WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Doug Janis Part 1 0:00:08.285 --> 0:00:11.565 School of Humans. 0:00:12.725 --> 0:00:15.645 So he was murdered on this side. Yes, he was 0:00:15.725 --> 0:00:18.205 killed in Texas and she lived on the other side. 0:00:18.365 --> 0:00:19.685 She lived in Louisiana. 0:00:20.645 --> 0:00:23.805 We're driving across the Pendleton Bridge, the one that runs 0:00:23.805 --> 0:00:27.965 over the Sabine River and separates Texas and Louisiana. We're 0:00:27.965 --> 0:00:31.925 headed to remote spot on Toledo ben Lake, right across 0:00:31.925 --> 0:00:35.525 the Texas border in Hemple. It's the spot where on 0:00:35.565 --> 0:00:39.885 December thirteenth, twenty twenty, at five twenty eight pm, right 0:00:39.965 --> 0:00:43.885 before the sun disappeared behind the horizon, police in Sabine 0:00:43.925 --> 0:00:47.925 County got a call about a houseboat on fire. The 0:00:47.965 --> 0:00:51.085 houseboat was docked behind three point twenty two Echo Ridge 0:00:51.445 --> 0:00:54.165 off of Cedar Grove Road on Highway twenty one in 0:00:54.245 --> 0:00:58.085 the Pendleton area of Toledo Bend, and that scene very 0:00:58.165 --> 0:01:03.725 quickly descended into total chaos. The firefighters had trouble getting 0:01:03.725 --> 0:01:06.245 out to the remote location, so it took a while, 0:01:06.805 --> 0:01:09.485 and by the time they did get there, the boat 0:01:09.725 --> 0:01:14.765 was completely engulfed in flames. One person who commented on 0:01:14.805 --> 0:01:16.805 Facebook and claimed to have been one of the first 0:01:16.845 --> 0:01:20.485 responders on the scene wrote quote, when we arrived, we 0:01:20.565 --> 0:01:22.725 noticed a pickup truck and a four wheeler on sight, 0:01:23.245 --> 0:01:25.725 so we had a feeling someone may have been in there. 0:01:26.285 --> 0:01:27.685 House boat was fully. 0:01:27.365 --> 0:01:30.925 Engulfed, along with other multiple boats and docks, heavy fire 0:01:31.005 --> 0:01:31.805 and fuel. 0:01:31.525 --> 0:01:33.005 Oil burning on top of water. 0:01:33.725 --> 0:01:36.965 Once fire was knocked down, I had members sweep and 0:01:37.085 --> 0:01:41.885 noticed the remains end quote. Firefighters and paramedics rushed to 0:01:41.925 --> 0:01:44.245 the scene, but it was too late. By the time 0:01:44.325 --> 0:01:47.365 they got there, the walls had caved in and the 0:01:47.405 --> 0:01:51.605 boat had very quickly been completely obscerated by the flames. 0:01:52.725 --> 0:01:55.805 And then when they did dig through the remains, they 0:01:55.845 --> 0:01:58.885 found the body of sixty four year old Doug Janis. 0:01:59.925 --> 0:02:03.485 His charred remains were found in the bedroom of the boat. 0:02:04.485 --> 0:02:06.645 At first, they thought the house fire had been some 0:02:06.765 --> 0:02:09.485 kind of accident, that Doug had died as a result 0:02:09.485 --> 0:02:13.445 of a propane league, but then they took Doug's body 0:02:13.445 --> 0:02:17.405 in for an autopsy. At the forensic exam, they saw 0:02:17.525 --> 0:02:21.485 the two bullets in his head. Doug Janis had been murdered, 0:02:22.005 --> 0:02:26.085 and his much younger, estranged wife, April May Janis, was 0:02:26.125 --> 0:02:29.485 nowhere to be found. But Doug's death was just the 0:02:29.525 --> 0:02:32.525 beginning of a story that goes back twenty years and 0:02:32.605 --> 0:02:37.685 of all sex allegations of corruption and multiple murders. 0:02:38.285 --> 0:02:39.405 I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:02:39.805 --> 0:02:42.645 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:02:42.725 --> 0:02:45.485 Helen Gone, I have learned that there is no such 0:02:45.565 --> 0:02:48.685 thing as a small town where murder never happens. I 0:02:48.725 --> 0:02:51.325 have received hundreds of messages from people all around the 0:02:51.365 --> 0:02:54.805 country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:02:55.165 --> 0:02:59.245 their families, and their communities. If you have a case 0:02:59.245 --> 0:03:01.245 you'd like me and my team to look into, you 0:03:01.285 --> 0:03:03.085 can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone 0:03:03.165 --> 0:03:06.285 Murder line at six seven eight seven four four six 0:03:06.365 --> 0:03:09.925 one four five. That's six seven eight seven four four 0:03:10.285 --> 0:03:13.325 six one four five, or you can send us a 0:03:13.325 --> 0:03:20.125 message on Instagram at Hell and Gone pod. This is 0:03:20.165 --> 0:04:05.645 Helen Gone Murder Line. 0:04:07.605 --> 0:04:12.565 Hello. Hey, this is Amy Propelling on. Hi. How are 0:04:12.605 --> 0:04:14.485 you doing good? Can you talk? 0:04:15.045 --> 0:04:15.245 Yes? 0:04:15.405 --> 0:04:18.005 Yes, I am fixing to get into a place away 0:04:18.045 --> 0:04:21.685 from my grandbaby. We have currently have no power because 0:04:21.885 --> 0:04:26.005 the hurricane the weather comes through and so so if 0:04:26.045 --> 0:04:28.365 I lose you, that's probably that's what's going to happen. 0:04:28.485 --> 0:04:29.885 Is our services just. 0:04:29.885 --> 0:04:31.125 I mean live out in the country. 0:04:31.205 --> 0:04:33.205 So okay. 0:04:33.925 --> 0:04:37.325 I heard about this case when a podcast listener reached 0:04:37.365 --> 0:04:39.725 out She was a friend of Doug's who said that 0:04:39.765 --> 0:04:42.285 Doug's death was all over the news in that rural 0:04:42.325 --> 0:04:45.485 region of East Texas, but then all of a sudden 0:04:45.725 --> 0:04:50.245 it wasn't. No one ever heard anymore about the death investigation. 0:04:51.445 --> 0:04:54.885 Her name is April, not to be confused with Doug's 0:04:54.885 --> 0:04:58.565 wife April. Doug's friend. April said that she knew Doug 0:04:58.645 --> 0:05:01.845 through church. She said that he was always friendly and kind, 0:05:01.965 --> 0:05:05.605 and that she believed he was a religious man. He 0:05:05.685 --> 0:05:07.565 said that in the final years of his life, Doug 0:05:07.605 --> 0:05:10.245 became very involved with a local Pentecostal church. 0:05:10.685 --> 0:05:12.085 That's where she knew him from. 0:05:12.365 --> 0:05:14.845 Doug gets not all a whole lot, a whole lot 0:05:14.885 --> 0:05:18.645 to our family, and we went to church together. 0:05:19.485 --> 0:05:22.685 There wasn't much information out there about Doug Janis's murder. 0:05:23.125 --> 0:05:26.325 Local news stations quoted an affidavit, but it was brief 0:05:26.365 --> 0:05:28.525 and just said the cause of death was due to 0:05:28.565 --> 0:05:33.365 Doug Janice being shot in the head. The houseboat, as 0:05:33.405 --> 0:05:36.445 we said before, had gone up in flames. At first, 0:05:36.485 --> 0:05:38.565 the police and paramedics thought it was some kind of 0:05:38.565 --> 0:05:41.725 a pro pain leak or freak accident. Doug was a 0:05:41.845 --> 0:05:44.565 very well known commercial cat fisherman in the area. He 0:05:44.565 --> 0:05:47.045 had not only built a houseboat over the years, he 0:05:47.085 --> 0:05:51.125 had also acquired several smaller houseboats. He kept them all together, 0:05:51.885 --> 0:05:55.165 so he had a lot of property down there. He 0:05:55.245 --> 0:05:59.365 also had a fireplace on that houseboat and pro pain tanks. 0:05:59.925 --> 0:06:02.525 But once they took Doug's body to Beaumont, Texas and 0:06:02.525 --> 0:06:05.325 did the autopsy, they saw the cause of death had 0:06:05.325 --> 0:06:08.325 been the fatal shots to his head, not the house fire, 0:06:09.085 --> 0:06:12.285 and right away people were asking questions about his wife, 0:06:12.365 --> 0:06:14.845 April May Janis and where she was at the time 0:06:14.885 --> 0:06:19.085 of the murder, because, according to Doug's friend April, Doug 0:06:19.205 --> 0:06:21.605 and his wife April were estranged. At the time of 0:06:21.645 --> 0:06:24.725 his death, they were not living together and they hadn't 0:06:24.765 --> 0:06:28.605 been living together for a long time. April first moved 0:06:28.645 --> 0:06:30.605 into a mobile home that was just up the hill 0:06:30.605 --> 0:06:33.805 from Doug's houseboat while he stayed on the water, but 0:06:33.925 --> 0:06:37.485 later she moved into her own place in Minnie, Louisiana, 0:06:37.605 --> 0:06:42.445 right across the bridge. Exactly when April relocated and what 0:06:42.445 --> 0:06:44.245 the story was there is something we're going to be 0:06:44.245 --> 0:06:48.765 diving into in future episodes. At the same time, there 0:06:48.765 --> 0:06:52.205 were rumors that witnesses had seen a vehicle rapidly speeding 0:06:52.205 --> 0:06:55.765 away from the houseboat, basically right before it blew up. 0:06:56.565 --> 0:06:59.125 We talked to Doug's friend, April about some of the 0:06:59.165 --> 0:07:01.005 irregularities at the crime scene. 0:07:01.485 --> 0:07:05.965 He lived on the boat and she lived in a 0:07:06.085 --> 0:07:08.885 mobile home up the hill from him. She did not 0:07:09.005 --> 0:07:12.285 even at that point, she was not even living in 0:07:12.325 --> 0:07:16.285 the same place with him, and he had He didn't 0:07:16.325 --> 0:07:18.925 even sleep in his own bed ever, he slept in 0:07:18.925 --> 0:07:21.725 a recliner because he had a bad hernia. I guess 0:07:22.565 --> 0:07:24.605 since he was a commercial fisherman, you know, he had 0:07:24.605 --> 0:07:27.365 to bend over the boat and lift heavy fish, you know, 0:07:27.445 --> 0:07:32.005 out of the water and stuff. And when they put 0:07:32.045 --> 0:07:35.085 the fire out and they found his body, it was 0:07:35.165 --> 0:07:37.765 in the bed with and he had two bullet holes 0:07:37.765 --> 0:07:38.605 in the back of the head. 0:07:39.965 --> 0:07:43.085 This has been a difficult case. We have done multiple 0:07:43.165 --> 0:07:45.885 FOI requests, but the case file is not public information 0:07:46.085 --> 0:07:50.725 since this is still an active investigation. But that answered 0:07:50.765 --> 0:07:53.685 one important question for me. I knew Doug was shot 0:07:53.685 --> 0:07:56.165 in the head. Now we found out he was shot 0:07:56.205 --> 0:07:58.645 in the back of the head. This was definitely a 0:07:58.725 --> 0:08:04.085 murder case. Doug had been shot execution style, but who 0:08:04.125 --> 0:08:06.965 would have wanted to kill Doug Chamis, a man who 0:08:07.125 --> 0:08:10.485 everyone seemed to love in that neighborhood. We need to 0:08:10.525 --> 0:08:13.565 find more information about what Doug was doing on that houseboat, 0:08:14.045 --> 0:08:17.725 and also about his wife, about his relationship with his wife, April. 0:08:18.365 --> 0:08:21.125 We also need to find these witnesses who said they 0:08:21.165 --> 0:08:23.685 saw a car speeding away from the blazing houseboat. 0:08:24.605 --> 0:08:27.125 But even without the case file, we did get a 0:08:27.125 --> 0:08:27.725 few facts. 0:08:28.805 --> 0:08:32.485 The pathologists found two bullets lodged in Doug's brain and 0:08:32.565 --> 0:08:35.845 ruled the manner of death a homicide. So as we 0:08:35.925 --> 0:08:39.005 wait for more official police and forensic information to come, 0:08:39.765 --> 0:08:45.525 we need to ask who was Doug Janis. Everyone has 0:08:45.685 --> 0:08:48.445 secret parts of themselves they don't want others to see, 0:08:48.845 --> 0:08:52.485 and in a murder case, often those hidden dark sides 0:08:52.605 --> 0:08:56.525 become public when it comes to Doug Janis's murder. I 0:08:56.565 --> 0:08:59.565 can't remember a case I've ever investigated where it seems 0:08:59.565 --> 0:09:02.085 like the victim is so loved and so hated at 0:09:02.125 --> 0:09:06.005 the same time. Most of the news articles about Doug 0:09:06.005 --> 0:09:09.045 are really positive, but at the same time I noticed 0:09:09.045 --> 0:09:13.365 they're pretty vague. For example, the local news station KJAS 0:09:13.365 --> 0:09:16.885 dot com had an article that read quote Doug Janis 0:09:16.925 --> 0:09:19.445 was living the dream and doing what he loved along 0:09:19.445 --> 0:09:23.085 the banks of Toledo Ben Lake fishing. He was known 0:09:23.125 --> 0:09:26.445 by the fishing community as the Catfishman and well loved 0:09:26.485 --> 0:09:30.005 by all who met him end quote. So they painted 0:09:30.045 --> 0:09:32.485 a picture of Doug Janis as being this nice guy 0:09:32.525 --> 0:09:34.925 who was living out his golden years on a houseboat 0:09:34.965 --> 0:09:37.845 that he built himself. In all of the photos I 0:09:37.845 --> 0:09:40.205 can find of Doug, he has a huge smile on 0:09:40.285 --> 0:09:40.685 his face. 0:09:41.565 --> 0:09:44.485 Doug was fit. He spent a lot of time fishing. 0:09:44.725 --> 0:09:47.165 He also got a scuba diving certification and was a 0:09:47.205 --> 0:09:50.925 pretty avid diver for years in the Texas Gulf Coast area. 0:09:51.085 --> 0:09:52.405 Doug was always on the water. 0:09:52.485 --> 0:09:54.725 He was obsessed with the houseboat that he had designed 0:09:54.725 --> 0:09:57.605 and built himself. He loved showing his boat off to 0:09:57.645 --> 0:10:00.645 friends and family. I'm going to take a step back 0:10:00.685 --> 0:10:03.445 for a minute, because you can't unravel what happened to 0:10:03.445 --> 0:10:07.165 Doug Jannis without talking about the area where it happened. 0:10:08.165 --> 0:10:11.645 This infamous houseboat that sat on the Toledo Bend Reservoir. 0:10:12.645 --> 0:10:15.365 This reservoir is on the Sabine River. It sits on 0:10:15.365 --> 0:10:17.325 the border between Texas and Louisiana. 0:10:17.885 --> 0:10:19.045 It is a super. 0:10:18.805 --> 0:10:21.365 Rural area and the people who live there are kind 0:10:21.365 --> 0:10:24.605 of an eclectic combination. You've got families who've lived there 0:10:24.605 --> 0:10:29.125 for generations, also a lot of retired people and people 0:10:29.125 --> 0:10:31.965 who come there to fish on weekends. This area, the 0:10:31.965 --> 0:10:35.525 Toledo Bend Reservoir, by the way, is huge. It has 0:10:35.565 --> 0:10:38.325 an area of one hundred and eighty five thousand acres. 0:10:38.605 --> 0:10:40.085 It's about eighty miles long. 0:10:40.125 --> 0:10:42.565 It's the largest man made body of water in the 0:10:42.645 --> 0:10:45.445 South and the fifth largest in the entire United States. 0:10:46.885 --> 0:10:47.445 The lake is. 0:10:47.445 --> 0:10:50.605 Well known as being amazing for fishing, especially for catfish, 0:10:50.685 --> 0:10:55.005 Doug's favorite, but the water is murky. Some people claim 0:10:55.165 --> 0:10:59.565 that although there is swimming there, it's not necessarily recommended 0:10:59.605 --> 0:11:03.285 in some areas due to alligators. When I see the 0:11:03.325 --> 0:11:06.205 trees that are sticking out of the water, it does 0:11:06.285 --> 0:11:10.405 look like a beautiful nature spot. I also can't help 0:11:10.445 --> 0:11:13.245 thinking about what could be floating in that lake, like 0:11:13.325 --> 0:11:18.845 alligators or dead bodies. And according to some Facebook postings 0:11:18.845 --> 0:11:23.645 by residents, the area is very remote. The nearest hospital 0:11:23.765 --> 0:11:26.725 is fifteen miles away and takes twenty five minutes to 0:11:26.805 --> 0:11:30.005 drive to. Even the fire department is several miles away. 0:11:30.045 --> 0:11:33.925 Across the bridge. The area looks a lot like the Ozarks, 0:11:34.005 --> 0:11:35.485 especially on the Texas side. 0:11:35.605 --> 0:11:38.085 The road is getting scared. I believe if fire drug 0:11:38.165 --> 0:11:39.885 made it for multiple fire troups. 0:11:40.645 --> 0:11:43.925 According to the obituary for Douglas Michael Janis, he was 0:11:43.965 --> 0:11:47.285 born August eighth, nineteen fifty six in Lake Jackson. He 0:11:47.325 --> 0:11:49.565 grew up with his mother, Wanda and his stepfather, Bill, 0:11:49.645 --> 0:11:52.685 who adopted him. Doug was the oldest of four siblings. 0:11:54.125 --> 0:11:57.845 His obituary red quote, Doug will be remembered as one 0:11:57.845 --> 0:12:00.285 who never minded a hard day's work and never shot 0:12:00.325 --> 0:12:02.805 away from a challenge. There was not a lazy bone 0:12:02.845 --> 0:12:05.365 in his body, and he was not afraid of hard work. 0:12:05.685 --> 0:12:09.365 He was energetic, always hustling, and never looked for a handout. 0:12:10.005 --> 0:12:12.725 Those who knew him best and loved him most never 0:12:12.805 --> 0:12:16.885 knew him not to be working end quote. Doug lived 0:12:16.925 --> 0:12:19.485 most of his life in Silsby. He worked as an 0:12:19.485 --> 0:12:23.165 insurance sales representative for Farm Bureau. He had apparently won 0:12:23.205 --> 0:12:24.165 awards for his work. 0:12:25.325 --> 0:12:26.365 Doug was busy. 0:12:26.565 --> 0:12:28.845 He did a lot of different jobs during his lifetime, 0:12:29.045 --> 0:12:32.845 most involving manual labor, including offshore drilling rigs in the 0:12:32.845 --> 0:12:37.085 Gulf of Mexico at one point, he installed satellite dishes 0:12:37.165 --> 0:12:40.925 in Austin, Texas. Doug was an entrepreneur. He ran several 0:12:40.965 --> 0:12:44.765 small businesses himself, including a fish market. As we said, 0:12:44.885 --> 0:12:47.885 he always had a fascination with a Toledo Bend Lake 0:12:47.965 --> 0:12:51.445 area because of the lake, he was obsessed with fishing, 0:12:51.485 --> 0:12:54.445 and eventually he moved there and worked as a commercial 0:12:54.485 --> 0:12:58.485 fisherman supplying local restaurants. Doug apparently made a lot of 0:12:58.525 --> 0:13:02.485 money at his craft. He was super industrious, and even 0:13:02.525 --> 0:13:04.685 though he lived on the Texas side of the border, 0:13:05.125 --> 0:13:07.525 there was a seventy five fish limit per day there, 0:13:07.965 --> 0:13:10.765 so Doug liked to fish on the Louisiana side where 0:13:10.805 --> 0:13:14.005 he could catch an unlimited amount of fish. Doug apparently 0:13:14.045 --> 0:13:16.285 made a lot of money and kept a lot of 0:13:16.285 --> 0:13:19.085 money on his boat. We'll get back to that later. 0:13:21.165 --> 0:13:25.885 Back to the obituary. The obituary continued, quote his friends 0:13:25.885 --> 0:13:28.365 and acquaintances knew him to be a man's man who 0:13:28.405 --> 0:13:31.325 was creative, independent, and could do anything he set his 0:13:31.365 --> 0:13:34.045 mind to do. He's never met a stranger and was 0:13:34.125 --> 0:13:36.645 known for his gregarious, outgoing personality. 0:13:36.885 --> 0:13:37.405 End quote. 0:13:38.245 --> 0:13:43.005 Because Doug was obsessed with fishing, especially catfishing, he loved 0:13:43.005 --> 0:13:46.205 cooking for friends, hanging out, and throwing barbecues for friends 0:13:46.205 --> 0:13:49.405 and family, and according to his obituary, he became kind 0:13:49.405 --> 0:13:52.205 of a local celebrity because of this self made houseboat. 0:13:52.765 --> 0:13:54.285 The obituary closes with. 0:13:54.285 --> 0:13:57.405 Quote, in his final moments, he was at home, in 0:13:57.445 --> 0:14:00.925 the place he loved and enjoyed most end quote. I 0:14:00.965 --> 0:14:03.685 think it's important to quote these things exactly because this 0:14:03.925 --> 0:14:06.965 was crafted by Doug's family, the people closest to him. 0:14:07.605 --> 0:14:09.925 They obviously loved him a lot, and this was the 0:14:09.965 --> 0:14:14.325 side of him that they saw. But like everyone, Doug 0:14:14.405 --> 0:14:19.725 Janis had another side to him. After Doug was cremated, 0:14:19.845 --> 0:14:22.805 his remains were given back to his family. The obituary 0:14:22.805 --> 0:14:25.845 states Doug's ashes were scattered in the same water where 0:14:25.845 --> 0:14:30.165 he used to feed alligators marshmallows. Meanwhile, police were trying 0:14:30.165 --> 0:14:33.725 to piece together Doug's personal life, and we tried to 0:14:33.765 --> 0:14:36.445 do the same, because it turned out it was complicated. 0:14:37.325 --> 0:14:40.645 Doug Janis's obituary leaves out a few pretty crucial things, 0:14:41.125 --> 0:14:43.285 and there were also things about the crime scene that, 0:14:43.365 --> 0:14:46.805 even on first impression, do not seem to make sense. 0:14:47.885 --> 0:14:51.245 First of all, Doug had recently had a hernia operation. 0:14:51.685 --> 0:14:54.205 Because of that, he would normally sleep in his recliner 0:14:54.325 --> 0:14:57.365 in the living room, and yet he was found with 0:14:57.405 --> 0:15:00.525 two gunshots in the head on his bed and the 0:15:00.565 --> 0:15:04.005 fire trucks came at five twenty eight pm. So why 0:15:04.125 --> 0:15:06.285 was he in the bedroom in the middle the afternoon, 0:15:06.645 --> 0:15:08.245 especially since he wasn't sleeping there? 0:15:08.285 --> 0:15:08.765 Apparently? 0:15:08.805 --> 0:15:11.605 In general, we also need to find out the layout 0:15:11.645 --> 0:15:15.045 of that boat, something else I noticed, because I'm always 0:15:15.045 --> 0:15:18.325 looking not just for the information obituaries provide, but for 0:15:18.405 --> 0:15:23.405 the information they leave out. As we know, everyone has 0:15:23.445 --> 0:15:28.445 their own version of the victim. The obituary mentions who 0:15:28.525 --> 0:15:31.405 Doug is survived by. It mentions his daughter, who we 0:15:31.525 --> 0:15:34.885 have spoken to, but she's a private person and obviously 0:15:34.925 --> 0:15:37.325 this has been traumatic for her, so I'm not mentioning 0:15:37.365 --> 0:15:39.805 her name here, as well as his son in law 0:15:39.805 --> 0:15:43.525 and grandchildren, his brother and sister, and other family members. 0:15:44.205 --> 0:15:47.405 The obituary even mentions the many grateful fish who eluded 0:15:47.405 --> 0:15:51.645 his capture, etc. But the obituary does not mention Doug's 0:15:51.645 --> 0:15:56.085 a strange wife, April. In fact, Doug's obituary doesn't mention 0:15:56.205 --> 0:15:57.685 any of Doug's former wives. 0:16:00.685 --> 0:16:01.845 For me, the omission of. 0:16:01.845 --> 0:16:05.085 The wife and the obituary was a potential clue. I 0:16:05.125 --> 0:16:08.405 wanted to understand their romantic history, and how April and 0:16:08.445 --> 0:16:10.925 Doug got together was a little bit of a mystery. 0:16:11.565 --> 0:16:14.645 It was not solved, either, as we said, by reading 0:16:14.685 --> 0:16:18.525 Doug's obituary or by the YouTube tribute memorial video that 0:16:18.645 --> 0:16:21.965 was made by the funeral home. I watched that video 0:16:22.205 --> 0:16:25.685 several times. We learned from Doug's daughter that he was 0:16:25.765 --> 0:16:29.165 married a total of five times, twice to the same woman, 0:16:29.805 --> 0:16:31.845 so he had four wives in total. 0:16:32.645 --> 0:16:34.845 I noticed there were several shots. 0:16:34.485 --> 0:16:37.245 In the memorial video of Doug's former wives and of 0:16:37.325 --> 0:16:39.685 him with his children when they were young, but there 0:16:39.765 --> 0:16:43.045 was only one quick flash near the end, one single 0:16:43.085 --> 0:16:46.685 shot of April. And in that photo, Doug is wearing 0:16:46.725 --> 0:16:49.645 a Hawaiian shirt. He's very tanned, he's got silver hair, 0:16:50.165 --> 0:16:53.325 He's older but still obviously a very fit man, with 0:16:53.365 --> 0:16:56.525 a huge smile on his face. April is standing next 0:16:56.565 --> 0:16:59.845 to him with what I can best describe a completely 0:17:00.005 --> 0:17:04.005 blank expression. As I looked at April, I couldn't get 0:17:04.045 --> 0:17:06.765 any sense of her and Doug's were life relationship. I 0:17:06.845 --> 0:17:10.365 wanted to know more since April was nowhere to be 0:17:10.365 --> 0:17:13.885 seen in the obituary. It seemed that Doug's family was 0:17:13.885 --> 0:17:17.725 suspicious of April, but they were not the only ones. 0:17:18.325 --> 0:17:20.165 Police were suspicious of April two. 0:17:20.085 --> 0:17:24.485 And on January fourteenth, twenty twenty one, April may Janis 0:17:24.525 --> 0:17:37.125 was arrested and charged with Doug's murder. On January fourteenth, 0:17:37.205 --> 0:17:41.165 twenty twenty one, almost exactly a month after Doug Janis 0:17:41.205 --> 0:17:44.805 was fatally shot on his houseboat, his estranged wife, April 0:17:44.845 --> 0:17:48.365 may Janis, was charged with his murder. We learned from 0:17:48.445 --> 0:17:50.325 friends of Doug's that at the time of his death, 0:17:50.365 --> 0:17:53.645 April and Doug were not living together. Doug was living 0:17:53.685 --> 0:17:56.405 on his houseboat, while April had been staying on a 0:17:56.445 --> 0:17:59.645 mobile trailer elsewhere on the property. This is a big 0:17:59.685 --> 0:18:04.605 property that spans quite a few acres. Doug owned more 0:18:04.605 --> 0:18:07.245 than one piece of prime property. He also owned a 0:18:07.285 --> 0:18:09.965 second residence in Louisiana on the other side of the border. 0:18:10.685 --> 0:18:14.605 We learned that April had been living there. She relocated 0:18:14.645 --> 0:18:18.485 to that property a while back. My research assistant Amy 0:18:18.525 --> 0:18:20.685 and I talked about this case a lot. 0:18:21.925 --> 0:18:25.485 This is the bridge that divides Texas and Louisiana. 0:18:25.525 --> 0:18:29.525 Across the water divides the lake and. 0:18:30.645 --> 0:18:34.965 If you believe that April committed this crime. She would 0:18:35.005 --> 0:18:38.645 have had to cross this bridge, and the fire department 0:18:38.805 --> 0:18:41.525 would have had to cross this bridge as well, and 0:18:41.605 --> 0:18:42.485 it's a long bridge. 0:18:42.845 --> 0:18:47.165 Yeah, we were trying to figure out what exactly went down. 0:18:47.965 --> 0:18:51.285 Since this murder happened right on the Texas Louisiana border, 0:18:51.845 --> 0:18:55.245 we knew that this case might have involved multiple counties. So, 0:18:55.325 --> 0:18:58.805 according to the affidavit, police became suspicious of April for 0:18:58.805 --> 0:19:01.965 several reasons. First of all, when they interviewed her, they 0:19:02.005 --> 0:19:04.885 did not believe she appeared to be grieving at all. 0:19:06.005 --> 0:19:09.165 They believed she was showing signs of deception during that interview, 0:19:09.565 --> 0:19:11.525 and when they asked her if she killed her husband, 0:19:11.565 --> 0:19:14.645 she would quote nod yes, but say no end quote. 0:19:15.285 --> 0:19:18.845 Police also noted that April did not show any shock 0:19:18.965 --> 0:19:21.005 or grief when she was told that the boat burning 0:19:21.045 --> 0:19:24.045 down was to cover up a homicide, not an accident. 0:19:24.845 --> 0:19:27.765 The officer who scored the affidavit wrote he discovered that 0:19:27.805 --> 0:19:30.845 April had a boyfriend in Louisiana who she was in 0:19:30.845 --> 0:19:35.325 love with and intimate with. Police also discovered a potential motive. 0:19:35.845 --> 0:19:39.005 Doug kept a lot of cash on his houseboat. Police 0:19:39.045 --> 0:19:41.685 also found out that there was apparently an insurance policy 0:19:41.725 --> 0:19:44.565 on Doug. In the affidavit, they said that there was 0:19:44.565 --> 0:19:47.445 a one hundred thousand dollars policy that paid out in 0:19:47.485 --> 0:19:51.005 the event of Doug's death and April was the sole beneficiary. 0:19:52.205 --> 0:19:55.205 Police talked to witnesses and found one who told authorities 0:19:55.285 --> 0:19:58.365 that on Sunday, December thirteenth, twenty twenty, the night of 0:19:58.405 --> 0:20:02.845 the murder, they saw April leaving Doug's boat sometime between 0:20:03.005 --> 0:20:06.285 four thirty to five thirty pm. They said that it 0:20:06.325 --> 0:20:09.445 was dusk, but that they could still clearly see that 0:20:09.525 --> 0:20:12.725 it was April. They said that April left home and 0:20:12.805 --> 0:20:16.365 passed by the witness's house fifteen to twenty minutes before 0:20:16.605 --> 0:20:19.845 the first fire truck arrived on scene. The witness said 0:20:19.845 --> 0:20:21.805 they were sure it was April. They had known April 0:20:21.805 --> 0:20:23.565 for a long time, since she was a little girl. 0:20:24.205 --> 0:20:27.845 They definitely recognized her. They saw her driving her blue 0:20:27.885 --> 0:20:32.245 Dodge truck. The affidavit red quote the information collected and 0:20:32.285 --> 0:20:35.245 the eyewitness statement places the defendant at the crime scene 0:20:35.565 --> 0:20:37.925 while the houseboat was on fire and just before the 0:20:37.965 --> 0:20:41.125 fire truck arrived end quote, which would have been in 0:20:41.165 --> 0:20:43.245 the minutes leading up to when the fire was called 0:20:43.285 --> 0:20:47.445 in at five twenty eight pm. After April Janis was 0:20:47.565 --> 0:20:51.405 arrested and charged with murder on January fourteenth, things seemed 0:20:51.445 --> 0:20:55.685 to be moving toward trial. Prosecutors seemed confident in their case. 0:20:56.405 --> 0:20:59.725 A ten million dollar bond was set on April, but 0:20:59.885 --> 0:21:07.325 then all of a sudden, everything changed. First, quietly, the 0:21:07.405 --> 0:21:09.965 judge lowered the bail amount in April's case from ten 0:21:10.045 --> 0:21:13.405 million dollars to two hundred thousand, which meant that she 0:21:13.445 --> 0:21:15.725 would only need to come up with about twenty thousand 0:21:15.765 --> 0:21:19.845 dollars to bond out. And that's what happened. April was 0:21:19.885 --> 0:21:23.045 released on bail, and then there was nothing. 0:21:23.805 --> 0:21:24.645 No more news. 0:21:24.485 --> 0:21:27.525 Stories about the case, no updates. We were able to 0:21:27.525 --> 0:21:30.005 get a list of April's bond conditions and we learned 0:21:30.045 --> 0:21:33.485 that pretty much all of the restrictions were removed. All 0:21:33.485 --> 0:21:36.405 she had to do was surrender her passport and basically 0:21:36.445 --> 0:21:37.725 agree to not leave the country. 0:21:38.245 --> 0:21:40.485 She didn't have to report to anyone. She was free. 0:21:42.125 --> 0:21:45.245 The prosecutors apparently thought they just didn't have enough evidence 0:21:45.285 --> 0:21:47.725 to pursue the case. That's the official story, and we 0:21:47.885 --> 0:21:50.485 know that sometimes this happens in these cases. The bar 0:21:51.085 --> 0:21:53.885 to take someone to trial and to convict someone of 0:21:53.965 --> 0:21:56.245 murder is very high and that's a good thing. 0:21:57.085 --> 0:21:59.085 But I couldn't figure this case out. 0:21:59.885 --> 0:22:03.005 I know it's circumstantial, but there appear to be a 0:22:03.045 --> 0:22:06.205 lot of facts that could have led towards April being 0:22:06.205 --> 0:22:08.925 taken to trial. You have a witness who apparently saw 0:22:09.005 --> 0:22:10.765 at the crime scene around the time of the murder. 0:22:11.165 --> 0:22:13.245 You have the fact that there's a life insurance policy 0:22:13.725 --> 0:22:17.285 of which, according to police, she's the sole beneficiary one 0:22:17.365 --> 0:22:21.645 hundred thousand dollars. There was marital infidelity. She had a 0:22:21.645 --> 0:22:24.845 boyfriend in Louisiana, and according to the source we talked to, 0:22:25.485 --> 0:22:27.765 April and Doug were not living in the home together. 0:22:27.965 --> 0:22:30.765 She was living somewhere else, So you have a separation. 0:22:32.605 --> 0:22:35.565 And then we found out something else. It turned out 0:22:35.965 --> 0:22:39.685 that Doug was not the first person close to April 0:22:39.845 --> 0:22:46.925 who died violently under mysterious circumstances. Years earlier, April's mother, 0:22:47.325 --> 0:22:55.685 Anna Thompson, was also fatally shot. We're going to get 0:22:55.685 --> 0:22:59.005 a lot more into April Janis's family history next week, 0:22:59.845 --> 0:23:02.085 but for now we can say April grew up in 0:23:02.085 --> 0:23:04.325 the hemp Hill, Texas area with her mom Anna and 0:23:04.365 --> 0:23:07.325