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[tense music]
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male narrator:
It is incredibly rare
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for criminal defendants
to take the stand.
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It's a risk very few take.
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At stake, one's freedom
or even their life.
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This is Claudia Hoerig,
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wife of pilot Karl Hoerig,
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and she's charged
with his murder.
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‐ I did this. I lost my mind,
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‐ She's decided to take
that gamble.
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Will it help her convince
the jury of her innocence...
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‐ He wanted to bring
a maid from Brazil,
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He said,
"We're all gonna have sex."
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narrator: Or will it come back
to haunt her?
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‐ I checked for his
breathing.
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He was dead.
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narrator: Take a courtside
seat with a detective,
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the U. S. Marshall,
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a legal analyst who watched
the trial unfold,
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and the victim's best friend,
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I'm Dan Abrams,
and this is "Under Oath."
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‐ Raise your right hand.
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Do you solemnly swear...
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‐ I'm being honest
with everything I say to you.
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‐ Do you solemnly swear...
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‐ The whole truth
and nothing but the truth...
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‐ I would like to testify.
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‐ The testimony you are
about to give...
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The whole truth and nothing
but the truth...
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‐ So help you God.
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♪ ♪
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‐ There's always a public
persona in a marriage,
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and there's always
a private one.
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‐ He had these silent tactics
with me
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of not letting me sleep.
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He knew what it was doing.
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I didn't realize at the time
that they were torture.
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‐ Claudia's description about
how that marriage
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really was
was Claudia's story to tell.
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♪ ♪
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narrator: Claudia Hoerig,
the Brazilian‐born wife
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of Karl Hoerig,
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an airline pilot found shot
to death
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in tiny Newton Falls,
Ohio.
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His small‐town murder grabbed
international attention
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when Claudia
fled the United States.
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Claudia is on trial
for Karl's murder,
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and she's decided to take
the witness stand
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to explain what
she says happened
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and more importantly
why it happened.
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♪ ♪
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‐ One of the most
important decisions
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that a lawyer has to make
and the client
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is whether or not
they're going
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to take the witness stand
in their own defense.
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‐ Claudia took the stand
because she had 11 years
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to contemplate what she
was going to use
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as her defense.
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‐ Claudia Hoerig's defense was
that she was in a sense
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morally justified
in pulling the trigger
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because of Karl's actions
against her.
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♪ ♪
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‐ Who was Claudia's husband,
Karl Hoerig,
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and what happened
in their brief marriage
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for it to end so tragically?
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♪ ♪
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‐ Karl, Claudia's husband,
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his primary occupation was,
he was a pilot
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for Southwest Airlines,
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but he was also a major
in the Air Force Reserves
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and a pilot at the local
air force reserve base
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in Youngstown.
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‐ The way to describe Karl
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is absolutely a caring
individual,
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very good‐natured,
had a great sense of humor,
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very easy to get along with.
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♪ ♪
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‐ He met someone on
a dating website
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that was from Brazil.
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She was exotic.
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‐ The next thing we know,
Karl's on his way to Vegas
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and getting married
to Claudia,
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and a lot of us were really,
really surprised.
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In the beginning,
it seem like a good marriage
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as Karl was very happy,
and then two,
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maybe three months into it,
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there were a few different
incidents.
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She called his family for,
like, an intervention.
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‐ I wasn't strong enough
by myself
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to control him,
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I needed help from his parents
and from his family.
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♪ ♪
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‐ Karl and Claudia got married
so quickly that he didn't
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get a chance to know
the real Claudia.
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And I think by the time
that he found that out,
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he realized that he made
a big mistake.
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[water rushing]
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‐ On March 15, 2007,
a call came in to
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the Newton village police
department
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to check the welfare
of Karl Hoerig.
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‐ I called the police
department.
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They went over to his house
in Newton Falls.
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It's called a welfare check.
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When the Newton Falls Police
Department
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arrived at Karl Hoerig's
residence,
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they were met by his parents.
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Once they got inside the
residence,
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they located Karl's body
at the base of the steps.
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‐ I was on the phone
with the police officer
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when his dad actually,
you know,
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came across Karl's body.
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And I could hear his dad scream
through the phone.
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♪ ♪
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‐ Karl Hoerig had been shot
twice in the back
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and once in the head.
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‐ It was an obvious homicide.
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They stated that they had
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a person of interest
right away.
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The sheriff's department
asked us
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to immediately locate Claudia.
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‐ We didn't know where she was
at the time.
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Further investigation led
us to learning
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that Claudia had returned to
her home country of Brazil.
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‐ We had discovered
that her vehicle
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was actually parked at the
Pittsburgh airport,
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and that was days
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before Karl's body was even
actually discovered.
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♪ ♪
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‐ Claudia drove to the
Pittsburgh airport,
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got on a flight using his
Southwest flight privileges,
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and flew to New York, from
New York, flew to Brazil.
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‐ Finding Claudia went
relatively quickly.
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The legal extradition process
is what
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took another 11 years
before we
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were finally able to get her
back to the United States.
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narrator: Claudia Hoerig
had been indicted
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on murder charges,
but she was beyond the reach
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of U. S. law enforcement.
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She'd started a new life
with a new husband in Brazil
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and it literally took an
international negotiation
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to bring her back
to the Common Pleas Court
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in Trumbull County, Ohio,
to tell her story.
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‐ Claudia took the stand in
an attempt
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to convince the jury that
she may have had
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some reason to shoot Karl.
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‐ Claudia was very much hoping
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that the jury would sympathize
with her.
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[dramatic music]
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‐ Did you plan to kill
Karl Hoerig?
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‐ Never, never,
never for a second.
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‐ 11 years had passed since
pilot Karl Hoerig was found
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dead of three bullet wounds in
his Newton Falls, Ohio, home.
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His wife, Claudia,
had been tracked to Brazil,
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where she'd remarried
and fashioned a new life.
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Finally, efforts to extradite
her succeeded,
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and law enforcement have her
back in Trumbull County.
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♪ ♪
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‐ From the minute that we met
her in Brazil
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and she started talking
to us on the airplane,
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she felt that she had a story
to tell.
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narrator: Behind closed doors,
investigators
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had already
heard Claudia Hoerig
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describe her strange two‐year
marriage
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to her husband, Karl.
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As the trial proceeded,
Claudia
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made what many consider to be
a risky choice to tell
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her story
on the witness stand.
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Would a jury sympathize with
or even believe her story?
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♪ ♪
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‐ Karl Hoerig is dead.
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Because she shot him.
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Because at her moment
of weakness,
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30 days after she's attempted
suicide,
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when she wants to have a
conversation with him,
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he tells her, "Go ahead,
kill yourself."
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‐ There's only two people that
know
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what a relationship
is really like.
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And those are the two people
that are
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actually in the relationship.
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But if, you know,
it was later at night,
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I had to walk around just in
heels, no clothes, naked.
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‐ There was emotional abuse.
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There was sexual fetishes
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that were requested by Karl
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they thought he didn't
agree with.
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‐ You got pregnant.
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‐ I got pregnant.
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‐ Claudia says that Karl did
not want her to be a mother.
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When he realized that I'm
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really not going to have
the abortion,
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he start torturing me
psychologically, physically.
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♪ ♪
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‐ In cases where there's a
history of abuse,
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it's usually not difficult to
find witnesses,
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whether it's friends or family
or
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police officers or police
reports.
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In this case, she didn't have
any of that.
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So her testifying was really the
only way that she had
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to get that statement
to the jury.
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♪ ♪
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‐ Late 2006, early 2007,
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you tried suicide
for the first time?
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‐ Yes.
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‐ You took all the sleeping
medication you had?
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‐ Yeah. The sleeping pills
about almost 30.
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And I went in my car,
took the car, started driving.
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Ten minutes max while I was
conscious.
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‐ Did you ended up in an
accident?
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‐ I fell with the car
into a ditch.
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narrator:
According to Claudia,
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her marriage to Karl
had deteriorated,
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and she'd reached
a level of desperation.
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The week of Karl's killing
in March of 2007
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she says she got another
positive pregnancy test,
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the third one in her marriage.
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She confronted Karl with
one last‐ditch effort
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to recommit to their marriage
and her pregnancy
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or she says she would commit
suicide in front of him
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but that then things took
a very different turn.
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♪ ♪
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‐ On the date
of Karl's murder,
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they got an argument
when she told him
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she was pregnant
for the third time.
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Karl wanted to take a shower
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and get away from her
for a little bit.
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When he came back
out, he was standing in
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the hallway with the gun
to her head.
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‐ And so opens the door from
the bedroom,
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and you're standing there
with a gun to your head?
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‐ Yes.
‐ What happens next?
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‐ Claudia said that was
the thing that angered her
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so much that she fired
the shots that‐‐
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that killed him.
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[gunshots]
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‐ I did this. I lost my mind.
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I‐‐I did this.
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I killed Karl.
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narrator: Claudia Hoerig says
she snapped,
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that she hadn't planned
to kill Karl.
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In the heat of the moment,
she killed him.
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That testimony would
challenge
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any prosecution effort
to say
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she planned to kill her
husband.
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Claudia says that after
the shooting
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she tried to commit suicide,
but the gun misfired.
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She says she called her family
in Brazil
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and they encouraged her
to flee.
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Once in Brazil, Claudia says
she lost the baby in
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a miscarriage, and then she
started a new life from scratch.
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‐ There was no doubt that
Claudia Hoerig
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caused the death
of her husband, Karl.
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The only question is whether
she was
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acting under the influence of
a sudden passion.
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‐ On the other hand,
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00:12:48,019 --> 00:12:49,687
the prosecution wanted
256
00:12:49,770 --> 00:12:58,195
to demonstrate Claudia's
premeditation.
257
00:12:58,321 --> 00:13:02,116
♪ ♪
258
00:13:02,199 --> 00:13:03,868
‐ Before you shot Karl Hoerig,
259
00:13:03,993 --> 00:13:05,369
were you upset he
made you walk
260
00:13:05,411 --> 00:13:07,121
around the house naked
that night?
261
00:13:07,246 --> 00:13:08,998
‐ Yeah. I didn't like that.
‐ All right.
262
00:13:09,081 --> 00:13:10,416
Before you shot him,
263
00:13:10,499 --> 00:13:11,709
were you upset he had
264
00:13:11,792 --> 00:13:14,962
some weird sexual fetishes,
according to you?
265
00:13:15,046 --> 00:13:16,422
‐ I didn't like that.
266
00:13:16,547 --> 00:13:18,841
narrator: Claudia tells
a shocking story of a life
267
00:13:18,924 --> 00:13:20,926
under the abusive control
of her husband.
268
00:13:21,052 --> 00:13:22,386
She admitted shooting him but
269
00:13:22,511 --> 00:13:24,555
said it was in the heat
of the moment
270
00:13:24,638 --> 00:13:27,350
caused by Karl's cruelty.
271
00:13:27,433 --> 00:13:28,976
‐ You can control
the questions that
272
00:13:29,060 --> 00:13:30,686
your attorney is going to ask
you,
273
00:13:30,811 --> 00:13:32,855
but you can't control
the follow‐up questions
274
00:13:32,938 --> 00:13:35,024
that are going to
be asked by a prosecutor.
275
00:13:35,066 --> 00:13:36,609
narrator: The prosecution
decides to bring
276
00:13:36,692 --> 00:13:38,069
a ferocious cross‐examination
277
00:13:38,194 --> 00:13:40,863
to bear on Claudia
and her story,
278
00:13:40,946 --> 00:13:43,699
their goal to reveal
Claudia's premeditation
279
00:13:43,783 --> 00:13:45,201
in the killing of her husband.
280
00:13:45,284 --> 00:13:48,871
♪ ♪
281
00:13:48,913 --> 00:13:50,247
‐ Before you shot him,
282
00:13:50,373 --> 00:13:53,042
were you upset that he picked
out the clothes you wore?
283
00:13:53,167 --> 00:13:55,503
‐ I didn't realize at the time
that I was being‐‐
284
00:13:55,586 --> 00:13:58,672
‐ Yes, or no? All I want to
know is yes or no.
285
00:13:58,798 --> 00:14:00,132
These are simple questions
286
00:14:00,216 --> 00:14:02,134
‐ I didn't like that very much.
287
00:14:02,218 --> 00:14:04,178
‐ Can Karl Hoerig came in this
courtroom
288
00:14:04,220 --> 00:14:08,015
and dispute or admit or
deny anything you've said to
289
00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:11,185
this detective
or to this court yesterday?
290
00:14:11,268 --> 00:14:12,353
‐ No.
291
00:14:12,478 --> 00:14:14,188
narrator: The prosecution
had several key facts
292
00:14:14,230 --> 00:14:15,815
pointing to premeditation.
293
00:14:15,898 --> 00:14:17,858
First off, before killing Karl,
294
00:14:17,983 --> 00:14:21,779
Claudia wired nearly her
entire bank account to Brazil.
295
00:14:21,862 --> 00:14:23,364
♪ ♪
296
00:14:23,489 --> 00:14:25,282
‐ We saw a lot of signs that
indicated
297
00:14:25,408 --> 00:14:27,034
premeditation and the fact that
she
298
00:14:27,159 --> 00:14:28,911
transferred money in advance.
299
00:14:28,994 --> 00:14:31,038
‐ You shot Karl Hoerig
300
00:14:31,122 --> 00:14:33,040
a few days
after you transferred
301
00:14:33,165 --> 00:14:36,001
$9,900 to Brazil, correct?
302
00:14:36,127 --> 00:14:37,211
‐ Yes.
303
00:14:37,336 --> 00:14:38,879
‐ So it looks like she tried to
set herself up
304
00:14:39,004 --> 00:14:41,048
financially for when
she fled to Brazil.
305
00:14:41,173 --> 00:14:42,716
narrator: The prosecution
questions whether
306
00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,594
Claudia's account of Karl's
killing is believable,
307
00:14:45,719 --> 00:14:47,054
saying she was pregnant
again for
308
00:14:47,179 --> 00:14:48,848
the third time after two
miscarriages
309
00:14:48,973 --> 00:14:51,892
and that Claudia told Karl
she would commit suicide
310
00:14:51,976 --> 00:14:54,437
if he wouldn't recommit
to their marriage.
311
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,857
‐ You said he grabbed you and
pushed you down?
312
00:14:57,940 --> 00:14:58,899
‐ Yes.
313
00:14:58,983 --> 00:15:00,359
‐ All right. You'd agree
314
00:15:00,484 --> 00:15:03,112
the only witness and the only
person who can tell us
315
00:15:03,237 --> 00:15:05,990
what happened in that house
on March 12th is you?
316
00:15:06,073 --> 00:15:07,533
‐ Correct.
‐ All right.
317
00:15:07,616 --> 00:15:10,870
♪ ♪
318
00:15:10,995 --> 00:15:13,372
‐ She bought a .357 magnum
with a laser.
319
00:15:13,456 --> 00:15:15,875
That was really tough
to explain as
320
00:15:15,958 --> 00:15:17,042
an instrument that she would
321
00:15:17,126 --> 00:15:19,128
choose in order to commit
suicide.
322
00:15:19,211 --> 00:15:21,839
‐ Karl's walking away from
you; he's done talking.
323
00:15:21,964 --> 00:15:23,382
‐ He's done talking.
‐ All right.
324
00:15:23,507 --> 00:15:25,759
You shot Karl's Hoerig with
the same gun
325
00:15:25,843 --> 00:15:27,928
that you bought two
days earlier?
326
00:15:28,053 --> 00:15:30,264
‐ Yes.
‐ You shot Karl's Hoerig
327
00:15:30,389 --> 00:15:31,849
with the same gun that you paid
328
00:15:31,891 --> 00:15:35,394
$227.52 for a light laser sight
329
00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:37,229
two days before, correct?
330
00:15:37,313 --> 00:15:39,273
‐ Yes.
‐ You shot Karl Hoerig
331
00:15:39,398 --> 00:15:41,317
with the same gun that you
practiced with
332
00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,612
for about an hour
two days earlier, correct?
333
00:15:44,695 --> 00:15:46,071
‐ Yes.
‐ The coroner's report
334
00:15:46,155 --> 00:15:48,908
indicates two gunshot wounds
to Karl's back
335
00:15:49,033 --> 00:15:50,659
and then a close‐range
gunshot wound
336
00:15:50,743 --> 00:15:52,661
to the head,
which would lead us to believe
337
00:15:52,745 --> 00:15:54,705
that she shot him
twice as he was going down
338
00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:56,123
the steps like she said.
339
00:15:56,207 --> 00:15:58,918
And then she went down to the
bottom of steps,
340
00:15:59,043 --> 00:16:00,544
shot him at close range
in the back of the head
341
00:16:00,669 --> 00:16:03,839
to make sure he was dead.
342
00:16:03,923 --> 00:16:07,510
‐ You walked 1, 2, 3,
343
00:16:07,593 --> 00:16:11,263
4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
344
00:16:11,347 --> 00:16:14,391
9, 10 steps down to where his
body was,
345
00:16:14,475 --> 00:16:17,728
and you put the gun
12 to 24 inches
346
00:16:17,853 --> 00:16:19,605
from his head and pulled
the trigger.
347
00:16:19,730 --> 00:16:22,107
[gunshots]
348
00:16:23,025 --> 00:16:24,276
‐ Probably?
349
00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:25,986
Well, did somebody else
break into the house
350
00:16:26,070 --> 00:16:28,197
and shoot him too?
351
00:16:28,322 --> 00:16:29,865
narrator: The planning was
hard to ignore,
352
00:16:29,949 --> 00:16:32,034
wiring the money to Brazil
ahead of time,
353
00:16:32,159 --> 00:16:33,911
buying a gun with a laser sight,
354
00:16:33,994 --> 00:16:35,829
practicing at a shooting range.
355
00:16:35,913 --> 00:16:37,373
Claudia said that was all
356
00:16:37,456 --> 00:16:40,209
just a premeditated suicide
she was planning,
357
00:16:40,251 --> 00:16:43,462
but had her intended suicide
becomes something else?
358
00:16:43,546 --> 00:16:46,006
Had Claudia suddenly snapped,
killing Karl in
359
00:16:46,131 --> 00:16:49,343
the heat of the moment
instead of herself?
360
00:16:49,385 --> 00:16:51,512
‐ If Claudia could've
convinced the jury
361
00:16:51,595 --> 00:16:55,140
that she killed Karl
with good reason,
362
00:16:55,224 --> 00:16:57,810
it may convince the jury to
either reduce
363
00:16:57,893 --> 00:17:06,694
the charge or give her a lesser
sentence.
364
00:17:06,819 --> 00:17:08,654
[light music]
365
00:17:12,575 --> 00:17:14,368
narrator: Claudia tells the
jury her first hope was
366
00:17:14,493 --> 00:17:17,079
to continue her marriage
and raise their child.
367
00:17:17,162 --> 00:17:20,207
Her contingency plan,
to commit suicide.
368
00:17:20,332 --> 00:17:22,626
But her final conversation
with Karl, she says,
369
00:17:22,751 --> 00:17:25,713
caused her to spiral into a
fury, and she says she
370
00:17:25,838 --> 00:17:26,922
killed him with a weapon that
she
371
00:17:27,006 --> 00:17:29,008
intended to use on herself.
372
00:17:29,091 --> 00:17:32,469
‐ Claudia's defense team used
her story to try to convince
373
00:17:32,553 --> 00:17:36,223
the jury that both emotional
and physical abuse by Karl
374
00:17:36,348 --> 00:17:38,684
led to her shooting him.
375
00:17:38,726 --> 00:17:40,686
‐ He knocks her down.
376
00:17:40,769 --> 00:17:42,855
She says, "I want to talk."
377
00:17:42,896 --> 00:17:46,191
He says words to the effect of,
378
00:17:46,275 --> 00:17:48,152
"Killing yourself is a good
idea.
379
00:17:48,235 --> 00:17:49,486
"Wait for me to leave.
380
00:17:49,570 --> 00:17:51,530
"Do it in the basement
so you don't get blood
381
00:17:51,614 --> 00:17:52,364
on my painting."
382
00:17:52,448 --> 00:17:56,035
At that point, she loses it.
383
00:17:56,076 --> 00:17:57,244
♪ ♪
384
00:17:57,328 --> 00:17:58,912
‐ Upon hearing those words,
385
00:17:58,996 --> 00:18:02,416
everything boiled over, and
Claudia couldn't help herself.
386
00:18:02,499 --> 00:18:03,959
And according to the defense,
387
00:18:04,084 --> 00:18:05,711
no reasonable person
given all those facts
388
00:18:05,836 --> 00:18:07,296
could have helped themselves.
389
00:18:07,379 --> 00:18:11,467
‐ She thought that if she
told enough stories
390
00:18:11,550 --> 00:18:14,553
and put enough detail out about
all of these allegations
391
00:18:14,678 --> 00:18:15,846
of the emotional abuse,
392
00:18:15,971 --> 00:18:18,015
the physical abuse,
the sexual abuse
393
00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:19,350
that she could gain
394
00:18:19,475 --> 00:18:21,310
the sympathy of the public
and the jury.
395
00:18:21,393 --> 00:18:22,978
Narrator: The question for
the jury is not
396
00:18:23,062 --> 00:18:25,272
if she fired the shots,
but why?
397
00:18:25,397 --> 00:18:28,067
Claudia has made a case only
she could make.
398
00:18:28,150 --> 00:18:30,861
No other witnesses testified
to the state of her marriage.
399
00:18:30,944 --> 00:18:32,279
Will the jury relate to
400
00:18:32,363 --> 00:18:34,031
the duress she said
she suffered?
401
00:18:34,073 --> 00:18:35,449
Could they walk in her shoes?
402
00:18:35,574 --> 00:18:37,868
Will that lead to a conviction
on a lesser charge
403
00:18:37,910 --> 00:18:39,620
or a shorter sentence?
404
00:18:39,703 --> 00:18:41,121
♪ ♪
405
00:18:47,503 --> 00:18:51,173
This case has been proven
to you
406
00:18:51,215 --> 00:18:53,550
beyond all reasonable doubt
407
00:18:53,676 --> 00:18:57,680
that she committed
the crime as charged.
408
00:18:57,721 --> 00:19:00,557
‐ Claudia was trying to make
Karl out to be a monster.
409
00:19:00,683 --> 00:19:03,185
On the other hand,
nobody that we talked to
410
00:19:03,310 --> 00:19:04,728
anywhere could support any of
411
00:19:04,812 --> 00:19:06,897
the things that Claudia
was saying about him
412
00:19:07,022 --> 00:19:08,190
whether it was ex‐wives,
413
00:19:08,315 --> 00:19:10,192
former girlfriends,
family members.
414
00:19:10,275 --> 00:19:13,529
She was the only person saying
anything different.
415
00:19:13,612 --> 00:19:17,741
‐ Please rise.
416
00:19:17,825 --> 00:19:19,868
‐ Buying the murder weapon
ahead of time,
417
00:19:19,910 --> 00:19:22,621
taking money out, fleeing all
the way to Brazil,
418
00:19:22,705 --> 00:19:25,374
the number of shots,
the location of the shots
419
00:19:25,499 --> 00:19:26,959
all according to prosecutors
420
00:19:27,084 --> 00:19:29,920
meant that she did this
killing with premeditation.
421
00:19:30,003 --> 00:19:31,588
‐ Remain standing for the jury.
422
00:19:31,714 --> 00:19:33,424
‐ You never know what
a jury's going to think.
423
00:19:33,549 --> 00:19:36,176
It's quite possible that you
end up with a juror who
424
00:19:36,260 --> 00:19:39,513
maybe feels some compassion
for Claudia,
425
00:19:39,596 --> 00:19:41,306
because maybe they've
experienced some of
426
00:19:41,390 --> 00:19:43,225
the same things that she
described
427
00:19:43,350 --> 00:19:45,352
while she was on the
stand.
428
00:19:45,436 --> 00:19:46,770
‐ We the jury in this case
429
00:19:46,895 --> 00:19:49,064
duly impaneled and sworn our
firm find the defendant,
430
00:19:49,148 --> 00:19:52,693
Claudia C. Hoerig, guilty of
aggravated murder
431
00:19:52,776 --> 00:19:54,361
♪ ♪
432
00:19:54,486 --> 00:19:56,613
‐ To finally be able
to bring Claudia
433
00:19:56,697 --> 00:19:59,908
back to Trumbull County,
Ohio, to face trial for this
434
00:19:59,992 --> 00:20:02,202
and then get a successful
verdict of guilty
435
00:20:02,286 --> 00:20:04,371
was very important to all of us
who worked
436
00:20:04,455 --> 00:20:08,375
this case to bring some closure
to the Hoerig family.
437
00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:10,043
‐ My biggest takeaway
from this
438
00:20:10,169 --> 00:20:12,171
is she didn't have to
kill him.
439
00:20:12,254 --> 00:20:13,547
She could have transferred
440
00:20:13,672 --> 00:20:15,090
that money and driven
to the airport
441
00:20:15,174 --> 00:20:16,216
and flown to Brazil
442
00:20:16,341 --> 00:20:17,634
and had her $10,000 and
443
00:20:17,718 --> 00:20:20,304
just lived the rest of
her life there.
444
00:20:20,387 --> 00:20:22,222
It was just completely
senseless.
445
00:20:22,306 --> 00:20:24,349
narrator: Taking the stand was
a gamble that did
446
00:20:24,433 --> 00:20:26,769
not help Claudia Hoerig's
legal case.
447
00:20:26,894 --> 00:20:29,229
She told her version
of her marriage to the jury,
448
00:20:29,313 --> 00:20:30,689
but she was held accountable
for a
449
00:20:30,773 --> 00:20:32,858
premeditated killing with a
firearm.
450
00:20:32,983 --> 00:20:34,526
‐ You know, there's certain
friendships you make in
451
00:20:34,610 --> 00:20:36,904
life that are irreplaceable.
452
00:20:37,029 --> 00:20:38,947
So even though he's gone,
he's not forgotten.
453
00:20:39,072 --> 00:20:42,201
I wanted her to spend the rest
of her life in jail.
454
00:20:42,284 --> 00:20:44,119
narrator: Her sentence, life
455
00:20:44,244 --> 00:20:45,746
with at least an opportunity
for
456
00:20:45,871 --> 00:20:48,207
parole after 28 years.
457
00:20:48,332 --> 00:20:49,708
Parole was a condition for
458
00:20:49,792 --> 00:20:52,544
Claudia Hoerig's extradition
from Brazil.
459
00:20:52,628 --> 00:20:55,380
Defendants are never forced to
take the stand,
460
00:20:55,464 --> 00:20:56,924
but that decision is likely
461
00:20:57,049 --> 00:20:59,676
the biggest one they ever make.
462
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:00,761
For "Under Oath,"
I'm Dan Abrams.