The Case Against Mary Katherine Higdon | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Applause] it's August 1st 2018 I get a call from one of my investigators said we had a
shooting victim on Sunny book drive and it didn't look good SP County 911 where's your
emergency um yes ma'am I AC my gun was chambered and I'm so sorry I like to St my boyfriend in the neck I'm so sorry
[Music] we actually had uh the perpetrator admitting to shooting the victim on the
911 call before we even arrived at the scene and told us she did [Music] it the way look at me Zep look at me look at me
Zep I'm Lieutenant Chris Wilson I was the first investigator to R seene what kind of gun was it it was a GL 43 I
was just grabing it I did not know there was one gra to bring it to oured basically
we had a a a young man down uh not responsive and also a young woman who was Fran frantic very emotional she was
just pleading for help I cannot lose him I cannot lose him I cannot lose him come
on look calm down for me calm down calm back I want to know how this happened I don't even understand enough the gun
going off I don't even see how like it even got him because I wasn't even like really pointing it directly at him in
the first place I was able to look over any type of evidence any type of forensics that that could have been
involved trying to make sense of what might have happened in that living room that night like been fighting here
want I knew then that we we could be possibly looking at a homicide you had the right
from the confessions on this video and we can't hear it there's no sound there there's sound but it's just a a noise
constant noise all way through it ladies and Gentlemen please rise this is malice murder this is felony
murder this gun did not discharge on its own Mary Katherine Higden was angry she lost
control and she pulled the trigger I didn't even know it was chambered I never wanted to hurt him I
never wanted anything like that there may be people watching this who find it hard to believe what what
you're saying right now mhm what would you say to them all I know is what's in my heart
and I know what happened that night I loved Steven and I would never ever do anything to hurt
him 56 at this time [Music] Henry [Music] we about [Music] two police body cameras captured the chaotic
scene the night Steven Freeman was shot and killed by his girlfriend of seven years Mary Katherine hickon inside the
home they shared now he still got a post okay let work on him okay Mary Katherine
Higden is in the living room and so is Steven Freeman he's laying right here on a mattress Mary Cath is hovering over
him and he's literally dying in front of her I'm sorry calm down okay calm Down's
alive Mary Katherine told the police that her gun went off accident that she was handing it to
Steven who like to keep it on the side of the bed at night for protection none of our guns that we've had around our
house were ever you know chambered there was never a bullet in the chamber was never my intention to
ever injure him or kill him those words ring Hollow to Steven's grieving mother Jennifer Freeman have you spoken to Mary
Katherine Higden since this all happened I have not she will never give me an answer that's going to be good enough
for me because this should never have happened Steven was 23 years old everybody just loved Steven because he
was just sweet you know just a good kid Steven's heart was huge he was a devoted
son to the most wonderful woman in the world Jennifer Treasures the note he wrote her after she had gone back to
school and completed her college degree and know that if you put your mind to it
you could accomplish all of your hopes and dreams and more I'll love you to the moon and back
Steven and that was our thing it was either I love you more or I love you to moon in back that was our little thing
what's up Stephen Steven had a happy childhood growing up in the town of Griffin Georgia always had a smile on
his face always and that was from the time that he was a little bitty baby through
adulthood he loved the outdoors loved it that was probably his passion above all
else was to be outside duck hunting deer hunting fishing camping that was where he found his peace and his comforts
Mary Katherine's Father Tom hickton and older sister Sarah say she too was a happy child then here's your host Mary
Catherine who like to put on a show bye she always was the entertainment in the room no matter what age she's just
funloving remember one time she had a pet frog that she used to walk around the neighborhood with a Sho string so um
we would say our life would be boring without her Steven and Mary Katherine began dating in high school the romance
quickly became pretty serious and they moved in together after graduating Steven worked at repairing roofs Mary
Katherine was a preschool teacher Aid did you like Mary Catherine I did I did I loved her she would eat at our house
on Sunday night with my parents and our extended family and we certainly considered Mary Katherine like a
daughter he was just you know he's just like my best friend that loved me and that was
there for me and just listen to me and we just really hit it off great we were just I guess You' say like two peas in a
Pie Mary Katherine shared Steven's passion for the outdoors before long she won over his
closest friends Thomas Skinner Andrew McCree and Chase puit what did you like about her that she made my friend Happy
happy I mean most girls won't even get in the woods for 30 minutes if she'll go fish with you for 4 hours or go deer
hunt with you then that's awesome man I'm glad you found somebody that makes you happy the couple also shared a
passion for guns how many guns did Steven own um he had I say couple shotguns uh somewhere around 10 maybe no
I probably had yeah probably around that yeah she would brag about how she would
she knew more about guns than that is because Mary Catherine landed a job selling guns at a local sporting
goods store where Thomas Skinner also worked before you're able to sell a gun you're trained and taught how to handle
it you know like how to hand somebody a gun do you believe her when she says I just held it up and it went off no no
not for a second yet that was the first story Mary Katherine told police when they arrived
at the house that night this is a Glock model 380 to detective Adam traml it also seemed like
an unlikely story is it possible for this gun to just go off accidentally not from my experience the
trigger would have to be pulled this is this is not the weapon that was used that's correct it's just the type of gun
the type of gun can you show us the process of loading the weapon and firing it yes I
can first you would load your ammunition you would insert the magazine wreck the
slide and fire the weapon police were also suspicious for another reason she claiming it was
accidental discharge uh but based on some of the evidence we've seen in the house while we were in there attending
to him uh it looked like they've been fighting Lieutenant Chris Wilson saw the evidence
firsthand now of course there are new homeowners here and everything here is it looks very nice and well kept that
wasn't the case that night there was food slung everywhere on the camps and the on the floor uh food thrown there I
guess it looked like they had been throwing it at each other it looked like there had been some some food tossed
around here as Mary Katherine Higden was taken in for questioning police knew there had to be much more to this story
[Music] Steven was the calm in the [Music] storm we used to laugh and say he would
outlive everybody because he didn't stress out about anything Jennifer Freeman struggles to understand how her
son's life could have ended so violently at the hands of a woman he loved Mary Katherine Higden listen to me we're
going to work through this okay we're going to work through it we're going to work through it all right okay just's
come with us come on get they took you to the police station they didn't take you in handcuffs they
just wanted to ask you some questions you agreed to cooperate oh yeah most definitely first one says you had the
right for Sal but did detectives Adam traml and Chris Wilson found the story that Mary Katherine told them in the
interrogation room hard to believe Mary Katherine told the police that Steven asked for the gun so she claims she
tossed it to him now he's in the living room on a mattress right there and she says when she tossed it the gun went
off when she said she tossed the gun that didn't match what I would think a normal person would do it also didn't
match what she told the investigators at the scene she told them she was simply handing the gun to Steven not tossing it
and that's when she accidentally shot him below the neck Lieutenant Wilson decided to
confront her do not over me it's my to talk I I you CH you kind of lost your cool on her not
really that's the tactic at that point we weren't buying the story so we SLA my hands I tell say
stop lying to me tell me the truth right now last time what did she do she said I
did it out of anger yeah just like that believing that they had an ironclad confession on tape
they arrested Mary Katherine Higden for murder but there was a big problem I the
only thing it [Applause] was there was nothing but feedback on most of the recording and it couldn't be fixed oh no
what can we do so at this point all you've got to say what she said was what you two remember that's
correct but they still had the forensic evidence that convince them Steven shooting was no accident so her story
was I don't keep around in the chamber correct okay what did you find on the weapon that said to you I don't know if
I believe that looks like she loaded it that night there was cooking grease on the magazine there was also grease on
the slide of the gun which tells me that the magazine had to be out at one point Browns loaded slid back into the
gun and wacked Mary Catherine had told told police she was cooking dinner for Steven
that night the same dinner they found thrown on the kitchen floor she's just very loud very very
dramatic very always over the top looking to go start an issue as investigators began to question the
couple's friends they discovered this Teenage Love Affair had turned toxic and most of the blame was being
placed on Mary Catherine eight seven times out of 10 Che yell she was bitching at Steven for
something Steven would often walk out during an argument and block Mary Katherine's number from his phone that's
because she would call him obsessively according to his coworker Elijah verella some mornings several different
occasions he would get to work and before we even got to the first job he'd have 30 Miss calls from her like she was
just blowing him off the line like his friends also told detectives Steven feared she was unstable and dangerous I
I know that she's pulled a g on him before Oh has she oh I know that I know that he's told me I mean I know I mean I
know she's done it three or four times like at least each one of you was told by Steven mhm that Mary Katherine
pointed a gun at him is that correct yes yes as soon as they said he was shot I knew what happened I knew Mary Katherine
did it on April 21st 2018 3 months before he was killed Steven texted his friend
Andrew MK is running around screaming at the top of her lungs outside and now she's trying to shoot me and
herself as alarming as that sounds it was another alleged incident the following month that left Steven badly
shaken he said you know she's pointed a guns at me multiple times he goes but uh
this time was the only time I saw a look in her eyes and I was actually scared that she might shoot me so she came up
my house that night did Steven ever report that to the police to my knowledge no I think he thought he could
handle it or I don't know he said he cares for her he doesn't want her to go to jail the relationship was on again
off again and it was a roller coaster ride right up to the end on July 30th 2018 2 days before Steven's death he
texted good morning beautiful Mary Katherine have a great day Steven you too love
you but by the next day I said are you Mary Catherine arguing and he said yes ma'am I'm not going back there tonight
and he said I'm running from Satan Steven slept at a friend's house ignoring Mary Katherine's calls and text
messages the next evening she had prepared dinner and stevenh was again Mia you called him a lot on that date 910 912
9117 923 929 9 9:38 mhm why why so many times I guess cuz it is like irritating I need to know if I
need to just you know make me a dinner I'm trying to wait to eat with you it's just one answer are you coming home yes
or no she found out through Steven's mother that he was still at his friend's house so once you told her where he was
she went after him yes of course I didn't realize that it was going to escalate and I was going to escalate as
it did and I have guilt to this day because I I responded cuz I didn't want to lie to her Steven was already driving
home with Thomas Skinner she comes out of nowhere riding our tail like right on our bumper and she pulled up beside my
truck like right beside Sten rolled her window down and she started yelling at him she said are you coming home now and
he said yes calm down I'm coming home but she was like screaming at the top of at the top of her
lungs less than two 2 hours later Steven Freeman was dead while police believe it is an open
and shut case of murder fueled by Mary Katherine's anger her defense attorneys say not so fast they claimed there was a
side to Steven Freeman that no one knew if Steven Freeman truly feared that Mary
Katherine might shoot him why didn't he leave the relationship for [Music] good I played that over my head a
million times why I couldn't finally walk away hindsight's 2020 maybe we should have done more maybe we could
have done more but Mary Katherine denies she ever pointed a gun at Steven that is until the night she
killed him well let me let me just read a text and and I want to be specific here uh Stephen text you this I know you
pointed a gun at me a bunch of times but the last time you did it scared the bleep out of me
mhm did you point a gun at him no no like I didn't because when he was saying that I had pulled a gun to kill myself I
was thinking about hurting myself if true it wasn't the first time Mary Katherine's father told
detectives both he and Steven were concerned about her suicide threats and I didn't realize until after he died
that she would tell him that if he didn't come home that she was going to kill herself um I think that's why he
stayed but by July of 2018 Steven had had enough he made plans to move to another
town with his friend Thomas and not tell Mary Katherine according to prosecutor Kate Leonard all of the signs were that
she was unraveling he was planning on moving while she was at work he never got the
chance Mary Katherine shot him 2 days before he was supposed to leave did it seem like a pretty straightforward case
yes yes there was never really any question that that she shot him she was the only one in the house besides him
she confessed to doing it what we're looking at is uh what we call the murder board the prosecution claims it
discovered Mary Katherine had revised or added details to her story 10 different
times the 911 dispatcher asks her um what happened and she says that she was just grabbing the gun to bring it to bed
remember Mary Katherine said she didn't know the gun was loaded then once officers arrive on scene then um she
starts telling the officers that that uh that she was handing Steven the gun and
then it accidentally went off according to detectives she told them in the interrogation room the gun went off when
she tossed it to Steven the story you first told them was not true yes I knew that obviously it was a Al but I
just I guess I was just scared then police say she admitted shooting him in anger
but she told her father and her sister that she and Steven had been arguing and that she shot him in self-defense he
just threw every everything that I made in my face and I just picked up the gun just to to scare him just to get him out
of the house cuz I was scared when you raised the gun at him did you say anything to him I just said get that
blank out of my house and what did he do I I remember I remember him leaning down and then he just it
just happened all so fast and then he laned down and then he lunched at me and I got scared and I kind of reared back
and then just the next thing I know he was just sorry um and then he was just bleeding she never tells the police that
he launched at her she has every opportunity to tell the police that he launched at her but she doesn't do that
Mary Katherine says she was embarrassed to tell police that Steven had a history
of violence towards her did Steph ever hit you yes not so much like where it was
like physical like punches or anything just like grabs there there was one time where you know he smacked me across the
face a lot of times um he just kind of you know like like pop me on the back of my head but Steven's friends insist
she was the violent one in the relationship you saw Mary Katherine hit Steven yes I multiple times chest
shoulders everything one time um she slapped him and he kind of grabbed her like she slapped him hard and he kind of
like grabbed her was like don't hit me but Sarah hiden believes her sister she says she saw bruising on Mary
Katherine's arm two weeks before the shooting and I wish that I would have taken a picture of it and she wouldn't
tell me at first but eventually I pulled her off to the side and I was like what is that and she
was like well Steven just grabbed me a little bit too hard I was like what are you talking about but investigators
believe the forensic evidence shows that far from defending herself Mary Katherine shot Steven In Cold Blood
while he was simply sitting on their bed there's very little blood anywhere except for right here on this corner
it's all in one area cuz Steven didn't move it tells me that this story of him lunging at her doesn't really add up the
thought being if he had gotten up and started to make his way toward her there would have been some blood that moved
beyond the bed correct everyone made a rush to judgment Mary Katherine's attorneys public defenders George
carbajal and Michael Grams insist Steven could have started to get up and go after her and they say she had good
reason to be afraid because of his alleged history of abuse what kind of abuse was Mary
Katherine subjected to um pretty much every kind telling her that um she needed to be a certain way
was showing where all the money's going uh every moment of the day um making her
let him know where she's going to be every moment of the day and what physical assaulting I think that he hit
her on the back of the head and he literally kicked her out of the bed with such force that she flew and hit her
head on the on the door frame did Mary Katherine ever called 911 to report any of this
abuse no she always thought that it was her and that she needed to do something better and it was her fault that she was
making Steven angry you know some of Steven's friends say that she was the abusive one mm verbally pointed a gun at
him more than once nobody ever saw that all of that came from Steven [Music] the defense team claims it uncovered
evidence of Steven's Jackel and Hyde personality and an angry tiate of text messages that Steven sent to Mary
Katherine a year prior the 63 Pages or whatever of hateful horrible threatening text
messages that was what really really corroborated it these texts are from an old phone of Mary Catherine's the
prosecutors didn't even know existed Steve had discovered that Mary Katherine slept with a friend of his while they
were broken up the language is so ugly we can't repeat most of it but there was also a photo of him holding up a dead
fish with the caption this is you [ __ ] as well as a threat I'm going to effing
wreck you for Wrecking me did you know he was talking to her like that I didn't but I do know that he was a human being
and he was hurt he was angry and I don't condone the language I don't condone what he
did the defense claims this is just the tip of the iceberg as Mary Katherine takes the
stand at her trial her testimony takes the courtroom by surprise what is the Red
Room um it's like one of those I guess sex rooms off of 50 Shades of Gray [Music]
Balon County Superior Court is now in session The Honorable Scott Hill balard is Judge presiding thank you y'all be
seated please on June 17th 2019 almost a year after Steven Freeman's death 24-year-old Mary Katherine Higden goes
on trial for murder what do you think is your strongest evidence it's a physical
evidence the grease on the gun that there was no other person present that all of the blood is in one area there's
nothing that shows that he was moving or coming at her at the time that he was shot the text messages of her trying to
get him to come home calling over and over and over prosecutor Kate Leonard says the
physical evidence supports her theory that Mary Katherine shot Steven in Anger after he hadn't come home for dinner and
ignored her calls and text messages but there were still some hurdles to overcome kind if you want to tell me
what what went on tonight you know in the very beginning I the think it was that is your confession sure and
it's pretty much inaudible yes how do you mess up the confession um especially when it's such
a powerful confession was this gun is in an Evidence bag cuz we secured it when we
made entry first responders moov the gun found next to Steven Freeman claiming they feared that Mary Catherine was
reaching for it we didn't take pictures of it before we removed it before we mov
it all right as a prosecutor when you heard the cops say we move the gun we moved it for safety reasons why did that
bother you because you could just as easily have moved her for safety reasons leave the gun where it is that's rule
number one you don't mess with the murder weapon you're under the defense called Mary Catherine hion now facing
the possibility of life in prison Mary Katherine Higden made the risky [Music] decision to take the stand the whole
truth so God yes when it was good it was good but when it was bad it was bad Mary
Katherine tearfully paints a portrait of Steven as an abusive and controlling boyfriend I he'd expect you know his
clothes all ready and fold it in his shoes where it needed to be he'd want me to make sure his shower was started for
him while he often seemed to have one foot out the door Mary Katherine says Steven would angrily accuse her of
cheating on him and I was like Steven you saw that we were just in there talking and he just said no I know you
you know you're just a [ __ ] the defense introduces those ugly threatening messages that Steven said
after finding out Mary Catherine had slept with of his at least now I know what you once again were what everyone
told me not to get with when I picked your scrub ass up out of the mud and made you [ __ ] Mary Katherine claims his
text frightened her because the relationship had become violent he said The more you talk the more you get
punished when I get home how did you understand the threat of being punished when you would get home he you know
smack me around sometimes he would grab me and shake me and say you know why can't you just do better and be better
and just do what I tell you to do the details are graphic okay but they are just the beginning he
said I miss you too much I'm coming home to you and you're about to get it bad you're going to the Red Room
tonight what is the Red Room um it's like one of those I guess sex rooms off at 50 Shades of Gray I
don't want out I just I'm not exactly jumping at the opportunity to get whipped and tortured in your Red Room of
pain it wasn't any specific room but it was just when like we would bring out like these certain things that we had
bought what would happen in the Red Room um he'd just tie me up and hit me Mary Catherine tells the court that on two
occasions the rough sex turned into rape one time she says it was just after the
couple had returned from a trip to world he started hurting me really really bad I said Sten please
stop and he said he said that say he spends so much money at me at Disney I need to give him
what he deserves to get up there and call a dead man a rapist that's disgusting she had never
told anyone that before how convenient to wait until you're sitting on The Stand Accused of his
murder and he can't defend himself but Mary Catherine insists that's why she was so afraid of Steven the night she
shot him and she adds a new detail claiming Steven became angry after finding out she wanted to end the
relationship so he started throwing things started you know pushing me around and that's when I got
scared and I just wanted him out of the house and then that's the next thing I remember is him lunging at me and then
the next thing that I remember them is him standing there saying call 911 what she leaves out of her testimony
is the moment she pulled the trigger I never wanted to hurt him I never wanted anything like that I didn't even know it
was chambered him Kate Leonard isn't buying any of it in her cross-examination she confronts
Mary Catherine for never having complained about Steven's alleged abuse can I give you a minute to show me in
those text messages between you and he and you and every other person that was in your cell phone where you talk about
him being physically violent I never talked about it only with friends I never text it
out then the prosecutor has her own surprise for the court hours before killing Steven Mary Katherine was
searching violent internet pornography sites while at a babysit job all of those and many more you looked up when
Steven was not with you but it was him that liked the Red Room is that your testimony yes I looked at things for
ideas cuz obviously he's gone I wanted to please him the woman who just told you that she was
raped looks at gang rape porn bondage porn why would you relive that trauma now Mary Katherine Higman is
about to find out if the jury believes [Music] her Mary Katherine Higden spared no
detail in her emotional testimony about alleged abuse by Steven Freeman so when anytime i' would stand up for myself or
you know kind of retaliate he said don't don't hit me cuz if you hit me I'm would
to hit you 10 times harder you make thank you now it's the prosecution's last chance to argue that none of it is
true this is not a case of self-defense this is a case of manipulation in closing arguments Kate
Leonard reminds the jury of the different stories Mary Katherine told the police the gun was tampered it was
an accident I tossed it I don't know what happened I was scared I was angry but she did not tell them that she was
abused abused and the prosecutor does not believe she was when your abuser is out of the house and you are
safe are you as a victim of domestic violence going to track down your abuser where he is with his friends are you
going to go and track him down does that make sense the prosecutor says Mary Catherine's rage boiled over on the
night of August 1st 2018 after Steven finally came home and then refused to eat the dinner that she
had prepared look at me Steven look at me Steven and when he doesn't he is shot in the left side of the neck where you
know that he's not facing her he never sees it coming in his closing argument defense attorney
Michael Grams focuses on Steven's alleged history of abuse those were his words the more you do this the more
you're get going to get punished grams brings up those ugly texts that Steven sent Mary Katherine a year prior that
torrent of demeaning hatred texts is probably the worst Ty ra that I've ever seen and I'm a criminal
defense lawyer then he recounts Mary Katherine's most serious allegation that Steven raped her and she's crying and
she's telling him it hurts stepen stop stepen you're hurting me his answer well I spent money on you at Disney so I'm
entitled to this he insists Mary Katherine saw the same frightening look in Steven's eyes just before she shot
him Mary Catherine hion knew exactly what was [Music] coming grams demonstrates his point with
an unusual prop as a metaphor does anybody have any doubt about what's going to happen
next you may now retire to the jury r as the case heads to the jury the drama is far
from over I just knew it was a major responsibility two of the jurors Victor and Chris were feeling the weight of
their burden and I knew pretty much no matter what you vote one family gets hurt you destroy one side of that
courtroom no matter what you vote within minutes of getting the case the jury took its first
vote 10-2 guilty but then and I knew that I was about to be the one to upset that apple cart so I
went ahead and did that both Chris and Victor told their fellow jurors that they shared the defense's concerns about
the investigation starting with that lost confession the very beginning I the only thing it
was inside I was like are you kidding me I mean I know this isn't a major city but it's audio equipment she's still in
custody why are you not going to bring her back in to at least speak with her again but Mary Catherine had already
obtained a lawyer where's he going and they question why the police moved the gun that was used to shoot
Steven it's ludicrous to argue that it's easier to move the gun than it was to move her what also troubled them
prosecutors had cracked open Mary Katherine's cell phone for texts social media and search histories but they
decided not to spend another $1,800 to unlock Steven's phone it was too expensive to pay another two grand
to crack his phone open and let's see what kind of person he was to try to you know dispute the rape and abuse
allegations or back them up they didn't do that but you could already get those messages on Mary Katherine's phone no we
get the message between them two we don't get what he was talking about with his homeboys or what he was looking up
online and all Chris and Victor say they were left with serious STS about all of
the prosecution's evidence all of it's tainted from the way the cops handled the investigation well if you don't have
any evidence you don't have a case I didn't have any proof that she had done much anything except for lying and those
lies didn't seem to bother either juror if I was being arrested for potentially murdering somebody I would I probably
would get scared enough that I would just come up with whatever story I could but that almost seems like you're making
an excuse for her not making an excuse just I'm just empathizing with this the situation and in toxic relationships
there are mountains and mountains and mountains of Lies by the next afternoon it was clear
their arguments had made an impact and so the jury had a verdict we the jury find as follows count one
malice murder we find the defendant not guilty count two felony murder we find the defendant not guilty
not guilty of murder as well as the Lesser charges of assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a
felony and I'm just sitting there and I'm thinking I have failed this family and that was hard we did good
work on this case say that you don't trust the police because of the the interview say you don't trust the
forensic evidence you still have the 911 tapes where she says I shot my boyfriend
two hours later Mary Katherine Higden was a free woman oh I cannot believe this is
happening right now as she watched the woman who killed her son walk free Jennifer Freeman could
barely contain her anger toward the jury Steven definitely got the short end of the stick because I don't believe that
they even listened Victor insists he was just following the law I think she killed him
and that's wrong but you voted not guilty because of the evidence am I understanding you
correctly to say that because the police screwed up she's not guilty I didn't say
she's not guilty she's not in prison the jury found you not guilty on all the charges do you feel any
guilt because I love stepen and I never meant that to ever happen to [Music] him 48 Hours don't miss an
[Music] episode [Music]

A young woman says she accidentally shot her boyfriend. Police say she confessed to murder – but there’s no audio to prove it. What will the jury decide? CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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

Brief Summary

Mary Katherine Higden shot her boyfriend Steven Freeman, claiming self-defense, but was acquitted of all charges in a controversial trial.

Key points

A Tragic Call. On August 1, 2018, a call reveals a shooting victim, leading to a chaotic investigation.
Conflicting Stories. Mary Katherine claims the shooting was an accident, but evidence suggests otherwise.
The Night of the Shooting. Mary Katherine's frantic call to 911 reveals the chaos of the night Steven was shot.
A Love Turned Toxic. Friends reveal the volatile nature of Steven and Mary Katherine's relationship.
Unraveling Truths. Mary Katherine's story changes multiple times, raising suspicion among investigators.
Mary Katherine's Emotional Testimony. Mary Katherine describes her abusive relationship with Steven and the night of the shooting.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I cannot lose him, I cannot lose him!

A frantic girlfriend pleads for help as her boyfriend lies dying.

1:23WatchMay 21, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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