obviously
we have a death investigation here I asked him would he come downtown to talk to us further I don't know how this
happened he said that they were in bed and they were arguing all I know is my wife was upset she looked at me and said
I can't do no more he loved her she was his world he never done anything to harm
her ever my wife looked at me and executed herself and if you look at the logistics of it you're going to see that
I had nothing to do with it we all called Sheriff SS that night and said we know our sister didn't do
this we know she didn't take her own life that he had something to do with this I'll look you in your face as as a
law enforcement officer I did not do me I had nothing to do with it 7 months months later the medical
examiner report comes out and what does it say [Music] suicide well I was astounded Dr derile is a renowned
medical examiner so her certification of suicide we thought was basically open shot you have to remember she works for
the state I'm Justin Kenny an attorney for Seth peralt it all came down to the forensics could the state actually prove
that Seth had pulled the trigger and shot his wife in the head [Music] [Music] just an hour and a half after Seth
peralt said his 44-year-old wife Amanda shot herself right in front of him he was struggling to tell his story I shock
my wife of 8 years that I love more than anything in this world I don't know anywh to start sir I've lost everything
in my life 44-year-old peralt then a police officer for the city of Eatenton Georgia
told the county sheriff Howard Sills that his wife Amanda had shot herself in the head what did he say happened he
said that they were in bed and they were arguing and then all of a sudden she just produced the gun out of thin air
and executed herself I just sat there watch my wife execute herself in all my years of questioning anybody for suicid
I have never heard anybody use the term [Music] executed I knew she hadn't I knew that
he was lying from the very beginning Angie and Alicia Johnson say they had questions about what happened to their
sister Amanda we knew better we knew our sister Amanda love life she wouldn't put
us through this about 8 years earlier in the fall of 2011 a recently divorced Amanda met
Seth peral online I remember being kind of excited about it he treated her differently from some of the past
relationship she had been in where you know she wasn't respected Seth battling cancer and unemployed at the time seemed
to fall for Amanda fast and hard and they moved in fairly quick like he had her move in within 6 months of the
meeting Seth was living an hour away with his mother who was caring for him but Angie says Amanda would quickly take
over the role of Seth's caretaker when she moved out there he didn't want her to work
they say Seth's parents were paying all of the couple's bills and helping with expenses for Seth's daughter from a
previous relationship so Seth was basically dependent on his family very much very much and Amanda was dependent
on Seth for the longest time like he wouldn't let her have any kind of phone cell phone or anything like that it
would be his phone or a landline she didn't even have a car to drive he monitored her
constantly as time went on Alicia and Angie say they saw less and less of their sister he kept us from being able
to see her so come to like any of our Christmas events or like any of our events because she had to host for his
family and cook for all of V Amanda lived with Seth for 5 years then on June 23rd
2017 the couple surprised everyone when they quietly went to the local courthouse and got married
Angie and Alicia believe the only reason Seth married their sister was to help him get custody of his daughter that's
why I feel like he asked her to marry him Seth's custody battle had been going on for almost exactly a year at that
point do you think Seth Maring Amanda helped him gain custody absolutely Seth's attorney Justin Kenny if Amanda
was going to be present in his daughter's life they had to get married I think that was one of the Paramount
issues for him to gain custody Kenny says Seth did love Amanda and his daughter and was just trying to do what
he thought was best for everyone this was a guy that doed on his daughter he was a family man he would do on his wife
I just thought he was a stand-up individual a few months after Amanda and Seth were married he was granted custody
of his daughter a little over a year later he was hired by the eeden in police department and his father bought
him this house near Lake aone she loved their new home this should have been everything she hoped for yeah it was you
know except for the relationship Alicia and Angie say they didn't know just how bad things had
gotten but were hearing more and more stories of fighting fueled my alcohol I've heard stories and interviews that
you know when they were sober they were loving toward another but it's when alcohol came into the mix that's when it
became toxic a little over a year after joining the police force Seth fell down some
stairs at the couple's home and had to go on medical leave now along with the alcohol there were pain pills and the
sisters say the fighting seemed to be escalating you could hear it like on phone calls has tone and demeanor around
her I would ask you want me to call 911 can I call 911 she would tell you no no don't call you know we' just been
drinking we'll be everything will be okay later on maybe she knew her situation would become even worse you
know then things did get worse on January 28th 2020 just days before her death Amanda called
911 can would you help please she called me she had barricaded herself in a back bedroom it's my
husband and he's putting his hands on me she ended up having to run next door he
locked me out of the house and I'm just trying to get my things out of the house
please she's at the neighbor's house right now another Sheriff's dispatcher was alerted and she said her husband is
an officer with the ENT Police Department that second dispatcher said he knew Seth foral and said he had a
reputation I ain't supposed to know this but he's been out of work with his back
and apparently he's over there whipping up on her ass Seth made local headlines when he was
arrested on charges of simple battery and Family Violence she told me would I come get her the next morning and I told
her yes to make sure to pack everything have it ready instead Amanda decided to attend
Seth's bond hearing when the judge agreed to release Seth on bail he asked Amanda if she wanted a staya away order
added Amanda said no and then let Seth come home cuz she was scared she knew he was mad she knew that it was public that
he had been arrested he's a police officer you know I have to bring him home and make this right I talked to her
the day he got out and I said how are things and she said he's being unusually nice Alicia says she doubted Seth's new
attitude and felt that underneath he must be seething knowing that if he was convicted on AB use charges he was in
danger of losing custody of his daughter and his job he knew he was going to embarrass his family and he had already
put himself up here on this pedestal like he was King and then to be humiliated in front of people I think it
made him very angry Alicia says Amanda was terrified and looking for a way out we were all on
a chain message and we were telling her just get out divorce him tell his father
that you don't want anything but a vehicle and she said I'm not trying to get killed just 5 days later Amanda was dead
[Music] [Music] Sheriff Howard Sills says that from the very start of his investigation into the
death of Amanda peralt he wasn't buying her husband's story I knew something was
wrong the day I walked in the house for starters the position of Amanda's body depicted in this 48 Hours
animation based on the crime scene photos left SS certain that Amanda could not have shot her
self okay this is the actual gun also of concern to sils was the way this Smith and Wesson 380 which belonged to Seth
was found lying next to Amanda's body with its magazine ejected the magazine it was near her right
side and the pistol itself was way down here below her left foot what me the ejected magazine even
more Curious says Sills is the fact that there was a bullet found inside the gun's chamber it's a semi-automatic gun
so when it fires the slide comes back the spent cartridge Cas is ejected and it picks up the next round because of
that bullet in the chamber the magazine had to be ejected after the gun was fired says Sills and unless the gun is
defective the only way to eject the magazine is to push this button now I don't do this at home but when you do
this how you going to get your hand your second hand around there to do it there
was also no blood on Amanda's hands or the long sleeves of her shirt and something else caught the sheriff's eye
in the middle of the closet on the floor was a damp green towel that somebody had
dried off with it no doubt about that one of the first deputies on the scene said Seth smelled like shampoo
also alarming the bedroom was littered with 20 miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey all of them
empty sill says he didn't have the manpower to process the scene so we called in Agents from the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation while they collected physical evidence and Amanda's body was transported to the State medical
examiner Sills focused on on Seth he came in and sat right in this blue leather chair Seth spoke to sills in his
office for over an hour without an attorney present I'm not going to lie to you I'm I have no reason to lie to you I
wanted to know what had happened that day how did the magazine get out of the gun how did the gun get where it was did
you touch that gun today the 380 yeah I me it's SP M no today yes sir how does her body get into that position no
answer cuz he never touched her no never touched her but s says that didn't make
any sense so he kept pressing and then Seth changed his story how are you maybe I I don't know I probably did
touch her I was probably hugging the out her I was probably like I'm so like honey what the hell's going on Sheriff
Sills says Seth tried several times to deflect questions with his badge I take pride in being a good law enforcement
agent and I can't remember how many times he looked me in the eye and said I'm a good police officer I'm I'm a good
officer I'm a good police officer I'm a good police officer I'm a good officer I'm a good police officer Amanda he said
also knew what a good cop he was and how assault charges would ruin both their lives she hated to see my reputation
destroyed on the news cuz she knows what a good police officer I am and she was so worried I lose my daughter she wanted
to come down here and tell you that it was a lie Seth insisted that Amanda had lied the day she called 911
and felt so bad about it that she wanted to confess to perjury he said that she had written something that she intended
to bring to me recan an in what she had told the deputies and he told me where it was this handwritten letter was found
in Amanda's nightstand it reads in part I Amanda pero would like to retract my statement my husband never put his hands
on me ever I feel horrible for the humiliation I put my husband and my family through I am willing to take any
punishment I may deserve for what I have done I don't deny she wrote it but look
at the penmanship there's not the slightest error of any kind what we've got here is a
inexperienced police officer dictating what's to be written like Sills Amanda's sisters are certain Seth was behind the
letter she wrote it but she was coached I think he was telling her I need you to
write this to get me out of trouble but Seth told Sills he was not about to let Amanda confess to lying to authorities I
knew if she came down here it was a false statement and a felony I knew it but according to Seth Amanda couldn't
take the guilt anymore so she put his gun to her head and pulled the trigger she looked at
me and said I'm sorry I'm sorry I put you through this boo I couldn't even say a word sheriff
it was the Seth tried to convince Sills that Amanda killed herself because her call to 911 had potentially ruined their
lives but the sheriff didn't see that as a reason for suicide instead he saw a motive for
murder believing that Amanda would never take her own life this made sense to her
sisters as well he had to make it look like she took her life so that he could be cleared of all this wrongdoing
Sheriff Sil says he was convinced that Seth foral was somehow involved in his wife's death but that day he felt he
didn't have enough to arrest him I wanted to see if I could get some more evidence and I did
one of the clues that convinced Sheriff SS that Seth peralt wasn't telling the truth were his actions just 20 minutes
before he reported his wife Amanda was dead that's when s's Deputy Terell abery arrived at his front door trying to
deliver paperwork on an upcoming case they had one of those video doorbell things and I rang
that the scene was captured Ed in this video I expected him to answer the door and I expected to hand him his copy of
the subpoena I mean you're a policeman you know how this works abery says he could tell someone
was home and what' you hear I heard footsteps or footfalls heavy ones I'm announcing myself who I am what it is I
even turn my back to the door I don't care if you're in your underwear just answer the door and take the paper
he waited 7 minutes and then left subpoena still in hand in my heart I believe that Amanda peralt had already
been shot when abery rang the doorbell I think he was concerned that somebody heard the gunshot and that's why he
didn't go to the door district attorney Wright Barksdale believed Seth was trying to figure out
what to do next think about this he's in the process of stay in this scene and he
hears the doorbell ring can you imagine what was going through his mind but attorney Justin Kenny says that is not
what happened why didn't they come to the door when Deputy abery rang that Bell fear of what he's bringing Seth is
afraid that his ex is about to serve him with custody modification paperwork what
does that say happened after that so believe it there is a heated discussion that takes place he lays down diffuse a
situation he lays down to take a nap he awoke Amanda mumbling something Whispering something and her pulling the
trigger and and shaoting herself Kenny points out that Amanda was impaired by alcohol three times the legal limit when
tested by the medical examiner that and the escalating tension in her marriage became a deadly
combination the nice house the daughter the Financial Security all of this was crumbling around Amanda and then you
tack on a23 blood alcohol content she thought that that was the only way to to fix it to to end it she was really drunk
absolutely maybe she accidentally shot the gun how'd she accidentally get the magazine out of it how'd she
accidentally get posed as she was Sills was also very troubled because Seth didn't call 911 when his wife
allegedly shot herself instead peral called his boss the Eatenton chief of police on his cell phone 48 Hours made
several unsuccessful attempts to reach the former Chief for comment obviously we're not going to
have a recording of that and they have at least a 20 minute conversation before I'm
caught hoping the peral's neighbors had heard something the day Amanda died Sills had Deputy abery go back to the
paroled house to question them what he learned made Sills even more suspicious about Seth's involvement in Amanda's
death we found out that there had been a true pattern of domestic violence for years and years neighbors said the
couple could be heard fighting nearly every day and in their eyes Seth was almost all always the aggressor they
told stories about a physical altercation between Seth and Amanda where he actually grabbed her by the
back of the hair and pulled her down and pushed her into the driveway one neighbor told abery that he would often
stand by in case things got really violent he talked about how at times he would just stand in the yard and just
wait to see if he needed to call 911 because it was so violent over there another neighbor said that a man had
twice made this chilling comment that if she were to wind up dead that peralt is the one that did it and
she made this neighbor promise that she would insist that her death be investigated as homicide did anyone call
the police no why not well one of the answers was that well we were scared to call because he was the
police it's hurtful it's hurtful and this is why I wanted to do this show is to make sure that
people know to speak up the day Amanda died the neighbor said they didn't hear a thing the only witness to what
happened was Seth peral and Sills was sure he couldn't trust him after the interview in his office according to
Seth they take the child to school they come back home and they go nowhere at all other than down the
street to the convenience store well that didn't happen he lied s says the proof was on this
surveillance camera footage of the couple found 12 mil away at this drive-thru liquor store where a Manda
bought those 20 miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey she drives up this drive in window right there's the camera
that catches the truck I see it simultaneously Seth was captured on a camera next door at this convenience
store you see him walk and he actually comes down I believe it's this aisle and he walks and he gets something
to drink this video says Barksdale would become a crucial piece of evidence not because of what was purchased but
because of what Seth was wearing this Pink Floyd t-shirt these black black athletic pants
nearly 4 hours later when sheriff's deputies arrived at the peral home to investigate Amanda's death Seth was
wearing something else when we get there he is dressed in shorts and a dark t-shirt and the clothing Seth was
wearing in the video we found those in the washing machine the clothing was dry and had clearly not been
laundered but there was that Deputy who had reported that Seth smelled freshly washed and there was that damp towel
that was found on the closet floor Seth says he took a bath Seth's attorney Justin Kenny says Seth did wash up at
some point after you take a bath you're going to change clothes there was no evidence that the washing machine had
actually been turned on it looked like the washing machine was being used as a a laundry
basket only a tiny Speck of blood was found on the backside of peral's pants and a trace amount of gunpowder residue
was found on his left hand when tested they did it 3 hours later after potential contamination from being at
the police station Amanda's hands were never tested and the gun was never dusted for
fingerprints but Sills felt he now had enough evidence to make an arrest just two days after Amanda's shooting now
former Edenton police officer Seth peral was taken into custody Sheriff SS called
me and let me know that they were going to arrest him for her murder and I my whole family just was so relieved and
and happy that she was getting Justice yes but before a grand jury could hear the evidence and decide if there was
enough to go to trial Co shut down the courts Seth would sit in this jail for nearly 9 months until that autopsy
report was released by the medical examiner declaring Amanda's death a suicide her decision was based primarily
on the lack of gunpowder around the wound which meant the gun would have to have been right up against Amanda's head
when it went off and there were no signs of a struggle nobody is just going to allow somebody to put a gun to their
head and pull the trigger without putting up some sort of fight first thing I just called the da I said you're
not going believe this did you think maybe you made a mistake absolutely not we going to take every bit of the
evidence and try to piece this thing together but Justin Kenny did think the prosecution was making a mistake and
that the autopsy report was all the evidence needed to defend Seth peral I mean it was it seemed pretty open shot
to me [Music] it was November 3rd 2020 and Seth peral still unindicted had been in jail for
nearly 9 months when covid restrictions finally eased a grand jury was set to decide de if there was enough evidence
against him to go to trial and you know the first thing I put up for that grand jury to see the crime scene pictures no
ma'am the autopsy report that said suicide ladies and gentlemen the State Crime Lab medical examiner says this was
a suicide now I'm going to show you the evidence I found members of the grand jury did see the crime scene photos and
heard evidence of domestic abuse and quickly decided that despite the medical examiner's report Seth peralt
should face a jury of his peers what were the charges malice murder felony murder and aggravated assault peral pled
not guilty to all charges at his trial in February of 2022 he decided not to testify leaving
defense attorney Justin Kenny to tell his story I think there was a complete complete absence of sufficient evidence
that Seth killed his wife the prosecution showed a jury of eight women and four men the crime scene photos
including the way Amanda's body and the gun were found they also heard testimony
from that sheriff's deputy who thought Seth smelled freshly showered they watched the footage of Deputy abery at
the paro's front door and listen to all 60 Minutes of herold's interview with Sheriff s
I don't know how this happened district attorney Barksdale says that some of the
most compelling evidence was found on Amanda's cell phone like this video she recorded 7 months prior to her death
it's sad it's sad because you know what I married you and I I'm not going to I'm
dude you're done I'm done Amanda's sisters were seeing the video for the first time it made me angry I want to
have a good weekend you burn that up you try to put that phone in my face what phone in your face oh right there oh
you're you're videotaping yeah because you're being I'm going to show you tomorrow you didn't videotape all this
you when you hit me and smack hit you youing chok me eight times the video was problematic but it it doesn't show
everything that took place Seth also states that she had acted violently toward him as well he doesn't want to
say there was no evidence of Seth having been abused introduced at trial but but
Amanda's phone also contained photos of her with bruises a black eye and a split
lip along with text like this one to her sisters Seth just choked me till I nearly passed out busted my lip wide
open I was scared that um one of them might get hurt this is Seth's then 8-year-old daughter being interviewed by
a forensic child psychologist remember she was a witness as to what happened the day Amanda called 911 they were
cussing at each other Miss Amanda was cussing too but she didn't touch Daddy at all Daddy was like touching her nose
like this like get out of my house right now the jury was shown most of the interview she was on the floor like this
yeah trying to get her stuff then all of a sudden Daddy just started grabbing her
arms and Daddy just pushed her over the laundry table and then um open the door and push her out the door while her
father spent the night in jail she said Amanda begged her not to tell anyone what happened or there could be deadly
consequences Amanda tells her that night if your daddy loses custody of you he's
going to shoot me dead your daddy would come shoot me dead but when barkdale called the now
10-year-old to the witness stand she said she couldn't recall what happened that day or what she said in the
interview she I think felt really torn I seen her look at her dad a couple times
I felt like she was more careful about what she was saying like somebody had been coaching her in cross-examination
the defense asked if anyone had coached her on what to say she said no but Justin Kenny says he believes another
prosecution witness may have been coached a jailhouse informant named Jack fult who had shared a dorm block with
Seth peral Jack faul has a criminal history I believe 28 pages long numerous contacts with the police and he had
every incentive to lie and make up a story folk had come forward three weeks before the medical examiner report was
released claiming he had valuable information about Amanda's death he knew things that only Seth paral could have
told him in these two handwritten letters Faulk claimed that Seth told him the camera catching him with the clothes
on was his biggest concern he also claimed that Seth said he had been giving a Mana painkillers all day and
that she was passed out at the time of her death I think he was in the bed with her after she was passed out and held
the gun against her head than he was behind her behind her or slightly to the side the defense argued that Amanda shot
herself because her lies about Seth assaulting her had potentially r ruined their lives furthermore only that tiny
trace of gunshot residue was found on peral's left hand and there was just that one Speck of blood found on his
clothing Justin Kenny says the hardest thing for the defense to explain was the way Amanda's body was found we knew that
it was going to be a problem the body had to be moved in some way had to be touched in some way Kenny says there is
one explanation that makes sense to him him something peral said in his interview with Sheriff Sills I probably
did touch her I was probably hugging the out of her and that would potentially account for her arms being by her sides
as for the way Seth's gun was found beside Amanda's body with the ejected magazine by her side the defense hired
an expert who testified he fired the gun six timeses and after one of those firings the magazine spontaneously
ejected it shows that that firearm can drop the magazine when it's fired Howard SS took
that very gun out and shot it several times the gbi examined that gun didn't notate in their report any malfunctions
whatsoever Dr Laura L O R A derasa then there was the medical examiner Laura derasa barkdale called her to the stand
and asked her to explain how she came to her conclusion of suicide as the manner of death what I
wanted the jury and for her to see she did not consider all the evidence she had not considered cth daughter's
interview she had not considered the cell phone data the prior domestic abuse videotape all but Dr darasa
defended her conclusion and in this statement to 48 Hours the Georgia Bureau of Investigation backed her up our
agency stands behind the original expert opinion of Perot's death were you worried at all about the
verdict what I try to remind myself it is my job to pursue Justice and to present a case for the jury to consider
and if they were to walk him out the door I would be able to look to Amanda peral's family and say we did everything
we could go inside the case and see more of the evidence at 48 [Music] hours.com when they called us all back
in we all just held hands and dropped our head it had been just under 2 and 1/2 hours when the jury in the murder trial
of Seth bral announced that they had reached a verdict I just remember praying saying God you
know just please you know please do this for our family let us have Justice for our
sister and Justice is what they feel they got the verdict guilty of murder it was bittersweet
because we got justice but it didn't bring her back and didn't bring our best friend back
that same day perals was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole I want many years of him praying to God
and being on his knees that he would have took his own life instead of my sisters Justin Kenny says he believes an
innocent man is now behind bars for life my heart sank I've known Seth for almost a decade
now and I don't think he did it [Music] every August on her birthday Amanda's sisters honor her memory by releasing
love letters tied to purple balloons I love you Amanda I hope you're having a beautiful birthday in
[Music] heaven happy birthday dear Amanda happy birthday to you in 2022 the notes also included the
National Domestic Abuse Hotline number and hopefully this will find somebody that really needs it we just want to
create awareness around domestic abuse and for people to don't sit back and just let it happen
no matter what the the victim is telling you fight for them you know help them help
them any way you can there's so many things I wish I could go back now and do different I wish I could go back and
save her you're going to save somebody with this I hope so [Music] taken from her friends and family too
soon she was artistic she was creative she was smart she was feisty a murderer roams free for too long there was that
constant fear is this going to happen again you will never forget Sarah yarboro 48 Hours next on CBS and
streaming on Paramount [Music] plus Amy wrote Shadows are created around us whenever something or someone
blocks the light we are created to to live in the light he is calling me out of the
darkness turn toward the light and the [Music] truth Amy's Outlet was her journaling
she wrote to me about The Bible and having faith I believe that her faith was important to her because she lived
by her faith she was the salt of the earth genuine and loving I found out that Amy had passed
in a phone call from our mutual friend the next sentence I found out how she had passed it's not a phone call you
know you want to get 911 the sign is recorded what's the address of your emergency hi this is Brian fion I'm at
in North Road my wife just shot herself can you send me some help all right Brian we'll get him right
out there okay I remember my supervisor telling me we have a death investigation in
Westfield and it's a police officer's wife that was a rarity to me I had not experienced a case like that she's gone
I'm sorry God okay are you sure yes yes Brian's role at the Westfield Police Department he was their uh evidence guy
and the detective Bureau we both knew Brian he was very well [Applause] respected when you walked in the fan
house what did you see then I walked into the dining room and that's when I observed the body of
Amy fan and a pool of blood on the floor with a gunshot to the right side of her
head I saw the 45 caliber Smith and Wesson firearm on the stairs that led to the
Breezeway there was a police radio paperwork mail and so forth chairs pushed about and on top of this dining
room table you had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich intact on a plate you had an empty plate that had some blood smear
on it what was Brian's demeanor when you arrived he seemed like he was in a State
of Shock he was looking straight ahead just just snap the gun just exploded just so
quick at all I'm the only one that could make her that angry I offered her my condolences I
told Brian that you know that I was going to conduct a thorough investigation that it was going to be by
the numbers is it standard for the District Attorney's office to be involved in a suicide investigation yes
part of our duties at the District Attorney's office was to investigate all deaths what can this deceased tell us
about what happened right before she found herself in that state so I'm taking in everything that I
can about that scene and I saw the entry wound to her head it didn't seem right in that moment
how would something like that happen [Music] [Music] it was 1 p.m. on May 8th 2018 when
massachusett state police detectives arrived at a farmhouse in Westfield 51-year-old Amy fan laid dead in the
dining room from a single gunshot wound to the head detective Mike MCN Amy was essentially in a pile of blood that was
beginning to congeal under her left side Amy's husband Brian fan a detective in the Westfield Police Department had
called 911 minutes earlier reporting that his wife had shot herself the dining room rearranged to accommodate
medical personnel was in disarray as detectives work to identify Clues of what may have happened there was a blood
spatter around that window frame from that dining room into the Breezeway there was a pair of glasses that looked
like it had some kind of red Brown spatter on it and then there was the bullet detectives Brendan OU and Mike Blanchet
the actual projectile was in that front enclosed porch area the Spen shell casing was
still in the dining room we could see the direction that it traveled through Amy's
head that round impacted that dresser came to arrest right around there in the Breezeway Brian was sitting in a chair
with his back to the wall and he's with the chief of police from the Westfield Police Department who's talking with him
everyone was in a State of shock everyone including Amy's brother Eric Hansen who told to detectives that he
had just finished playing disc golf behind the house when he heard Brian's cry for help and that's when he walked
into the house saw Amy on the floor a gun next to her and Brian holding Amy's hand so he picked up the gun himself and
moved it out of Brian's reach because he was worried about Brian's state of mind
having just lost his wife yes what kind of gun was he used it was a Smith the Wesson uh MMP 45 Brian Fan's Duty weapon
did that give you any pause that it was Brian Fan's weapon yes it gave me pause at this point I know that I'm going to
really do a detailed investigation to avoid conflict of interest otou said he decided that his
unit the Massachusetts State Police would be the sole investigators that he wanted to get Brian away from the house
to get a statement I asked if he would accompany me to the massachusett state police barracks and Russell and I took a
tape recorded statement from him Tuesday May 8th it's 2:41 p.m. I'm with Brian fion Brian um you understand I got to
record around right now yes Brian told detective otou that he left his office at the Westfield police
station around 11:45 a.m. and drove to North Road to meet his wife who was on her way home to prepare their lunch what
was she making butter and jelly sandwiches Brian said that when he arrived they continued an AR arent from
the night prior an argument that had gotten pretty heated that evening when you say heated I guess well just
uh I don't know she just uh was very angry okay what was your argument about um I'm retiring soon we're discussing
what each of us expects retirement to be Brian said he told Amy that he didn't want to spend his retirement maintaining
their 200 year old home which Amy still loved they also discussed their aging dog and his reluctance to get another
one yeah I want to be tied down by a dog she always wants to have a dog I want to
travel more than she does according to Brian that afternoon during lunch Amy told him she had scheduled them to
attend a family member's play on the day Brian wanted to attend a disc golf tournament I just said no I don't like
that stuff why would you commit me here without asking that's when according to Brian things soon took a turn for the
worst it took my G out of the holster and put it on our Hutch because I had to use the bathroom where's the hutch
located in the dining room Brian said he closed the bathroom door and when he came out Amy had the gun in her hand she
has the gun pointed up to the right side of her head what did you hear her say I
think she said I guess you don't want it's you don't want me to around or you want to be around me was she seated or
no she stood she was standing okay according to Brian he was four to 5 ft away when he tried to stop Amy from
pulling the trigger tried to get to her I almost did the gun just exploded just so
quick hesitate at all I just went over and I just held her hands Elder 911 Rec Ryan called 911 and yelled
out to Amy's brother Eric for help Eric uh what is how do you spell your last name Hansen h a n s
e Eric told detectives that Brian said he and Amy had been having a tense argument and she grabbed the gun he just
was so distraught he say what they were I mean about no I was just trying to consult and say
it's not your fault it's not your fault Amy's death had shocked the Westfield Community my name is Stephanie Barry and
I'm a reporter for the Republican in Springfield Massachusetts Amy's maiden name was Hansen she came from a fairly
large family she and her sisters were all known as some of the prettiest girls in school some of the smartest and some
of the nicest it was 1983 when 16-year-old Amy met 19-year-old Brian fion fion came from a
long line of police officers and politicians and in Westfield the fan name was a source of Pride the fions
were kind of like the kennedies of Westfield they were well regarded Brian and Amy tied the knot in
1985 and the couple eventually had two children Travis and Victoria Amy's close friend Terry lardi says Amy loved being
a stay-at-home mom Amy's Focus was Raising her children she thought that being a parent was the best job in the
whole world the fans deeply committed to their faith dedicated their lives to God
and community service with Brian serving as a church Deacon and working as a missionary to build wells in
Mexico after 30 years of marriage the fans were planning their next phase of life when those plans derailed is there
any knowledge that Amy F had had any mental health issues or suffered from depression so I I asked Brian and um he
mentioned um many years earlier when she was having some psychological issues and
we done medicine for a period of time other than that nothing nothing recent but what Brian did stress was that Amy
had bouts with anger she had a temper but she hit it well from everyone but me she only
got that angry when we were alone Midway into the interview detective otou asked
Brian if there were any female friends in his life they have a woman who lives in Pittsfield that I met
recently I did a mission trip to Mexico and we become good friends what's that lady's name
Cory does she have a last name or Cory noes okay n o l you guys aren't going to contact her
are you for detective OU Brian fions admitted friendship with another woman raised
questions Ryan had told detectives that Karin no known as Corey was a fellow missionary at a nearby Church the two
met in November 2017 on a mission trip in Mexico and a friendship developed but it had never gone beyond
that an emotional affair he said there was some flirting but he qualified it that it wasn't sexual a sexual it was
not a his term was it was not a friends with benefits at the end of the interview
detective otou asked Brian to turn over his personal phone I turned off the recorder and that's when Brian told me
is you're going to see some things on there and it's not what it appears to be a red flag for you yeah there's several
red flags as a an investigator you have to keep an open mind within a week of Brian's interview
on May 14th 2018 Amy's wake was held Brian planted a tree in nearby Stanley Park in his wife's
[Music] memory but the investigation into her sudden death was just beginning detectives recovered a treasure Trove of
deleted text messages from Brian's phone there were just hundreds of text that expanded
the relationship that he was having with Cory on May 7th the day before Amy died
Brian and Corey exchanged 72 text messages until 9:47 p.m. that evening in one exchange at 9:23 p.m.
Brian writes good night my love I hope you have wonderful dreams of amazing days and nights to come and Cory
responds good night my love I will dream of you and all that the future holds for
[Music] us the next morning at 10:30 a.m. Corey texts when can I hold you again to which
Brian responds not soon enough turning into a very long morning and within an hour to Amy fanan
is dead yes for female party who possibly intentionally shot herself police in rout Brian has not been entirely
truthful to us at this point and so we want to speak with him again on May 17th 2018 3 days after
Amy's wake Brian fan arrived at the District Attorney's State Police office for another round of questioning Brian
so we just needed to you know clarify some things we you know you're Miranda right so I'm going to read them out this
form the other day you didn't do this has something changed so you're not you're not under arrest I know
that and on that same day across town detectives met with Corey nolles to learn more about her involvement with
Brian if somebody wants to say who's Cory who are you Cory NOS a 48-year-old wife grandmother a member of her
Church's choir told detectives that Brian's friendship helped her work through a troubled second marriage Bri
were easy to talk to nothing but affirmation and love and I'm here for you but over time their relationship
moved from Friendship to flirtation did I feel passion for him absolutely by April 16th 2018 5 months
into Brian and Cory's relationship their texting gave way to is something more intimate When Corey visited Brian's
house before they left for volunteer work was that the first time you were intimate that you kissed on that April
dat the 16th Y and then then where was that on kitchen I got there before got home Cory
told detectives that by late April she and Brian were having passionate make out sessions in her truck
[Music] Brian left work early met up with Corey in Westfield at Stanley Park and they
made out there was some sexual touching but according to Corey Brian could not perform more like because I'm
still married to to Amy we've seen the text messages and all honesty Brian it looks like it's a lot
more than a friendship you know I know it escalated and I'm completely embarrassed by it ashamed
of it and shouldn't happen but a lot of people have affairs and correct don't kill their wife
correct detective otou then asks Brian to go back over his statement of what happened beginning at the moment when
Brian said he placed his gun on the hutch and went inside the bathroom all right so you come out of
the bathroom right she's at the table where where just indicate like where between the table and the hutch and a
chair right there I don't know if she was sitting or standing I think she was standing I mean not Sho I think she was
sitting now when we were trying to get these stepbystep details he seem to be wavering so you come out of the bathroom
Okay and then what's the first thing that happens I just remember her saying that that you obviously
here and then detective OU asked Brian to demonstrate what Amy did with the gun just remember seeing her hand come up
with the towards her head yeah so she puts it to the side of her head yes okay and and where was the gun when it went
off was it in the sink but there is a problem what Brian did not know was that a CSI report and Amy's autopsy results
had arrived The Gunshot entrance womb was was not consistent with a self-inflicted wound fair to say it took
this case in a whole new Direction yes during the second interview with Brian fion detectives otou and Blanchet
found themselves facing a challenge that tested their experience as investigators this is not a a normal
interview for myself and Mike we've done thousands of interviews you know we're pretty good at it but it's hard when
it's a police officer because he knows exactly how we work it was a difficult interview
there's a problem I'll straight detectives laid out what they considered to be crucial evidence in their
investigation there's no indication so whatsoever so far that she had a gun close to the side of her head
then you're wrong cuz she did cuz I saw happen you know how do you say there's no indication well I mean that's what
that's what you know that's what it's showing us right now the medical examiner listed Amy's
manner of death as undetermined and combined with CSI findings investigators did not believe
that Amy died of a self-inflicted wound I mean there's no doubt she get was shot but but the question is from
what distance it was right freaking there I'm telling you do what you need to but I'm
telling you it was right there in Amy's case distance mattered this is because with self-inflicted
gunshot wounds debris known as gunshot residue is expelled from the firearm and leaves a distinct pattern on and inside
the wound known as stippling has demonstrated here like Brian you you understand like guns and stippling and
all that stuff you do and I can't there's none honor Brian there's none honor there has to be cuz the gun was
there right freaking there there's not H then they're wrong I'm telling you they're they're flat out wrong cuz it
was right freaking there the other option is you got pissed and you're a foot or few feet away and you shot her
head when she sitting eating sandwich didn't happen didn't happen did not happen
right with Fan's Affair exposed and CSI reports in hand detectiv suspected fan had likely shot his wife but they still
needed more evidence on May 24th 2018 detectives obtained a search warrant for Fan's home and when detectives arrived
Brian asked if I was there to arrest him and I told him I wasn't and then he asked me if I thought he did
it were you surprised he asked you that I was noting it I didn't know how to feel and I didn't answer his
question detectives took additional measurements to analyze the trajectory of the
bullet Fan's home electronics were confiscated and at the same time his desktop computer and laptop at the
Westfield police station were seized for data extraction do you see any any signs that
Brian fion planned to kill his wife any evidence that points to that we see a totality of all the evidence here
um we're not the fact finders um we're we're detectives so we we collect all this information and then it's going to
be presented someone else is going to make a determination on that and that someone would be Hampton County
assistant District Attorney Mary sandstrom new to the homicide division s had arrived in Massachusetts by way of
New York is it fair to say you were a fish out of water a bit it's always um hard not being from
the area in which you prosecute uh it's a very small very intimately connected town so yes you're never at an advantage
where you don't know everybody by name adding to the difficulty Brian Fanon is a detective yes and
respected very much and in that Community as spring gave way to Summer Corey ended her relationship with fan
and by early 2019 fion retired from the police force the investigation into Amy's death
continued we're still trying to get some testing done because we want to have as
strong a case as possible before we go in before the grand jury and a complication in the form of a letter was
among the Case Files Amy's family members expressed their unfailing supportive Brian fion saying we are
certain Amy took her own life the letter was signed by Amy's siblings and even her own
mother that's got to be tough for you it's an awkward position for a prosecutor where your victim family
isn't supporting you it was an odd spot to be in an odd spot perhaps but not a deterrent on November 6th 2019 17 months
after Amy died did detectives arrived at Brian Fan's door Brian came to the dining room door
pretty quickly as I recall it and he said something to the effect of come in then Mike Blanchett began to describe to
Brian Brian we have an arrest warrant for you police say Brian fion told them that his wife shot herself with his gun
while he was at home on a lunch break last year I remember telling him put your hands behind your back I took out my
handcuffs through the investigation they only solidified their suspicion that Brian pulled the trigger he was eating
assorted nuts was uh popping some in his mouth and as he put his hands behind his
back he let him drop to the floor we transported Brian to the russle state police
barracks and he's processed photographed fingerprinted stand's accused of killing
his wife inin I assessed a feeling of Despair on Brian's face like I can't believe this is
happening Stephanie Barry a crime reporter at the Republican newspaper recalls the unusual scene that played
out 15 miles away in Springfield Massachusetts inside the Hampton County Superior Court in early November
2019 there's no one who spent any amount of time in Westfield who didn't know who
Brian fion was it was a pretty full house and the kind of palpable shock remained throughout the entire
proceeding fion who appeared for his initial arraignment entered a plea of not guilty and sitting right behind him
were members of both Brian's and Amy's family I can't think of another instance when when I've seen the family of a
victim sticking up for the accused murder of their loved one and despite the absence of support from members of
Amy's family Ada sandstrom continued to build her case what was Amy fan like she sounds
like a fairy tale giving selfless completely dedicated to her family according to sandstrom the night
before Amy died she was making a gift for an upcoming baby shower that she planned to attend and was texting her
daughter Victoria did anyone ever say that Amy was ever suicidal she wasn't a person
who was ready to die Amy was healthy she was happy what do you think Brian Von's
motive was he was ready to start a new chapter of his life that did not include Amy fion he's chosen his life partner
and Corey Amy's the only thing standing in the way now and that's always the million-dollar question why not divorce
he can't divorce Amy for how he's going to be seen in this community divorce is public but in his mind murder doesn't
have to be the trial started today for a former Westfield police officer who's accused of murdering his wife on
February 23rd 2023 in what would be Westfield's most publicized case Brian Fan's trial began he faced a life
sentence for the first-degree murder of wife 48 Hours made several interview requests to Brian fion his attorney
Jeffrey Brown as well as family members of both Amy and briyan but never received a response this is a big case a
lot of attention how are you feeling for any trial you're always nervous and this
was probably the most high-profile case I've ever done opening statements revealed
conflicting accounts of the circumstances surrounding Amy Fan's death the defendant was a at wyan Union
Church and an officer for the Westfield Police Department the evidence will show
that while the defendant was repulsed by continuing his marriage with Amy he couldn't divorce her either leaving him
trapped and once that evidence is before you I will ask you to find the defendant
guilty of murder in the first degree Fan's defense focused on Amy's anger issues and claimed she suffered from
anxiety Brown alleged that on the day of of Amy's death an argument over Brian's
retirement plans and his refusal to attend a family member's play pushed her over the
edge in the days before Amy shot herself Amy was very mad at he had to tread lightly around the Amy for fear of
setting her off and at the conclusion of the evidence in this case I'll ask that
you find Brian F not guilty thank you Anna Hansen Amy's younger sister was the first witness for
the prosecution she was the only family member who signed the letter of support that willingly testified against Brian
fyon Anna stated that during the investigation into Amy's death her brother-in-law confided that he was
worried about searches he had conducted on his computer I asked him what that search
was and he said how to make a murder look like a suicide he specifically said he searched quote how to make a murder
look like a suicide those were his exact words Anna told the jury that when she asked her brother-in-law why he made
this search fan told her that Amy asked him to do it after they watched a CSI show it was a show that Anna questioned
if Amy had ever watched did she ever say that she liked those shows she never shared that with
me the prosecution's next witness was Fan's former lover a divorced Cory nolles now Corey Hasty who told the jury
that fan was concerned about ending his marriage did ever talk about what could happen to him
ifce yes if Amy was to ever leave excuse me he divorced her that she would take him for everything he's got because he
would y suain on retirement that the prosecution called Tom forest from the Cyber crimes unit all of Fan's devices
were examined but it was Fan's office computer that produced some Curious results Forest said fan visited common
and dangerous poisons which drug causes the most deaths each year 16 common household items that could kill
you but it's only when this affair starts up that all of these incriminating searches start to appear carbon monoxide
The Invisible Killer household poisons common prescription overdoses and 11 days prior to Amy's
death fan used office computer to view a news report on YouTube called what gunshot residue tests tell
us he wasn't assigned to any active investigations in April and May of 2018 that would necessitate looking up
gunshot residue nobody in the Westfield police department does gunshot residue testing
I was trying to keep a very open mind about what the evidence was going to show but I didn't think that was great
news for Brian fet morning detective John Shrine a ballistic expert and a crucial witness for the prosecution
testified that Amy's wound was not self-inflicted citing the absence of gunshot residue near the wound coupled
with the trajectory of the bullet Shrine concluded that Amy fion was shot from a
downward angle and at a distance of at least 18 in not at close range as fion had
claimed you form an opinion as to whether or not the defendant firearm was discharged at distance of 18 in or
greater over 18 in without anything intervening that's correct after 12 days of testimony and
27 Witnesses the prosecution rested but waiting in the wings was a defense poised to introduce a significant
element that could potentially unravel the DA's case any prosecutor who's not worried about a defense probably isn't a
good prosecutor what do you think is the most damning piece of evidence chat now with the 48
Hours team on Facebook and [Music] X defense attorney Jeffrey Brown whose client faced life in prison launched a
Counterattack when he cross-examined Fan's former lover Corey Hasty according to this state fanion fair was the
primary motive for murdering his wife but Hasty admitted to the defense that when she ended their relationship
fan didn't try to stop her when ultimately you ended it with Brian his response was okay isn't that
right to my recollection he didn't say to you oh my god I killed Amy for you and you're leaving me he never said that
right correct and what about the websites detective forest from the Cyber crimes unit said
fion visited carbon monoxide The Invisible Killer common and dangerous poisons 16 common household items that
could kill you the defense argued that some of the websites he visited were related to an aging house an old wood
burning stove and the potential hazards it might pose to a young family member did you know that the fions um were
beginning to have a young niece a child stay in their home during that time frame no I did not but what the defense
couldn't reconcile were fion searches about gunshot residue days before Amy's death and there was Amy's sister Anna
the only family member who willingly testified for the prosecution she claimed that Brian told
her he searched how to make a murder look like a suicide on his computer you didn't find any sites that
were searched or visited relating to the terms how to make a murder look like a suicide isn't that true that is
true the defense narrowed its focus and scrutinized Amy's personality by cross-examining Amy's own
mother Patricia Taran did your daughter Amy have a temper yes a temper according to Amy Sister
Hall that would typically be directed toward her husband well did she snap at Brian in
front of you she would I was embarrassed for her you don't usually talk to your husband
kind of in that way maybe the you reprimand a child but not a husband but what Amy's temper lead to an
impulsive decision such as grabbing Fan's gun according to Amy's son Travis it would I could easily picture or Envision
her grabbing the gun impulsively to make a point that she picked it up intending
to complete a trigger pull and and shoot herself but what would explain the lack
of gunshot residue on Amy her wound is consistent with a Clos range gunshot wound based Alexander Jason a senior
certified crime analyst testified for the defense that's the foundation of the whole prosecution and this whole idea
that it had to be 18 in because the absence of gunshot residue is not valid Jason says the lack of gunshot residue
was not due to distance it was due to Amy's Hair what could Amy Fan's hair have told
us Amy fan had very dense thick hair that will block The Gunshot residue Jason's research effect of hair on the
deposition of gunshot residue was published by the FBI's forensic science journal in 2004 Jason says there could
have been gunshot residue commonly known as GSR embedded in Amy's Hair the crime
scene analyst did not test her hair what they should have done is taken the hair and then analyz those little
specs to see if their gunshot residue or not which was a mistake Jason's testimony was limit at
trial to support his theory he and his daughter Juliana met us at a gun range in California to demonstrate what may
have happened to Amy fion I'm going to fire two times using a 45 caliber gun and ammunition identical to what was
found at the scene Jason fired a single round into a mound of hair backed by a ballistic skin
simulant so you just shot a 45 caliber gun 3 in away through hair yes Amy fion had considerable hair maybe more dense
than this where the bullet entered and the hair will act as a filter and prevent The Gunshot residue from
reaching her skin for comparison Jason positioned the gun at the same distance using identical ammunition and fired
into the skin simulant without hair and I pull this away wow you can see there's a big difference now look at
that that's a very clean wound that's a very dirty wound that's incredible well all from the hair all from the hair the
hair acted as a filter pretty fascinating while Jason believes this scenario is what happened to Amy fan he
stopped short of saying whether or not fan killed his wife filtered that stuff out but what he does believe is that
basing the case on the absence of gunshot residue is wrong and he should not be convicted on that basis that's my
bottom line after 40 Witnesses and 15 days of testimony closing arguments she raised the gun up to her
head in a fit of rage and in effect caused her own death this defendant murdered Amy Fon with deliberate
premeditation on March 21st 2023 the jury got the case and after 2 days of deliberations
the verdict po person would say you is is the defendant guilty or not guilty guilty guilty of what guilty of what
degree Brian fan was found guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife Amy fion and sentenced to life without out
parole that same day Brian side of the aisle just collapsed in sobs these people L Brian and sincer
thought that he was innocent for assistant District Attorney Mary sandstrom Fun's conviction was
bittersweet and hard one it's never a victory Amy fion should be here she should be with her daughter
and son and her now grandchildren and she's not and it was all for nothing so that Brian F
could enjoy his life and end [Music] hers a mother disappears evidence points to homicide and she's nowhere to be
found the suspect is gone too leading us marshals on a Relentless Manhunt he was
using the railways to move around hopping trains the chase is on Justice is coming 48 hours Saturday on CBS
streaming on Paramount Plus

"48 Hours" brings you stories involving individuals with badges in this mini-marathon. Binge-watch the full episodes, which include "Katrina Brownlee: The Good Cop," "The Death of an Officer's Wife" and "The Detective's Wife."

00:00 Katrina Brownlee: The Good Cop, 41:20 The Death of an Officer's Wife 1:22:31 The Detective's Wife

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

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Brief Summary

Katrina Cook Brownley survives a brutal attack by her ex-fiancé and fights for justice with the help of assistant DA Carrie Herzog.

Key points

Katrina's Fight for Survival. Despite being shot multiple times, Katrina's will to live led her to survive the attack.
The Day of the Attack. Katrina was shot ten times by her ex-fiancé, Alex Irvin, in a brutal attack.
The Courtroom Surprise. Katrina unexpectedly appeared in court, ready to confront her attacker after backing away from the case.
A Secret Unburdened. Katrina reveals her past to the mayor, shedding years of hidden trauma.
Forgiveness and Healing. Katrina emphasizes the power of forgiveness in reclaiming her life and peace.
Seth's Confession. Seth's story changes during the interrogation, raising suspicions about his involvement.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This was their actual life, but we had a lot of similar stories.

Katrina reflecting on her undercover work and the lives of those she encountered.

0:35WatchJun 29, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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