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1:06

fraud, true crime covers cases that are not suitable for young listeners.

1:09

And there may also be some explicit language used.

1:12

I discussed sexual assault in today's episode and it may be distressing to some listeners.

1:17

Listener discretion is advised In 1748.

1:24

Voltaire wrote of the great principle that is better to run the risk of sparing the guilty than to condemn the innocent.

1:32

At about the same time William Blackstone wrote the law holds that it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.

1:41

Most of us can quote Blackstone and our sleep.

1:45

It is the basic tenet of our justice system.

1:47

At least it's supposed to be somewhere along the line between Voltaire and the central park five case.

1:55

The American justice system became more interested in getting a conviction at any cost tunnel.

2:01

Vision by investigators is not uncommon and can lead to coercive interrogation tactics.

2:07

Many of which are not illegal.

2:09

Police can lie to a suspect outside of the use of physical force.

2:14

There's not much a skilled interrogator.

2:16

Can't try.

2:17

Most of us believe we would never confess to a crime.

2:21

We didn't commit not under any circumstances, but you would be surprised at what psychological coercion can do to your brain.

2:28

And after how many hours without food, water or sleep, would you break after many high profile cases with false confessions?

2:36

Like the central park five reform began in the 1990s, interrogations began being recorded over half the states in our country now require recording of certain custodial interrogations today's case is a textbook example of police forcing confessions to fit their theory of a crime faced with contradictory evidence.

2:58

They maintained their original suspect and sought to prove there was more than one suspect.

3:03

In this case, eight men would be accused of the rape and murder of Michelle Moore Bosco.

3:10

Only one man was guilty, but four innocent men would be convicted and spent decades trying to clear their names.

3:16

Welcome

3:16

to

3:16

episode

3:16

1

3:20

38. The case of the north vote for Michelle Lynn Moore Bosco was born on August 19th, 1978 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to parents, Jack and Carol.

3:33

She had two younger brothers and grew up in Pittsburgh.

3:36

Michelle's friends described her as a sweet girl who was quietly funny and a little goofy.

3:42

According to her parents, Michelle had a very sheltered upbringing.

3:45

She loved country music line dancing and going fishing with her dad.

3:51

She also dearly loved her high school, sweetheart, William Bosco known as Billy in 1996.

3:58

They graduated from Keystone Oaks high school.

4:01

Billy joined the Navy and Michelle soon followed him to Norfolk, Virginia.

4:06

She had studied cosmetology in vocational education classes in high school.

4:11

And our parents hoped that she would follow that dream.

4:13

Not Billy.

4:14

It wasn't that they necessarily disliked Billy.

4:18

It was just that Michelle was so very young, but Michelle was determined to be with Billy and they secretly wed on April 4th, 1997 when she was there on a weekend trip, she moved to Norfolk on May 31st though.

4:31

She told her parents that she was moving in with a girlfriend.

4:33

Instead, the newlyweds got a 700 square foot apartment on west bay avenue.

4:39

The apartment was on the first floor and was within walking distance of the Naval base.

4:44

Billy later said he and Michelle planned to have a big wedding in Pittsburgh in October, but they eloped because they wanted to be together.

4:51

And because Billy was going to be gone a lot for the Navy, he wanted Michelle and his insurance in case anything happened.

4:57

Michelle's mother would later say that Michelle was not ready to move.

5:01

She was too young and had never been away from home before she talked to her mom on the phone every day.

5:08

And she was afraid of being alone.

5:10

Michelle was young and in love.

5:12

She probably never considered what her life might be like in normal that she would be alone so much.

5:18

It's no surprise that she became friendly with a few neighbors.

5:22

She was also looking for a job and had recently been hired at a McDonald's.

5:26

She seemed to have started to acclimate.

5:28

She was trying so hard on July 8th, 1997, Billy Bosco returned from a week at sea on the USS Simpson.

5:37

He was surprised that Michelle wasn't waiting on the pier for him, but he thought maybe she had started her new job at McDonald's.

5:43

He hopped in a cab and went home.

5:46

He found Michele's body and their tiny bedroom.

5:49

She was lying on her back on the floor wearing only a black t-shirt.

5:53

There was a lot of blood.

5:55

She had been strangled and stabbed multiple times.

5:58

She was cold to the touch and her eyes were open, but still Billy tried to find a pulse and then throw a blanket over the bottom part of her body that was exposed and his panic, Billy couldn't find their portable phone.

6:13

He ran across the hall to his neighbor, Daniel Williams, his apartment to use his phone.

6:17

Billy was in shock and just kept saying, my wife is dead.

6:22

My wife is dead.

6:23

Dan called 9 1 1, then followed Billy back into the apartment.

6:26

He saw Michelle's body.

6:28

And then the two men waited for police.

6:30

When police arrived, they noted there was no forced entry.

6:35

The furniture in the living and dining room area had not been moved or knocked over.

6:40

There were CDs and a CD case on the living room floor.

6:43

The table beside the couch had a lamp and a drinking glass on it in the kitchen.

6:48

There was a broken egg on the floor and a frying pan on the stove.

6:52

Two chairs were pulled out at the dining table.

6:55

The only sign of a disturbance was on the dining room table.

6:59

Michelle's purse had been dumped there and rifled through down the narrow hallway to the bedroom, the shelves were not disturbed.

7:07

There were all kinds of everyday things seeming to be delicately balanced in the small space and nothing was disturbed.

7:14

According to a crime scene, reconstruction report, intact piles of mail bills, a checkbook, three pairs of eyeglasses and a full male organizer were precariously, balanced and jutting into the hallway from shelves between the kitchen and hall and the bedroom.

7:31

None of the furniture was disturbed.

7:32

None of the fragile items sitting on furniture had been knocked over, even though Michelle's body was mere inches away.

7:39

The bedroom dimensions were about 12 by 16 feet, but the space where Shannon was attacked was limited to about seven by seven feet by the furniture, there was an intact, delicately, balanced, full length mirror.

7:52

One foot from Michelle, there were delicately balanced items on a dressing table next to her.

7:58

I'm sorry.

7:59

It's the report that uses that phrase delicately balanced over and over put simply in a tiny 700 square foot apartment.

8:08

Every space was used.

8:10

Some of it was everyday items, some momentos, but all of it was the type of stuff you would find all over the place.

8:17

If a violent struggle had taken place.

8:19

This is a really important point.

8:22

Since police would later claim up to eight, men were involved in the attack.

8:26

There was blood pooled around Michelle's body.

8:29

It was not smeared or disturbed.

8:31

Next to Michelle's body was a brown kitchen knife with ridges.

8:34

It was a four and a half inch blade bent to nearly a 90 degree angle.

8:39

The knife had come from Michelle's kitchen.

8:41

Her legs were still spread apart.

8:44

When her body was found with her underwear and sought out nearby DNA, which included blood and semen was found in three locations under Michelle's fingernails on a blanket near body and inside Michelle, the DNA belongs to only one person, 12 fingerprints of value were found.

9:02

Six were Michelle's and six belonged to someone else.

9:05

Michelle had four stab wounds, all clustered in a 2.75 inch by two inch area on her left chest.

9:12

One of them was only a half inch in depth.

9:15

The other three were five inches deep and all consistent in their direction, size and depth.

9:20

These wounds pierced her lungs, which caused her to drown at her own blood.

9:24

There were also five knife point aberrations found on Michelle's chest.

9:29

Like perhaps someone had held a knife to her chest to control her.

9:33

Michelle more than likely had complied with her attacker before she was murdered.

9:37

There were no signs of a struggle and she did not have defensive wounds.

9:41

She had been manually strangled and was probably unconscious.

9:45

When she was stabbed.

9:46

She had bruising around her throat and particular hemorrhages in her eyes.

9:51

Vaginal injury showed that she had been raped by one person.

9:54

You may ask how the medical examiner came to this conclusion.

9:58

For one reason, there was only one DNA sample.

10:01

The other is more disturbing.

10:03

The kind of injuries a woman would suffer from gang rape were not present.

10:07

Autopsy results show that only one person was responsible for Michelle's rape and murder.

10:13

The medical examiner never wavered on this stance.

10:17

And later other forensic specialists all agreed that Michelle had been raped and murdered by only one man.

10:23

And initially detectives also theorized only one attacker.

10:28

They believed Michelle knew her killer and let him inside.

10:31

This was a crime of opportunity.

10:33

Michelle's killer did not bring a weapon with him.

10:36

He took it from her kitchen with the way the chairs were pulled out.

10:40

She had likely invited him to sit down as she was preparing a meal, whether it was for him, her or both is uncertain, but something happened in that kitchen that made Michelle drop the egg on the floor.

10:51

Then she ran from the kitchen down the hall, into her bedroom with the killer on her heels.

10:56

He caught Michelle in the bedroom, but it's not like she had anywhere else to run.

11:01

He would have been blocking the only exits in the tiny apartment.

11:04

I'll have a diagram of the crime scene.

11:07

So you can see for yourself, the killer grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her toward him.

11:12

Michelle lost her footing on the polished floors and fell backwards.

11:15

Her killer used a combination of choking and slight knife, jabs to control Michelle.

11:21

He took off her pants and underwear then vaginally raped her then probably because he knew she could identify him.

11:27

He stabbed her to death.

11:29

It's possible. This man had never stabbed anyone before because the first wound was only a half inch deep, but then he stabbed her three more times at around five inches, deep perforating, her lungs, Michelle then started coughing up blood, which got onto her killer.

11:44

We know because he then wiped his penis with his semen and the blood.

11:49

She coughed onto him on an air by blanket and left the bedroom.

11:52

He then dumped her purse out on the table, pulled out a dining chair, sat down and went through the contents before leaving no resident.

12:01

And the apartment complex saw or heard a group of men in the hallways or parking lot.

12:06

I'm

12:06

going

12:06

to

12:06

pause

12:06

now

12:06

for

12:06

a

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short

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commercial

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break.

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13:46

spoke with Michelle's parents and husband.

13:48

They all said that when Billy was due home, Michelle would diligently cleaned their small home in her excitement, wanting everything to be perfect.

13:55

They all confirmed that Michelle was scared to be alone at night and that she would never open the door to someone she didn't know.

14:02

They also spoke to her neighbor and best friend, Tamika Taylor, when asked if she could think of any suspects.

14:08

Tamika told investigators that Michelle's neighbor Dan Williams seemed interested in or attracted to Michelle.

14:15

Dan Williams was the neighbor Billy ran to when he found her body, he admitted to thinking Michelle was attractive, but that was it.

14:23

Tamika said on the night of July 7th, Michelle was cleaning the apartment because Billy was coming home.

14:29

She cleaned from eight to 10 30 and then she went to Tameka us for a few minutes.

14:33

She left by 11:00 PM and said she was going to keep cleaning.

14:37

But she did say she was scared to go to her apartment by herself.

14:40

This didn't come out until years later.

14:43

But to Mika said, she also told police about another man who should be looked into Omar Ballard.

14:48

She said Omar had recently gotten into trouble for beating a woman in the same apartment complex with a baseball bat.

14:56

Tamika was friends with Omar Ballard and had introduced him to Michelle and Billy at the pool a few weeks before the murder and to Mika was always over at Michelle's house.

15:05

So Ballard would often go to Michelle's apartment to find Tamika.

15:08

Michelle was comfortable enough with Omar Balor to have let him in the apartment with no hesitation.

15:14

Detectives ignored to make us other tip and didn't look into Omar Ballard.

15:18

And they did not tell defense attorneys about the sleet and never even questioned Ballard about Michelle's murder until 20 months later, if they would have looked into Ballard, they would have seen that on July 8th, he was arrested for assaulting a woman with a baseball bat, like Tamika had said, Ballard had a long criminal history and made much more sense as a suspect.

15:38

Instead, detectives chose to focus on her neighbor.

15:42

Daniel Williams, Dan Williams grew up in a WASO, Michigan, a small town located about 30 minutes west of Flint later, his attorneys would provide a biography that has childhood quote reflected the values common in small towns in the Midwest, personal responsibility, respect for rules and deference to authority.

16:02

Dan's parents expected him to obey their rules and he did not stray from them.

16:07

A close childhood friend of Dan's named Jeff Campbell said the Williams were kind of strict.

16:12

Dan was taught responsibility.

16:13

He was in the boy Scouts and he had a paper route earn spending money.

16:17

When he was old enough to drive his parents bought him a cheap car, but he was responsible for gas and insurance.

16:23

He was in the marching band in Owasso high school, halfway through his senior year.

16:28

Dan pre enlisted in the Navy in June, 1991, right after graduating high school, Dan headed off for basic training.

16:36

He was following a family tradition.

16:39

All the men in his family enlisted after bootcamp.

16:43

Dan was assigned to work as a machinist mate on the USS John F.

16:47

Kennedy and Norfolk, Virginia, between 1992 and 93.

16:51

Dan traveled to the Mediterranean.

16:53

He re-enlisted after his initial tour of duty planning to make a career as a sailor, his superiors all repeatedly recommended him for advancement.

17:03

They all said he was a valued sailor in 1994, Dan was back in Norfolk.

17:09

He met a woman named Nicole.

17:11

They fell in love and had just gotten married.

17:13

When Michelle was murdered, as his attorneys would point out, he was the polar opposite of the kind of predator the police should have suspected.

17:21

Despite what Tamika said about him being attracted to Michelle, of course they should have investigated him, but not only did he have no criminal record, much less anything violent.

17:31

In his past, he had an alibi has wife, Dan and Nicole lived across the hallway from Michelle.

17:37

They had married just 11 days before Michelle was raped and murdered.

17:41

And by all accounts, they were very much in love.

17:43

And there were other reasons.

17:45

Stan was not a great suspect.

17:46

In June of 1997, Nicole had found out she had ovarian cancer.

17:51

Dan requested leave from the Navy so he could take care of Nicole before and after her surgery to remove a tumor.

17:57

He spent 12 hours a day at the hospital with her on June 27th, they had married.

18:03

So she could be on his insurance for the surgery on July 1st, Nicole underwent surgery.

18:08

And she was released to go home on July 6th.

18:11

The sergeants thought they'd gotten all of the tumor.

18:13

That's still expected. Nicole would need chemo.

18:15

This was just a night before Michelle was attacked and Dan and his wife also had company.

18:21

The next day, everything about his background was wrong.

18:24

His friends and family said he was shy, caring, and respectful.

18:27

He was a sensitive person who cared about others feelings.

18:30

Jeff Campbell Dan's childhood friend said Dan always had respect for the police.

18:35

He wasn't the kind of kid who would give anyone trouble.

18:38

Jeff's dad was a police officer who later became deputy chief.

18:42

It's possible that Dan's interactions with the dad led him to inherently trust the police.

18:48

And there is one other aspect to Daniel Williams.

18:51

That is important. He was a below average intelligence.

18:54

Everyone

18:54

who

18:54

knew

18:54

Dan

18:54

Williams

18:54

told

18:54

his

18:54

attorneys

18:54

that

18:54

he

18:54

could

18:54

be

18:54

manipulated

18:54

by

18:54

an

18:54

authority

18:54

figure

18:54

like

18:54

a

18:54

strong

18:54

police

18:54

officer

18:54

into

18:54

saying

18:54

something

18:54

that

18:54

was

18:54

not

18:54

true

18:54

because

18:54

of

18:54

his

18:54

limited

18:54

intellectual

18:54

ability,

18:54

his

18:54

low

18:54

self-esteem

18:54

and

18:54

his

18:54

significant

18:54

respect

18:54

for

18:54

and

18:54

difference

18:54

to

19:12

authority. It's completely possible that Dan would confess to a crime.

19:17

He didn't commit pretty much.

19:20

Everyone described Daniel Williams as being slow.

19:22

He wasn't developmentally disabled.

19:25

He was quote a half step off.

19:28

Dan did struggle academically, but all of his teachers said he would try really hard and wouldn't get frustrated when he couldn't understand something.

19:36

And while he struggled with his grades, he did always go to school.

19:40

He had a perfect attendance record for all four years of high school.

19:43

After Tamika Taylor told police that Daniel Williams seemed interested in Michelle detective showed up at his door on the afternoon of July 8th.

19:52

They asked him to go to the station with them.

19:54

Dan wanted to help.

19:56

So he went, the interview was not recorded at the station.

20:00

25 year old. Dan told two detectives that on July 7th, he and Nicole ate dinner with his parents who were visiting from Michigan after dinner.

20:08

He and Nicole returned home and went to sleep.

20:10

No one ever spoke to Nicole about Dan's whereabouts on the night of July 7th.

20:15

And she died about three months later.

20:17

Dan said on the morning of the eighth, he and Nicole ran errands, including going to the social security office to officially change Nicole's last name that afternoon Dan's parents bought the newlyweds, a coffee maker, microwave and microwave cart for their apartment.

20:32

As a wedding gift.

20:33

Nicole Dan and his parents spent the afternoon assembling the cart and putting up the new appliances.

20:38

The questioning soon became an interrogation.

20:41

Detectives were putting pressure on him and were telling him a lot of lies like that.

20:47

They had witnesses who saw him leaving Michelle's apartment late at night after she had been murdered.

20:52

Dan offered to take a polygraph, which he passed with flying colors, but detectives lied again and said he had failed every time.

21:00

Dan said he had no involvement with Michelle's rape and murder.

21:03

The detectives called him a liar.

21:05

He maintained his innocence for nine hours of unrelenting police pressure.

21:10

Then detectives went and grabbed another detective named Robert Glenn Ford, who was known to extract confessions.

21:17

Once Glen Ford was in the room, he threatened Dan with the death penalty.

21:21

If he didn't confess, if he did confess, he'd get a more lenient sentence.

21:26

He promised it took less than an hour for four to get Dan to confess with the threat of the death penalty.

21:32

Dan gave in and made a confession.

21:34

He said he knocked on Michelle's door and hit her with his hand.

21:38

Then his fist than a shoe.

21:40

Then he said he did not strangle her, but he did ripe her.

21:43

While Dan was still in the interview room.

21:46

Detectives learned that Michelle had been raped and that she had been strangled on top of being stabbed.

21:51

They now knew Dan's confession didn't match up with any of the evidence.

21:54

Michelle was not beaten, not with a fist or a shoe.

21:58

So they started feeding him facts about the case, adding in parts about rape and strangulation and urged him to alter his confession to better match.

22:07

What really happened. Daniel Williams then provided a supplemental confession in his supplemental confession.

22:14

Dan agreed to using a knife.

22:16

He found lying in the bedroom to stab Michelle.

22:18

However, he couldn't describe the knife and had, had actually been kept in the kitchen.

22:23

Dan later told time magazine that he was in a windowless room.

22:27

The detectives were so aggressive with him that he started to question his own memory.

22:31

Dan told the New York times that detective Glen Ford poked him in the chest, yelled in his face, called him a liar and said, they wear you down to the point where you're exhausted.

22:41

I just wanted the questioning to end.

22:44

Daniel Williams was charged with Michelle's rape and murder.

22:47

Every single person who knew him was shocked to hear that he had been charged.

22:51

They felt down to their core that he would never hurt someone on purpose.

22:55

But since the evidence at the scene proved that only one person was responsible for the next six months.

23:01

Detectives considered the case closed Daniel Williams raped and killed Michelle on his own.

23:07

They never followed any other leads or looked for any other suspects.

23:10

On November 2nd, Nicole Williams passed away from complications of ovarian cancer.

23:15

Dan was not allowed to attend her funeral since he was being held without bail on December 11th, 1997, the forensic lab told detectives that Daniel Williams, his DNA was not a match for any evidence recovered from the crime scene.

23:30

Also, when he was arrested, detectives took a pubic swab from Dan and they also swapped his underwear.

23:36

Michelle's DNA was not found, but it didn't matter to Norfolk detectives.

23:40

They had their man and they were going to make it stick.

23:43

Daniel Williams was the first domino to fall.

23:46

One of Dan's Navy buddies, Joe Dick lived in the spare bedroom in the apartment, Dan and Nicole shared.

23:52

So police brought him in.

23:55

He was dominant. Number two, I'm going to pause now to hear a word from today's sponsors.

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After not being able to match Daniel Williams, his DNA to Michelle or the crime scene, and Dan's refusal to accept a plea deal.

26:47

Authorities had to expand their theory on how Michelle was killed.

26:50

They decided that Dan must've had some friends to help him, and it was their DNA at the scene.

26:57

Detective Glen Ford was now the lead investigator and he was on a mission to find a match for the DNA.

27:03

Detectives decided to start arresting other people.

27:06

Joe, Dick Dan's roommate was the next person.

27:10

Joseph Jesse Dick Jr.

27:12

Was born and raised in Baltimore.

27:14

His father was an army vet like Dan Joe was a boy scout.

27:18

He was also an alter boy and church volunteer and also liked Dan Joe exhibited developmental disabilities though.

27:25

He was never really officially diagnosed his intellectual as well as social development was severely stunted after a childhood accident, when he was knocked unconscious by a swing, his disabilities, along with his last name, may Joe different.

27:40

He was often bullied, but in spite of the problems he had, Joe was characterized by everyone who knew him to be a tremendously caring person.

27:48

He always wanted to help people.

27:50

Joe's parents. His mother, especially tried to help him with school.

27:54

Family members thought he might have a learning disability, but didn't feel it was their place to question his parents.

28:00

Joe grew up with loving parents, but they were also extremely strict and taught him absolute respect for authority, Joe, both idolized and feared his father who had made his career in the military, Joe lagged behind his peers academically and socially, but he was a very hard worker, but his developmental issues were apparent in high school.

28:22

He still enjoyed playing with Legos and GI Joe's despite being stigmatized for being what society just called slow and for having the last name, Dick Joe was not an angry kid.

28:33

He didn't lash out again.

28:36

He was a helper. He volunteered at his church and in the boy Scouts, but even with the simplest of tasks, he needed supervision, friends, family, and educators said that Joe was easily manipulated and misled and they doubted he would get into the military.

28:51

Joe did fill the requirements for basic training on his first attempt, but he passed the second time and joined the Navy and early 1996 in the Navy Joe's intellectual limitations continued to hamper his success, but his commitment and the strong efforts, he put forth, allowed him to receive acceptable scores on his evaluation reports.

29:12

Joe was proud of his service, but he did remain immature and naive relatives.

29:18

Remember that conversations with Joe, even after several years in the Navy were like conversations with a 12 year old and his direct supervisor in the Navy recalls that Joe needed special guidance.

29:29

He needed explicit instructions and supervision, but he was a good worker like Daniel Williams.

29:35

Joe Dick had no criminal history on January 12th, 1998, detectives arrested 21 year old show Dick and took him to the station for questioning.

29:45

Joe told detectives, including Ford, that on July 7th, he was on duty on the ship.

29:52

Basically this meant that for 24 hours, he couldn't leave the ship.

29:56

He ate and slept there.

29:58

And he worked shifts where he stood watch.

30:00

During this time, supervisors checked in four to five times to make sure soldiers were standing watch like they're supposed to.

30:07

On top of that, they run different types of drills, which Joe would have been required to attend.

30:12

The ship had two major exit points and both regarded 24 7.

30:17

So basically it was impossible for Joe to a snuck off the ship.

30:20

Detectives told Joe that he was lying, that he hadn't been to work that day, but detectives were lying.

30:27

They hadn't even tried to verify Joe's alibi.

30:29

No one, not the investigators has defense attorney or the prosecutor ever even interviewed Joe supervisor to verify he was on duty the night of the murder.

30:39

By the time anyone thought to check the ship's records to confirm Joe's whereabouts the records had been destroyed, but keep this in your back pocket.

30:48

After eight hours of interrogation, Joe confessed, he said that Michelle led him and Dan into the apartment and they attacked her in the living room, which was contrary to the crime scene.

30:58

He said he accidentally stabbed Michelle, but that Dan intentionally stabbed her, he could not describe the knife or her wounds.

31:05

He said that he and Dan both raped Michelle vaginally and orally again, contrary to the autopsy results.

31:13

And just like they had with Dan detectives fed Joe facts about the case until his confession better lined up with the facts.

31:22

As they saw them, Joe then said he wiped his penis on the blanket and that they moved Michelle's body from the living room to the bedroom.

31:30

After seeing a crime scene photo, he said, they throw a blanket over Michelle before they left, but it was Billy, her husband who had covered Michelle with a blanket.

31:38

Joe later told the New York times that detective four kept haunting him.

31:44

Shouting at him, told him he was a liar, threatened him with the death penalty.

31:48

If he didn't cooperate, he again, lied and said that Joe failed the polygraph.

31:52

He took Joe Dick was charged with Michelle's rape and murder.

31:57

Joe was the most important domino to fall in this unfolding investigation because he was the most vulnerable due to his intellectual disabilities.

32:05

On March 26th, the forensic lab issued a report excluding Joe Dick as a match for the DNA found on Michelle and at the crime scene.

32:15

So now detective Glen Ford decided there must have been other friends with Dan and Joe that night after all, he had their confessions, no matter how he got them.

32:26

And he would not back down prior to the north volt four case lead detective Robert Glen Ford had a history of obtaining false confessions.

32:35

In 1990, he coerced three teenagers into making confessions for a murder.

32:41

They couldn't possibly have committed.

32:42

This is known as the Lafayette grill case.

32:45

He was suspended from the detective force for a few years and put back in uniform in 1997, the same year as Michele's murder Ford elicited a coerced confession from an intellectually disabled person.

32:58

Court records for that indictment are sealed in April, 1998.

33:03

Detective Ford had an informant who was in jail with Joe to convince Joe to implicate others in the murder.

33:09

Eventually Joe named Eric Wilson, who was a friend of his Eric Cameron Wilson was raised in south Texas.

33:16

His father was a boilermaker and his mom taught second grade like Daniel and Joe.

33:22

He was active in his church and serving in the military was extremely important to Eric.

33:26

He enlisted right after graduating from high school.

33:29

He also did not have a criminal history on April 8th, 1990 8, 21 year old, Eric Wilson was arrested and detained.

33:37

Arrogated just like with Dan and Joe, Eric said he had no involvement, but after several hours of questioning, Eric said, quote.

33:45

He often had a dream in which he had a glimpse of a female and that the dream was violent.

33:50

After six more hours of intense interrogation, Eric confessed, his confession was similar to Joe's and that he said the attack started in the living room.

34:00

Again, contrary to the crime scene.

34:02

He said the three of them wrestled her into the bedroom.

34:05

He said he and Daniel raped Michelle.

34:07

Then he said, no, he left before any rape happened.

34:10

Then he changed his story again and said they all raped her.

34:13

But he left before she was murdered.

34:15

Eric later told the New York times that Ford had physically hit him.

34:20

Multiple times, showed him photos of the crime scene and gave him details about the crime to include in his confession.

34:26

Eric Wilson was also charged with rape and murder on April 27th, Joe Dick was interrogated again.

34:33

He said he would tell the truth this time he gave another confession implicating himself, Dan and Eric on June 10th, 1998, the forensic lab report officially excluded Eric Wilson from the DNA found at the crime scene.

34:48

That lab just never worked as quickly as Ford and the other detectives wanted.

34:54

They would coerce a confession, make an arrest, and then the lab would exclude their latest suspect.

35:00

So then they would work to find another suspect, interrogate their most vulnerable suspect.

35:05

Joe Dick repeatedly encouraging him to name other men.

35:09

When you look at it like that at the timeline, it's so preposterous.

35:13

It's painfully obvious.

35:15

What is happening? Where are the checks and balances here?

35:18

Why was Ford able to act with impunity?

35:21

Well, you would think that would happen when the case was presented to the district attorney's office, but you would be wrong.

35:27

Prosecutors don't usually want to go to court with so little evidence, but they did in this case on June 16th, 1998, Joe Dick was interrogated a third time.

35:37

He gave another confession this time, implicating himself, Williams, Wilson, and a Navy man named George Clark and two other unknown white men.

35:47

He said this Clark and Dan Williams plan, the attack.

35:51

He drew a composite of George Clark.

35:53

The said he may have served on the USS George Washington.

35:56

When detectives found no record of a George Clark, they checked Dan Williams, his visitor log at the jail.

36:02

There was a woman who had come to see him.

36:04

She was a Navy wife.

36:06

It is assumed that she was just being friendly.

36:08

This woman, however said she did know a friend of Dan's who worked on the George Washington.

36:13

His name was Derek Tice.

36:15

Later that day.

36:17

Detective show Joe an old yearbook from the GW.

36:19

He chose Derek Tyson's photo, but said he was George Clark.

36:24

Derek Elliott Tice was born in San Diego because his father was stationed with a Navy there.

36:28

When he was born, his family eventually settled in North Carolina, like the men before him, Derek Tyce was a boy scout with no criminal history.

36:37

When he was in high school, his grandfather became seriously ill and Derek helped to care for him.

36:42

This led him to volunteering as an emergency medical technician before he enlisted in the Navy with his ultimate goal of becoming a nurse.

36:50

Derek Tice is described as being caring, shy, respectful, generous, and compassionate.

36:57

Everyone who knew him said he would give you the shirt off his back.

37:01

His superior said he was obedient and respectful.

37:03

The oldest of the Norfolk for Derek was out of the Navy and living in Florida.

37:09

When Norfolk detectives knocked on his door, detective Ford went personally to pick him up.

37:14

Derek insisted he was innocent and four kept telling him he would get the needle and die.

37:20

If he didn't tell the truth.

37:21

Derek asked for an attorney multiple times and was refused.

37:26

This was a blatant violation of his Miranda rights at around 1:45 AM.

37:31

After almost 20 hours of being with detective Glen Ford, Derek Tice finally broke and confessed.

37:38

He named yet another supposed accomplice, Jeff Ferris.

37:42

And as usual, when his story didn't line up with the facts, Ford coached him into a more accurate confession.

37:49

So Derek changed his story again and added another man, Richard Pauley and gave yet another description of the crime that was implausible.

37:58

He said they broke into Michelle's apartment with a claw hammer, but investigators knew there was no forced entry to the Bosco apartment.

38:05

Derek said after they forced their way in, they took turns raping her and then handed the knife around taking turns, stabbing Michelle, not only did the autopsy show that only one man raped Michelle.

38:17

It showed one man stabbed her.

38:19

Michelle had three penetrating stab wounds that were all clustered in a 2.75 inch by two inch area on her left chest.

38:26

These wounds were five inches deep, equally distanced.

38:30

And in the same direction, the killer had rapidly stabbed Michelle three times in a row.

38:35

It was completely impossible for more than one person to have stabbed her with these results.

38:41

Let alone up to eight men passing around a knife, taking turns, stabbing her Derek Tice later told time magazine and the light of day you say you wouldn't confess, but in that room with the detective standing over you, you get worn down.

38:56

Derek told the New York times that Ford treated him the same as other defendants belligerent accusatory threatening for gave him details to use in his confession.

39:06

Derek Tyce was charged with rape and murder.

39:09

The difference with the men, Derek Tice implicated was simple.

39:13

They both had alibis and refuse to confess.

39:15

And detective Ford did not try to push these men after they asked for attorneys likely because they were not as easy to manipulate.

39:23

26 year old Richard Polley was an ex soldier.

39:26

He was at his parents' house and on the internet chatting with his girlfriend in Australia during the timeframe of the crime, he also happened to be Nicole Williams.

39:35

Ex-husband despite his refusal to confess and his alibi.

39:39

He was charged with rape and murder 20 three-year-old Jeff Ferris also named by Derek Tyce and also an ex soldier was living in Virginia Beach.

39:49

He was arrested and interrogated.

39:51

He had an alibi.

39:52

He willingly gave a blood sample and took a polygraph.

39:55

He refused to confess.

39:57

And when detective said he failed the polygraph, which was a lie Ferris asked for an attorney and still he was detained, arrested and charged with rape and murder.

40:08

Joe Dick testified at a preliminary hearing on August 25th, 1998 against Paulie and Ferris and implicated a possible seventh man, despite Ferris and Polly's alibis and a complete lack of evidence.

40:22

The judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

40:26

They were basing everything on the expected testimony of Joe, Dick and Derek Tice.

40:32

Naturally three days later, the forensic lab excluded Derek ties, Richard Pauley and Jeff Ferris with DNA samples on October 27th, 1998, Derek Tyce was interrogated.

40:45

Again. They wanted to know about the seventh man.

40:48

They needed a new DNA sample.

40:50

Derek had felled his DNA test as had the other men he accused and this put him in the hot seat again.

40:57

So he implicated yet another man named John dancer, 20 five-year-old.

41:02

John dancer had recently retired from the Navy and was working as an air conditioning technician in Philadelphia.

41:08

He enlisted in November of 1990, served on the USS George Washington and was discharged in July, 1996 on November 4th, 1998, John dancer was arrested and interrogated.

41:20

He did not confess like Pauly and Ferriss.

41:24

He had an alibi. He was in Philadelphia work records and ATM records verified.

41:29

This dancer took a polygraph and investigators told him he failed dancer then said he wanted an attorney.

41:37

It didn't matter that he had an alibi police, kept him in custody and he was charged with rape and murder.

41:44

The next day, Derek Thais changed his story and said, dancer wasn't there.

41:49

There was someone else there though, a black male who was already at Dan Williams place when Derek showed up then on November 27th, Derek Ty said he wasn't present for the murder.

41:59

He insisted he got all of his information from Dan Williams, his preliminary hearing and facts from his attorneys.

42:05

But then on December 28th, 1998, Derek Thais testified that he Dan Williams, Joe DEC, Eric Wilson, Richard Polley, Jeff Ferris, and John dancer all raped and murdered.

42:20

Michelle. It is crazy to see the dates line up and how Tice went back and forth.

42:25

He was under extreme pressure on January 22nd, 1999, in order to avoid the death penalty.

42:33

Dan Williams pled guilty to capital murder and rape in February.

42:38

Dan Williams gave another statement to police implicating all the other men, Dick Wilson, Tice, poly Ferris, and dancer, all the other dominoes who fell after his first false confession.

42:49

He had never implicated anyone else before.

42:53

Not even Joe Dick, his roommate, the Norfolk police just brought him in when Daniel's DNA didn't match every single time, the DNA didn't match.

43:02

Detective Glen Ford would lean harder on his latest suspect to get another name on February 18th, 1999, the forensic lab reported that they had tested the DNA from the crime scene with a more sophisticated technology.

43:15

All seven men were excluded with DNA samples from the crime scene, not one match, but the wheels of justice kept turning anyway in the wrong direction.

43:27

I'm

43:27

going

43:27

to

43:27

pause

43:27

now

43:27

to

43:27

hear

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a

43:27

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43:27

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46:12

February 22nd, 1999, a woman named Karen contacted detective Ford and said, she'd received a letter from an inmate named Omar Ballard in the letter he confessed to killing Michelle.

46:23

Karen had probably been his girlfriend at some point.

46:27

The letter is vulgar and threatening.

46:29

Basically Omar ballad told her he knew everything that goes on outside of the jail, and he can get anyone to kill her.

46:36

If he wants to throughout the letter, he threatens to have her killed.

46:40

If she doesn't send him a letter with nasty pictures of herself within a week, he said things like bitch, you dead.

46:47

And you'll be with Michelle towards the end of the first page.

46:51

He wrote, remember that night I went to mommy's house and Michelle got killed.

46:55

Guess who did that? Me?

46:57

Haha. It wasn't the first time.

46:59

I'm good. Aina I don't give a fuck about nobody.

47:02

If I was out, I would've killed that bitch down the street.

47:05

Omar ballad later told police.

47:08

He wrote the letter to Karen because he felt like she did him wrong.

47:11

She hadn't done anything for him.

47:14

Like she said, she would presumably once he went to jail, Omar Abdul Ballard was born in 1978 and his mother gave him up when he was two years old, he was raised in New Jersey and only completed the 10th grade.

47:26

And he had a record before moving to Norfolk on June 27th, 1997 Ballard was at the same apartment complex.

47:34

Michelle Moore Bosco lived in when he assaulted Melissa Morris with a baseball bat.

47:40

After the assault, a mob chased Ballard around the complex.

47:44

He ran to the Bosco apartment and Billy led him in.

47:48

Remember the Boscos had met Omar Ballard at the pool.

47:52

He was friends with Tameka Taylor Michelle's best friend.

47:55

Billy Bosco refused to turn Omar ballot over to the mob.

48:00

And they left Ballard was then banned from the complex, but he came back anyway, often sleeping on Tamika's couch.

48:07

Billy

48:07

had

48:07

actually

48:07

taken

48:07

up

48:07

for

48:07

the

48:07

man

48:07

who

48:07

would

48:07

later

48:07

rape

48:07

and

48:07

murder

48:07

his

48:07

wife

48:07

on

48:07

July

48:07

8th,

48:16

1997. Ballard was arrested for the assault and Melissa Morris with the baseball bat.

48:20

But then he was out on bail.

48:22

In the meantime, while detectives were busy framing innocent men on July 17th, 1997, Omar Ballard raped a 14 year old girl around a mile away from Michelle's apartment on July 25th, he was arrested again.

48:37

He was not questioned about Michelle's rape and murder even though to make a Taylor had suggested maybe Ballard could have been the perpetrator on July 15th, 1998.

48:47

He was found guilty of the right of the 14 year old girl.

48:50

He was sentenced to 100 years, 59 of them suspended on February 10th.

48:56

Valor pled guilty and was sentenced to five years for the assault of Melissa Morris.

49:01

Detectives had a violent sexual offender connected to the Bosco case that they had willfully ignored.

49:07

Finally on March 2nd, 1999, detective Glen Ford confronted Omar Ballard about the letter he wrote Ballard said he wasn't involved in the rape or murder when shown pictures of the men who had been charged with Michele's murder.

49:23

Omar Ballard said he didn't know any of them, except he did know Joe Dick, but that was because they were currently in the same part of the jail together on March 4th, 1999, the forensic lab confirmed that Omar Ballard's DNA matched all three samples from the crime scene.

49:42

This was the only DNA match and the entire case on the same day, Ford interviewed Omar Ballard again within 20 minutes and without any pressure Ballard confessed, he told police that he met Michelle through a mutual friend.

49:58

Tamika Taylor Ballard often stayed the night at Tamika.

50:02

She lived in the same apartment complex as Michelle Ballard said that on July 7th, he was feeling angry and frustrated with life.

50:09

He had a sense.

50:10

There was nowhere he belonged at around 11:30 PM.

50:14

He was on his way to Tamika Taylor's apartment.

50:17

When he stopped at Michelle's.

50:18

Sometimes Tamika was at Michelle's place.

50:21

So Ballard wanted to see if she was there.

50:23

Michelle opened the door for Ballard and said to Mika wasn't there.

50:27

And he felt like something bad was going to happen, but he didn't expect himself to rape and kill Michelle.

50:32

But Michelle was friendly and told him there were drinks in the fridge and he could use the phone in the corner if he needed to.

50:38

And then she went into the bedroom, valor claimed he grabbed a bear and then followed Michelle into the bedroom where they had sex.

50:45

He also claimed they'd had sex.

50:47

One time before that he got up to leave the bedroom and something just ticked in his head.

50:52

He went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, which he accurately described and went back into the bedroom.

50:58

She was getting off the bed or was already off the bed.

51:01

He couldn't remember when Ballard stabbed her once in the chest, she fell to the floor and he stabbed her two to three more times.

51:08

He left her lying on the floor, said she was still alive and moaning and drop the knife in the bedroom.

51:14

Before he left Ballard stole $35 off the dining room table.

51:19

Then

51:19

he

51:19

went

51:19

to

51:19

Tamika

51:19

and

51:19

slept

51:19

on

51:19

her

51:23

couch. Police showed up in question to Mika, but did not question Omar Ballard when asked why he decided to stab.

51:30

Michelle Ballard said he was drunk and thinking about his mother who he resents a lot because she gave him up.

51:36

Ballard said he did not hit Michelle.

51:39

When asked if he had anything else to add.

51:43

Ballard said no, just than for people that open their mouth is stupid.

51:47

Ballard's confession lined up with the facts of the case.

51:51

Michelle knew him and would feel comfortable letting him in her apartment.

51:54

Ballard knew details.

51:56

Only the killer would know.

51:58

And he had been on a multi-week violent crime spree against women.

52:02

During the time Michelle was killed on March 8th, Omar Ballard was charged with Michelle's rape and murder.

52:09

He was the eighth and final man charged.

52:12

Three days later, he gave another statement to police.

52:15

He talked about stopping at Michelle's on his way to, to Mika's and how Michelle had offered him a drink and said he could use the phone.

52:22

But in this statement, Ballard said he and Michelle did not talk in the living room while she was in the bedroom.

52:28

He went in there and raped her this time.

52:31

He admitted they had never had sex before.

52:33

He said, when she got off the bed and Ballard was about to leave.

52:37

Michelle asked why he raped her.

52:39

He said he snapped, turned around, grabbed her, started choking her and she fell on the ground.

52:44

He said he went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife and went back to the bedroom.

52:49

Michelle was getting up off the floor.

52:51

He stabbed her.

52:53

She fell back to the floor.

52:54

Then he stabbed her two to three more times when asked why he grabbed the knife.

52:59

Ballard said, I just blanked.

53:01

I figured she was going to tell.

53:03

So I was like, fuck it.

53:05

Omar Ballard later said in an affidavit that during the interviews, detective Ford asked him leading questions and would try to feed him details in an attempt to get the version of the crime that he wanted.

53:16

Most importantly Ballard said he committed the crime alone before kept trying to get him to say others were involved.

53:24

Meanwhile, Joe Dick was offered a plea deal.

53:28

If he pled guilty, he would be sentenced to life.

53:30

If he went to trial and was found guilty, he would most likely receive the death penalty.

53:35

Not knowing anything about Omar Ballard's confession yet Dick's family and his attorney suggested he take the deal on April 21st, 1999, in order to avoid the death penalty, Joe, Dick pled guilty as part of his deal.

53:50

He had to testify against the other defendants.

53:52

Joe

53:52

Dick

53:52

was

53:52

sentenced

53:52

to

53:52

two

53:52

terms

53:52

of

53:52

life

53:52

without

53:52

parole

53:52

for

53:52

his

53:52

cooperation

53:52

on

53:52

April

53:52

28,

53:52

the

53:52

judge

53:52

denied

53:52

Dan

53:52

Williams,

53:52

his

53:52

motion

53:52

to

53:52

withdraw

53:52

his

53:52

guilty

54:04

plea. Then sentenced Dan to two terms of life without parole on May 7th, 1999.

54:11

After finding out about Ballard's confession letter, Derek Tice refused to take a plea deal, refuse to testify against the other men and said he was innocent a week later after realizing that all they had left was Joe Dick's wobbly story.

54:26

The state dropped all charges against Richard poly, Jeff Ferris and John dancer.

54:31

Remember these were the only men police could not coerce confessions from the prosecutor, Damien Hanson and detective Glen Ford said they still believed Paulie.

54:43

Ferris and dancer were involved in the rape and murder.

54:46

They said quote, charging it and proving.

54:48

It are two different things.

54:50

The

54:50

state's

54:50

theory

54:50

was

54:50

now

54:50

that

54:50

Williams,

54:50

Dick

54:50

Wilson,

54:50

Ferris,

54:50

Paulie

54:50

dancer

54:50

and

54:50

Ballard,

54:50

gang

54:59

raped. Michelle then took turns stabbing her on June 14th, 1999.

55:05

Eric Wilson's trial began.

55:07

This is what the prosecution had settled on.

55:10

As their theory, all eight men rushed Michelle's front door.

55:13

Once inside, they struggled with her in the living room and dining room areas.

55:17

They forced her down the hallway to the bedroom there.

55:20

They took turns raping and stabbing. Michelle.

55:22

The prosecution said that while all the defendant's stories were inconsistent, they were consistent at their core.

55:29

They said that guilty people often lie or change their stories before they tell the truth.

55:34

The prosecution said, quote, that the lack of DNA doesn't prove that a defendant wasn't at the scene, Eric Wilson's defense was allowed to bring up that Omar Ballard's DNA was found, but there was no DNA tying Wilson to the case.

55:51

Wilson's recorded.

55:53

Confession was played, but when he took the stand, he testified that he did not commit the crime.

55:58

Eric testified that he made up his confession in order to stop detective Ford from aggressively harassing him.

56:05

He said quote, at that point in time, if they told me I killed JFK, I would have said that I handed Oswald the gun.

56:11

Eric testified that Ford was quote, very aggressive, very threatening, very angry.

56:18

I thought I better tell him what he wanted to hear.

56:20

He started hitting me in the forehead with finger Joe.

56:24

Dick was the star witness. This is the story he told and would later tell at two other trials, Williams, Dick Wilson, Tice, Ferris, poly and dancer met Ballard in the parking lot.

56:35

They went to Michelle's apartment covered the people and she opened the door.

56:40

All eight men, vaginally raped Michelle and her bedroom after they forced her down the hallway while she struggled, they all stabbed her.

56:48

And Joe Dick was the last one to hold the knife.

56:51

The blade was straight on June 21st.

56:54

Eric Wilson was acquitted of murder, but found guilty of rape.

56:57

He was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

57:00

On February 8th, 2000 Derek Tyson's trial began.

57:04

His trial had been moved to Arlington due to pretrial publicity.

57:08

The prosecution pretty much used the exact same playbook for Tyson's trial.

57:13

The defense was not allowed to bring in an expert witness about false confessions, but they were allowed to question Ford about his interrogation techniques.

57:21

Joe Dick was the star witness.

57:24

Again, Omar Ballard was called to the stand, but he denied any involvement.

57:29

The judge did not allow Omar.

57:32

Ballard's two confessions to be introduced.

57:34

And the defense was not allowed to question Ballard over the letter he sent to Karen or his past crimes against women.

57:41

On February 11th, Derek Tyce was found guilty of capital murder and rape.

57:46

He was sentenced to two life terms on March 15th, 2000 authorities met with Omar Ballard who was still claiming to have acted alone in the murder.

57:56

The prosecution needed Balor to support their theory.

57:59

That eight people were involved.

58:01

They

58:01

told

58:01

him

58:01

that

58:01

they

58:01

would

58:01

drop

58:01

the

58:01

death

58:05

penalty. If he changed his story and implicated the other seven men faced with death Ballard accepted the deal.

58:11

And on March 22nd, he pled guilty and was sentenced to two life terms.

58:15

He gave a very short statement describing the crime based on what Ford implied had occurred.

58:21

The following comes from Ford's notes in reference to their interview where a Ballard gave a statement E Williams, Dick Wilson and Tyce met in the apartment parking lot.

58:31

They started talking about trying to get into Michelle's apartment.

58:34

The Norfolk four told Ballard.

58:36

They tried to get into her apartment, but she wouldn't let them in.

58:39

Ballard said he could get them in because he was friends with her.

58:43

They all walked up to the apartment and Ballard knocked on the door while the other Foresta to the side.

58:48

Well, Michelle opened the door.

58:49

They all rushed in. They took her into the bedroom where they all raped and stabbed.

58:53

Her Ballard was the last one to leave the apartment.

58:56

Ballard said this was the truth.

58:58

And that quote, the others never told on him because he had told them he would come back and get them.

59:03

The note said he hadn't told this story to the police before, because he was already in prison and a member of the 5% and didn't want anyone to know.

59:12

He had been involved in a crime with white boys in his notes.

59:16

Ford mentions that Ballard was given a polygraph, then sent back to jail.

59:20

He did not pass the polygraph.

59:22

It should be noted that Omar Ballard had never implicated any other person in the crime.

59:28

Outside of this plea deal.

59:29

He only did it to avoid the death penalty.

59:31

In July, 2000.

59:33

Dan Williams, as a pill was denied by the Virginia court of appeals in his appeal.

59:38

He had stated that he wanted to change his guilty plea at sentencing, but the judge ruled that Williams entered his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily and May, 2002.

59:48

Derek Tyson's conviction was reversed by the Virginia court of appeals.

59:51

And a new trial was ordered.

59:53

Tyce had argued that his attorney should have been able to question Ballard about the letter to Karen on January 27th, 2003, Derek Tice.

1:00:02

His retrial began in Alexandria.

1:00:03

The same judge, Charles postin and prosecutor, Damien Hansen were back.

1:00:09

The prosecution told jurors, quote, people do not confess to something of this magnitude, this heinous, this vicious, without having participated in it.

1:00:18

It's just not natural.

1:00:19

It's just not reasonable.

1:00:20

The prosecution played Derek Tyson's 18 minute confession tape and said, quote, just listen to the tone of his voice.

1:00:29

Does that sound like someone who is being pressured into making a statement?

1:00:32

The judge didn't allow the defense to admit Omar Ballard's confessions or statements.

1:00:37

He did allow the defense to read Ballard's letter to Karen.

1:00:40

The jury never heard about detective Glenn Ford's history of eliciting false confessions because the judge ruled it was inadmissible.

1:00:47

The judge said whether Ford obtained a false confession or not seemed to him to be relatively benign because he suspected that many police officers had done that because we have all seen people who confessed to anything.

1:01:00

Omar Ballard was supposed to testify at Derek Tyson's trial, but both the prosecution and the defense attorney spoke with Ballard and convinced him not to testify.

1:01:10

The state was worried that if Ballard testified, he wouldn't follow his deal and say that all eight men had been involved, they were afraid.

1:01:18

Ballard would tell the truth and say, he acted alone about a month before Tice, his retrial Ford and another detective visited Ballard.

1:01:26

Omar said he was going to testify.

1:01:28

Truthfully at four, told him he needed to testify that he had nothing to say.

1:01:33

The day before the retrial Tyson's attorneys visited Omar Ballard and said they didn't want him to say anything on the stand Ballard later said in an affidavit that Tyson's attorneys knew he was going to testify that Derek Tyce was innocent.

1:01:48

Also on the day before the retrial, prosecutors visited Omar Ballard and encouraged him to testify that he had quote nothing to say because he felt threatened and pressured Ballard pled the fifth on the stand at the retrial on August 31st, 2003, Derek Tyce was convicted of capital murder and rape, and was immediately sentenced to two life terms without parole.

1:02:11

In 2004, the innocence project got involved.

1:02:16

After there had been some publicity about the case, they were able to secure three large DC based law firms who agreed to work on the case pro bono and March, 2005, Amar Balor signed a sworn affidavit where he stated he raped and killed Michelle on his own.

1:02:33

He said, quote, none of the other individuals who were charged with raping or killing Michelle were there or involved in any way.

1:02:40

They are all innocent. And the ones who are in prison are serving long sentences for crimes.

1:02:45

They did not commit attorneys hired academy group YG, a forensic consulting firm to put together a crime scene reconstruction report on November 3rd, 2005, they released a 60 page report on their findings.

1:02:58

Michelle Moore Bosco was raped and murdered by Omar Ballard on July 8th, 1997.

1:03:04

And her Norfolk, Virginia apartment Ballard was alone with more Bosco.

1:03:09

When he killed her.

1:03:10

He confessed to this homicide and solely his DNA was found under her fingernails.

1:03:15

And in her vagina statements made by Ballard to police.

1:03:18

Investigators were consistent with the physical evidence, found at the crime scene and found during the victim's autopsy, there was no evidence linking Williams, Dick Wilson, or ties to this crime statements they made were not consistent with the physical evidence, the victim's wounds or behavioral evidence.

1:03:36

They had nothing to do with this matter and were charged only because they confessed to the crimes.

1:03:41

If eight men had attacked Michelle on a 700 square foot apartment, there would have been more physical evidence left at the scene.

1:03:48

The greater number of people present the greater chance for more physical evidence.

1:03:52

Essentially think of the low carts exchange principle.

1:03:56

The principle holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene and leave with something from it.

1:04:03

And that both can be used as forensic evidence.

1:04:06

Basically a killer will always leave something behind.

1:04:09

And the Norfolk detectives only found evidence of one killer, but pursued other men when they could not get a DNA match.

1:04:17

If there were multiple offenders, there would have been a mixture of semen and DNA furniture would have been knocked over or broken, and Michelle would have sustained much more injuries fighting off eight men would mean more than one person's DNA would be under her fingernails.

1:04:33

Restraint wounds would be evident.

1:04:35

Michelle only had knife abrasions as the one person held a knife on her.

1:04:40

She had one set of bruises around her neck.

1:04:42

If multiple people stat Michelle, there would be a greater variation and wound location, direction, size, and depth.

1:04:50

And finally a point that would be obvious to anyone.

1:04:53

Eight people, gang raping a woman in an apartment would have made a lot of noise.

1:04:58

Also someone would have noticed a group of eight men around the complex.

1:05:02

There is no way eight men attacked Michelle without making noise and then managed to leave without being seen in September, 2005, Eric Wilson was released from prison after completing his sentence, he was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

1:05:19

He had a hard time on the outside.

1:05:22

You had to hire an attorney and pay $10,000 to talk the electrician's board into granting him a license because of his sex offender status.

1:05:30

He couldn't work on certain properties like schools or parks on November 10th, 2005 attorneys for the defendants and associates of the innocence project file petitions for executive clemency and pardons with Virginia, governor Mark Warner, Eric Wilson filed a separate petition since he was no longer in present.

1:05:50

After the petitions were filed, the prosecutor Damien Hansen told the media that quote, there is no new evidence of innocence.

1:05:58

There are no unanswered questions.

1:06:00

He said the Northolt force claims were nothing more than quote soundbites invented by hired gun experts, which he referred to as the clemency gang, the governor didn't make a decision on the clemency.

1:06:13

So the attorneys kept working.

1:06:14

I told you to keep Joe's alibi for that night in your back pocket attorneys tracked down Joe Dick supervisor from the time of the murder, senior chief, Michael Ziegler.

1:06:24

He was a highly decorated veteran who had been in the Navy for more than 20 years.

1:06:28

The attorney spoke with Ziegler, who said he was absolutely certain that Joe Dick was on duty.

1:06:34

The night of the murder.

1:06:35

He said there was absolutely no way he could have been involved.

1:06:39

If you'll recall from earlier, Joe is the type of soldier who needed a lot of supervision.

1:06:43

So Ziegler would check on him multiple times per shift.

1:06:47

In 2006, Ziegler testified under oath that a few months after the murder, Joe Dick had been talking to Ziegler about how Dan Williams had been arrested.

1:06:57

He told him how Dan was innocent.

1:07:00

And now the detectives were asking him where he was on the night of the murder.

1:07:03

Ziegler asked him where he was and Joe said he was working.

1:07:07

Ziegler said that would be easy enough to prove.

1:07:10

So they went and looked at the schedule and Joe was right.

1:07:13

He had been on duty for 24 hours that day.

1:07:16

Ziegler said, when he found out that Joe Dick had been arrested, he went to his commanding officer and said, he knew Joe was working the day of the murder and that he had nothing to do with it.

1:07:26

Ziegler was also worried.

1:07:28

Joe Dick would make a false confession.

1:07:30

Ziegler was told that the Navy will look into it.

1:07:34

A few days later, he was told that Joe had made a confession and was pleading guilty.

1:07:39

There was nothing the Navy could do.

1:07:41

They said, Ziegler should be ready to answer any questions police had for him, but no one ever spoke to him, which baffled him.

1:07:49

This part had always bothered me.

1:07:51

If Joe Dick had an alibi, whether or not the Norfolk police chose to check it out.

1:07:56

Why wouldn't his superior officer have come forward?

1:07:59

Well, he did.

1:08:00

It's absolutely sickening.

1:08:02

Not only did Ziegler give Joe deck an alibi.

1:08:05

He knew him well enough to be worried.

1:08:08

He could be tricked into a false confession and the police knew this.

1:08:13

They just care.

1:08:15

This testimony was a big deal because Joe Dick statements were the basis of the prosecution's entire theory.

1:08:22

Ziegler told the New York times that there's no way Joe snuck off the ship, committed the crime and snuck back on board.

1:08:29

He said, quote, the Joseph Dick.

1:08:31

I knew couldn't chew bubblegum and tie his shoes at the same time.

1:08:34

There's no way in hell. Anyone can convince me Joseph Dick to pull that off.

1:08:39

Also in 2006, Omar Ballard testified under oath that he killed Michelle.

1:08:45

No one else helped him attorneys obtained expert opinions on the unlikelihood that the Norfolk four were involved in Michelle's murder.

1:08:53

Two forensic pathologists found it was virtually impossible for more than one person to have murdered Michelle.

1:09:00

They said the prosecution's theory was extremely implausible.

1:09:03

An expert in DNA analysis found that the absence of DNA evidence connecting the Norfolk four to the murderer made it overwhelmingly likely that they were not involved.

1:09:14

Law enforcement experts, including a former FBI agent found that Omar Ballard acted alone and the Norfolk four were not involved.

1:09:22

A false confessions expert found that the Norfolk force confessions were completely false.

1:09:27

The expert's conclusion was based on multiple reasons, but the main two were that the confessions were completely inconsistent with the crime scene and with each other.

1:09:37

And the Norfolk four were threatened with the death penalty.

1:09:41

If they didn't confess for former attorney generals for Virginia examined the case and found that there had been a miscarriage of justice.

1:09:49

Now more than 20 members of the Richmond chapter of the society of former special agents of the FBI examined the case independently and concluded that the Norfolk four were innocent.

1:10:00

Attorneys contacted jurors from Eric Wilson and Derek Tyson's trials and showed them evidence.

1:10:06

They hadn't been shown at trial.

1:10:08

The following is everything that had been suppressed from the jury, Omar Ballard sworn testimony that he was the sole perpetrator of the crime Ballard's chilling letter in which he admitted to killing Michelle Moore Bosco Ballard's crime spree against women.

1:10:23

At the time he murdered Michelle, including Ballard's physical assault of a woman in her apartment complex two weeks before the murder and the rape and attempted strangulation of a 14 year old girl, just 10 days after Michele's murder the lead detectives history and eliciting false confessions expert testimony on how the coercive interrogation tactics resulted in inconsistent statements, which bear the hallmarks of false confessions.

1:10:49

Joseph Dick's alibi confirming that he was on duty at the time of the crime.

1:10:53

And finally, the expert testimony from a crime scene reconstruction analyst in a forensic pathologist stating this was a single perpetrator crime committed by Omar Ballard, 10 jurors then wrote a joint letter saying they would not have voted for conviction.

1:11:10

If they had seen all the evidence, quote, all the available evidence shows clearly that Omar Ballard raped and killed Michelle Bosco by himself.

1:11:18

We thus ask you that you grant clemency to Joseph, Dick, Derek Tice, Eric Wilson, and Daniel Williams.

1:11:25

We recognize that we played a key role in putting Eric Wilson in prison.

1:11:29

And we understand that you're now the only person who can clear his name and release the other innocent men.

1:11:35

We were faced with a difficult decision when we deliberated and we know that you are faced with a difficult decision to, but we believe that clearing the names of these four sailors is the only right thing to do.

1:11:46

And we urge you to act on these clemency petitions promptly on November 27th, 2006, the Virginia circuit court overturned Derek Tyson's second conviction due to ineffective counsel.

1:11:58

The state appealed the circuit court's decision to the Virginia Supreme court, who then reinstated Tyson's conviction on August 6th, 2009, Virginia, governor Timothy Kane, granted Daniel Williams.

1:12:12

Now 37 years old, Derek Tyce, 39 years old and Joe Dick 33 years old, conditional pardons.

1:12:20

He did not declare their innocence instead just reduce their statement to time served.

1:12:26

Cain said the men have not conclusively established their innocence.

1:12:30

And therefore that an absolute pardon is not appropriate because they were only conditionally pardoned.

1:12:36

All three men were put on parole for 20 years and had to register as convicted sex offenders and violent offenders.

1:12:43

They were released, but they still had convictions on their records.

1:12:47

Michelle's parents, Jack and Carol were devastated by the pardons.

1:12:51

After all this time, they still believe the Norfolk four were guilty.

1:12:55

The Moore said Kane had chosen to ignore the facts and history of this case and that it's truly shameful and a disservice to the citizens of Virginia and our family, that the decisions of the courts have been ignored and confessed.

1:13:08

Rapists and murderers are being set free on September 14th, 2009, a us district judge overturned Derek Tyson's convictions for ties having ineffective counsel.

1:13:20

The defense should have moved to suppress his confession.

1:13:22

Since Derek had asked for an attorney on October 27th, 2010, former detective Glen Ford was convicted by us district court on two counts of extortion and one count of making false statements to the FBI, which was unrelated to the Norfolk four case going all the way back to the nineties.

1:13:42

He had been taking bribes from criminals and in exchange, he helped them get released on bond or helped reduce their sentences by lying to prosecutors and judges that they had helped with the investigation.

1:13:52

One question by the FBI, he lied about it in February, 2011, 57 year old.

1:13:59

Robert Glen Ford was sentenced to almost the maximum time allowed 12 and a half years, but he was released this past October, 2021 on the 18th.

1:14:09

Us attorney nail met bridge said, quote, it's a sad day.

1:14:14

When somebody called upon to enforce the law betrays the trust betrays, not only his fellow cops, but the court system, the public and the law.

1:14:22

He took an oath to uphold on August 4th, 2011.

1:14:26

Prosecutors finally announced they were dismissing charges.

1:14:29

Derek Tice was officially exonerated on September 26th, 2016, us district judge John Gibbon.

1:14:37

He said, quote, no sane human being would have convicted Williams and Dick.

1:14:42

He said the state has 60 days to retry Williams and Dick.

1:14:46

And if they didn't, the men would be exonerated.

1:14:48

Then the Virginia attorney general Mark Herring, conceited errors in the initial investigation and withdrew his offices, longstanding opposition to their claims of innocence.

1:14:59

The state withdrew all charges.

1:15:01

And on October 26th, 2016, Dan Williams and Joe Dick were exonerated in November, 2016.

1:15:10

Attorney general herring told the Norfolk police to video all interrogations and confessions relating to murders.

1:15:17

According to the New York times, the Norfolk force attorneys continued fighting for absolute pardons because they carried greater weight than court rulings and were essential to helping them in rebuild their lives and reputations.

1:15:30

Finally, on March 21st, 2017, Eleanor Terry McAuliffe, granted absolute pardons to the Norfolk four, their names were removed from the sex offender and felony offender lists a spokesman for McAuliffe said these pardons closed the final chapter on a grave injustice that has plagued these four men for nearly 20 years.

1:15:53

Eric Wilson released a press release that said, I speak for all four of us and expressing our deepest.

1:15:59

Thanks to governor McAuliffe, who has given us our lives back with these full pardons.

1:16:03

We have been haunted by these wrongful convictions for 20 years, which have created profound pain, hardships the stress for each of us and our families.

1:16:11

We now look forward to rebuilding our reputations and our lives.

1:16:16

Michelle's mom.

1:16:18

Carol said, it's hard to believe that hearing the confessions and knowing the details of this case, these men were not involved with the murders of our daughter, the governor, and the judicial system who worked so hard to free.

1:16:29

These killers will have it on their conscience.

1:16:30

If any of them commit another violent crime, the Norfolk four filed a civil suit against the city and state for their wrongful convictions.

1:16:38

And December, 2018, they all settled.

1:16:41

The city paid 4.9 million and the state pay 3.5 million.

1:16:46

Last week, I presented you with the case of a young woman who was failed by the justice system.

1:16:51

And every step, if our killer had been held accountable, when he first defended Shannon, Melinda would be alive this week, another young woman was failed.

1:17:00

Michelle Moore Bosco is lost in all of the incredible detail of the convictions appeals and pardons of the Norfolk for her family was immensely hard by the pardons.

1:17:11

And understandably for years, they believed a lie, a lie that grew bigger with each telling.

1:17:18

Can you imagine being her husband or mother and continuing to get calls about a new suspect?

1:17:24

The worst thing that had ever happened in their lives just kept getting worse.

1:17:28

Billy Bosco was repeatedly called to court to tell the story of the horrific night.

1:17:34

He found his young wife dead.

1:17:36

I didn't even recite all the different confessions.

1:17:39

The men gave. None of them matched.

1:17:41

All of them are so hard to read, but I can only imagine how her family must have felt.

1:17:47

Just listening to the confessions without context and worst of all the justice system didn't just fell the Norfolk four, as well as the other three men who had their charges dropped it, targeted them, Norfolk police, and specifically detective Ford could never just admit they were wrong.

1:18:05

Despite all evidence to the contrary, they made this crime so much bigger and so much worse.

1:18:11

They

1:18:11

inflamed

1:18:11

the

1:18:11

public

1:18:11

against

1:18:11

these

1:18:11

men

1:18:11

by

1:18:11

calling

1:18:11

it

1:18:11

a

1:18:11

gang

1:18:11

rape,

1:18:11

rape

1:18:11

and

1:18:11

murder

1:18:11

are

1:18:11

horrific

1:18:20

enough. But when you say a young woman was gang raped, you may as well hand out the pitchforks and torches, and it's not just the police or the inherently corrupt narcissistic detective.

1:18:30

It was the prosecutors who went to trial knowing about Omar Ballard's confession.

1:18:35

It was the judge who suppressed all the evidence.

1:18:37

It was the appellate judges who refused to look at further evidence for men, lost a decade of their lives in prison and even longer branded as gang rapists, the money they received and compensation will never be enough.

1:18:52

These four young men had served their country faithfully and had their lives and careers ruined by the justice system of the very country.

1:19:01

They served.

1:19:02

No one wins.

1:19:04

In this case, these men will never get their lives back.

1:19:07

Michelle Moore Bosco was brutally raped and murdered.

1:19:11

Her husband and parents got justice for her killer, but don't really believe the other men accused are innocent.

1:19:17

So no, they didn't get justice either.

1:19:20

All because corrupt police would not admit they were wrong.

1:19:24

Seven lives ruined three more, almost ruined a generation of people wrong.

1:19:30

And today only half of our states believe that custodial interrogations should even be recorded.

1:19:37

As far as we have come, we have so much further to go.

1:19:41

Southern

1:19:41

fried

1:19:41

true

1:19:41

crime

1:19:41

is

1:19:41

written,

1:19:41

hosted

1:19:41

and

1:19:41

produced

1:19:41

by

1:19:47

me. Erica Kelly today's episode was researched by the one and only Haley gray with some additional research by me, Southern Fred's original music is by rod Harrison of gamma radio.

1:19:56

And the original graphic art is by Coley Horner.

1:19:59

Please submit case suggestions to Southern fried true [email protected].

1:20:01

I do not accept suggestions on social media.

1:20:05

And I apologize if I'm unable to answer your email, I get dozens of suggestions a week and it takes a long time to go through and check out each case.

1:20:12

Thank you all so much for sending in these suggestions.

1:20:15

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1:20:18

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1:20:25

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1:20:36

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1:20:43

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1:20:45

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1:20:49

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1:21:00

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1:21:09

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1:21:11

Y'all take care.

1:21:19

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1:06

Fried True Crime covers cases that are not

1:08

suitable for young listeners, and there

1:10

may also be some explicit language used.

1:13

I discuss sexual assault in today's

1:15

episode, and it may be distressing to some

1:17

listeners. Listener discretion is

1:20

advanced. In

1:24

seventeen forty eight, Voltaire

1:27

wrote of the great principle that is better

1:29

to run the risk of bearing the guilty

1:31

than to condemn the innocent. At

1:34

about the same time, William Blackstone

1:36

wrote, the law holds that it is

1:38

better that ten guilty persons escape

1:40

than one innocent sufferer. Most

1:43

of us can quote Blackstone 1997 our sleep.

1:46

It is the basic 10 of our justice system.

1:49

At least, it's supposed to be. Somewhere

1:52

along the line between voltaire, the

1:54

Central Park five case, the American

1:56

justice system became more interested in

1:58

getting a conviction. At any

2:00

cost, Tunnel vision by investigators

2:03

is not uncommon and can lead to

2:05

coercive interrogation tactics, many

2:08

of which are not illegal. Police

2:11

can lie to a suspect. Outside

2:13

of the use of physical force, there's

2:15

not much a skilled interrogator can't

2:17

try. Most of us believe

2:20

we would never confess to a crime we didn't

2:22

commit, not under any circumstances. But

2:25

you would be surprised and what psychological coercive

2:28

can do to your brain. And after

2:30

how many hours without food, water, or

2:32

sleep, would you break? After

2:34

many high profile cases with false

2:36

confessions, like the Central Park five,

2:39

reform began in the nineteen nineties.

2:42

Interrogations began being recorded.

2:44

Over half the states in our country now require

2:47

recording of certain custodial interrogations.

2:50

Today's case is a textbook example

2:52

of police forcing confessions to

2:55

fit their theory of a crime. Faced

2:57

with contradictory evidence, they maintained

3:00

their original suspect and sought to

3:02

prove there was more than one suspect

3:04

in this case. 8 men

3:06

would be accused of the rape and murder of

3:08

Michelle MooreBosco. Bosco. Only one man was guilty, but four innocent men would be convicted and spent decades trying to clear their

3:10

Only one man was guilty. But

3:12

four innocent men would be convicted and

3:14

spend decades trying to clear their names.

3:19

Welcome to episode one thirty 8. The

3:21

case of the Norfolk four. Michelle

3:26

Lynn MooreBosco was born on August

3:29

nineteenth nineteen 8 eight in Pittsburgh,

3:31

Pennsylvania. To parents 1997

3:33

Carol, she had two younger brothers and

3:35

grew up in Pittsburgh. Michelle's

3:37

friends described her as a sweet girl

3:40

who was quietly funny and a little goofy.

3:42

According to her parents, Michelle had a

3:44

very sheltered upbringing. She

3:47

loved country music, line dancing,

3:50

and going fishing with her dad. She

3:52

also dearly loved her high school sweetheart.

3:55

William known as Billy.

3:58

In nineteen ninety six, they graduated

4:00

from Keystone Oaks High School, Billy

4:03

joined the navy, and Michelle soon followed

4:05

him to Norfolk, Virginia. She

4:07

had studied cosmetology 1997 vocational

4:09

education classes high school, and

4:12

our parents hoped that she would follow that dream,

4:14

not Billy. It wasn't that

4:16

they necessarily disliked Billy.

4:18

It was just that Michelle was so very young.

4:21

But Michelle was determined to be with Billy,

4:23

and they secretly wed on April fourth

4:25

nineteen ninety seven 1997 she was there

4:27

on weekend trip. She moved to

4:29

Norfolk on May thirty first, though she

4:32

told her parents that she was moving in with a

4:34

girlfriend. Instead, the

4:36

newlyweds got a seven hundred square foot

4:38

apartment on West Bay Avenue. The

4:40

apartment was on the first floor and was within

4:42

walking distance of the naval base.

4:45

Billy later said he and Michelle plan to have

4:47

a big wedding Pitt sberg in October, but

4:49

they eloped because they wanted to be together

4:52

1997 because Billy was going to be gong lot

4:54

for the navy. He wanted Michelle on his

4:56

insurance in case anything happened. Michelle's

4:59

mother would later say that Michelle was not ready

5:01

to move. She was too young and had

5:03

never been away from home before. She

5:06

talked to her mom on the phone every

5:08

day, and she was afraid of being alone.

5:11

Michelle was young and in love. She

5:13

probably never considered what her life might

5:15

be like in Norfolk, that she would be

5:17

alone so much. It's

5:20

no surprise that she became friendly with

5:22

a few neighbors. She was also looking

5:24

for a job and had recently been hired at

5:26

a McDonald's. She seemed to have started

5:28

to acclimate. She was trying so hard.

5:31

On July 8 nineteen ninety seven,

5:33

Billy Bosco returned from a week at

5:35

sea on the USS Simpson. He

5:38

was surprised that Michelle wasn't waiting on

5:40

the pair for him, but he thought maybe she

5:42

had started her new job at McDonald's. He

5:45

hopped a cab and went home. He

5:47

found Michelle's body in their tiny bedroom.

5:50

She was lying on her back, on the floor,

5:52

wearing only a black t shirt. There

5:55

was a lot of blood She had been strangled

5:57

and stabbed multiple times. She

6:00

was cold to the touch her eyes were

6:02

open. But

6:04

still, Billy tried to find a pulse and

6:06

then threw a blanket over the bottom part of her

6:08

body that was exposed. 1997

6:11

his panic, Billy couldn't find their portable

6:13

phone. He ran across the hall to his

6:15

neighbor Daniel Williams' apartment to

6:17

use his phone. Billy was

6:19

in shock and just kept saying, my

6:21

wife is dead. My wife is dead.

6:24

Dan called nine 1997, then followed Billy

6:26

back into the apartment. He saw Michelle's

6:28

body, and then the two men waited for

6:30

police. When police

6:33

arrived, they noted there was no forced

6:35

entry. The furniture in the living

6:37

and dining room area had not been moved

6:39

or knocked over. There were CDs

6:41

1997 a CD case on the living room

6:43

floor. The table beside the couch

6:46

had a lamp and a drinking glass on it.

6:48

In the kitchen, There was a broken egg

6:50

on the floor and a frying pan on the stove.

6:53

Two chairs were pulled out at the dining table.

6:56

The only sign of a disturbance was on

6:58

the dining room table. Michelle's

7:01

purse had been dumped there and rippled

7:03

through. Down the narrow

7:05

hallway to the bedroom, the shelves

7:07

were not disturbed. There were all

7:09

kinds of everyday things seeming to

7:11

be delicately balanced in the small space.

7:14

And nothing was disturbed. According

7:16

to a crime scene reconstruction report,

7:19

intact piles of male bills, a

7:21

checkbook, three pairs of eyeglasses, and

7:23

the full male organizer were precariously

7:26

balanced 1997 jutting into the hallway

7:28

from shelves between the kitchen and hall.

7:30

In the bedroom, none of the furniture was

7:32

disturbed. None of the fragile items

7:35

sitting on furniture had been knocked over,

7:37

even though Michelle's body was mere inches

7:39

away. The bedroom dimensions were

7:41

about twelve by sixteen feet, but

7:44

the space where Shannon was attacked was limited

7:46

to about seven by seven feet by the

7:48

furniture. There was an intact,

7:51

delicately balanced foliage mirror,

7:53

one foot from Michelle. There were

7:55

delicately balanced items on a dressing

7:57

table next to her. I'm

7:59

sorry. It's the report that uses

8:01

that phrase delicately balanced over

8:04

and over. Put simply,

8:06

and a tiny seven hundred square foot apartment.

8:09

Every space was used. Some of

8:11

it was everyday items, some momentos.

8:14

But all of it was the type of stuff

8:16

you would find all over the place if a violent

8:18

struggle had taken place. This

8:21

is a really important point since police

8:23

would later claim up to eight men were

8:25

involved in the attack. There

8:27

was blood pooled around Michelle's body.

8:29

It was not smeared or disturbed. Next

8:32

to Michelle's body was a brown kitchen knife

8:34

with ridges. It was a four and a half

8:36

inch blade didnt to nearly a ninety

8:38

degree angle. The knife had come

8:40

from Michelle's kitchen. Her

8:43

legs were still spread apart when her body was

8:45

found with her underwear and sat out

8:47

nearby. DNA, which included

8:49

blood and semen, was found in three locations

8:52

under Michelle's fingernails, on a blanket

8:54

near Michelle's body, and inside Michelle.

8:57

The Didnt belonged to only one person.

9:00

Twelve fingerprints of value were found.

9:02

Six were Michelles, and six belonged

9:04

to someone else. Michelle had four

9:07

stab wounds all clustered in a two point

9:09

seven five inch by two inch area

9:12

on her left chest. One of

9:14

them was only a half inch end up. The

9:16

other three were five inches deep, and

9:18

all consistent in their direction, size, and

9:20

depth. These wounds pierced her lungs,

9:23

which caused her to drown at her own blood.

9:26

There were also five knife point operations

9:28

found on Michelle's chest. Like,

9:30

perhaps, someone had held a knife to her

9:32

chest to control her. Michelle

9:34

more than likely had complied with her attacker

9:37

before she was murdered. There were no signs

9:39

of a struggle, and she did not have defensive

9:41

wounds. She had been manually

9:44

strangled and was probably unconscious

9:46

when she was stabbed. She had bruising

9:48

around her throat. And particular hemorrhages

9:51

in her eyes.vaginal injuries

9:53

showed that she had been raped by one person.

9:56

You may ask how the medical examiner came

9:58

to this conclusion. For one reason,

10:00

there was only one DNA sample. The

10:02

other is more disturbing. The kind of

10:04

injuries a woman would suffer from gang

10:07

rape were not present. Autopsy

10:09

results show that only one person was

10:11

responsible for Michelle's rape and murder. The medical examiner never wavered on this

10:14

The medical examiner never wavered

10:16

on this stance 1997 8, Other

10:18

forensic specialists all agreed

10:21

that Michelle had been raped and murdered by

10:23

only one man. And

10:25

initially, detectives also theorized

10:27

only one attacker. They believed

10:30

Michelle knew her killer and let him inside.

10:32

This was a crime of opportunity. Michelle's

10:35

killer did not bring a weapon with him.

10:37

He took it from her kitchen. With

10:39

the way the chairs were pulled out, she had likely

10:41

invited him to sit down as she was preparing

10:43

a meal. Whether it was for him, her,

10:46

or both, is uncertain. But

10:48

something happened in that kitchen that made Michelle

10:50

drop the egg on the floor. Then

10:52

she ran from the kitchen, down the hall

10:54

into her bedroom with a killer on her

10:56

heels. He caught Michelle in

10:58

the bedroom, but it's not like she had anywhere

11:00

else to run. He would have been

11:02

blocking the only exits in the tiny

11:04

apartment. I'll have a diagram of

11:07

the crime scene so you can see for yourself.

11:09

The killer grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled

11:11

her toward him. Michelle lost her footing

11:14

on the polished floors and fell backwards. Her

11:17

killer used a combination of choking

11:19

and slight knife jabs to control Michelle.

11:21

He took off her pants and underwear, then,

11:23

vaginally raped her. Then

11:25

probably because he knew she could identify

11:28

him, he stabbed her to death. It's

11:30

possible this man had never stabbed anyone

11:32

before because first wound was only a

11:34

half inch deep, but then he stabbed her

11:36

three more times at around five inches

11:38

deep perforating her lungs. Michelle

11:41

then started coughing up blood, which got

11:44

onto her killer. We

11:46

know because he then wiped his penis

11:48

with his semen the blood she coughed onto

11:50

him. On a nearby blanket left

11:52

the bedroom. He then dumped

11:54

her purse out on the table, pulled out a dining

11:56

chair, sat didnt, and went through the contents

11:59

before leaving. No

12:01

resident in the apartment complex saw

12:03

or heard a group of men in the hallways

12:05

or parking lot. I'm

12:10

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13:46

Police spoke with Michelle's parents and

13:48

husband. They all said that when Billy

13:50

was due home, Michelle would diligently

13:52

clean their small home and her excitement. Wanting

13:55

everything to be perfect. They all

13:57

confirmed that Michelle was scared to be alone

13:59

at night 1997 that she would never open the door

14:01

to someone she didn't know. They

14:03

also spoke to her neighbor and best friend,

14:05

Tamika Taylor. When asked if

14:08

she could think of any suspects, Tamika

14:10

told investigators that Michelle's neighbor

14:12

Dan Williams seemed interested in

14:15

or attracted to Michelle. Dan

14:17

Williams was the neighbor, Billy Rand too,

14:19

when he found her body. He admitted

14:21

to thinking Michelle was attractive, but that

14:23

was it. Tamika said on the night

14:25

of July seventh, Michelle was cleaning the apartment

14:28

because Billy was coming home. She

14:30

cleaned from eight to ten thirty, and then she

14:32

went to Tamikos for a few minutes. She

14:34

left by eleven PM and said she was going

14:37

to keep cleaning. But she did say she was

14:39

scared to go to her apartment by herself. This

14:41

didn't come out until years 8, but

14:44

Tamika said she also told police

14:46

about another man who should be looked Omar

14:49

Ballard. She said Omar had

14:51

recently gotten into trouble for beating a

14:53

woman in the same apartment complex. With

14:55

a baseball bat. Tamika was

14:57

friends with Omar Ballard and had introduced

14:59

him to Michelle and Billy at the pool a few

15:01

weeks before the murder. And Tamika

15:04

was always over at Michelle's house, so

15:06

Ballard would often go to Michelle's apartment

15:08

to find Tamika. Michelle

15:10

was comfortable enough with Omar Ballard to

15:12

have let him in the apartment with no hesitation.

15:15

Detectives ignored Tamika's other tip

15:17

and didn't look into Omar Ballard. 1997

15:19

they did not tell defense attorneys about this

15:21

lead and never even questioned Ballard

15:23

about Michelle's murder until twenty

15:25

months later. If they would

15:27

have looked into Ballard, they would have seen

15:29

that on July 8, he was arrested for

15:32

assaulting a woman with a baseball bat like

15:34

Tamika had said. Ballard had a

15:36

long criminal history and made much more

15:38

sense as a suspect. Instead,

15:41

detectives chose to focus on her neighbor,

15:43

Daniel Williams. Didnt Williams

15:45

grew up in Oahu, Michigan, a small

15:47

town located about thirty minutes west

15:49

of Flint. Later, his attorneys

15:51

would provide a biography that his childhood,

15:54

quote, reflected the values common

15:56

in small towns in the Midwest, personal

15:59

responsibility, respect for roles,

16:01

and deference to authority. Dan's

16:03

parents expected him to obey their rules

16:06

he did not stray from them. A close

16:08

childhood friend of Dan's named Jeff

16:10

Campbell said the williams were kind of strict.

16:13

Dan was taught responsibility. He was

16:15

in the boy scout, and he had a paper route to

16:17

earn spending money. When he was old

16:19

enough to drive, his parents bought him deep car,

16:21

but he was responsible for gas and insurance.

16:24

He was in the marching band in Owasso High

16:26

School halfway through his senior

16:29

year, Dan pre enlisted in the navy.

16:31

In June nineteen ninety one, right

16:33

after graduating high school, Dan

16:35

headed off for basic training. He

16:38

was following a family tradition. All

16:40

the men in his family enlisted. After

16:43

boot camp, Dan was assigned to work as

16:45

a machinist mate on the USS John

16:47

F. Kennedy in Norfolk, Virginia. Between

16:50

nineteen ninety two and ninety three,

16:52

Dan traveled to the Mediterranean. 1997

16:55

reenlisted after his initial tour

16:57

of duty, planning to make a career

16:59

as a sailor. His

17:01

superiors all repeatedly recommended

17:03

him for advancement. They all said he was a valued sailor in 1994, Dan was back in all said

17:05

he was a valued sailor. In nineteen

17:07

ninety four, Dan was back in Norfolk. He

17:10

met a woman named Nicole. They fell

17:12

in love and had just gotten married when Michelles

17:14

was murdered. As his attorneys

17:17

would point out, he was the polar opposite

17:19

of the kind of predator the police should have

17:21

suspected despite what Tamika said

17:23

about him being attracted to Michelle. Of

17:26

course, they should have investigated him. But

17:28

not only did he have no criminal record,

17:30

much less anything violent in his past,

17:32

he had an alibi, his wife.

17:35

Dan and Nicole lived across the hallway from

17:37

Michelle. They had married just eleven

17:39

days before Michelle was raped and murdered.

17:41

And by all accounts, they were very much in

17:44

love. And there were other reasons

17:46

Didnt was not a great suspect. In June

17:48

of nineteen ninety seven, Nicole had found

17:50

out she had ovarian cancer. Dan

17:52

requested Lee from the Navy so he could take

17:54

care of Nicole before and after her surgery

17:57

to remove tumor. He spent twelve

17:59

hours a day at the hospital with her. On

18:01

June twenty seventh, they had MooreBosco

18:03

she could be on his insurance for the surgery.

18:06

On July first, Nicole underwent

18:08

surgery she was released to go home on

18:10

July sixth. The surgeons thought they'd

18:12

gotten all of the tumor, but still expected. Nicole would need

18:14

Nicole would need chemo. This

18:17

was just a night before Michelle was attacked.

18:19

1997 Dan and his wife also had company

18:21

the next day. Everything about his background

18:24

was wrong. His friends and family said

18:26

he was shy, caring, and respectful. He

18:28

was a sensitive person who cared about others

18:30

feelings. Jeff Campbell,

18:32

Dan's childhood friend, said Dan always

18:34

had respect for the police. He wasn't

18:37

the kind of kid who would give anyone trouble.

18:39

Jeff's dad was a police officer who later

18:41

became deputy chief. It's possible

18:44

that Dan's interactions with the dad

18:46

led him to inherently trust the police,

18:49

and there is one other aspect to Daniel

18:51

Williams that is important. He

18:53

was at below average intelligence. Everyone

18:57

who knew Dan Williams told his attorneys

18:59

that he could be manipulated by an authority

19:01

figure. Like a strong police officer,

19:04

into saying something that was not true.

19:06

Because of his limited intellectual ability,

19:08

his low self esteem his significant respect

19:11

for deference to authority.

19:14

It's completely possible that Dan

19:16

would confess to crime he didn't commit.

19:19

Pretty much everyone described Daniel

19:21

Williams as being slow. He

19:24

wasn't developmentally disabled. He

19:27

was, quote, a half step off. Dan

19:29

did struggle academically, but all of

19:31

his teachers said he would try really hard and wouldn't

19:34

get frustrated when he couldn't understand something.

19:37

And while he struggled with his grades, he

19:39

did always go to school. He had a perfect

19:41

attendance record for all four years of high

19:43

school. After Tamika Taylor

19:45

told police that Daniel Williams seemed interested

19:48

in Michelles, showed up at

19:50

his door on the afternoon of July eighth.

19:52

They asked him to go to the station with them.

19:55

Dan wanted to help, so he went.

19:57

The interview was not recorded. At

20:00

the station, twenty five year old Didnt

20:02

two detectives that on July seventh,

20:04

he and Nicole ate dinner with his parents who are

20:06

visiting from Michigan. After dinner,

20:09

he and Nicole returned home and went to sleep.

20:11

No one ever spoke to Nicole about Dan's

20:13

whereabouts on the night of July seven,

20:15

and she died about three months later.

20:18

Dan said on the morning of the 8, he and

20:20

Nicole ran errands, including going to the

20:22

Social Security office, to officially

20:24

change Nicole's last name. That afternoon,

20:27

Dan's parents bought the newlyweds, a coffee

20:30

maker, microwave, and microwave cart

20:32

for their apartment as a wedding gift.

20:34

Nicole Dan and his parents spent the afternoon

20:37

assembling the cart and putting up the new appliances.

20:40

The questioning soon became an interrogation.

20:43

Detectives were putting pressure on him

20:45

were telling him a lot of lies, like

20:47

that they had witnesses who saw him leaving

20:49

Michelle's apartment late at night after

20:51

she had been murdered. Dan offered

20:53

to take a polygraph, which he passed with

20:56

flying colors, but detectives lied

20:58

again and said he had failed. Every

21:00

time Dan said he had no involvement with

21:02

Michelle's rape and murder. The detectives

21:05

called him a liar. He maintained

21:07

his innocence for nine hours, of

21:09

unrelenting police pressure. Then

21:12

detectives went and grabbed another detective

21:14

named Robert Glen Ford. Who was

21:16

known to extract confessions. Once

21:19

Glen Ford was in the room, he threatened Dan

21:21

with the death penalty if he didn't confess.

21:24

If he did confess, he'd get a more lenient

21:26

sentence he promised. It

21:28

took less than an hour for Ford to get Didnt

21:30

to confess. With the threat of the death

21:32

penalty, Dan gave in and made confession.

21:35

He said he knocked on Michelle's door and hit

21:37

her with his hand. Then his fist,

21:40

then his shoe, then he said he did not

21:42

strangle her, but he did write her. While

21:44

Dan was still in the interview room, detectives

21:47

learned that Michelle had been 8. And that

21:49

she had been strangled on top of being stabbed.

21:52

They now knew Dan's confession didn't match

21:54

up with any of the evidence. Michelle was

21:56

not beaten. Not with a fist or

21:58

a shoe. So they started

22:00

feeding him facts about the case, adding him

22:02

parts about rape and strangulation. And

22:04

urged him to alter his confession

22:07

to better match what really happened. Daniel

22:10

Williams then provided a supplemental confession.

22:13

In his supplemental confession, Dan

22:15

agreed to using a knife he found

22:17

lying in the bedroom to stab Michelle. However,

22:20

He couldn't describe the knife, and it had actually

22:22

been kept in the kitchen. Dan

22:24

later told Time Magazine that he was in a

22:26

windowless room. The detectives were

22:29

so aggressive with him that he started to question

22:31

his own memory. Dan

22:33

told the New York Times that detective Glen

22:35

Ford poked him in the chest, yelled in

22:37

his face, called him a liar, and

22:39

said, they wear you down to the point

22:41

where you're exhausted. I just wanted the

22:43

questioning to end. Daniel

22:45

Williams was charged with Michelle's rape and

22:47

murder. Every single person who

22:49

knew him was shocked to hear that he had been charged.

22:52

They fell down to their core that he would never

22:54

hurt someone on purpose. But since

22:56

the evidence of the scene proved that only

22:58

one person was responsible, For

23:01

the next six months, detectives considered

23:03

the case closed. Daniel Williams

23:05

raped and killed Michelle on his own. They

23:08

never followed any other leads or looked for

23:10

any other suspects. On November

23:12

second, Nicole Williams passed away from

23:14

complications of ovarian cancer. Dan

23:17

was not allowed to attend her funeral since

23:19

he was being held without bail. On

23:21

December eleventh nineteen ninety seven,

23:23

The forensic lab told detectives that

23:26

Daniel Williams' DNA was not

23:28

a match for any evidence recovered from

23:30

the crime scene. Also, When

23:32

he was arrested, detectives took a pubic

23:34

swab from van they also swabbed his underwear.

23:37

Michelle's DNA was not found, but

23:39

it didn't matter to Norfolk detectives. They

23:41

had their man they were going to make

23:43

it stick. Daniel Williams was

23:45

the first domino to fall. One

23:47

of Dan's Navy buddies, Joe Dick,

23:50

lived in the spare bedroom in the apartment Dan

23:52

and Nicole shared. So police

23:54

brought him in. He was dominant

23:56

number two. I'm

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Again, that's better help. H E L HELP

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dot com. Slash southern. After

26:40

not being able to match Daniel Williams'

26:42

DNA to Michelle or the crime scene,

26:45

and Dan's refusal to accept plea deal,

26:47

authorities had to expand their theory

26:49

on how Michelle was killed. They

26:52

decided that Dan must have had some friends

26:54

to help him, and it was their DNA

26:57

at the scene. Detective

26:59

Glen Ford was now the lead 8,

27:01

and he was on a mission to find a match for

27:03

the DNA. Detectives decided

27:05

to start arresting other people. Joe

27:08

Dick, Dan's roommate was the next

27:10

person. Joseph Jesse

27:12

Dick Jr. Was born and raised in Baltimore.

27:14

His father was an army vet. Like

27:17

Dan, Joe was a boy scout. He was

27:19

also an ultra boy and church volunteer. And

27:22

also like Dan, Joe exhibited

27:24

developmental disabilities though he was

27:26

never really officially diagnosed. His

27:28

intellectual as well as social development

27:31

was severely stunted after a childhood

27:33

accident. 1997 he was knocked unconscious by

27:36

a swing. His disabilities, along

27:38

with his last name, made Joe different.

27:41

He was often bullied. But in

27:43

spite of the problems he had, Joe

27:45

was characterized by everyone who knew him

27:47

to be a tremendously caring person.

27:49

He always wanted to help people. Joe's

27:51

parents, his mother, especially, tried to

27:54

help him with school. Family

27:56

members thought he might have a learning disability, but

27:58

didn't feel it was their place to question his parents.

28:01

Joe grew up with loving parents, but they

28:04

were also extremely strict and taught

28:06

him absolute respect for authority. Joe

28:09

both idolized and feared his father,

28:11

who had made his career in the military. Joe

28:14

lagged behind his peers academically and

28:17

socially. But he was a very hard worker.

28:19

But his developmental issues were apparent.

28:22

In high school, he still enjoyed playing with

28:24

Lego's and GI Joe's. Despite

28:27

being stigmatized for being 138 society

28:29

just called slow 1997 for having

28:31

the last name Didnt, Joe was not

28:33

an angry kid. He didn't lash out.

28:36

again. He was a he was a helper. He

28:38

volunteered at his church and in the boy

28:40

scouts, but even with the simplest

28:42

of tasks, he needed supervision. Friends,

28:45

family, and educators said that Joe

28:47

was easily manipulated and misled.

28:50

And they doubted he would get into the military.

28:52

Joe did fill the requirements for basic training

28:54

on his first attempt, but he passed the

28:57

second time enjoying the navy in early

28:59

nineteen ninety six. In the

29:01

navy, Joe's intellectual limitations

29:04

continued to hamper his success. But

29:06

his commitment and the strong efforts he

29:08

put forth allowed him to receive acceptable

29:11

scores on his evaluation reports. Joe

29:14

was proud of his service, but he did

29:16

remain immature and naive. Relatives

29:19

remember that conversations with Joe even

29:21

after several years in the navy were like

29:23

conversations with a twelve year old. And

29:25

his direct supervisor in the navy recalls

29:27

that Joe needed special guidance. He

29:30

needed explicit instructions 1997 supervision,

29:33

but he was a good worker. Like

29:35

Daniel Williams, Joe Dick had no criminal

29:37

history. On January

29:39

twelfth nineteen ninety eight, detectives

29:42

arrested twenty one year old Joe Dick. And

29:44

took him to the station for questioning. Joe

29:47

told detectives including Ford

29:49

that on July seventh, he was on duty

29:51

on the ship. Basically, this

29:54

meant that for twenty four hours, he couldn't

29:56

leave the ship. He ate and slept

29:58

there, and he worked shifts where he

30:00

stood watch. During this time,

30:02

supervisors checked in four to five times

30:04

to make sure soldiers were standing watch like

30:06

they're supposed to. On top of

30:08

that, they run different types of drills,

30:11

which Joe would have been required to attend.

30:13

The ship had two major exit points both

30:15

regarded twenty four seven. So

30:17

basically, it was impossible for Joe to

30:20

have snuck off the up. Detectives

30:22

told Joe that he was lying, that he hadn't

30:24

been to work that day, but detectives

30:26

were lying. They hadn't even tried to verify

30:29

Joe's alibi. No 1997.

30:31

Not the investigators, his defense attorney,

30:33

or the prosecutor, ever even

30:35

interviewed Joe's supervisor to verify

30:38

he was on duty the night of the murder. By

30:41

the time anyone thought to check the ship's records

30:43

to confirm Joe's whereabouts, the records

30:45

have been destroyed, but keep this in

30:47

your back pocket. After eight hours

30:50

of interrogation, Joe confessed.

30:52

He said that Michelle let him and Dan the

30:54

apartment, and they attacked during the living

30:57

room. Which was contrary to the crime

30:59

scene. He said he accidentally stabbed Michelle,

31:01

but that Dan intentionally stabbed her.

31:04

He could not describe the knife or her wounds.

31:07

He said that he and Dan both raped Michelle

31:09

Vaginally and orally. Again,

31:12

contrary to the autopsy results. And

31:15

just like they had with Dan, detectives

31:18

fed Joe Fox about the case until his

31:20

confession better lined up with the

31:22

facts as they saw them. Joe

31:24

then said, he wiped his penis on

31:26

the blanket 1997 that they moved Michelle's

31:28

body from living room to the bedroom. After

31:31

seeing a crime scene photo, he said they

31:33

threw a blanket over Michelle before they left,

31:36

but it was Billy, her husband who

31:38

had covered Michelle with a blanket. Joe

31:40

later told The New York Times that detective

31:43

Ford kept taunting him shouting at

31:45

him, told him he was a liar. Threatened

31:47

him with the death penalty if he didn't cooperate.

31:50

He again lied and said that Joe failed

31:52

the polygraph he took. Joe

31:55

Dick was charged with Michelle's rape and

31:57

murder. Joe was the most

31:59

important domino to fall in this unfolding

32:01

investigation. Because he was the

32:03

most vulnerable due to his intellectual

32:05

disabilities. On March

32:08

twenty sixth, the forensic lab issued

32:10

a report excluding Joe Dick

32:12

as a match for the DNA found on Michelle

32:15

and at the crime scene. So

32:17

now, detective Glen Ford

32:19

decided there must have been other friends with Dan

32:21

and Joe that night. After all,

32:23

he had their confessions no matter

32:25

how he got them. And he would not back

32:27

down. Prior to the Norfolk

32:30

four case, lead detective Robert

32:32

Glen Ford had a history of obtaining

32:34

false confessions. In

32:36

nineteen ninety, he three

32:39

teenagers into making confessions for

32:41

a murder they couldn't possibly have committed.

32:43

This is known as the Lafayette Grill case.

32:46

He was suspended from the detective force

32:48

for a few years and put back in uniform. In

32:51

nineteen ninety seven, the same year as

32:53

Michelle's murder, Ford elicited a

32:55

coerced confession from an intellectually disabled

32:58

person. Court records for that indictment

33:00

are sealed. In April, nineteen

33:03

ninety eight, detective Ford had an

33:05

informant who was in jail with Joe

33:07

to convince Joe to implicate others in

33:09

the murder. Eventually, Joe

33:11

named Eric Wilson, who was a friend of

33:13

his. Eric Cameron Wilson

33:16

was raised in South Texas. His father

33:18

was a boilermaker 1997 his mom taught second

33:20

grade. Like Daniel and Joe, he

33:22

was active in his church, and serving in

33:24

the military was extremely important to

33:26

Eric. He enlisted right after graduating

33:28

from high school. He also did

33:31

not have a criminal history. On

33:33

April 8, nineteen ninety eight, twenty one

33:35

year old Eric Wilson was arrested and interrogated.

33:38

Just like with Dan and Joe, Eric

33:40

said he had no involvement. But

33:43

after several hours of questioning, Eric

33:45

said, quote, he often had a dream in

33:47

which he had glimpse of a female

33:49

and that the dream was violent. After

33:52

six more hours of intense interrogation, Eric

33:55

confessed. His confession was similar

33:57

to Joe's 1997 that he said the attack

33:59

started in the living room, again

34:01

contrary to the crime scene. He

34:03

said the three of them wrestled her into the bedroom.

34:06

He said he and Daniel raped Michelles, he

34:08

said no, he left before any rape

34:10

happened. Then he changed his story again

34:12

and said they all raped her, but he left

34:15

before she was murdered. Eric

34:17

8 told the New York Times that Ford had

34:19

physically hit him. Multiple times, showed him photos of the crime scene and gave him details about the crime to include in his multiple times. Showed

34:21

him photos of the crime scene gave him

34:23

details about the crime to include in his

34:26

confession. Eric Wilson was

34:28

also charged with rape and murder. On

34:30

April twenty seven, Joe Dick was interrogated

34:33

again. He said he would tell the truth

34:35

this time. He gave another

34:37

confession, implicating himself Dan

34:39

and Eric. On June 10,

34:42

nineteen ninety eight, the forensic lab report

34:44

officially excluded Eric Wilson

34:47

from the DNA found at the crime scene.

34:50

That lab just never worked as quickly

34:52

as Ford and the other detectives wanted.

34:54

They would coerce a confession. Make

34:56

an arrest, and then the lab would

34:59

exclude their latest suspect. So

35:01

then they would work to find another suspect. Interrogate

35:04

their most vulnerable suspect, Joe Dick

35:07

repeatedly encouraging him to name

35:09

other men. When you look at

35:11

it like that, At the timeline, it's

35:13

so preposterous. It's painfully

35:15

obvious what is happening. Where are

35:17

the checks imbalances here? Why

35:19

was Ford able to act with impunity? Well,

35:22

you would think that would happen when the case was presented

35:24

to the district attorney's office, but

35:27

you would be wrong. Prosecutors don't

35:29

usually want to go to court with so little evidence.

35:31

But they did in this case. On

35:34

June sixteenth nineteen ninety eight, Joe

35:36

Dick was interrogated for a third time.

35:38

He gave another confession. This time

35:40

implicating himself, Williams, Wilson,

35:43

and a navy man named George

35:45

Clark 1997 two other unknown

35:47

white men. He said this Clark

35:50

Didnt Williams planned the attack. He

35:52

drew a composite of George Clark. The

35:54

city may have served on the USS George

35:56

Washington. Washington. When detectives found no record of a George Clark, they checked Dan Williams, his visitor log at the When detectives found

35:58

no record of a George Clark, they checked

36:00

Dan Williams' visitor log at the jail.

36:03

There was a woman who had come to see him. She

36:05

was a navy wife. It has assumed that

36:07

she was just being friendly. This woman,

36:09

however, said she did know a friend of

36:11

Dan's who worked on the George Washington. Washington. His name was Derek His

36:14

name was Derek Tice. Later

36:16

that day, detectives showed Joe an old

36:19

year book from the GW. He chose Derek Tyson's photo, but said he was George He

36:21

chose Derek Tice's photo but said

36:23

he was George Clark. Derek Elliott

36:25

Tijs was born in San Diego because his

36:27

father was stationed with a navy there when he was

36:29

born. His family eventually settled

36:32

in North Carolina. Like the

36:34

men before him, Derek Tice was a boy

36:36

scout with no criminal history. When

36:38

he was in high school, his grandfather became

36:40

seriously ill Derek helped to care

36:42

for him. This led him to volunteering

36:45

as an emergency medical technician. Before

36:47

he enlisted in the navy with his ultimate

36:50

goal of becoming a nurse. Derek

36:53

Tice is described as being caring,

36:55

shy, respectful, generous 1997

36:57

compassionate. Everyone who

36:59

knew him said he would give you the short office back.

37:01

His superior said he was obedient and

37:03

respectful. The oldest of

37:05

the Norfolk Four, Derek was out of

37:08

the navy and living in Florida 1997 Norfolk

37:10

detectives knocked on his door. Detective

37:12

Ford went personally to pick him up.

37:16

Derek insisted he was innocent, and

37:18

Ford kept telling him he would get the needle and

37:20

die if didn't tell the truth. Derek

37:23

asked for an attorney multiple times

37:25

and was refused. This was a blatant

37:28

violation of his Miranda rights. At

37:30

around one forty five AM after

37:32

almost twenty hours of being with detective

37:35

Glen Ford. Derek Tice

37:37

finally broke and confessed. He

37:40

named yet another supposed accomplice,

37:42

Jeff Ferris. And as usual,

37:44

when his story didn't line up with the facts,

37:47

Ford coached him into a more accurate

37:49

confession. So Derek

37:51

changed his story again and added another

37:53

man, Richard Polly. And

37:55

gave yet another description of the crime that

37:58

was implausible. He said they broke

38:00

into Michelle's apartment with a claw hammer.

38:02

But investigators knew there was no forced

38:04

entry to the Bosco apartment. Derek

38:07

said after they forced their way in, they took

38:09

turns raping her. And then handed the

38:11

knife around taking turn stabbing Michelle.

38:14

Not only did the autopsy show that only

38:16

one man raped Michelle, it showed one

38:18

man stabbed her. Michelle had three penetrating stab wounds that were all clustered in a 2.75 inch by two inch area on her left Michelles had three

38:20

penetrating stab wounds that were all clustered

38:23

in a two point seven five inch by

38:25

two inch area on her left chest.

38:27

These wounds were five inches deep, equally

38:30

distanced and in the same direction. The

38:33

killer had rapidly stabbed Michelle three

38:35

times in a row. It was completely

38:37

impossible for more than one person

38:39

to have stabbed her with these results. Let

38:42

alone up to eight men passing around

38:44

the knife, taking turn stabbing her.

38:47

Derek Tice later told Time Magazine,

38:49

In the light of day, you say you wouldn't

38:52

confess, but in that room with the detective

38:54

standing over you, you get worn down.

38:57

Derek told the New York Times that Ford

38:59

treated him the same as other defendants, literate,

39:02

accusatory, threatening. Ford

39:04

gave him details to use in his confession. Derek

39:07

Tice was charged with rape and murder.

39:10

The difference with the men Derek Tice implicated

39:13

was simple. They both had alibis

39:15

and refused to confess. And detective

39:17

four did not try to push these men after

39:19

they asked for attorneys, likely

39:22

because they were not as easy to manipulate. Twenty

39:24

six year old Richard Polly was an ex soldier.

39:27

He was at his parents' house on the chatting

39:29

with his girlfriend in Australia during

39:32

the time frame of the crime. He

39:34

also happened to be Nicole Williams ex

39:36

husband. Despite his refusal

39:38

to confess and his alibi, he

39:40

was charged with rape and murder. Twenty

39:43

three year old Jeff Ferris, also named

39:45

by Derek Tice, and also an

39:47

ex soldier was living in Virginia Beach.

39:50

He was arrested and interrogated. He

39:52

had an alibi. He willingly gave

39:54

a blood sample and took a polygraph. He

39:57

refused to confess, and when detectives

39:59

said he fell the polygraph, which was a

40:01

lie, Ferris asked for an attorney.

40:04

And still, he was detained, arrested,

40:07

and charged with rape murder. Joe

40:10

Dick testified at a preliminary hearing

40:12

on August twenty fifth nineteen ninety eight

40:14

against Polly and Farris and implicated

40:17

a possible seventh man. Despite

40:20

Farris and Polly's alibis and complete

40:22

lack of evidence, the judge ruled

40:24

there was sufficient evidence to proceed to

40:26

trial. They were basing

40:28

everything on the expected testimony of

40:31

Joe Dick and Derek Tice. Naturally,

40:34

three days later, the forensic lab

40:36

excluded Derek Tice, Richard

40:38

Polly, and Jeff Ferris with DNA

40:40

samples. On October twenty

40:42

seventh nineteen ninety eight, Derek Tice was

40:44

interrogated. again. They wanted

40:47

to know about this seventh man. They

40:49

needed a new DNA sample. Derek

40:51

had failed his DNA test as

40:53

had the other men he accused, and this

40:56

put him in the hot seat again. So

40:58

he implicated yet another man

41:00

named John Dancer. Twenty

41:02

five year old John Dancer had recently retired

41:04

from the Navy and was working as an air conditioning

41:07

technician in Philadelphia. He enlisted in November of 1990, served on the USS George Washington and was discharged in July, 1996 on November 4th, 1998, John dancer was arrested and

41:09

enlisted in November of nineteen ninety,

41:11

served on the USS George Washington, and

41:14

was discharged in July nineteen ninety

41:16

six. On November fourth

41:18

nineteen ninety eight, John Dancer was arrested

41:20

and interrogated. He did not confess.

41:23

Like Paulie and Farris, he had an alibi.

41:25

He was in Philadelphia. Work

41:28

records and ATM records verified

41:30

this. Dancer

41:32

took a polygraph, an 8 told

41:34

me failed. Dancer then said

41:36

he wanted an attorney. It didn't

41:39

matter that he had an alibi. Police

41:41

kept him in custody he was charged

41:43

with rape and murder. The

41:45

next day, Derek Tice changed his

41:47

story and said dancer wasn't there.

41:49

There was someone else there though, a black

41:52

male who was already at Dan Williams' place

41:54

when Derek showed up. Then on

41:56

November twenty seventh, Derek Tye said

41:58

he was a present for the murder. He insisted

42:00

He got all of his information from Dan Williams'

42:03

preliminary hearing 1997 facts from

42:05

his attorneys. But

42:07

then, on December twenty 8, nineteen

42:09

ninety eight, Derek Ties testified

42:12

that he, Dan Williams, Joe Dick,

42:15

Eric Wilson, Richard Polly, Jeff

42:17

Ferris, and John Dancer, all

42:19

raped and murdered. Michelle. It

42:22

is crazy to see the dates line up how

42:24

Tyson went back and forth. He was under

42:26

extreme pressure. On January

42:29

twenty second nineteen ninety nine,

42:31

in order to avoid the death penalty, Dan

42:34

Williams plead guilty to capital murder

42:36

and rape. In February,

42:39

Dan Williams gave another statement to police,

42:41

implicating all the other men. Dick

42:43

Wilson Tice, Polly Farris, and answer.

42:46

All the other dominoes who fell after his

42:49

first false confession. He

42:51

had never implicated anyone else before,

42:53

not even Joe Dick, his roommate. The

42:56

Norfolk police just brought him in when

42:58

Daniel's DNA didn't match. Every

43:01

single time the DNA didn't match,

43:03

Detective Glen Ford would lean harder

43:05

on his latest suspect to get another

43:07

name. On February eighteenth

43:09

nineteen ninety nine, the forensic

43:11

lab reported that they had test the DNA

43:13

from the crime scene with a more sophisticated technology.

43:17

All seven men were excluded with

43:19

DNA samples from the crime scene.

43:22

Not one match, but the willows

43:24

of justice kept turning anyway in

43:26

the wrong direction. I'm

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What are you bound for? On

46:12

February twenty second, nineteen ninety

46:14

nine, a woman named Karen contacted

46:16

detective Ford and said she'd received a letter.

46:19

From an inmate named Omar Ballard.

46:21

In the letter, he confessed to killing

46:23

Michelle. Karen

46:25

had probably been his girlfriend at some didnt.

46:28

The letter is vulgar and threatening. Basically,

46:31

Amar Balah told her he knew everything that

46:33

goes on outside of the jail 1997 he can

46:35

get anyone to kill her if he wants to.

46:38

Throughout the letter, he threatens to have her

46:40

killed if she doesn't send him a letter with

46:42

nasty pictures of herself within a week.

46:45

He said things like, bitch you dead,

46:48

and you'll be with Michelle. Towards

46:51

the end of the first page, she wrote. Remember

46:53

that night, I went to mommy's house and Michelle

46:55

got killed. Guess who did that? Me.

46:57

Haha. It wasn't the first wasn't the first time.

47:00

I'm good, Aina. I don't give a fuck about

47:02

nobody. If I was out, I would have killed

47:04

that bitch down the street. Amar

47:07

Ballad later told police he wrote the letter

47:09

to Karen because he felt like she did him wrong.

47:12

She hadn't done anything for him like she

47:15

said she would. Presumably once he

47:17

went to jail. Omar

47:19

Abdul Ballard was born in nineteen seventy

47:21

eight his mother gave him up when he was two years

47:23

old. He was raised in New Jersey

47:25

and only completed the tenth grade, and

47:27

he had a record before moving to Norfolk.

47:30

On June twenty seventh, nineteen ninety seven,

47:33

Ballard was at the same apartment complex

47:35

Michelles lived in when

47:37

he assaulted Melissa Morse with a baseball

47:40

bat. After the assault,

47:42

a mob chased Ballard around the complex.

47:45

He ran to the Bosco apartment Billy

47:47

let him in. Remember, the

47:50

Boscos had met Omar Ballard at the pool.

47:53

He was friends with Tamika Taylor, Michelle's

47:55

best friend. Billie

47:57

Bosco refused to turn Omar Ballard

47:59

over to mob they left. Ballard

48:02

was then banned from the complex. But

48:05

he came back anyway, often sleeping on

48:07

Tamika's couch. Billy

48:09

had actually taken up for the man who had later

48:11

raped and murdered his wife. On

48:14

July 8 nineteen ninety seven, Ballard

48:17

was arrested for the assault of Melissa Morse

48:19

with the baseball bat. But then he was

48:21

out on bail. In the meantime, while

48:24

detectives were busy framing innocent men

48:26

on July seventeenth, nineteen

48:28

ninety seven, Amar Ballard raped

48:30

a fourteen year old girl around a mile

48:32

away from Michelle's apartment. On

48:35

July twenty fifth, he was arrested again.

48:38

He was not questioned about Michelle's rape

48:40

and murder. Even though Tamika Taylor

48:42

had suggested maybe Ballard could have been the perpetrator.

48:46

On July fifteenth nineteen ninety eight,

48:48

he was found guilty of the rape of the fourteen

48:50

year old girl. He was sentenced to one

48:52

hundred years, fifty nine of them suspended.

48:55

On February tenth, Ballard

48:57

plead guilty and was sentenced to five years

48:59

for the assault on Melissa Morse. Morris. Detectives had a violent sexual offender connected to the Bosco case that they had willfully

49:02

Detectives had a violent sexual offender

49:04

connected to the Bosco case that they

49:06

had willfully ignored. Finally,

49:10

on March second nineteen ninety nine,

49:12

detective Glen Ford confronted Omar

49:14

Ballard about the letter he wrote. Ballard

49:17

said he wasn't involved in the rape or murder.

49:20

When shown pictures of the men who had been charged

49:22

with Michelle's murder, Omar Ballard

49:25

said he didn't know any of them except he didn't

49:27

know Joe Dick, but that was because

49:29

they were currently in the same part of the jail together.

49:34

On March fourth, nineteen ninety

49:36

nine, the forensic lab confirmed

49:38

that Omar Ballard's DNA matched

49:40

all three samples from the crime scene.

49:43

This was the only DNA match in the

49:45

entire case. On

49:48

the same day, Ford interviewed Amar

49:50

Ballard again. Within twenty

49:52

minutes and without any pressure, Ballard

49:54

confessed. He told

49:56

police that he met Michelle through a mutual friend,

49:59

Tamika Taylor. Ballard often

50:01

stayed the night at Tamika's. She lived in the

50:03

same apartment complex as Michelle. Ballard

50:06

said that on July seventh, he was feeling angry

50:08

and frustrated with life. He had

50:10

sense. There was nowhere he belonged.

50:13

At around eleven thirty PM, he was on

50:15

his way to Tamika Taylor's apartment when

50:18

he stopped at Michelle's. Sometimes

50:20

Tamika was at Michelle's place. So

50:22

Ballard wanted to see if she was there. Michelle

50:24

opened the door for Ballard 1997 said Tamika

50:27

wasn't there, and he felt like something bad

50:29

was going to happen. But he didn't

50:31

expect himself to rape and kill Michelle.

50:33

But Michelle was friendly and told him there were drinks

50:35

in the fridge he could use the phone in the corner

50:38

if he needed to. And then she went into

50:40

the bedroom. Fowler claimed

50:42

he grabbed a beer and then followed Michelle into

50:44

the bedroom where they had sex. He

50:46

also claimed they'd had sex one time before

50:48

that. He got up to leave the

50:50

bedroom something just ticked in his head.

50:53

He went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife,

50:55

which he accurately described. And

50:57

went back into the bedroom. She was

50:59

getting off the bed or was already off the bed.

51:01

He couldn't remember 1997 Ballard stabbed

51:03

her once in the chest. She fell

51:06

to the floor and he stabbed her two to

51:08

three more times. He

51:10

left her lying on the floor, said she was still

51:12

alive and moaning and dropped the knife in

51:14

bedroom. Before he left,

51:17

Ballard stole thirty five dollars off the dining

51:19

room table. Then

51:21

he went to Tamikas and slept on her couch.

51:24

Police showed up question Tamika, but

51:26

did not question Omar Ballard. When

51:29

asked why he decided to stab Michelle,

51:32

Ballard said he was drunk and thinking about

51:34

his mother who he resents a lot because

51:36

she gave him up. Ballard

51:38

said he did not hit Michelle. When

51:41

asked if he had anything else to add,

51:43

Ballard said no. Just 1997

51:45

four people that open their mouths is stupid.

51:49

Ballard's confession lined up with the facts of

51:51

case. Michelle knew him and would feel

51:53

comfortable letting him in her apartment. Ballard

51:56

knew details only the killer would know.

51:59

And he had been on a multi week violent

52:01

crime spree against women during the

52:03

time Michelle was killed. On

52:06

March eighth, Omar Ballard was charged

52:08

with Michelle's rape and murder. He was

52:11

the eighth and final man charged. Three

52:13

days later, he gave another statement

52:15

to police. He talked about stopping

52:17

at Michelle's on his way to Tamikas, and

52:20

how Michelle had offered him a drink and said he

52:22

could use the phone. But in this statement,

52:24

Bowlett said he and Michelle did not talk in the living

52:27

room. While she was in the bedroom,

52:29

he went in there and raped her. This

52:31

time, he admitted they had never had sex

52:33

before. He said when

52:35

she got off the bed and Ballard was about to

52:37

leave, Michelle asked why he raped

52:39

her. He said he snapped. Turned

52:41

around, grabbed her, started choking her,

52:43

and she fell on the ground. He

52:46

said he went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife,

52:48

and went back to the bedroom. Michelle

52:50

was getting up off the floor. He

52:52

stabbed her. She fell back to floor.

52:55

Then he stabbed her two to three more times. When

52:58

asked why he grabbed the knife, Ballard

53:00

said, I just blanked. I figured

53:03

she was going to tell so I was like fuck it.

53:06

Omar Ballard later said in an affidavit

53:08

that during the interviews, detective Ford

53:11

asked him leading questions and would try to

53:13

feed him details. In an attempt to

53:15

get the version of the crime that he wanted.

53:18

Most importantly, Ballard said

53:20

he committed the crime alone. Before

53:23

kept trying to get him to say others were involved.

53:26

Meanwhile, Joe Dick was offered a plea

53:28

deal. If he played guilty, he would be

53:30

sentenced to life. If he went to trial

53:32

and was found guilty, he would most likely receive

53:34

the death penalty. Not knowing

53:37

anything about Omar Ballard's confession

53:39

yet, Dick's family and his attorneys

53:41

suggested he take the deal. On

53:44

April twenty first nineteen ninety nine,

53:46

in order to avoid death penalty, Joe

53:48

Dick played guilty. As part of his

53:50

deal, he had to testify against the other

53:53

defendants. Joe

53:55

Dick was senate to two terms of life without

53:57

parole for his cooperation. On

54:00

April twenty eight, a judge denied Dan

54:02

Williams' motion to withdraw his guilty

54:04

plea. Then sentenced Dan to

54:06

two terms of life without parole. On

54:09

May seventh nineteen ninety nine, after

54:12

finding out about Ballard's confession letter,

54:14

Derek Tice refused to take a plea deal,

54:17

refused to testify against the other man

54:19

said he was innocent. A

54:22

week later after realizing that

54:24

all they had left was Joe Dick's wobbly

54:26

story. The state dropped all charges

54:28

against Richard Polly, Jeff Farris, and

54:31

John Dancer. Remember,

54:34

these were the only men police could not

54:36

coerce confessions from. The

54:38

prosecutor, Damien Hanson, and

54:40

detective Glen Ford, said they still

54:43

believed Polly Ferris Dancer

54:45

were involved in the rape and murder. They

54:47

said, quote, charging it and proving. It are two different

54:49

it are two different things. The

54:53

state's theory was now that

54:55

William Stick, Wilson Ferris,

54:57

Polly Dancer, Anne Ballard, gang

54:59

raped Michelle, then took turn stabbing

55:02

her. On

55:04

June fourteenth nineteen ninety nine, Eric

55:06

Wilson's trial began. This

55:08

is what the prosecution had settled on

55:10

as their theory. All eight men rushed

55:13

Michelle's front door. Once inside,

55:15

they struggled with her in the living room and dining

55:17

room areas. They forced her down the hallway

55:19

to the bedroom. There they took turns

55:21

raping and stabbing Michelle. The

55:24

prosecution said that while all the defendant

55:26

stories were inconsistent, they were

55:28

consistent at their core. They

55:31

said that guilty people often lie or change

55:33

their stories before they tell the truth.

55:35

The prosecution 1997, quote, that

55:38

the lack of DNA doesn't prove that

55:40

a defendant wasn't at the scene. Eric

55:44

Wilson's defense was allowed to bring

55:46

up that Omar Ballard's DNA was

55:48

found, but there was no DNA tying

55:50

Wilson to the case. Wilson's

55:53

recorded confession was played, but when he

55:55

took the stand, He testified that

55:57

he did not commit crime. Eric

55:59

testified that he made up his confession

56:01

in order to stop detective Ford. From

56:04

aggressively harassing him. He said,

56:06

quote, at that point in time, if they

56:08

told me I killed JFK, I would

56:10

have said that I handed Oswald the gun.

56:13

Eric testified that Ford was, quote,

56:15

very aggressive, very threatening, very

56:18

angry. I thought I'd better tell him what

56:20

he wanted hear. He started hitting me

56:22

in the with his finger. Joe

56:25

Dick was the star witness. This is

56:27

the story he told would later tell

56:29

at two other trials. William's

56:31

Dick will 1997 Ferris, indancer,

56:34

Matt Ballard, in the parking lot. They

56:37

went to Michelle's apartment, covered the people,

56:39

and she opened the door. All

56:41

eight men vaginally raped Michelle her

56:43

bedroom after they forced her down the hallway

56:45

while she struggled. They

56:47

all stabbed her and Joe Dick

56:49

was the last one to hold the knife. The

56:52

blade was straight. On June

56:54

twenty first, Eric Wilson was acquitted

56:56

of murder, but found guilty of rape.

56:58

He was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

57:01

On February 8 two thousand, Derek

57:04

Tysys trial began. His trial

57:06

had been moved to Arlington due to pretrial

57:08

publicity. The prosecution

57:10

pretty much used the exact same playbook for

57:12

Tyson's trial. The defense

57:15

was not allowed to bring in an expert witness

57:17

about false confessions, but they were

57:19

allowed to question Ford about his interrogation

57:21

techniques. Joe Dick

57:23

was the star witness again. Omar

57:26

Ballard was called to the stand, but he denied

57:29

any involvement. The

57:31

judge did not allow Omar. Ballard's two confessions to be Ballard's two

57:33

confessions to be introduced, and the

57:35

defense was not allowed to question Ballard

57:37

over the letter he sent to Karen. Or

57:39

his past crimes against women. On

57:43

February eleventh, Derek Tice was found

57:45

guilty of capital murder and 8. He

57:47

was sentenced to two life terms. On

57:51

March fifteenth two thousand, authorities met