True Crime Involving Loved Ones | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] day e in the Alec Murdock day nine of the double week three of the Alec 100
hours of testimony this is the 14th day of trial drags into week four aling now the defense called more witnesses 22 of
the Alec murd week six day 25 and the double murder trial of Alec Murdoch continues in col Alec Murdo is on trial
for the double homicide of his wife Maggie and his son Paul near the dog kennels of their family's hunting State
local media has called it the trial of the century in South Carolina it has attracted media from across the world
their Alec mura used to be a really predominant lawyer in South Carolina and is a member of this very powerful legal
Dynasty on the evening of June 7th 2021 his son Paul Murdoch was standing in a small feed room and some kennels they
had on the property the defendant over there Alec Murdoch took a 12sh shotgun and shot him in the chest and the
shoulder but after that another shot went up under his head and did catastrophic damage the lead prosecutor
for the state is cron Waters just moments later he picked up a 300 black out AR style rifle and open fire on his
wife Maggie powow and killed her inst Alex Murdoch's claim is that he ate dinner with his family took a nap on the
couch he goes to visit his mother comes home just after 10 p.m. and finds his wife and child shot and killed is my
wife copy I'm going on scene his immediate reaction was to start telling me about an incident that had happened
with his son with a boating accident my son was in a boat wreck a few months back he's been getting threats I know
that's what it is I'm Seth ston I'm a law professor at the University of South Carolina Paul Murdoch was on a boat with
some other individuals there was drinking the boat crashed and one of the individuals on the boat mallerie Beach
was killed they told you that it was just random Vigilantes from the boat case of which there is no evidence
whatsoever they were alleging that Alec wanted to murder his wife and son because he wanted to hide the fact that
he'd been stealing millions of dollars from his law firm and his clients for years this is a spreadsheet referencing
each client and the amount that was stolen from each client $225,700 46 $112,500 $338,500
[Music] fingerprints there's no forensics tying him to the crime none the prosecution
has had one major Smoking Gun in its case and it's Paul M's video that he took at 8:44 p.m. hey he's got a bird in
his mouth come here come here come here Cas did you recognize any voices on that
video Paul murck Maggie murck and ell murck you recognize Alex's voice yes sir how will they explain that Alec was
actually at the dog kennel 5 minutes before the murder when he claims to have been sleeping were you in
fact at the kennels at 8:44 p.m. on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered I was you continued lying after that night
did you not but once I lied I continued to lie yes sir would you ever do anything to harm
Maggie I would never hurt Maggie I did not kill Maggie I did not kill Paul the state versus
Richard Alexander Murdoch verdict guilty it doesn't matter how prominent you are
if you do wrong if you break the law if you murder then Justice will be done in South Carolina
[Music] [Music] it was a field trip to a ghost town off a country road the procession turned
slowly up the long driveway of the imposing property this Convoy held the jury in the double murder trial of Alec
mydal this is Moselle the hunting lodge of the murof family Alec his wife Maggie and Sons
Paul and Buster the jury was taken to the dog kennels and the small feed room were po
been shot at close range with a shotgun a few yards away Maggie was shot several times with a 300 Blackout rifle
neither weapon has ever been found there was a time when this estate reflected the vast power and Prestige of
the murall legal Dynasty now the withered ground seemed to Echo Alec mural's steep Fall From
Grace from a rich powerful lawyer to an admitted drug addict oxycodone oxyon I stole money that was not my
money and convicted murderer verdict guilty did you your wife what do you think of the verdict Alec the side of my
car this is where Alec Mall's life unraveled on June 7th 2021 this is your wife and son son
okay I knew it was really bad [Music] that night when murall was interviewed by investigators he was quick to offer
up an explanation for the murders of his wife and son my son Paul was in a boat wreck there's been a lot of negative
publicity about that there's been a lot of people online just really vile stuff the crash that would kill 19-year-old
mallerie Beach happened about 2:20 a.m. on February 24th 2019 would emergency we're in a boat crash on arur
street when a boat carrying six young friends smashed into a bridge Connor Cook made the Frantic call to 911
there's six of us and one is missing who's missing female mallerie beat is missing she's in the water she was just
this wonderful funloving happy girl and everybody loved her Lynn Revis and her niece mallerie were extremely close
you always got to hug hello and a hug goodbye and the last thing she told me was she loved
me in piecing together events investigators learned earlier that night 19-year-old Paul murall used his older
brother Buster's ID to buy beer at this convenience store and if you look at the
video footage when Paul comes out of the store he's holding beer up he's celebrating after staying at a party for
several hours the group took the mdof family's boat to this bar where Paul and Connor had more to drink around 1:00
a.m. but they went in pounded a couple of shots Michael dwit is an author and editor of the Hampton County Guardian
part of the ganette USA Today Network somewhere around 130 see the video footage of them leaving the boat dock it
was kind of a sad touching moment when you see mallerie and her boyfriend I think it's the last moment that anybody
captured an image of her alive it was around5 when they took off again on the boat Paul was just driv and
doing donuts and just passenger Miley Alman told investigators tempers were running short and so Conor starts
driving for a little bit and then Paul like he like stops Conor and he's like no this is my boat like let me
drive I saw the bridge coming what bridge is Paul what bridge is it First Responders dash cam video
captured the Mayhem all right where's everybody else at the bridge at the bottom of the bridge everybody was
crying scared shocked just worried about their friend then Buford County deputy sheriff Steven Domino was one of the
first on the scene after Domino got mallerie's distraught boyfriend Anthony cook into his patrol
car Paul Murdoch came into sight he was walking up from where the boat was get that right there away from me he
actually tried to rush through me to get to Paul because I guess he saw him smiling Paul's smiling while Anthony's
girlfriend's missing in the water right BR you smiling like sit down sit down girl
go that's when Anthony cook definitively identified the person he said was driving the boat you all know Alec
Murdoch I know name that's his son that's good luck that's when he indicated that he couldn't be touched
mallerie's body was found a week later and then the weeks after that we're just waiting is someone going to
make an arrest is there going to be a a admission of of guilt or responsibility we're in a boat crash I
think that from day one Ground Zero the effort was what can we do to get Paul out of this
who do you think is responsible for mallerie's death I think Paul muruk was a month after the Fatal boat crash
frustrated that there was no arrest mallerie Beach's family filed a wrongful death suit against members of the mof
family which allowed them to depose the survivors about what happened that night
Paul was allegedly acting rash and Reckless in his deposition Paul's friend Connor
Cook said that the morning of the crash he didn't tell investigators that Paul was driving the boat because he was
afraid and while at the hospital he says he was told by Alec murall that he didn't need to tell anyone who was
driving Alex reportedly went from room to room to try to communicate with the other boat crash passengers and get them
all on the same page at the hospital several hours after the crash Paul's blood alcohol level was three times over
the legal limit he was getting belligerent with the the nurses staff according to court
records just being loud and Troublesome but that morning and for weeks to come many felt that Paul murall
was not treated like a suspect in a crime we didn't think he was going to be charged
why because it was taking so long we just didn't think we'd see that day nearly 2 months after the boat crash
Paul was charged with causing the death of maler beach he pleaded not guilty and
remained free after posting Bond and the murall name began to tarnish 2 years passed and on June 7th
2021 as Paul murd was awaiting trial in the death of mallerie beach gunfire are erupted on the mdof
Family Estate Mur 4147 Moos Road at 10:06 p.m. a panic sounding Alec murall called 911 saying he had just
arrived home to find his wife of nearly 28 years Maggie and their son Paul shot is he moving at all your son I know you
said that she was shot but what about your son nobody's they're not neither one of
them's moving Maggie's friend Caroline price called her godson Buster when she heard
the terrible news I said please tell me this isn't true and he said yes ma'am Miss Caroline it is and he immediately
without prompt said it was premeditated and revenge they were trying to say that
it was associated with the boat crash that someone was angry at Paul yeah right due to the murdoff family's close
ties with local law enforcement the South Carolina law enforcement division known as sled the state's top
investigative agency took over the case I was amazing to me how quick this rumor
mill started Maggie's friend Shelly West heard about the murders from a friend I
just said do you think ell did it and he said no there were two guns on the scene
but it actually crossed your mind that he might have done it yeah I mean yeah I mean that was my first initial reaction
a lot of times the husband's the first suspect and Caroline says she had a strange conversation with him after
Maggie and Paul's Funeral he talked a lot about Paul the fact that he wasn't going to get his day in court he wasn't
going to get to clear his name Murda offered a $100,000 reward as rumors and speculations swirled reports
at the time raised questions about their marriage and claimed that Maggie was Consulting with a divorce attorney Maran
her sister asked me do do you know anything about this and I said no and she said she never said anything to me
and she tells me everything Maggie never mentioned there was any trouble in the marriage at a hearing a few months later
I questioned the murof family attorney dick harutan about the MD's relationship were there any problems in Maggie and
Alex's marriage absolutely none none and I I'm trust me I was with them for almost 2 years always affectionate
always courteous just the picture of a domestic voice and as for the theory that the murders were in
retaliation for the boat crash Maggie's friends say she never mentioned any threats against their family she talked
about how unkind everybody was and mean the looks and the snares and they didn't
seem to feel unsafe I mean they were still carrying on with their normal routine day-to-day activities and
things as investigators tried to figure out who would want Paul and Maggie Mur dead and why A call came into 911 that
another member of the family was under attack somebody stopped to help me and they tried to shoot
me and it's almost been a case of episodic television where tune in this week and we'll see what's next from
Hampton County home with the murdocks [Music] three months after the shooting deaths
of Maggie and Paul Alec murall again called 911 this time claiming he'd been shot somebody stopped to help me and
they tried to shoot me Alex Murdoch told investigators he was changing a flat tire right here on this Rural Road when
a person in a pickup truck passed by asked Alex if he was having car trouble and then shot him in the head bda's
conversation on the way to the hospital was captured on police body Cam know kind of was I don't know what kind of
gun it was but it sounded like a shotgun on September 6th 2021 2 days after being shot Alec murall released
this statement I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret he said and announced he was leaving the law
firm Alex Murdoch put out a statement saying he's going into rehab Alex murd said he had been addicted to opioids for
two decades it wasn't only claims of drug abuse now staining mural's reputation he was also accused of
stealing Millions from his own law firm and was asked to resign the day before he was shot Friday the law firm has a
come to Jesus meeting with him we know you're allegedly stealing money you're out Saturday the reported
shooting Monday Alex releases is a statement saying I'm going into rehab then came the even more bizarre
news that myrdle had allegedly hired this man his distant cousin Curtis Smith to shoot him he wanted you to kill him
yeah he wanted me to kill him authorities say murall wanted his killing to look like murder so his
surviving son Buster could collect a $10 million life insurance payout Smith says
he refused yeah a happen it's unclear exactly how murdog came to be shot why did you leave
the scene I didn't know anything else do Smith was charged in connection with the
shooting but has not entered a plea on September 16th 2021 facing charges of insurance fraud conspiracy and filing a
false police report Alec murall turned himself in the fact that a Murdoch sat in a chair in a jumpsuit with handcuffs
is something I've never seen in my lifetime Alec murall was released on Bond and
allowed to go back to rehab while murall was there investigators were looking into all of his business
dealings and the suspicious death of this woman Gloria saterfield Gloria was the housekeeper for the murall family
for more than 20 years Ronnie RoR is an attorney for the saterfield family she literally helped raise Alec mural's Sons
Paul and Buster in 2018 18 the 57-year-old died after a fall at the myll estate what's been reported is that
she was at the house at day on the front steps the dogs got a little rambunctious
and gave her a push and she fell down the stairs sder Field's death was ruled natural and no autopsy was ever
performed there's nothing natural about a 57-year-old woman falling down a flight of steps and dying from head
trauma at Gloria's funeral myll did something very odd says Rick he recommended Gloria's Sons file a
wrongful death lawsuit against him mdll even steered them toward an attorney his
friend Corey Fleming a lot of trust was placed in both Alec and in Corey to do the right things and it really went
South from the outset court documents show a $4.3 million payout by mural's insurance company but none of the money
ever went to Gloria's family where did that money go well allegedly it went into Alex
murdo's pocket Alex Murdo was charged with two felonies for his role in The Glorious saterfield insurance fraud this
time a judge ordered him to be held without bond as murd sat in jail he was indicted
on dozens more charges for defrauding clients out of millions of dollars and then in July of 2022 more
than a year after the grizzly murders disgrace South Carolina attorney Alex murall was indicted today in the
high-profile murders of his wife and son last year Alec murall was charged with killing his wife Maggie and Son Paul
Maggie's friends were relieved that the case was moving forward I was kind of like pH yeah finally and maybe we're
going to get some answers Alex Vera why did you kill your wife in your on January 25th 2023 19 months
after Maggie and Paul were gunned down near the dog kennels at their family hunting estate that the defendant Alec
Murdoch over there told anyone who would listen that he was never at those kennels prosecutor Katon Waters began
laying out the state's case against Alec murall but the evidence is also going to
show from these things that every one of us most of us carry around in our pocket that he was there he was at the
murder scene with the two victims I could see Mr murall down at the end of the driveway Central 717 seen has secure
both gunshot wounds to the Head First Responders described the harrowing scene captured by their body cams the male
victim was close to a small shed in the dog kennel on on the left it was a large
deal of blood that had pulled around his body turn around for me I don't have anything okay yes sir I see that okay
this is your wife and son and son this is official that there dead yes sir that's what it looks
like investigators interviewed mdll in a patrol car my my boy over there I could
see it was myall said he spent time with Paul earlier in the evening riding around the
property after Maggie got home he dozed off on the couch and when he got up there was nobody around I called
Maggie didn't get an answer Maggie's a dog lover and I knew she'd gone to the kennel I left to go to my mom's my mom's
a late stage Alzheimer's patient his visit with his ill mother would become his Alibi mdll told him investigators
when he returned around 10 p.m. there was still no one home so he drove down to the dog kennels that's when he found
Maggie and Paul I tried to turn Paul over first then I went to my wife and I I mean I could see
mhm I touched them both okay I tried to take their pts on both of them mhm when you first saw Paul you said you tried to
Rutland interviewed Alec myall that night and told the jurors she noted despite his claim of touching the blood
soaked bodies of his wife and son he appeared clean how would you describe the defendant's hands when you saw them
they were clean how would you describe his T-shirt clean did those clothes appear to be fresh they did like they
just come out of the laundry it could be Maggie and Paul died from multiple gunshot wounds Daily Beast senior
National reporter polar Melendez shared the investigator's findings so Paul was shot first and he was shot twice with a
shotgun Paul was found here next to the feeding room very close by right here is
where Magie was found Maggie was killed with a 300 Blackout rifle and suffered five gunshot
wounds a crime scene specialist described her final moments the shooter was right here the second shot was not
as close but it still wasn't a long distance it was approximately here into the crown of the
head 3 days after the murders building their timeline investigators talked to Alec murall again we sat down we ate
supper and we hung around the house for a little while uh I know that Maggie went to the kennels um I don't know
exactly where Paul went but he left the house too I stayed in the house and I actually fell asleep on the couch the
last time that you saw Paul and Maggie's when y'all were eating supper yes sir the mylls were Avid hunters and had
more than 25 weapons on the property I saw one over here during a search there's one to your right sled agents
found spent shell casings yeah 300 y yeah and ammunition that matched the bullets that killed Maggie and Paul but
the murder weapons were never found Maggie's cell phone was also missing the day after the murders investigators
found it here on the side of the road half a mile from the property sled analyzed the data from Alex Maggie and
Paul's cell phones at 7:56 p.m. Paul sent this Snapchat video of his dad to a friend
Paul is heard laughing in the background better than it was so around 8:30 Paul's
phone starts moving towards the dog kennels he also is calling and texting two friends then responding to Snapchats
until about 8:40 when he gets on a 4minute phone call with his friend Rogan Gibson Rogan Gibson told investigators
their phone call was about his dog who was staying at the kennels Rogan thought he heard Alec in the background that
immediately sets a red flag for law enforcement because that totally messed is up Alex timeline and how could he be
at the dog HS at 8:40 when he claims he was sleeping responding MO two months after the murders agents interviewed
Alec murall again this time at a sled office they asked him if he went down to the kennels that night I've got
information that you were hurt in the background was it you no sir not if my times are right who you think it could
have been I have no idea in November of 2022 there was a breakthrough in the investigation get that get agent showed
Rogan a video of his dog cash that they had found on Paul's phone Paul had shot it at 8:44 p.m. minutes before he was
killed it's a guinea it's a chicken come here B come here and what voices did you hear Paul's Miss Maggie
Mr ell and how sure are you now positive 100% that's correct the prosecutor says Alec is heard saying
come here Bubba calling the family dog come here Bubba come here this is a huge piece of testimony because it places ell
in the kennels roughly 5 minutes before prosecutors say Maggie and Paul were murdered authorities believed Maggie and
Paul were shot around 8:49 p.m. when their phone screens were locked and never opened again the prosecutor asked
several other Witnesses if they recog recognized Mall's Voice come on that video and I recognize ell M who do you
recognize Alec did you recognize on that video Alex mle and every single witness
has said with 100% certainty that that's Alec in the background of that video and
it also completely shatters his Alibi Alec Mall's car and cell phone data showed he drove to his mom's house
shortly after 9900 p.m. between then and until he returned and dialed 911 at 10:06 p.m. he made 10 calls to family
and friends including five to Maggie prosecutors basically alleged that after killing Paul Maggie El took steps to
cover up and show that he is talking all these people so how could he murder his
his wife and son as to the motive the state had a theory that a perfect storm was
gathering for Alec myall Alec was scared about information coming out that he had
been stealing money from his clients in his Law Firm for years on the day of the murders murall
was confronted by his firm about missing legal fees of almost $800,000 also that week he was due in
court for a hearing on the boat crash civil case murall was being sued for $10 million by mallerie Beach's family the
prosecution is alleging that in order to dissuade for further questions about his
financial crimes and Garner sympathy from the community and his Law Firm he killed his wife and son it's the actions
of a desperate man the state were called Genie seconder after the judge ruled mural's alleged
Financial schemes could be brought in the state called The Firm CFO jeie seinger was anybody at all concerned
about those missing fees after those murders happened we weren't because we were concerned about La we weren't going
to go in there and harass him about money when his family had been killed uh Mr Tenley the beach family's attorney Mark
Tinsley also testified and told the jurors in the wake of the murders the civil case against Alec murall would
have gone away if elec is the victim of a vigilante nobody's going to hold him accountable the case would be over as
the state rested its case murall made the risky decision to take the stand you lied to Maggie didn't
you I did Li to [Music] Maggie also have you made a decision as to whether you're going to testify I am
going to testify I want to testify against his attorney's advice Alec murall decided to take the stand in his
own defense you swear or affirm that the testimony you give today will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth yes ma'am under questioning by attorney Jim Griffin mdll is hoping the
jury will look past his lies and believe that now he's telling them the truth did
you kill Maggie no I did not kill Maggie I did not kill Paul I would never hurt Maggie
and I would never hurt Paul ever under any circumstances after all the testimony
identifying him on that kennel video murall is forced to admit he was with his wife and son minutes before
prosecutors say they were gunned down were you in fact at the kennels at 8:44 p.m. on the night Maggie and Paul were
murdered I was come here B come here Cas come here B yes did you continue lying after that night did you not but once I
lied I continued to lie yes sir why oh what a tangled web we weave but once I told the
lie I mean I told my family I had to keep lying I went to murdog claims he'd been
compelled to lie because of an opioid addiction he battled for 20 years spending tens of thousands of a week and
taking up to 60 or more pills per day as my addiction evolved over time I would get in these situations or
circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking but he dismisses the prosecution's theory of mounting
pressure from his addiction and alleged Financial crimes leading up to the murders Mr murck on June the 7th did you
believe that your financial house of cards was about to crumble absolutely not Mr Mur let's start with a few things
I think we can agree during a 6-hour cross-examination over two days prosecutor kraton Waters grills murd and
you stole all of the money didn't you about his long history of lying to his financial victims and Mr Waters just to
try to get through this quicker I admit I know you want to get through it quicker but we're not so answer the
question please what what what I what I admit is that I misled them I did did wrong and that I stole their money
Waters contends it was only because he'd been caught in his lie about being at the kennels that mdof finally came clean
the reality is you like you've done so many times over the course of your life had to back up and make a new story that
counterfeit with the facts that can't be denied isn't that true sir no sir that's
not true Waters then tries to box him into his new timeline on the night of the murders zeroing in on 4 minutes
between 9:02 and 9:06 when his phone logged 283 steps right before he left to visit his mom that's far more steps in a
shorter time period than than any time prior as you've seen from the testimony in this case so what what were you so
busy doing going to the bathroom no I don't I don't think that I get on a treadmill to the bathroom no I didn't
get on a treadmill joging place no I didn't jog Jacks no sir I did not do jumping jacks Mall reasserts his theory
of the murders that I believe that boat wreck is the reason why Paul Paul and Maggie were killed cuz I can tell you
for a fact that the person or people who did what I saw on June the 7th they hated Paul murck and they had anger in
their heart throughout the trial the defense makes the case that that Alec murall was
a devoted family man his son Buster describes a dad who' coached his little league teams and was now stricken with
grief you mean he was destroyed he was heartbroken I walked in the door and saw him and um gave him a hug and
just just broken down defense calls Tim palmbach to the stand please the defense
calls a crime scene analyst who based on blood spatter position of shots fired and the fact that two different guns
were used says there was more than one shooter my opinion is the totality of the evidence is more suggestive of a
two- shooter scenario the prosecution disagrees him this is Alec the prosecutor the lawyer and he's thinking
through this he's thought through this he's going to use two guns because it's going to confuse people that perhaps
there were two Shooters but in his closing to the jury Waters argues that all the evidence points to Alec murall
call at siing from that first shot at close range with no indication that he detected a
threat from the person who fired that weapon and why cuz it was him Maggie sees what happens and she comes running
over there she's running to her baby she got mowed down by the only person that we have conclusive proof was
at that scene just minutes before and who would lied about that very fact and he describes how murdog
could have cleaned up at the Kennels afterwards wouldn't take long to strip down and was yourself
off getting that cart and head back to the house here we are with a Mr Clean theory he takes a hose and washes
himself off and gets in a golf cart butt naked I guess and drives to the house defense attorney Jim Griffin pushes back
on the prosecution's theory he would have to be a magician to make all that evidence disappear the shooter's covered
in blood the Shooter's Gun is covered in blood Common Sense thing here is there were two Shooters instead said Griffin
investigator zeroed in on mural to the exclusion of other suspects because he was an easy target longtime drug problem
there Financial issues misconduct were exposed easy easy easy Target for sled the evidence is Crystal
Clear they started fabricating evidence against Ellen Griffin tells the jury sled also presented false evidence to
the grand jury when seeking an indictment against murall they came up with a report that says Alex
t-shir had high velocity blood spatter on the Lead Sled agent testified he had not received an email update that
further testing had shown there was no blood I did not see that report I was not made aware of its existence sled
failed miserably in investigating this case and had they done a competent job that Alec would have been excluded year
ago then he addresses the single most problematic piece of evidence for the defense really we're back to the Lae cuz
that's all they have in this case he lied because he had a closet full of skeletons but what he didn't lie Li what
he didn't lie for is because he was covering up the fact that he killed Maggie and Paul Alec would not have
killed the people he loved the most in the world this defendant has fooled everyone
everyone and he fooled Maggie and Paul too and they paid for it with their lives don't let him fool you too
after hearing from 75 Witnesses in more than 5 weeks the jury deliberates for just under three hours before returning
with a verdict toate versus Richard Alexander murd def murall is found guilty of murdering his wife and son
guilty verdict we understand there is a verdict in the double murder trial at sentencing the next day judge Clifton
Newman gives murall one last chance to appeal to the court I respect this for but I'm innocent unmoved judge Newman
sentences him to two consecutive life terms in prison and I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night
time when you're attempting to go to sleep I'm sure they come and visit you I can't stop thinking about the fact
that it is a video on Paul's own phone that really was critical in this case well I think it is
ironic the murder case the victims can't testify um but in many ways they do often times they leave something
behind that lets you know what happened to him and in this case it was Paul's video come here come here Cas come here
Cas it's Paul testifying from the [Music] grave 48 hours to miss it would be a crime were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case [Music] today is February 13th 2018 uh we are currently at the Stan
County Sheriff's Office conference room uh present is Carrie n Ridder and also her attorney uh the time now is 10:58
a.m. at what point do your dad first approach you with this plan um it was him and I we were home he was saying
like that he was going to kill himself but he brought up that he was that there was this other option kind of thing um
where he would he wanted to kill my mom first bite oh Carrie don't push the bib up
Carrie is doing a good job the story in my eyes is about Lloyd and Michelle and there's the door and there's my husband
he was such an attent of [Laughter] Father wow I thought he was a really amazing person he's very charismatic
shows a lot of care is too cold to be happy Michelle is truly a brilliant [Music]
person she's got a wonderful sense of humor and this great wit what's your favorite toy outside Carrie my your baby
swing my first impression was that they were sort of like a very perfect ideal family and they were really good at
putting up that front but over time I sort that perception sort of started to change
I was Michelle's lawyer her husband had filed for divorce Michelle was surprised that he
filed for divorce she was a stay-at-home mom she had done everything she thought
she could do to make him and the family happy Carrie was at RIT she was set to graduate in another year she says a dad
came to her I can't afford to pay the bills I can't afford to pay your mother there's no way out I have to kill myself
I'm sorry you guys have to go on without me or I got Plan B [Music] here killing my
mom it's he made you choose i1 Center had something strange happening at a uh at a friend's house I
thought I saw the mother standing in the stairway but she's emotionless and I could see through the stairs and
see that somebody was clearly at the bottom of the stairs and they looked like they needed some sort of
help did you ever think this case would go the way it did no 993 for an update we're out with a male subject on the top
floor of the Spring Street Garage is he's on the ledge do you have live video of this up
there we just don't have cases like this with where this level of pervasive evil
trickle through an entire life and then ends in such a horrific event [Music] [Music]
[Music] we're out with a male subject on the top floor of the Spring Street Garage on a cold January Day in
2018 45-year-old Lloyd n rider was surrounded by local and State Police he's on a Ledge on the fifth Story of a
parking garage in Princeton New Jersey threatening jump it wasn't supposed to end this
way almost 30 years earlier in 1989 16-year-old Lloyd had fallen for an older classmate Michelle lundie they
were going to the same high school and she was graduating and we told her she could invite friends and uh she invited
Lloyd Michelle's Mother jeie remembers how quickly the relationship developed how did she feel about him oh
she was falling in love I pronounce you husband and wife two years later in 1991 Michelle and Lloyd tied the
knot the newlyweds headed off to college be lovey Dy now no Michelle gave birth to a daughter and 2 years later a second
child Carrie who's that it's my sister Carrie well hi Carrie the family settled in the upstate
New York Community community of Corning suben County district attorney Brooks Baker it's kind of place where a lot of
folks still don't lock their doors Corning is a quaint Family Place best known as the headquarters of
Fortune 500 company Corning Glass Lloyd worked there as an engineer hi Mama hi Michelle gave birth to a third
daughter and she homeschooled the kids I'm making a movie of you you are I'm afraid I'm not being very interesting
right now later she would teach at a local college she was an English Professor when I met her so she was big
on reading and writing and she would always really encourage her girls to be well spoken and
educated Mina Raj met the N riter's middle daughter Carrie in ballet class hi my name is Carrie and my dad is p and
the two quickly bonded all of our dance families were very close her mother Cynthia would become one of Michelle's
closest friends when's the very first time you met Michelle I met Lloyd first because he would bring the children to
class dance classes he would do their hair and the mothers were rather smitten with him but as cia's daughter Mina
spent more time with Carrie she became concerned about Lloyd's overbearing parenting style there were times when
I'd call my mom and tell her that I was worried about how strict of a disciplinarian he was for really really
small things it was sort of like you never knew when he would snap and if he decided he was mad at one of them he
would call them over yell front and center have them drop to their knees in front of everyone the first time I
witnessed that Carrie was very close to me and I could see physically see her body shaking I've seen him slap them
slap cross the on the face yeah would he do things to Michelle he would put her down with a smile in his face and then
around Thanksgiving 2007 Michelle suddenly cut ties with her parents her mother believed Lloyd was
behind the rift what do you think happened I think that he threatened her either to harm the children or
to harm her or to harm her she said Cynthia it was Lloyd that made me cut off contact with him he didn't want her
to have a place to go if she wanted to leave but it turned out to be Lloyd who left the following year in 2008 he took
a new job in New Jersey leaving Michelle and the kids behind in Corning once he was gone Michelle seemed like a
different person better better she seemed much more relaxed and in 2013 after the couple had divorce
Michelle moved into this new house with the girls and that's when the real trouble began Lloyd wanted so custody of
the children Lloyd was relentless in using the legal system to harass Michelle it just never ended
Michelle's divorce attorney Susan beter there were 26 separate sets of filings post divorce and how unusual is
that that is super unusual if you have two or three it's a lot to have 26 is astounding and what was he suing for
what were these filings for he he continually filed things making false claims against Michelle Lloyd was trying
to get out of child support and Michelle accused Lloyd of trying to turn the kids
against her the oldest daughter was already living with with Lloyd and Carrie had gone off to college but Lloyd
continued to fight for custody of their youngest child them 14 years old we agreed not to show recent pictures of
her I think anybody who worked in the courthouse had heard about the nrer case this husband and wife were going at it
non-stop so this is one of those cases that everybody sort of heard about or talked about over the water cooler or at
a bar outing the name came up it was one of those cases that just didn't go way but in late August
2017 Lloyd did something unusual Susan got this text from Michelle and she says I'm in shock Lloyd did not show up for
the appearance for his petition for soul custody he did not withdraw he did not ask for an adjournment he did not answer
the Court's phone calls or emails nothing how unusual is that for him knowing how many of these filings he's
made it was very unusual it was very unusual um it was Unthinkable really because of Lloyd's noow the case was
dismissed Michelle seemed relieved and happy it was summer and she had a mutual friend of ours and the children um
sliding on Big Blocks of ice down a hill of [Music] grass two days later Monday August 28th
2017 a family friend came to pick up the N Riders 14 yold for swim practice instantly he knew something was very
wrong I I want C that's something strange happening at a uh at our friend's house Corning police Sergeant John mcdot
was the first to respond to Michelle's house that afternoon all right so tell me what you
did so I walked up to the front door here and through these three panes of glass I could see inside and I could see
a female now laying at the bottom of the stairs open the door a dog came running
out I came running in and as I got closer I could see there was a rope around her neck there was no pulse she
was cold and stiff to the [Music] touch here he found 46-year-old Michelle NY Ridder
dead so your first thought when you saw was what it appears to be a suicide by hanging
[Music] but Corning police chief Jeff spaling wasn't so sure cuz you couldn't figure
out how she got a Mark here no I didn't I didn't like that that was unsettling it appeared as though somebody had gone
behind and thrown a rope over the neck and pulled back and down and caused that what's more Michelle's youngest child
the 14-year-old at the heart of the custody battle and who was supposed to be picked up for swim practice was
nowhere to be found obviously the number of possible outcomes there that are bad
is is tremendous [Music] I said if we checked basement if we checked attics if we checked
garages in the hours after police arrived at Michelle NY ridder's home a frantic search was
on Lieutenant Jeff hly couldn't find her 14-year-old daughter anywhere she should
have been around I knew that she resided with Mom later that day he got a phone call
this is Lieutenant hly can I help you hi um my name is Carrie it was 19-year-old Carrie n rider
Michelle's middle child my friends called me earlier today and told me about my mom um and that
she um I'm sorry that's okay told me my mom Carrie told the officer that her younger sister was safe
and still with you now yeah she's in my apartment she was nearly 100 miles away with Carrie in Rochester New
York Carrie then told heavily how it happened she had driven back to Corning late Saturday night to spend one last
night in her bedroom at home when I got there my mom started freaking out and she she would freak out
a lot Carrie said her mother raged at her accusing her of taking her father's side in their family court battles so
she started freaking out and screaming and she woke up and was afraid and she went to her room and she was yelling
Carrie says she decided to leave taking her younger sister with her she claimed that she was concerned for her younger
sister so she had taken her outside put her in the car and and then uh had driven her to Rochester while police
were relieved that Michelle's youngest was safe car's story didn't really make sense why would Michelle be so upset on
the same day she had been celebrating her Court Victory those who knew Michelle best couldn't believe she'd
take her own life I never believed it she was determined to have a successful life and she did she had a great job and
it was not the place in her life where she would have committed suicide after all of the really difficult years she
had been through while it appeared Michelle had hanged herself there was that odd
ligature mark on her chin as police awaited the results of the autopsy I thought we would get some
some definite results they would say oh yeah 100% this is a homicide or yeah 100% this is a
suicide but the medical examiner conclusion surprised them they tell us undecided undetermined
causation Michelle's mother didn't need an autopsy to tell her what happened I did not believe she killed herself she
immediately thought murder and one name came to mind I'm thinking it's more than
likely Lloyd killed her but I couldn't figure out how because he had an alibi Lloyd n writer was in fact more
than 2500 M away in California for a job interview when police discovered Michelle's body how long has he been in
California um since yesterday Carrie told investigators all about it was he in Corning at all yesterday no he helped
move me in to my apartment on Saturday okay but he wasn't in Corning even if Lloyd wasn't in Corning
he had been close about 100 miles away so all of a sudden he's only an hour and change away up in
Rochester Carrie says that after her father helped her move in to a Rochester apartment on Saturday he spent the night
in a hotel and flew out to California the next day he was still there when the family notified him of Michelle's death
he flew back east and within 36 hours showed up at the to Ben County Family Court he came to turn off his child
support and maintenance payments that's the first place he went when he had heard his ex-wife had committed suicide
that's correct right there police caught up with him outside the courthouse investigator V hey how
are you good just cautious about how I approach a car I don't want to startle anybody and he sit down the
investigator's car and he do a video taped interview and have a long conversation did Michelle know she's
coming or she did yes I was l calmly Echoes car's story in the hours before Michelle's death he was in Rochester
helping Carrie move into her College apartment I go check in at the micel Lloyd says he checked into that hotel
Saturday hotel security cameras back him up Carrie came over for a while dark parking lot video then shows both he and
Carrie heading to her car I walked her out to the car then when you go back to the hotel right yeah I invited her to
breakfast the next morning and at 700 a.m. the next morning cameras show Carrie arriving for
breakfast now with her 14-year-old sister in tow and you also then checked his phone where was his phone during
that time checked his phone it kind of cooperated what uh what Cara told us that Dad stayed at the
hotel but the hotel video tells a different story when llo walk Carri to her car that night he could be seen
getting in the car with her and then driving off and the video doesn't show him coming back that night
so while Lloyd's phone was in the hotel room all night where was Lloyd investigators had
to wonder especially when they looked at the hotel video from the next morning we
don't see Lloyd All Night Long here it is 6:30 in the morning and here he comes on to the camera he's walking across the
parking lot and he's walking to his his vehicle he's still appears to be wearing
the same clothes that he had on the night before Lloyd's story was that he stayed at the hotel room all night the
video evidence is saying no he didn't police were now certain Lloyd was lying to them they dug deeper looking
for a motive he was not in a good Financial Place Lloyd had over $100,000 in credit
C Deb and he was paying his ex-wife almost $6,000 a month Baker says that after Michelle's death Lloyd tried to
collect on Michelle's life insurance for a payout of $260,000 they suspected Lloyd killed
Michelle and Carrie might be covering for him so we decided to go up on a wire tap on on Loyd's phone and car's phone
I'm freaking out me too almost two and a half months after Michelle's out police
began listening in oh I don't know what to do I don't know what to do I don't know what to
[Music] do H hi sweetie how's your drive so far oh it's fine very good in Fall 2017 a little over 2 months after
Michelle NY ridder's death Corning police began listening in on Lloyd and Carrie NY ridder's phone
calls well we didn't go up on the wire until mid November this had happened at the end of August beginning of September
so it had been you know two months and there wasn't a lot that was being said so in order to uh you know kind of
refresh things we did what was called tickle The Wire tickle the wire it's a ruse familiar to
Cops working drug cases an investigator calls carry saying they have more questions Corning police chief Jeff
Spalding played the recording for us hi is this caror yes this is okay this is investigator vul with coring PD um the
reason I was calling uh but I didn't know if you were going to be around if uh you had time to meet up with me or
what time you might have to stop in to see me I should be able to meet with you Monday if you're available okay after
hanging up with police Carrie quickly called her father just like we hope the next phone call is to Lloyd saying what
what do I do what exactly did you tell him I don't know and Lloyd says Ah it's probably just for it's just form him
don't worry about it but then he says and this is where we sort of puts our doubts aside he says well I don't think
I want you talking to him tell him about I'm sorry I got I got a counseling appointment back in New
Jersey tonight I'm tell him this has been really hard on me yeah could you cry I
might God it would be nice if then it was just over that would be a dream why lie exactly why not just go
sit down with the investigator spend 20 minutes and and and and tell the same story you already have well it was
anything more serious I guess you have people coming after me anyways right yeah he wouldn't ask you to come walk in
the front door he'd say I have a warrant yeah so I can't be that police are clearly suspicious but
with that undetermined official autopsy holding the case back the da asked a private forensic pathologist to take a
new look and confirm finally whether Michelle was murdered we take all the pictures from
the autopsy we take all the ings the documentation of evidence and we go and sit down with him there was no body for
him to examine because Lloyd had Michelle's remains cremated but the pathologist saw that
rope mark on Michelle's chin and peul hemorrhaging in her eyes and then he leaps through a few more things kind of
the way doctors do and in silence and and says this is a homicide Michelle NY rider was strangled
to death police headed out to confront Lloyd and Carrie I mean at that point you're
thinking Lloyd's the ring leader no no question do you think that if in fact Carrie n Ridder was involved she was
going to be the weak link I thought that she she would be the weak link you put her in an interview room without dad
without her cell phone um and you do a hard interview with her I thought she would be the first to give on January
24th 2018 5 months after Michelle's death two investig Ator showed up at Lloyd's
office in New Jersey at the same time a pair of State Police Troopers find Carrie at her
College internship in Syracuse New York was this your Hail Mary pass was this it
yeah that's that's what we considered game day investigators break the news to Lloyd and and they say Lloyd look we got
to tell you something the medical exam has ruled this homicide were you down there that night
no Rochester and so that night you were in your hotel room all night okay and they suggested that Chief lloy maybe you
want to take a lie detector test and to my surprise he he said sure So they gave
him directions to a police station down in New Jersey where we had a polygraph operator that was already on call Lloyd
appeared confident in his innocence 200 miles away in Syracuse Carrie was anything but Carrie cracks
Carri cracks my dad came down with me Saturday night there it was in barely a whisper on a police audio recording
Carrie admits her father went to her mother's house with her that night and she helped him get in
undetected you walk in the front door of the house you you tell me at this point
where was mom she was at the top of the stairs so she saw my dad come in and then they started arguing so he
went upstairs and they were arguing in her in her room Carrie said her mother stopped yelling and it suddenly got very
quiet at first she tells police she didn't know why but then she admits you saw didn't know you didn't
[Music] just you saw was you still alive it was one of those holy cow moments uh it was like wow you
investigators then took Carrie to a police station they wanted the whole story on
video she says her father came to her a week before the Murder She says a dad came to her and
says I can't afford to pay your mother there's no way out Lloyd gave Carrie an unfathomable ultimatum and so basically
he was going to kill himself um or there was this way may he wouldn't kill himself he was killing my
mom she says Lloyd laid out his plan they would make it look like a suicide I just put a her M
quiet and put the r on her neck and Carrie said she stayed downstairs watching over her younger sister asleep
in the living room and my dad went upstairs into my mom's room and she was like what are you
doing Bole why are you here and so she was young and she was like why why the commotion woke up car's sister
yeah she woke up so I had to take her out there I was freaking out I didn't know what's going on I oh my
God put in my car when Lloyd was finished he sneaked out the back of the house around the
side and then climbed into the open rear hatch of car's car according to Carrie her 14-year-old sister never knew her
father was there close to police were now ready to arrest Lloyd the only problem he never showed up for
that polygraph test he had disappeared they lost him and they did they did lose him but Lloyd still had
his phone and we still were up on the wire on Lloyd's phone we knew that his phone was in downtown Princeton
somewhere they managed to trace it to a municipal parking structure and there on
the roof was Lloyd NY Ridder when the officers moved in to confront Lloyd and to to pick him up he bolted and hopped
up on the rail and threatened to jump off the fivestory parking garage to commit
suicide for 2 hours Lloyd NY Rider kept police at Bay when he turned his back they made
their move this New Jersey state trooper who who played football somewhere uh he
makes a a 10 yard Sprint and just flattens him tackles him Del 223 one in custody one in custody lyd
was arrested and charged with first-degree murder of his ex-wife Michelle NY Ridder why'd you do it
Carrie their daughter Carrie who the police believed have been manipulated by Lloyd faced second degree murder charges
for helping her father get into the house that night what was your reaction when you
heard that not Carrie not car in February 2018 district attorney Brooks Baker began preparations to face off in a
courtroom this became essentially our our nerve center our war room for the for the trial this is not typical for
the cases you usually try no no even even a murder case usually we can survive in a box or two but to go four
or five boxes um demonstrative how much material there was here there's a reason
why you have that up there don't you yeah this is Michelle's the final day of Michelle's life it is it is uh this is
this is a Saturday she was murdered this is a good day for them they went icing they got you can't really see it but
they're they're on great big ice blocks this reminds is why we're doing it because this lady's not here to have
another day like this Baker knows his odds of convicting Lloyd will great greatly increase if he
could convince Carrie to testify against her father she is looking at 15 years to
life if she cooperates with the understanding that if she does not cooperate and is not truthful at trial
she'll face 25 years to [Music] life it takes Carrie sitting in a jail cell a couple of weeks to
decide she agrees to testify against her father and plead guilty but then during
an interview with investigators she surprises everyone with a new detail he opened the door my mom was
Ling on the floor and um he said you needed my help get lifting her admitting for the first time
she had an even bigger role helping her father cover up the murder we dragged her around the corner
and he hied the Rope to the to the one prong of the bister and lifted her up and put her through her over the
side sorry that's okay okay she laid her hands on her mother and felt her her mother's cold
dead body that's that's pretty that's pretty hardcore this is the woman that gave you
life and you maybe didn't directly take her life but you helped the individual that did
it was so hard to understand how could a child do this to her mother could lloy really have manipulated Carrie into this
and and I had that same problem and even as we were preparing for trial I said Carrie you're going to be asked that
question there was a moment when you your father says to you it's either I have to kill mom or or I kill myself and
you have to help me and those are the only two choices and why she's a smart girl girls she could have said no well
and and you know all those folks in Jonestown could have said we're not going to drink the Kool-Aid you think
she was brainwashed I really think she was brainwashed we found out that there is a definition for what he was doing
and are you talking about parental alienation yes I am yeah parental alienation it's when one
parent consistently bad mouthe the other in front of their children and it's something Michelle worried about in fact
in these court documents filed in the Years preceding her death Michelle actually accused Lloyd of turning carry
against her the district attorney thinks that's exactly what happened I can understand how you could
cause your children to dislike the other parent but to kill that other parent that seems like a step too far I don't
think it's causing dislike that's not what this peration it it it causes them to absolutely devalue them his people
case in point 2 years before her death Michelle was backing out of her driveway while Carrie bickered with her and tried
to block her car from leaving friends say Lloyd then convinced Carrie that Michelle tried to run her over Carrie
even called police on her mother and while the charges didn't stick the idea seemed to if you can brainwash your
daughter into thinking that her inching out of the driveway was your mother trying to run you over then well she
tried to kill you so it's okay for you to help try to kill her and when Lloyd later gave carry that ultimatum and so
basically he was going to kill himself um or there is this way he wouldn't kill himself
um which was killing my mom the da says Carrie felt she had no choice but to choose her father over her
mother but would the jury believe it as Lloyd's trial approached the da was determined to paint a picture of Carrie
as Lloyd's Pawn but Lloyd had his own plans is his defense going to be that she did it it has to be
[Music] how much were you looking forward to trying Lloyd n rider for murder you know
you never look forward to a trial because it it means 90 hours of work every week this one I wanted to try I
wanted I wanted everybody to see who Lloyd was and for Michelle's s to see what he had done to her the evidence
against Lloyd NY Ridder was circumstantial all the district attorney had was 's word and the jury might not
believe her story what he needed was physical evidence linking Lloyd to the murder of his ex-wife Michelle we took
Michelle's clothes we had them re-examined by the state police looking for touch DNA um when we got done what
we found was Lloyd's DNA had had contact with Michelle's clothing the um pajama she was wearing the night she was
murdered prosecutors gave Lloyd the damning news and a final opportunity to come clean we made to him an offer I
sort of expected he would never ever accept uh he had to plead guilty as charge to first-degree murder uh he
would face a sentence of 25 years to life with a possibility the judge can sentence him to life without parole and
just two weeks before trial so what did Lloyd decide to do he decided to plead guilty as part of his plea deal Lloyd
had to recount his role in the murder but when it came time to take personal responsibility I thought we we were
going to go bad from minute one cuz he starts off blaming Michelle there were no cameras in the courtroom but Lloyd
tells the judge he killed Michelle because he believed she might hurt their children that would be Lloyd blame
everybody else blame the victim but then he sort of said but that doesn't matter
I have no excuse murder is wrong and and he went through and alloc puted line by
line of what he did in the end Lloyd fulfilled his end of the plea deal admitting he planned and carried out the
homicide and that he manipulated Carrie into helping him so what should happen to him I want
him to have life in prison don't want him to ever get out and ever hurt my grandchildren again he has an evil
mind Michelle's Mother jeie spent days writing a statement she hes will persuade the judge to give Lloyd a stiff
sentence she read it to us Lloyd n rider abused and tortured my daughter for 25 years he coerced his own daughter into
helping him kill her mother Carrie is now in jail facing the possibility of years in prison Lloyd n
Ridder should never be given the opportunity to harm anyone again please your honor give him life without Pearl
and that's EX exactly what the judge would do and what do you think about what happened today the outcome oh I'm
I'm so Overjoyed I'm so happy it's life without peole and Michelle got justice so thank you but there was still
the matter of Carrie and what price should she pay for her mother's death that's a hard one isn't it that's
a hard one I don't believe she should go to prison I think that she needs psychiatric help I think she needs a lot
of therapy district attorney Brooks Baker would agree Carrie needed therapy but he didn't think that would be enough
she has to pay a price she has to serve a sanction I think for her own sanity she needs to serve some penants remember
Carrie initially plagued guilty to Second deegree murder a charge that could put her in prison for 15 years
but the da supported a decision allowing her to now plead guilty to a lesser charge second degree
manslaughter jeie again wrote To The Judge I always ask myself what would Michelle want me to do I do not believe
my daughter Michelle would want a long prison sentence for her daughter she would want her to
eventually lead a happy life and the judge would be lenient very lenient Carrie NY Ridder was sentenced
one to three years in a state prison it was a huge relief to jeie who planned to tell her and her two sisters
all about Michelle and just how much she loved them she knew that she had lost them the
two oldest and she wanted them to be happy and she hoped that someday they would realize
what was done and come back to her and see how hard she fought for them to have a good
life she wanted to live a beautiful life to have a beautiful life and for them to
be happy [Music] where is your emergency okay my mother's I don't know if she's breathing but
she's laying on the ground in the shower I need to go over there and see if she's okay okay how do you know she's
down there my dad my dad's over there he's in the bathroom I'm not in the bathroom okay I need to put you on
hold and not it's like a house [Music] pH the actual call came out where the victim fell in the shower
oh my God everywhere the supervisor at the scene called and said I think you're going to
want to come up here there's quite a bit of blood I'm thinking this had to have been
some fall Dr newlander said that he removed his wife from the shower and ultimately took her into the bedroom in
order to perform CPR emergency Personnel determined that she was dead shortly after they arrived Leslie was so well
known they were both both very active in the philanthropic Community he's delivered thousands of babies so if you
you know you just multiply that out there's literally tens of thousands of people that have some connection to Dr
newlander the medical examiner makes a ruling she slipped and fell in the shower accidental death right I thought
you know how sad and then went about doing the other things that I'm am supposed to
[Music] do you know this was supposed to be a fall in the shower but we've got blood
on this wall some blood spatter up on uh on an angled wall and then my suspicions began to
rise and I'm wondering if if if we miss something here do you have any explanation as to how that run got on
the wall the best explanation to me is an impact event on or near the South side of the
bed impacts batter Force impacting liquid blood there was obviously a violent encounter in that bedroom inconsistent
with a scenario where she wakes up goes into the shower slips and is discovered by her
[Music] husband it's a homicide it's an arrest 18 months in the making it was originally ruled an accident but police
have been investigating ever since I don't think people kill people without some reason so why did he do it
ma'am ma'am oh my God one of the absolute major major points of the prosecution's case was the 911 call from
the daughter oh my God my my mom Jenna newlander was important to the prosecution and the defense because
she was the only other person in the house at the time of these events [Music] [Music]
inside this Grand Home on the morning of September 17th 2012 is someone coming a disturbing scene was unfolding
my mom my okay as 23-year-old Jenna newlander frantically called 911 [Music] Jenna
Jenna oh my God Jenna's father Dr Robert newlander had screamed to her for help he said he just found his wife on the
floor of the bathroom shower within minutes paramedics arrived at the house 61-year-old Leslie
newlander had suffered a massive head wound she was pronounced dead at the scene you get a call fall in the shower
you show up expecting to see the accident victim near the shower that's right the expectations are that she's
going to be either in the shower or immediately right outside the shower instead former dwit New York police
Sergeant Scott cael found Leslie in the bedroom on the floor close to the bed I walk into the actual bedroom and that's
when I catch all the blood capril noticed blood in different areas of the bedroom pulled on the rug and spattered
on the wall next to the bed my radar is going off as far as saying uh we need to
answer why why all this blood is here Cil had plenty of questions but Dr newlander seemed to have all the answers
telling investigators that after finding Leslie on the shower floor he carried her out of the bathroom some 60 ft into
the bedroom where he could more comfortably perform CPR out something he did despite Jenna's
protests as he's relaying the story about what had occurred and as the medical examiners digesting it and as
we're all digesting it his actual story of step-by-step process fit the pattern of where you saw these different pools
of blood the medical examiner on the scene examined Leslie's injuries and ruled they matched up with Dr newlander
count the death a tragic accident Leslie newlander died from hitting her head on
the shower bench the whole thing was was uh the whole thing was out of uh character with a fall in the shower
you've been a cop 20 years had you ever seen head trauma like that before well not from a fall but as we're listening
to the medical examiner explain what what he feels could have happened you know we're not Physicians we're not
forensic Pathologists we're we're police officers were investigators so we certainly defer to him the account of
Jenna newlander an eyewitness I see him actually carrying her seemed to back up the medical examiner ruling that this
was an accident when police interviewed her as part of their routine investigation he was like putting his
face off her to see if she was breathing the death of Leslie newlander shook the
community everyone knew the newlanders Mary jellic was a good friend of the newlanders they seem like the perfect
couple the perfect marriage the perfect family really Leslie was a fabulous woman very vivacious
energetic unpretentious she was switched on yes I know people always speak well of the dead but truly this was her
personality to be so giving and Alive Leslie and Bob gave generously both their time and money
they were well known for their philanthropy their social prominence dovetailed with Robert newlander
professional standing one of the most highly regarded gynecologists and Obstetricians in the Syracuse area he
delivered a lot of babies around here many many with a lot of good feelings toward the care he gave those patients
for many many years my interactions with Dr nander were joyful were these wonderful things that were happening and
welcoming their baby becoming a family family Julie Crosby who worked with Dr newlander assisting pregnant women says
patients were drawn to his supportive demeanor I found Dr nander to be compassionate kind knowledgeable that
caring way say those who knew them best was a defining value for this tightly knit family the closeness is plain to
see in these birthday tributes for Robert and Leslie made by their children Emily and from Robert's first marriage
and Ari and Jenna from Leslie and Robert's 28-year marriage mixed with loving teasing for their mother she's
like how does everyone know I'm from New York I don't understand how does everyone know I'm from New York is a
deep appreciation thank you for being you I love you the newlanders thoughtfulness was something Mary jellic
experienced firsthand after becoming Gravely ill with an infection while on vacation in the Czech Republic in the
summer of 2012 I was in a coma and then in the hospital for 3 weeks when she finally returned home the first
neighbors to check on her were the newlanders I remember hugging everybody and I remember Leslie saying we're so
glad that you made it just 2 Days Later Mary received the devastating news Leslie was dead a freak accident she'd
slipped in the sh shower I couldn't believe that she had just been to see me and tell me how grateful she is that I'm
alive and she's dead it was shocking it was overwhelming what did you think about that well at the time I thought I
guess that can happen even to a 61-year-old very healthy athletic person that was the same
conclusion onandaga County district attorney Bill Fitzpatrick reached when he first heard about Leslie's death he
believed it was a tragic accident until a few months later when a tip changed everything I'm going to get to the
bottom of this 3 months after Leslie newlander sudden death Mary jellic began getting some unusual
calls from friends what are they saying we don't think it was an accident and who better to share their concerns with
than a forensic scientist for 11 years Dr Mary jelik was the County's chief medical examiner until she retired in
2009 my focus for my entire career has been to speak for the dead Dr jelik listened carefully there were questions
about all that blood and whispers about the newlander personal life are you hearing about a troubled marriage yes
are you hearing about financial problems yes in recent years Dr newlander thriving practice had been derailed by a
battle with an insurance company and he was now delivering half the number of babies he did
previously Dr jellic was reluctant to get involved but she finally picked up the phone and called her old colleague
da Bill Fitzpatrick did you feel in some way you were betraying the newlanders I
felt I was responding to gossip as it turns out the da had also been hearing things he' received an
anonymous letter just before Jim bellic's call suggesting a different side to Dr newlander that he's not the
you know the good guy that that people are making him out to be Leslie was trying to break away from this guy
jamel's initial Hope was she could soon put all the speculation to rest and she volunteers you know pro bono to take a
look at the case and would I make the file available to her and I said absolutely as you began to look at this
file what jumped out at you the severity of the injuries compared to the explanation Leslie had suffered a
penetrating wound toward the back of her head so severe the blood pulled in her eye had you seen head wounds like this
before of course in what kind of cases uh car accidents Falls from uh you know 20 story building um beatings what
might cause this kind of injury a heavy object of some sort you're talking about
getting hit with some object yes what do you tell the district attorney after reviewing the file that this is a
homicide blunt head trauma from an assault half a year after Leslie newlander death the investigation picked
up steam police Revisited the death scene to collect more evidence from the now unoccupied newlander home which had
been sold one of the things we find is blood all over the back of a headboard on the bed we also found blood spatter
on the blinds that were behind the bed Dr newlander was living in a new apartment which was also searched by now
he had retained one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the city Edward Menin
this has been an Open Secret and a subject of uh Gossip and irresponsible rumor now for months Dr newlander has
not been charged with any kind of offense M assured the da his client had nothing to hide so much so that 15
months after Leslie's death Dr newlander now retired voluntarily sat for an interview with prosecutors and
investigators even acknowledging there had been problems in their marriage but you were sleeping separately okay what
was the reason for that uh we had uh thought about a trial separation yet Robert newlander portrays the home as
peaceful and loving despite the issues in their marriage the night before Leslie died the couple along with their
son Ari and daughter Jenna had a family dinner at a friend's home after Ari headed back to his college dorm and
Jenna went back home with her parents we said good night to each other we loved each other and everybody kissed and went
to their prospective bedrooms Dr newlander tells the da that early the next morning he went for a jog
at a nearby State Park Green Lakes and then brought Leslie her usual cup of morning coffee when he got back the show
is on I hear the water running and I place it on the nightstand about an hour later he says
he returned to check on Leslie and there she was lying on the shower floor Dr newlander says he started CPR
and tried to call 911 but the bathroom phone wasn't working so he ran toward Jenna's bedroom yelling for her to call
911 the time 8:25 a.m. my mother's I don't know if she's breathing but she's laying on the ground
in the shower he said he then went back to Leslie and began to move her he says he can't see the lighting is not uh very
good in the bathroom he then put Leslie down just outside the bathroom to give her mouth
to mouth before moving her again I don't know at what age we all learn that you don't
move somebody with a serious head or neck injury but we all know it and here's a guy that's been practicing
medicine for 30 years finally Dr newlander says he placed his wife next to the bed to continue CPR there's you
know more red flags than a bull fight going off in my head when I hear that story for the first time Fitzpatrick
develops his own theory that hours before that 911 call Dr Newland assaulted his wife in the bedroom and
then likely chased her into the bathroom I think that he struck her on that shower bench she may have already been
in the process of dying at that point Fitzpatrick believes newlander made up the story of finding Leslie in the
shower and called for Jenna so he'd have a witness as he carried his wife back to
the bedroom what do you think he was doing when he was moving her I think now he has got to explain the blood trail
from the assault assault that took place in the bedroom that eventually made its
way into the bathroom and he's got to do it in reverse he had to move that body himself to explain that blood as for the
blood spattered in the bedroom the da believes Dr newlander didn't realize some of it was there because the
violence took place before the sun was up and don't forget he's committing this crime it's dark he doesn't know where
all the blood is but if Leslie newlander was attacked in her bedroom why were the
sheets nearly pristine the newlanders longtime housekeeper provided a clue to investigators she looked at the bed and
got upset and said those are not the sheets that were on that bed that Friday um she was very confident of that the da
believes that Dr newlander got rid of the sheets and the weapon on that alleged morning run I think the murder
weapon is at the bottom of Green Lake somewhere along with the the missing sheets with evidence now ing the medical
examiner changed his original report from accidental death to homicide nearly two years after Leslie new Lander's
death her husband Dr Robert newlander was charged with her murder the defendant moved the body of
Leslie newlander after her death to make it appear as if she had died from an accidental fall in the
shower but Dr newlander family says Fitzpatrick has it all wrong Leslie's own children Stand United with the man
accused of murdering their [Music] [Music] mother in March of 2015 2 and 1/2 years
after the death of Leslie newlander high drama was about to unfold in the Ananda
County Courthouse has all the elements the rich defendant a beautiful wife and the Mystery
surrounding it was it an accident was it a homicide so it was huge it was huge for this community Not only was a
prominent doctor on trial but two of Syracuse's top trial lawyers were squaring off to determine his guilt or
innocence people were stopping you on the street you know hey Fitz uh how's it look or go get him or I hope you lose I
have never had a CL ient whose innocence I believe in more firmly than him Ed Menin spoke to local reporters but
declined our request for an interview if either one of them finds blood in the water they go right for it we asked
retired local attorney Jim Stevens to explain the defense's case he's a CBS News consultant who attended the trial
it was going to be riveting it was a top-notch trial all the way around each day in court began with the
same seen in the hallways free on $100,000 bail the doctor would arrive flanked not only by his children but by
Leslie's sister and brother he didn't do it that's the message he didn't do it it
was not a crime the state has bigger hurdles to contend with than just images prosecutors have no weapon and no
clear-cut motive is it risky to go to a jury without those things sure sure they
I mean the jurors you know they're not any different than you and I they want they want answers Fitzpatrick believes
the evidence like the blood spatter in the bedroom will tell the jury that this was no accident and he's Enlisted the
help of forensic scientist Karen green to make his case blood stains can tell you a lot they can tell you a lot and
they're associated with just about every crime scene that we go to there were no
cameras in the courtroom so we asked green to take us through her blood spatter analysis there was spatter on
the headboard there was spatter on items on the nightstand just south of the bed
spatter on the blinds above the bed and there were spatter on the south wall that was about 7t to the south of the
bed tell us about the south while we've been referencing it what are the two spatters that are marked sbd1 that's an
area where we saw over 100 spatter stains the prosecution contends the spatter was primarily something called
impact spatter created when lesli was attacked in the bedroom to better understand the terminology we built a
set and supplied Karen green with Stage blood to give us a rudimentary lesson when we talk about impact spatter what
does that mean impact spatter is force applied to liquid blood so I'm going to pour some of our artificial blood here
into my hand and I'm going to punch it and that's Force going into a blood Source the force impacts the blood blood
and the blood spatters yes and then the blood breaks up into smaller drops it's impact that's one way blood
gets out you can see how it's it's radiating out we have some smaller stains with
some directionality up to the top for the newlander case green conducted various experiments trying to recreate
the spatter in the bedroom going so far as placing a rock covered in PL sck and a wig on a bed to simulate Leslie's head
I had a location that was similar to the newlander bedroom with the slanted ceiling I used all the measurements that
were in the scene the approximate height of the bed I had a nightstand and then I
put liquid blood and I impacted it I just had to verify that an impact on or near the South side of the bed could
create spatter 6 to 7 feet away in the same distribution and could it I was able to recreate with an impact event an
impact scenario all of the spatter that I saw in this bedroom but the defense mocked Green's methods and said they
amounted to nothing more than whacking a mannequin over the head the defense had
their own blood spatter expert he testified it was not possible to determine if Leslie's death had been an
accident or homicide because the investigation had been flawed there were not enough closeup pictur pictures of
the blood some of the evidence in question like the headboard and the blinds had been collected months after
the incident emergency Personnel had walked all over the scene in fact the defense suggested that EMTs may have
been responsible for some of the blood spatter First Responders probably had blood on their hands and that the gloves
were just peeled off and then so doing the blood flies from the gloves and you don't have an impact but you have a cast
off the defense also argued that the blood could have been cast off by Dr newlander himself the doctor said he'd
been wearing a long sleeve shirt that became so wet and bloody as he tried to frantically save his wife's life that he
pulled it off those spatters by the bed were caused by him removing a shirt Fitzpatrick scoffs at those theories
pointing out that paramedics are trained to carefully remove their gloves and that no gloves or shirt could could
account for the amount of blood in that room that doesn't explain any of the blood it's a significant amount of blood
the defense in insists it was an accident and that there may have been a good reason why Leslie newlander fell
that morning she had vertigo a dizziness disorder Leslie's personal trainer told
the jury that Leslie's condition had grown worse and her sister Joanne testified that it ran in the family and
that she herself suffered from it the idea of her sister testifying is that affecting your view of the case
sure why wouldn't she be m in hell and why wouldn't she be saying I'm not testifying for you what are you crazy
you killed my sister to bolster their case of an accidental death the defense hired Dr Daniel Spitz a medical examiner
working in Michigan who's seen more than a share of traumatic head injuries his testimony basically is the massive head
wound that caused her death was caused as a result of her falling in the shower against the stone bench if Leslie
sustained an injury in the shower by her head striking the stone bench what does
this do for Dr newlander defense the home run but the prosecution countered that Leslie suffered at least two blows
to her skull and that the wounds were not consistent with their head striking a straight edge like a stone shower B
it should be like a simple linear fracture uh with some bleeding underneath of it but you don't get the
complex depressed fracture like this Dr jelik did not testify a trial but consulted with the prosecution Leslie's
other injuries they say don't add up to a slip and fall there were abrasions scrapes of the skin on her cheek
bruising on her nose more on the left side of the cheek as well well bruising and scraping on her neck if she slipped
and fell in a shower why aren't there any injuries to her back or her legs her knees her elbows critical to the
prosecution's case not just how Leslie newlander died but when Dr Spitz estimated Leslie died around 7:30
a.m. but the da makes the case that her death could have occurred as early as 4:15 which fits his theory of a pre da
assault the time of death is absolutely inconsistent with the defendant story there is now just one more witness left
to testify the doctor's daughter what did she see that terrible morning she was there she was there
[Music] the day that Jenna was to testify The Spectators were lined up in anticipation
of what she was going to say 2 and a half years after Jenna newlander beloved mother Leslie died thank you for being
you I love you the now 25-year-old devoted daughter is a about to take the stand to defend her father there was no
doubt there was pain in that courtroom when she testified she's trying to secure her father's freedom and she's
dealing with the death of her mother right I don't know how she got un understand to do it she's the only other
eyewitness she was very very important to the outcome of this case with all eyes on her Jenna
tearfully describes the mother she lost she was genuinely upset and mournful about testifying the testimony forced
her to bring some memories to the surface of her mother who she clearly loved very very much Jenna then tells
the jury what happened in the newlanders home in the hours before her mother died
she says she was with her mom in Leslie's bedroom until 2: a.m. and Jenna clearly remembers the sheets on her
mother's bed that night she says they're the same ones in the death scene photos
sheets the housekeeper said had been changed the changing of the sheets was a significant issue and why would you
change the sheets change the sheets because there was blood on it no bloody sheets there's no impact event right on
the bed I need to go over there and see if she's okay okay then there's perhaps the most critically important piece of
evidence I need to put you on hold I'm not it's like a house pH the later part of the 911 call Jenna
put the call on hold in her mother's office to get closer to the bathroom where Leslie
was oh my God blood everywhere both sides argue Jenna's cry there's blood everywhere is key and
supports their case to demonstrate the arguments we made an animation of parts of the
newlander home based on evidence the prosecution presented at Trump the prosecution believes as Jenna was
running into the bathroom she passes blood here and here a trail of blood that could not yet
exist unless Robert newlander attacked Leslie earlier in the bedroom and then left her in the shower she has passed
the entrance to the bathroom where uh there's a significant amount of Blood on the wall that only could have come from
Leslie's head perhaps uh by being pushed against that wall or perhaps being chased the da says Jenna then grabbed
the landline phone in the water closet to reconnect with 911 and yells there's blood everywhere oh blood everywhere
you you're saying it's a big deal how she even phrased oh my God there's blood everywhere that her mother's not part of
that sentence exactly her initial response would have been oh my God my mother's bleeding my mother's on the
ground she would have referenced what she was seeing Fitzpatrick believes Jenna drops the phone and the call
captures seconds later the exact moment when she first sees her mom as Dr newlander starts to carry Leslie's body
around the corner out of the shower and into Jenna's view it is then she lets Loos a cry
of pure anguish oh my God oh my God as painful as it is to listen through it is inconceivable that that
call is anything other than a declaration of guilt against her father but the defense says the same call
proves Dr newlander innocence that when Jenna runs into the bathroom there is no
blood on the walls yet Jenna testifies she picks up the phone by the toilet drops it because it isn't working while
rushing to help her father they carry her mother to this area right outside the bathroom and Jenna says it is at
that point she takes a cordless phone from her mother's dressing room and reconnects with the 911 operator in the
defense view this is when Jenna sees blood on and around her mother this is when she yells there's blood everywhere
oh is are you the defenses take on that is that her mother is present in front of her and she's reacting to her mother
the blood that's on her mother and maybe Blood on the wall and on the on the floor as well Jenna was asked on the
stand did you see blood on your way to the water closet correct she answered what she said no that supports the
notion that the first time she saw blood she was looking at her mother correct the da though doesn't believe Jenna
could do everything she claims to have done during the 13 seconds the 911 call was on hold Fitzpatrick tried it himself
and says it took him about 50 seconds it is not physically possible to do that in
13 seconds it's not even a close question there is one other part of Jenna's testimony that may be crucial
Jenna tells the jury that as her father was tending to her mother mother in the bedroom she saw him take off a blood
soaked shirt and throw it to the side now remember the defense suggested that tossing this bloody shirt may have
caused some of the blood spatter in the bedroom but the shirt has never been found there isn't a single witness that
saw him with a long sleeve shirt on other than Jenna if we injected Jenna newlander
with truth ser and said did your father kill your mother she would say no I don't think in
her mind Jenna believes that her father did this I think she is created a protective World in her mind where Mom
slipped and fell in a [Music] shower but the question now isn't what Jenna believes it's what the jury
believes I'm worried that they're having an emotional reaction to the agony of this
girl they know that this girl wants them to vote not guilty and they know that this 60 plus year old defendant is
unlikely to reoffend and all of those emotions can play to the detriment of a case that has
to be proven Beyond A Reasonable Doubt [Music] [Music] after eight grueling days of testimony
district attorney Bill Fitzpatrick addressed the jury one last time for closing arguments asking them to pay
close attention to the physical evidence specifically the blood spatter on the walls and the injuries to Leslie
newlander body as I said many times in the trial Leslie will speak to you ladies and
gentlemen you have to listen to her and also to listen carefully to the words of
Jenna newlander in that critical 911 call oh everywh it proves his guilt Beyond any shadow of a doubt but there's
one thing the da could not share with the jury what he suspects was the motive that sent Robert newlander into a
murderous rage that morning investigators learned from a friend of the newlander family that Leslie was
planning on signing a lease for a new apartment on the day she died Leslie was on her way out and this is not a guy
that can deal with that but this was not presented at trial Fitzpatrick says because the memory of that witness
changed she later said the apartment was for both Leslie and Robert Ed Menin strongly denies these accusations and
insists there was no motive in the summation he didn't just say not guilty he said innocent innocent he said
innocent throughout the jury would deliberate for 3 days before alerting the judge they
had reached a verdict Robert newlander returned to the courthouse once again arm inarm with his
family the pain etched on his children's face [Music] 2 and 1/2 years after Leslie new
Lander's death the jury found Robert newlander guilty of her murder a heartbroken Jenna newlander
broke the Silence of the hushed courtroom crying out loud to her father I was there you didn't do
it let me know when everybody said I'm only saying it once outside the courtroom of visibly shaken Ed Menin
address the media Bob nolander is the most honorable person I have ever met this case has been a travesty from start
to finish it is not finished and so the newlander children turned to attorney Gerald charel
legendary for his defense of mob boss John Gotti to handle their father's appeal charel wasted little time calling
for a hearing to throw out newlander conviction alleging there was serious juror
misconduct in the spotlight a juror named Jonna Lorraine according to an alternate jur Lorraine had received
texts and other Communications about the case during trial against judge Miller's
orders not to discuss the case a search of the accused juror's phone revealed she had received some potentially
prejudicial texts including one from her father which read make sure he's guilty
but Weeks Later the judge upheld Dr new Lander's conviction pointing out the juror had been undecided in early stages
of deliberations and in the end the judge ruled she had taken her role seriously almost 4 months after the
verdict sentencing would finally commence with family photos on display the newlander children returned to the
courthouse for the first time all cameras are allowed in court facing a maximum sentence of 25
years to Life newlander Family begged the judge for the minimum sentence of 15 years Leslie's sister Joanne spoke on
the Family's behalf had any of us even slightly suspected Foul Play of any sort we would not be here today on Bob's
behalf and then it was time for Robert newlander to address the court my head is
unbowed by the verdict of this court for an innocent man has been wrongfully convicted I would not and did not take a
life I love my wife Leslie very much and I mourn her every day now and forever the judge sentenced Robert newlander to
20 years to life in a New York state prison jury's eyes Dr newlander you intentionally murdered your wife and
then attempted to use your own daughter to cover it up a daughter who most clearly Ador you which is as diabolical
as against as Dr newlander is escorted out of the courtroom to begin his sentence Jenna calls out love you
Dad the newlander children have now lost not only their mother but their father as well I I I hate what this has done to
Jenna that's probably the most painful thing of all he brought Jenna into that process he made her a witness for his
own purposes and that is cruel but Dr Mary jimell knows she has also played a role in their suffering do
you have any regret about your involvement in this case no this is probably the hardest
thing I've ever done in my whole career however it was the right thing to do and I hold on to
that we are finally giving Leslie the acknowledgment of what happened to her [Music]
[Music]

"48 Hours" reports on cases involving fathers and their children. Binge-watch the full episodes, which include "The Trial of Alex Murdaugh," "Karrie's Choice" and "The Doctor’s Daughter."

00:00 The Trial of Alex Murdaugh 41:33 Karrie's Choice 1:24:03 The Doctor’s Daughter

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

Alec Murdoch is found guilty of murdering his wife and son, with evidence linking him to the crime scene shortly before their deaths.

Key points

The Trial of the Century. Alec Murdoch is on trial for the double homicide of his wife and son.
Alec Murdoch's Bizarre Shooting Incident. Alec claims he was shot in a roadside incident, raising further suspicions.
Alec Murdaugh's Alibi Shattered. Testimony reveals Alec's presence at the kennels just minutes before the murders.
Guilty Verdict. Alec Murdaugh is found guilty of murdering his wife and son after a lengthy trial.
Unthinkable Absence. Lloyd's absence from a crucial court appearance raises alarms.
A Shocking Discovery. Michelle's body is found, leading to suspicions of foul play.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I knew it was really bad that night.

Alec Murdoch's reaction to the murders.

6:28WatchJul 27, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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