- Narrator: He was a young gamer
Looking for his next chance to level up in life.
- He did his homework. He never snuck out.
He never did drugs.
He loved learning.
- There was definitely a boost of confidence
When he got his girlfriend.
Narrator: Until a shocking attack would traumatize
Those who loved him.
- There is blood all over him. There's blood on the bed.
There's blood everywhere.
- This young man saw something tragic and horrific.
- I just had a really hard time wrapping my head around
That my brother was murdered.
- Narrator: A crime so violent it would lead
To an unfathomable suspect.
- What happened? Who attacked this individual?
Is it somebody in the house?
- Narrator: What seemed like a life burning bright
With potential...
- Narrator: ...Would turn pitch black.
- Sometimes, those red flags, you don't see them.
Like they say, love is blind.
- ♪
- Narrator: November 17, 2016.
Palm beach county, florida.
At 12:52 am, dispatchers receive a 911 call
In the rural suburb of loxahatchee.
The caller is 56-year-old nicola barry.
- It was immediately apparent that the female caller
Was in distress and she informed the 911 call taker
That her son, james, was bleeding heavily.
- You can hear in her voice that she's very disturbed,
Very scared, uh, something terrible has happened.
At that point first responders are dispatched.
- [sirens]
- [intense music]
- The deputies approached the scene
And as they're coming in the front door
The individuals who are there are screaming for help.
- Narrator: When police enter the home
James's mother nicola, her boyfriend, guy hand,
And one of james's best friends, jeff jarzobkowski,
Are all reeling from watching james bleed uncontrollably
Before their eyes.
- The room is covered in blood. There's blood on the ground.
There's blood in the hallway on the way to the room.
And there's blood on the bed. There's blood everywhere.
- Narrator: On the floor is 21-year-old james barry.
- James is suffering from a very severe stab wound to the chest.
He also is suffering from a number
Of different of sharp force injuries,
Uh, both stab wounds and slice wounds.
So, it appears to be consistent with a stabbing.
- The deputies see the victim is bleeding profusely
And they make every attempt to try to save the individual,
Save the victim.
- Narrator: Tragically, at the scene
James succumbs to his wounds, as family members are notified
Of his gruesome death, shock and grief begin to set in.
- I did speak with my mom briefly that night.
It was a very emotional conversation to hear
My mom saying that james is dead.
I collapsed to the floor.
I just-I lost it.
I was screaming on top of my lungs,
Just wanting to know why my brother.
Why him?
He was a good kid.
He never put himself in dangerous situations.
- Narrator: With a homicide investigation now open,
Detectives arrive to assess the scene.
- I traveled to the scene and I initially meet
With the first responders.
I wasn't a pretty picture.
It was immediately apparent that something heinous happened here.
There was blood all over the floor.
Thick amounts of blood.
And as I walked down the hallway to where the decedent was
There was blood sprayed up the side of the walls,
Up on the ceiling.
- Narrator: When detectives enter the kitchen,
They find what they believe is the murder weapon.
- So, I'm looking at the knife on the kitchen counter.
This knife was no ordinary kitchen knife.
This knife had a long blade, roughly ten inches long.
It was curved, very sharp.
It had a white handle with grooves on it.
There were no fingerprints on the handle.
And because the knife was covered in blood
It was presumed that this blood was james' blood.
- Narrator: Now that they have what they believe
Is the murder weapon, detectives have to determine
Who had been the one to wield it.
- The detectives need to now try to figure out what happened.
Who attacked this individual? Is it somebody in the house?
Or is it somebody who has left the residence,
Who was not there when the sheriffs arrived?
- Narrator: Detectives quickly learn that james barry
Was a bright light in the lives of his family.
- James was born on may 28th of 1995.
When I was seven years old.
He was a very special baby.
James truly was a gift of god.
- Narrator: James was always a small child.
But what he lacked in size,
He more than made up for in kindness.
Growing up under the watchful eye
Of his older sister alexandra, james roamed the property
Of his small family homestead.
- When james and I were growing up we had a lot of animals.
We had five horses.
We had five dogs.
We had five cats.
- We just ran around, played tag, had mud fights.
We would go around try to catch frogs, catch tadpoles.
James was just a very adventurous kid.
- We did have a very good upbringing.
Um, we, we were blessed to be able to have,
Um, you know, that kind of lifestyle.
- Narrator: In 2002, when james was seven,
His parents split and gave the kids
Their choice of where to live.
Alexandra went to live with her dad.
James stayed with his mom.
Despite the divorce both parents doted on their little boy,
Who grew into a teen any parent could be proud of.
- James was a little bit of a late bloomer
But he truly was your perfect son.
He did his homework.
He never snuck out.
He never did drugs.
He loved learning.
- He was just himself.
Kids always wanna show off and be a cool kid
And do things to impress other people.
Not him.
James got into video games at a very young age
And it's just always been a part of our lives.
We just really liked playing.
We always used to play all the time.
- He loved video games.
He was a big-time gamer and me too.
I kinda grew out of it as I got older but he never did.
That was his everything.
- Narrator: For james, video games gave him
The means to meet new people.
And in his senior year of high school
He finally got up the nerve to ask out a fellow gamer
Named melanie eam.
- They were in the same group of friends with being gamers.
Because she too was a pretty big gamer.
- Melanie's parents had immigrated from cambodia
And so she was first generation american.
- When I first met melanie,
I thought she was a beautiful girl.
I told her I'm really excited, you know,
That her and my brother are together.
- There was definitely a boost of confidence
When james, when he got his girlfriend.
Posted more pictures, you know.
He looked happy.
I don't blame him. I mean, you know,
You got the girl, life is good.
That was his first girlfriend.
- She was shy a little bit.
She had this way of talking.
She had a very soft voice, where, like, you would have to
Get close to her to hear her kind of thing.
I was like oh, this girl's different.
- As melanie and james start dating,
James's family members are very open and welcoming to her.
So, melanie starts becoming more dependent upon james
And his family and the lifestyle that they have.
- We brought her to various family get-togethers.
Easter, christmas, thanksgiving, she was there.
My mom loved her. She really did.
She almost treated her as if it was her own daughter.
- Narrator: James and melanie were a picture of young love.
- They were inseparable.
They did pretty much everything together, too.
They were very madly in love with each other.
- Narrator: So much so, that after two years together,
Once james graduated high school,
Melanie dropped out.
- She got her ged.
And then they went to palm beach state college together.
And even took the same course together
With the same teacher and everything.
It's how close their relationship was.
- Narrator: The couples' future seemed bright.
Until a sudden act of brutality
On the night of November 17, 2016,
Leaves james dead and everyone close to him at a loss.
- The loss of james, to his family, was devastating.
His mother lost her only son and lost him in a home
That she was living in.
- In the home, at the time, is nicola barry,
Who's james' mother, a gentleman by the name of guy hand,
And then james' best friend is also in the home,
Mr. Jeffrey jarzabkowski.
- Narrator: While those who lived with james
Are traumatized by what they've just witnessed,
Detectives try to focus on untangling the mystery
Of what transpired.
- The residents of the home are subsequently cleared out
Of the home because now a criminal investigation
Has to begin.
They need to be questioned about what happened
Because any one of them could potentially be a suspect.
- Narrator: Coming up: James' friend offers
Heartbreaking details of his death.
- Narrator: And the complexities of the case
Have only just begun.
- Melanie eam's mother showed up on scene
And she was looking for her daughter.
This was alarming because now we have
James' girlfriend missing.
Maybe harm had come to her as well.
- ♪
- Narrator: In the early morning hours of November 17, 2016,
Members of the palm beach county sheriffs office
Are investigating the stabbing death
Of 21-year-old james barry.
They begin by speaking with the three people
Present in the home when detectives arrived:
Nicola barry, guy hand, and jeff jarzabkowski.
- So, one of the first interviews I conducted
When I was on scene was with jeff,
Who actually was in the bedroom
And spending the night when this incident occurred.
- James fell down on the bed
And was not able to say who did this to him.
All he could say is "get help."
- [suspenseful music]
- Narrator: Jeff says within seconds,
Guy burst into the room and began attempting cpr
While he and nicola called 911.
- Narrator: According to jeff, he had no idea
How the presumed murder weapon ended up in the kitchen
Or how his friend had been stabbed in the first place.
- It was very visible to me that he was upset.
He was crying.
He seemed to be very sincere, cooperative,
And it just hit me that this young man saw something
Tragic and horrific and he was very upset
About losing his friend.
- Narrator: Investigators next
Question james grief-stricken mother who recounts a typical
Wednesday evening at home.
- I did conduct an interview with the victim's mother,
Nicola barry.
And she was very cooperative but very upset.
And she had every reason to be.
- They had had a- a family dinner
The people that were all in the house, as well as jeff.
They had a roast.
And then jeff and james were just hanging out in james' room.
Really did go from an average evening
In a- in a middle class home, in- in loxahatchee,
Uh, to waking up to a nightmare.
- Narrator: Finally, they speak to guy hand,
Nicola's boyfriend who had tried to revive james
Prior to police arriving.
- It was apparent that he had close contact with james
'cause he was covered in blood.
He was shirtless, he had blood on his chest,
He had blood on his hands.
- Narrator: Guy's story matches nicola's and jeff's.
- Narrator: Guy admits to picking up the bloody knife
But swears he wasn't trying to tamper with the scene.
- Guy's explanation for moving the knife
Was that the knife was sort of out in an area
Where somebody could step and potentially injure themselves.
So, he moved the knife without really thinking about it,
Just for safety purposes.
- Narrator: Much like jeff and nicola,
Guy seems to be genuinely heartbroken
Over james' death.
- There was nothing to indicate that he was the individual
That stabbed james.
- Narrator: After conducting the interviews,
Detectives take a closer look at the crime scene,
Searching for any evidence to point them to a suspect.
- No windows are broken, no doors are opened in any way.
This doesn't appear to be the result of a burglary
Or robbery gone bad.
However, on the back porch, what they see is a cellphone.
It has a pink face to it.
It's lying on the corner of the patio table.
And the back door, which is a screened porch door,
Is slightly ajar.
Okay, well, whose cellphone is this?
- I had already established through my interviews
That everyone in the house, who had a cellphone
Their cellphone was accounted for.
I had to confirm with the victims mother, nicola,
That this cellphone that was found on the patio
Belonged to the victim's girlfriend melanie.
That indicated that she went over to the house
Before the murder.
- Detectives questioned nicola barry about melanie eam.
They want to find out is she the type of person
That would be a suspect in this case.
Nicola seems to be a little dismissive of that.
Melanie is a very meek and shy person.
Doesn't seem like the type of person
That would be likely to do this.
- Narrator: Shortly after the phone is located,
A woman arrives at the scene looking for melanie.
- A female showed up on scene
And stated she was melanie eam's mother
And she was looking for her daughter.
The mother was very concerned for her daughter
Because the daughter had left the house
Only maybe a half an hour earlier of the mother
Arriving on the crime scene.
And she had been trying to reach her by phone
And her daughter was not answering her cellphone.
She also mentioned that her daughter
Had expressed to her that she was upset.
Melanie's parents, they had gone for a walk.
Upon returning home from their walk, she was gone.
- Narrator: While melanie's mother couldn't say for sure
Why her daughter was so troubled,
Based onishe t dcovery of melanie's phone,
It does appear she came to see james.
- This was alarming
Because now we have james' girlfriend missing.
I was concerned about her whereabouts,
Not only because she may had involvement
But for her own safety and health.
She was a young girl, maybe harm had come to her as well.
- Narrator: Coming up:
A disturbing picture emerges of a young love
That spirals out of control.
- Narrator: And a text message points
To a heartbreaking motive.
- His last words to my father were, "it's gonna hurt a lot."
- ♪
- Narrator: In the hours after james barry bled to death
On his bedroom floor, investigators have discovered
That his girlfriend, melanie eam,
Is missing.
While the search for melanie is underway, detectives receive
Word from another member of james' family.
- I was informed that the decedent's father had arrived
From a town probably 40 minutes away
And he had some very valuable information
Which he shared with me.
- Narrator: James' father calls the detective
And relays a text exchange between father and son
On the night of the murder.
- The basis of these text messages were that the son
Was expressing his concern over ending a relationship
With his girlfriend
And his father was just giving him the advice
That most fathers would give.
Son wasn't panicking and he didn't express
Any fear of any reprisal.
He just wanted to end the relationship.
Felt it was time to move on.
- The night of the breakup, his last words to my father
Were "it's gonna hurt a lot."
- Narrator: Having now obtained a search warrant
For melanie's phone, detective oliver
Looks for any correspondence with james that evening.
- I was able to find a software on the phone that showed text
Messages through a gaming application between melanie and
The victim that had happened several hours before the 911
Call came in.
- Narrator: At 9:08 p.M. On November 16th,
Three hours and 45 minutes before his mother's 911 call,
James sent a message to melanie.
- There was a message from james on this application
To melanie that he wanted to end the relationship.
- He didn't want to hurt melanie's feelings
With breaking up.
So, I think that's also part of the reason why
He broke up with her through a game chat
Versus in person.
- James tries to be compassionate and say,
"I think it's best for us if we separate.
I think that we will do better on our own."
They're also able to see melanie's reaction.
- The messages clearly indicate that she is quite distraught
And upset over that relationship ending.
- Narrator: After leaving the crime scene
And returning home, just before dawn,
Detectives interview both of melanie's parents
About the evening of the murder
And the their daughter's state of mind.
- She lived a normal life, it appeared,
Prior to this incident.
They last saw their daughter 45 minutes before the murder.
And they said that she was upset.
And the father told me that he saw his daughter
Leaving at a high rate of speed
In a white toyota which was her car
That he owned but she utilized.
- The night of the murder, detectives also start
Canvassing the neighborhood to see if there's any witnesses,
Any neighbors that saw anything.
They made contact with a neighbor
Who had seen a white toyota speed out of the neighborhood
And also indicated that she had surveillance video
So that the detectives could observe the vehicle themselves.
- Narrator: The greatest concern for detectives
Is the time stamp on the video.
- Upon viewing it, it looked like this white toyota
Had arrived just before the murder
And fled the scene just before the 911 call.
- We put a bolo out with melanie's picture
And the picture of a car similar to that.
- Narrator: Now that police are less concerned
That melanie is missing and more concerned
That she is on the run, they need to dive deeper
Into the details of her relationship with james.
And they start with his closest friend, jeff.
- Jeff tells them that james has tried to break up
With melanie before and that melanie has not accepted it.
- Narrator: Jeff says he saw the first signs of trouble
When he moved in with james and his family in 2014.
- Some of the red flags that jeff noticed
Was the clinginess, the controllingness with james
And with melanie always having to be there
And she would get very upset
If james wanted to hang out with his friends.
She would guilt trip him and make him feel bad.
- When it's your first girlfriend,
It's your first love, you know, you-
Those red flags, you don't see them there.
You know, you know, like they say they love is blind.
- Jeff describes melanie as a very volatile person.
A vindictive person and somebody who may,
In fact, be the person who did this to james.
Jeff had attempted to speak with james
About ms. Eam and her behaviors
Were not that of a normal girlfriend.
Sort of tried to alert james that this may be, in fact,
A bad relationship that he might want to distance himself.
- Narrator: And it seems jealousy
Was just the tip of the iceberg.
Jeff alleges that less than a year before the murder
Melanie vengefully lashed out
After one of her fights with james.
- Jeff had a saltwater aquarium at the home.
They're worth a couple of thousand dollars.
We believe that melanie got a half a gallon of bleach
And she poured it into the fish tank.
- Jeff tells investigators he believed melanie poured bleach
Into a rather high-end fish tank that belonged to jeff,
Killing a lot of these fish and destroying his property.
So, jeff's description of melanie is one
Of quite the volatile person.
- Jeff was very irate, very upset.
So upset that he packed his stuff and moved out.
Melanie showed no remorse, no regard
And just simply admitted to killing the fish,
Which then led to my brother and her breaking up.
- Narrator: Despite james' attempt
To end their relationship, melanie refused to let him go.
- Jeff does tell detectives that melanie has in the past
Attempted to kind of manipulate the situation
By threatening harm to herself in an attempt
To maintain that relationship with james.
- If james wasn't there, she had nobody to talk to.
So, she just wanted him around all the time,
It was just obsession, controlling and just toxic.
- Narrator: After learning she'd threatened to inflict
Serious self-harm over the prospect of losing james
Melanie's family tried to put some distance
Between the couple.
- Melanie took some time away from james
And went up to maryland and stayed
With family members up there.
- Narrator: It seemed that things between james
And melanie were officially over.
Until a social media post in August of 2016
Suggested otherwise.
- I was messaging james on facebook one day
And I had asked him
Why your status doesn't say single,
Something on those lines and he had mentioned
That him and melanie are back together.
James and melanie were just separated for a couple months.
It shocked everyone.
James loved her and wanted to make things work.
They were only back together for about three months
Prior to the murder.
- Narrator: With the troubling stories about her behavior
And proof she had been at the scene
The night james was stabbed, the signs point to melanie eam
As the primary suspect.
But could detectives get to her in time?
- I did have a thought in my head that this young lady had
Already fled from the scene
And she has contacts outside of the country.
So, there was a likelihood that I would never have the
Opportunity to apprehend her.
- Narrator: Coming up:
Police strategize a surprisingly successful ruse.
- A witness to a crime would not say,
"oh, are you here to question me?"
That is something that a suspect would say,
A suspect who knows that they're guilty.
- ♪
- Narrator: Investigators in palm beach, florida
Are searching for 20-year-old melanie eam,
The prime suspect in the stabbing death
Of 21-year-old james barry.
A statewide bolo has been issued on melanie's vehicle,
And detectives are in luck when they receive word
From their counterparts at the highway patrol.
- We received information from the turnpike authorities
That melanie eam's vehicle was caught going through
A turnpike plaza within 15 minutes of the murder.
Upon viewing the information including the photograph
Provided to me by the florida turnpike authority
It was a priority to locate and interview melanie.
- Narrator: Once they get a sense of her direction,
Police are able to trace her digital footprint.
- Investigators are able to see that her credit card
Is being used at gas stations and atms,
Uh, heading up northward, which would indicate a direction
That's consistent with the maryland area.
- I went back to the cell phone belonging to melanie
And started looking through for any contacts, names
Or phone numbers of anyone that lived up in maryland
And I was able to find a phone number
Which was called by melanie
Several hours before the incident.
- Narrator: The number belongs to melanie's cousin,
And in order to keep melanie from fleeing
Detective oliver dials the number
And leaves a vague message.
- I didn't want to give the cousin a clue
Like she was wanted in a murder.
I didn't want them to try to hide her.
I just wanted to say there was an incident
That occurred here, and we need to talk to her
And make sure she's safe.
- Narrator: A few hours later, melanie's cousin,
Mongol onk, calls back from silver spring, maryland.
- Mongol just says that melanie's here.
He doesn't go into any detail about what she said or anything,
But that she is safe.
- Once I hung up the phone with the cousin,
I directly made phone calls to authorities in maryland
Requesting their assistance in going over to the residence
And seeing if the white toyota was actually there.
- Narrator: Less than 48 hours after the murder,
Officers arrive at mongol's residence.
- Narrator: The officers only say they're there
For a wellness check on melanie.
- Narrator: Officers have only been speaking with her cousin
For a few minutes, when melanie emerges from the home.
- A witness to a crime would not say
"oh, are you here to question me?"
That is something that a suspect would say,
A suspect who knows that they're guilty.
- Narrator: Maryland police keep tabs on melanie
Until the evening of November 18th,
When detectives from florida arrive at the home.
- Even though on the surface it looks like melanie eam
Was the culprit and no one else,
We wanted to speak to melanie
Because generally without some corroborative evidence,
Either an eyewitness to the murder
Or a confession by the suspect,
It takes a lot to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Narrator: With the case against melanie
Largely circumstantial, detectives are working
Towards something more concrete like a confession.
- I informed her that I was from palm beach county, florida.
I was a detective.
I just wanted to ask her some questions.
- At this point, she wasn't under arrest.
The interview was being conducted in her dwelling.
And she was clearly told she wasn't under arrest.
Knowing the law, and from my experience,
I flat out told her we just want to talk to you.
Wanna hear your side of the story.
At which point, several minutes later,
We were able to sit down at a kitchen table
And melanie proceeded to answer several questions
Regarding the incident.
- Narrator: Melanie says when she received
The message from james ending their relationship
She cried for several hours
Before driving over to confront him.
And during the drive her sadness turned to rage.
- She admitted to going over there just to confront james.
And during the course of being in the house with james
She was so upset when she heard
That he didn't love her anymore
That she reached for a knife
That was inside of a drawer
And went after him.
- During the course of this interview
She mentioned that she had blood on her shirt,
Being james' blood, and that the shirt
Was still with her in her possession.
So, I asked her, "would you mind providing me that t-shirt?"
She cooperated.
Walked downstairs to the basement.
We followed her.
And she provided me with the shirt she was wearing
When she stabbed james.
- Detective oliver elects during the statement of miss eam,
Uh, not to mirandize her.
The statement is taken while is she not in custody.
She is in the home of her cousin.
She's not in handcuffs.
- I wanted to make sure I ran these facts by a state attorney
From my county
Before I drafted a probable cause affidavit and arrest her.
So, I told melanie, I'm leaving,
Thank you for your cooperation.
- Narrator: At 8:30 the next morning,
Maryland police officers return to mongol's house
And arrest melanie for second degree murder.
- Melanie eam was taken into custody
And later extradited out of maryland
And brought down to florida to face the charges.
- Narrator: Coming up:
When melanie gets her day in court
Her attorney calls foul.
- She asked for an attorney.
In fact, she asked for an attorney three times.
Each time it was denied.
- Narrator: Will melanie eam get away with murder
On a technicality?
- It becomes very much more a circumstantial case
Rather than a direct evidence case.
- ♪
- Narrator: After melanie eam is arrested
For the stabbing death of her 21-year-old boyfriend,
James barry, her defense team files a pretrial motion
To have her confession thrown out.
- Detective oliver makes a determination
Because she's not in custody she is not entitled
To her miranda warnings.
Nor is she entitled to an attorney at that time.
Legally, he's not compelled to cease the interview at that time
Because she's never taken into custody.
- I made that motion basing it on the fact
That she asked for an attorney.
In fact, she asked for an attorney three times.
Each time it was denied.
So, as far as I was concerned when this case started,
I wanted the confession eliminated from the trial.
- The confession that she provided
Was a pivotal piece of evidence,
And if it had been suppressed,
The complexity of the case certainly changes at that point.
Then it becomes very much more a circumstantial case
Rather than a circumstantial and a direct evidence case.
- Narrator: It takes the judge an agonizing month
To make his decision.
- Ultimately, both the trial court and the appellate court
Ruled that no, she was not in custody
At the time that she was questioned.
And therefore, detectives were not required
To cease the interview or to provide an attorney
Under the protections of miranda.
- Narrator: When melanie's trial gets underway in 2018,
Prosecutors lay out what they believe happened
The night of November 17, 2016.
And it all started when james decided to end things
With melanie once and for all.
- The evidence is clear that she went
To the barry residence that night
In order to try to salvage that relationship with james
But it did not go well.
It deteriorated either into rage
Or a fight between the two of them.
And melanie eam snapped.
She lost it and committed the act of murder against mr. Barry.
- Narrator: But the defense has their own strategy--
Shocking james's family and friends
By pointing the finger at nicola barry's boyfriend, guy hand.
- My job is to find reasonable doubt to the state's scenario.
And guy picked up the murder weapon from the bedroom floor.
It's covered in blood.
And he took it to the kitchen, I would assume, to be washed.
That doesn't really make sense, does it?
- Guy hand not only goes through the ordeal of being a witness,
Guy hand is also being accused of being the actual murder,
Of being the person who stabbed his stepson.
- Guy hand's demeanor during trial was angry,
Very angry,
Which helped my scenario.
- The defense even went so far as to suggest that nicola barry,
The biological mother of james barry,
Was covering up for guy hand
Who was not james' biological father.
It tortured logic.
- Narrator: Nicola barry, guy hand, and jeff jarbazowski
Were never charged in the murder of james barry.
However, after two days of deliberations,
The jury informs the judge that they can't reach
A unanimous decision on melanie's guilt.
- We do require all jurors in this case, all six jurors,
To come to the same verdict.
Not only must all six jurors agree that she's guilty
But agree that she's guilty of the same crime.
Ultimately, they were not able
To come to a unanimous decision
As to the type of crime she was guilty of.
- The jury all agreed that melanie had something
To do with the murder.
They just couldn't determine if it was first or second degree.
- Some of the jurors may have felt
That she was guilty of a lesser included crime
Of manslaughter.
- When the jury did return and say that they were not unanimous
And that it would be a hung jury, the family is frustrated
Because they know that they will have to go through this again.
- Narrator: Five months later, in September of 2018,
Prosecutors present the same case
The second time around with one slight adjustment
To their strategy.
- One of thes hi tngthat does change in the second trial
Is that guy hand's already been accused of murder.
Nicola's already been accused of being a mother
Who helped facilitate the death of her son.
So, they were more prepared emotionally
To handle such awful questions.
- After her second trial, the jury did deliberate
And they returned a verdict of guilty as charged
For the crime of second degree murder with a weapon.
- Narrator: Melanie eam is sentenced to 50 years in prison,
The maximum penalty allowed in florida.
But for james' family and friends, the nightmare endures.
- My mom will never be the same.
Jeff is also very traumatized from the event.
He'll never be the same.
Not even, uh, a 50-year sentence can take away our pain.
- James will be remembered as a kind-hearted soul, you know.
And there needs to be more people like that.
'cause if there was more people like james,
I promise you there would be a whole better world.
Less murders, less heartache out there.
- That was my baby brother, you know, and I feel like
I failed him in a way, too, 'cause I wasn't there
To protect him.
And I want people to remember james
As a perfect son, as a perfect individual,
'cause he truly was.
I will help continue to carry on his legacy.
He still is impacting many lives on a daily basis.
His story truly has impacted a lot of people.
- ♪