Thou Shalt Not Kill | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] I remember the last day quite well. Uh the day that it happened. >> Memories of her voice are definitely in
in my head. >> Bradley. Bradley over here, honey. When my mother was murdered, I was about
seven and a half years old. [Music] >> Far Fro, a very pretty lady. Her story was pretty tragic once she married Bob.
The marriage was um in a lot of trouble. A divorce was pending. It was November the 9th, 1994.
Uh that was an evening where Far had stopped to get her haircut with no idea about what was going to
happen at the time. Far was getting her haircut. The shooter and the getaway driver were
in a car together on the way to Far's house and the shooter was going to hide in the backyard.
On that same evening, Bob had picked up all three of the kids. It was his night for visitation. and he took me, my
brother, and my sister. We all went to uh church. [Music] >> Oh, while we were at the church, um they
would have us doing just a bunch of little fun activities, which also involved praying.
>> Hail Mary, full of grace. >> So, Far got her hair done, pulled into her garage.
It just so happened that when Far came home that night and backed into her garage, the neighbors that lived
directly across from the garage saw her come home. We heard something outside like a a pop
and I got up to look out the window. And as I was doing that, we heard a scream and I saw Far
and then we heard another shot >> and I saw her laying down there by her car. Um, it was at that time when we realized
she wasn't getting up that we dialed 911. >> Men County, what is your emergency?
>> Yes. I just saw a shooting, please. >> Just started giving them a playbyplay of
what we were seeing. >> The car that just pulled up, the suspect is behind a tree.
>> Okay, ma'am. A black man had just got in the car there, but we It was a silver
car, I believe. One burnt out headlight. The suspect just took off. Dear Jesus, help this woman.
Now at the hour of our death. Amen. >> After leaving the catechism class, we went back to the house.
>> The first thing I remember was just the all the yellow tape everywhere. >> Bob Fra was nowhere near the murder
scene when Far was shot. He had definite proof to say Bob wasn't there. Bob was at catechism with us.
I just remember arriving there and my dad acting very surprised as to what was going on.
>> How many people use church as their alibi and use their own children as their alibi?
>> Who does that? Thou shalt not kill. [Music] [Music] I came home about 7:00 from work and my
wife had just prepared a nice hot meal for me. Lex and Betty Bacher couldn't know it when they sat down for dinner
that November night, but they were enjoying the last few moments of life as they knew it. The telephone rang. It was
maybe 2 minutes after 8:00. >> It was a neighbor with news. >> Betty Far's been shot.
>> Oh my god. >> Their only daughter, Farra, had been ambushed. Two bullets to her head.
I don't know how fast I drove. I have no idea. And when we went there, the lights
were all over the place and the cop was trying to stop us. >> They wouldn't let me go to far. I said,
"I am the mother. I need to get to my child." >> I got to her. She was alive. She was face up, but she
was having convulsion. One of the paramedics said, "She has lost a lot of blood. I suggest you all
hurry up and go to the hospital." >> Farah was 33, a mother of three, and she was dying.
Medics rushed her to a chopper, but it was too late. >> I just couldn't believe it. I refused to
believe that she was dead. I just stood there and kept staring at her. >> Her eyes were open and I just put my
hand on her, just shut her eyes and I felt her. She was cold. It hurts so much. [Music]
Just one person destroying a mother and three kids. son. >> The first thing that came out of my
mouth, where is that son of a [ __ ] >> Which son of a [ __ ] >> Talking about my son-in-law, Bob Fra.
>> I knew immediately that Bob had something to do with it. >> Bob Fraa, their daughter's estranged
husband. They'd been married for 11 years and were involved in a messy divorce. >> He was fighting for the kids. She was
fighting for the kids. >> A painful custody battle over 7-year-old Bradley. 6-year-old Daniel and
four-year-old Amber was scheduled for trial in less than 3 weeks. >> Were you afraid for the safety of your
friend Farra? >> Yes, I was. >> Kitty Waters Sneed worked alongside Farra at American Airlines for years and
was Far's closest friend. >> I knew it was Bob >> right away. >> Right away. To the outside world, Bob Frada was an
upstanding citizen working in public safety as both a police officer and a fireman.
>> Bye-bye. >> A man who doted on his three children. >> Say bye, Bradley. Say bye-bye.
>> But there was apparently a very different side to Bob Fraa. >> They were things that it embarrassed her
to talk about. Farah told Kitty her husband wanted her to do things to him sexually that not only embarrassed her,
they sickened her. >> She showed me some stains in the closet where some things went on.
>> Farra detailed all of Bob's sexual desires in her divorce papers and Fra's secret was about to become public
record. >> There was things that he liked to have performed that I don't know if CBS wants
to air on prime time. After her death, Detective Larry Davis read Far's papers. >> How strange were these requests?
>> Real strange. >> She had to get out. Had to. For the kids' sake, they couldn't be around
something like that. >> Farah threw Bob out of the house, and as the court date approached, she seemed
more and more on edge. >> She had asked me if I felt Bob would ever have her murdered. And police
believe Farra had good reason to be afraid of Bob. >> 911. What's the emergency? I had
somebody come in my house and just threaten my life. >> Just months before her murder, Farah
called 911 in a panic and Larry Davis rushed to her house. >> She was upset. She was crying. What did
she tell you had happened? She was in bed and a male came into her house, had a mask on
and stunned her with a stun gun. She was terrified. >> The attacker broke in through a window
and attacked Farra in front of her three young children. >> I woke up to my mother screaming.
>> Bradley, the oldest, was just seven. >> I had no idea really what was going on.
All I know was my mother was in danger and something wasn't right. Daniel Farah's second son was five.
>> We were just screaming, crying outside the door, "Let our mommy go. Leave her
alone. Leave her alone." >> Farah suspected the intruder was a friend of Bob Fraas. Whoever it was
fled, leaving an injured Farah with her terrified children, and he was never caught.
>> She thought her husband had something to do with it. In his gut, Detective Davis
believed her. But without concrete proof, all he could do was warn Bob. >> I said, "Bob, I know what you're up to.
It's not going to work. You need to leave her alone." >> 4 months later, Farah was dead and
Detective Davis was called to the scene again. >> I said, "Bob, I told you to leave her
alone." And he told me I didn't do anything. [Music] In fact, Fra's alibi was hard to beat.
Plenty of people saw him in church with his three young children while his wife was being murdered.
But police were sure, even if Bob wasn't at the scene, he at least had something
to do with the killing, especially when they searched his car. >> What did they find in the car? $1,000.
>> The $1,000 was in the glove compartment. Bob explained that it was money to buy
new carpeting. >> $1,000. Is that unusual in these parts? >> Well, $1,000 is not unusual. Uh $1,000
in your glove box on the night that your wife is murdered surely raises a lot of
suspicion. >> What sorts of suspicion? >> Would believe that that may be money to
pay off a hitman. Frana wasn't doing himself any favors that night while detectives interrogated
him for hours. >> I asked him a question that still sticks out in my mind today and the way he
answered it. I said, "Bob, what should happen to somebody that kills somebody?" He said, "They should go to jail
forever." I said, "What should happen to somebody that has their wife killed?" And he told me it depended on the
circumstances. >> What did you make of that? I walked out and I said he killed her.
>> But the police couldn't prove it. So they had to let Bob Fra go even though they believed they were letting a killer
walk free. >> I hope they find the guy >> soon. He's just happy golucky. He's cheesing to the camera. He gave all
indications that he thought he was going to get away with this murder. [Music] [Music]
When the children woke up the next morning, >> "Hi, Grandpa." >> They just sat up and they looked at me,
[Music] >> they must be saying to themselves, "Where's my mother?" >> Their mother had just been murdered and
their father was the prime suspect. >> Oh my god. and Lex and Betty Bocker had to tell their grandchildren what
happened. >> So I sat them down in the bed, all three of them. I said, "Mommy's no longer with
us." Bradley said to me, "Where is she?" I said, "Baby, she died last night." >> I just remember
crying for hours. >> Bradley, over here, honey, >> why did this happen to me? Why has this
happened to my mother? >> It was terrible. I mean, you know, hysterically crying to try to calm them
down. They were crying. I were crying. He walks in the room. He starts crying. >> For like 5 years after it happened, I
thought every day I was going to wake up and it was going to be a dream. >> I cried for weeks and weeks afterwards.
>> Hi, Daniel. [Music] >> I kept saying, "Where's my mom?" You know, "Where's mom? When's she coming
back?" Amber. Amber. >> And people would have to just look at me brokenheartedly and tell me, you know,
she's not she's not coming back. She's gone forever. >> Amber was most affected.
Every night going to bed, she would cry for her mother. I mean, hysterically crying.
Grandpa, please. Tugging on his shirt. Please, please open the box. I want to say bye-bye me. I promise you
one more time. Just this one time. Then I let you put the nail in. She put that little finger up.
She wanted to see her mother. Betty and her husband Lex were in mourning themselves for the death of
their daughter. On top of that, Bob Frada had been released by the police and was now trying to get custody of the
children. You're fighting for custody of your grandchildren with the man who you
believed at the bottom of your soul killed your daughter. It was a very difficult situation, but you don't think
at that time. All you want to do is save these innocent children. >> And you cannot let these children go.
>> Bye. >> While FTO is making his case for custody, detectives were building their
case against him. >> We just follow him. We find out where he goes. Anywhere he visits, we're going to
visit. We know he likes to go to the gym. >> And it was at the gym that Detective
Larry Davis heard about some interesting conversations Frada had been having about his wife.
>> He said, "I'm going to find a way to knock her off." >> Mike Edens worked out with Frada.
>> And I said, "Knock her off?" He goes, "Yeah." >> He says Bob asked him if he knew someone
who would kill her. Hey, you know anybody who killed my wife? I'm trying to get my wife killed.
>> What about some of these people you work with? Think they might be interested? I
don't know. >> Just sort of a casual conversation. >> Exactly. Yes. >> Around the gym. Yes.
>> Talking about knocking off his wife. >> Yes. Yes. >> He never thought Fra was serious.
>> Thought nothing of it. >> Just frustrated by the divorce. >> But Fra sure did like talking about
killing his wife. >> He asked me if I knew of anybody. Jimmy Padorski also worked out at the gym.
>> Seemed to be pretty much what he wanted to talk about >> to you. >> To me and everybody else. Yes.
>> There were a lot of them. >> And according to prosecutor Kelly Seagler, >> 15 17 different guys.
>> They all said pretty much the same thing as Mike and Jimmy. >> What do all these guys prove?
>> They prove motive. And apparently Frada had put some thought into how to have his wife
murdered. >> He had a list of her daily activities. >> And he said, "I'll get a gun."
>> He was going to solicit a gang member. >> But none of Fra's gym buddies thought of
calling the police. "What are you thinking?" >> He's going to come to his senses and,
you know, he's just blowing off steam. >> Pedorski says Frada even discussed how
much he'd pay a hitman. >> There wasn't a lot of money up front. maybe a thousand, $2,000.
>> It didn't uh raise any red flags, though. >> If it was anybody else, probably. So,
but just knowing Bob, he was so likable and he was very kind. You didn't take him serious.
>> Maybe he wasn't serious. >> Oh, he was serious. Deadly. >> But if Froto was serious, his efforts to
cover his tracks were a joke. Police got a big break when they came here to St. Mary's the church where Fra was with his
kids at the time of the murder. Trouble is, while he spent some time in the pews, he spent a lot of time on the
phone. >> A lot of the ladies of the church recalled Bob being on and off the phone.
>> And the church ladies weren't the only ones who remembered Bob making calls that evening.
>> Bradley was seven, and Bradley remembered Daddy being on the phone a lot. Then
>> Fra's beeper kept going off and he used the church phone to return the calls.
The police were certain he was calling the killer, but when they traced the calls, they were led to a woman they had
never heard of before. >> He came back to a woman named Mary Gip. Did you go talk to Mary Gip? We tried to
talk to her. Yes. >> I didn't give them any information that they wanted. >> She didn't tell us a whole lot.
>> Perhaps I wasn't cooperative. Investigators were sure Mary Gip was hiding something big.
>> In my mind, she was the key to this case, >> especially when they learned about her
live-in boyfriend. His name, Joseph Price Stash. He was an ex-con and he liked to work out with Bob Frada. But
Mary Gip had no intention of revealing anything. >> She was a witch. She was a smart alec. I
don't know why I did what I did. She was a [ __ ] [Music] Somebody shot. >> Yes.
>> Stay on the line. Let me connect you to the ambulance service. >> Mary Gib knew it all. Who killed Farraa?
Why and how? But for almost 4 months after the murder, she told the police nothing.
>> But I didn't give them any information that they wanted. Detectives would have to find some way
to make her talk. They knew the prime suspect, Far's husband, Bob, had called Gib's cell phone and pager hours before
and right after the murder, but that's all they knew. And until they learned more, they had to let Fraa remain free
and see his children. >> I explained to the children what would happen. Social worker Judy Cox monitored
Bob's visits and tried to help the children cope with their mother's murder. >> Amber asked the most questions. Do you
know that the bad guys put bullets in my mommy's head? >> That's what she said. >> Yes.
>> What do you say to a child who says that? >> Yes, baby. I do know that. And that's
about all you can say to him. >> And I hope they find the guy. My job was to keep an eye on him
>> soon >> to make sure that Mr. Frada didn't try to take off with the kids. >> Detective Larry Davis continued tailing
Frada and almost daily they would have the same conversation. >> He said, "Hey, Larry." I said, I said,
"Bob." And he goes, "Am I going to jail today?" And I said, "Not today, Bob. Soon, but
not today." >> But that day would never come if Mary Gip didn't start talking. So prosecutors
hauled her before a grand jury. >> I said, "Wait a minute. Are you charging me with murder?"
And he said, "Yes." And I went, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute here. Wait a minute."
>> Within hours, Mary Gip made a deal. She'd cooperate if she wasn't prosecuted.
>> After I was given immunity for my testimony, I just told him everything. Everything I knew. She said
her boyfriend Joe Price Dash, who knew Frraa from the gym, was hired by him to set up the murder.
>> They had my neighbor involved in it. He's going to shoot her and kill her. >> According to Mary Gib, Price Dash hired
that neighbor, 18-year-old Howard Gidri, to be the trigger man. Gidri would get $1,000.
Joe Price Dash would drive Gidri to the murder scene, pick him up afterwards, and use Gib's cell phone to tell Bob
Fraa when it was done. >> He told me that Bob was going to take his children on Wednesday to church, and
that's when they were going to wait for her and that's when they were going to kill her.
>> He told you that? >> Yes. >> Did you ever think of calling the police? >> No.
>> You could have stopped it. >> I could have. I I really just didn't want to deal with it to be honest with
you. You know, there's And that sounds disgusting, but it's easier just to not do anything than it is to confront it
and say, "Okay, this is going down." I didn't want to be a part of it. >> But Mary Gip knew Far. They both worked
out at the gym. >> Had you done the right thing back then, >> Far would be alive. Those three kids
would >> have a mom. [Music] Instead, while Price Stash and Gidri were killing Farra, Mary Gip was home,
killing time. Do you remember what you were doing? >> I was watching at that particular time,
I was watching ice skating. >> She waited for her boyfriend to return. Did you say anything to him?
>> I asked him if she was dead. That was the only thing I asked. >> And what did he say?
>> And he said yes. And I said, "How do you know?" And he said, "Because I was there
and I saw her." >> And then Mary Gib and Joe Price Dash had sex. >> I have no idea what kind of a soul she's
got. She has no soul. She's a monster. She's a demon. She's a >> soul of a devil. When Far's parents
heard prosecutors gave Mary Gip immunity, it sounded to them like a deal with the devil.
>> If anybody should be 6 feet underground is her, not my daughter. She could have saved my daughter.
>> But without GIP, the prosecutors could not make as strong a case against Bob Fraa. How important a witness was she?
>> Number one. >> Here's why. When Price Stash left Gib's house after the murder, he left the gun
behind and she began collecting evidence. >> I took all the information off of the
gun and wrote it down on a blue sticky pad. >> What information? >> The information on the serial number.
Anything that was on the side of the gun, I wrote down. >> Why did you write down that information
as opposed to calling the cops and saying, "My boyfriend just killed somebody." >> I don't know.
After Mary Gib got immunity, she gave police that serial number she copied down and they ran it immediately. That's
when they learned the gun had been purchased by suspect number one. >> Keep my mouth shut.
>> That trace came back to Robert Allen. >> Police didn't have to look far for this
gun. It was right under their noses in one of their own evidence rooms. It had been used in a bank robbery after the
murder. And luckily for detectives, the alleged bank robber had been caught with
it. He was in jail and his name was Howard Gidri. >> To my right is Howard Gidry.
>> Gidry was questioned. >> It wasn't long before he confessed to everything and he even went with police
to the murder scene. >> I pulled the gun gun up and I shot him once in the head >> to show them how he did it. She like
fell to the side and as I started to run out, she wasn't really dead. So I turned
around and I closed my eyes and I shot her one more time in the head. >> The dominoes were falling quickly.
After Gidri confessed, Price Stash was arrested and also confessed. They were both charged with murder. They fingered
Fraata and five months after the crime, Bob Fraata, who hoped a well-timed trip to church would shield him from
suspicion, was arrested and charged with murdering the mother of his three children.
>> His handcuffs are awfully tight and I didn't do it. >> Proving that he did will be harder than
prosecutors thought. By the time the trial began, Price Stash and Gidri said their confessions were coerced, withdrew
them, and refused to testify. To back up Mary Gib's details of the conspiracy, prosecutors would have to call one
witness who saw Bob Fraa making all those phone calls the night of the murder. >> He was still a baby. We did not want to
scar him for life. >> Prosecutor Kelly Seagler had no choice. Fra's young son, Bradley, was called to
testify against his own father. It >> was horrible. To have to have a child come into a courtroom and talk about it,
much less see their dad. And he still loved his dad was horrible. >> But it worked. Bob Frada was convicted
of murdering his wife. It took the jury less than one hour. He was sentenced to death along with Price Stash and Gidri.
>> Remember how you felt? >> Relief. Relief that it's done. That it's over. That we did our job and that the right
thing happened. >> Of course, it wasn't over. It wasn't even close to over. >> I got a phone call on my cell phone.
Kelly, have you heard the news? And I remember stopping and feeling sick and wanting to throw up.
4 years after his murder conviction, nobody thought Bob Fra was going anywhere but the Texas death chamber.
And they were all wrong. >> Have you ever felt like blood drains through your body?
13 years after the murder, a federal judge threw out Fraata's conviction, ordered a new trial, and set off a new
round of legal wrangling. My head was spinning. >> The judge said, "There is no doubt that
Fraata is a vile man, but there was testimony linking Frada to the murder that should never have been admitted."
And suddenly, there is a very real chance. >> I was nervous. Very nervous. that Bob
Fra will be set free. >> I was shocked. Who in their right mind could let somebody like that, you know,
have a retrial? It's kind of scary. >> Fat's daughter is now 18. She should be getting ready for her high school prom.
Instead, she's getting ready for her father's second murder trial. >> If he ever gets out, what will I do?
What will my family do? He knows where we live. This is your father you're talking about. You think he would you
think he would? >> I mean I honestly think that he would come to the our house and you know I
feel like I would be put in a harmful situation if he ever got out. >> He's a psychopath.
>> Fra's children have spent their lives struggling with the knowledge that their
father killed their mother. >> I was always upset. I'd see kids with their dads or their mothers and I was
always jealous, always mad. >> For as long as Daniel can remember, he's had to explain to other kids why his
parents aren't around. >> I remember one kid especially saying, "Haha, I have a mother and you don't."
>> Daniel punched that kid and as he got older, he had trouble controlling his anger.
>> I feel like it's all directed towards my dad. He's the reason why I'm angry so
much. >> You're doing good, Bradley. For Bradley, Fra's eldest child, the hardest part is
reconciling the happy times he remembers before the murder with learning about the crime his father is accused of.
>> I don't think I really believed it at that time that he did it. Even to this day, I myself,
I'm not 100% sure that he's the one that did this. If the first trial didn't convince him,
the second one might because the state would have to prove its case against his father all over again.
>> There was a very, very good chance that a court someday was going to give him a
new trial. >> Mike Charlton, Fra's original attorney, thought it was long overdue after all
the mistakes he saw in Fra's first trial. There was nothing fair about this trial. Nothing the prosecution had done.
Nothing that the judge had done. Nothing about the evidence the way it came in was fair.
>> The problems began with those confessions that Fra's alleged co-conspirators, Joe Price Stash and
Howard Gidri, withdrew before Fraata's first trial. Both men refused to testify in that trial, but the prosecution still
managed to get their statements before the first jury by calling a police officer to testify about them.
>> Did you know that they were calling the police officer to testify about these
confessions? >> No. >> Were you surprised? >> Yes. I was flabbergasted. I I mean, I
truly was stunned that anybody would have the audacity to try to do this. The jury heard testimony that Price Stash
admitted he was hired to arrange the murder. >> I immediately started screaming. I never
sat down for the next two days. I was objecting every chance I had. >> The Constitution says that defendants
have the right to cross-examine people who accuse them of crimes. But since neither Gidri nor Price Dash took the
stand, there was no way to cross-examine them. >> That was just fundamentally wrong.
>> Is this a a major transgression? Yes, absolutely. And I'm not exaggerating. It
was an appalling moment in criminal justice. >> Kelly Seagler, very experienced, very
tough prosecutor. She crossed the line. >> I think so. Yes. >> Intentionally? >> Yes.
>> Did you go over the line? >> No. >> I mean, you are a type A prosecutor. You'll have to admit it. I mean, is it
not possible that you would have gone however slightly over the line? Listen, when you're a prosecutor, you want to
make dang sure you have the right person who's committed a crime. And when I'm convinced that I have and all the
evidence points to that person being guilty, I will very aggressively following the law and following the
rules, do everything that I can to make that case strong enough to withstand a conviction and appeal. Yes, I'll do
that. >> But in federal court, Fra won a new trial. Those confessions from Gidri and
Price Dash, the ones they said were coerced, were thrown out. And Mary Gib's crucial testimony linking Fraata to the
plot, was ruled hearsay and also tossed out. Did you agree with any of the federal court decisions?
>> No. >> Not one bit of it? >> No. How can you say that all the evidence against Bob Frada is hearsay
evidence when you have those phone records? You had that divorce motivation. You have all those people he
solicited. You have the weapon. No, I I don't agree. >> For Fra's new trial, two new
prosecutors, Denise Bradley and Mia Magnus, will try to make the case against Frada, almost 15 years after the
crime and without a lot of the key evidence. >> I was kind of left with the notion of,
well, what's left? When you go into a trial where so much evidence has been taken away from you, it's frightening.
It's really scary. Oh my god, how in the world are we going to be able to get a conviction?
Daddy's little girl. >> What do I know? >> I always knew I was just going to, you
know, give him a piece of my mind. pretty much put him in his place. >> Farah and Bob Fraata's daughter, Amber,
hasn't seen her father since she was four, and he went to death row. She hasn't wanted to until now when he could
be set free. >> I have to see him before this retrial happened. >> To see him, she has to go to the jail.
>> I was petrified. >> Where he's awaiting his new trial. >> Wow, I'm really doing this. I'm really
about to meet my father face to face for the first time in like 14 years. >> It didn't go well. He had a grin on his
face like he had no emotion to him at all. >> Amber didn't ask him if he killed her
mother. She always believed he did, but she was hoping he'd show a little remorse.
>> He had the nerve to tell me, "Please go to Christian counseling." By then, I had
heard enough from him. I basically let him know that when he does die and get that needle in his arm, I want to be
there. >> Do you really mean that? You really want to be there and see him die? Honestly,
when it comes down to it, I I do think that he deserves it. You know what, Bob? I'll see you in court. Bye.
>> Prosecutors Mia Magnus. >> It was lots of sleepless nights. >> And Denise Bradley,
>> we can't dwell on what we don't have anymore. >> Are going to have to muster every bit of
evidence they can. >> He's got the motive >> if they're going to make Frada finally
pay for murdering his wife. And so what are your two or three strongest pieces of evidence that you can present?
>> The phone calls, the gun, all the other people he'd solicited. >> I don't think they have a case.
>> But Fra's new lawyers, Randy McDonald. >> He might very well walk out of this
courtroom. >> And Viven King, >> we don't think that the government had the correct theory of actually what
happened. should have an easier time defending him this time around since the appeals court threw out so much crucial
evidence like the confessions of his co-conspirators. The key to their defense for this new
trial could be those workout buddies who all thought he was joking when he talked
about killing his wife. >> They thought he was kidding for good reason because he actually was kidding.
But Joseph Price Stash, they argue, saw an opportunity to kill Farah and blackmail Bob. And that may be why they
were phoning each other at the church that night. >> Price Stash setting him up to say, "We
just did this thing. You need to pay me off." >> That defies logic. No thug is going to
commit that level of crime without a promise of something of benefit. The defense also thinks it can explain that
serial number that Mary Gib copied off the gun which led police directly to Frada.
>> The police already had the gun in custody. They easily could have had her write that down.
>> The idea that they would manufacture evidence to convict an innocent person is is sort of repugnant.
>> The lines are drawn. >> The right thing happened the first time. >> All rise. We want the right thing to
happen for the second time. >> Bob Fraata is about to get one more chance at freedom.
>> I'm very concerned. No doubt about it. >> He's guilty. He's got to be guilty.
>> There is no iod of evidence saying that he hired anybody. >> The defendant continued to seek out
people over and over and over again, looking for the person who could get the job done.
>> There's no proof that money ever exchanged hands. He even supplies the gun. >> In the end, prosecutors convinced the
judge to allow Mary Gip to say what she saw her boyfriend do after the murder. The judge wouldn't allow audio
recording. GIP also told the jury about the gun. >> It all came back. I have to relive the
whole thing all over again. >> It's now up to the jurors who have to consider weeks of testimony and piles of
evidence. Did I do enough? Did I do my best? >> The wait for a verdict is taking its
toll. >> All right. >> Finally, after 2 days of deliberation, >> we the jury find the defendant Robin
Allen Frada guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment. >> Bob Frada is found guilty again. But
it's still not over. One week later, the jury is back deciding what is now the most important question. Whether to send
Fraa back to death row. As long as he's living, he is definitely a threat to my family.
>> Amber is so afraid of Frada, even though he's behind bars, that she's agreed to
take the stand during this sentencing hearing. Amber asked jurors to send her own father to the death chamber.
>> What did you tell the jury that you missed in your life? >> My mom wasn't there for my first date,
my first kiss, and she won't be there for the birth of my kids. On top of everything, this is her
birthday. She's 19 today. >> The judge had said, "It's going to be on your birthday." So, I was like ready for
it that day. >> But some of the most damning evidence against Fraa may come from his own lips.
>> You look so sexy and delicious to me. Prosecutors played jailhouse recordings
of Fraa calling a female admirer who sent him photos. >> You bring out the animal in me
>> and flirting while the jury was out. >> That's the day that you went out and you
started deliberating while they are working hard trying to make a decision about his future.
>> Right now you're all I'm thinking about leaving. >> He's unfaced. I mean, doesn't that show
you who he is? And while his lawyers are fighting to spare his life, Fra says something to
his lady friend that is at the very least unexpected. >> It's funny because I'm not actually
against the death penalty. You know, to me, some people, you know, deserve it. >> He believes in the death penalty for
other people. He believes in justice apparently for other people. the way that he is wired is is just so different
than than the rest of us. >> But after hours of deliberating about Fraa's punishment, the jury still has no
decision. >> There's no more news. That doesn't look very good to me. And deadlock.
>> The jury was still out on the day Amber would graduate from high school. >> Today is a very, very special day for
Amber. I love my baby. Her family tried not to think about what was happening at
the courthouse. >> This child, in spite of having to go through so much trauma, held her own,
she's a strong child, just like her mother. >> Which way is the thing supposed to go
>> and I'm so proud of her. >> I'm very excited. >> And then 15 years after the call that
came to tell them Far had been murdered, they got another call. The jury was back. He's going to go to death row.
Whoa. >> It's the outcome Lex and Betty prayed for and it answered at least some of
Bradley's questions. >> I do believe that he is guilty and he was found guilty twice for a reason. But
I physically haven't gotten that chance to ask my father face to face and I would like to do that.
I mean, it was kind of mixed emotions. He is my dad, so it was like I was sad, but he deserved it at the same time.
>> Amber Nicole Farer. >> Amber was able to graduate in peace >> and begin to look to the future.
>> I just plan on getting my apartment with my friend next month and moving in and
focusing on college after that. But none of the members of this family can face the future without remembering the past
and trying to keep Farra alive, if only in their hearts. >> I still pray every single night to her.
Dear mommy, I love you and I miss you and I'll never ever forget about you and I will continue praying for you every
single night as long as I live. [Music]

When a mother is murdered, a mysterious woman holds all the answers. "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports in this episode which aired in February 2011. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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

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Brief Summary

Farra Fraa's murder leads to a complex investigation of her husband Bob, revealing shocking truths and emotional turmoil for their children.

Key points

The Night of the Murder. A tragic evening unfolds as Farah is ambushed and shot in front of her children.
The Alibi. Bob Fra's alibi during the murder raises suspicions as he was in church with the kids.
The Aftermath for the Children. The children grapple with the loss of their mother and the implications of their father's involvement.
Mary Gip's Testimony. Mary Gip reveals crucial information about the murder plot, implicating Bob Fra.
The Deal with the Devil. Mary Gip receives immunity for her testimony, angering Farah's parents.
The Jury's Decision. After deliberating, the jury finds Bob Fraata guilty again, but the battle isn't over.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just couldn't believe it. I refused to believe that she was dead.

A mother's disbelief at her daughter's death.

5:32WatchNov 4, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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