[narrator] when a loving father suddenly goes missing,
His family is left searching for answers.
That wasn't like him to just disappear.
It alarmed everybody.
My dad didn't do that. My dad was all about his kids.
We were his number one priority all the time.
[narrator] investigators make a tragic discovery
In the remote texas countryside
[steven] in that swamp area,
There are hundreds of snakes, alligators.
It was a gruesome scene.
It was horrific.
[narrator] as investigators shuffle
A long list of suspects,
A torrid romance comes into focus.
They didn't want the affair to end.
He was essentially willing to do whatever she wanted him to do.
[chasidy] will I ever get the hundred percent truth?
Probably not.
[brandi] unfortunately, when you keep secrets,
They tend to bottle up and then explode.
[theme music]
[muffled scream]
[gasp]
[music]
[narrator] a country boy at heart,
Bobby sexton loved everything about
His hometown of jacksonville, texas.
My dad had three brothers and two sisters.
They lived in the country most of their lives.
He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.
So a lot of people knew him.
My grandpa had a roofing business.
And that's what my dad did most of the time.
If he wasn't doing that, he was racing.
[country music]
[narrator] bobby's love for racing
Would also lead him to the second love of his life.
Her name was patricia bingham.
My sister patricia was more of a mother to me
Than a sister because she's, like,
12 years older than me.
She was very, very, very, very pretty.
She loved to do the beauty pageants.
She had god's gift of beauty.
[narrator] in jacksonville, patricia grew up
In a large, tightknit family.
Me and patricia shared the same mother, linda bingham.
We lived on our grandparents' property.
[jeffrey] a lot of people refer to that area
As the bingham family compound.
Several members of the bingham family
Resided on or near that property.
They had a business of buying and selling junked cars
To sell them for parts.
[narrator] due to her family's business,
Patricia grew up with an appreciation for cars
And developed a passion for racing.
We used to call her speedy gonzales
Because she always had a heavy foot.
And she wasn't scared to go fast.
So, daddy got this lil ol' truck,
Fixed it up, got it going for her,
And started racing.
She won every race she ever raced in.
[narrator] patricia's bold personality
Also extended to her love life.
[brandi] she was very wild, very promiscuous...
Um, from what my grandparents and everybody said.
She really didn't have kids her age,
So she hung out with my aunt.
It just so happened that my aunt introduced her to bobby.
[lisa] bobby, he was, uh,
A friend of mine.
They met one night when trisha wanted to go riding out with us.
And from then on, they started sneaking around.
[brandi] he was already married.
And his oldest daughter was--I wanna say
She was probably anywhere from 14 to 16 years old.
So she was nearly grown herself
There was nothing you could tell them.
They were in love.
[brandi] after a few months,
Patricia went to my grandmother dorothy
And told her, "hey, um, I'm pregnant."
I think the situation was my grandparents said,
You know, "now that you're pregnant, he's gotta step up."
[lisa] it was a way for them to get together and get married,
What they wanted.
[narrator] bobby divorced his wife in 1991.
That same year, he and patricia welcomed their daughter chasidy
Two years later, they were married,
And their second daughter was born shortly after.
[chasidy] my parents, they always took care of us.
I was attached to my dad's hip.
We grew up around a lot of race cars
And driving race cars,
Racing, building them.
My dad knew how to build a motor from the ground up.
He knew a lot about cars.
[narrator] to support their growing family,
Bobby worked for his dad's roofing company.
But his career took a hit when he injured his back on the job.
[chasidy] I don't know too much about his surgeries
'cause I was little when all this happened.
I know he's had, like, eight.
And my dad has a metal rod in his back.
So he couldn't do much.
[narrator] in 1994, patricia gave birth
To her third daughter,
But she received devastating news.
She found out she had ovarian cancer.
[brandi] she went to a specialist in dallas,
And they told her that...
There was nothing they could do.
She was gonna have to have a hysterectomy.
There was no way she could have another child,
And they told her that.
That devastated bobby,
'cause, I mean, he wanted a son
So that took a strain on their marriage.
But patricia wanted to make things work for the girls.
[narrator] by 1997,
Bobby was able to return to wor
When patricia's grandfather gav him a job at his mechanic shop.
It was a big shop, where they worked on cars.
And it was filled with wrecked cars.
Everybody had their part in...
The family business.
Bobby worked for my grandparents.
And my sister cooked meals for the guys at the shop.
They were happy.
[narrator] but on the morning of February 21, 1998,
The cherokee county sheriff's office
Receives a worried call from patricia sexton.
[steven] patricia wanted to report
That her husband, bobby sexton, was missing.
That he had left the residence the night before.
[narrator] according to patricia,
Bobby had received a call from his coworker, willie wright.
[steven] he was telling bobby that
Bobby needed to come down, unlock the shop,
Because willie had left the lights on
And an air compressor running.
[brandi] willie was very adamant about him coming.
So bobby said, "okay, I'll come up and turn 'em off."
Patricia said bobby left the trailer
Somewhere around 11 o'clock.
He got into the suburban and drove off.
And that was the last time that she saw him.
She went back into the house and she went to bed.
When she woke up the next morning,
Bobby still was not home
And the suburban was not there.
She was upset,
Thinking something happened to bobby.
Normally on a missing adult,
We'll take the information down.
But as far as an investigation,
It's normally at least a couple days
To see if he turns up.
[narrator] but bobby's concerned family grows impatient
And takes matters into their own hands.
[brandi] that wasn't like bobby to just disappear.
Um, so it, it alerted-- it alarmed everybody.
My sister put up flyers
Asking for anybody that had seen bobby,
If they'd seen his vehicle, whatever.
But...Literally nothing.
It was like bobby vanished.
[narrator] 72 hours pass,
And there's still no sign of bobby,
So patricia notifies authorities.
The sheriff's office put out a bolo,
Which is "be on the lookout,"
For bobby and his vehicle.
[narrator] later that day,
Authorities receive word that bobby's chevy suburban
Has been located.
Patricia actually called law enforcement
To inform them that al clark had discovered bobby's vehicle
On the side of the road
And had driven it back to the house.
Al clark was in a common law marriage
With patricia's mother, linda gail bingham.
And they were living on the property
Owned by linda's parents.
[steven] I got called by the sheriff's office,
The dispatcher,
That a man named al clark
Had found bobby's vehicle.
So I go out to the residence and look at the vehicle.
It was a gruesome scene.
There was blood everywhere.
There was two to three inches of blood in the wheel wells.
We knew that there was probably foul play involved.
[brandi] my sister patricia went to pieces.
She knew something was wrong.
The sheriff's department knew something was wrong.
[narrator] coming up,
Investigators suspect a couple close the victim
May know more about bobby sexton's disappearance.
He wanted to know, "how did you get bobby's vehicle?"
Al had been previously prosecuted
For murder years before.
[narrator] and a secret betrayal comes to light.
They wanted to get him out of the way.
I couldn't believe it.
[theme music]
[narrator] two days after patricia sexton
Reported her husband, bobby, missing,
His abandoned chevy suburban is the focus
Of a gruesome crime scene.
[steven] the turning point in the case
That moved us from just a missing person
Into a homicide, uh,
Was the blood in the vehicle.
There was just so much of it
That we knew that something had happened.
[narrator] investigators turned to the man
Who found the chevy suburban, al clark.
[steven] al clark was a person of interest
Due to his criminal background
And the fact that he found the vehicle.
Al had been previously prosecuted by me
For a burglary of a building.
And he was prosecuted for murder in polk county years before.
Al clark's the type of individual
That does not volunteer stuff.
You have to usually ask him and get it out of him.
[narrator] when pressed about how he came across
Bobby's vehicle,
Al admits he found it that morning by accident
In nearby diboll, texas.
[brandi] I believe it was on a Sunday.
Al and my uncle steven decided
That they were gonna ride four wheelers
At a piece of property that my grandparents owned in diboll.
At the top of the hill,
He told my uncle, "hey, isn't that bobby's suburban?"
They got on the four wheelers and went,
And sure enough...
It was bobby's truck.
So my uncle said, "hey, let's call the laws,
Let's let 'em come."
My stepdad just insisted
That he drive the vehicle back to my grandparents'.
And that's where the sheriff's department met him
And took possession of bobby's vehicle.
[narrator] investigators ask al where he was
When bobby disappeared three nights earlier.
[steven] he had had an alibi.
He was a truck driver.
And he was out of town, uh,
During the time bobby came missing.
[narrator] after taking al's statement,
Investigators speak with his common-law wife, linda bingham.
[linda] al had left early that day
To take a load of timber to mansfield, louisiana.
Mansfield, louisiana was about two hours east of jacksonville.
And linda said that al had left that morning around 6:00 am.
[linda] about 10:00, 10:30,
His boss came to my house and said,
"hey, where is al?
Where is my truck and my load of timber?"
I said, "it ought to be sitting in mansfield by now.
He left early today, way, way, early."
"well, it ain't there.
And somebody told me my truck's sitting down in maydelle."
[casey] maydelle is just over 10 miles south of jacksonville.
Not very far from al's home.
And linda told police he didn't come home
Until early the next morning.
[linda] it was, like, 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning
When I heard al come in.
He throws his hat down the couch and he says,
"I'm going to bed."
Never says another word to nobody.
It was strange 'cause that just wasn't him.
[narrator] linda claims al's actions
Were cause for concern.
When he got in that, in that suburban
And drove that truck to my mother and daddy's house
With blood running out the back end of it, I knew.
I knew.
In my heart, in my stomach, I know al was involved.
[narrator] investigators learn al was unaccounted for
During the same stretch of time
That bobby allegedly went missing.
[steven] bobby did go to unlock the shop around 11 o'clock.
And he never did return back to the house.
It was suspicious,
Especially with al clark finding the vehicle.
[narrator] linda explains the rest of the family
Has become equally suspicious of al.
[brandi] my grandfather buddy was very inquisitive.
He wanted to know, "hey, how did you get bobby's vehicle?
Where did you find it? Where's bobby?"
[narrator] investigators question the uncle
Who found the suburban with al,
But he doesn't offer any substantial information.
He claimed at the time that he didn't think much of it.
[narrator] when investigators confront al
About the discrepancies in his alibi,
He refuses to cooperate any further.
He was very irate.
He said that he would not speak with investigators anymore
Until we had a court order or he had an attorney.
We were suspicious, but we had no proof
That he was involved in it.
[narrator] investigators next turn to bobby's coworker
And the last known person to see him, willie wright.
On Wednesday, February 25th,
Willie sits down for an interview.
[brandi] willie, he was a good friend of my grandparents.
He did manage the, the shop in the area.
He didn't let people come on and steal things.
[narrator] willie confirms patricia's story
That bobby had arrived at the shop
Shortly after 11:00 pm on February 20th.
[brandi] willie said once bobby turned the lights off
And locked the shop up, he left.
[steven] willie thought bobby went back home,
And willie went back to his trailer,
And that's all he knew.
[narrator] investigators end the interview with willie.
Soon after, they receive an intriguing call
About another coworker of bobby's,
29-year-old michael fielding.
Bobby and michael, they were friends.
They were childhood friends.
[jeffrey] michael was a country boy.
He was good with his hands,
Good mechanic, tinkered with cars, so forth.
[steven] michael fielding's mother
Was very curious about the disappearance of bobby sexton.
She talked to her son, michael,
Asked him if he knew anything.
Michael blew up,
Said he didn't know anything about this,
And then stormed out of the house.
Mrs. Fielding then called 911,
Spoke with the jacksonville police department.
She was afraid for her son.
[narrator] investigators immediately contact michael
And ask him to come in for an interview.
The next day, he arrives at the sheriff's station.
The investigator for the cherokee county
District attorney's office
Interviewed michael fielding.
It was what's known as a noncustodial interview,
Meaning that michael fielding was not under arrest.
Michael fielding did tell the investigators
That he saw bobby sexton earlier that day at the shop
Before bobby was missing.
[casey] michael claimed he was home all night
And hadn't seen bobby since earlier in the workday.
[steven] and he said that he wasn't involved,
And he became irate to the point
That he didn't want to talk to law enforcement anymore
About this.
We did not believe he was telling the truth
Because of his nervousness and the way he was acting.
[jeffrey] at the end of the interview,
Michael was free to leave.
That's when law enforcement began to place some scrutiny
Upon michael fielding.
[narrator] investigators dig into michael's background,
But there's nothing in his criminal record
To suggest he's dangerous.
Two weeks pass without a sign of bobby sexton.
Law enforcement was just interviewing everybody
And trying to explore every lead.
And initially they did not have anything definitive.
[narrator] then, on March 12th,
A tipster provides authorities with a crucial lead.
A man calls into the sheriff's station
And says that on the evening that bobby disappeared,
He saw michael fielding, but he wasn't in his own vehicle.
[steven] he was in bobby sexton's vehicle.
He did notice an older man in the car
That was intoxicated.
And it was determined that it was willie wright.
The more people that we were able to talk to,
The more information we were getting
That michael and willie were involved.
It just all started adding up.
[jeffrey] those were the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle
For the investigators.
[theme music]
[narrator] on March 12, 1998,
Nearly one month into the search for bobby sexton,
Investigators in cherokee county, texas
Receive a game-changing tip
That places michael fielding an willie wright in bobby's vehicl
The night he disappeared.
[casey] a friend of michael fielding said that
Early in that morning of February 21st,
He got a call from michael saying that he was out of gas
And that michael needed to come by and pick up a gas can.
[steven] he did give michael fielding the gas.
He didn't really think anything of it.
When newspaper articles come out,
It jars the memory of people,
And then they start realizing, you know,
This wasn't right,
And they'll call law enforcement
And, you know, tell them what they know.
[narrator] if willie and michael
Are responsible for bobby's disappearance,
Investigators need to determine why.
Conveniently for detectives,
Willie wright gets arrested on March 17th
For public intoxication.
So they use this opportunity to question him in custody.
[jeffrey] I think at that time, willie was in his 50's.
And he had been itinerant, a little bit of a vagrant.
He looked terrible.
He was aged well beyond his years.
[steven] willie was told that there was witnesses
That placed him with michael fielding
In bobby sexton's vehicle that night.
And willie broke down.
He crumbled like a rose petal in August
And confessed to all of this.
[narrator] willie confirms investigators' suspicions
That bobby is dead.
[steven] willie confessed that
He got bobby to come down to the shop,
Where michael fielding jumped up and shot bobby in the chest
With the shotgun.
[gunshot]
[elmer] willie indicated he is the one
That provided the shotgun
That michael fielding used to kill bobby sexton.
That he aided michael fielding
In disposing of bobby sexton's body,
Loading it in the suburban,
And then going to the location to where the body was dumped.
[jeffrey] michael knew that area pretty well.
So the decision was made that michael fielding
Would transport bobby sexton's corpse
To one of those exxon oil leases,
Leave his corpse there.
They had taken two vehicles
So they could ditch bobby's suburban.
But then ironically, michael's car ran out of gas.
They got spooked, so they both jumped into bobby's vehicle
And found the next bridge to dump the body.
[jeffrey] michael fielding stopped the automobile
On one of the bridges over a creek in that area
And threw bobby sexton's body over the bridge
And into the underlying creek.
They disposed of a tire and a tire jack,
Both to weigh the body down and 'cause there was blood on it.
[casey] after they've dumped the body,
They decide to abandon the suv near diboll, texas,
Which is a short drive away,
And they just left the suburban there with the keys in it.
[narrator] but the real bombshell drops
When willie reveals why michael was involved in the murder
Of one of his oldest friends.
[jeffrey] michael fielding was having an affair at that time
With patricia sexton.
[casey] michael and patricia had been seeing each other
Since November for nearly five months.
They met in secret at a hotel.
Sometime in mid February,
Bobby found out about the affair,
And there was an incident.
[jeffrey] bobby had followed them
To the southern motor hotel in rusk.
Bobby sexton banged on the door, kicked on the door.
Michael fielding answers the door.
Bobby sees what's happening,
And they engage in a fistfight right there.
[narrator] according to willie,
The fight ended when bobby stormed out.
Bobby went home, got his girls,
Loaded up, and went to his mother's house.
And that's where he stayed.
I didn't know about michael
'til bobby brought it out in the open
They were having an affair.
I couldn't believe it.
Michael fielding and bobby went to school together.
They were raised together.
Eventually, patricia did say
That her affair with michael was over.
Come home, the children need both a mother and a father.
Bobby gave in and did go back.
And that was just before the murder.
But the affair continued.
Law enforcement reasonably started to assume,
Hey, maybe patricia sexton is involved
In the disappearance of bobby sexton.
[narrator] following willie's statement,
He agrees to show investigators
Where he and michael dumped bobby's body.
They drive around looking, you know,
For the spot where willie had helped michael
Throw the body in.
It was possibly 200 bridges that they had gone to
With no luck in finding the body.
And it wasn't until they moved over to anderson county
That, uh...Willie made the statement,
"this is it. This is the spot."
And the investigators saw
What appeared to be a body floating,
And that's what led to us recovering bobby sexton's body.
Once it was on the bank,
We noticed that there was
A shotgun hole in the chest area.
He was decomposed.
[jeffrey] he had been exposed to weather, the elements,
During that time, which can be cruel.
And of course, you've got the snakes and turtles and fish
In the water.
And it was...It was horrific.
[steven] the body was taken to dallas,
To the medical examiner.
[narrator] a subsequent search of the property
Where bobby was allegedly kille turns up valuable evidence.
We walked all around the property.
Every inch of the place.
There was a couple leaves that had a red substance on there
That was later determined to be blood.
They typed the blood, and it was the same type as bobby had.
My thinking is that somebody may have done something
To clean up the area
'cause with a shotgun blast, there should've been
A lot of blood.
But there was no evidence found in the mechanic shop itself.
[elmer] bobby sexton's body was identified through the autopsy,
Specifically the disk that was in his back.
The autopsy indicated that
Cause of death was a shotgun blast,
And death was very quickly after that.
[steven] willie wright was charged
With tampering with evidence.
His part of obtaining a shotgun for michael
And helping dispose of the body
On March 26th, michael fielding was taken into custody
And charged with capital murder of bobby sexton.
[brandi] my sister was devastated.
She didn't wanna believe that bobby was gone.
None of us did.
[linda] that was the end of her racing career.
She took her fire suit, her racing stuff...
And pictures, and she put 'em in the casket with him.
And she said, "I'm done.
I won't ever race again."
And never did.
[narrator] when investigators confront patricia
About her affair with michael,
She denies the claims,
And insists that her marriage to bobby was stronger than ever
[casey] the looming question was,
Why would willie wright make that detail up?
At this point, investigators didn't believe patricia,
But they needed more evidence that she knew of the plot
To kill her husband.
[narrator] when investigators finally sit down
With michael fielding,
He makes a stunning admission.
[jeffrey] michael fielding, to his honor and to his benefit
Readily admitted that he murdered bobby sexton.
[elmer] but he said, without question,
The driving force was patricia sexton.
[theme music]
[narrator] more than a month after bobby sexton
Was reported missing,
Michael fielding has implicated bobby's wife, patricia,
In the crime.
[elmer] fielding said patricia told him
She didn't want to be with bobby anymore.
She couldn't take it anymore.
But she couldn't divorce him because he would get the kids.
[narrator] michael tells investigators
That patricia had initially come up with an idea
To get bobby arrested.
Patricia wanted to plant, uh, some narcotics
In, uh, bobby's vehicle.
But that plan didn't work out.
So that's when they decided that, uh,
Bobby had to be murdered.
And then michael said bobby was receiving disability benefits,
And that upon his death, patricia would get a lump sum,
Which was supposed to be over $100,000.
She wanted the money,
And the fact that she wanted to be sure
Bobby did not get the children,
And that led to her setting up the plan with michael fielding
To end bobby's life.
Michael said that patricia had threatened to end their affair
If michael didn't go through with this.
Michael still didn't want to do it,
But he didn't want the affair to end,
So he carried it out.
[narrator] according to michael,
Patricia came up with the plan for willie
To call bobby to the mechanic shop
On the night of February 20th.
Michael said that bobby had walked in the shop
Because it was just down the street from the house.
[steven] michael fielding was hid behind a car,
And jumped up and shot bobby sexton in the chest.
[gunshot]
[casey] michael told investigators
That patricia called and asked if the deed was done.
[steven] then michael had asked her,
"where's the keys to the car, the suburban?"
She said she did not have the keys.
They're probably in bobby's pocket.
At that point, michael fielding reached into the pocket
And retrieved the keys to the suburban.
[narrator] michael says patricia arrived to the shop
Just after midnight.
[elmer] patricia came and got the keys,
And then went and got the suburban, brought it down.
And that's when he and willie wright
Loaded the body in the suburban.
Michael fielding believed that patricia
Had cleaned up the crime scene.
But he didn't see it, so he couldn't testify to it.
[narrator] when asked if any of patricia's family
Knew about the murder,
Michael claims that patricia had included one more person
In the plot to kill bobby.
[jeffrey] michael fielding told me
He and patricia and dorothy, patricia's maternal grandmother,
Conceived the plot to murder bobby sexton.
[steven] patricia sexton was telling michael fielding
And dorothy about bobby abusing her.
Patricia said bobby kind of resented her
Because she couldn't give him a son.
So he got very physical.
Every time he got mad, he would punch a wall.
[jeffrey] dorothy and patricia bingham believed
The only way patricia would ever get her kids
Is for bobby to be out of the way
And ultimately result in, in his murder.
[steven] at first, michael fielding, he said no.
Dorothy bingham and patricia just kept at him.
And finally he agreed to do it.
[jeffrey] fielding said that dorothy gave him surgical glove
And said he could use those in doing the murder
So there was no physical evidence.
There was also no physical evidence
Connecting patricia to the murder.
[narrator] while it's clear to investigators
That michael and patricia are involved in the murder,
Michael's confession isn't enough
To arrest patricia and dorothy.
Several weeks later, an unexpected informant
Comes forward.
Patricia's mother, linda, was caught with narcotics
And was arrested.
When she was brought into questioning,
She was wanting to give up
Dorothy and patricia's involvement
If law enforcement would talk to the da about her charges,
Which they agreed to talk to him.
[casey] ultimately, linda confirmed
That her mother and her daughte
Were in this plot to kill bobby sexton.
[narrator] in August of 1998,
Authorities take patricia sexto
And dorothy bingham into custody.
During questioning,
Both women maintained their innocence.
[casey] at this point, patricia admitted
That she had an affair with michael.
She said that when bobby went missing,
She knew in her heart that it was probably michael,
But that she was too afraid to say anything.
She claimed that she had
No firsthand knowledge of the murder,
So she couldn't truly be sure.
Patricia said, "michael had been lying to us."
She refused to implicate her grandmother.
[steven] her stories just didn't make any sense
In the evidence and statements of other people
Concerning the involvement between her and michael
And all that.
She just denied everything.
Patricia and dorothy were charged with capital murder.
[elmer] there's no more serious crime
Than capital murder.
Pretty good chance you get indicted,
You're gonna get executed.
[narrator] coming up,
As the case heads to trial,
Authorities fear that conflicting stories
And unreliable witnesses will upend their case.
[bobby] that happens a lot in cases like this.
When people get in trouble,
They start pointing the fingers at one another.
I don't think that justice was done.
[theme music]
[narrator] in jacksonville, texas,
Authorities have arrested michael fielding
And his lover, patricia sexton,
For the capital murder of patricia's husband, bobby.
Also implicated in the crime ar bobby's coworker, willie wright
And patricia's grandmother, dorothy bingham.
[brandi] that was a hard hit for us.
Once my grandmother was arrested,
Cps stepped in and took us.
[chasidy] I was six.
My sisters were five and four.
What were we gonna say at that time?
We still weren't comprehending what was going on.
[narrator] investigators still have questions
About al clark's alibi.
Al clark and bobby sexton did not get along.
But the evidence that the investigators came up with
Was circumstantial.
And eventually, al clark was ruled out as a suspect.
[narrator] unfortunately, in the months leading up to trial,
Willie wright passes away.
Prosecutors no longer had the key witness
Against michael fielding.
I started talking with the da's office
About ways to try to save michael's life.
The sentence that I negotiated for him with the da's office
Was 35 years in prison.
Part of our agreement with the da's office
Was that he would fully cooperate with law enforcement,
And that's what he did.
[narrator] on April 20, 1999,
Patricia sexton's trial gets underway.
There was evidence that the motive was at least twofold--
That she wanted the kids and did not believe
She would get custody unless he was out of the picture.
She also wanted the benefits from the disability claim,
Even though it wasn't adjudicated yet.
Dorothy and patricia, in my opinion,
They were the ringleaders of all this,
The way they kept telling michael
He needed to do this.
Had they not done that,
Bobby sexton would still be alive, in my opinion.
[narrator] but patricia's defense team claims
Michael had every reason to lie
[bobby] our defense was he was in love with her.
They were having an affair.
That's all just a lover's triangle,
And he was trying to get rid of a rival.
We had some confidence that we could make the jury believe
That fielding was in this just as a jealous lover.
[narrator] on the stand, however,
Michael stands firm.
[elmer] michael relented that
He had an ongoing affair with patricia,
And he was essentially willing to do
Whatever patricia wanted him to do.
[bobby] we believed he's up there lying,
Trying to put her in it.
That happens a lot in these, uh, cases like this.
When people get in trouble,
They start pointing the fingers at one another.
[narrator] the state's star witness
Is none other than patricia's mother, linda.
Linda gail bingham's testimony was a major part
Because she overheard some of the conversations
With patricia and with dorothy.
It was her view that patricia, acting with dorothy,
Were the masterminds of this plot.
What little I knew, everybody else was saying.
That aggravates me because people say,
"well, you're the one that sent her to prison."
No.
What I said, everybody else said.
I wasn't gonna lie.
I don't--I'm not lying for nobody.
My mother always said
As long as everybody just tells the truth,
Everything's gonna be all right
Exactly what everybody did, and it wasn't all right.
[narrator] patricia's trial lasts three days.
The jury deliberates for several hours,
Ultimately submitting their verdict on April 23rd.
[juror] we, the jury, find the defendant, patricia sexton,
Guilty of the lesser included offense of murder.
[narrator] patricia avoids the death penalty,
But is sentenced to life in prison.
Patricia's grandmother and alleged co-conspirator,
Dorothy bingham, is also found guilty
At her trial in June 2000.
She received a conviction for engaging in
Organized criminal activity and murder.
[narrator] dorothy is sentenced to 30 years in prison,
But she serves less than three.
Dorothy bingham's case was reversed
By the tyler court of appeals.
It was determined that there wa
Not sufficient corroborating evidence.
When my grandmother's conviction was overturned,
It was the greatest thing.
I feel like she was wrongfully convicted.
[steven] the fact that dorothy was released,
Personally, I don't think
That justice was done on her part.
But, you know, it's out of our control.
[narrator] 25 years later, patricia sexton continues
To maintain her innocence.
[brandi] there are a lot of innocent people
That are incarcerated.
And I will believe that she is innocent
Until the day I die.
[chasidy] I still have questions
About everything that's happened.
Will I ever get the 100 percent truth?
Probably not.
[brandi] unfortunately, when you keep secrets,
They tend to bottle up and then explode.
[chasidy] there's not too many days that go by
That my family doesn't say something about my dad
Or talk about how they miss him
Or how things would be different if my dad as here.
[jeffrey] it was very sad.
Think of all the lives ruined. Think of families ruined.
For nothing.
[chasidy] everything a girl's mom
Is supposed to help her do...
...I didn't get that.
Daddy-daughter dances,
Stuff that you go to with your dad--
I didn't go to those.
When I decide to settle down and get married,
My dad doesn't get to walk me down the aisle.
I'll never have a relationship with my mom
'cause what she did to not only me, but my family,
Was the most unfair thing that you could've done to anybody,
Especially your three little girls.
But you know what they say, life's not fair.
It really isn't.
[music]