1 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: Jane and Bob Dortik raised three kids and eventually settled 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: outside San Diego. But old issues often resurface when the 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,319 Speaker 1: kids leave the nest. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 2: You know, the kids were seemingly gone quickly, almost all 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,079 Speaker 2: at once, and it was just Bob and I. It 6 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 2: was just difficult, and we did talk about divorcing. In fact, 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 2: we actually filed and then decided, after living apart for 8 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,600 Speaker 2: a short period of time, that we wanted to go 9 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: to therapy and we wanted to work this out. We 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 2: were together for thirty years. We truly loved each other 11 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 2: and wanted to kind of honor this new phase in 12 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 2: our lives. 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: They managed to bounce back and reinvent themselves. Bob even 14 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: took up running in marathons, occasionally inviting his daughter Claire along. 15 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 3: To me, that was like, what incredible modeling for a parent. 16 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 3: You know, like this is a hill, like any hill 17 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 3: you might face in life, and you can make it 18 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 3: to the top. 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: Both Jane and Bob continued to model that can do 20 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: spirit Through Valentine's Weekend two thousand. 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 2: We had a stay at home, give each other gifts, 22 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 2: make a little cake and a fancy meal Saturday night. 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: The next day Bob went out for a run and 24 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 2: never return. And I'm the one that invited the detectives 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 2: into the house. So we don't need a search warrant. 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 2: We're welcome in here and look at everything. Help us 27 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 2: find these answers. 28 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: And it appears that a witness came forward with a 29 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: lead that pointed at two unknown men. But it seems 30 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: the police went in a different direction. 31 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 3: They always look at the family first. Why are we 32 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 3: going to work hard? We can find it all right here. 33 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 3: There's DNA, there's hair, there's footprints. In fact, we can 34 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 3: construct a whole crime scene. And we can tell you 35 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 3: in the the courtroom that those curtains were totally full 36 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 3: of blood. Guess what, there were no curtains in the bedroom. 37 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 2: My name is Jane dorotic I am seventy nine years old. 38 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 2: Now I spent twenty years in prison for a crime 39 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 2: I didn't commit. 40 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: From LoVa for good. This is wrongful conviction with Maggie 41 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: Freeling today. Jane doritic. 42 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 2: I was born in Canada. My parents were both Canadian. 43 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 2: We moved to California when I was four, Then we 44 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 2: moved to England for a couple of years, and then 45 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 2: we moved back to California. I have four siblings, all alive, 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:49,839 Speaker 2: and both my parents are dead. 47 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 4: What did your parents do that They wound up in 48 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 4: England and then just did so much traveling. 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 2: My mom was a stay at home mother and wife. 50 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 2: My dad was a contractor consultant for some major companies. 51 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 2: I can't even tell you what sort of contracting he did, 52 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 2: but it was supposed to be a one year term 53 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,119 Speaker 2: in England and it lasted for three years. And as 54 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 2: a young girl, that's where my love of horses began. 55 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 2: In England. 56 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 5: Why horses, I. 57 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 2: Just was very attracted to them and took riding lessons, 58 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 2: learned a little bit about jumping and that sort of thing, 59 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 2: and it just was something that I dearly loved. 60 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 5: Would you call yourself a horse girl? 61 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 2: Kind of? I suppose. 62 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: After returning to California and finishing her schooling, Jane worked 63 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: as a registered nurse at UCLA Medical Center, which is 64 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: when she met her husband, Bob. 65 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 2: At the time, I was working as an RN at UCLA, 66 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 2: he was working as an engineer at Lockheed and I 67 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 2: was living on the beach and he happened to rent 68 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: an apartment right above mine, So that's how we met. 69 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 2: He was a very kind, loving person, and he had aspirations. 70 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 2: You know, he was very interested in the environment and 71 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 2: what's happening and how can we make it better? 72 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 5: Were you guys kind of like hippies. 73 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 2: A little bit? 74 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 5: A little bit? 75 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. 76 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: They eventually settled on a horse farm in Tucson, Arizona, 77 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: where they had three children, two boys, Alex and Nick, 78 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: and in the middle was Claire. 79 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 3: My siblings are Alex and was Nick. Nick is no 80 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 3: longer with us. Alex is let's see, eleven months older 81 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 3: than I am, and Nick is eight or Nick was 82 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 3: nineteen months eighteen months younger. I was blessed with two 83 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,599 Speaker 3: wonderful parents. They were wonderful role models. My dad was 84 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 3: the one who was like, if you want something, go 85 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 3: after it, go get it. I'll support you. My mom 86 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 3: was always really supportive of my riding and wanted to 87 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 3: help me go in whatever direction I wanted to go 88 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 3: with the horses. 89 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 2: I think it's particularly helpful for little girl girls to 90 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 2: get experience around horses. In this society, especially seventy years ago, 91 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 2: women were pretty much dismissed, and I think for a 92 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 2: young girl to realize you have the power, you have 93 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,360 Speaker 2: the ability to control such a large animal, and the 94 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 2: key to controlling them is not through brute force or 95 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 2: anything like that. It's through gaining trust and developing a relationship. 96 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 2: And I think that's something that's very important to learn, 97 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 2: and Claire totally took to it. I remember at one 98 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 2: point I had bought her a pony and I saw 99 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 2: Claire come galloping up the driveway bareback on her pony, 100 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 2: but she was standing on the pony's back. Oh my gosh, 101 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 2: that's what I said, Oh my gosh, I think we 102 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 2: should invest in some serious lessons for this little guy. 103 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 2: She's obviously talented and has no fears. 104 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 5: Wow. 105 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 3: People say sometimes they get afraid on horses, and I 106 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 3: don't remember ever being afraid of you should have been. 107 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 3: And then as I got better, I have many experiences 108 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 3: of being at a horse show and somebody would come 109 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 3: up to me, and the judge or something'd be like, Okay, 110 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 3: you need to go ride with this person. You have 111 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 3: some talent. And so then I started writing for other 112 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 3: people and it just blossomed into this thing that I 113 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 3: was doing. And then my mom and I realized we 114 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 3: could take some money buying horses off the racetrack and 115 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 3: then selling them as jumpers, and that's actually how I 116 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 3: paid for college. 117 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: While raising and selling horses worked out well. Jane had 118 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,279 Speaker 1: also gone back to work as a registered nurse in 119 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,359 Speaker 1: the mental health space, and eventually all of the kids 120 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: went off to college, which was a major change for 121 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: her and Bob. 122 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 2: We had some difficulties, yes, and I think in retrospect, 123 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 2: part of it was being an empty nester, and at 124 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:47,040 Speaker 2: some point my mother was not doing well and came 125 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 2: to live with us, and Bob was very invested in 126 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 2: having that happen, but it didn't work out as well, 127 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 2: and that was a bit of a stressor, I think, 128 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 2: and also at the time I was travel a lot 129 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,799 Speaker 2: with my work. It was just difficult, and we did 130 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 2: talk about divorcing. In fact, we actually filed and then decided, 131 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 2: after living apart for a short period of time, decided 132 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 2: that we wanted to go to therapy and we wanted 133 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 2: to work this out. 134 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 3: I had been living with my mom during a time 135 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 3: when they had separated. She had originally moved down to 136 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 3: San Diego, and then they got some therapy and we're 137 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 3: doing great. 138 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: Tell me about their relationship because that played a big 139 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: part in the prosecution trying to convict your mom. 140 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, they fought all the time, and yeah, oh yeah, 141 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 3: my mom really wanted to kill my dad. I got 142 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 3: a bunch of bullshit. I'm a marriage therapist, for God's sake. 143 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 3: Everybody fights if they don't fight. Actually, as a therapist, 144 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 3: you get a little worried because something's going on here. 145 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 2: We saw a good therapist. We decided we really wanted 146 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 2: to be together and wanted to kind of honor this 147 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 2: new phase in our lives and be more accepting of 148 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 2: this is our new phase, and there are many opportunities 149 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 2: with it. 150 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 5: When he died, what were you in a good place 151 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 5: in your relationship? 152 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 2: We were in a very good place in our relationship. 153 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 2: Number One, we had more discretionary money than we'd ever 154 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 2: had in our lives. The kids were on their own, 155 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 2: they were doing well. I was still very invested in horses. 156 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 2: When we moved down to San Diego. He had started 157 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 2: his own business building horse jumps made out of PVC. 158 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 2: Horse jumps are always heavy to move around, and most 159 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 2: horse people are always moving them around to change the course. 160 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 2: PVC they're much lighter. They didn't need repainting, they didn't 161 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 2: deteriorate so this was an innovative thing. We were very 162 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 2: happy in our life. At that point. Bob was running 163 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 2: a lot. He had made a decision that he wanted 164 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: to run a marathon, so he was preparing for it. 165 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 3: Yeah. Actually, my dad had always talked about running a 166 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 3: marathon at some point, and in high school I ranchack 167 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 3: and field, and then a couple of years later I 168 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 3: got into longer distance running, and my dad and a 169 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 3: friend of mine and Alex and his girlfriend at the time, 170 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 3: we all ran a half marathon together. And then I 171 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 3: picked up a brochure for a marathon in two weeks, 172 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 3: and I said to my dad, let's go do this, 173 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 3: and like, you're probably supposed to train a little bit 174 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 3: more than two weeks for a marathon, but we were 175 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,319 Speaker 3: like had momentum, so I was like, Okay, we better 176 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,719 Speaker 3: go do it. And we ran that marathon together, and 177 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 3: that was his first and his only marathon, and I 178 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 3: remember him being so excited and my mom telling me 179 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 3: that after he came home, he must have called like 180 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,200 Speaker 3: everybody in the universe to tell him that he had 181 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:41,439 Speaker 3: just run this parathon. Had he lived longer, I'm sure 182 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 3: we would have run more marathons together. 183 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,199 Speaker 1: Which brings us to the weekend of Bob's death. February 184 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 1: twelfth and thirteenth. The couple, now in the early fifties, 185 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: had enjoyed a nice Valentine's Day meal at the home 186 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: they rented, about an hour's drive northeast of San Diego 187 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: in the rural area around Lake Wolfe, California. But the 188 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: following evening, around seven forty five pm, Jane called the police, 189 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,679 Speaker 1: saying that Bob had gone for a run. Around one 190 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: pm that day, well, she attended to the horses in 191 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: their barn, but when she finished up around four pm, 192 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,000 Speaker 1: Bob still had not returned. 193 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 2: Before I called them, I had jumped in the truck 194 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 2: and gone looking because I thought, I know he had 195 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 2: a habit sometimes of running down the major hill, turn around, 196 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 2: and run right back up. It was a narrow road 197 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 2: with a steep fall off on one side, and sometimes 198 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 2: people drove crazy. So one of the things that was 199 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 2: in my mind is maybe he halfway leaped off the 200 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:44,199 Speaker 2: road to avoid a crazy vehicle and fell and sprained 201 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 2: his ankle or something like that or worse. So as 202 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 2: the night went on and darkness came and he still 203 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 2: wasn't back, those feelings that I had just continued to grow, 204 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 2: thinking something is really wrong here, and I called the 205 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 2: Sheriff's department, got directed to Search and rescue, had them 206 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 2: come out. 207 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,079 Speaker 1: Jane welcomed the team into her home without a warrant, 208 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: and they took some of Bob's personal items for the 209 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: search dogs to get his scent. 210 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:20,000 Speaker 2: First, they found his jogging suit jacket along the roadside 211 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 2: and they brought it to me probably around two o'clock 212 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 2: in the morning. From then I just felt heartsick. And 213 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 2: then when they came and told me at four forty 214 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 2: five in the morning that they'd found his body, there 215 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 2: just was this sense of disbelief. 216 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: Bob's body was found about a half mile into the 217 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 1: wooded area off one of his usual training trails, north 218 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: Lake Wolford Rode. His skull had been fractured in several places, 219 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: and what was determined to be black paint had been 220 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 1: deposited on his skull. He also had been strangled. The 221 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: rope was still wrapped around his neck. There were also 222 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: some tire tracks near his body, and while investigators collected 223 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: evidence at the scene, a witness named Lisa Marie Singh 224 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: drove up and spoke with officers and news reporters. She 225 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: was shown a picture of Bob and swore that she 226 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: saw him in a pickup truck near that spot with 227 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: two other men the previous afternoon. Meanwhile, investigators sought out 228 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: leads in the Dora Tick home. 229 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 3: Those investigators were in the house for three days and 230 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 3: Alex and Nick and I were all like, what, go 231 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,959 Speaker 3: try to find what happened, Go figure out what like 232 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 3: who killed dad? Why are you still in the house, 233 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 3: And we were feeling funny about it. And then there 234 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,679 Speaker 3: was a family, the Crow family, that came to visit 235 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 3: us that we didn't even know. We just they contacted 236 00:12:58,480 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 3: my mom and they're like, we got to come meet 237 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 3: with They sat us all down in the living room 238 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 3: and they said, you guys are in trouble. You get 239 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 3: to watch your back. And we're like, what what are 240 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 3: you talking about? And they're like, they're probably searching you out, essentially, 241 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 3: and the Crow family, their daughter had been murdered. And 242 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 3: then those investigators took their then thirteen year old son 243 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 3: and interrogated him for thirty six hours until he confessed. 244 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 3: And they're like they always look at the family first, 245 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,439 Speaker 3: watch out. And as I say that to you. Now, 246 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 3: if I said that to you after one of your 247 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 3: loved ones had been killed, you probably would have been like, 248 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 3: you're crazy, They're going to help me. No, they're not 249 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 3: going to help you. Are you kidding me? But we 250 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 3: were too stupid to note. 251 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 1: On February sixteenth, criminalist Caroline Gannett said that she felt 252 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 1: a wet spot in the carpet in the master bedroom, 253 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: as well as seeing a red stain, so they got 254 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: a search warrant. Then Charles Merritt, an expert in blood 255 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: stain pattern analysis, a now well known junk science, sprayed 256 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: the bedroom with fluoresceine, a chemical that reacts under blue 257 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: light with various substances including bleach, cleaning products, oxidizers, iron, copper, rust, soil, urine, 258 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: and other biological materials like semen and blood. In the home, 259 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: stains fluoresced on the ceiling, a lampshade, a nightstand, the headboard, 260 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: a pillow shamp, the comforter, the underside of the mattress 261 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: under a wet area on the carpet, on the ceiling 262 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: of a storage room under the master bed, as well 263 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: as a wall at the bottom of the stairs, and 264 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: they swabbed what they could to confirm whether or not 265 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: the stains were made in blood. They also found a 266 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: syringe in a waste basket that later tested positive for 267 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: animal tranquilizer. The syringe also had a stain, along with 268 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: Jane's fingerprint, all of which Jane tried to explain. Both 269 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: family dogs had recently been treated by a vet, one 270 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: for an abscess and the other a torn dew claw, 271 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,640 Speaker 1: and then Bob had a nosebleed. 272 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 2: Initially, they said would I take a light at test 273 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 2: when we were still in the house, and I said yes, 274 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 2: of course, And when I got in the detective's car, 275 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 2: they had someone pat me down, and I remember sitting 276 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,080 Speaker 2: in the car saying to the detective, do I need 277 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 2: an attorney here? And the detective, of course said I 278 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 2: can't advise you on that, and I immediately said I 279 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 2: need an attorney. After they arrested me, I switched from 280 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 2: processing Bob's death to survival mode for myself. 281 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: Their theory was that Bob had not gone jogging at all, 282 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: and that as early as Saturday night, Jane had bludgeoned 283 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: Bob with a fire poker. We supposed to account for 284 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: the black paint, and then they believed she strangled him, 285 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: after which she dressed him in his running gear, dragged 286 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: him out to the Ford F two fifty pick a truck, 287 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: and drove a half a mile into the woods off 288 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: North Lake Wolford Road to where his body was discovered. 289 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,960 Speaker 3: First of all, physically, my mom has a broken hid. 290 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 3: She was probably like, I don't know, fifty sixty pounds overweight, 291 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 3: not active at all. I don't know what my dad weigh. 292 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 3: Let's say he weigh one hundred and seventy pounds. No 293 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 3: way she can be able to drag him down a 294 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 3: set of stairs and into the back of a truck. 295 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 3: I mean, that's just not happening. Also, my mom has 296 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 3: never demonstrated any anger or any desire whatsoever to hurt 297 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 3: humans or animals. It's not in her nature. But Alex 298 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 3: nick Dan thought it was in massive denial with my mom. 299 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: In a case with only circumstantial evidence, the preponderance of 300 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: items without explanation can appear to paint a picture of guilt, 301 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,280 Speaker 1: like the tire tracks near the body being consistent with 302 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: a Ford F two fifty, the syringe in the wastebasket 303 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: with a potential blood stain, and Jane's fingerprint and all 304 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: of these stains in the bedroom that might have been 305 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: Bob's blood. However, the state was not able to match 306 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: the tire tracks to the specific characteristics of Jane's tires. 307 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: There were no traces of animal tranquilizer in Bob's body. 308 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: And then the biological testing wasn't going as the investigators 309 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: thought it would. 310 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,920 Speaker 2: They told my sons that the bedroom was a crime scene, 311 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,440 Speaker 2: that the fire poker was the murder weapon. Even though 312 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 2: the fire poker they sent out for testing three different 313 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 2: times to try and find some blood or DNA or 314 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 2: something on it, never found it, and they had opportunity 315 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 2: to correct that assumption. And then in my trial they 316 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 2: said it was a hammer, but they never found a hammer. 317 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,679 Speaker 1: Additionally, the prosecution had represented to Alex and Nick and 318 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: later the jury that all of the stains had been 319 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,639 Speaker 1: tested for DNA and all of it was Bob's blood, 320 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: but that wasn't true and it wasn't discovered for years. Sadly, 321 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,160 Speaker 1: their trust in law enforcement broke their faith in their 322 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 1: own mother. So Claire was the only one visiting Jane 323 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,159 Speaker 1: in pre trial detention where they'd discuss the strategy of 324 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: defense counsel. 325 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,679 Speaker 2: Claire came regularly to visit and she said, a, Mom, 326 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 2: they want you to go along with this plan. They're 327 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 2: going to come and tell you about it, and please. 328 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 2: They say, if you go along with this plan, you 329 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 2: will not be convicted. I remember at the time having 330 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 2: a bit of a funny feeling about it, but I 331 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 2: was horrified to learn how they had presented the plan 332 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 2: to her. In other words, how much do you love 333 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 2: your mom? 334 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: The plan was to point to Claire and their farm 335 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: hand Lionel Morales, as a team of alternate suspects. Lionel 336 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,439 Speaker 1: Chevy S ten pickup was already being compared to the 337 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: tire marks at the dump site, and at a pre 338 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,640 Speaker 1: trial hearing, both asserted their Fifth Amendment right to silence, 339 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: which gave the appearance of guilt and potentially just enough 340 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: reasonable doubt to overcome the circumstantial evidence. However, the judge 341 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: would not allow them to testify at the actual trial. 342 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: But the damage to Claire's relationship with Alex and Nick 343 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:55,959 Speaker 1: may never be undone. 344 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 3: So the private investigator says to me, it's our job 345 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:01,919 Speaker 3: to get your mom off, but if we fuck up 346 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 3: your family in the process, that's your job to fix. 347 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 2: I wish I had stuck with my original plan of 348 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 2: just dumping him and getting a new attorney, But at 349 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,520 Speaker 2: that point I had already spent over six figures on 350 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,159 Speaker 2: him representing me. 351 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,879 Speaker 5: You had felt though, that he wasn't doing a good job. 352 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I felt like he wasn't investigating enough. There were 353 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 2: other leads, and it was disconcerting to me that the 354 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 2: investigator would say, who's this person? And I felt like, 355 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 2: that's your job to know. I don't even recognize that name. 356 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 2: It was a witness who had called in saying he 357 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 2: had seen Bob out jogging. 358 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: It was important that the defense build a new alternate 359 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:40,920 Speaker 1: suspect theory, as they did with Lisa Marie Singh, since 360 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,719 Speaker 1: their plan with Claire pleading the fifth hadn't panned out. Plus, 361 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 1: the state's tire mark expert claimed that Lionel Morales's Chevy 362 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,159 Speaker 1: S ten could not have made all four tire tracks 363 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: in the woods. Continuing on that, he claimed that the 364 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: tire marks were consistent with a Ford F two fifties tires, 365 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,160 Speaker 1: but was not able to go as far as saying 366 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: that they matched the specific details of Jane's tires and 367 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: the circumstantial evidence continued including the couple's marital troubles, their 368 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: life insurance policies, that the ropes in their house were 369 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:14,439 Speaker 1: consistent with the rope found around Bob's neck, and that 370 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: there were multiple stains in their bedroom and home that 371 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 1: the state claimed were blood, much of which came in 372 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: through a stipulation agreed to by the defense. 373 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 2: A stipulation means you agree to what the prosecution to what. 374 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 2: The DA's office is already contending that the bedroom was 375 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 2: a crime scene, and I said, just not possible. I 376 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 2: know you found some blood in the bedroom, but I'm 377 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 2: the one that told you Bob had a nose bleed 378 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 2: in there. 379 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,880 Speaker 1: Additionally, both of her dogs were recently treated by a vet, 380 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: one for an abscess and the other for a torn 381 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: dew claw, all of which can explain the presence of 382 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: that syringe and some of the stains that appeared to 383 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: be pooled blood lake on the underside of the mattress 384 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 1: or the carpet. The stipulation also stated that Bob's DNA 385 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: was found on the carpet, on a wall at the 386 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: bottom of the stairs leading up to the door, in 387 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,120 Speaker 1: a storage area under the bedroom, and on a bottle 388 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: of cleaning fluid, to which I think it needs to 389 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 1: be said, why wouldn't Bob's DNA be in his own 390 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: home on these things? But I digress. Then the blood 391 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: stain pattern. Analyst Charles Merritt testified about impact spatter, which 392 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: just means that the blood was flung rather than dripped. 393 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: Yet Merritt used these stains to confidently tell the jury 394 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: what he imagined happened, not what he could scientifically prove, 395 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 1: including how many times Bob was struck in the bedroom 396 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: with what they said at trial was an unidentified hammer. 397 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,920 Speaker 2: So here's this criminalist saying, there's all of these spots 398 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 2: of blood in the master bedroom. You know, I don't 399 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 2: blame the jury originally for convicting me, because they were 400 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:57,119 Speaker 2: told by the prosecution that everything was absolutely tested and 401 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 2: it all came back to be Bob's blood and Bob's DNA. Well, 402 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 2: that was entirely false. Less than half of it was 403 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 2: actually even tested. And what wasn't you know, was it 404 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 2: turned out to not be blood at all. It was 405 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 2: coffee stains or something like that, and most of it 406 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,119 Speaker 2: wasn't even visible to the naked eye. 407 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,639 Speaker 1: Yet it would stand to reason that a hammer attack 408 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: might leave a bit more of a mess. Then there 409 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,160 Speaker 1: was this syringe that contained traces of an animal tranquilizer. 410 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 5: The prosecutor had. 411 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: To admit that Bob didn't have any in his system, 412 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: but they still introduced it to the court, maintaining that 413 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: Jane's fingerprint had been pressed in blood on the syringe, 414 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: which sounds incredibly damning, but it was discovered much later 415 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 1: that this claim was not supported by the lab report. Nonetheless, 416 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,239 Speaker 1: that's what the jury heard, along with how all of 417 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 1: the stains they'd swabbed were made in Bob's blood, So 418 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,000 Speaker 1: they reached a predictable conclusion, sending Jane away for twenty 419 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 1: five to life. 420 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,879 Speaker 2: It was horrifying. It was Claire was sitting in the 421 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 2: courtroom and crying hysterically, and I was thinking what can 422 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 2: I do to help her, what's the next phase, what's 423 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,879 Speaker 2: an appeal? All about? How long will it take? And 424 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 2: then scared to death knowing that they were going to 425 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 2: ship me off to prison in a matter of a 426 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 2: few days. And the only understanding I had about prison 427 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:41,119 Speaker 2: was from TV shows. When I first got to prison, 428 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:45,720 Speaker 2: I felt terribly claustrophobic and terribly afraid and trying to 429 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,920 Speaker 2: figure out, how am I going to survive this? Being 430 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 2: horrified at the oppression and domination that I saw all 431 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 2: around me, with the guards being so aggressive toward the women. 432 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 2: Most of the guards in the prison system are male, 433 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 2: even in a female prison, and they have no qualms 434 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 2: about walking into the shower room. I've seen guards turn 435 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 2: around and flat out pepper spray a woman right in 436 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 2: the face because she talked back to them. It was 437 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 2: a horrifying experience. 438 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 3: You know, my mom wouldn't her to fly, but that 439 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 3: doesn't mean that she's not going to be caught in 440 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 3: the mill of something. I mean, that would be my 441 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 3: biggest fear that my mom would dian prison. 442 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 2: I did an awful lot of things to try and 443 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 2: keep myself saying, recognizing, you can't live in this oppressive 444 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 2: environment without it affecting you, so you've got to be active. 445 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 2: So I would go and walk on like a big, 446 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 2: big jogging track, and I would pretend to myself that 447 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 2: I was riding one of the horses, and I would 448 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 2: pretend that we're going along the trail and here's a 449 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 2: jump in front of us, so now steady yourself, horse, 450 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 2: now up and over the jump. And I probably sometimes 451 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 2: I'd between something with my legs and people would probably 452 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 2: look at me and say, what the. 453 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,680 Speaker 5: Hell was she do? 454 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 2: But I actively did those things so that I could 455 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,359 Speaker 2: take myself out of that environment and be somewhere else 456 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 2: for a period of time. And I guess at some 457 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 2: point I started learning the statistics of the likelihood of 458 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 2: winning an appeal. We're only four percent. I just started 459 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 2: working in the law library, figuring I have to be 460 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 2: more of an active participant in this. So I became 461 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 2: a pretty good jailhouse lawyer, and I got several people 462 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 2: out of prison, and again became more and more horrified 463 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 2: at some of the cases that I saw. Almost without exception, 464 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 2: every woman that I've talked to was a victim of 465 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,439 Speaker 2: some kind of violence in a relationship with a man 466 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 2: and had no choice. I know a woman who was 467 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 2: threatened if she did not do what this man told 468 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 2: her to do in his commission of a crime, he 469 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 2: was going to kill her. And she knew he had 470 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 2: a gun, and she knew he had shot other people. 471 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 2: And what is she going to do? And why was 472 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 2: that not allowed to be brought out in her trial. 473 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 2: She's been in prison for thirty five years, and she's 474 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,360 Speaker 2: still in prison today. The whole thing about the felony 475 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 2: murder is horrible. Is an organization then, Felony Murder Elimination 476 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 2: Project that I also work with, and our goal is 477 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 2: to eliminate that kind of a rule and the whole 478 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 2: special circumstance that allows women to be overly prosecuted and 479 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 2: spend their lives in prison and restricts the judge from 480 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 2: doing anything but giving either the death penalty or death 481 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 2: by incarceration. 482 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:48,160 Speaker 1: Finally, Jane had a win for herself in twenty fifteen, 483 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: three years after she filed a motion for DNA testing. 484 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 2: I wrote my own motion for DNA testing and I 485 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 2: want it. I said, I want Bob's fingernails tested, and 486 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,160 Speaker 2: I want the rope that they found around his neck, 487 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 2: and I don't want to use the San Diego crime 488 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 2: Lab because I've been under lots of scrutiny for many years. 489 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,240 Speaker 2: And I clearly said, do not test all of the evidence, 490 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 2: save fifty percent for future testing, because by then I 491 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:19,119 Speaker 2: was a whole lot smarter about how things can go wrong. 492 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 2: At that was the point where I get this letter 493 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 2: from Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent saying we 494 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,200 Speaker 2: understand you're seeking help, and I'm thinking to myself, when 495 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 2: did I write them? I was so used to writing 496 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 2: so many different organizations, and then I get this wonderful 497 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:39,360 Speaker 2: letter from Paula Mitchell. 498 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: Paula Mitchell began hiring experts to review all of the 499 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,520 Speaker 1: case evidence, one of whom discovered that the paint found 500 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 1: on Bob's skull likely came from a tire iron or 501 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: Priye bar, and it was later revealed that the state 502 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: knew this pre trial but did not disclose it. Mitchell 503 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: also hired a medical examiner who not only play least 504 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: the time of death, most likely on February thirteenth, but 505 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: also said that the wounds were such that, if inflicted 506 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,400 Speaker 1: in the bedroom, would have been nearly impossible to clean up. 507 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 1: In addition, the States expert Charles Merritt, who testified that 508 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: all of the potential bloodstains were tested and belonged to 509 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: Bob Well, they discovered a lab text notes who had 510 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: been tasked with testing if the fluids were actually blood. 511 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,320 Speaker 2: The lab technician, Connie Milton. Her handwritten notes say something 512 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,640 Speaker 2: to the effect of all of the evidence in the 513 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:35,439 Speaker 2: Doratic case were brought for me to analyze and I 514 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 2: looked at all of it and it was all negative. 515 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 2: That was in her handwritten notes, and then they were negative. 516 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 2: There's a line crossed through it and on top of 517 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 2: it is written positive. And so my attorney said, how 518 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 2: does that happen? And she said something like sometimes you 519 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 2: just take a second look at something and it looks different. 520 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: It turned out only a small fraction of the materials 521 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 1: where ever tested did and many were not blood at all. 522 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 5: Plus, as far back. 523 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: As two thousand and nine, the state had disclosed that 524 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: a lab tech had questioned Charles Merritt's technical skills prior 525 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: to trial, a lack of confidence later confirmed by both 526 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: a state and defense expert. Mitchell's team also discovered evidence 527 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: showing a serious breach of the chain of custody for 528 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: the blood collected from Bob at autopsy. 529 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,479 Speaker 2: This criminalist at the autopsy accepts the vials of blood, 530 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:30,680 Speaker 2: which is not really protocol. You know, the coroner is 531 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 2: the one who takes the blood. Anyway, he accepts the 532 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 2: vials of blood and then they're not entered into evidence 533 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 2: until two weeks later. So where are they in his 534 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 2: back pocket? And meanwhile, he's the person that is also 535 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 2: examining the master bedroom, saying there's all of these spots 536 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 2: of blood and yeah, no, we can't prove that this 537 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,720 Speaker 2: criminalist did anything with it that he shouldn't have done, 538 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 2: like open the vials and scatter blood in the bedroom. 539 00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 2: But I I have to tell you that goes through 540 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,720 Speaker 2: my mind because there's a chain of custody for evidence 541 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 2: and he clearly didn't follow it. Why don't you? 542 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: Which brings up the syringe that was alleged to have 543 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 1: Jane's fingerprint pressed in Bob's blood. Will not only do 544 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: these lab notes and chain of custody revelations call into 545 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 1: question the origin and identification of that blood, but in addition, 546 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: a crime lab report said that they had not tested 547 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: the area of the fingerprint. Yet the opposite was represented 548 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: to Jane's jury that her fingerprint was made in Bob's 549 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: blood and if you want to trust the state even less. 550 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,600 Speaker 1: A district attorney investigator later claimed that the vile in 551 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 1: question was full, but upon further inspection, it was reported 552 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: that the vial was less than half full and had 553 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: a little nick in the top where someone might have 554 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: inserted a syringe. Meanwhile, the DNA testing of the rope 555 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:55,280 Speaker 1: and fingernail scrapings found foreign DNA in two of Bob's scrapings, 556 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: both of which excluded Jane, and then the rope revealed 557 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,800 Speaker 1: two countries, one of whom was Bob, and again Jane 558 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: was excluded. All of this evidence was filed in a 559 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: habeas petition that dragged through April twenty twenty, when Paula 560 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 1: filed a motion for Jane's release as a seventy five 561 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: year old woman in danger during the onset of the 562 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: COVID pandemic, and on April twenty second, twenty twenty, it 563 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: was granted. 564 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 2: The judge that had been hearing my case the whole 565 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 2: time knew all about the false evidence by then, so 566 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 2: he was very confident that I was going to be exonerated, 567 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 2: and he was also retiring, so he's the one that 568 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:40,640 Speaker 2: allowed the release before my case was actually dismissed the 569 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 2: first time. I've been very grateful to that judge. 570 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:48,239 Speaker 1: Meanwhile, an evidentiary hearing was scheduled for that July to 571 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: hear the claims of false evidence plus even more new evidence, 572 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: including an alternate suspect. In January two thousand, there had 573 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,680 Speaker 1: been a violent roadside attack in the same spot than that, 574 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: a a methamphetamine user named John Pierre, who was known 575 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 1: for sudden fits of violence, was arrested and convicted for 576 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: that January attack. But before these bombshells could be released 577 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: at the evidentiary hearing, this state filed a motion to 578 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 1: dismiss based on the DNA findings, well stating their intention 579 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: to retry Jane. 580 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 2: They knew everything was wrong, and yet they still wanted 581 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 2: to retry me, mainly because they did not want to 582 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 2: be wrong. Kurt Mechels was the original second chair prosecutor 583 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 2: in two thousand and one. He came back in in 584 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 2: twenty twenty through twenty two to try and put a 585 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 2: new gloss on the false forensics. I mean, there's so 586 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 2: many things that we found were wrong. One of the 587 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 2: detectives got on the stand and said, this is in 588 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 2: the preliminary hearing. She said, the thing that struck me 589 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 2: most about that bedroom being a crime scene is there 590 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,280 Speaker 2: was blood all over the curtains. And one of the 591 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 2: trial attorneys, Mike Cavaloussi, went along and he said, I 592 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 2: know it's hard to remember things, especially twenty years ago, 593 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 2: but some things just stick out in your mind, like 594 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 2: blood on the curtains. Yes, yes, that was entrenched in 595 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 2: my mind. So then he puts a photograph of the 596 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,480 Speaker 2: bedroom up on the screen in the courtroom. 597 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:22,280 Speaker 3: Well, guess what, there were no fucking curtains. There were 598 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 3: no curtains in the bedroom. I'm getting a little worked though. 599 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 2: So this memory that she has of blood all over 600 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 2: the curtains that she's testifying to is completely false. 601 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: But even after that debacle, they still pushed ahead with 602 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: a second trial. 603 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 2: They came in at the final hour, just when the 604 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 2: jury was about to be seated. They came in the 605 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 2: day before and said, Okay, we're going to dismiss the case. 606 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 2: We don't have enough evidence to convict her. So look 607 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 2: at all of the taxpayer money spent on that, all 608 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 2: of the prosecutors, all of the things that they did 609 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,760 Speaker 2: to my sons, that they told my sons. 610 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:03,560 Speaker 5: What's your relationship like with them? 611 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:09,040 Speaker 2: Now? My youngest son died a year ago with an 612 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 2: accidental overdose. Through all of it, the prosecution was trying 613 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:17,319 Speaker 2: to coerce him to come and testify against me in 614 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 2: a second trial, and he was terribly torn and didn't 615 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,160 Speaker 2: want to do it, and got back into drugs and 616 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:30,279 Speaker 2: overdosed yeah, And if it sounds like I blame them 617 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 2: for it, I do. 618 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:34,840 Speaker 5: What is life like now? 619 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 2: You know? 620 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,360 Speaker 4: I know you just said your son passed. Your life's 621 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,919 Speaker 4: been turned upside down? So what's it been like picking 622 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 4: up the pieces these past five almost six years? 623 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 2: You know? I still sort of struggle with some of 624 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 2: the effects of being in prison for twenty years. You 625 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 2: can't be in an environment like that, where it's so 626 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 2: much oppression, so much violence, always watching your back. It's 627 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,400 Speaker 2: very hard learn to trust, and that stays with me. 628 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,880 Speaker 2: I don't know if I'll ever get over that. I 629 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 2: don't know if I'll ever get over feeling like, how 630 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 2: can we have a system that is so wrong? Most 631 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 2: people are good people? How can we accept this? And 632 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,920 Speaker 2: that's why I'm so passionate about doing the work that 633 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 2: I'm doing with the UC Sentencing Project and the California 634 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,359 Speaker 2: Coalition of Women Prisoners. And it's very gratifying. I've been 635 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,360 Speaker 2: able to get myself to go back into CIW the 636 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 2: person I spent so many years at WOW and visit 637 00:35:32,239 --> 00:35:35,200 Speaker 2: women that I lived alongside for a period of time 638 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,200 Speaker 2: and continue to try and help them get out. 639 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,640 Speaker 1: We will be linking both of those organizations in the 640 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: episode description for folks to see how they can get 641 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 1: involved in the work that means so much to Jane Claire. 642 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:48,279 Speaker 5: Is there anything else you want to say? 643 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:53,560 Speaker 3: I think that the whole concept of wrongful convictions is 644 00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 3: not given enough attention. I am probably going to get 645 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 3: some emails for this one, but I think the Hire 646 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:05,360 Speaker 3: police Department, prosecution department, and prison system needs an overhaul. 647 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 3: I think I want to live in a world where 648 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 3: I think the police are here to protect me. That's 649 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:11,760 Speaker 3: the world I want to live in. So I would 650 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:16,440 Speaker 3: not have had any desire whatsoever to challenge that belief, 651 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,480 Speaker 3: but I was forced to see it for what it is. 652 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 3: It is not that way at all, and I wish 653 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,320 Speaker 3: more people would because you know, it's almost like a cult. 654 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:28,400 Speaker 3: You know, they can continue to get away with this 655 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,720 Speaker 3: because they have managed to pull the wool over people's eyes, 656 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:33,759 Speaker 3: and you know, people to to think that they are 657 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,000 Speaker 3: just and they're ethical and all of that, and it's 658 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 3: total bullshit. They're not at all. 659 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:42,960 Speaker 2: I want people to understand that the prison system is 660 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:48,000 Speaker 2: a system that's really gone awry. It's gravely compromised. It's 661 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:52,520 Speaker 2: so full of oppression and hate and dominance. It has 662 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:56,120 Speaker 2: nothing to do with public safety, and the harm that 663 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 2: we cause by supporting this system is ridiculous. We could 664 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:05,600 Speaker 2: do much better as a society. I don't say that 665 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,600 Speaker 2: everyone in prison is innocent, but there are so many 666 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:13,440 Speaker 2: circumstances that send people to prison that are social problems 667 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,520 Speaker 2: that we're not solving by putting people in cages. 668 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,120 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freeling. 669 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:26,920 Speaker 1: I'd like to thank our production team, Connor Hall and 670 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,240 Speaker 1: Kathleen Fink, as well as executive producers Jason Flamm, Jeff Kempler, 671 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:35,000 Speaker 1: Kevin Burtis, and Jeff Clyburn. The music in this production 672 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,840 Speaker 1: was supplied by three time OSCAR nominated composer Jay Ralph. 673 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,279 Speaker 1: Be sure to follow us across all social media platforms 674 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:45,399 Speaker 1: at Lava for Good and at Wrongful Conviction. You can 675 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,360 Speaker 1: also follow me on all platforms at Maggie Freeling. Wrongful 676 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,440 Speaker 1: Conviction with Maggie Freeling is a production of Lava for 677 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:56,600 Speaker 1: Good Podcasts in association with the Signal Company Number One. 678 00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,319 Speaker 3: We've worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in 679 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 3: this show are accurate. 680 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,319 Speaker 5: The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in 681 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 5: this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect 682 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:07,279 Speaker 5: those of Lava for Good