WEBVTT - S1: Ep 6 - Battlefield 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.800 Hi, aall, we have some exciting news to share. Paramount 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:07.560 Plus has turned Burden of Guilt into a docuseries. You 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.799 will get to meet the people involved, You'll hear from 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:13.840 the people who have never spoken before, and you get 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:17.079 to see where the story took place. We are so 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:20.600 proud and excited to share it with you. You can 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:24.360 stream it right now on Paramount Plus. 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:38.280 He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.600 sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.440 would smile, He smiled into the camera. He would smile 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:49.280 at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.760 to stare down Kathy in a way. I thought he 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:54.400 found this was sort of a game. 0:00:56.360 --> 0:01:00.680 That's lead Assistant District Attorney Jeff Brickman talking about the 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:05.160 demeanor of the defendant. I'm Nancy Glass and this is 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:19.039 Burden of Guilt, Episode six, Battlefield. Tracy Riquel told the 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:23.039 prosecution that she had seen some of her mother's testimony 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:27.240 on television, and since witnesses weren't allowed to watch the 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:31.520 court proceedings due to sequestration orders, the judge was left 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.440 with no choice but to declare a mistrial. It was 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.960 a heavy blow to the prosecution, and District Attorney j 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:41.880 Tom Morgan had to decide if it was worth the 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.480 time and money to take the decades old cold case 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:51.720 to trial once again. Assistant District Attorney LeAnn Mangon. 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.360 Jeff and I felt pretty deflated by the fact that 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:59.640 the mistrial had been declared. When Judge Fuller declared the 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:03.160 mist trial, he did make that ruling in a way 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:05.320 that allowed us to make a decision about whether we 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:06.560 wanted to retry the case. 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.440 We are in the dumps. I mean, don't get me wrong, 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:11.359 but you know, you look at each other and go, 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:13.960 this guy killed a four month old. 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:16.960 District Attorney Jay tom Morgan. 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:19.480 I was furious. 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:21.800 I mean, all the work that Leanne and Jeff had 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.600 put into it, and so my job as a DiscT 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.960 attorney was to get my two assistants in there and say, 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.120 take a deep breath, let's do this again. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.120 After all of this had happened, I came into work 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:43.320 to a voicemail message from Tracy saying please don't give up. 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.760 I basically just called the prosecution and said, look, I'm sorry, 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:50.600 I didn't mean to mess everything up. Could you do 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:51.080 this again. 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.519 After going in and talking about it with Jay Tom 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:58.040 and looking at each other and realizing, you know, this 0:02:58.160 --> 0:03:00.000 doesn't change what happen. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:00.400 Happened. 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:04.120 It doesn't change the facts. And as I told Leanne, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.160 you know what, last time I checked, there's no such 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.960 thing as the one free murder rule in Georgia. And 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:12.200 we were back at it within a month, supercharged out. 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:16.080 The prosecution once again set out to prove that Jan 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:20.200 Berry Sandlin killed four month old Matthew. 0:03:20.840 --> 0:03:25.200 We didn't really change the theory of the case at all. 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:29.320 The theory a man was left alone with a baby. 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:33.240 By the time the baby's mother came home and found him, 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.560 he was near death. The child was a victim of 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.800 the man's abuse. That man was Tracy Riquel's father, Jan 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:44.760 Barry Sandlin, a person with a history of cruel and 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:49.560 abusive behavior towards his children. And as we told you, 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:53.440 Tracy Riquel has spent a lifetime dealing with the abuse 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.600 she suffered at the hands of her father. 0:03:56.360 --> 0:04:00.440 He would just show up in milanit row us on 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.120 the street. We spent lots of time just sleeping on 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:09.200 a park bench. He put that camel cigarette off on me. 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.440 I was in the car with Kathy and she said, 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:17.400 day after tomorrow is Matthew's birthday, and I just had 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:21.520 this child like remark of you don't take me to 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:26.320 the cemetery of nervousbetian, she told Jan, and he beat 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:31.640 me terribly. He really enjoyed the belt, the wrong end 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:32.480 of the belt. 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.840 We shared how he fed her roaches on toast as 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.240 a form of punishment, and how Tracy Raquel spent much 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:44.480 of her childhood navigating the emotional and physical abuse between 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:48.080 Kathy and Jan. We told you how he beat Kathy 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:53.840 and locked her in closets. For Tracy Raquel, those memories 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:55.240 were like a bad dream. 0:04:56.480 --> 0:05:00.520 Nightmares are an ongoing thing for me. I never have 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.919 nightmares about Matthew. I have a lot of nightmares that 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:08.320 revolve around events in my childhood and just always being 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:14.000 terrified and never feeling safe, and that comes from not 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.240 being stable and getting thrown out of your house in 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.160 the middle of the night, and people getting beat up 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:22.800 and abuse, like all of these things don't go away. 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.679 Lead Ada Jeff Brickman imagined how the series of events 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:32.200 unfolded between Jan and the baby who was not his son. 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:35.120 Leanne and I were recent parents of two year old 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:38.400 We had learned in the last couple of years what 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:42.479 it's like to have a baby at home who can't speak, 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:48.480 who cries a lot. They're crying, You're upset, they won't 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:52.800 shut up. You want to sleep. You're not real jazzed 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.800 up about the fact that you're being left at home 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.279 with this four month old is not even yours, and 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:03.240 you just wanted to be quiet. Just like that, You'll 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:08.920 get your quiet. You'll be dead, but you'll get the quiet. 0:06:10.480 --> 0:06:13.640 So we knew that one of the things we wanted 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.480 to impress upon the jury was that this can happen 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.320 just like that. And he had every reason to do that, 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:24.760 and given the nature of the injuries, he decided just 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:28.360 like that that he was going to shut him up. 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:34.320 And as horrific as that is to imagine, that's exactly 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:34.960 what happened. 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.120 Jeff Brickman knew if the prosecution was going to win 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.520 this trial, the jury had to believe that's what happened. 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.680 As for the defense, they learned something from the first 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:51.480 trial and this time honed in on a single strategy. 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:57.000 This time, the defense was none too subtle, and we knew, Karen, 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.520 it was not going to be a well just can't 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:04.440 prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. It was one person 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:06.080 did it. It was Kathy Almon. 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:11.000 There was more of a focus on Kathy Allman as 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:14.320 someone who may have had something to do with Matthew's murder. 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.840 I distinctly remember talking to Kathy, going, let me tell 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:22.520 you what the defense is. You killed your four month old. 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.000 You get it. Now, it's up to you. I can't 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.760 get up and testify. You need to be convincing. 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.800 Adyajff Brickman was saying Kathy could make her break this 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.800 second trial, and he was worried about her state of 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.240 mind and her lack of self assurance on the stand. 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:45.240 Kathy was kind of damaged over the years, and she 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:48.520 was very vulnerable. She was easy to pick on, and 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:50.680 karenn was great at finding weaknesses. 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.520 They were introducing a suggestion that perhaps there's not enough 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.720 evidence to demonstrate that Jan Sanmlin was solely responsible. 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.840 On day one of the t Tracy Roquel was the 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:06.120 second witness to be called. Assistant District Attorney Lee and 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:10.640 man Gone asked Tracy Raquel about the time she contacted 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.320 her father in prison. 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.400 When you were younger, did you make a telephone call 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:19.320 to the defendant yes I did. Did you ask him 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:22.400 for an explanation for Matt's death? Yes, I did, And 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.880 in that telephone call, what was his response, asked your mother. 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.680 She couldn't get a straight answer from Jan and her mother, 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.720 Kathy wouldn't provide any clarity either. 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:38.760 Do you and miss Rain have any information which would 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.520 indicate that your mother is responsible for Matt's death? 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:41.880 No? 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:44.800 Can you tell the members of the jury why it 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:47.960 is you have worked so hard to find out what 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:50.280 happened to that? Well? 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:56.600 I always knew that he had died, and it was 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:02.720 always a very if subject with everyone in my family, 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.480 and I guess that just sparked me to think that 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.360 something was wrong, and I thought if there was something wrong, 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.120 you needed to fix it. 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.160 I had no idea of it. 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.040 It was because they thought that I had love. 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:23.199 That was obviously very emotional for Tracy Riquel. She regained 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.559 her composure and lee Anne continued her questioning. She asked 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:31.120 Tracy Roquel what happened when she asked her mother to 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:33.040 have Matt's death investigated. 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:36.440 What generally was your mother's response when you were talking 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.080 about that issue. 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:39.280 That she didn't want to deal with the pain. She 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.480 was not capable of dealing with the pain, she didn't 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.280 have the support that she needed. 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:49.840 Kathy Almand's mother, Tracy Riquel's grandmother, Anne Davidson, took the stand. 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.840 She testified about an incident that occurred when she came 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.720 home with Kathy after Jan was alone with baby Matthew. 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:03.280 Were you when and matt was screaming? And Kathy said, 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.400 what's wrong with the baby? And he said, oh, I 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.240 was playing with him here on the table and he 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:11.880 picked up the pepper shaker and I guess he got 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:12.720 it in his eyes. 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.960 Could you tell what the appearance was at this chart? 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:19.160 Bob was crying, his eyes were red. What did Kathy do? 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:19.720 If anything? 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:20.959 She took the. 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.880 Baby and she got a washcloth and washed his eyes out, 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:26.720 gave him a bottle, and pretty soon he stopped crying. 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.040 Was there any further discussion that day as far as 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:31.400 you remember about what happened? 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:33.400 No, never was mentioned again. 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.319 Then the questioning turned to the night Matthew died. 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.360 At any point once you got to the hospital, did 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:43.240 you make any effort or attempt to talk. 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.880 To kat Yes, I did. I just went straight to 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:51.480 her and said, Katy, what happened? And Jan just came 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:56.480 forward and said that Tracy threw little Matt from the 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:58.920 crib and he was hurt real bad, and that's why 0:10:58.960 --> 0:10:59.480 they were there. 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:02.079 Eighty eight. 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:06.160 Jeff Brickman asked Kathy's mother, Anne Davidson, those questions to 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:10.839 establish a history of abuse by jam. On the other hand, 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.800 defense attorney Kren Malls seemed to say, if the pepper 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:18.959 incident was so bad, if there was abuse, why didn't 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.080 anyone call the police, Miss Davidson? 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.120 What was the name of the police officer you spoke 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.600 to being told about this pepper incident after Matt died. 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:32.400 I didn't speak you didn't You didn't happen to say, God, 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:34.520 this land not only has he killed my child, Let 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:37.400 me tell you about the pepper incident. No, didn't say 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:38.000 that to anybody? 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:38.240 Did you? 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.480 First time you ever mentioned it is July nineteen ninety 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:43.679 seven to these folks. 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:48.040 Defense attorney Krin Mall pointed out that Kathy's mother didn't 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:51.840 share that information with anybody until the second trial. 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:55.160 Did you hear a singales soul besides your daughter, say 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:59.440 Jane Mary Sandwin told them that this child was thrown 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:01.320 out of the bed by his sister. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.000 No, I didn't, okay, And your daughter. 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.080 Also said she didn't know if he did or not, 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.079 didn't she That's right, neither do I. 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:19.240 Corin Mal had spent hours questioning Kathy during the first trial, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.760 and she had no plans to ease up in the second. 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:29.600 In fact, she would press Kathy even harder about inconsistencies. 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:33.960 You have told her, and you have told us that 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:38.360 besides your initial different stories that you told her the 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:44.960 Krim dead, banging the head on the throwing out, crushing 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:50.680 the baby shoes, besides those different stories, you have always 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:55.839 you said, maintain what happened that day to everyone having you, 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:00.840 and you maintained to everyone that you believed she'd thrown 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.080 the baby out of the bed. That's what I thought 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:04.440 for many, many years. 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:08.280 The defense wanted to make the point that even while 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:11.480 jan was out of their lives and in prison, Kathy 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:15.760 continued to communicate with him. It seemed like she still 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:17.760 wanted them to have a relationship. 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:24.880 It was almend you wrote a letter to your ex husband. Correctly, 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:30.680 you've written to them, yes, and you wrote to him 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.680 about Tracy making accusations. 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:35.000 Right. 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.520 I don't really recall what I wrote in those letters. 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:46.120 Isn't it truth in this Almond that you told in 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:50.560 your letters, don't worry about Tracy. You know my parents, 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.679 they've just been saying some ugly things about you. 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.720 I don't recall what was in those letters, so I 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.040 can't say I was very depressed when I wrote him. 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:01.480 I know that. 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:08.120 I thought something's wrong with me. I don't know in 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:13.200 those letters. In the last letter that you wrote to 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:20.120 mister Sandlin, do you recall telling him in there not 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:25.080 to be concerned about Tracy because she just resented him 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.240 not being there, I have I don't know. 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:33.840 In another letter, Kathy had expressed frustration about Tracy Raquel's 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.520 younger brother, Jason. He was the second child Kathy had 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.480 with jan Didn't. 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:44.000 You tell Jason that you told mister Sandlin he's bothering me. 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:45.720 I'm going to beat him with a baseball. 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:46.960 I don't recall that. 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.960 Yes, that's what she wrote, that she was going to 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:53.400 beat her son with a baseball bat. 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.800 Let me show you something and see if that refreshes 0:14:56.880 --> 0:14:57.720 nor recollection. 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:04.120 Yes, I did say it in a joking way. 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.760 And you did say in a joking way, I'm going 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:09.200 to beat him with a baseball. 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:13.680 Yes, the prosecution came back one last time with Kathy 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.880 to put the focus back on Matthew's death. 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.200 And on that day when you did leave matt for 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:25.320 the second time with that man over, there was this 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:29.120 child who was depicted in States five just two days 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:30.520 before his death. In this picture. 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:31.760 Was he healthy? 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:33.200 Yes, he was healthy. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.800 Was he as alive as could be, live as could. 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.960 Be, happy as could be in a very good, wonderful baby. 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:45.200 When the prosecution finished, the defense left the jury with this, isn't. 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:49.840 It truth that the accident, and he was an accident, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:51.320 was caused by hums Ho. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:57.160 No, there was no more suggesting or circling around it. 0:15:57.680 --> 0:15:57.880 There. 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.480 It was the defense put on the line. It was 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:06.000 your fault, Kathy. The defense never called a single witness, 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:10.840 and Jan never took the stand. Jeff Brickman remembers observing 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:13.640 Jan's behavior as he watched the testimony. 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:18.240 He had this twinkle in his eye. I got the 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.640 sense that he thought he was smarter than everybody. He 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:25.480 would smile, he smiled into the camera. He would smile 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.400 at witnesses. He tried to smile at Tracy. He tried 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.000 to stare down Kathy. He would stare back at us. 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:35.240 And he just kind of stared through you. 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:37.280 In a way. 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:39.400 I thought he found this was sort of a game. 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:45.640 I really do think he found pleasure in making everybody 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:47.880 who came in there to testify against him. 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:53.200 Hey, the last person to testify was the medical examiner 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:59.400 who performed the second autopsy, doctor Burton. The prosecution strategically 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:02.840 saved him for the end. He was their key witness. 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:10.480 The prosecution's case was straightforward. Matthew's death was from unspeakable abuse. 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:14.000 Do you have an opinion, doctor Burdon, as to whether 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.280 these injuries could have been inflicted by a two year 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.040 old child throwing the baby out of a crip? 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.080 Well, first of all, a two year old child couldn't 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.200 throw the baby out. It's a squirming ten pound weight, 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.920 and so to throw it out would be virtually impossible. 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:30.080 To say that a two year old could get in 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.560 the bed and somehow tug it up over the edge 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.040 of the rail and let the baby tip over the 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.280 edge of the rail and fall. It's possible, but even 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:39.280 that is not likely. 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:43.680 In the last episode, you heard, defense attorney carin Mal 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:49.920 questioned Kathy about Tracy Riquel's heavy baby shoes because Kathy 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:54.040 had said she thought Tracy Riquel had stepped on Matthew's 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:57.159 head with her heavy baby shoes and that led to 0:17:57.200 --> 0:18:03.800 his death. A Leean Mangune showed doctor Burton a pair 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:04.680 of those shoes. 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:09.080 These shoes have leather soles and rubber hills on them. 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:12.719 The soles and hills have edges on them. There's nothing 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.520 in any of the records to describe any type of 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:19.320 a pattern of bruise or abrasion to Matthew's head. This 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.880 tells us that the impact happened on a surface smooth, 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:27.600 but no proturberances on it. There's not enough mass in 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:29.560 the foot and leg of a two year old to 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.080 cause fractures on both sides of this baby's head to 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.480 compress the head against the floor. It would be almost 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:41.000 impossible for all the circumstances to exist for a shoe 0:18:41.000 --> 0:18:43.320 not to leave a mark on Matthew's head. 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:48.960 Further emphasizing it was no accident, the prosecution asked how 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:53.040 a child would sustain the injuries found on Matthew, so. 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:55.520 That the jury better understands the force which must have 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:59.920 been used in this case. Under what non abusive circumstances 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:01.840 would you expect to see these types. 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:06.840 Of injuries fractures like this that are bilateral complex fractures. 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.200 You see an automobile wrecks, you see them, and children 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:13.639 are people who fall heights like fifteen twenty feet. 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.280 Do you, doctor Burton, have an opinion based on a 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.280 reasonable degree of medical certainty as to the manner of 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.480 death of Matthew Stephen Golder on December the twenty seventh 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:24.800 of nineteen seventy one. 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.560 I do the injuries that resulted in Matthew's death were 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.600 inflicted or caused by another person? 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:37.080 Carin Mal did not mince words during the cross examination. 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:41.520 The scenario that you were given was mainly to disprove 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:43.720 that this child had not been thrown out by a 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.960 two year old onto the floor from a bed from 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:47.920 a crib. Correct. 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:50.159 Yes, I was trying to decide whether this was an 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:52.240 accidental death or some other type of death. 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.360 And it is true, doctor Burton, that this injury could 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:58.720 have been inflicted several different ways, and you have shown 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:00.200 some of them, correct. 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:01.440 And there may be others. 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:05.840 But bottom line is that this child is not thrown 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:08.000 out of a bed by a two year old. This 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:14.360 child died as a result of abuse from an adult. Correct. 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.280 I think that's the probability, Yes, ma'am. 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:20.879 So which adult was it? Would the jury believe it 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:24.440 was Jan or did the defense raise enough doubt by 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:29.400 presenting Kathy as a culprit Ada Lee and Mangon went 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:34.680 first in closing arguments. 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:41.720 Ladies and gentlemen, this is a case about murder. This 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:45.080 is a case about the murder of a four month 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:49.480 old little boy, about the murder of a child who 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:54.560 lived on this earth for less than twenty weeks. This 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:56.960 is the case about a murder which could have been 0:20:56.960 --> 0:21:00.560 committed by only one person, and that person is sitting 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:05.680 right there. Jan Berry Sandlin is guilty of murder. 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:10.200 Leanne held up a photo of Matthew. 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:16.240 Matt Golder is speaking to you, ladies and gentlemen. He's saying, 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:20.879 my name is Matthew Stephen Golder. I died when I 0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:25.600 was four months old. I was robbed of my opportunity 0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:32.320 to run, to jump, to laugh. My innocence was taken 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:35.840 from me. It was taken from me by that man. 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:40.880 Ladies and gentlemen. Matt Golder is crying out to you 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:44.560 today as he must have cried in December of nineteen 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:48.760 seventy one. But today he's crying very differently. He's crying 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:50.360 for justice, ladies and gentlemen. 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:55.480 He is asking that you send the loudest and clearest 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:59.479 message that you can. He wants you to tell this 0:21:59.560 --> 0:22:04.200 man what you did was wrong, what you did was murderers. 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:05.800 Thank you. 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:09.280 Defense attorney Carin Maul gave her summation. 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:15.800 While it is true that there's nothing worse than the 0:22:15.840 --> 0:22:19.159 death of a child, and those of us who have 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.760 suffered it know how poignant that is and know how 0:22:22.840 --> 0:22:30.119 debilitating that is. But second to that is to convict an. 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:36.800 Innocent, Carin Maul then focused on Kathy's strange behavior, specifically 0:22:36.960 --> 0:22:41.080 towards Tracy Riquel. Kathy told the same story over and 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:45.040 over again, even to Tracy Raquel's doctor when she was 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:46.040 just a teenager. 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:51.399 You're giving information to your child's doctor that you so 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:56.000 badly wanted. You don't lie to that doctor. You tell 0:22:56.080 --> 0:23:03.760 them everything. You especially would not tell your child's doctor 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:07.960 that your child had thrown the baby out of the 0:23:08.040 --> 0:23:12.359 bed when any fool could have seen that didn't happen, 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:18.560 and you certainly wouldn't blame it on a child. From 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:21.879 nineteen eighty two to nineteen ninety seven, when your child 0:23:22.080 --> 0:23:25.160 is in your face, telling you, how could you do 0:23:25.200 --> 0:23:32.240 this to me? January nineteen ninety seven. What does miss 0:23:32.320 --> 0:23:38.280 Almond do? She brings the baby shoes, still trying to 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:43.840 blame Tracy Ray. She knows what happened. She's the only 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:50.680 one that knows what happened. Miss Almond is responsible not 0:23:50.720 --> 0:23:53.240 for killing her child, but for the death of her job. 0:23:57.680 --> 0:24:01.280 There was no more to say. Arguments were finished, the 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:04.639 trial concluded, and now the waiting began. 0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:08.360 I always knew that it was up to those twelve citizens. 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:11.840 We slept with a jury out. We went home one 0:24:11.920 --> 0:24:15.320 night and came back the next morning. I don't remember 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:17.840 them deliberating a long time, but I remember the call 0:24:17.840 --> 0:24:19.400 that we got being that there was a verdict. 0:24:19.480 --> 0:24:22.040 We the jury found the defendant Jan Barrysilin. 0:24:23.119 --> 0:24:27.640 This case takes yet another turn, and it was a shocker. 0:24:28.880 --> 0:24:29.800 My stomach dropped. 0:24:31.200 --> 0:24:36.600 That's next time on Burden of Guilt. Stay tuned for 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:40.040 Burden of Guilt at documentary coming in twenty twenty four 0:24:40.320 --> 0:24:44.320 and airing only on Paramount Plus. If you would like 0:24:44.400 --> 0:24:47.120 to reach out to the Burden of Guilt team, email 0:24:47.240 --> 0:24:51.560 us at Burden of guildtpod at gmail dot com. That's 0:24:51.680 --> 0:24:56.000