Women Behind Bars in HD - Season 3, Episode 3 - Patricia and Willie - Full Episode | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: On this episode of "Women Behind Bars," a married woman and her lover are convicted
of murdering her husband. DETECTIVE MIKE DANIEL: Patricia had told Michael Fielding
that she wanted him to kill Bobby and that they would be together. And she kept asking him, and finally he
decided that he would kill him. [GUNSHOT] They had found a body, and it was Bobby.
For someone to be gone for 35 days was something I never want anybody to see. NARRATOR: Then, Willie Mae Hampton
allegedly masterminds the slaying of a witness in her nephew's murder trial. WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: The creep mother [BLEEP]
hid from us, baby. He hid from us. Pat out to kill him right now. RUDINE HILLS: She was saying that he was wrong,
and he's going to regret it, they was going to find him with his face blown off.
NARRATOR: Two women, two brutal crimes. These are the stories of Patricia Sexton and Willie Mae Hampton.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING] On March 25th, 1998, an informant led detectives to the body of 38-year-old Bobby Sexton,
the father of four young girls. Sexton had been missing for 34 days. He told us that they had took the body to a river,
to a wooden bridge, and then dumped the body off at that point. We could see what looked like a feed sack caught in a fence.
And it turned out to be the victim's body. It was a very treacherous thing. NARRATOR: The autopsy revealed a single gunshot
caused Bobby's untimely death. The informant told police the shooter was 30-year-old Michael
Fielding, a friend of Bobby's who was sleeping with his wife, 23-year-old Patricia Sexton.
He jumped out behind the car, pointed a shotgun, and shot him in the chest. [GUNSHOT]
NARRATOR: Though Fielding confessed to the brutal murder, he claimed Patricia and her grandmother, Dorothy,
had orchestrated the crime. Patricia had solicited him to kill Bobby Sexton on a number of occasions.
She had more like a hold on him, saying, well, if you don't do that, then that's it for us.
I loved Bobby and I would have never let nothing like that happen to him. BOBBY MIMS: Michael Fielding was just a jealous lover.
This is the only way he could be with Patricia. NARRATOR: Was Patricia Sexton an innocent bystander
caught between two rivals? Or was she an adulteress who badgered her lover into killing her husband?
[SOMBER PIANO MUSIC] My real mother was hardly ever around. She cared more about the fast lane and the drug life
than she did really about taking care of her daughter. LINDA STURGEON: I was 17 when she was born.
I worked in nightclubs and strip joints. NARRATOR: Patricia's biological father was in jail for murder.
Her mother, Linda, turned to her parents for help. Her and her mother came to our house to stay.
Trisha liked staying there so long that she didn't want to go with her mother. So her mother just had to come by and visit her.
NARRATOR: As an 11-year-old, Patricia saw a glimpse of her mother's longtime struggle
with substance abuse. PATRICIA SEXTON: It was marijuana. And that's where I knew that my mom had done drugs.
But then she done heavier stuff, like crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin. You name it, she's done it all.
NARRATOR: Although Patricia admits to drinking and trying pot herself, she says she never followed
in her mom's footsteps. No matter how many rehabs she went to or how much support you gave her,
she always fell right back in the same thing. And seeing her in that type of life
makes a person not want to be like that. NARRATOR: Despite the tumultuous relationship with her mother,
the high schooler focused on class and other activities. At math and science I was pretty good.
But I was mainly into racing and stuff like that, because I love fast cars. NARRATOR: At age 16, she met Bobby
Sexton, a friend of her sister's who was almost twice her age. He was recently divorced and had an 11-year-old daughter
named Rachel. I said, ooh, who is he? He's so cute. From that point on it was just like,
we spent every waking moment together. BARBARA SEXTON: We had heard that he was dating a younger girl.
And I said, how old is she, Bobby? And he said, let's not talk about that, Mama.
He said, I love her. NARRATOR: At first Patricia hid the scandalous relationship
from her family. Then, in July of 1991, the 16-year-old became pregnant. My mom was like, well, who's the father?
And I was like, he's quite a few years older than me. And she's like, [SIGHS] Patricia, what have you done?
BUDDY BINGHAM: Bobby was a swell guy. I didn't think much about the difference in their age.
While they were young like this, they were both having a good time. NARRATOR: Patricia dropped out of school,
moved in with Bobby in a trailer on her grandparents' property, and prepared for motherhood.
On April 22nd, 1992, the 16-year-old gave birth to a baby girl she named Chasidy Marie.
Hospital workers voiced concern about Bobby's age. PATRICIA SEXTON: They wanted me to file charges on him.
And I was like, oh no. I can't. I can't do this. Then my mom was like, we're not going to file charges on him
because they're together. NARRATOR: Although Bobby asked her to marry him many times,
Patricia was not ready to commit. Then, just six months after the birth of Chasidy,
she discovered she was pregnant again. And he was like, Patricia, you are fixing
to have my second child and I think it's time for us to get married. And so finally I agreed.
NARRATOR: But the 17-year-old was still too young to legally marry. She turned to her birth mother, Linda, for consent.
I wasn't real thrilled about it, but she's just like, Mom, this is the only thing I've ever
really asked you to do for me. PATRICIA SEXTON: We got married on May 6. And I was just a huge, big, pregnant woman
walking down the living room. NARRATOR: Less than three months later, Patricia gave birth to their second daughter, Chelsea Lynn,
on July 25th, 1993. My parents helped me out tremendously. Bobby was a roofer and he made real good money.
And then he had hurt his back and he had five back surgeries. And after that he just really lost the will to work.
NARRATOR: Bobby filed for disability and helped out at Patricia's grandparents' shop, just 100
yards from their trailer home. He'd get down his back real bad, and so when each child was born, he'd just tend to them.
NARRATOR: In the spring of 1995, Patricia and Bobby started to prepare for their third child together.
But the joy of pregnancy was cut short. When I was probably 6 1/2 months pregnant,
they detected cancer. And they said that one of us was probably going to die during her delivery.
She was really scared, because somebody tell you you got cancer, it's like you're going to die.
PATRICIA SEXTON: I felt like that God didn't bring me this far to let me lose her,
so I took my chances. NARRATOR: On November 28, 1995, Patricia's gamble paid off
when she gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Ashley Nicole. Doctors told the 20-year-old that she
needed to have a hysterectomy to eliminate the uterine cancer. But Patricia was determined to give her husband a son.
PATRICIA SEXTON: Bobby had thrived on nothing but having a little boy. And the doctors said, if you want another child now
would be the time to try. NARRATOR: Although Patricia was weak from fighting the cancer,
she and Bobby relentlessly tried to get pregnant for months without success. She went up there one week for her checkup
and the doctor told her, you don't have no more time. So the next day he did the surgery.
PATRICIA SEXTON: My husband hugged me and told me, I wish that you could have gave me the little boy
that I always wanted. It made me feel less of a person. NARRATOR: Patricia was now diagnosed as cancer-free,
but her marriage was crumbling. To escape the troubles at home, she turned to her first love,
race car driving. I raced, I dirt tracked every Saturday. And being out there was my freedom.
NARRATOR: Still, the couple's problems continued. Patricia says Bobby was physically
and verbally abusive. She focused her attention elsewhere and found comfort in fellow race car
enthusiast Michael Fielding. My husband and Michael Fielding were real good friends.
We decided to be a racing team, so we got real close. NARRATOR: Soon, Michael started working
for Patricia's grandfather. She says their friendship became intimate for one night in November of 1997.
PATRICIA SEXTON: It was just something that, it wasn't right. I knew that I loved my husband and not him.
I told him it was a mistake when it happened. NARRATOR: According to Bobby's family, the affair was ongoing.
They claim Bobby caught Patricia and Michael in the act at a motel, but Patricia says she was only there to get away
from the alleged abuse at home. PATRICIA SEXTON: Bobby found me, and he was in the bathroom beating me when Michael got there.
If he wouldn't have got there, I probably wouldn't be here today. NARRATOR: But Bobby's family maintains
he would never hit Patricia. BARBARA SEXTON: When Bobby came into the motel, he seen Patricia and Michael without any clothes on.
And that's when he went to the lawyer and said, I want to get a divorce. NARRATOR: Much to Patricia's dismay,
Bobby won temporary custody of their three daughters. She became desperate to get them back.
PATRICIA SEXTON: I was going to buy drugs and plant on him to get him arrested, because I felt like a tit
for tat thing. NARRATOR: When "Women Behind Bars" continues. BOBBY MIMS: Mr. Sexton's body was very gruesome.
It was, I'd say, probably the second-worst one I've ever seen. Every woman in this world has said,
you know, "oh, I could just kill you." NARRATOR: In the fall of 1997, Patricia Sexton,
a 22-year-old cancer survivor, was in a custody battle for her three young daughters.
Her husband, Bobby, had filed for divorce after allegedly catching Patricia in bed with his friend
and coworker Michael Fielding. Bobby had took my children and had put a restraining order on me.
He had made a bunch of accusations that wasn't true. At first, she said, well, maybe he'll
get caught with some drugs and I can get the kids back that way. PATRICIA SEXTON: I felt like, you're lying on me,
but I'm fixing to get you busted with drugs and maybe if you sit in jail for a while,
you'll see that you need to stop with the lies. NARRATOR: Prosecutors would later
contend that Patricia and her grandmother Dorothy talked about more than just planting drugs on Bobby.
But Patricia says they never followed through with the scheme, and the couple attempted to reconcile.
BARBARA SEXTON: He called me one day and he said, the girls wants their mother and so we're thinking about going back to one another.
And I said, Bobby, I wish you wouldn't. NARRATOR: Despite his mother's protests,
Bobby moved back into the couple's trailer. Patricia says she cut off all contact with her lover,
Michael Fielding. BUDDY BINGHAM: Patricia had said, Michael, me and Bobby have went back together
and I don't want you to call me, I don't want you to come around, me and you are through.
NARRATOR: Fielding, however, claimed Patricia promised he was her true love. He told authorities that she and her grandmother Dorothy
then conspired to have Bobby eliminated. MIKE DANIEL: Patricia had told Michael Fielding
that she wanted him to kill Bobby and that they would be together. He didn't want to do it.
And she kept asking and finally he decided that he would go ahead and kill him. Every woman in this world has said,
you know, "oh, I could just kill you." I've said that plenty of times to Bobby. But never in anger, well, yes, this is what I'm going to do.
NARRATOR: According to Fielding's confession, Patricia also asked Willie Wright, a known alcoholic
who lived and worked on her grandparents' property, to kill Bobby. Willie said no, but offered to provide the shotgun
and help Michael. [OMINOUS MUSIC] PATRICIA SEXTON: I was at my grandparents' house.
They had went to the casino. Willie had come and asked Bobby to come help him do some stuff at the shop.
NARRATOR: Willie asked Bobby to unlock the shop. Little did Bobby know that Michael was lurking nearby.
MIKE DANIEL: Bobby came up there to the building, shut the lights off. Michael was behind an old, wrecked car leading
back toward the residence. BUDDY BINGHAM: And Michael stepped out and called Bobby's
name, and Bobby turned around. He said he shot him right in the chest. [GUNSHOT]
[PHONE RINGING] MIKE DANIEL: At that point, the phone rang at the shop. Michael answered and it was Patricia on the other end
from the house. She asked if the job was done. He said it was. She said that she wanted to come up and see,
to make sure that Bobby was dead. NARRATOR: But Patricia claims she had no idea what
was going to happen that night. In fact, she says she never even heard the gunshot.
I sat in the chair with my two youngest daughters and fell asleep. When I woke up it was really late and I was like,
where is Bobby? So I go around looking. I drive around, up to the shop and stuff.
Nobody's there. NARRATOR: Still, Michael told police that Patricia drove Bobby's Suburban to the shop
so he and Willie could use it to dispose of the body. MIKE DANIEL: They drove out to the oil fields
into Anderson County, came upon a wooden bridge, took the body out, and dropped him off the side of the bridge.
[THUMPING, CLATTERING] My mom and dad came home and I was like, Bobby hasn't come back.
And my mom was like, don't worry about it. Just go home and get some rest. So I did.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] DOROTHY BINGHAM: Next morning, she came down here, Mom, he ain't never come home.
I don't know what in the world to think. NARRATOR: Bobby's oldest daughter, Rachel,
called his parents with the shocking news. BARBARA SEXTON: And she said, we don't want to scare you,
but we think something's happened to Bobby, because Patricia's got the girls. NARRATOR: Two days later, Patricia's grandfather
came across Bobby's Suburban in a wooded area near his second property, 20 minutes away.
MIKE DANIEL: Patricia saw the Suburban there, and opened the back end and saw all the blood.
And then that's when they called the Sheriff's office. PATRICIA SEXTON: Detectives did a blood test,
and when it come back it was human blood. And that's when my heart hit my stomach.
NARRATOR: With Bobby still missing, and a trail of blood found in his car, police turned their investigation to Patricia
and her grandparents. They also questioned Michael Fielding and Willie Wright. MIKE DANIEL: They didn't give us anything.
It was just that they had locked the shop up, he got in his Suburban and drove off.
I had fliers made up and I hung them in businesses and asked for help. And several days went by.
NARRATOR: Weeks passed with no leads. Finally, on March 17, detectives caught a break in the case.
MIKE DANIEL: Willie Wright was arrested for public intoxication and brought to the Sheriff's office.
He told us that he was involved in it and that Michael Fielding was involved in the homicide
as well. NARRATOR: Willie told authorities they dumped Bobby's corpse from a wooden bridge.
Police combed the area. [OMINOUS MUSIC] We got to this location, which used to be a wooden bridge.
In the center of the bridge, we stop, we get binoculars and we look out toward a fence that used to be there.
We believed the victim to be hung in the fence. NARRATOR: Missing for more than a month,
Bobby Sexton was finally found. Detectives recovered his bullet-riddled body by boat
and brought it back to the shore. It was very decomposed, but recognizable, surprisingly.
BOBBY MIMS: It was a very grim discovery. Mr. Sexton's body was very gruesome. It was probably the second-worst one I've ever seen.
A news bulletin came on. And they had found a body, and it was Bobby. And for someone to be gone for 35 days and you have to see it,
it was something I'd never want anybody to see. I just went to pieces. They had to call a doctor and I had to take medicine.
NARRATOR: The next day, autopsy results confirmed Willie's story that Bobby was killed with a shotgun.
Investigators charged Willie Wright with tampering with evidence. Michael Fielding was charged with murder.
Fielding confessed to shooting Bobby, but maintained Patricia and her grandmother Dorothy
were the true culprits. He told us that Patricia had asked him several times to kill
Bobby, that Dorothy had been involved in the murder as well, and that it was basically Dorothy's idea.
NARRATOR: But a confession from the trigger man was not enough evidence to arrest Patricia and Dorothy.
Authorities needed someone else to verify Michael's statement, and they got it from an unlikely candidate-- Patricia's
biological mom, Linda. MIKE DANIEL: I was working a narcotics case and we videotaped Linda Gail Bingham selling cocaine.
Linda Gail was arrested for that and was brought to the Sheriff's office and questioned.
NARRATOR: According to Patricia's mother, detectives tried to pin Bobby's murder on her.
LINDA STURGEON: They said that my mother and Trisha said that Bobby was at my house
and that I had killed him. And they were going to testify against me, and they were going to seek the death penalty.
NARRATOR: But Mike Daniel says Linda's story is a complete exaggeration. He claims he only threatened her with jail time
for the drug charges. MIKE DANIEL: She told us that she had overheard a conversation between Patricia and Dorothy
planning on killing Bobby. We finally decided that we had obtained enough probable cause
to issue a warrant. NARRATOR: On August 28, 1998, Dorothy Bingham and Patricia Sexton were charged with capital murder,
an offense punishable by death. Dorothy was also charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
I was so surprised when they come that night and arrested me. I just thought it was a mistake or something.
PATRICIA SEXTON: I went to the police station myself. And they just said, we are arresting you for the murder
of Bobby Eugene Sexton. And from that point on, my life was basically over. NARRATOR: Coming up on "Women Behind Bars."
BOBBY MIMS: Linda Gail testifies that she had overheard Dorothy, her mother, and Patricia, her daughter,
plotting to have Bobby Sexton killed. It felt like someone had took a knife and stuck it in my heart
and pulled it out. NARRATOR: And later-- RUDINE HILLS: It was like this loud explosion.
[GUNSHOT] And we both, looked right in each other's eyes. Everything just went to moving in slow motion.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] NARRATOR: On August 30th, 1998, 23-year-old mother of three Patricia Sexton turned herself in to authorities.
Police charged her with the murder of her husband, Bobby Sexton. Her 55-year-old grandmother, who had raised her since birth,
had been arrested two days earlier. Well, I was accused of murder and organized crime.
I was supposed to have gave him $100 to buy some drugs with. I ain't never asked anybody to buy any drugs.
And as far as the murder, I didn't have nothing to do with that. I wasn't even here.
I'm guilty of asking for a divorce. I'm guilty of wanting to start over and have another life.
But I'm not guilty of killing him, or wanting him dead. No. NARRATOR: While preparing for trial, the state of Texas
focused on the confession from shooter Michael Fielding. Michael claimed he had been having
an affair with Patricia when she asked him to kill her husband. The state offered the 30-year-old a reduced sentence
in return for his testimony. ELMER BECKWORTH: People generally just don't confess to committing murder.
The information he gave was corroborated by the circumstances, by other witnesses,
and it proved not just his guilt but that of Patricia Sexton as well. [SOMBER MUSIC]
[TENSE MUSIC] BOBBY MIMS: It was real tense, especially during the Michael Fielding testimony.
We wanted to show that he was bringing her into it as the only consideration he could to save his own life.
They attacked the credibility of all the witnesses, and there was no one out there that
would meet the standard of credibility the defense was trying to assert. NARRATOR: Since there was no murder weapon
or physical evidence, the prosecution relied on their key witnesses, including Patricia's mother, Linda.
The defense argued her testimony was especially unreliable. BOBBY MIMS: Linda Gail told our investigator
that Patricia didn't have anything to do with it. Pretty good evidence for us. They call her at trial, and she testifies
that she had overheard Dorothy, her mother, and Patricia, her daughter, plotting to have Bobby Sexton killed,
and that she had lied to us. It felt like someone had took a knife and stuck it in my heart
and pulled it out. Because I always wanted my mother in my life, and every time she was in it, it was nothing but hurt and pain.
NARRATOR: Even though court records show that Linda testified to hearing Dorothy and Patricia talk
about killing Bobby, she insists it's not true. If they asked me anything like that, I don't remember it.
And I sure don't remember saying nothing like that on the stand. PATRICIA SEXTON: It was a hung jury.
And the judge said, if you don't make a decision, y'all will be in a hotel for the rest of this weekend.
And it was not even three minutes and they were back with a guilty verdict. BOBBY MIMS: I was very gratified that we got a not
guilty on the capital murder. She's parole-eligible. ELMER BECKWORTH: The jury believed
the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt she was guilty. I felt it was like the world came to an end.
Because I knew we hadn't had nothing to do with it. BARBARA SEXTON: She got what she deserves.
She need to stay her full term, because if she gets out and the girls are grown she'd just mess up their lives.
PATRICIA SEXTON: They didn't even have a murder weapon. They didn't have anything but just hearsay.
NARRATOR: After serving four years behind bars, the Tyler Court of Appeals ordered Dorothy's
conviction to be reversed. In March 2003, Patricia's grandmother walked out of prison a free woman.
BARBARA SEXTON: She was just as much to blame. Dorothy ruled everybody. Whatever Dorothy said, went.
So I know Trisha had to have somebody with her to plan this, because she couldn't have done it by herself.
NARRATOR: Patricia lost an appeal in November of 2000. She's currently serving her life sentence
at a maximum-security prison in Gainesville, Texas, and will be eligible for parole in 2028.
PATRICIA SEXTON: I've took classes, like anger management, self-esteem. I took a culinary arts class and I read.
NARRATOR: The Sexton family received custody of the three girls. Patricia hasn't seen or spoken to them since her conviction.
(VOICE BREAKING) I don't even know what my children's favorite things are. Their favorite cereal, their favorite color.
It's the hardest thing in life to be without your family and children. BARBARA SEXTON: She could've been there with them
and had a happy life with Bobby if she hadn't killed him. So she can stay in there the rest of her time.
And I wouldn't feel no remorse. If I could do it all over again, I would have just stayed and took the abuse.
And maybe I would still have my family. Or maybe I wouldn't be here now. He probably would have ended up killing me.
Who knows? [POLICE SIREN] NARRATOR: Next up on "Women Behind Bars," an alleged revenge slaying, execution-style.
He was seated at his car behind the driver's wheel. Somebody approached from the driver's side
and fired four times. [FOUR GUNSHOTS] NARRATOR: For more information about "Women Behind Bars,"
go to WEtv.com. [POLICE SIRENS] On April 3rd, 2003, just before the stroke of midnight,
police responded to a shooting in the parking lot of a popular Chinese takeout restaurant.
The victim, 33-year-old Thomas Noble, had been shot four times in the head at point-blank range.
DET. BILL HALL: It was a fairly brutal crime. It was well-planned. The person who committed the crime
was forthwith in their actions. [GUNSHOT] NARRATOR: Detectives canvassed the area
and questioned witnesses. They discovered the victim's girlfriend, Rudine Hills,
had been in the car during the horrific murder. Sounded like something exploded in the street.
And that's when I noticed that it was like a cloud of white smoke coming into the car.
NARRATOR: After a yearlong investigation, authorities arrested 47-year-old Willie Mae Hampton,
a local home health care aide. They alleged Willie Mae orchestrated the killing of Thomas Noble because he refused
to testify at the murder trial of her nephew Wesley Roberts. SARAH PROHASKA: She apparently raised Wesley as her own son.
She believed that if Thomas had helped Wesley, Wesley wouldn't have been convicted.
STEVE GOSNELL: Willie Mae was very agitated, calling Thomas Noble names, threatening to kill him,
saying he was going to end up "stanking." WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: I've been riding around all day trying to find Thomas so I
can [BLEEP] his creep [BLEEP]. She never the type of woman that I know would hurt anyone.
Why she would want to get him hurt, and he's out to help me, it don't make sense.
The state had been duped into believing that this was a crime of revenge when in fact it was
a crime over stolen cocaine. NARRATOR: Did Willie Mae exact revenge against the man who might have saved her nephew from prison?
Or was she wrongly convicted in a killing over drugs? [MIDTEMPO PIANO MUSIC] BRIAN MALLONEE: Willie Mae's upbringing was a difficult one
in the projects. There wasn't a lot of money and there wasn't a lot of great parenting in her life.
NARRATOR: Willie Mae grew up with five sisters and two brothers in an impoverished neighborhood
of Fort Pierce, Florida. RUDINE HILLS: It wasn't a good place to raise your children.
It was drugs and guns and shooting late at night. It was the ghetto. SARAH PROHASKA: You kind of get sucked into that lifestyle
and it's hard to escape it. NARRATOR: In addition to dealing with the constant fear
of losing a family member to drugs or crime, Willie Mae says she was physically and sexually abused.
BRIAN MALLONEE: The gentleman that may have physically abused her provided the financial support in the household,
and Willie Mae was told to keep her mouth shut about it. NARRATOR: Still, Willie Mae surpassed all of her siblings
at school when she completed the sixth grade. But at the age of 14, the young teen
ran away with a 40-year-old man and got pregnant. Willie Mae says it was the only way she
could escape the hell at home. BRIAN MALLONEE: She had to raise herself for the most part.
And I think that it may have resulted in growing up very quickly. NARRATOR: On August 26, 1972, the 15-year-old gave birth
to a baby boy named LaVoyle. She worked odd jobs here and there. Cleaning houses, babysitting, things like that.
NARRATOR: As Willie Mae tells it, she also supported her seven siblings, who were addicted to crack.
She was especially helpful to her younger half-sister, Diane Fennell. Diane had seven children of her own,
all with different fathers. BRIAN MALLONEE: The Department of Children and Families
had been to Diane Fennell's house dozens of times to respond to allegations that she was an unfit parent.
In fact, that is why Willie Mae helped Diane raise her child, Wesley Roberts. NARRATOR: When Wesley was born premature on October 27, 1979,
22-year-old Willie Mae took him in as her own since Diane was already overwhelmed raising
her other children. Though Willie Mae was only trying to lend a hand, she says it was something that her sister would always resent.
WESLEY ROBERTS: She took care of me all the time. I'd get everything I want. It was more better living with Auntie 'cause
Auntie always spoiled me. She was a wonderful role model for somebody to look up to.
BILL HALL: Willie Mae appeared to be the matriarch of the family. She was in charge of her sisters and aunts.
You had a lot of people used to be real jealous of her. The type of home that she lived in,
the type of cars that she had. NARRATOR: Though Willie Mae Never strayed into the drug
life that plagued her family, she says she struggled with many violent men, including a marriage that ended in divorce.
Following that, Willie Mae began dating a notorious drug dealer from the projects named Patrick Williams,
a relationship she claimed that lasted for only one year. Williams was 20 years younger than Willie Mae.
Age don't make a difference. A lot of the older women like younger guys, so that's how it is out there right now.
BRIAN MALLONEE: Patrick Williams and Willie Mae had an on-again, off-again relationship.
NARRATOR: Despite Willie Mae's efforts to keep her son, LaVoyle, and her nephew Wesley
off the street, the two couldn't escape the fast life. WESLEY ROBERTS: She always said, you don't need
to do the things that you do. Don't get in no trouble and do what you're supposed to do.
Auntie always here to help you. NARRATOR: In the early 90s, LaVoyle was sentenced to 18 years in prison for cocaine-related drug
charges. Soon, Wesley fell in with the same crowd. WESLEY ROBERTS: Only thing running through your mind,
that glamour set life. Fancy cars, nice clothes, nice women and nice house, and doing the things you want to do.
NARRATOR: But the 22-year-old's extravagant lifestyle would come to an abrupt end.
On a warm evening in June 2002, Wesley claims he and his stepfather, Thomas Noble,
picked up two alleged acquaintances and drove around Fort Pierce. Two guys had stopped us and asked for a ride.
So as we were riding, they were like, man, drop us off. So we dropped them off on 22nd Street.
And as we was pulling off, we heard the gunshot. [TWO GUNSHOTS] NARRATOR: 44-year-old Carmen Joseph Ricciardi was
shot twice in his parked car. Authorities believed it was Wesley who pulled the trigger,
dumped the body in the street, and then stole the vehicle. An eyewitness who knew Wesley turned him in the next day.
He stated that he seen me do it, then he stated that I had on a mask. So which one is it?
You seen me or not? NARRATOR: Wesley told authorities that although he had heard the shooting,
he had nothing to do with the killing. He pinned the crime on the two passengers
and named Thomas as an alibi. But at first, Thomas's story didn't match up. BRIAN MALLONEE: Thomas Noble told the authorities
that he and Wesley Roberts were in Vero Beach on the night of the murder that took place in Fort Pierce.
20 miles apart. Thomas Noble had made different statements. Indeed, one version was that they were both in Vero,
and another version put Wesley near the scene of this murder. NARRATOR: Police charged Wesley Roberts
with first-degree murder and carjacking with a deadly weapon. Willie Mae was beside herself.
BRIAN MALLONEE: Willie Mae knew at that point that he was facing life in prison and she was devastated.
SARAH PROHASKA: Willie Mae Hampton did not want to see her nephew convicted of murder
and go to jail for the rest of his life. So she put this whole thing in motion to try to get Thomas Noble to testify
on behalf of Wesley Roberts. [LOW, TENSE MUSIC] RUDINE HILLS: He had came to me and told me that they
wanted him to testify. I don't think he wanted to take that chance and get on that stand and start telling tales.
Willie Mae was upset about Thomas Noble not cooperating with what she wanted. Then there was actually a threat,
saying he better testify or he was going to end up dead. NARRATOR: 27-year-old Rudine Hills, Thomas's girlfriend
of nine years, witnessed one menacing encounter with Willie Mae. RUDINE HILLS: She was saying that he was wrong,
and he's going to regret it, they was going to find him with his face blown off.
NARRATOR: According to his family, Willie Mae continued to threaten Thomas during the trial.
But ultimately, Wesley's attorney decided not to call him as a witness WESLEY ROBERTS: My lawyer felt like somebody
was telling him what to say. But I told him, you still should call him and just let the jury
hear what he got to say. SARAH PROHASKA: Willie Mae was upset. She blamed Thomas Noble for not helping out Wesley Roberts,
and she believed that was the reason why he was convicted. One witness overheard her saying she would spend
every last dime to get Thomas. STEVE GOSNELL: Wesley was convicted at around 6:00.
And then shortly before midnight, Thomas Noble was shot to death. [POLICE SIRENS]
NARRATOR: When "Women Behind Bars" continues. WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: The creep mother [BLEEP]
hid from us, baby. He hid from us. Pat out to kill him right now. RUDINE HILLS: I seen him, like, go forward
and his head resting on the steering wheel. And I was just freaking out. NARRATOR: On April 3rd, 2003, 23-year-old Wesley Roberts
was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. His aunt, Willie Mae Hampton, blamed Thomas Noble,
who was with her nephew the night of the murder, for refusing to testify on his behalf.
BRIAN MALLONEE: Willie Mae thought that Thomas Noble could provide Wesley with an alibi, and a solid alibi
witness might have resulted in a different outcome for Wesley. NARRATOR: According to recorded phone calls,
Willie Mae promised her nephew that Thomas Noble would pay. WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: Yeah, we tried to kill him.
Now, that's a creep mother [BLEEP]. Now, it don't get no creepier than that. NARRATOR: The prosecution believes Willie Mae then
called her on-again, off-again 26-year-old boyfriend Patrick Williams to find a hitman.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] SARAH PROHASKA: Thomas Noble, with his girlfriend, Rudine Hills, had gone to a Chinese food
restaurant named Siam. He was seated in his car behind the driver's wheel. He was listening to the radio.
Keys were in the ignition. Somebody approached from the driver's side and fired four times.
[FOUR GUNSHOTS] It was like this loud explosion. And we both looked right in each other's eyes.
At that point it's like everything just went to moving in slow motion. STEVE GOSNELL: The murder of Thomas Noble
was an execution-style murder. SARAH PROHASKA: There was pretty much no way he could escape,
and it happened pretty quickly. RUDINE HILLS: When I opened my eyes and I seen him go back,
and he went forward and his head rested on the steering wheel, I just sprung up out of there like a jack-in-the-box.
And I just started spinning and running up and down the parking lot. NARRATOR: One of the shots severed Thomas's spine,
killing him instantly. Fearing for her own life, Rudine fled the scene before police arrived at the grisly murder site.
BILL HALL: The victim's vehicle was parked right here. The vehicle was facing towards the road,
the victim slumped over the seat. The driver's window was totally gone. There were little powdered, pulverized pieces
of glass that were on Thomas. There were a lot of people out at Siam's. Nobody wanted to get involved.
So in this case, the police rolled up, they had a body, they had people milling around, but nobody knew anything.
NARRATOR: Investigators tracked down Rudine and questioned her. She told them about the recent threats made to Thomas.
Eventually, witnesses started coming forward to help police piece together a five-person murder scheme
that included Willie Mae's half-sister Diane and Patrick Williams. SARAH PROHASKA: Originally, Diane Fennell was arrested
along with David Woodard, who they alleged was the shooter, and Patrick Williams, who allegedly helped
come up with the money to pay the shooter. BILL HALL: David Woodard had spoken with several people
that he needed to do something to get some money and to get some more street credibility,
and he had said that he was willing to commit a murder do so. NARRATOR: On August 12th, 2003, 43-year-old Diane Fennell,
26-year-old Patrick Williams, and 37-year-old David Woodard were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
But investigators lacked the evidence to bring in Willie Mae. They hoped Diane would name her sister under pressure.
I did not even threaten him. It was Mae that threatened him. It was my sister. It was not Diane, it was Mae.
NARRATOR: Police arrested Willie Mae on April 27, 2004, for allegedly soliciting and paying as much as $10,000
for Noble's murder. WESLEY ROBERTS: She didn't have money for that, because she was too busy trying to save
up money to get me a lawyer. She ain't that type of woman. I just don't see her doing that.
[OMINOUS MUSIC] BRIAN MALLONEE: Willie Mae was emotional during the trial because there were people in her life
that she cared about who were testifying. SARAH PROHASKA: Diane Fennell ended up
testifying against her own sister, saying that she was dragged into the conspiracy.
Her story on the witness stand was that she gave Willie Mae Hampton $200 to go toward killing Thomas.
BRIAN MALLONEE: It was surprising and it was very dramatic. Diane Fennell depicted her relationship
with Willie Mae as one where Willie Mae just used her. And the real truth of the matter is, Willie Mae
helped Diane raise her child. NARRATOR: The prosecution did not have a murder weapon
or any physical evidence, but perhaps the most damning evidence was Willie Mae's harsh words
to Wesley during their recorded phone calls. Willie Mae Hampton is talking about looking for Thomas Noble.
She's calling him a lot of bad names, using profanity, which shows how outraged she
was at Thomas Noble. At one point in one of the calls she says that Pat's out looking to kill him now.
WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: The creep mother [BLEEP] hid from us, baby. He hid from us. Pat out to kill him right now.
WESLEY ROBERTS: Mm-hm. WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: But that's all good. Don't you worry yourself, you know.
WESLEY ROBERTS: Yup. WILLIE MAE HAMPTON: Auntie ain't fixing to sit back and let them crackers railroad
you like that, no sir. BRIAN MALLONEE: The tape recordings depicted an angry woman who was, in fact, predicting
someone else's demise, there's no question about that. But there was never any agreement
made to have him killed. She just wasn't upset that it was going to happen. SARAH PROHASKA: The defense was saying that the cops got it
totally wrong, that this had nothing to do with a retaliation killing. That apparently Thomas Noble had stolen a lot of drugs
from Patrick Williams and so Patrick Williams had actually hired someone else to shoot Thomas Noble.
STEVE GOSNELL: This was quite contrary to the evidence that came out at trial, because we had evidence that she was
threatening Thomas Noble that week, and ultimately Wesley Roberts was found guilty at around 6:00
and shortly before midnight on the same night we had Thomas Noble end up shot to death
with bullets in his head just as Willie Mae had threatened. BRIAN MALLONEE: We were very disappointed.
I think that Willie Mae's voice on those tapes from the jail were the most damaging evidence against her.
STEVE GOSNELL: We had all of this eyewitness testimony, and then her own words which actually confirmed what
these other witnesses said. I think all of it together, the jury really didn't have
a hard time convicting her. NARRATOR: Willie Mae is serving her life sentence at a maximum-security prison in Florida.
She says she spends her time reading and singing in the choir. Although she maintains she was a scapegoat for a crime she did
not commit, she regrets not telling the police about alleged rumors of a hit on Thomas Noble.
BRIAN MALLONEE: I do not believe that Willie Mae Hampton had anything to do with the murder.
Her appellate rights have run out. I can only hope that she finds happiness where she's at as best she can.
RUDINE HILLS: Willie Mae took a life. At least she's still breathing. She can still eat.
She can lay down and pray to God she can see the light the next day. He can't do that.
She's got a chance to die of natural causes. He didn't. NARRATOR: Wesley Roberts is serving his sentence
at a faith-based institution in Florida and is waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal.
He hasn't had any contact with Willie Mae since 2006. WESLEY ROBERTS: She didn't do this,
and every day I think about it a lot. You know, like thinking, Lord, please free my Auntie.
Being locked up for something you didn't do, it feels like you you're really in hell.

A woman and her lover murder her husband while another woman schemes to kill a witness in her nephew's murder case.

Brief Summary

Patricia Sexton and Willie Mae Hampton are convicted of orchestrating brutal murders involving their loved ones.

Key points

A Deadly Affair. Patricia Sexton and her lover conspire to murder her husband, Bobby Sexton.
The Gruesome Discovery. Bobby Sexton's body is discovered after being missing for 35 days.
Confession and Betrayal. Michael Fielding confesses to the murder, implicating Patricia and her grandmother.
A Mother's Betrayal. Linda testifies against her daughter Patricia, claiming they plotted a murder.
Guilty Verdict. The jury returns a guilty verdict after a tense deliberation.
Reversal of Conviction. Dorothy's conviction is reversed after four years in prison.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I loved Bobby and I would have never let nothing like that happen to him.

Patricia Sexton reflects on her feelings for her husband.

2:20WatchSep 23, 2014

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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