- Hey, Kenny. - Bobby, baby. Sweetheart!
[narrator] Strong friendships are the foundation
of tight-knit communities.
They were each other's support system.
Try taking the yellow one first, man.
This is like a father and son relationship.
[narrator] But close quarters can cause tempers to flare.
Just stay from my fence.
Two alpha personalities suddenly at odds.
- You did it! - Prove it.
[narrator] And once shots are fired...
This isn't over!
[narrator] ...it becomes a fight to the death.
I'll break your neck if I ever see you again!
Cooper! Come quick!
You have a neighbor from hell, and you're stuck with him.
Fire, fire.
I was shocked that it went that far.
You should be locked up!
No! Stop it!
None of us ever considered that it would turn violent.
- [Bobby] Kenny! You're dead! - He's going to kill us.
- [August] Bobby! - No!
Hi, daddy.
This isn't over.
[sirens]
[narrator] Frankford is a suburb of Philadelphia
filled with diverse working class families.
[Kelley] It's a very robust,
you know, active, vibrant urban neighborhood,
like many neighborhoods and cities around the country.
[narrator] On James Street,
close neighbors spend a lot of time together.
So we all share porches and steps.
Now, you know, people sit out often.
It's crazy, but it's a good block.
[narrator] Kenny Hoyle and his wife, Maria,
have staked their claim here for almost two decades.
You think it's time for that break now?
Are you kidding? This is my break.
- Oh, come on. - I'm telling you.
[Joseph] Mr. Boyle was a Navy veteran.
He was a Navy machinist.
He retired, living a very quiet life.
[Allan] I knew that Kenny was a vet,
just by the way he looked.
Short, crewcut hair, you know, stand up straight.
And Maria kept an eye on the block.
[narrator] The Hoyles are looking forward
to spending their retirement
working on their beautiful residence.
[Joseph] They were happy with their home.
That's truly where their heart was.
They enjoyed the company of their dog, Cooper,
and kept to themselves for the most part.
Hey, Kenny.
Bobby, baby, sweetheart.
You're still working on that thing?
Yeah, absolutely, man. I got to get it going.
[narrator] Bobby DePaul has lived next door
to the Hoyles for over 15 years.
- Hey, Bobby. - Hey, Maria, how you doing?
[Allan] Bobby and Kenny were friends,
and you can't live that close to someone
and not treat them as family that way.
[August] Bob!
Playing nice over there?
[Bobby] Of course. [narrator] Bobby's girlfriend,
August Dempsey, spends weekends at his place,
often with his four children from previous relationships.
[Lester] August, she kept Bobby in check,
she made sure his clothes was clean,
make sure he was up for work, great woman.
She was the right one for Bobby.
[Allan] Bobby was a well-known figure in the neighborhood.
He was very neighborly.
He would have done whatever I needed
at any time.
Drop of a hat, day or night.
[narrator] The two couples enjoy each other's company,
a good thing given their close quarters.
[Joseph] Their houses were essentially together.
It was one property
with a wall between the two, separating the two homes.
[narrator] Bobby and Kenny share more than just a wall.
Bobby is also an avid mechanic,
and together, the two gearheads
rented garage space nearby.
How is that air conditioner coming?
It's coming.
You sure that's going to fix it?
[Kenny] There's always hope.
[Joseph] They would sit there, have a beer,
do some mechanic work.
Oh, no, no, no,
try taking the other one first, man.
Kenny knows best.
[Kenny] You're right. Kenny does.
Now you're getting it.
[Jude] Bobby was like an apprentice.
It was like father and son relationship almost.
So he was very respectful to him.
[narrator] But one wrong move can turn good friends
into sworn enemies.
- We're done! - I'll show you done.
You're dead, DePaul!
[laughing]
- Kenny! - Stop it!
[narrator] All is well on James Street,
for now.
[Joseph] The Hoyle's backyard was quaint,
it was just something that you could tell
that two people really took the time to care about.
They had their flowers, their vegetable garden.
It was something that they truly enjoyed.
[narrator] Meanwhile,
Bobby is planning a major improvement
to his backyard.
Kenny, how goes the battle?
Bobby, it's good, man. How are you?
Good. Wow! Tomatoes are looking great.
[Kenny] Thanks. It's a lot of work.
- Great news, though. - [Kenny] What's that?
Came up with my next project. I'm going to build a shed.
Shed? Nice.
[Lester] Bobby wanted to build a little shed in his yard
to keep his lawn mower, weed whacker, barbecue grill.
If I remove this part of the fence here
and maybe just a bit of this section,
then I should be able to snug it right up to the line,
it'll fit perfect.
[Joseph] It was something that went beyond a simple shed
more to a garage.
And this was not acceptable to Mr. Hoyle.
Oh, no, no, come on, you can build your shed,
but don't be touching my fence.
You can't be doing that, Bobby, come on.
Why don't you just make the damn thing a foot smaller?
That's all you got to do.
[Lester] For some reason that shed
just sent Kenny off,
like, how dare you build some next to my property
without my permission?
I made the blueprints already.
So, I mean, it's got to be like this.
You know what, Bobby? That's your problem.
Build your shed. Just stay away from my fence.
Fine. Whatever you say.
[narrator] Kenny manages to shake off his frustration.
How is that breakfast coming?
It's coming. It's coming. Hold your horses.
Coop! Good boy, look at you, eh?
[narrator] But it's about to resurface.
Go on.
[crashing]
What on earth?
[crashing]
[Kenny] Hey!
What the hell are you doing?
Hey, Ken.
Gorgeous day.
What are you doing?
There's rules for all this kind of stuff.
Building my shed.
[Allan] The SHED, capitals.
It's was pretty big.
It wasn't just a one story thing.
From my impression, it could have been
an en suite, like, separate little house.
Look at the high of it, it's over...
it's on the property line and everything, man.
It was put in a spot that allegedly
Kenny Hoyle said Bobby didn't have permission
to put it there.
It was a problem, immediately.
Maria's garden was affected by the shed.
You know the work I put into these plants.
- Bobby, come on. - Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I told you to stay away from my fence.
- You just don't listen. - Hey, hey, hey,
I don't remember shaking on it.
- Oh, come on, Bobby, grow up. - You're such a jerk, man.
[Lester] I just think they took it personal.
I think that they did think
Bobby was building the shed to make them mad.
And that's when everything really started
going really bad, downhill between them two.
[narrator] Bobby isn't backing down.
So Kenny takes another approach.
Yeah. Licensing and Inspection?
Yeah. My neighbor's building a shed without a permit.
[narrator] He sends a city inspector
to halt the construction.
[Lester] That really ticked Bobby off.
That's when the tensions got really high.
[Allan] Calling Licenses and Inspections
'cause you don't have a permit?
Neighbors don't do that to one another.
It added a level of betrayal.
[narrator] Kenny's plan succeeds.
You're fining me?
Is this a fine or tuition?
[Joseph] He was fined a significant amount of money
in the tens of thousands,
in order to cease building.
I thought Kenny was your friend.
- Not anymore. - This is unbelievable.
[Lester] Bobby was mad.
Bobby wanted to go next door and argue.
If I have to sell my bike to pay for this,
- he's going to lose his teeth! - No, no, no way.
I'm going to fight this.
[Lester] August, she was upset,
but she had Bobby's back.
She kept Bobby in line.
[narrator] August files a formal appeal,
but the process will take weeks.
Reporting your neighbor to anybody
is not a positive thing for a relationship.
People are offended by it.
[Allan] In a perfect world,
everyone can smooth things over.
But, you know, it's hard to get over things,
especially when you're that close.
Bob!
Bob?
I'll kill you!
Bobby was just obsessed with the fact
that they ordered him to tear down the shed.
Old man, you're sick!
Trying to control me on my property?
Whoa, whoa, calm down.
Bobby had a temper and he was known
to have some problems in the past with,
you know, his anger.
What's wrong with you?
You're dead!
We'll talk once you calm down, man.
This isn't over!
What is wrong with him?
He's really going overboard this time,
totally out of control.
[narrator] And Bobby's just getting started.
[Allan] He just felt, like, now it's a war.
And then, everything I'm going to do
to make your life more difficult
because you did this thing to me.
You and me, we're done!
[Lester] Bobby was irate over that.
I've never seen Bobby so mad.
Screw you, Kenny! Do you hear me?
[narrator] Bobby DePaul's tirade continues inside,
and the thin walls provide little protection
for Kenny and Maria Hoyle.
It's close living. You can hear everything.
You're separated by two courses of brick.
That's it.
I know you're listening!
You and Maria right now, aren't you?
Nobody tells me what to do! Especially you!
Old man! You hear me?
Bobby, knock it off!
[laughing]
[Jude] It was all because of the complaint.
That was the catalyst to the whole situation
that just escalated.
[Lester] Bobby believed what Bobby built on his property
was Bobby's concern and nobody else's.
I'll wreck your neck if I ever see you again!
- You hear me? - Bobby, just shut the hell up!
This is crazy. This is insane.
Leave us alone, will you?
[Alan] I don't think they spoke to each other
as friends after the shed at all.
The friendship and the neighborly attitude
towards one another went out the window.
[narrator] Kenny attempts to settle back into his routine,
but Bobby's jarring outburst is hard to forget.
[Kelley] From the perspective of Kenny Hoyle,
Bobby was somebody that he was worried about
and in fear of.
[engine running]
He's here.
And I couldn't imagine coming home every day
and not being able to say hi to my neighbor.
[narrator] Hoping to restore the peace,
Kenny reaches out to Bobby
and gets a surprising response.
Bobby, we need to talk about what happened yesterday.
Hey, buddy, it's great to see you.
[Joseph] Bobby suffered
from this almost Jekyll and Hyde type personality.
When he was sober,
he was somebody who people wanted to be around.
Hey, honey, lunch is ready.
[Joseph] But when he consumed alcohol,
he became violent, aggressive.
He was definitely someone you wanted to avoid.
I gotta go.
Hey! Garage later?
All right?
He hadn't had a personality flip like that for ages.
[narrator] Kenny and Maria realized
what's going on.
Their neighbor's drinking is getting out of control again.
Get your act together, DePaul!
Lay off the sauce.
[Joseph] The Hoyles didn't know
what version of Mr. DePaul they were going to get.
[Allan] Just knowing that he was a drinker,
I tried to stay off of his bad side.
Kind of seemed dangerous.
[narrator] Weeks later, Kenny is blindsided again
when Bobby and August receive some good news.
[Joseph] Miss Dempsey was proactive
in the appeal process.
The appeal was granted
and the shed was permitted to stay.
That must've drove Kenny nuts because Bobby won.
Doing great, babe.
[Lester] Bobby built that thing
at less than three days, I believe.
It was one hell of a shed.
[Bobby] Oh, here comes King Kenny.
Here to order me around again?
I did what I had to do. All right?
[Kelley] This relationship was something
that couldn't be turned around.
It all seemed to stem from that shed.
[Kelley] It's still there
and is still irritating for Kenny.
That's definitely going to be a thorn
in the side of any relationship,
especially as neighbors.
[narrator] The next time something crosses his property line,
Kenny's rage spikes.
Looks good.
- Thanks. - [Joseph] It was one day
in particular where children were throwing a ball.
Hey, what are you kids doing?
Who threw the ball over?
What's all the yelling about?
[Lester] That's probably the first time
that I ever seen him irate.
Everyone was just in shock.
Why do you keep it in the park?
- Hey! - Keep them kids of yours under control, will ya?
They're just kids.
Just kids. Oh, yeah.
And you're just a father, you know what?
Why don't you try acting like one?
- That is uncalled for. - [Kenny] Shut up.
Uh, Kenny, that's enough. You're out of line.
[Lester] Bobby feels, though, "This is my home,
I can do what I want."
And then Kenny would feel, "This is my home
and I should see and hear what I want."
You're lucky my kids are here.
- Oh, yeah, boo-frickin'-hoo. - You're not worth it.
Yeah, that's right. Go away. You can't finish the argument.
[Allan] You had these two Alpha personalities
suddenly at odds
and it was petty, but obviously escalated.
Jerk.
[narrator] If Bobby can't enjoy
his side of the fence,
neither can his neighbor.
[Joseph] The Hoyles began to notice
certain issues with their property.
They noticed that their flowers had died,
smelled the flowers,
it appeared to be bleach on their flowers.
Did you do something to my flowers?
No. Is there something wrong with them?
They smell like bleach.
Crazy world.
[Allan] It seemed to develop like a sort of one-upmanship,
the back and forth between Bob and Ken
was a, like,
"If you keep messing with me, you're going to regret it."
[narrator] When Bobby DePaul decides to throw a party,
it triggers the next wave of conflict
with neighbor Kenny Hoyle.
[Lester] It was Fourth of July.
Everything was calm.
Bobby threw some spare ribs on the grill.
And I guess when the barbecue sauce hit the flames,
it really caused some smoke.
Oh, Bobby, could you make the smoke any thicker?
This is called cooking.
Bobby, stop.
What's wrong with it?
[Bobby] Do you want ribs or not?
This is how I make my ribs.
[Lester] Ten minutes later,
Kenny comes storming out the door.
Came to complain about the smoke.
What the hell is going on?
Your smoke's stinging my eyes!
[Lester] He was just snapping, he was yelling
and face was getting red.
He was mad.
It's a barbecue. What do you expect?
Don't talk back to me!
Why don't you just come on over
and have a hot dog?
Bobby said, "It's my yard. I'm having a barbecue.
Call the cops on that."
And you know what? Keep your voice down.
My kids are trying to have fun.
[Lester] And Kenny did.
He called the cops on a barbecue.
[narrator] Not only does Kenny call the police,
he also reports a fire.
I was just having a cookout.
Mr. Hoyle, when you called us,
you said there was an uncontrolled fire.
I thought there was. There was so much smoke.
[policeman] This is a huge waste of time.
Next time his smoke or whatever bothers you,
just close up your windows.
[Lester] He pretty much told him, you know,
"You really just can't keep calling us
for stuff like this."
[Kelley] You know, the police and firefighters,
and emergency responders are extremely busy.
Why are you doing that
and making, in essence, a false report?
[Lester] I guess that wasn't the response
that Kenny wanted and he went in the house mad.
[narrator] Bobby won't let Kenny have the last word.
[Allan] It was definitely an ego-driven kind of thing.
If Kenny could have let go of the things
that bothered him so much,
the arguments could have stopped, you know.
[narrator] Bobby has the upper hand
and he plans on keeping it that way.
[Lester] You got a neighbor from hell
and you're stuck with him.
He definitely pushed Bobby's buttons a lot.
He knew how to get to Bobby,
and unfortunately, they met the wrong neighbor
because Bobby wasn't having none of it.
[narrator] The next morning,
the Hoyles wake to a nasty surprise.
[Hayden] Hoyle found maggots on his porch
and believed they were placed there by DePaul.
It was a sufficient amount.
It was described as a bucket of maggots
were tossed on their front patio.
[narrator] Kenny summons the police once again,
this time demanding Bobby's arrest.
[policeman] You have any cameras, you know,
anything to prove that this is the work of your neighbor?
I know it's him. Who else is it going to be?
You need proof. I need something.
I don't have any cameras. No!
They had no actual proof
that Mr. DePaul was the cause of this vandalism.
I want you to do your job, man,
I want you to lock him up.
You don't have any evidence. What do you expect me to do?
[Kelley] So I'm sure for Kenny he was feeling like,
"I'm not getting any support in what I believe
Bobby's doing to affect my home
"and make my living horrible."
- It's disgusting. - I know.
[Joseph] This situation could have been something
that two reasonable people could have worked through
and in this case,
the personalities between the parties
would not permit that.
Kenny! Kenny!
[narrator] Despite his misery,
Kenny refuses to surrender.
Bobby!
That's it.
You and me, we're done! For good!
Oh, yeah? I'll show you done.
These are grown men and they're acting like children.
You harassed me, you ruined my party,
and now you're going to spread lies about me?
Bob! Take a step back.
[Allan] From Bob's perspective,
he hasn't done anything, besides build the stupid shed
that the neighbors don't like.
So he felt like he was being harassed by these people.
[narrator] Bobby won't let Kenny have the last word.
C'mon, c'mon, just come to bed.
[Lester] Bobby wasn't Bobby anymore, after a while,
always miserable, always saying
that his neighbor's saying this, neighbor's saying that.
Come on, stop. Please, stop.
Please, stop.
Come on. Just--
[Allan] It was all testosterone driven
and nobody would have thought it would have ever escalated
as far as it did.
None of us ever considered that it would turn violent.
You're dead, DePaul!
You'll pay for this.
[Kelley] They were once neighbors who were neighborly.
Along the way, that turned.
[narrator] The war between Kenny Hoyle
and Bobby DePaul has taken a vicious turn.
What the hell?
[Joseph] There was a large stone that was thrown
through the front passenger side window.
[Allan] Broken windows.
That's like security and safety, right?
So I imagine that that felt very threatening.
Looks like someone's really got it out for you.
[Jude] Obviously, something's happening here.
This thing is escalating.
It sucks about your window.
You did it!
Prove it.
That rock looks familiar.
[Joseph] The issue with this specific rock was it...
was part of the foundation of the shed in the backyard.
[narrator] Kenny's finally got Bobby cornered.
Hello, police?
Some maniac just attacked my property.
I didn't do it.
It's my control freak neighbor.
He's got it out for me.
He's lying.
That rock matches the ones on the bottom of his shed.
But that doesn't mean he's the one that broke your window.
Exactly! Exactly!
It just magically appeared out of the sky, did it?
[August] Oh, come on. [cop] Just relax!
[Joseph] There was no direct evidence to suggest
it was Mr. DePaul.
He always, somehow, was unable to be caught by the police.
You're not going to help me this time either?
- No. - [Jude] Kenny and Maria,
you know, they just keep going
and keep trying and doing...
You know, you try to do the right thing
and nothing happens.
Get evidence and then you call in,
otherwise, you guys handle this yourselves.
Understood?
You got it?
[Allan] I can't imagine being in the position
where you're relying on those cops for your safety
and they're not seeing the problem that you see.
[narrator] Until Kenny can get proof,
he'll have to fight this war on his own.
And he's prepared to do whatever it takes.
[Joseph] Mr. Hoyle was a licensed firearm owner.
[Jude] I could see him being prepared to protect his property.
People have real guns to protect their homesteads, this is a big city.
[narrator] In the meantime, the Hoyles take steps
to avoid any more vandalism to their car.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoyle began to park their vehicles
three to four blocks away from their home.
In the summer, you're parking on a hot day,
having to walk four or five blocks when you're 70 years old.
It's a big undertaking.
[Jude] That would take a toll on anybody.
I could just see how that could
add to the frustrations of Kenny and Maria.
[narrator] When Bobby, unknowingly,
gives Kenny the opening he needs...
[Kenny] I have an idea
how to teach that moron some rules.
[narrator] He takes one more stab
at getting the authorities involved.
Give me the bylaw office.
My neighbor is breaking the law.
[Lester] In Philadelphia,
you can only have your trash cans out
on the day of trash pick-up.
And Bobby used to put his trash out
the night before.
[knocking on door]
Stop this! Stop it now!
[Lester] Bobby received a few tickets in the mail
because Bobby's trash was out the day early.
This is what happens when you ignore the rules.
You're such a hypocrite.
You do the same thing with your trash.
You have two men that are pushing each other
to see how far the other one will go.
When will you stop? When will you learn?
You'll pay for this.
Oh, yeah?
I got a surprise for you, Bob. Look up.
[Joseph] So once the Hoyles were experiencing
the increased level of vandalism,
they had installed a camera system in their home.
[narrator] Kenny is ensuring that Bobby has no moves left.
[Kelley] You would think at that point
that would close the door
to basically say, "We're done."
[narrator] Yet, within days,
the battle escalates
from aggravating to heartbreaking.
[Joseph] The Hoyles Rottweiler was not acting normally,
laying down, kind of whimpering.
Cooper?
Cooper.
Cooper, come on.
Maria, come quick!
[Joseph] The Hoyles immediately
take their dog to the vet.
The dog was diagnosed with having being poisoned.
[narrator] Tragically, Cooper passes away.
Kenny, stop. You don't know if he did it.
Kenny. Kenny, please. Kenny.
You're dead, DePaul!
Dead!
[Joseph] The dog became sick
at a time that there was issues
between the two parties.
I think anybody who hears those facts
would assume that the primary suspect
would have been Mr. DePaul.
I can't imagine anyone doing that to someone else's dog.
That's evil, right?
That's evil, to kill someone's dog.
[Maria] Kenny!
Bobby! You killed Cooper!
Kenny, stop it!
You're sick!
[Lester] Bobby had no reason to poison that dog,
the dog didn't do nothing.
Bobby never complained about the dog.
How are we supposed to stop it?
[Kenny] You're sick!
I didn't do it! I didn't kill your ugly mutt!
[Jude] I think he's certainly obsessed enough
to come up with such a plan.
But whether or not he did it is just speculation.
[Allan] You don't kill someone's dog.
That's serious business.
And to be accused of killing someone's dog,
it's even... it's even worse.
I know it was you!
Kenny, please, please, just stop. Stop.
I can't... He's crazy.
[narrator] While Kenny and Maria mourn their devastating loss,
their neighbor's temper is flaring.
[Lester] The bleach with the flowers and the maggots.
That was hilarious to him.
But when they mentioned that he killed the dog,
that wasn't funny to Bobby.
Not at all.
[narrator] And the wall separating the two men
is about to heat up even more.
It just got more and more... insane.
Do you smell smoke?
Fire! Fire! Come on.
[Lester] I was shocked.
I was-- I couldn't believe it,
that it went that far.
- [Bobby] Kenny! - What's going on now?
You're dead, Hoyle!
No! Stop it!
[Joseph] The vandalism started to pick up.
The instances continuously got more aggressive.
[narrator] Smoke continues to fill Kenny and Maria's home,
but there's no sign of a fire.
[Kenny] There it is.
It's coming in here.
He's pumping smoke into our house.
[Hayden] Mr. DePaul had installed
a wood burning stove in his property.
Hoyle believed that DePaul
misconstructed his own wood burning stove in his home,
simply in order to blow smoke into Hoyle's living space.
[alarm beeping]
Block it!
[coughing]
Here, take this too.
[Kenny] Open the door.
[Lester] And the accusations,
the dog dying and the flowers and the maggots,
Bobby was sick of it.
[Joseph] Mr. DePaul would flat out say,
"You know, I've had enough of you,
I've had enough of this whole situation,
I'm going to do whatever I can to make you move."
[rock music playing]
Is he having a party?
[groaning]
[Joseph] Mr. DePaul would play music.
He would blast the music.
He would put it on with the intention
of just causing a disturbance to Hoyle.
What the hell is going on now?
Shut that racket off, would you?
Definitely drinking made him louder and more obnoxious.
He's out there 01:00, 02:00 o'clock in the morning, rocking out.
DePaul, I know you can hear me!
Kill yourself, will you?
[Joseph] There was a floodlight
that was attached to the top of the shed
that was angled to shine into Mr. Hoyle's window.
[groaning]
You're sick!
- Shut that light off! - [laughing maliciously]
DePaul! turn it off!
[Allan] If that light was purposefully put
to shine in the house
then that's horrible,
but it's also possible
that they just let it drive them crazy.
[narrator] Kenny and Maria decide to concede,
but run into more problems.
They were unable to move. They're both retired.
You know, to get a mortgage to move to another area
was close to being impossible at that time.
So they were stuck.
They were imprisoned in their own home.
[Lester] Bobby was like, "I'm not moving,
this is my home".
Bobby put a lot of sweat and tears in that home.
They were both kind of bullies in their own way.
So you get two leaders together and, you know,
one of them has to try and establish that dominance
or to see when they can break the other,
even with the petty back and forth,
you would wonder what's next,
but never would you worry about what's next.
No one thought that it was ever going to turn
into something like this.
[narrator] The next showdown
changes the neighborhood forever.
[DePaul] Hoyle, where are you?
[Joseph] She hears Mr. DePaul enter the backyard
and begin to yell,
screaming profanities about Kenny.
It's over for you, Hoyle!
- You're dead, Hoyle! - Bobby, you're acting crazy.
What are you doing?
[Kelley] Bobby had been drinking.
And so he was under the influence,
and August is trying to tell Bobby to let it go.
[DePaul] Get out here, you coward!
Where are you?
Get out here, Hoyle!
- Where are you? - Bobby, don't! Stop it!
I'll stop when he's dead!
- Stop it. You're acting crazy. - Get out here!
You won't move your fence, uh?
I'll move it for you!
[Joseph] Mr. Hoyle notices
that Mr. DePaul is destroying his fence.
I can do what I want!
There's no kids here, no cops!
It's just me and him!
It was simply just blind aggression, blind anger.
What the hell are you doing?
There he is!
Yeah, I'm here. What are you doing?
You're dead!
- You're dead, man! - Go back to bed, man!
[Jude] I'm coming home,
close to 02:00 o'clock in the morning,
and I hear Bobby screaming.
And I hear Kenny yelling back at him,
constant, like, screaming fest.
No, my neighbor is outside.
He's outside destroying my property.
[Kelley] Maria called 911 to basically say,
"You're going to need to come out here."
No, this is actually happening right now, please.
[narrator] But Maria has no luck summoning help.
Send somebody, somebody.
[Hayden] On the night of this incident,
cops were in that community
responding to a unrelated shooting.
So officers are already busy with,
with high level violent crime.
[narrator] Meanwhile,
the war at the fence is intensifying.
You're an animal! You should be locked up!
- You're nuts! - Stop it!
The police aren't coming! The police aren't coming!
- Hey, Hoyle! - Stop it!
- Take a look at this, Hoyle! - Keep your pants on, you jerk.
[Joseph] Mr. DePaul then proceeded to expose
his genitals to the Hoyles,
saying others certain profanities.
Oh, my God! What are you doing?
- [Bobby] You like that? - Knock it off!
Do you like what you see, you cow?
Bobby, get inside.
[Joseph] And Mr. DePaul suggests,
"Well, why don't you let me in your gate?"
You know, "You really want to do something, let me come over."
And Mr. Hoyle said, "Yeah, come on up."
A 70 year old man with diabetes, heart condition,
arthritis in his knees, said, "Yeah, come on up."
I'm going to break your neck!
Oh, yeah? Bring it on then. I'm coming over. Bring it!
No! Stop it!
[Kelley] Small things just grew and grew and grew
until you wish and you hope
that they could take a step back.
They took matters into their own hands
in a way that is unerasable.
- Kenny, you're dead! - He's going to kill us.
Kenny!
[gunshot]
[Bobby] You're dead!
[Allan] None of us ever considered
that it would turn violent like this. Uh-uh.
[narrator] After endless torment on both sides,
neighbors Kenny Hoyle and Bobby DePaul
are staging their final battle.
[Joseph] Mr. DePaul leaves the back of his house,
walks across the properties...
Kenny!
[Joseph] ...down Mr. Hoyles alleyway.
DePaul was grabbing and shaking that gate,
trying to make his way over.
Stop! Bobby, no!
At which point,
Mr. Hoyle is calling the police.
Someone's got to get here. He's going to kill us.
Mr. Hoyle had told the police,
"Look, my neighbor is on his way.
He's coming onto my property."
[Bobby] Kenny!
Where are you?
Stop it, stop it.
Just go home, it's not worth it.
[Joseph] And it was during this whole time
that Miss Dempsey is pleading with
Mr. DePaul to stop.
- Gotta get over there. - Stop.
Maria, where is he?
They're going to catch you this time.
You're going to prison!
They're trying to arrest you, Bobby.
- No. - Kenny!
[Joseph] Miss Dempsey, she was, you know,
acting as the voice of reason.
Get out here, you coward!
[narrator] But Bobby will not relent.
He's all in when he's ready to go,
he's ready for war.
[narrator] With no sign of the police,
Kenny makes a fatal choice.
He eventually took it into his own hands.
[August] Bobby!
[Hayden] At one point, Hoyle went in the house,
retrieved his gun...
returned...
[gunshot]
...and fired.
I hear "bang," you know,
I hear three more bangs
and I see just flashes of the gunfire.
[gunshots]
Seemed like it was so loud,
it was like right next to my head, it felt like, you know.
[narrator] Bobby DePaul and August Dempsey
have been shot and killed.
[Kenny] No, no, no, no, no.
[Joseph] Immediately, following the incident,
Mr. Hoyle calls the police saying, "I shot him."
[Jude] I didn't know what happened.
And the cop was there almost within a few minutes.
[narrator] When Kenny is taken in for questioning,
he claims he acted in self-defense.
Get out here! Kenny!
- No, stop! - Gotta get over there!
Hoyle claimed that he was afraid for his life.
Kenny!
[August] Bobby. Bobby!
[Joseph] He didn't know what he was going to do.
Mr. DePaul was on his way over the fence
at the time Mr. Hoyle fired that first shot.
[gunshot]
[narrator] He contends he was unaware
August was behind Bobby
when he unleashed three more bullets.
[Hayden] Mr. Hoyle had no idea
that Miss Dempsey was actually present.
[Maria] Oh, you shot her!
I didn't know she was here.
[narrator] The authorities accept Kenny's story
and allow him to return home.
But the neighborhood is incensed
that he's released so soon.
[Hayden] Neighbors knew immediately
this was not self-defense.
They wanted an arrest immediately.
[Jude] I was angry and shocked.
I did hear Bobby yelling at the house.
So it wasn't like,
it was sneaking into the yard or what--
I mean, it's like, he was definitely announcing himself.
Just seemed like, blame them.
[narrator] August and Bobby's families
are outraged that a killer walks free
and start a petition demanding Kenny's arrest.
[Kelley] Five thousand signatures have been received,
basically saying that they were seeking justice
for Bobby and August.
But you want to make sure
that you have the evidence necessary
to move forward
and to hopefully get a conviction.
And that's what happened.
When we had the evidence, we charged.
[narrator] A week after the shooting,
Kenny Hoyle is arrested for the double murder
of his next door neighbors.
[Lester] One of the neighbors that do talk to Kenny,
when I talked to them
they told me what Kenny told them.
I knew it was a lie.
I knew what they were telling him didn't add up.
But, fortunately, thank God, the truth came out.
[narrator] During the trial,
prosecutors disprove Kenny's self-defense claim.
- I'm gonna break your neck! - Bring it!
- No! Stop it! - Do it!
Do it! I dare you to.
[Kelley] Kenny was taunting Bobby
to keep this argument going,
continuing to try to get him over
onto his side of property.
Kenny!
[Kelley] Kenny was trying to get him to come
where he needs him to come
to justify him shooting Bobby.
Bobby, stop. We're going home. Enough!
What I'm told, they were running from the weapon.
Bobby, they have a gun! Come on!
Kenny!
[scream]
- No! - Bobby! Bobby!
[Lester] The bullets hit Bobby at back,
but he claimed that Bobby was coming after him.
[Kelley] Crime scene investigators could determine
that the shots were to the backs
of the individuals once they were down.
[narrator] Kenny Hoyle is found guilty
on two counts of first degree murder
and sentenced to 66 years in prison.
[Kelley] Kenny Hoyle was guilty of intentional,
willful, premeditated killing.
[Hayden] You've got to be able to be an adult
and handle a situation
without violence and without...
without resorting to shooting a man
and his girlfriend in the head.
[woman] That's right, justice.
[narrator] Bobby and August's families
are left reeling in the loss of their loved ones.
[Lester] I could sit here for hours
and just tell you how good a man Bobby was,
and the kind of woman that he had in his life.
[Hayden] Whatever issues these two might have had,
this woman was completely separate
and completely innocent.
It's just sad all around.
[narrator] Some normalcy eventually returns to James Street,
but the damage has been done.
That was the first real loss of a family
that I experienced on the block.
[Lester] The streets are almost abandoned.
There's people still live there,
but you see nobody out no more.
It's like it made the neighborhood bad.
It's just so heavy to think
that we could have helped smooth things over,
sooner, either convinced
Bob leave the old stubborn man alone
or can, it's Bobby.
He's going to do what he wants.
There's no use fighting him.
There's really no anecdote or lesson.
You know, no moral of the story here.
You know, this was a tragedy.