All language subtitles for 2x01 wrong man

[ ominous tones ]

♪

Jessie Morrison was
savagely and brutally beaten.

ANGIE:
There's blood
all over the car.

I don't know
how Vonda couldn't've saw it.

REPORTER:
Vonda Smith, the grandmother
of Jessie's four-year-old son,

is now charged with murder.

I think she's got mad,
and I think she's just snapped.

JOE:
What I'm looking for
is hidden blood.

Look at the armrest.

Looks like an arm
was up there.

IRA:
That is amazing.

[ chilling music ]

♪

WILLIAM: There's a killer still walking around out here,

and my mother i--the innocent
woman that's paying the price.

PEGGY:
She shouldn't be in there.

Vonda loved Jessie very much.

I just don't see a grandmother
inflicting those wounds.

IRA:
I think the biggest mystery,
for me,

is some of the DNA
that's left at the scene.

- JOE: Unidentified.
- Yeah, unidentified.

The thing I like most about
small towns is everybody likes
to talk.

It has been very hard.

Please, somebody find
the right people that done it.

VONDA:

[ sobs ]

[ sobs ]

[ mysterious music ]

♪

[ low resonant music ]

♪

August 2016,
about 7:30 p.m.,

the body of a young woman is
found on the side of the road.

What's interesting to me
is there's no effort to conceal
that body.

You're right.

A passerby walking his dog
had found the body,

which was off a rural road,
down an embankment.

She's beaten brutally,
and she's suffered from
a lot of trauma to her head.

[ dramatic music ]

♪

Sheriff's deputies and
detectives responded to the
scene.

And indications were she was
struck by a blunt object.

The actual item that was used

was never found.

Now, the beating,
as I understand it,
was particularly savage.

There would have been
a lot of blood.

JOE:
But if you look at the crime
scene photos of the dump site,

you'll see very little blood.

IRA: You know,
I think that wasn't the scene
where she was killed.

JOE:
Yeah, exactly.

That's a secondary crime scene, where her body's dumped.

IRA:
That's right.

It's not the primary crime scene.

You know, when we think about
how we dispose of a body,

there's bodies that are dumped,

and there's bodies
that are concealed,

and then there's bodies
that are displayed.

And you can see this is a quick dump site.

You know, there's no effort
to conceal the body.

And it may have been, like,
a time factor too.

You know,
they got rid of the body
as quick as they could.

- You know?
- JOE: Right.

KEN:
TBI, the Tennessee Bureau
of Investigation,

was called in,
and, together,

they started trying
to develop a case from there.

JOE:
So at around midnight,
Jessie Morrison's mother,

Tammy Morrison,
and Jessie's boyfriend,
Gary Ealey,

go to the Greene County
Sheriff's Department,

and they file a missing persons
report for Jessie Morrison.

I just knew
something was wrong.

We were there for hours.

They come back and asked me
if she had any identifying marks

and I said,
"She has two tattoos."

And, uh,
that's how they identified her.

I just never in a million years
thought I'd find
my daughter dead.

There's nothing ever gonna
bring my daughter back.

No matter what I do,
my daughter's not coming back.

[ tense music ]

♪

And she didn't deserve
what she got.

♪

SUE-ANN:
Jessie Morrison
is 21 years old,

16 weeks pregnant,

and she's the mother
of Channing,

who's three years old,

and Kamdyn,
who's one year old.

RON: So according to Jessie's mother

and Jessie's boyfriend, Gary Ealey,

was the last person
to see Jessie alive
may have been Vonda Smith.

♪

In looking
at the family tree, here,

Vonda's son William

is the father of one of Jessie's children, Channing.

So Vonda is Channing's grandmother.

Okay, so at about two a.m.
on August 12, 2016,

the local sheriff's department,
assisted by TBI, shows up,

and, uh, they knock
on the door to speak to Vonda.

RON: They tape-recorded the entire discussion

when they actually
break the news to Vonda
that Jessie was dead.

We've actually got
the clip of the tape.

And I--I'd like to play it.

Okay.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:
Yeah.

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

Vonda is told Jessie is dead.

And Vonda doesn't ask how

or,
"Oh, my God, what happened?"

or, "How could this happen?"

Makes no inquiry
as to the manner of death.

She doesn't act shocked.

She has kind of, like,
a non-reaction.

Is that indicative
of her involvement in it,
that she kind of--

she didn't just
break down and cry?

RON:
The suggestion is, of course,

Vonda didn't ask because
Vonda knew how she died.

Right.

JOE:
And then Vonda
tells the police

that Jessie had in fact
taken her car at about 4:30

and had left
to go pay some bills.

Got in the back, or she--

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RANDOLPH:
She was in--

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RANDOLPH:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RANDOLPH:
Okay.

VONDA:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RANDOLPH:
Okay.

VONDA:

Her story is that she lent
her car to Jessie,
and her car has been returned.

But she's clarifying that,
"I didn't actually see her,

but my car has been returned
that I loaned her."

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RANDOLPH:

VONDA:

The significance about this
is Vonda is cooperative.

I mean, she just--she let them
check the car, check the house.

You know, she didn't seem to,
you know, try to resist or
anything.

Yeah, good point.
Very good point.

♪

RON: But when they searched the car,

there was Jessie's blood
inside the car.

JOE: Wow.

That is key.

That is very key.

There was absolutely
no innocent explanation

as to how Jessie's blood
ended up in Vonda's car.

None.

So Vonda is
a legitimate suspect.

Yes.

[ fanfare ]

REPORTER:
Greene County Sheriff's Office
today made an arrest

in the murder of 21-year-old
Jessie Morrison.

REPORTER:
Vonda Smith, the grandmother
of Jessie's four-year-old son,

is now charged with murder.

This arrest has been made

in hoping that, in the future,
that justice will be done.

About seven months later,
she's indicted, right,
for murder one.

For the killing
of Jessie Morrison.

Yes, and for the death
of the unborn child.

[ ominous music ]

I guess what's
troubling me is,

when you see
the blunt force trauma,

I just don't see a grandmother
inflicting those wounds.

Right. Right.

I agree.

Vonda was overweight, 4'11".

Jessie was 5'6".

It does seem, to me,
unlikely for Vonda Smith

to have struck
those fatal blows

over and over and over again,

killing a woman much younger
and much stronger than she was.

I just don't see it.

SUE-ANN:
And I think we can all agree

that a conviction based
on bloodstains is pretty thin.

- JOE: Oh, yeah.
- IRA: I think it's
circumstantial.

There's a lot
of things missing.

Why would somebody want
to kill this woman
in such a brutal way?

Right, and I think
if we can find a decent motive,

we can open this case up.

I agree.

I think we need to go back
down to the basics,

start this all over
from scratch.

- JOE: Yeah, I agree.
- IRA: Because something's
not right.

There's some things that
maybe didn't come out

that we can bring out.

Yeah. Absolutely.

We have a local investigator
on the ground, Chrystal Waltz,

who can help us
track down people

and kinda tie up
some of these loose ends.

You bet.

Chrystal has a lot of experience
working on homicide cases,

and she's good
at getting people to open up.

- Hi, Chrystal.
- Good morning.

JOE:
Chrystal,
I'd be interested in hearing,

what's your initial theory
after looking at this case?

Um, there's a lot of unanswered
questions for me right now.

I want to keep an open mind

and gather the facts before
I give any type of theory.

JOE:
That's music to our ears.

RON:
We're gonna be looking
to corroborate

Vonda Smith's account
of what happened.

CHRYSTAL:
Yes. Absolutely.

Narrowing down the timeline
in Vonda's case is critical.

- Good.
- IRA: Now--

and do you think you'll have an opportunity

to locate some new witnesses

and see if we can find out
some other information?

Yeah.

Canvass is definitely something
that needs to be conducted.

- That shouldn't be a problem.
- Oh, that'd be great.

The thing I like most
about small towns

is everybody likes to talk.

[ low guitar music ]

♪

Greeneville, Tennessee.

It's just a different world
in small country areas.

♪

The people here,

they're some of the best people

you could ever
come in contact with.

You know, they'd put you at their dinner table and feed you,

or they'd give you
the shirt off their back.

But at the same time,

a lot of these people
are brought up

in drug-ridden households--

alcohol abuse, drug abuse,
physical, mental abuse,

and that's all they know.

There's not
a lot of work here.

20% poverty.

These folks, they-they don't
leave Greene County.

They-they stay right here.

♪

[ car dings ]

And this would have been where
Jessie's body was discovered.

A memorial says,
"In loving memory, 8/12/16.

We love you,
Jessie Nicole Morrison."

There's a frog.

That's what Jessie
called Channing,

was Frog.

And then the white cross
is for the unborn baby.

[ ominous music ]

♪

There's so much
that we need to uncover
regarding this case...

...because what evidence
I've seen,

i-it tells a very short story.

You can tell
this is kind of a dump area.

A lot of tires.

And just trash.

And not one car
since we've been here.

Jessie was beaten to death

and dumped like
a piece of trash,

but why?

It's gonna take
a lot of hard work

and a lot of digging

to find out
what really happened.

It's very sad.

Jessie Morrison did not
deserve to die like that.

WILLIAM:
I met Jessie at a little party
some friends were having.

[ nostalgic music ]

She was very pretty,
very outgoing.

Good personality.

Seemed like a good--good girl.

I noticed her
and she noticed me,

and then we had got together
and had a little fling,
you'd say,

for two weeks,
maybe three at the most.

And then I went my way
and she went hers, and...

I'm pretty sure that was
when my son c--was conceived.

But she never contacted me

and nothing was ever said.

I didn't know I had a son

until I seen a picture of him on Facebook.

As soon as I seen the picture,
I knew--knew he was mine.

I saw him the first time,

he was probably about a year and a half.

Jessie, she brought him down to my mother's.

♪

CHRISSY:
Vonda was very thankful
that she found Channing

and, you know, she got
to be a part of his life.

Vonda and Jessie's
relationship,

it--it just flourished.

[ low music ]

BRITTNEY:
Jessie, she was, you know,
a single mom, young.

She wanted to make something
of herself for her kids.

And Vonda, you know,

tried to help her
any way she could.

She wanted Jessie
to have a good life.

I mean, everything
was going fine.

Everybody got along.

No animosity whatsoever.

♪

KEN:
People were surprised
that Vonda Smith was charged

in connection with the murder.

She had the same job
at a local hospital

for 28 years.

Uh, she was highly regarded
in the community
and by her coworkers.

[ inhales ]
I was in shock.

Um, I was sick.

Because there's no way

that my Aunt Vonda
could do anything like that.

Vonda, I could never,
ever imagine

her being a murderer.

REPORTER: The murder trial
for a Greene County woman
got underway today.

PROSECUTOR:
Your Honor, the victim...

RON: The prosecution's theory, as it came out at trial,

it was that Vonda
was the last person
to s-to see Jessie alive.

Right, but as a prosecutor,
I see how the case is built,

and it's standing on the fact
that there was bloodstains

belonging to Jessie
in Vonda's car.

That's the entire case.

But what would have
been her motive?

RON: The motive, according to the prosecution,

was that Channing was spending

more and more time away from Vonda,

that Vonda was upset.

TAMMY:
Vonda wanted
to control Channing's life.

[ tense music ]

She wanted control of him.

I've seen the text messages.

Vonda wanted more access
to Channing.

[ text message app swooshes ]

[ text message app swooshes ]

I think it--it got to a point

where Jessie was unwilling

to do what it was
Vonda expected of her

in return for the assistance
that she gave her.

I think Vonda built up
quite a bit of resentment.

When you feel like you deserve
something from somebody,

I think it became obsession.

I think she wanted
full control.

I think she's got mad,
and I think she's just snapped.

STACY: I think everything
Vonda had done for Jessie
ran through her brain.

And the resentment
just built up and built up.

That escalated
into an altercation,

and it was just
a perfect storm.

SUE-ANN:
I think that, based on
the prosecution's theory

that Vonda's so angry...

...and Vonda
and Jessie were fighting,

I see how the case is--
was shaped...

- RON: Yeah.
- ...to just point to her
by the prosecutor's evidence.

BAILIFF:
All rise.

REPORTER:
A Greene County grandmother
sentenced to life in prison.

Just yesterday, a judge found
Vonda Smith guilty

of first-degree murder
in the death of 21-year-old
Jessie Morrison.

Vonda is currently in the
West Tennessee State Prison

on a life sentence.

Her lawyer, Gene Scott, uh,
is preparing to file
a motion for a new trial.

Uh, that'll be filed
in the next couple of months.

And that's standard practice
in the state of Tennessee.

That's the-the step you take

before you proceed
with, uh, your appeal.

♪

TAMMY:
Vonda, I hope you can live
with yourself.

And your punishment'll come too.

There will be
a Judgment Day.

Like they say, karma's a bitch.

CHRIS:
Everything they said

about my mother is false.

It has been very hard.

[ inhales sharply ]

They just took her from us.

CHRIS:
She was the best mama
anybody could ever have.

She took care of Dad.

Didn't she, Dad?

Been together over 30 years.

Stage-four cancer.
Was right there with him.

And now he sits here
by hisself.

I just stay here.
I don't go nowhere.

Please, somebody find
the right people that done it.

There's a killer still
walking around out here,

and my mother, i--
the innocent woman
that's paying the price.

KEN:
There was certain things
that just made you wonder.

There are some people that feel
there is more to this case

than has been revealed
or has been discovered

that bears looking into
further.

[ suspenseful music ]

You know, what jumped out
at me on this case
was tunnel vision.

Once they got her
in the gunsights, that was it.

RON:
Right.

Once they found blood
in the car,

uh, they didn't go back

and do any sort of
thorough search of the house,

looking for bloody clothing--

nothing that you would expect
if you were actually
searching for evidence

of somebody
having committed murder.

And why would Vonda
give consent to the police
to search the car,

knowing that there's blood
all over the car?

Because she may have thought
that it was something else;

for example, cat urine.

Vonda told the police that
the weekend before the murder,

she and Rod had driven
in her car

to visit her sister-in-law,
Peggy Carter,

and Peggy's husband, Roger.

And apparently,
while they were
at the Carters',

one of their cats
got into Vonda's car
and peed on the seat.

We have the recording
of Vonda talking
to the police about this.

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT HOLT:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT HOLT:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT HOLT:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT HOLT:

VONDA:

She says she cleaned the car
before the murder,

you know, with bleach
to get the urine out--
you know, the cat urine.

Right. The implication
from the bleach issue

is that she was somehow
trying to c-clean the blood.

Right.

It certainly is something
worth following up.

[ melancholy banjo music ]

♪

JOE:
We are in eastern Tennessee.

- CHRYSTAL: Right.
- JOE: This is nice.

Oh, yeah.
It's so beautiful in here now.

CHRYSTAL:
Peggy Carter
is Vonda's sister-in-law.

Okay.

I know
the family's pretty close.

IRA:
We can find out
a little bit more

about that cat pee
that's been bothering
everybody.

Yeah, I agree.

♪

- CHRYSTAL: Ready?
- JOE: Let's do it.

IRA:
You got a--
the welcoming committee.

- CHRYSTAL: [ laughing ] Right?
- JOE: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

- [ dogs barking ]
- CHRYSTAL: Hi, there.

JOE:
Come on over here, buddy.
Hey, come on, then.

[ smooching ] Come on.

Yeah, ain't nobody gonna
bother you, boy.
Come here.

- How you doing, Ms. Carter?
- I'm good.

Joe Kennedy.
Nice to meet you, ma'am.

Peggy Carter. Thank you.

CHRYSTAL:
Who's the handsome man
on the porch?

PEGGY:
...put chairs in the yard
if you want to--

Just an old, 70-year-old man.

That's right.
You taking it easy, ain't you?

Mr. Carter. Joe.
I'm a North Carolina boy,
across the border on you.

ROGER:
Are you, now?

JOE:
Yeah.
Nice to meet you, Mr. Carter.

Appreciate you folks
giving us your time today.

- ROGER: Hey, yeah.
- PEGGY: You're welcome.

CHRYSTAL:
Before we get
too much farther,

tell me about Vonda's car.

About the cat urinating
in Vonda's car?

JOE:
Yeah, that'd be great.

ROGER:
Well, we have a building
out back

we call the smokehouse,

and that's their home.

IRA:
How many cats
do you have altogether?

PEGGY:
We don't know.

JOE:
Okay.

PEGGY:
And we have a cat.

Mm-hmm.

And if you pulled up
in the driveway...

- IRA: Mm-hmm.
- PEGGY: ...and you left
your car windows down,

he would get in it.

Okay.

PEGGY:
The weekend before
Jessie died,

he sprayed Von's car
with urine.

Did anybody see
the cat jump in the car?

No, we did not see
the cat jump in the car.

- IRA: Okay.
- But we saw the cat
come out of the car.

- Okay.
- That's still just as good.

- Yes. All of us did.
- IRA: Okay.

And a couple of days later,
Vonda cleans the car, right?

Yes, sir.

I know
because she called me...

- IRA: Mm-hmm.
- ...and asked me how to get
cat urine out of the car.

And I said,
"Bleach is the only thing
I know."

Oh, ain't nothing worse
than cat piss.

- Oh, honey,
you got that right.
- JOE: Oh, Lord.

Lord have mercy.

Nothing worse.
Let me tell you.

JOE: Yeah. Yeah, I know.

So when did she ask you about
how to get it out?

Was it before
the murder or after?

- Before, honey. Before.
- Okay.

So tell me who Vonda Smith is.

PEGGY:
Vonda is the most loving,

caring person I've ever known.

She just loved Jessie.

Vonda gave her money
to pay the bills.

If that's not
a good-hearted person,
I'd like to know what is.

CHRYSTAL:
Did Vonda ever say
anything about

feeling like Jessie may have
been taking advantage of her
or anything like that?

No. No.

Vonda loved Jessie very much.

Right.

Not just because
she had her grandbaby,

but because Vonda was
like that with anybody.

- Right.
- JOE: Hmm.

She has helped
so many people out.

- JOE: Wow.
- How did you guys even hear
about Jessie's murder?

Vonda, they had took her
for questioning.

Okay.

My brother, Rod,
asked me would I go
to the sheriff's department

and pick Vonda up.

She was a wreck.

To find out that someone did
what they did to poor Jessie?

- I mean, she was heartbroken.
- ROGER: Mm-hmm.

IRA:
Now, let me ask you this.

Vonda, you ever known her
to have a temper?

No.

IRA:
You ever known her to get

into any physical
altercation with anybody?

No. No.

Did you see any scars
on her face?

See any blood
anywhere on her?

- No, sir.
- IRA: Anything like that?

Fair enough.

It's just sad to know

that she shouldn't be in there,
that--that the killer,
whoever did it,

they're the one
who should be in there.

IRA:
Mm-hmm.

[ sniffles, sighs ]

Just take your time.
It's okay.

- CHRYSTAL: Yeah. Yeah.
- Take your time.

We know this is
very difficult for you.

IRA:
We're sorry for bringing
this stuff back up.

ROGER:
No, no.
We're here for Von.

- IRA: Yes.
- CHRYSTAL: Right.

- IRA: Yeah. - ROGER: We know she's innocent.

That girl was like
a daughter to her.

Why would she want to kill
that girl, rest her soul?

So the state's theory that
Vonda committed this crime

so she could take control
over the children...

Now, this, in my book, is BS.

Every time we went down there,
she had those babies.

When she had Channing,
she also had Kamdyn.

So Jessie didn't fight her
over keeping the kids?

- No.
- It don't make any sense.

- IRA: Right.
- PEGGY: No, it doesn't.

CHRYSTAL:
I know
it's hard for y'all.

This is your family.
It's your life.

This is everything.

IRA:
Well, we gonna do what we can.

I-I give you my word on that.

We're gonna do
everything we can
to get to the bottom of this

and get to the truth.

♪

[ suspenseful music ]

CHRYSTAL:
So I'm going to talk

to Medical Examiner
Scott Giles

about Jessie's injuries.

He's reviewed the autopsy.
He's reviewed the photographs.

So I'm-I'm hoping that he can
shed light on what happened.

[ computer chimes ]

- Hello.
- CHRYSTAL: Hi, there.

Dr. Giles,
what are your initial thoughts?

This was a crime of passion.

There was significant violence
in the assault.

Is there any way to determine
how the attack occurred?

DR. GILES:
Most likely, this is
a face-to-face confrontation

that escalated to the point
of using some blunt object,

like a pipe or a tire iron,
for example,

to strike her in the back
of the head and kill her.

CHRYSTAL:
And do you think
Jessie fought her attackers?

DR. GILES:
Certainly
there was a struggle.

She's got bruises
to her hands,

she had a broken finger,

and she also had
bruising to her feet,

which could have resulted
in her trying
to kick the attacker.

She was fighting for her life.

Jessie,
she would have fought back.

And I'm sure she did.

If anybody was gonna force
theirself upon Jessie,

they had a fight on their hands
if she seen it coming, you know?

She could take care of herself.

My mother wouldn't have had a chance.

CHRYSTAL:
Do you think
that the person responsible

would have been injured
as well?

DR. GILES:
Yes.

Looking at the bruises
on her hands,

I would anticipate that
they would have contusions
wherever she hit them--

at the very least,
have scratches on them.

But when the police went
to question Vonda Smith,
grandma,

at her house,
she has no injuries, no marks.

RON: Nothing on her hands.

- Not even a-a torn nail.
- IRA: Exactly.

- CHRIS: My mother might be
breaking five feet...
- WILLIAM: Yeah.

- CHRIS: ...if she's in heels.
- WILLIAM: Yeah.

CHRIS:
You know?

You're saying she could throw
a 170-pound woman

out on the side of the road.

- WILLIAM: Yeah.
- There's no way.

Not to mention her health.

I mean sh--bl--
high blood pressure.

You know, she wasn't
in the best of shape.

- CHRYSTAL: Dr. Giles,
Jessie was pregnant.
- DR. GILES: Correct.

In the autopsy, I didn't see
where they had tested

for paternity of the fetus.

Is that common?

With a crime of passion
like this,

I would think
that they would want to know
who the father was.

That might give some clues
as to who was the perpetrator.

I think that the investigation
was incomplete.

The police, I mean,
they thought me and Jessie
was messing around

behind Gary's back, you know?

They thought the baby
she was pregnant with was mine.

That was one of their questions:

Have I had sexual relations with
Jessie since the birth of my
son?

I said no.

You know, whoever's baby it was

may have n-may have not have
wanted the baby.

But they--we'll never know.
They didn't test it.

[ tense music ]

RON:
And it's amazing.

They never fully investigated
the paternity of the fetus.

IRA:
Yes.

So that's interesting

because Jessie,
when she was found,

there was sperm
in her underwear.

There was semen found, uh,

from two
different contributors.

IRA:
Mm-hmm.

RON:
One, in all likelihood,

was Jessie's boyfriend,
Gary Ealey.

But the other one
was insufficient to test.

That could have been
an assailant.

It could have just been
another boyfriend.

But it would have been
important to find out.

Right.

I think the biggest mystery,
for me,

is some of the DNA
that's left at the scene.

- JOE: Unidentified.
- Yeah, unidentified.

RON:
Right.

Underneath her fingernails,

they found the DNA
of three male individuals,

all of whom are unidentified.

Two of the samples
were too small for comparison.

The third was large enough
to create a profile,

and it was compared
with the DNA
from Jessie's boyfriend, Gary,

and Vonda's son, William,
who is Jessie's ex-boyfriend.

Both were excluded
as contributors.

[ desolate music ]

♪

Here's a question I got.
You look at the timeline.

On August 12, 2016,
the day of the murder,

Vonda and the victim
are together

for a-a large part of the day.

So l-l-let's take a look
at the timeline for a minute,

because I think the timeline
is really crucial.

It's at this point,
3:07 to 3:43,

that Vonda and Jessie
are in the grocery store.

There's a video
that clearly shows
Vonda and Jessie together.

You can see them
shopping for groceries.

That video was shown
to the jury at Vonda's trial,

and it was important
for the prosecution's case.

RON:
We know the groceries
made it to the trailer

because the groceries
were found

by the police subsequently.

Vonda says
around four o'clock to 4:30--
4:30 at the latest--

they go back to Vonda's house

and she gives Jessie
a sum of cash,

and then Jessie drives off
in Vonda's car.

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

DETECTIVE SERGEANT RICKER:

VONDA:

VONDA:

We need to corroborate parts
of Vonda's account

that are--it's not simply,
"Vonda said."

Is there anybody who can say

that Jessie came in...

- And paid a bill.
- RON: ...and paid those bills?

JOE:
We gotta follow the money.

[ gloomy country music ]

♪

CHRYSTAL:
When Jessie's body
was discovered at 7:30,

she had 13¢ in her pocket.

Vonda has stated that she had
given Jessie a thousand dollars

to go pay bills
and get minutes on her phone.

♪

I just spoke
to the manager of Walmart,

trying to determine
if Jessie bought minutes
for her prepaid phone.

She was unable to find anything
regarding Jessie on that date.

♪

The employees at Cross Anchor Utility District told us

the water bill was paid
prior to three p.m.,

which is prior
to when Vonda says she loaned
Jessie a thousand dollars.

♪

And I also talked to the owners of the mobile home

that Jessie and Gary lived in.

The rent was paid in advance.

They-they didn't owe rent
until September.

So it just doesn't add up.

I find it odd.

Where did the money
go that Vonda gave her?

Or did Vonda give Jessie
any money at all?

[ tense music ]

Now--and I know it may seem
a little farfetched--

but if we want to think
about the thousand dollars,

in that community, okay,

it's like any
of the rural communities
in-in the South today.

Meth is rampant.

So if Vonda did truthfully
give Jessie Morrison
a thousand bucks,

that is a lot of money.

That's a lot of dope that can
be bought in that community.

Right.

JOE:
And that could be a motive
for why Jessie was attacked.

♪

WILLIAM:
The meth...

CHRIS:
The drugs is out of control.

Yes, it is awful,

and I have had
my battles with it,

but I'm, you know,
almost a year clean.

But Jessie, she wasn't into the drugs or dope or--

you know,
she would barely drink.

My theory is whoever knew
Jessie had that money
took the money,

and...

[ exhales ]

And Jessie got
the bad end of the deal.

[ sobs ]

I-I just--
I want to take a minute
and introduce a-another player,

um, in the--in the timeline,
because what happens is,

after her car was returned

at around 6:30 in the evening,

Vonda goes to pick up Emma.

JOE:
Yes.

RON:
Emma Brown is the daughter
of Brittney Brown,

who's the ex-girlfriend
of Vonda's son William.

♪

BRITTNEY:
I had my daughter Emma

when I was a senior
in high school.

I think when I first met Vonda,
Emma was five, six months old.

At the time, me and William
first started dating.

So she would watch Emma
while we went out.

And she loved Emma
from day one.

Emma and Vonda
were very close.

Two peas in a pod.
Pretty much like best friends.

She called Vonda "Nanny."

RON:
Now, Sharon Burgner,

who is Emma's
great-grandmother--

Sharon Burgner
testified at trial

that Vonda came over

at right around seven o'clock
that night to pick up Emma.

And I know Vonda had said
that there was cat pee
in the car.

Emma's very finicky
about things.

So Emma was like,
"I don't want to get it
on my clothes."

So Emma got a towel,
put it on the passenger side.

When the police questioned me,

they were saying,

uh, "Vonda made Emma
sit in Jessie's blood.

"How do you feel about that?

"How do you feel about that?

Your daughter had to sit
in Jessie's blood."

But Emma said she did not see
any blood in the car.

You know,
she's nine at the time.

She notices things like that.

She would have been like,
"Nanny, what'd you
spill in here?"

So a-according to Emma,
she saw no blood.

No blood at all.

And if that's true,

then Jessie's blood got
in Vonda's car
after eight o'clock,

after Vonda comes home
with Emma.

- But they s--
- JOE: But her body's found
at 7:30.

So that wouldn't
make much sense.

Right, and that, of course,
is-is the problem.

Now, remember,
Emma is a small child.

She could be wrong.

Sharon Burgner should
be questioned.

Did Sharon see

that there was bloodstains
belonging to Jessie
in Vonda's car?

JOE:
I think that's a great idea.

- So...
- JOE: You're right on.

[ suspenseful music ]

♪

CHRYSTAL:
Today I'm going
to talk to Sharon Burgner.

She is the great-grandmother
of Emma Brown.

Sharon saw Vonda Smith
on August 12, 2016,

when Vonda arrived
to pick up Emma.

The case does hang on
whether Sharon saw
any blood in the vehicle.

Well, Sharon,
on August 12th, is the day
that we're talking about,

of 2016.

Vonda, she was gonna come get
Emma that afternoon.

Do you remember
what time Vonda arrived?

Seven o'clock.

How do you remember that?

Because the news
had just went off.

And me and her
talked about the family and,
you know, just chitchat.

Did you notice any scratches,
bruises...

- No. - CHRYSTAL: ...injuries at all?

No.

So Vonda told you about

the cat spraying
inside her car.

- Emma--
- At some point,
Emma comes out.

Em--Emma--yes,
she comes running out.

Of course, Emma being Emma,

she come back
in here and got a towel.

Did you see the seat
at that point?

Yes.

Did you notice anything
on the seat?

No.
No, I didn't.

I want to show you
some photographs.

Did you see any of that
in the passenger-side
front seat?

- Did you notice--
- No. No way.

No way. I never seen
anything like that.

What does it look like to you?

I think it looks like
a lot of blood, is what I think.

CHRYSTAL:
I-it stands out quite a bit.

Something
that you would have noticed.

Of course.
Definitely.

Okay.

And what about this one?

No.

No.

Okay.

What are some of the things
you would say about Jessie
and Vonda's relationship?

Vonda, she told me one time--
she said,

"I just want her
to have a better life."

Right.

She had even started buying
baby clothes for that baby.

Do you mean Jessie's unborn...

- SHARON: Yup.
- ...child?

Mm-hmm.

[ quietly ] I'm sorry.
[ sniffles softly ]

It's okay.

[ crying softly ]

CHRYSTAL:
You take your time.

You okay?

She wouldn't have done
anything--anything to hurt her.

Did Vonda love Jessie?

She loved her.

And she loved those kids.

[ sniffles ]

And you know...

she would have never took
those kids' mom

after she was--
didn't have no mom herself.

[ stirring music ]

CHRISSY:
Vonda's mother died
when she was young.

And I think her giving nature,
her helpfulness, her nurturing,

all that stemmed from the lack
of when Vonda was a child.

CHRIS: She helped people

because she knew
how hard it was
to go without something.

And she never wanted--

...to see anybody
go through that.

Do you think Vonda's capable
of committing a crime...

- No.
- ...like this?

No, she's not capable of it.

[ sniffles ]

It took a vicious person
to do what was done.

There's no way.

There's just no way.

Do you have an opinion

on how Jessie's blood
would have got in Vonda's car?

[ clicks tongue ]
No.

I just know it wasn't Vonda.

I would bet my life on that.

[ tense music ]

♪

Sharon is a country grandma.

She's the grandma that you want to go see every Sunday after church.

I think she's an honest person.

Had she walked out
to that car and saw blood,

she would have definitely done
something about it.

Whether it's confront Vonda

or not allow Emma
to go with Vonda,

she would have sensed
something was wrong

and she would
have kept Emma home.

But if she did not see blood
in that car,

where in the world
did it come from?

It's a-absolutely a mystery.

♪

[ dark music ]

♪

RON: Sharon Burgner says very emphatically,

before they put a towel down
for the cat pee,

she looked inside the car

and she did not see any blood.

But if there's no blood
in the car
when Vonda picks up Emma,

how did the blood
get in the car?

There is a universe in which
somebody, somehow, could have

just planted
Jessie's blood in the car.

Yes.

And let's say
that Vonda didn't do it.

So who did it?

Right.

JOE: What jumped out at me
is that Vonda says,

on the day of the murder,

she sees her car and then
a white van next to it.

RON: That's right.

And that account is given
exclusively by Vonda

at the time she spoke to the police.

VONDA:

What's interesting to me is
there's some reports of other
people seeing the white van.

RON:
Yes.

JOE:
It's seen at Jessie's trailer
by two people:

Jason Matthews
and Edward Hitchens.

Right.
They were two witnesses who
did testify for the defense.

Mr. Hitchens testified

that he saw Jessie
near a white van
on August 12th.

And Mr. Matthews
saw Jessie get into
a white van.

Wha-what's going on here?

So the common denominator in their story is they both see a white van.

Yes.

So that's interesting.

You know, I think
it's important that Chrystal
go back,

talk to one of these witnesses,

and just see if we can
clear some things up.

♪

CHRYSTAL:
I'm headed
to Jason Matthews' residence.

He's the witness
that testified during trial

that he saw a white van
the day Jessie was killed.

I do want to narrow
down the time frame,

and he lives right next door
to the--

Jessie and Gary's trailer park.

So I think Jason Matthews
is a very key witness.

♪

Jason, can you show me
where you were sitting

the day you saw Jessie
on August 12th?

Show me.

- The brown chair?
- Yup.

Go ahead and sit in the chair
like you were sitting.

Is this where you usually sit
to watch the cars pass by?

Okay.

Jason,

do you remember seeing
Jessie come out of her home?

Okay.

And you believe
it was around 5:30?

Do you know anything special
about the van?

Was it a new van?

Do you know
what color the van was?

♪

CHRYSTAL: Jason, he does have hearing issues.

His speech is affected by that,

but nothing at all wrong
with his sight.

I do think Jason's
telling the truth.

If he saw Jessie getting
into the white van at 5:30,

that leads us to believe
that Jessie was alive
at 5:30 p.m.

That would be long after
Jessie borrows Vonda's car
to go pay bills.

Jessie's deceased body
was discovered

at approximately 7:30,

and I believe it's about
a 40-minute drive

from Vonda's residence
to Sharon's residence.

If Vonda committed the crime,

she would have had just
an hour and 20 minutes,

and then she's got to clean up.

You've gotta dispose
of evidence.

It could create a problem
with placing Vonda

in the timeline,
killing Jessie Morrison.

♪

But we've got a lot more
leads to exhaust.

♪

IRA:
Two months after
Jessie's murder,

Vonda started doing
her own investigation.

She started looking
for the white van.

[ sobs ]

[ crying ]

[ sobbing ]

[ crying ]