Twisted Tales | “48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] people perceive me as being a billionaire s and this entitled spoiled rich
girl this wild crazy party girl that's hanging from Rafters that's not it at all
I'm a business woman I'm a mother I'm a friend I'm a wife there are a few that think that I'm
a murderer surely the crime of the young decade a respected senior officer dead he was hoping to be promoted to senior
superintendent but the Lord Our God wanted to promote him to become an angel my brother he was playful
hey he was a very happy person Henry jamot from everything we know was a very jovial guy he loved his family he loved
Sports he loved music he go all the way for his friend Henry was my friend that was an accident terrible
accident I it will haunt me for the rest of my life the shooting took place where
at that dark these two people wind up on a lonely peir in the dark together why are
they there I I remember saying you really need your gun just we're going right here to the
pier and he's like I always have my gun and so he brought it with him the moon was beautiful so we just wanted to come
sit by the pier put our feet in the water was there anyone else on that Pier besides the two of you no did you have a
finger around the truck not that I thought I just remember trying to see next thing I know the gun
went off he fell on top of me and all I could feel was warmth and I later then realized he was bleeding on me she feels
this warmth you know when we talk about warmth we think about warm cookies or a blanket we don't think about the warmth
of death didn't know if he was dead there's not a night that goes by don't dream about that incident
and relive it people are wondering was this an accident was this murder Jasmine Harden was arraigned in
the San Pedro magistrates court on a single charge of manslaughter by negligence my brother was shot behind
the air execution style she should be charge for murder murder murder I'm not a murderer that's
ridiculous miss Aron do you have anything to say my freedom is at stake my relationship with my children is at
stake why won't you let me see the kids Andrew she gave so many stories so who knows when she's telling
the truth [Music] [Music] I think a lot of people misjudge me her name is Jasmine Harton seen by
many as one of the most wealthy and controversial people they don't seem my wholesome side in one of the most
alluring places on Earth when I decided to come to bise I thought that I was moving from the cold
North into to a paradise B is a tiny Central American Tourist Mecca that's also a Haven for the super rich where
jet Setters and Beach comers rub elbows every day and it's where Jasmine 32 was Raising twins with her partner Andrew
Ashcraft a real estate developer and Son of a British billionaire a woman with one of the most prominent names on the
island is at the police station I've never had a story like this before Sharice how saw is a news reporter and
anchor at Channel 7 in b and a CBS News consultant she has been covering the case since it broke on May 28th 2021
reports tonight are that Harton was flattered in the officer's blood authorities detain Jasmine Harton after
finding her dazed and drenched in blood on a deserted pier near her exclusive beachfront Resort home it's a mystery
for which the Intrigue is escalating in the water was police super intendant Henry jamat with a fatal gunshot wound
behind his right ear a man beloved by his five children and says his sister Cherry by the
country he'd spent his life serving he had done a great job for the country of B we will purchase Shoes for some of the
needy kids within the villages alone with a respected police officer dead and a wealthy powerful woman in a
concrete jail cell there were rampant rumors about Jasmine Harton and Henry jamat were drugs or infidelity
involved the speculation was fueled by reports that Jasmine's account of that night had changed according to channel 7
the first account she told was the Fatal shot may have come from a passing boat why would she have ever told such a
wild story about a boat after a jailhouse visit with a lawyer Harton admitted she fired the Fatal shot
accidentally Harton was charged with manslaughter by negligence and eventually released on
bail the things that are at stake right now is my relationship with my children my freedom my business my money my my
character my reputation and my my life is is at [Music] sake tonight you will hear Jasmine
Harton tell her side of the story it's a story that begins in her childhood she insists she was never a spoiled rich kid
I think because I grew up the way I did all of that has prepared me for what I've just endured she says she grew up
poor in Canada as one of nine siblings in a small farming Community do you remember being hungry as a child of
course yeah many times Jasmine's mother Candice cleone says food was in such short supply she' trick a local dnut
shop to give her stale pastries to feed her kids I went in and told them I was a
pig farmer I needed the donnuts for my pigs the kids thought it was awesome she went to high school in A
Hard Scrabble neighborhood of Kingston Ontario and set her sights on a career in dentistry hoping to help the
needy I started to do dental missions and B I saw an opportunity to come down and do a mission here for
Dentistry she arrived in bise in 2014 she set up shop on an exclusive island called amberr key and made a splash on
the social scene acquiring a reputation as a party girl and in 2015 she met met someone who
would change her life by then she was working as a realtor and he was a potential client there was something
intriguing about his level of confidence it was Andrew Ashcroft I thought he was very clever
very funny very witty Andrew is a son of Lord Michael Ashcroft a well-known conservative political figure in his
native Great Britain who' built a billion dooll business Empire with extensive holding and B they reportedly
have included ownership stakes in the phone company two of the biggest banks a TV station even the main
Port once you learned that Andrew Ashcraft is the son of a billionaire how did that impact you in your relationship
so I was curious about it were you in any way attracted to his wallet no but the potential I wanted to build
something together I wanted us to be partners they got engaged in 2016 and the next year had twins Charlie and Ella
it was just months earlier at a brunch that Jasmine had met the other man who' become a central figure in her future a
high ranking police official on the island Henry jamat Henry is a lot of fun and we would get together often um with
groups Jasmine says he was on the island for about another year before being transferred and they got to know each
other well he loved his food loved my cooking often came to the house for dinner she says Andrew ashro already
knew Henry so jamaat's name was on the invite list in May 2021 when the couple cut the ribbon on their professional
dream thank you a Marriott branded Resort worth millions it was just weeks before the shooting for Jasmine and I it
marks the Fulfillment of a dream dream to create the eliar resort Jasmine Harton seemed to have it all opulent
lifestyle lovely family and links to a powerful Dynasty her life may have looked perfect but she says by then
behind the curtains of the five bedroom beachfront condo she shared with Andrew and the children there was trouble
Andrew and I have had a very Rocky Road they tried to make it work says Jasmine though they never officially married
forel we weren't even sleeping in the same rooms and she says they were essentially leading separate lives so on
a dark night in May 2021 when Jasmine Harton suddenly found herself in trouble at a party she called for her friend
Henry jamat I said please come pick me up this is bad [Music] [Music] set the scene for us this is a very
special place for you yeah it used to be a very special place but now brings back
a lot of very sad sad memories this is Grand Colony so that building in the back is
where I I lived at the glittering Center of Jasmine Harton's world was a fantasy the luxurious beachfront hotels
of the Ashcraft Empire in San Pedro on ambergis key believ San Pedro is where all that money comes in rolls in and
rolls out here accommodations can go for upwards of $1,000 a night it is just a few footsteps across the sand but a
world away from everyday life in this Central American Nation where the average salary is around $800 a month
there's an element of race in that expats do not tend to socialize within the black community I'm standing in but
reporter Sharice housea says Jasmine Haron and Henry jamaat's life Journeys cut a path that straddled Both Worlds
Henry jamat is friends with a wide range of bisan society as at ease with the ashcs and
their enormous wealth as he was with the workingclass people he grew up with you
called him King yes he's the king yes he's the king my parents name him King because
he's one and only boy in the family a king who followed in the footsteps of his sister ch
yes we are both police officers and was your brother a good cop a very good cop very
strict we're trying to bridge the gap between the community and the police Henry jamat is an upstanding officer and
I believe that by us a senior police official and a family man dedicated father to four girls and a
boy son brother friend to many like Jean Lopez he was a big fell but he was friendly
but Stern tell me about the Henry that you knew he would assist anybody if they need assistance he's a very good man
loved by many he have extended his love beyond the family limits did you become good friends well
yes the more I got to know him we had a lot in common there has been a lot of talk around bise
that you and Henry jamat were more than friends that you may have been lovers that's not true that's not true at all
you guys never had a sexual relationship no still the nature of their relationship would become the heart of
this story and the question is what was such a prominent man prominent yes but working class middle class doing a on a
pair with someone who's from the 0.01% of wealthy experts it just seemed like a mashup and a friendship that
almost shouldn't exist whatever their relationship it was Jasmine's Reliance on the Man known as
king that set in motion the final days of Henry jamaat's life it was May 22nd 2021 Jasmine says she was at a party 70
M from home a man followed me into the room and was quite aggressive with me verbally physically physically um in a
sexual manner so in that moment I fought him off me I called jamut right away the
man Jasmine calls her protector didn't hesitate he drove an hour to come pick me up and he kept saying we need to
really work on getting your firearms license she says Henry jamont wanted her to have a gun for protection and you
agreed to that yes and when he had that conversation did he show you his Glock pistol yes he wanted me to handle it to
get a feel for it this is what a Glock 17 looks like when you got home did you share what happened to you with Andrew
no we weren't really sharing a lot with each other at all and Henry jamat posted
on Facebook that he was now single he posted something about being single like after 14
years and so some 3 days later it was Jasmine's turn to help her friend the next thing I know I get a text message
from Henry saying hey can you hook me up at Grand Colony I need to come out there
for a couple days and just blow off some steam he checked in on Wednesday May 26th correct the next day Henry went
fishing with his best friend Francisco Penny Aro he was happy as happy I said so what's up
tonight he said will I have a date I said who he said that one I'm taking it to my grave but he was smiling when he
tell me that were you that date that's hard to say if he called me a date he may have just been pulling their leg or
exaggerating truth I'm not sure but I'm I'm definitely not a date she says Andrew was supposed to join them but as
a full moon settled over the tropical Caribbean night Jasmine met Henry alone I had a police report that
superintendent jamot had been killed on a pier in San Pedro just offshore from this pier
floating in the dark Caribbean Sea Henry jamat shot dead next thing I know the police are there she had called the
police herself they took her into custody where Jasmine reportedly spun her first version of how Henry jamat
Died her story is that a passing boat shot jamat and that story is from Jasmine herself from Jasmine herself I
don't remember saying that like it was such a blur um you know and I think I was in
shock were you intentionally trying to mislead police at that moment to protect yourself no not at
all later on the day of the shooting Henry jamaat's body was brought across the shimmering Waters and home by his
best friend panny in this boat they'd been fishing in just a day before I said can't be cannot be I'm
Still Still Hur still bother still very hurt you were crying yeah of course is the King was dead the woman with
connections to a wealthy powerful family sat in a Cell at the police station and
then reportedly that story she told about the bullet fired from the boat began to change it's past midnight right
now at the end of the pier what [Music] happens there are only two people who know what happened on that Pier on
ambergris key one is forever silenced allegedly shot with his own gun a Glock 17 like this one 42-year-old
superintendent of police Henry jamut is dead more than 2 days after being taken into police custody the other person in
this Twisted drama Jasmine Harton made a startling admission you have admitted shooting and killing Henry jamat yes so
but let me just finish my question was it an accident or was it murder it was absolutely not murder
Henry was my friend that day changed everyone's lives documents from the cops courts and
forensic experts in Jasmine Harton's case have not been made public so much of her account of that night cannot be
independently corroborated she told her story in detail for the first time on TV to 48
Hours how did you and Henry jamat end up on that Pier well we were sitting on the
balcony of unit one which is ocean front she says they were drinking cinnamon whiskey yeah he took
his like a shot you know I was sipping on mine then we went it was a full moon the
stars were gorgeous so we decided let's go down and sit on the pier we were sitting on the edge our legs kind of
dangling just talking as he done after rescuing her from that party Jasmine says Henry jamat
again pulled out his 9mm Glock 17 and handed it to her I am not an expert with 9mm by any means so Jasmine says Henry
began teaching her how to eject and reload the magazine clip and bullets he said let's see if you can do you know
unload the clip reload it so helped me get the clip out I was unloading it then he took the bullets and put them beside
him I was under the impression that the gun was completely empty at the time it doesn't make sense to people why are
you doing this in the darkness it just kind of happened in that moment Jasmine claims Henry was a little
inebriated but says she wasn't I had had a few drinks yeah I wasn't drunk it's past midnight now we're approaching
12:45 a.m. mhm what happens what unfolds we're sitting on the end of the pier together he makes a comment about how
his shoulder's really stiff and he's like just rub my shoulder so I kind of scooched back behind him Jasmine says
she agreed to give Henry jamat a shoulder massage and then let's head inside he said so I said okay so he has
the bullets to his left he asked me to hand him the clip from the gun and that's when I picked it up I'm still
kind of behind him a little bit like he's sitting like this I'm kind of sitting like this who's holding the
gun at that point me so I reached for the gun to take the magazine or the clip out cuz he was going to reload it he had
the bullets there and all of a sudden it went off and yeah he it's it's hard to talk about
this still take me through that moment by moment so I lean over I pick up the gun
and I'm trying to click out the magazine and it's not working so I'm holding it like this and I'm trying to use the
moonlight or whatever to see if I'm clicking the right button Jasmine says the barrel of the
gun was pointed to the left where Henry was sitting next thing I know the gun went off and did you have a finger
around the trigger not that I thought somehow you must have pulled the trigger I I I don't
know I I I mean it was an accident or the gun misfired but consciously did I pull the trigger no
she says Henry jamat never made a sound so the shot went off and he fell on top of
me and all I could feel was warmth and I later then realized he was bleeding on me Jasmine says after the shot she
struggled to get out from under Henry I was shaking him I didn't know what to do
I as I'm trying to wiggle my way free to render Aid his body was slipping into the water
from the dog I didn't know what to do I didn't know if he was dead she says it took time to make sense of what had
happened it was a horrible accident taking Jasmine into custody authorities discovered she was carrying
a small amount of cocaine they didn't charge her with possession that night because it hadn't been tested yet had
you used cocaine that evening no do you use cocaine do you have a drug problem I definitely do
not have a drug problem at all and I will say that the substance that they found was not mine whose was it
then I don't think I can say that she said it wasn't hers it's in her purse Cherry jamat the police officer who
inspired her younger brother King to get his badge isn't buying any of it do you
believe that your brother on a darken night at the end of a pier at 12:45 in the morning was actually showing her how
to use his Glock 9mm pistol my brother would never do a thing like that when it comes to firearm he is so skillful and
he is so careful you don't believe in any possible way this could have been an accident I cannot believe
that cherry is hopeful that when the ballistics report is revealed it will lead prosecutors to upgrade the
charge Jasmine Harden should be charged for murder and not manslaughter either way Jasmine Harton
was about to run into a world of trouble a lot closer to home this is absolutely war war with the
billionaire family she once called her own tonight we continue with The Saga of Jasmine Harton versus Andre as
Coss Andrew is inside hiding my kids inside why won't you let me see the kids Andrew why won't you let me see the
[Music] [Music] children from the swaying Palms to the silent roads journalist Sharice Hol and I went looking for Henry
jamaat's Hometown routes Peter this is the hummingbird Highway in Biz and it's the road to the
culture Capital which is dangriga that's where Henry jamat grew up and where his
family still lives we followed the dusty colorful streets of Dan griga let's stop
at that Greenhouse there I'm looking for where Henry gemot used to live and we led to Henry Cham 's nephew eel this is
it he is clear on how his uncle died murder and the whole family feels that way everybody feels that way but
authorities charge Jasmine Harton with manslaughter not murder and publicly investigators have never suggested any
motive for her to have intentionally killed Henry I had no motive to do that to my friend but Henry's family believes
the truth is revealed in how and where he was shot my brother was shot behind the air execution
style that shot echoed through a town famous for its music and drums the beat Henry jamat loved the Heritage he was
passing on to his children we're getting close to the church where Henry Jam funeral was held
as he had in life the 42-year-old public servant United the people of Biz wherever he
goes wherever he did he shared that love with all of us but how to comfort sisters who lost the brother they
lovingly called King and how to answer six-year-old Henry III's question how comes my dad haven't called
me while Henry jamat was mourned by a nation J man Harton was getting a different kind of
attention and according to a prison official the 32-year-old who will be dealt with like any other untried
prisoner will become the only Caucasian among 1,041 inmates still the people of B couldn't help but wonder if Jasmine's
race stature and wealth might benefit her then she was locked up for 13 days myself was
infested with cockroaches Miss do you have anything to say when she finally made bail roughly
$15,000 it was paid for by an employee of the ashcs but Jasmine was already getting the feeling that her partner
Andrew wanted her out of sight the day that I got out I was expecting to be reunited with my children at home but
instead I was sent to a house in the middle of nowhere by by myself without my children without a phone Andrew
arranged for the house and for the twins to visit but Jazmin claims he only allowed them to see her one time Andrew
claims Jasmine left the house before he could arrange another visit and being apart from your children what has that
been like for you that's one that will get me to cry um two weeks after making bail Jasmine tried to visit the twins
herself my son and my daughter at the Grand colony where she had lived with Andrew
Ashcroft it was then that chaos broke out so this is me recording this is part of the video Jasmine shot Andrew's
running so I can't see my children security is literally stopping me from seeing my children right
now in a statement Andrew later wrote that Jasmine was shouting and cursing and behaving aggressively board the
hotel staff you've been instructed by Andrew to stop me from seeing my children that's correct he's inside
hiding why won't you let me see the children she is startled 2 days later when she's arrested again this time for
assaulting a hotel staff member that day all I did was try to collect my personal
belongings and see my children and authorities at a charge for cocaine possession from the night of the Henry
jamat shooting this is absolutely ridiculous her bail is then revoked and she's locked up again but not for long
tonight after four more nights Behind Bars Jasmine was out again her bail restrictions mandated she check in with
police every day a 4-Hour round trip drive across Biz from where she is staying and so when you go in what do
you say um they ask me a series of questions where I'm staying uh my date of birth but this day's check-in just 2
weeks after the confrontation at the hotel why are you keeping my children from me Andrew would prove anything but
routine authorities hand her an order to appear at a custody hearing reciting Andrew's allegations for a reason that
the mother of the children hardly spends any time with the children first of all I was in jail
Andrew Ashcraft seeks full custody of his children because Jasmine is charged with causing the death of a police
officer by negligence as well as the assault of that hotel employ and claims she is addicted to
nonprescription and illegal drugs and a habitual drunkard it's a vividly different description of the woman
Andrew once welcomed into his rarified world in my opinion this is absolutely War this is absolutely gloves are off
the war would be about the custody of the children a powerful family and a building International
Scandal money power image and reputation mean absolutely everything to that family next up in the war of the ashcs
money according to Jasmine she's been cut off financially you didn't have a bank
account a trust fund nothing that you could draw upon not at all Mr as mother Andrew Ashcraft declined to speak with
48 hours and his attorney says with legal proceedings under way it would be quite ill advised to Grant an
interview the wheels had come off Jasmine Harton's Life in Paradise and she was running
scared I've been through what I would consider hell on Earth but the jamat family says there the ones going through
hell as they continue to mourn the kind conscientious man they believe Jasmine murdered she gave so many stories so who
knows when she's telling the truth Central to Jasmine's story is that she knew very little about handguns and that
Henry wanted to teach her but recently images have appeared of jasmine in B with a
shotgun what does that video tell you that video tell me that Jasmine is well-versed have wide knowledge of
bigger Firearms this is you with a semi-automatic rifle yes it has a magazine a clip so I'm guessing you know
how to take out a magazine and reinsert it into a weapon that picture was from 2012 when I was at a Las Vegas shooting
range they don't let you load your Firearms what the video doesn't show is that it really was probably my 10th
attempt at the watermelon I'm not very good with Firearms Jasmine says she knew next to
nothing about handguns I do not know how to handle a 9mm properly at all as we can tell it would come down to this was
the gun used to kill Henry jamont fired by accident we asked an expert is it easy to
accidentally fire this [Music] weapon there's a lot writing on Jasmine Harton's account of Henry jamaat's
shooting so we wanted an expert opinion about whether her story lines up what are you holding in your hand
this is a Glock 17 9mm pistol it's the same type of weapon that was used in the shooting incident that occurred in bise
David Katz is a former DEA agent and a veteran Firearms instructor who taught at the FBI DEA Academy in
Quantico if used properly how safe is a Glock 17 these are an extremely safe cat
says Glock handguns are designed to withstand almost any amount of jostling without accidentally firing I could bang
it I could drop it it's not going to go off but cat says there's one notable exception
a potential key to understanding what happened on that Pier we showed him portions of my
interview with Jasmine I'm trying to get the magazine out as you can see from Jasmine's gestures she says she was
fumbling around to release the Guns Magazine if her finger was on the trigger and the trigger moved to the
rear with 5 lbs of pressure the gun's going to go bang pulling the trigger on Glock
pistols can be easier than on some other handguns says Catz this is a for and accidental trigger pulls could
happen to anyone even to Veterans like this DEA agent who accidentally shot himself let me get a sense of how much
force it'll take to to fire this weapon that feels pretty light to me yeah it's 5.5 lb consciously did I pull the
trigger no even though Jasmine says she doesn't remember she had to have pulled the trigger there's no doubt about it
she pulled the trigger cat says trigger accidents can result from something called sympathetic
contraction in which Contracting one hand muscle triggers others too let's assume you put your finger on the
trigger in this position you squeeze the bottom fingers your trigger finger is going to similarly squeeze as well
another possible Factor alcohol Jasmine says Bui and Henry jamat had been drinking that
night there is no better way to get yourself hurt and by messing with Firearms when you are impaired I was
under the impression that the gun was completely empty at the time one or both of them could have unloaded the magazine
says Catz forgetting there was a bullet ready to fire in the chamber based on what you've heard her
say and what you know about the Glock 17 could this have been an accidental shooting yeah it could have been it's a
troubling story from so many aspects starting with why why you know why she's practicing in the dark but then when she
talks about where her hand was when the round went off could it have been an accidental discharge absolutely yes we
don't know what forensics ballistics or other tests authorities have conducted prosecutors aren't safe
I have no idea what evidence they have against me because they haven't released any of it
[Music] yet but Jasmine says Henry's sister Cherry confronted her when the two women
met by chance in July of 2021 I said Jasmine why did you kill my brother her response
was I'm sorry it was an accident I told her Jasmine you don't know what you have done to my
family do you believe you deserve any sort of legal punishment for what happened on that Pier I believe that
it's an it's it was an accident and I do accept any punishment that comes my way
under basian law she could get as much as 5 years for negligent manslaughter but also as little as a fine without any
more jail time time it would be an injustice to the family ever since his funeral Henry
jamat has watched over his family from a portrait on the wall the children would
sit in the sofa and they play with him up there Jasmine lost custody of her children in
2022 and is not allowed to visit them anymore [Music] and giving the enduring mystery of
exactly what happened that night Jasmine Harton May forever live under a cloud of
Suspicion It's haunting me I think about how his poor kids must feel being without their dad and I wish
I could take it back [Music] 48 Hours don't miss an episode [Music] it was somewhat unusual for someone to
just vanish out of thin air especially on the east side of Milwaukee Kelly DWI she is a young woman that is
out trying to discover herself you see this brigh eyed smiling beautiful girl who really seemed to have a lot of life
and vitality we got to spend quite a bit of time together in the yoga room it was
rare not to see her and I had just assumed she was on an adventure of some sort [Music]
October 12th 2013 she did not show up for work her co-workers were absolutely the
first to respond Kelly was very tied to her cell phone always posting on social media always
texting when they called Kelly's cell phone it went straight to voicemail Kelly dwire is missing Flyers
started going out all of the sudden in the community it was Boom everybody knew that she was
[Music] missing there's a sense of urgency here absolute sense of urgency for certain
today authorities and volunteers hunted for clues in her disappearance I think that people saw
those images and realized you know this could be my daughter this could be my best friend Kelly DWI was an
acquaintance of mine we would meet up at aliam a local bar and we would touch face frequently throughout the
week we learned that she was on a number of websites where one would meet men she
was bright sweet just kind-hearted good person she was on websites that could expose you to people very quickly that
are strangers some of her friends made comments that she might be with one of those people right now M DWI was meeting
people that could have put her In Harm's Way [Music] [Music] [Music] it's like she
vanishes her social media goes dead her debit card goes dead the phone is dead like the rest of Milwaukee
assistant district attorney Sarah Hill found Kelly dwi's sudden Disappearance in
2013 baffling in an age of an electronic footprint if you will it's not there it's like she just isn't
anymore the night of October 10th started out like any other for Kelly she'd been on a date with a man named
Chris Sako Kelly came to Chris's apartment building they go to get a few drinks and have a nice night out at a
place called alium a cute little uh bar that was uh kind of across the street from the apartment building I remember
her and I having a small conversation of so what do you have to do tomorrow and she goes I actually have off Chanel
Royston was at the bar that night Kelly told her what she planned to do the next
day I want to wake up in the morning I want to do yoga I want to do laundry and just have an easy
day they picked up a pizza from Ian's a little pizza place that's like a block away brought it to the bar we were all
sitting outside on this very long communal picnic bench we were all nibbling on the pizza you know they're
sharing it with us Kelly and Chris decide to call it a night a little after 2: in the morning they head back to uh
Mr zaco's apartment building across the [Music] street Kelly and Chris had been dating
for about a year after being introduced through a mutual friend Kelly had moved to Milwaukee in 2008 and gone to college
when we're in our early 20s that's definitely a time of exploration when you're trying to find your own footing
as an adult that's it biceps behind the ears lower your chin she always greeted me
with a hug Kelly's Journey of self-discovery had led to yoga class an instructor Ryan hater she was always
excited to see me and excited to get her butt kicked in my class keep your upper
back strong and her energy was just infectious Kelly worked part-time as a nanny and as a salesperson for an
athletic apparel store where her tight-knit co-workers were the first to sound the alarm when she met missed a
shift they worked together and they played together it's like she found her tribe when was the
last time that you saw Kelly dwire it was just before her birthday she was like something big is going to happen I
can feel it this feels really important to me Kelly had just turned 27 and her relationship with 38-year-old Chris Sako
seemed to be taking on greater me meaning for her based on what her friend said it certainly appeared to me that
she was extremely interested in him maybe even in love with him Chris's mother Joyce fry he was always into
sports he always had a lot of friends he was a very good golfer my dad took him uh out to the driving ranges I think he
put a golf club in Chris's hand when he was about three Chris graduated from Boston University with a degree in
international business but his love of sports led him to his dream job he was a major Yankee fan and they
did hire him in their IT staff and he just thought that was there could never be anything better and where was his
office it was at the Ballpark that's where at Yankee Stadium mhm that's where his office was so he was in heaven yeah
he really was but Joyce says Chris left New York in search of new opportunities eventually Landing in Milwaukee in 2009
and winding up at the relocation management company where she worked he was the CIO the Chief Information
officer I became involved in Kelly dwi's missing person investigation Katherine Spano then a detective with the
Milwaukee Police Department would learn about Kelly and Chris's relationship she
says Kelly's reasons for dating Chris were obvious he was educated he was bright he was smart
he had a job that paid him well he had a nice car a beautiful condo down on the east side while some friends thought
Kelly might have been in love with Chris it seems zako might not have been on the
same page Chris zako described his relationship with Kelly DWI as friends with benefits but it did seem Kelly was
keeping her options open Mr zigo didn't make promises to her that he was being exclusive with her and she also dated
some other people Royston recalls another time not long before Kelly went missing it was a very
easy night here at the bar Chanel was out at the aliam bar when Chris and Kelly invited her back to Chris's
apartment at closing time I went across the street with them for a night cap walked out to the balcony to smoke a
cigarette Chris then joined me he was smoking marijuana Kelly was inside I don't know exactly what Kelly was doing
Chanel says she got a bad feeling I just had this urge that I needed to leave though she just arrived she told Chris
and Kelly she suddenly realized how late it was and that she had to work in the morning I looked at Kelly I said I need
to leave and she looked up and said are you sure I said yep it's okay it's just late later than I thought I need to go
home and I walked out what was it what was your six cents telling you I don't know it just you weren't supposed to be
there bad space bad juju you don't need to be here Chanel wasn't the only one to
get the sense that all might not have been right in Kelly's World Kelly like many women her age had
been active on several dating websites even though she was seeing Chris and I'm thinking that that was the
main person she was seeing she was dating other people there were other people other men involved and her
friends were concerned she made a few statements they were usually prompted by the friends observing bruising on her
wrists or her neck and wondering why she has those bruises she told one friend uh she kind
of laughed about these bruises on her neck and wrists and laughed it off as a as a crazy night right and changed the
subject yes as police face the daunting task of finding Kelly what her life provide
their first clue there are some evil people out there [Music] [Music] 9129 I'm 23 so on Monday October 14th I started
my shift at 400 p.m. I learned that Kelly DWI a young woman had been reported missing and had not been seen
or heard from since the previous Friday as Kelly dwi's family and friends continue to search for her Milwaukee
detective Tammy TRL mlan arrived at the scene of Kelly's last known whereabouts 3 days earlier Chris sako's apartment
building they come right through this door and he actually holds the door open for
[Music] her you can see that on the video yes you see two people that are chatting
walk past that camera then there's another camera that catches them turning the corner corner to the elevator and
you can see Kelly in her typical I think outgoing fashion she's gesturing with her hands a little they bend the corner
and then that's the last time that she is ever seen Alive by anyone now it was time to talk to the
other person in that video TRL mlan sat down with zako in his 18th floor apartment he came off as a pretty nice
guy he said she would hang out with him a couple times a week he used the word party they party
together somewhat shockingly zako didn't hold back telling police exactly what he
meant by party as he described how he and Kelly had ended their evening they walk back and they do lines of cocaine
they have a couple more drinks he says there was sex and they both passed out on opposite ends of his
couch zako said Kelly left around 9:00 the next morning adding that he heard the front door click shut behind her
there was only one problem with that while I'm speaking with him I get a text message from one of the other
investigators who had been watching video downstairs with the manager and he simply just says in the text she doesn't
come out as treml mlan focused on how Kelly could have slipped out of this high security building
undetected zakos seem more interested in shifting Focus away from himself well you know she's messing around with a lot
of other guys there's some other guy you know kind of trying to take the attention away from himself that may
have been zaku's intention but that's not what happened in your bones in your gut based on your instinct and your
training and experience you felt like you were looking at a suspect yes police needed a way to search sako's
apartment for evidence because he had told TRL mlan he'd use drugs there they were able to get a search
warrant what'd you find lines of cocaine on top of a magazine uh some canisters of marijuana in the refrigerator
painkillers uh pills and marijuana pipes smoking pipes they should tell you how cold it is in
this place before they zako was arrested for drug possession during his interview
he seemed flip even when asked routine questions about his medical history anxiety nothing like that I have anxiety
they brought me in okay but no uh not taking anything for it okay no problem but no bipolar
schizophrenia I suppose that's all open to interpretation by somebody Zak's interrogation finishes
abruptly let's call my lawyer but while they had zako in custody police get a warrant to search his cell phone hoping
to find clues in Kelly's disappearance they were stunned to find a video of zako and Kelly DWI engaged in
a sex act where Kelly appears to be in distress she can't breathe she's straining for breath when was this video
taken that video was taken in approximately 3 weeks before she went missing and there was more incriminating
evidence disturbing pictures of Kelly on zaco's phone still photographs that are
very concerning as well because she appears to be unconscious on his bed but police could not link those images to
Kelly's disappearance and despite zako being a person of interest they could only charge him with drug possession but
that search of his apartment LED police to a bizarre Discovery in his bathroom during that first search warrant the
police observe the shower curtain hooks with the torn fragments of shower curtain not knowing what a torn down
shower curtain could mean and concern that Kelly is never seen exiting the building that they then bring in a
canine to conduct a sniff for the odor of decomposing human remains and that police cadav dog Molly would deliver
some stunning results there's an indication at the outside of the apartment door in the
parking garage on the level he parked his car on the dumpster door on the 18th floor Molly alerted on the
hallway guest bedroom guest bathroom she went on to the master bedroom got up onto Chris
zaco's bed she seemed to be sniffing vigorously on top of his bed and gives her final formal trained alert for
police that moment changed this case forever they now believed Kelly was dead and her final moments had been in Chris
sako's apartment and if Kelly died on that bed where did the body go that's what we needed to find
out and Chris Z had those answers and at that point it was turning into a homicide
investigation not having enough to charge zako and not knowing where Kelly's Body could be police search
Zak's home electronics for more clues they examined an external hard drive and some discs that were found in his spare
bedroom what's on that hard drive that hard drive has a number of Hardcore child pornography
videos very extremely extremely disturbing zako disavowed any knowledge of the child pornography police found if
you're an IT guy you collect stuff so you collect old hard drives you collect discs you collect you know you just
collect it equipment and that particular hard drive was from his former uh place
of work in Boston he didn't know it was there and you believe him I do believe him
yeah it had been 2 weeks since Kelly disappeared zako was arrested again this time for possession of child
pornography by early November 2013 he was out on bail and awaiting trial on the drug and child porn charges
girlfriend uh no I mean I dat multiple people but before zako had lawyered up in that first interrogation it would
turn out he'd said something that would come back to haunt him okay so nobody you consider your girlfriend right now
no there's a couple girls that I would like to be my girlfriend but it hasn't moved that seriously yet I
guess he began dating a young woman in 2009 he was living two different lives towards the end there was more
touching more of the smiling towards each other there was more affection there than there had been towards the
beginning according to Chanel Royston before Kelly DWI disappeared it seemed her relationship with Chris Sako was
evolving did Kelly ever tell you that she was falling in love with Chris she never told me but you could tell you
know how she would look at him that she was looking for something more and I think that she did love him at that
point it turns out zako may have been in love as well with someone else he was in
a very serious relationship with a woman who he was dating at the time that he was seeing Kelly and this young woman
knew nothing about the relationship with Kelly and did Kelly have any idea about
this other woman absolutely not and neither did investigators until this other woman's brotheris Z after seeing
zako arrested on the news reported to police that his sister Megan had been dating zako for more than three years
when I went to interview the long-term girlfriend Megan I had a lot of photographs from the search warrants
with me and I was able to have her identify different objects Within in the apartment they learned that a number of
things were missing she described that guest bathroom there should have been a shower curtain there should have been a
little rug and some matching decorative towels all of those things were gone and
she was surprised to see that she identified the shower curtain hooks that were bent and torn identified the fact
that they were not like that when she had last been in there and it's in that very bathroom where the sniff dog had
alerted detecting human remains exactly Megan also identified one more missing item there had been a large
travel golf bag lying in front of the TV that had been there for weeks and weeks
that they literally would have to step over to get into the bathroom and that was
missing a travel golf bag possibly like this one is commonly used by golfers to protect their clubs it's all padded very
large very large it was padded it was silver and uh she thought it was maybe 2 2 and 1/2 ft wide detectives wondered if
zako had a more Sinister use for the bag could Kelly's Body have fit inside that
travel bag yes absolutely absolutely but how did zako get that bag out of his apartment there is no video
of zako leaving on any of the 28 surveillance cameras in the building there's no camera on the elevator so he
could take her body in the travel golf bag um out of his apartment into the elevator down to the first floor and out
that door to the garage without being captured on any cameras but there are cameras inside the garage and yet no
image of zako with that bag the garage is the only area where the cameras would be motion activated some of the
investigators think hey he just got lucky with it it took months of painstaking work
for Milwaukee PD investigators to piece together Chris sako's movements on the days after his date with Kelly dwire
Lieutenant Eric goldbranson worked the case as both a homicide and Cold Case detective at 10:06 a.m. we have Chris
zako standing by the driver side door when he leaves that building at 10:08 a.m. Kelly dwi's
phone it goes dead what do you think happened to the phone at that moment broken powered down thrown in the water
the river is very close by zako is next seen back in his garage 16 minutes later standing by the trunk
of his car if you look closely in that image there's a grayer silver object lying in the vehicle above the
trunk level I think that's consistent with the travel golf Bay so you believe Kelly dwire is in the trunk of his
vehicle I do investigators believe that because the cadaver dog Molly told them so the
cab dog not only hits on all those things in the apartment but the dog hits on the car also in the trunk and on the
door handle and inside the vehicle over the next eight hours video shows zako coming and going several more times
loading items into his car before finally leaving for the day at 6:16 p.m. he said he decided to take his summer
sports equipment to his mother's house on a Friday night around 6:30 sure yes he came over to drop off some golf clubs
and his baseball equipment and so there's nothing Nothing in Your Mind unusual when he showed up with this
sporting equipment at your place not at all there's a golf bag that investigators say went missing a bag
that they claim Kelly dwi's body was in did you ever see this golf bag never 7:30 p.m. and zako is now du at
his girlfriend's house for a Friday night dinner but investigators learn he didn't
arrive until about 8:45 there's time that's unaccounted for we believe he was possibly looking for
areas to dispose of the body during that time unfortunately detectives weren't able to trace Zak's movements from his
phone records was his cell phone on or off it was off when zako did finally arrive for
dinner his girlfriend told investigators he wasn't quite himself he was quite late and he seemed a little bit ruffled
a little bit nervous he's fiddling with his phone claiming it doesn't work when they went to bed she described them as
being Restless she described them as sweating profusely to the point where she actually had to change the sheets
she found that very unusual and zako may have had a very good reason to sweat that night his car is parked near his
girlfriend's house house overnight we believe that body is absolutely in that trunk locked inside that golf bag he
could not have left that body in his apartment because that's the first place everybody went to look for Kelly the
following morning investigators say zako rose with the sun still faced with a nightmare he was desperate by Saturday
he had to get that body out of that vehicle [Music] [Music] one day after Kelly DWI disappeared
Chris Sako left his girlfriend's apartment and hit the road where he went that morning would be the first in a
series of Clues as to what may have happened to Kelly dwire Chris zako had gone to a place called the Mouse House
what's the mouse house it's a cheese place this is The Mouse House 80 mi from Milwaukee near Madison Wisconsin one
cheese shop in a state full of cheese shops why would he drive up toward Madison to buy cheese it's a very good
question a very good question zako says he drove 160 Mi round trip to buy a half
pound wedge of cheese for his girlfriend's parents but the investigators say that he did it to
finally dispose of Kelly's body somewhere in the rural Wisconsin Farmland between Madison and Milwaukee
in case he was spotted do you believe zako actually went to The Mouse House to create an alibi of sorts I do I
certainly do police believe that after dumping Kelly's Body zako made his way to this
shopping center on his drive back to Milwaukee investigators say that he walked into a Sports Authority and used
his credit card to buy a brand new pair of sneakers why is he buying new sneakers he may have purchased those
sneakers to replace ones that he used in in dumping the body like he might have been concerned that evidence got on
those sneakers so he had to have new ones to put on here's the slip up I don't know if May maybe he just had a
momentary lapse of judgment but that created a paper trail for him okay that paper trail was a single credit card
receipt which gave detectives a critical piece of the timeline we know through the investigation that he purchased the
chees at 9:55 a.m. and we know that he purchased the shoes at 1211 p.m. the distance between the mouse
house and Sports Authority is 54 miles and it should take 4 37 minutes to get there but yet we have 90 minutes
unaccounted for at that time 90 minutes certainly enough time detectives believed for zako to locate a secluded
spot off the highway but for them to find that spot would be like finding a needle in a hay stack and without
Kelly's Body there was no physical evidence of a crime to charge zako with only circumstance and suspicion did you
want to take it to trial then it was tough what was missing what was missing was her body eventually Chris Sako did
go on trial in November 2014 not for murder but for the child pornography possession uncovered with
the initial investigation search warrants what's the result of that trial he's convicted of all but one count one
month later zako pleaded guilty to additional drug charges and was sentenced to a total of 19
years so are you done with Chris zako is that it or is the potential murder investigation still hanging over his
head it's still there well we still wanted to be able to find out what actually happened with
Kelly authorities have just identified the remains of 27-year-old Kelly DWI detective where are we we are on a
dead end Country Road and we are about 45 mil west of Milwaukee um and it's quite overgrown here but this is the
specific area where Kelly dwi's body was found for a year and a half Kelly DWI had been
here hidden under these trees just 6 miles from busy I94 before her remains were discovered
by a local man out for a walk he catches a glint of light Hitting off of something that's whitish in color
and when he takes a closer look he sees what appears to be a human skull 6 days later using dental records
those remains were confirmed to be Kelly dwire what could not be confirmed though
was just how she died there was nothing on that skeleton to tell us what the cause of death was there was no no
physical evidence found at the scene either no shower curtain no cloth no towel no clothing and no travel golf bag
but detectives say there was one clue Left Behind the position of Kelly's skeleton her feet and legs were more
over in this area um with one of her legs completely turned very contorted same thing with her left arm it was
behind her back as if she had been scrunched into some kind of a container like a golf travel bag like a golf
travel bag exactly exactly it would appear that police now had enough evidence to bring Chris Sako back to
court for the death of Kelly dwire it is just too much of a coincidence that her body is found
somewhat near where he was shopping on the day after she goes missing but assistant district attorney Hill wanted
more than coincidence to build an airtight case we wanted to make sure that we had uncovered all of the
evidence we would be able to uncover when you have a case that's going to be largely circumstantial it's absolutely
essential you do that and with Sako already in prison there was no rush it took another two years of investigative
work before the state of Wisconsin charged Chris Sako in the death of Kelly dwire and another year and a half to
bring the case to [Music] trial good morning ladies and gentlemen this case is about a young woman named
Kelly DWI almost 5 years after Kelly dwire went missing Chris Sako goes on trial for her
death but surprising to some not for murder Chris zacho was charged with first to be Reckless h side hiding a
corpse and strangulation Suffocation with the media restricted behind courtroom security glass prosecutor
Sarah Hill presents the state's theory of how they believe Kelly died you will hear evidence that the defendant Mr zako
was basically having sex with Kelly DWI and he winds up killing her I think Chris zako enjoyed taking
women to the brink of death for for his own sexual gratification in fact investigators interviewed several women
who said that zako engaged in this type of behavior as far back as high school and that it was that Reckless conduct
that wound up killing Kelly dwire and then the staco had to do something about it Chris uses that shower curtain and
wraps her up puts her into the golf bag and goes down to his parking garage the police have no evidence to believe that
Miss DWI exited the apartment in either a shower curtain or a golf travel bag Chris sako's defense attorneys Craig
mastantuno and Rebecca coffee say the state has it all wrong someone did Kill Kelly DWI but it wasn't Chris zacho this
case is more about the state wanting Mr zacho to be guilty than having the evidence to prove it is there any
eyewitness to this alleged crime there was no eyewitness no is there a CSI moment some definitive piece of DNA
there was no DNA evidence the prosecution contends that while the security camera video clearly
shows Kelly walking into zaco's building she is never seen walking out she very well could have left the building in a
way that wasn't r viewed the defense argues there is video from several cameras they never had a
chance to examine because it was not preserved as evidence when the defense went to review all of the video evidence
that video was missing and what about that missing travel golf bag police insist is in the
back of Zak's car we've looked at that picture there is no silver bag in his trunk there is no video of him carrying
a bag that would have been a very large bag to fit a woman who is 5' 7 there was
no video of that because that didn't happen the cadaver dog evidence seems significant K9 Molly alerts on the bed
in the master bedroom and she also alerts in the garage there's no way whatsoever to verify what the officer
says this dog alerted to it wasn't even filmed and so it's entirely dependent on
a police officer describing what she believes her dog was alerting to and the defense also has an
explanation for that video on zaco's phone where Kelly appears to be in distress the government found a video
that Kelly DWI and Chris zacho made together they are calling it strangulation or Suffocation a
consensual sexual act is what it depicts that type of sex is depicted in mainstream MO in pictures like 50 Shades
of Gray as being engaged in with two consensual adults if Chris zako did not kill Kelly dwire who did I don't know I
don't think that we know I think that we know that it could have been a number of
other people the defense says that's because Kelly dated men she had met online and
is the suggestion that she met up with one of these individuals and that that could be the cause of her
disappearance yes yes yes to support that theory the defense presented a witness who says that he saw Kelly after
she was reported missing someone who credibly said I saw her that weekend in the car of another individual his
observation of this individual was very brief at a stoplight I was sure that it was her it looked exactly like her he
went to the district station and said I saw the woman that is being looked for that's on the posters that's on TV did
anyone ever follow up with you about that information no you think he's just mistaken I think he's mistaken I I I
don't think he was trying to mislead anybody I just truly believe he's mistaken after nine days of argument and
testimony the case seemed to rest on one thing the quality of the evidence ladies
and gentlemen the defendant killed Kelly DWI every piece of circumstantial evidence supports that despite the
tragedy of Miss dwi's demise it's not Justice to find Chris zako guilty based on conjecture it's Justice to find him
not guilty all of the factors pointed to him there's no other person that could have done
it it took the jury only three and a half hours to reach the same conclusion we the jury find the defendant Chris
zako guilty of degree Reckless homicide is charged and count one of the information finally after 5 years of
waiting and wondering there is Justice for Kelly DWI as for Chris Sako he did look at me
when he was being removed what did you see he was devastated and what was Chris's sentence
31 years is that on top of the 19 years yes what was that chisako is a person who's demonstrated
that he poses a danger to society particularly to women and someone is dead as a
result that someone was a vibrant and trusting young woman just beginning to find her way in the world she was a
loving person who truly cared about people and loved so much that she didn't really find much fault than
[Music] anyone there's this sense of profound loss loss for her family her friends you
see a loss of a light because of one person's selfishness and that's a tragedy tragedy is the best word for it
[Music] one why is your emergency I need the police [Applause] my sry please I think you're still alive
he's making noises oh [Music] God got a telephone call from the Ellis County Sheriff's Office saying hey we've
had a shooting in your city her husband's been shot by an unknown male I believe that had broken into the house
police when I got there I met a deputy from Ellis County where you at the [Applause]
bedroom and we see the body on the floor his name is John John what gner EXC me man back up he's still
warm see no ma'am come on sweet come on you're going to get him you're going to get him
please did you see who did this man yes who I don't know who he came in here he came in the house
yes are we sure he's not here anymore Chief yeah may still be here huh don't know
[Music] yet did you find it no ma'am nobody's here they have me sitting on the couch
in the living room ma'am how you doing I'm Sergeant Carr I'm with M Pro Police Department I've
never dealt with police at all so I didn't know that even had video cameras on them let me get your name Sandra were
you able to see them I kept going over and over and over everything I saw about him trying to remember everything he was
white it was a white meal everything he had on he had blue jeans on the blue hoodie and a mask just still trying to
keep that memory going and I I looked at his face once but I was afraid if I looked
again he was going to K kill me could I get you stand right there I have to pull
my phone out get a real closeup here if you don't mind and I started snapping pictures I'm
going to get some pictures back here Ro crime scene starting around these trees we started going ahead and
securing the scene most small cities like Mur if they have a major crime I'm going to call
Shane and let him know they will call in sorry to wake y a resource like Ellis County Sheriff's
Office it was a little after 2:00 a.m. when I drive hey how you doing sir after I was brief immediately I knew that
Sandra needed to be talked to she was the last one to see him alive get out right there we decided to take Sandra to
the Sheriff's Office she was very key our only witness it made me think that I was was going to help him find the
person that did this [Music] [Music] you can bet this could be the last place Sandra Garner expected to find herself
yet here she was was early in the morning of January 2nd 2018 at the Ellis County Sheriff's
Office in waah hatchee Texas not far from her home in May Pearl turn around just hours earlier she and her
husband John had celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary and now after a night of
unimaginable violence she was answering questions about his murder I didn't mind doing it at all cuz I
wanted to help him as much as I could May Pearl's chief of police at the time Boyd Norton was in charge assisted by
Lieutenant Shane Thompson of the Sheriff's Office him first please it was all routine Sandra's hands were swabbed for
gunshot residue her clothes were collected and then the questioning began and I knew I had to
stay kind of calm to be able able to tell them everything that happened did you wake up any before the incident
happened cuz I felt like if I just let my emotions go that I would lose it all and I couldn't lose it I woke
up and then I had heard gunshot you heard a gunshot I heard two gunshots and then somehow I ended up in
the floor beside the bed she says she saw a man holding a flashlight and a gun I started screaming you know hoping
somebody would hear me he said shut up I said please don't kill me and he says what I came here to do is done I didn't
come here to shoot you you were having this conversation with a guy who just shot your husband well I said that and
he said it back to me yes she says he seemed to know both her and John who he blamed for destroying his life years
earlier work my ass off and then he fart he says I lost my house I lost my wife I lost my kid he
apparently didn't come just to kill John he also wanted money he said your husband had always talked about how he
keeps money in the house and I need that money I think I earned that money she went into the closet and she got the
lock box that closet has a light that comes on when the door opens and Sandra says that's how she got a glimpse of the
killer he had a mask on all I could see was his eyes was he tall was he short he was taller than me you
recognize the voice no she handed him a pile of cash exactly how much remains a mystery I think it was $188,000 that's
how much was in there the last time I counted it $18,000 yes Sandra says when he left the killer gave her instructions
that were frightening and a little peculiar he told her to sit down and count to 100 if he heard sirene he was
going to come back and kill her so I can't do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 n that's how fast you
count 100 yes 911 then she made that call to 911 there was a man in here him please help me investigators
now had Sandra story about Jon's death but they needed to learn the story of the couple's life together Sandra was a
twice divorced mother of two when she met John they worked as managers at the same packaging company in Paris Texas
she was 13 years older than he was he was just a very sweet man but he was known as a tough boss he loved firing
people cuz if they weren't doing their job right they didn't need to be working for him the fact that he had fired a lot
of people we knew that there were going to be people out there who didn't care for John
John was kind of a wild crazy guy he was prescribed anti-depressant he took those frequently
drank heavily very outgoing very blunt I mean he's he's out there none of that mattered to Sandra
two years after they met they got married on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas we had an awesome relationship
we loved each other so much we were Partners we just did everything together John became a second father to Sandra's
son Wes but her daughter Andrea was not very fond of him until 2014 when Sandra was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis I saw how much he loved her that's all that mattered he took care of
her he was her Rock the medicine made me sick a lot it also made her depressed she says she thought about
suicide and Googled how to do it how do I kill myself in my sleep how do I take pills to kill myself or something like
that Sandra says she didn't want to become a burden to John well I told John one day you know I'm just you don't
deserve this I'm just going to kill myself and he said well if you do that I'm going to kill myself too that's when
I knew I couldn't do it as Sandra got sicker John became the sole bread winner and caretaker how reliant on him were
you I was very relying on him he was all I had it was just me and him in 2016 they moved to May
Pearl population just about 1,000 to be closer to their families John's father and stepmother
bought the house across the street and John and and's backyard became the Gathering Place we were over
there all the time I mean our family is just you don't knock on the door you walk in Jessica Garner
married John's cousin and she became close to Sandra I loved her she was family that was John's wife I mean you
love them they were super happy so the news that John had been killed came out of the blue and I just started screaming
and I'm like no no he's not it was a nightmare was just a nightmare several hours after she arrived Sandra left the
Sheriff's Office to be with the extended Garner family which had gathered to comfort her police body cams captured
the scene I'm like what happened what what's going on and she told us the story did you believe her I did did
everybody in the room believe her no [Music] if you want come with me I'll you back
to put it mildly Sandra Garner had had a bad night by the time she left the Ellis
County Sheriff's Office and things were about to get worse her son Wes showed up
at the Sheriff's Office looking for her Wes is somebody that we wanted to speak with because he was the last person John
spoke to besides Sandra he agreed to talk to Lieutenant Shane Thompson so you were with John last
night that was just hours before the shooting Wes says he went home and didn't know anything was wrong until
John's family including Jessica Garner showed up at his apartment to give him the news John's been killed and he was
like what happened we're like we don't know and he was like how's my mom where's my mom Wes hadn't seen his
mother but what he had to say about her sure caught Lieutenant Thompson's attention Wes very early on had
suspicions about his mother being involved he seemed to be wondering if his own mother could be a killer
she what your thoughts M [Music] man meanwhile at the crime scene investigators were busy collecting
evidence and taking photos we searched the entire house we searched all the cars and all of the out
buildings Sandra's Mustang was parked inside of a detached garage there was nothing there it took hours but the
police finally left and when they did Sandra went home to live in the house Sheriff's Office where less than 24
hours earlier her husband had been shot to death it was a little weird yes but I
knew I needed to be there why I just felt like that's where John would want me to be and I was really hoping that
the guy would come back you were so I could kill him investigators already had one
killing on their hands and they were going through all the evidence they took out of the Garner's home they were
particularly interested in the Garner's Electronics you can learn a lot about a person from their
electronics and what they learned from Sandra's iPad and cell phone seemed especially interesting few days before
the the murder she's searching um how to kill somebody in their sleep she had clicked on a link uh
16 ways to kill somebody and not get caught what was your reaction our reaction that sander just became more
and more of a suspect you you have a gift for understatement but it would be hard to
understate how well the Garner house was protected John had guns lots of guns even for Texas 49 pistols I'm sorry how
many 49 and there was probably 12 rifles he had them stashed everywhere cuz he wanted there be a gun if he needed it we
were able to account for all of the weapons except for one what kind of gun was that a 38 JN was killed with a 38
and what's more Norton says the missing pistol belonged to Sandra John had given
it to Sandra but investigators couldn't find the gun on January 5th 3 days after
JN was murdered investigators returned to the Garner house to search again they wanted that gun and they looked
everywhere we searched all the vehicles again and they wanted to look inside Sandra's
Mustang but this time they couldn't the Mustang was still inside of the detached
garage but it was locked what did you make of that well we wanted to know why it was
locked Wes went across the street where the family was gathered to get Sandra's Keys Wes walked in and said hey Mom they
want the keys to your Mustang she threw down the fork that was in her hand and said know you can tell him to off and I
just remember looking at her like I was pissed because I knew they were looking at me for it she says she
learned police were looking at her as a suspect just that morning from West I told him no he said yes they are
you scared no cuz I didn't do it she was not going to let us in that Mustang when
she knew that we were getting in that vehicle one way or another can you step back out there for me please I got to
get some pictures she ended up producing the key when police opened the car they
found a plastic bag under the front seat and inside wrapped in wet towels was a rusty gun a 38 caliber pistol with no
fingerprints or DNA it's awfully odd that it wasn't there one day and then 3 days later
there it was very odd yes got any ideas how that happened [Music] Sandra put it there Jessica remembers
Wes coming back across the street he said um they found the gun in her car I just looked at him and I mean like
I'm getting Goosebumps now you just you're like what what did that mean to you at
that point just everything changes at that point she killed John how could she kill
John why did she kill John Sandra was brought back to to the Ellis County Sheriff's Office and this time Thompson
was assisted by Texas Ranger Adam Sweeney need you to be honest I try I swear I'm trying to be honest with you I
don't you don't think I'm being honest and this was not a friendly conversation it was more confrontational
something happened what I did not kill my husband that's when they started sayy we know
you did this we know you did this no I didn't yeah we know you did we want you to tell us that's what we're here for to
tell you what you only ex Sayed that I did it when I didn't we want you to tell us the truth that's it I told you the
truth you're not telling us the truth and they questioned her about her gun when did you put that gun in your car
you not a gun in my car are you serious I didn't put a gun in my car y'all I swear where was there a gun in my car
she stuck to her story she claimed she had no idea how the gun got there no you're trying to get me to admit
something I didn't do yes yes and I'm done talking to you I was upset cuz they didn't believe what I was telling them
you know why would they not believe it that might be because 5 days later when the
ballistics test came back they showed the gun in the Mustang was the one used to kill John
and with that just a few hours later when Sandra pulled into her driveway police were waiting I just got out of
the car and I said we're arresting you it was horrible the Garner family was watching from across the street as the
woman who had been so close to all of them okay let's get her out of here was hauled off in
handcuffs I'll be completely honest we cheered you cheered we he cheered and I know that's horrible to
say but it was just a little piece of Justice at that moment for [Music] John after police arrested Sandra Garner
her bond was set at $2 million there was no way she could pay that they made her
sit in jail for a year and half and that should have never happened Sandra's attorney Tom papis she's not the kind of
person that would do that to John in September of 2019 Sandra Garner aged by prison got to tell her story to
a new audience good morning everyone in front of a jury when she went on trial in waah hatchee Texas are the attorneys
ready for the jury to come in for murdering her husband hband John were you prepared for what that was going to
be like no I didn't know what all was going to be said I was hopeful they didn't have anything to
prove absolutely that I did it mhm so I was confident but prosecutors Lindy batty and Ricky cypes believed they had
a strong case against her the murder weapon was Sandra Garner's gun anybody you tell this story to says who comes to
commit a murder and doesn't bring their own weapon batty ridiculed Sandra's story about a killer coming in but using
Sandra's gun damn it I forgot the gun at times she acted out the role of the killer I wore my trusty mask so no one
would know who I was but I'm going to have a 10-minute conversation with Sandra about who I am and why I'm doing
this and there were those ghoulish searches on Sandra's iPad about killing someone and not getting caught big deal
and we did make a big deal about these prosecutors could well have considered this case a slam dunk sounds good for us
right we sometimes we don't get that much but this was a hard case we knew we had a mountain of hurdles to overcome in
this trial make no mistake she didn't shoot John the prosecution's biggest hurdles may have been the result of poor
police work Sheriff's Office especially May Pearl police chief Boyd Norton lack of experience leading an
investigation obviously I had been to many murder scenes but as far as being the investigator on the scene this was
my first he had enough experience to know he had to look into all those people John had fired over the years we
interviewed probably a couple of dozen people who had been terminated and we were not coming up with any suspects but
Norton is more open and more honest than most people would be about the mistakes
he made at various stages of the investigation was the crime scene secured in your view quickly enough to
preserve the all the evidence no I probably should have taken her out of the house and put her in a car I
probably should have bagged her hands and I should have done some other things police might have made a huge mistake by
not bagging Sandra's hands gunshot residue was discovered on her but it was only a t tiny amount that could have an
innocent explanation says the defense sander was lying right next to John when he was shot she pulled the body off the
bed and she did chest compression the fact that there are only three specs on her left arm uh wasn't consistent with
her firing the weapon investigators believe if Sandra's hands had been bagged they might have found a lot more
gunshot residue enough to prove she did fire that gun he's in the bedroom right there police might also have failed to
preserve the crime scene well enough First Responders came in and out a lot rain in the bedroom when I was still
there which I thought was strange because that's where it happened so why run and mess up everything that could be
evidence and important evidence was lost by the police themselves body cam footage shows Chief Norton taking photos
of the scene right when he arrived a lot of them and they all inexplicably disappeared from his cell
phone how did you feel when you realized that these photos were missing well I felt bad I had evidence that should have
been with the case and it wasn't there so yeah I was embarrassed problem for the case yes sir instead the prosecution
had to use photos taken by the Ellis County Sheriff's crime scene investigator 8 hours after the murder
investigation was messed up mishap with the photos seemed like a gift to defense
attorney Tom papis what did you think when you heard that these photos had been lost I think we're going to win do
you regret not handing this whole thing over to Ellis County right away I do I do when did you realize that that was a
mistake probably about a week into it law enforcement poured their heart and their soul into this investigation it
may not have been perfect and prosecutors knew the chief's inexperience would not play well in
front of the jury did Chief Boyd Norton fill you with confidence no no prosecutors found
themselves having to explain among other things why the police didn't fingerprint
the door handle of the Mustang where the gun was found papa says police might well have found a fingerprint that
belonged to another suspect as prosecutors we want them to do everything possible that they could do I
believe that it should have been done you know I told you up front that we'd made some mistakes in this case should
we have taken the car and impounded in process it maybe but we didn't papus attacked every phase of the
investigation the police searched that house and they screwed a lot of stuff up where you at the bedroom he wanted to
know why it took police so long to get to the crime seen in the first place mess you get a 911 call from a lady
who's hysterical that says there was an intruder and my husband's been shot and it takes him 30 40 minutes to get to the
scene well Chief Norton says that he was there in 15 minutes even 15 minutes is crazy prosecutors had one other huge
problem proving a motive why would Sandra want to kill her husband who was her caretaker we did not have one set
motive here is the motive this is the reason why she killed him in Texas prosecutors don't have to prove motive
but as a human being everybody wants to know why but papa says there was one person who was close to John and may
well have had a motive to kill him and what's more at every turn in the case he was
there Sandra's son Wes we knew Wes was going to be a problem from get-go what I say to you are you going to play it back
to my mom West does look [Music] bad Wes should have been a suspect defense attorney Tom papis says the
police made one of their biggest mistakes when they ruled out one suspect so let's talk about Wes Sandra's own son
Wes his conduct when you really look at it objectively and look at Sandra objectively is more suspicious than
hers everything Wes did was kind of suspicious prosecutor Lindy batty I did have a lot of heartburn over it when we
were going through case preparation and we knew Wes was going to be an absolute train wreck and he
was Wes was involved in this case early on just hours after Jon was killed Wes was the one who pointed the finger at
his mother what your thoughts mom and he kept at it questioning details of her story dog big
dog the dogs how the so and so knew how to get him and for somebody to sneak up on him
like that one of the hardest things about the case was the magnitude of Wes's disloyalty to her and the things he was
doing to try to get her blamed for this she has never acted like this before just jumped out
at Sandra now says she has come to believe the worst thing a mother could believe about her child who do you think
killed John I think it was Wesley papa says those chilling Google searches on Sandra's iPad and iPhone
could have been done by Wes he says Wes had access to the devices that did not require a password there's one thing
everybody said about Sandra and John it's they went to bed at 9:30 those web searches were done between 11: and
midnight just 4 days before the murder and papis says on that same night Wes was at their house he's the one that did
the website not not her when searching for 16 ways 16 ways to kill you don't know that for sure but go ahead he he's
well we I don't know who else it could have been I don't think it was John Wes wouldn't answer our questions but he
always seemed willing to answer investigators questions especially about his mother and her gun think of a
revolver she used to keep it in her purse that I understand underne her car that's where the last time she kept
it he's being a little a little bit too helpful with the police saying hey you know look here after the police searched
and failed to find the gun Lieutenant Shane Thompson talked to Wes again somebody said that your mom owned a 38
revolver she does have a revolver but I thought it was in her Mustang and she said she never put in
her Mustang and if she did it'll be underneath the seat underneath the seat the next day police searched for
the gun one more time where do they find it they find it under the sea those things really did cause some
concern Wes does look bad it began to look like someone was setting her up and I don't know the Wes did that but it
sure looks suspicious and and his conduct was just unexplainable papis believes Wes might have more of a motive
to kill John than Sandra did he says Wes needed money money and mistakenly believed he was in John's will was he
ever a suspect in this no he wasn't my suspect after all Wes told Chief Boyd Norton he had an alibi for the time JN
was murdered I went back home Dr six pack of beer and watch Netflix and Netflix and phone records seem to help
corroborate his story at least for a while there was a record that he'd been on Netflix until about 12 12:30 there
was some phone calls that were made oh my God it's perfect like he's got an alibi this is fantastic until we look at
the records and we're like no know that that's not the right time prosecutors discovered investigators had made a
mistake the times on those records weren't recorded in Central Standard Time the local time which means there
was actually no evidence that Wes was watching Netflix or on the phone at the time John was killed didn't look good
that the s didn't know which time zone they were dealing with no it did not I would imagine it did not help your case
no they didn't look at Wes they didn't understand that he didn't have an alibi and that's an example of where they just
gloss over stuff they thought they had a rock solid Alibi for West and in fact that was not the case how's flored
that the prosecutors insist even though they say Wes looks suspicious at times and he has no alibi they are confident
he is not the killer once you meet Wes it's over if you just talk to him for any length of time you know he is just
not capable of committing this type of crime he's just not smart enough honestly and she says his stomach isn't
strong enough there's no way that guy can go put a bullet in some guy's head that he loves sees some blood and
they're not be a vomit Trail you know all the way back home and if Wes did break into the house that night and have
a convers with Sandra batty wonders how could Sandra not recognize him my God people if it was Wes Miller she would
know her own son there's no way she doesn't know if it's him there's no way wouldn't recognize
his voice I would think I would recognize his voice but after hearing shots just all the
drama I can see why I didn't recogn has it your own son yes pardon me for saying
this but it it it's hard to believe I don't know I just I didn't recognize it there are a lot of questions for
Sandra and unlike most defendants in murder cases she decided to take the stand cameras were not allowed in the
courtroom for her testimony I felt like if it went wrong for me if I didn't testify what if I could have saved it
were you comfortable putting her up no of course not you're never comfortable when your client takes a witness stand
Sandra had trouble on the stand she struggled to aners some of the questions during a lengthy
cross-examination I think there were some questions about the website searches and the searches surrounding
that that were that were difficult and she simply didn't remember stuff and they were able to make some points I
thought that we were able to show that she was a liar as the case goes to the jury Sandra
should know soon if taking the stand was the smart move whatever happened I had to deal with
[Applause] it it took 1 month 27 Witnesses and more more than 400 pieces of evidence for the
case against Sandra Garner to finally go to the jury and when it did neither side
was very confident I think I was probably 50/50 at the end of it I felt like we ended well so I was hopeful I
was extremely confident one minute and just distraught the next the jurors however seemed very clear about their
views they came back with a verdict in just 3 hours hours God I was nervous cuz it all comes down to this you're
thinking God please I've done the right thing please found Justice for this family Sandra's daughter Andrea was
holding her breath the longest 3 hours of my life what did the quick verdict mean it
was anyone's guess I did not think it was good for us yes I didn't feel that they had gone through all of the
evidence again oh my heart must have stopped this is bad it's not good at all trying to say that so Sandra wouldn't
hear please be in front of a packed courtroom get on the record the judge read the decision if the defendant will
please stand the last thing I remember is the juror handing the paper to the BFF and I look down I could not look I
wasn't ready for a guilty verdict we the jury finded defendant Sandra Louise Garner not
[Music] guilty not guilty and just like that Sandra Garner was a free woman after 21
months in jail I felt wonderful I turned to Tom and was say yay yay and we hugged each other I get to go
home think those are the sweetest words I've ever heard in my life it was like a weight had been lifted off of my
shoulders they had been carrying for nearly 2 years I gave her the biggest hug I could
I was so happy for her I I tear up just thinking about it I mean she's she's got
a chance to try to get some of her life back of course like every verdict this one was not universally popular I just
remember thinking they got that wrong what there's no way there's no no way I don't want to watch this there's no
happy ending to this this isn't happy at all unless of course you are Sandra [Music]
Garner we caught up with her the moment she was released from jail feels wonderful feels
wonderful I was just praying to God my husband and my daddy just to help them say not guilty
please Sandra was eager to get back home to the same house where her husband was
murdered and I love my house and I know it's hard and I know people think I'm crazy for one to be
here but I just want to be as close to him as I can living here will mean living across
the street from John's parents who still are convinced Ed Sandra is a murderess who killed their son and whose family is
still grieving John should still be alive we should still be a family that was taken from us there should be
Justice for his killer there's not there never will be none of us have talked to her none of us
want to talk to her Andrea Miller is worried about her mother one of the most important pieces
of her life isn't here and she has to live with that on a daily basis [ __ ] come here I'm scared that something's
going to happen to her baby I give you copy Sandra's attorney Tom papis is also worried about her
safety there's a murderer that hasn't been arrested that's still out there she s part of Sandra's U I'm tearing up now
part of Sandra's well let me ask why you tearing up tell me about her because I care about her I care what happens to
her I care what happens to the people around her whatever happens to Sandra it likely will happen without her son Wes
prosecutors and police believe they tried the right person and don't consider Wes a suspect but Sandra and
Andrea are no longer speaking to him he does not deserve to be part of my mother's life anymore as far as I'm
concerned I don't have a brother anymore this is a tough question do you still love your son
not like I used to now I I have not spoke to him at all he did me really wrong and what toll is that taking on
you it's very hurtful but he chose that I didn't Sandra Garner is now free to spend time with what remains of her
family she knows others still see her as a killer who got away with it in the eyes of the law she is not guilty
and the case against her is forever closed under the law you cannot be charged with this crime
again um even if you say you did it so let me ask you did you kill your husband no man was a ling my life could told you
he was all I had he was going to take care of me for the rest of my life without him I have nobody
no I didn't kill my [Music] husband 48 hours to miss it would be a crime were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case [Music]

Investigators untangle fact from fiction while searching for clues in these cases covered by "48 Hours." Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "Jasmine Hartin's Shot in the Dark," "The Disappearance of Kelly Dwyer" and "The Case Against Sandra Garner."

00:00 Jasmine Hartin's Shot in the Dark 41:38 The Disappearance of Kelly Dwyer 1:23:01 The Case Against Sandra Garner.

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

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Brief Summary

Jasmine Harton discusses the accidental shooting of police superintendent Henry Jamaat and its aftermath, including custody battles and public perception.

Key points

Jasmine Harton's Defense. Jasmine insists she is not a murderer, claiming the incident was an accident.
The Fatal Night. The night of the shooting raises questions about Jasmine's relationship with Henry Jamaat.
Escalating Conflict. Jasmine's battle with Andrew Ashcroft's family intensifies as accusations fly.
Jasmine's Claims of Innocence. Jasmine insists the shooting was an accident, raising questions about her knowledge of firearms.
Kelly's Last Sighting. Kelly is last seen alive, raising questions about her disappearance.
Cadaver Dog Alert. A cadaver dog alerts police to potential human remains in Zako's apartment.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm not a murderer, that's ridiculous.

Jasmine Harton defends herself against murder accusations.

3:01WatchDec 14, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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