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[ominous music playing]
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[narrator] Up next,
a family mourns
in unexpected death...
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[Julie] They came
to the conclusion,
she fell off the step-stool
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and ruled it accidental.
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[narrator] But some things
about the scene don't add up.
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Was it as it
appeared initially
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or is there something
else going on?
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[narrator] Local police
assured everyone,
there is no foul play.
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A grieving family disagrees.
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They hired
a private investigator
to take a second look.
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[narrator] And he finds
that quiet,
rural neighborhoods
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can harbor some
very dark secrets.
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[Don] They'd only been there
for a few months
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their finger pointed
straight at him.
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[theme music playing]
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[narrator] Michigan is divided
into the upper
and lower peninsulas,
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the lower peninsula
is famous for being
shaped like a mitten.
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The tiny village
of Hubbardston,
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home to less than 500 people,
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sits right
in the middle of it.
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It's a very close-knit
community,
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they all kind of know
each other.
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I love the town Hubbardston.
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[narrator] For all her
80 years, Hubbardston was home
to Bernita Cunningham.
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The mother of seven
and grandmother of ten
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was known to everyone
as Billie.
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[Tim] Mom and Dad
went to school together
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and, then, after Dad
got back from the service,
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he was in World War II
in the South Pacific.
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They ended up getting married
and my Mom lived
in the house he whole life.
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We always called it
the good side of town.
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[scoffs]
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[narrator] In 2006,
Billie had been widowed
for 17 years.
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She was notorious
for being a creature of habit.
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[Don] She did
the very same thing
on every day of the week,
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every Tuesday she'd do this,
every Wednesday she'd do this
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and, uh, it wouldn't take long
for you to pattern her
in Hubbardston
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where there's almost
zero crime goes on.
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[narrator] So,
on November 30th,
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when there was a break
in Billie's routine,
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her next-door
neighbors noticed.
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She didn't come over
for an afternoon
cup of coffee,
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which she did every day.
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And that night they noticed
yet another break
in Billie's routine.
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[Julie] One of them got up
in the middle of the night
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and they noticed
the lights were on.
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Like, at 2:00 or 3:00 o'clock
in the morning.
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And they thought,
"Oh, Billie must not
be sleeping well."
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In the morning,
the curtains were open.
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She wasn't sitting
at the dining room table
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where she should
have been at that time,
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having her coffee
and saying her prayers.
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And that was suspicious.
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[Michael] So, they called
Billie's son Bill Cunningham
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who lived just a couple miles
down the road
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and suggested, he come
and check on his mother,
so he did
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and Bill and the neighbor
went into the house together
and found Billie dead.
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[narrator] Billie was lying
face-down in the foyer.
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It looked
as if she'd met her death
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after accidentally
falling off a step-stool
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while hanging
a Christmas decoration.
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[Don] They said she hit
a very large mirror,
shattered it on the floor.
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Then she went
down on the floor
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and, uh, laid there
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and probably moved around
quite a bit which caused
a lot more cuts to take place.
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[narrator] The circumstances
of Billie's death
were clearly unusual.
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Local police, who had
little to no experience
investigating murders,
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believed the possibility
of foul play was unlikely.
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But, to be sure,
they still called
for an autopsy.
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[Stephen] In Michigan,
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the law really doesn't
absolutely require autopsy
in any cases,
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it's always up to the decision
of the local medical examiner
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and then, hopefully,
but not always,
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a forensic pathologist
to do the case.
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[narrator] This autopsy
officially ruled Billie's case
an accidental death.
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She had trauma to her neck
and some fractured bones
in her face.
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The pathologist said
this damage and the blood
at the scene
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resulted from Billie
smashing into the mirror
before she hit the floor.
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[Julie] After they found out
she was diabetic,
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they came to the conclusion,
she fell off the step-stool.
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They ruled it accidental.
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They said that she probably
had a diabetic spell
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and fell.
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[narrator] Billie's family
wasn't so sure.
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After the scene was processed
and Billie's body removed,
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they were let into the house
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and immediately
grew concerned.
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[Julie] My Mom
was very organized.
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The house was always spotless.
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[Don] Julie and several people
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described Billie to me
as being very, uh, organized.
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Everything is going to be
in the exact place,
she's very neat.
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Uh, and she's really,
um, anal about that type
of things.
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[narrator] So,
it didn't make sense
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that a lot of things
were out of place in rooms
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far away
from where Billie's body
was found.
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[Tim] We noticed some things
that weren't correct.
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Just some things
that were just
not characteristic
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of how Mom would have
kept her house,
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some chairs tipped over
and some things like that.
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[narrator] The question
now was
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if this was not
an accidental death,
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was there any way to prove it?
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[theme music playing]
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[narrator] Hubbardston,
Michigan sees
very little violent crime,
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so, when Billie Cunningham's
death was officially
ruled an accident,
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townspeople didn't give
it a second thought,
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but Billie's family did.
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People in town
didn't wanna believe...
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that Mom was murdered.
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Couldn't happen
in their little town.
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No, it had to be an accident.
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They didn't wanna
believe that...
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she was murdered.
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[narrators] The family
didn't just conjure up
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this murder theory
out of thin air,
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as they did their own
post-mortem examination
of Billie's house,
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they noticed
all sorts of things
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that simply didn't make sense.
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The contents of a care-package
Billie was preparing
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for a great-nephew
serving in the military
were all over the place.
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And everybody says,
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"No way... would Billie,
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uh, leave something
that, like that
laying on the floor."
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[narrator] Perhaps,
most disturbing
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was the finding
of a family heirloom shattered
against one of the walls.
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A Christmas Santa Claus
statue was broken,
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a piece of it was 22 feet away
in an opposite room
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[narrator] And this statue
shattered with such force
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that it left a fist-size dent
in the wall.
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[Brian] Where she was found
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or where she would
have fallen,
if that were to happen,
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that Christmas decoration
wouldn't have gotten
around the corner
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and hit the other side
of the, the living room.
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[narrator] But it was
some missing money
that convinced Billie's family
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that police didn't realize
they were dealing
with a potential murder.
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[Julie] We go back
to her bedroom
where she kept her purse
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and I started going through
her wallet
and there was no money.
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Mom always kept a $100 bill
in her... Hidden in her wallet
for emergencies
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that my Dad made
her do that, early on.
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And there wasn't any there.
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Just some loose change.
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And I said, "Uh,
something's up here."
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[narrator] Despite
an official ruling
that there was no foul play,
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Billie's family was convinced,
she'd been attacked
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and the scene may have been
staged to make it look like
it was an accident.
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We had, uh, a cousin
that was a retired
state trooper,
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we told him what we had found
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and he said, "Well,
you really need to get
a private detective
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involved in this."
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And, and at that point
we, we did.
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[narrator] Don Brookes,
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a 25-year-veteran
of the Michigan State Police
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and a Private Investigator
for 15 years
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was well-known and respected
by law enforcement
all across the state
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and after examining
photos of the scene,
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he reached his own
preliminary conclusion
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about how
Billie Cunningham died.
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Based on what
the family told me,
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based on what
the evidence I've seen
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and based on the amount
of blood and the amount
of injuries,
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I would have treated it like
a homicide from day one.
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[narrator] And as he started
asking questions,
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he uncovered
some potentially
disturbing information.
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It turned out
that Billie Cunningham
was herself worried
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that she might come to harm
in the days before she died.
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I learned
that Bernita Cunningham,
Billie,
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um, had a certain amount
of fear for a couple of kids
in the town there.
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[narrator] In the original
investigation,
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these teenagers
had been questioned
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and eliminated
as potential suspects.
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Now, the people involved
in this new, technically
unofficial, investigation,
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wanted to re-interview them.
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But these unofficial
investigators found themselves
in a tough spot.
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[Don] As a private
investigator,
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I do not want
to cross the line
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and interfere with anything
the investigate--
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police investigation
going at the time
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'cause I know if any
of the investigations I did
when I was running these...
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Um, as a detective,
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uh, I'd have been
a little bit ticked off.
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[narrator] But when
the Michigan State Police took
their own look at the case,
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they reached
the same conclusion
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as Don Brookes
and Billie Cunningham's
family.
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It was clear
that there was violence
at the time of her death,
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I believed we had a homicide.
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[narrator] But if Billie
was murdered,
who had a motive to kill her?
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This, after all,
was an elderly woman
with no known enemies
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in a town that saw
almost no violent crime.
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[theme music playing]
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[narrator] After weeks
of official
and unofficial investigations
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into the circumstances
of Billie Cunningham's death,
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Michigan State Police
became convinced,
she'd been murdered.
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The question, now,
was proving it
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and some serious obstacles
were in the way.
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There wasn't a lot
of evidence at the time,
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we had some pretty good
photographs from the scene,
the day of.
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Lot of it was circumstantial
evidence up until that point.
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[narrator] One
of the biggest problems,
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after Billie's death
was ruled an accident,
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her house had been cleaned
by a company that specialized
in cleaning crime scenes
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and they were very thorough.
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Now, keep in mind,
the crime scene clean-up crew
had been there already
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and cleaned up the home.
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[narrator] Another problem,
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00:11:02,233 --> 00:11:06,767
the original autopsy
which, despite Billie's
considerable injuries,
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00:11:06,767 --> 00:11:11,867
was conducted
by a general pathologist,
not a forensic pathologist.
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This turned out
to be a crucial distinction
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in what was now looking
less and less
like an accidental death.
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[Don] We had a doctor
who was not
a forensic pathologist,
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he was going right along
with what the, uh,
the sheriff detective...
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"This kinda thing
doesn't happen around here
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and let's see how we can, uh,
justify these injuries
from the, the crime scene."
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And that's what they did.
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[narrator] Even worse
for investigators,
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00:11:40,867 --> 00:11:45,000
Billie Cunningham
had been embalmed
and had been buried for weeks
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00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,867
and investigators
had already talked to everyone
in this small town
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00:11:49,867 --> 00:11:52,500
who had any interaction
with Billie Cunningham.
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Early on in the investigation,
we had, probably, 30 or 35
persons of interest
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that we felt necessary
to rule out.
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[narrator] But one
potential suspect
still stood out.
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Just before her death,
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00:12:04,867 --> 00:12:07,867
Billie Cunningham
became concerned
about a young man
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00:12:07,867 --> 00:12:10,967
who had recently
moved in just across
the street from her.
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[Brian] Justin Stephens
was originally from Texas.
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00:12:13,567 --> 00:12:16,300
The family he was living with
up here in Michigan,
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00:12:16,300 --> 00:12:19,266
he had met
while they were living
in Texas.
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He ended up dating
one of the girls of the family
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and he moved up
to Michigan with them
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and they were living
across the street...
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00:12:25,867 --> 00:12:27,266
from where
the incident happened.
232
00:12:28,567 --> 00:12:29,834
[Michael] He was unemployed
233
00:12:29,834 --> 00:12:34,767
but, suddenly,
Justin was known to be
in possession of about $100
234
00:12:34,767 --> 00:12:35,934
near the time of the crime.
235
00:12:36,667 --> 00:12:38,266
[narrator] He
was 17-years-old,
236
00:12:38,266 --> 00:12:42,600
and had apparently interacted
with Billie Cunningham
shortly before her death.
237
00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,467
[Michael] Billie Cunningham
went to the neighbors
for coffee,
238
00:12:45,467 --> 00:12:50,567
and mentioned to them that,
"The neighbor boy came over
to my house this morning,
239
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,567
asked if he could
borrow a phone,
240
00:12:53,567 --> 00:12:55,934
and offered to help me
put up Christmas decorations."
241
00:12:56,867 --> 00:12:58,367
[narrator] Billie told
her neighbors
242
00:12:58,367 --> 00:13:01,066
she didn't want
this young man in her house.
243
00:13:01,066 --> 00:13:03,767
So, she handed him
her landline phone
244
00:13:03,767 --> 00:13:07,166
and insisted he make the call
from the foyer.
245
00:13:07,166 --> 00:13:12,400
But phone records showed
no call from Billie's phone
during this time period.
246
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,200
It looked as if Justin faked
needing to make a phone call
247
00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:18,867
so he could get
inside Billie's house.
248
00:13:18,867 --> 00:13:21,767
[Michael] We were able
to determine that
with a strong likelihood
249
00:13:21,767 --> 00:13:26,600
that Justin's knocking
on Billie's door that morning
was a ruse.
250
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,600
So, my theory
was that he had cased
the house that morning.
251
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,567
I was able to pull
phone records
for her landline for that date
252
00:13:34,567 --> 00:13:37,567
and we determined
that there were no outgoing
phone calls that day.
253
00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:56,100
[narrator] Even
more concerning,
254
00:13:56,100 --> 00:13:58,667
a background check
on Justin Stephens
255
00:13:58,667 --> 00:14:01,200
revealed some
disturbing information.
256
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,100
[Michael] Justin Stephens
had quite a criminal history,
257
00:14:04,100 --> 00:14:06,467
almost all of them
were burglary.
258
00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:08,567
One was an assault.
259
00:14:09,867 --> 00:14:14,400
So his criminal history
fed into the theory
260
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,033
that he had burglarized
Billie's home
and assaulted her.
261
00:14:18,767 --> 00:14:21,667
[narrator] In the story,
Justin was telling detectives
262
00:14:21,667 --> 00:14:24,500
that Billie had invited him
into her house,
263
00:14:24,500 --> 00:14:27,667
made no sense to anyone
who knew her.
264
00:14:27,667 --> 00:14:30,867
Well, that in itself,
it is a red flag for me.
265
00:14:30,867 --> 00:14:34,667
A teenage boy offering to help
an 80-year-old woman
hang Christmas decorations...
266
00:14:35,367 --> 00:14:36,567
I considered abnormal.
267
00:14:41,867 --> 00:14:43,834
[theme music playing]
268
00:14:50,567 --> 00:14:53,100
[narrator] Once Michigan
investigators concluded
269
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:55,567
that Billie Cunningham
had been murdered,
270
00:14:55,567 --> 00:14:58,467
all roads led
to Justin Stephens
271
00:14:58,467 --> 00:15:01,367
but detectives had
no physical evidence,
272
00:15:01,367 --> 00:15:03,100
until they got an incredible,
273
00:15:03,100 --> 00:15:06,767
and as far as they knew,
unprecedented break.
274
00:15:06,767 --> 00:15:10,100
The company
that cleaned the scene
after Billie's death,
275
00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:13,567
was in the business
of cleaning crime scenes.
276
00:15:13,567 --> 00:15:17,367
Despite local police
telling them they were
cleaning up an accident,
277
00:15:17,367 --> 00:15:21,000
this cleaning crew had seen
a lot of crime scenes
278
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,867
and they weren't so sure.
279
00:15:22,867 --> 00:15:25,700
The people that came
to do the clean-up,
280
00:15:25,700 --> 00:15:29,033
also voiced their opinion
that there's something
not right here.
281
00:15:29,567 --> 00:15:30,967
[narrator] And, so,
282
00:15:30,967 --> 00:15:34,467
this cleaning company
kept some items
from Billie's house in storage
283
00:15:34,467 --> 00:15:38,767
on the off-chance
they might get a call
from investigators
284
00:15:38,767 --> 00:15:40,367
which is exactly
what happened.
285
00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:43,533
I contacted those people
at that time
286
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,300
and, uh, talked to them
287
00:15:45,300 --> 00:15:48,300
and they said,
"We're kind of glad
to hear from you."
288
00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:52,166
And they said, "We're not
buying that, she had
way too mirror injuries
289
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,200
for what, you know,
the scene showed.
290
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,367
There is a massive amount
of blood and it was over
a very, very large area."
291
00:15:59,367 --> 00:16:03,767
[narrator] In this crime scene
clean-up company's
unofficial evidence locker
292
00:16:03,767 --> 00:16:06,800
detectives found parts
of the shattered mirror.
293
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,066
Six hairs were pulled
from that wall mirror,
294
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:15,867
five of which were determined
to be grey and female.
295
00:16:15,867 --> 00:16:18,700
There's an assumption
that most of those
were probably Billie's hairs,
296
00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:22,467
but one hair
was an animal hair.
297
00:16:22,467 --> 00:16:26,767
[Brian] The people that Justin
was living with across
the street had dogs.
298
00:16:26,767 --> 00:16:30,867
Uh, me and Detective Morey
traveled to their house
where they had moved to
299
00:16:30,867 --> 00:16:34,033
and obtained samples
from those two dogs
that they had.
300
00:16:35,967 --> 00:16:39,767
There was packages
and something, you see,
there was her DNA testing
301
00:16:39,767 --> 00:16:43,767
to be compared
to the hair that was seized
at the house.
302
00:16:43,767 --> 00:16:47,767
[narrator] Even if
that single hair placed
Justin Stephens at the scene,
303
00:16:47,767 --> 00:16:49,900
prosecutors had
a huge problem.
304
00:16:49,900 --> 00:16:53,867
Billie Cunningham's death
had been officially
ruled an accident,
305
00:16:53,867 --> 00:16:56,100
which any good lawyer
would use
306
00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:58,834
to create reasonable doubt
with the jury.
307
00:17:00,066 --> 00:17:03,667
So, investigators made
an unusual decision.
308
00:17:03,667 --> 00:17:08,667
They decided to exhume
Billie's body and redo
her autopsy,
309
00:17:08,667 --> 00:17:11,567
even though she'd been
embalmed and buried
for weeks.
310
00:17:11,567 --> 00:17:15,700
And for this autopsy,
investigators turned
to a pathologist
311
00:17:15,700 --> 00:17:18,867
who was used to dealing
with suspicious deaths.
312
00:17:18,867 --> 00:17:20,567
[Stephen] They just decided,
"Look, let's just take it
313
00:17:20,567 --> 00:17:23,300
to a forensic pathologist
and have a re-look."
314
00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:26,967
So, about two and a half
months or so later,
that's what happened,
315
00:17:26,967 --> 00:17:29,200
she was exhumed
and sent over here.
316
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,300
[narrator] As in
the first examination,
317
00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:35,467
Dr. Cohle saw extensive damage
to the victim's neck.
318
00:17:35,467 --> 00:17:39,200
She did have some cuts
on the skin
made by something sharp,
319
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:40,667
could've been glass.
320
00:17:40,667 --> 00:17:42,667
But, upon examining the body,
321
00:17:42,667 --> 00:17:47,767
uh, some of these sharp
forced wounds penetrated
rather deeply into the body
322
00:17:47,767 --> 00:17:51,367
and that was inconsistent
with her falling on the floor
323
00:17:51,367 --> 00:17:54,333
and shards of glass
from the broken mirror
cutting her.
324
00:17:55,100 --> 00:17:56,667
Thus, I probed
some of these wounds,
325
00:17:56,667 --> 00:17:58,000
I said, "Man,
these are stab wounds,
326
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,300
you're not gonna get
stab wounds
from a broken mirror."
327
00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:04,667
[narrator] This answered
why there was so much blood
at the scene.
328
00:18:04,667 --> 00:18:06,000
In the second autopsy,
329
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,200
Dr. Cohle determined
another detail missed
in the first autopsy.
330
00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,266
She also had some fractures
of her face
331
00:18:12,266 --> 00:18:14,667
including the nose
and some facial bones,
332
00:18:14,667 --> 00:18:18,000
that's a blunt force injury,
that's a severe
blunt force injury.
333
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000
You're not gonna get that
from falling off a stool
and from sharp shards,
334
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,233
so, it looked like there was
a lot more going on than just
a simple accidental fall.
335
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,100
[narrator] This second autopsy
led to a conclusion
336
00:18:31,100 --> 00:18:34,567
that directly contradicted
the original finding.
337
00:18:34,567 --> 00:18:38,800
This was unusual case
in which we, we did
a 180-degree turn,
338
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:41,567
from accident to homicide
and that was,
that was satisfying,
339
00:18:41,567 --> 00:18:43,333
I felt pretty good about that.
340
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:49,700
[narrator] Prosecutors
believed Justin Stephens
had been casing Billie's house
341
00:18:49,700 --> 00:18:52,467
and knew she often left
her door unlocked.
342
00:18:52,467 --> 00:18:55,800
On the day of her murder,
that's what she did.
343
00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:00,567
And Justin later confessed
that he slipped into the house
while she was gone.
344
00:19:00,567 --> 00:19:03,000
He was looking for money
or something to steal
345
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,567
when Billie
unexpectedly returned.
346
00:19:05,567 --> 00:19:07,934
She grabbed her phone
to call 911.
347
00:19:08,467 --> 00:19:09,934
Justin overpowered her,
348
00:19:11,100 --> 00:19:13,000
shattering the whole mirror.
349
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,700
Justin had to act fast,
350
00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:19,767
grabbed the nearest thing at
hand and hit Billie with
the Santa statue.
351
00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:23,967
Justin apparently decided,
there was no turning back.
352
00:19:23,967 --> 00:19:25,967
He stabbed Billie to death.
353
00:19:25,967 --> 00:19:28,100
Then, may have
staged the scene
354
00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:32,166
to make it look
as if she accidentally
fell off a step-stool,
355
00:19:33,300 --> 00:19:35,200
and it almost worked.
356
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,300
Except for one thing
he missed,
357
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:40,266
a shard of glass
covered with Billie's blood
358
00:19:40,266 --> 00:19:43,634
held a hair from a dog
who lived in his house.
359
00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:45,433
[Michael] And that was huge.
360
00:19:45,433 --> 00:19:49,567
In my 22 years as a detective,
this was only the second...
361
00:19:49,567 --> 00:19:52,800
homicide that I ever
investigated that involved
animal hair.
362
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,266
And the first that resulted
in a positive match.
363
00:19:57,300 --> 00:19:58,767
[narrator] In 2011,
364
00:19:58,767 --> 00:20:01,567
a jury deliberated
for just three hours
365
00:20:01,567 --> 00:20:05,800
before finding Justin Stephens
guilty of first degree murder.
366
00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:09,100
As a minor, when he killed
Billie Cunningham,
367
00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:11,567
his sentence
was ultimately decided
368
00:20:11,567 --> 00:20:16,233
at a minimum of 40 years
and a maximum of 60 years
in prison.
369
00:20:17,767 --> 00:20:21,000
As for Billie's family,
they mourn her loss,
370
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,867
but are gratified that science
proved their hunch
was right all along.
371
00:20:25,867 --> 00:20:28,567
Her death was no accident.
372
00:20:28,567 --> 00:20:31,367
I think we all believed
it would happen,
373
00:20:31,367 --> 00:20:36,467
that we would get justice,
eventually, but we didn't know
how long it would take.
374
00:20:36,467 --> 00:20:41,433
[Don] My satisfaction
is from watching the family
get resolution.
375
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,667
They were right
and I, I'm so happy for them.
376
00:20:45,667 --> 00:20:47,767
[Michael] I have to admit,
there were times
in this investigation
377
00:20:47,767 --> 00:20:49,667
where I was
getting frustrated.
378
00:20:49,667 --> 00:20:51,567
This went on for four years
379
00:20:51,567 --> 00:20:54,967
and, ultimately,
when Justin was found guilty,
380
00:20:54,967 --> 00:20:58,467
I absolutely felt like
it was worth every minute
of those four years.