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This isn't a love story.
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It's two love stories.
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Good friends who fall in love...
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That day was picture perfect.
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...build families...
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...and make memories.
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But best friends
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can make the best of enemies...
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He wasn't the best when he was angry.
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...and turned love...
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...into tragedy.
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I noticed the blood trail
coming from the garage area.
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It was definitely coming.
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1987 -- just outside
Tellico Plains, Tennessee.
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15-year-old Marie Ellis
is a bridesmaid at a wedding.
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Marie's best friend Katrina wasn't there
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and is watching for the first time.
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This is the Marie I remember.
Kind of shy.
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Skittish. Yeah.
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Marie and I met in kindergarten.
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We became good friends just
riding the school bus together
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sitting in the same row.
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I sat behind her in school in fourth grade.
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Marie is the perfect bridesmaid.
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The kind of loyal friend
you can always rely on.
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I think one of my fondest memories
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was on the school bus and footloose come on.
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And her name is in the song footloose,
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and we were up singing it on the bus
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next to the speaker together.
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Marie calmly takes her place at the altar.
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The photographer asked
the bridesmaids to pose
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for a photo with the groom,
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much to Marie's embarrassment.
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There was a lot of laughter,
a lot of good times had.
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A lot of good memories.
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After the ceremony, the party starts.
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But Marie misses out on the bouquet.
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She's yet to meet the love of her life.
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Marie was quite shy around boys.
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Because she was usually just quite
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tuned into herself and real quiet.
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So it's a surprise
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when Marie starts dating
popular senior Ben Hatchett.
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Me and Marie met at
Tellico Plains high school.
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She had very long blond hair.
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And she just had a nice laugh.
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Fun to hang out with.
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When they graduate high school,
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Katrina goes away to college
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while Marie stays home and marries Ben.
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We went to the justice of the peace,
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and that's where we got married.
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And we was happy.
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When I took those vows,
I really meant them.
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Marie and Ben have
a baby girl the following year.
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I was on top of the world.
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That instilled the fact
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that we would be together forever.
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Just when life can't get any better,
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Marie hears that
her best friend, Katrina,
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is moving back to town.
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Marie and I had the type of relationship
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where even if we hadn't spoken
in a month or two,
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when we did see one another,
we could still reconnect
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and we were still friends.
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While Marie and Katrina catch up,
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Ben makes a new friend,
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fellow car enthusiast Mike Strickland.
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When me and Mike met,
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I guess our personalities
fit good together.
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Our passion was junkyards,
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working on things,
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getting things to run.
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We just hit it off,
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and we become very good friends.
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And when Katrina meets Mike,
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they fall in love.
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Mike was handsome.
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He had these very dark brown
eyes that I just liked.
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I was proud to be his girlfriend.
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It's a perfect quartet.
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On Christmas Eve 1992,
six months after meeting,
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Katrina and Mike tie the knot.
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Ben was our best man,
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and Marie and their daughter came.
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And it was just a really
nice, good friendship to have.
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With Ben and Mike being friends
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and me and Marie being friends,
it was just a couple
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having really good relationships.
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That day was picture perfect.
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The feelings, the emotion.
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It felt like it was forever.
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In June 1995,
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Mike and Katrina film a road trip.
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I didn't enjoy being behind the camera,
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but it was something new and different.
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I wanted to go to Colorado
because I had family
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that I had only met once.
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And I really wanted
to touch base with them
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and introduce them to Mike
and visit for a while
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and get to know them better.
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Mike promised to take me to Colorado
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so that we could have basically a honeymoon
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that we didn't get when we got married.
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Mike and Katrina are
totally at ease with each other.
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They've brought along
Katrina's 12-year-old nephew.
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And the pair take the opportunity
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to record a message
for Ben and Marie back home.
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It's cold.
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The marriage is only three years old,
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and Katrina wants to capture every memory.
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Mike didn't like the camera.
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He said I talked to it too much.
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You're just supposed
to film it and that's it.
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You don't talk to it.
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Katrina and Mike have
a lifetime to look forward to...
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...as they settle down in Tellico Plains
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surrounded by friends who will
stick by them forever.
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Tellico Plains, Tennessee.
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Friends Marie and Ben Hatchett
and Mike and Katrina Strickland
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depend on each other.
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We were really close.
Best friends.
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We were just young and carefree
and having a good time together.
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It's Christmas 1995.
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The holiday season is one of the
few times the couples are apart.
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And Katrina and Mike are driving
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to spend the day with her parents.
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I know.
I love to bust them.
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But while things are
going great for the Stricklands,
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friends Ben and Marie are struggling.
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Marie said, because it was self-diagnosis,
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that, she was bipolar.
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Because one minute, she could be happy,
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and the next minute, she could be crying.
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I think Marie became focused
on her daughter so much
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that I think Ben kind of fell --
that relationship
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with Ben kind of fell to the wayside.
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In 1996, Ben starts
spending more and more time
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at Mike and Katrina's.
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They were very dear friends.
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I did wind up going by myself.
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Me, Mike, and Katrina --
for me, it was an escape.
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Ben records their closeness
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on Katrina's camcorder.
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They're yours.
-Appreciate it.
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...forgotten?
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Ben finds constant reminders
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of what he's missing in his own marriage.
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I framed my marriage certificate
and put it on the wall
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because I was happy and proud
to be married to Mike.
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It was a milestone.
We were good.
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Ben laughs it off.
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But it can't hide
the strain in his marriage.
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Nothing would please Marie.
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She wasn't happy about anything.
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I dealt with it the best I knew how.
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Katrina and Mike seemed to go from strength
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to strength, and son Jacob
is born in January 2001.
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I'll get you.
I'll get you.
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First-time mom.
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Just very nervous, but I loved it.
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Every time he did something,
I wanted to record it.
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You know, a smile, a laugh, anything.
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Katrina's mom and dad
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are overjoyed to become grandparents.
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But the happy scene hide cracks
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that are shaking
Mike and Katrina's foundations.
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Mike, he'd tend to not take
to it as easy, I guess,
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as I did motherhood.
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He was just really distant.
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At the time Jacob was born,
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he wasn't at home a lot.
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He became distant.
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He was working day shift,
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but he wasn't coming home
until late in the evening,
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or sometimes even overnight.
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We lost our communication,
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and it became a stressful relationship.
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And in Tellico Plains,
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nothing stays hidden for long.
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I had got off work
and ran into Mike unexpectedly.
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Hey.
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Hiya, man.
How you doing?
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Nonstop.
Could do with a break, you know?
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Yeah, work and kids,
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he talked to me very honestly.
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And trusting what he said to me as a friend
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would stay between me and him.
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But it's a secret so big
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it will tear their friendship apart.
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213
00:18:14,527 --> 00:18:17,061
Old school friends Marie and Katrina
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have married buddies Ben and Mike.
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But behind the smiles,
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things aren't going well for either couple.
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And when Mike bumps into Ben in summer 2001,
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he has a secret to share.
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All I said was, how are you doing?
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That's all it took.
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Between us, got a date.
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One of them girls from work.
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00:18:42,722 --> 00:18:44,422
Really?
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He tell me that
he was seeing another girl
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over in Athens.
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00:18:53,867 --> 00:18:57,368
I ask him, why,
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00:18:57,370 --> 00:19:01,906
with you and Katrina
just having the child?
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00:19:03,710 --> 00:19:09,947
And he didn't have a straight answer.
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His main answer was
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I'm a guy and she's a girl.
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All right, buddy.
See you.
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00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:26,764
233
00:19:26,766 --> 00:19:29,534
The guy's gonna brag.
He's gonna brag about it.
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00:19:32,005 --> 00:19:34,438
But Katrina is already beginning to think
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00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,841
that something is wrong.
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00:19:36,843 --> 00:19:42,213
Hi. It's Katrina, Mike Strickland's wife.
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00:19:42,215 --> 00:19:44,282
Listen, is Mike there?
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00:19:44,284 --> 00:19:45,917
I called Mike at work,
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00:19:45,919 --> 00:19:48,486
and his supervisor said he wasn't there,
240
00:19:48,488 --> 00:19:50,354
he had took a vacation day.
241
00:19:50,356 --> 00:19:54,392
But yet he wasn't at home.
242
00:19:54,394 --> 00:19:56,394
And that confirmed my fears.
243
00:19:58,531 --> 00:20:01,065
And then when he got home
and I asked him about it,
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he was like, well, I was
just out with the boys.
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I mean he just brushed it off
like it didn't matter.
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00:20:08,341 --> 00:20:12,443
The betrayal is too much for Katrina to take.
247
00:20:12,445 --> 00:20:15,179
I just decided that
Jacob and I would move out.
248
00:20:20,353 --> 00:20:23,487
He told me that I would be back,
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that I would need him.
250
00:20:26,392 --> 00:20:29,460
Katrina's determined not to look back,
251
00:20:29,462 --> 00:20:34,265
and she and Mike get divorced in April 2002.
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Despite the divorce, Jacob and his dad are close.
253
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Even though Mike and I had divorced,
254
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I still wanted Jacob to have a dad
255
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and that father figure in his life.
256
00:21:00,159 --> 00:21:02,827
So him and Mike still spent
every other weekend
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00:21:02,829 --> 00:21:06,063
and some days through the week together.
258
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Their father and son bond grows stronger,
259
00:21:08,968 --> 00:21:12,436
and it's clear Jacob idolizes Mike.
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261
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Thank you. Here you go.
262
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Give this one to somebody now.
263
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There you go.
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265
00:21:49,642 --> 00:21:51,375
For Ben and Marie,
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00:21:51,377 --> 00:21:54,945
married life is anything but a party.
267
00:21:54,947 --> 00:21:59,950
The arguing and the fussing
did get to the point where
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I decided it was time to leave.
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It was time to call it quits.
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2003 --
after 13 years of marriage,
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Ben and Marie divorce.
272
00:22:15,868 --> 00:22:18,269
But it's hard to escape your past
273
00:22:18,271 --> 00:22:22,173
in a small town like Tellico Plains.
274
00:22:22,175 --> 00:22:24,408
One day, I went to the video store.
275
00:22:24,410 --> 00:22:26,610
I was leaving, and I saw Mike and Marie
276
00:22:26,612 --> 00:22:29,013
get in the same vehicle together.
277
00:22:31,651 --> 00:22:34,852
So I called Mike, and he didn't answer.
278
00:22:34,854 --> 00:22:38,856
And I tried to follow him,
but he sped up and ran.
279
00:22:42,562 --> 00:22:46,030
I didn't know what was going on with him.
280
00:22:46,032 --> 00:22:49,867
It's not long before
the picture becomes clear.
281
00:22:49,869 --> 00:22:51,969
I had it confirmed from a friend of mine
282
00:22:51,971 --> 00:22:55,873
that Mike and Marie
were seeing one another.
283
00:22:59,779 --> 00:23:02,847
I was just, like, mad.
284
00:23:02,849 --> 00:23:05,916
I mean, could you have not
picked anybody else,
285
00:23:05,918 --> 00:23:08,986
anybody besides my best friend?
286
00:23:08,988 --> 00:23:10,454
And her, I was mad at her
287
00:23:10,456 --> 00:23:13,758
because you have not picked
anybody else but my ex-husband?
288
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:19,463
I mean why? Why?
It was just crazy.
289
00:23:20,466 --> 00:23:23,701
And when Mike moves in
with Marie and her daughter...
290
00:23:25,905 --> 00:23:29,140
It's a hammer blow to Ben.
291
00:23:29,142 --> 00:23:33,277
I found out about Mike and Marie
being together
292
00:23:33,279 --> 00:23:38,883
about three days after me and her separated.
293
00:23:40,086 --> 00:23:43,120
I was torn apart.
294
00:23:44,657 --> 00:23:46,690
I felt like a failure.
295
00:23:49,095 --> 00:23:52,430
I went to confront Mike.
296
00:23:53,499 --> 00:23:55,666
He was not at work that day.
297
00:23:58,104 --> 00:24:00,938
My family didn't deserve Mike.
298
00:24:00,940 --> 00:24:05,042
My family deserved me.
299
00:24:09,081 --> 00:24:11,916
It's not the last shock.
300
00:24:11,918 --> 00:24:17,888
In 2007, Marie and Mike get married.
301
00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:19,223
They didn't tell anybody.
302
00:24:19,225 --> 00:24:21,125
Or, you know, they didn't tell us.
303
00:24:21,127 --> 00:24:24,028
It was just Jacob came home
and was like,
304
00:24:24,030 --> 00:24:25,996
dad's married.
305
00:24:25,998 --> 00:24:30,701
Despite his father
marrying his mom's best friend,
306
00:24:30,703 --> 00:24:34,772
Jacob's relationship with
his dad is still strong.
307
00:24:34,774 --> 00:24:40,511
We're kind of like best friends
instead of father and son.
308
00:24:40,513 --> 00:24:42,913
And the pair escaped from the turmoil
309
00:24:42,915 --> 00:24:45,015
in Mike's garage.
310
00:24:45,017 --> 00:24:48,152
The garage was his space,
his little safe zone.
311
00:24:48,154 --> 00:24:50,287
That's where he'd went.
312
00:24:52,925 --> 00:24:56,126
That was just his zone.
313
00:24:56,128 --> 00:24:59,230
October 10, 2013.
314
00:24:59,232 --> 00:25:00,731
After a day together,
315
00:25:00,733 --> 00:25:05,336
Mike drops Jacob back at Katrina's.
316
00:25:05,338 --> 00:25:07,171
He kissed my forehead, said I love you.
317
00:25:07,173 --> 00:25:09,940
I'll see you, and we hugged and I got out
318
00:25:09,942 --> 00:25:13,344
and waved goodbye on the porch.
319
00:25:13,346 --> 00:25:16,313
He saw mom and he waved at her,
and then went back.
320
00:25:16,315 --> 00:25:18,616
No one realizes
321
00:25:18,618 --> 00:25:23,487
the next few hours
will change their lives forever.
322
00:25:25,591 --> 00:25:30,794
What was coming, it was definitely coming.
323
00:25:39,939 --> 00:25:45,276
324
00:26:16,442 --> 00:26:21,545
The call is from Marie Strickland.
325
00:26:21,547 --> 00:26:26,951
As I arrived on scene,
the female did flag me down.
326
00:26:26,953 --> 00:26:28,986
She looked distraught.
327
00:26:28,988 --> 00:26:34,592
Mike Strickland is lying outside his garage.
328
00:26:34,594 --> 00:26:38,862
I noticed the blood trail
coming from the garage area.
329
00:26:41,167 --> 00:26:44,201
I followed it up to the garage.
330
00:26:44,203 --> 00:26:47,838
And it appeared that Mike had
been working on a vehicle
331
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,774
that was on a high lift.
332
00:26:50,776 --> 00:26:54,411
I don't know exactly what's happened.
333
00:26:54,413 --> 00:26:57,848
Could this be an accident?
334
00:26:57,850 --> 00:27:00,751
Paramedics arrive at the scene.
335
00:27:00,753 --> 00:27:04,822
As the paramedics
were checking Mike Strickland,
336
00:27:04,824 --> 00:27:07,925
they did roll him over onto his back.
337
00:27:07,927 --> 00:27:12,930
And they determined that
there was a wound to his neck,
338
00:27:12,932 --> 00:27:15,766
and that's where
the blood was coming from.
339
00:27:17,703 --> 00:27:19,136
He's been shot.
340
00:27:22,008 --> 00:27:25,609
Mike Strickland
is pronounced dead at the scene.
341
00:27:28,447 --> 00:27:32,383
At that point, the investigators
pretty much determined
342
00:27:32,385 --> 00:27:34,752
that we were dealing with
a homicide at that time.
343
00:27:39,625 --> 00:27:41,925
We were at home, and my sister called.
344
00:27:41,927 --> 00:27:44,094
She was like, trina, have you heard?
345
00:27:44,096 --> 00:27:46,397
And I'm like, heard what?
346
00:27:46,399 --> 00:27:49,600
And she said, well,
I heard Mike was gone,
347
00:27:49,602 --> 00:27:51,101
had passed away.
348
00:27:51,103 --> 00:27:54,905
And I called Mike's home phone.
349
00:27:54,907 --> 00:27:59,009
And I got Marie.
350
00:27:59,011 --> 00:28:01,345
I said, is it true?
351
00:28:01,347 --> 00:28:03,414
And she said, has nobody called you?
352
00:28:03,416 --> 00:28:06,517
And I said no.
I said, so it's true?
353
00:28:06,519 --> 00:28:09,353
And she said, yes, there was so much blood.
354
00:28:12,591 --> 00:28:16,493
Katrina as to break the news to Jacob.
355
00:28:16,495 --> 00:28:17,961
I called Jacob into the living room
356
00:28:17,963 --> 00:28:20,497
and I sat him down on the couch.
357
00:28:20,499 --> 00:28:22,166
And I said, Jacob, I got
something to tell you.
358
00:28:22,168 --> 00:28:23,500
And he's just like, what, mom?
359
00:28:23,502 --> 00:28:25,402
You know, he is still just happy.
360
00:28:30,609 --> 00:28:33,010
She told me that dad had died.
361
00:28:33,012 --> 00:28:34,712
And I was just completely in shock.
362
00:28:34,714 --> 00:28:39,983
I didn't know what to do,
how it happened.
363
00:28:39,985 --> 00:28:42,419
I was -- I was just in shock.
364
00:28:44,757 --> 00:28:49,026
I just remember being in tears
almost the entire day.
365
00:28:49,028 --> 00:28:53,530
That's basically all that day
was was just tears.
366
00:28:53,532 --> 00:28:56,100
Telling Jacob that his dad was gone
367
00:28:56,102 --> 00:29:00,504
was probably the hardest thing
I've ever done.
368
00:29:00,506 --> 00:29:02,206
Ever.
369
00:29:02,208 --> 00:29:06,143
You just watch your child's
heart break in front of you.
370
00:29:08,981 --> 00:29:11,148
Detectives begin by questioning
371
00:29:11,150 --> 00:29:13,050
the three people closest to Mike
372
00:29:13,052 --> 00:29:15,452
who might have a motive --
373
00:29:15,454 --> 00:29:19,056
his wife, Marie, ex-wife, Katrina,
374
00:29:19,058 --> 00:29:22,392
and former friend, Ben.
375
00:29:22,394 --> 00:29:26,363
They start with Marie.
376
00:29:26,365 --> 00:29:28,265
She was very upset.
377
00:29:28,267 --> 00:29:31,001
But nevertheless, she cooperated
with law enforcement
378
00:29:31,003 --> 00:29:34,438
and answered all the questions
that they posed to her.
379
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,774
Police record her statement.
380
00:30:25,291 --> 00:30:28,792
She said that
her relationship with Mike
381
00:30:28,794 --> 00:30:31,295
was a good relationship.
382
00:30:31,297 --> 00:30:35,399
Law enforcement
looked into Mike's finances,
383
00:30:35,401 --> 00:30:41,605
and they were able to rule out
any sort of financial motive
384
00:30:41,607 --> 00:30:44,842
that Marie would have had
to kill her husband.
385
00:30:47,513 --> 00:30:52,049
Marie is free to go.
386
00:30:52,051 --> 00:30:57,020
Mike's ex-wife, Katrina, is next.
387
00:30:57,022 --> 00:30:58,288
I was nervous.
388
00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,924
I really didn't know what was going on.
389
00:31:00,926 --> 00:31:03,060
They asked if I knew anybody
390
00:31:03,062 --> 00:31:05,329
that could possibly have done this,
391
00:31:05,331 --> 00:31:08,565
who Mike's enemies were.
392
00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:13,136
Based upon the questions
that are asked, her demeanor,
393
00:31:13,138 --> 00:31:17,741
they were able to rule out
Katrina as the murderer.
394
00:31:17,743 --> 00:31:19,977
I said the only person I could see
395
00:31:19,979 --> 00:31:25,082
probably doing it
would be a jealous husband.
396
00:31:25,084 --> 00:31:28,819
Marie's rejected
ex-husband, Ben Hatchett,
397
00:31:28,821 --> 00:31:32,756
is at the top of their list.
398
00:31:32,758 --> 00:31:35,726
I went to the window and looked out
399
00:31:35,728 --> 00:31:42,900
and saw the three detectives
with their badges.
400
00:31:42,902 --> 00:31:45,769
And I thought, boy.
401
00:31:45,771 --> 00:31:48,672
This ain't good.
402
00:31:50,376 --> 00:31:51,675
Hi.
Can I help you?
403
00:31:51,677 --> 00:31:53,010
Ben Hatchett?
Yeah.
404
00:31:53,012 --> 00:31:57,281
Yeah. We'd like to talk to you
about Mike Strickland.
405
00:31:57,283 --> 00:31:59,650
I told them I didn't do it,
406
00:31:59,652 --> 00:32:06,390
and they could investigate me
all they wanted.
407
00:32:06,392 --> 00:32:09,259
Ben made it clear to law enforcement
408
00:32:09,261 --> 00:32:12,095
that he did not like Mike,
409
00:32:12,097 --> 00:32:16,733
that he wanted to see Mike dead,
410
00:32:16,735 --> 00:32:20,771
but that guy got to him first.
411
00:32:20,773 --> 00:32:22,940
Ben has the clearest motive.
412
00:32:22,942 --> 00:32:26,109
But with no physical evidence
to connect him to the scene,
413
00:32:26,111 --> 00:32:29,913
they can't arrest him.
414
00:32:29,915 --> 00:32:32,816
Investigators continue
to examine Mike's workshop
415
00:32:32,818 --> 00:32:34,451
for clues.
416
00:32:37,856 --> 00:32:42,659
They find something lodged in a car tire.
417
00:32:42,661 --> 00:32:44,428
It's a bullet.
418
00:32:48,434 --> 00:32:50,834
And it's at the end of the bloody trail
419
00:32:50,836 --> 00:32:53,036
leading to Mike's body.
420
00:32:53,038 --> 00:32:58,008
Finding a bullet in a tire
is a bit of a lucky break.
421
00:32:58,010 --> 00:33:00,644
Typically when someone is shot,
422
00:33:00,646 --> 00:33:05,182
it's very difficult
to find that exit bullet.
423
00:33:05,184 --> 00:33:09,052
They check the slug
in the lab and confirm
424
00:33:09,054 --> 00:33:12,089
it's the bullet
that killed Mike Strickland.
425
00:33:15,527 --> 00:33:17,561
But there's no weapon at the scene.
426
00:33:17,563 --> 00:33:24,067
427
00:33:24,069 --> 00:33:26,536
And they lose a prime suspect
428
00:33:26,538 --> 00:33:30,140
when Ben Hatchett's alibi checks out.
429
00:33:30,142 --> 00:33:35,779
430
00:33:35,781 --> 00:33:39,149
With no gun and no strong suspects,
431
00:33:39,151 --> 00:33:43,353
police turn to
Mike's 12 year-old-son, Jacob.
432
00:33:43,355 --> 00:33:44,654
Took me into the police station
433
00:33:44,656 --> 00:33:45,856
and was questioning me,
434
00:33:45,858 --> 00:33:47,557
asking me if he had any enemies,
435
00:33:47,559 --> 00:33:49,993
anybody who would want to hurt him.
436
00:33:49,995 --> 00:33:52,362
They did ask me what the relationship
437
00:33:52,364 --> 00:33:56,099
was at home with him and Marie.
438
00:33:56,101 --> 00:33:58,902
And I told them
they were fighting all the time.
439
00:34:01,106 --> 00:34:06,309
Jacob tells investigators that
Mike and Marie's relationship
440
00:34:06,311 --> 00:34:08,011
wasn't really a positive one,
441
00:34:08,013 --> 00:34:10,680
that they were having serious problems,
442
00:34:10,682 --> 00:34:12,682
which was in contrast to
443
00:34:12,684 --> 00:34:15,285
what Marie had initially
told law enforcement
444
00:34:15,287 --> 00:34:17,554
about her relationship with Mike.
445
00:34:17,556 --> 00:34:23,260
Marie might not be
telling the whole truth.
446
00:34:23,262 --> 00:34:27,297
And Marie was the last
individual who saw Mike alive.
447
00:34:36,575 --> 00:34:40,977
448
00:34:40,979 --> 00:34:42,779
Marie Strickland might have lied
449
00:34:42,781 --> 00:34:45,215
about the state of her marriage to Mike.
450
00:34:47,653 --> 00:34:52,055
So police search her phone records.
451
00:34:52,057 --> 00:34:55,959
They find a list
of deleted texts between her
452
00:34:55,961 --> 00:34:57,727
and her brother, Chris smallin,
453
00:34:57,729 --> 00:35:00,297
on the day of Mike's murder.
454
00:35:02,835 --> 00:35:06,136
Why was it that there
were deleted text messages?
455
00:35:06,138 --> 00:35:08,572
We usually don't delete text messages.
456
00:35:12,544 --> 00:35:15,979
But she had, and that was
suspicious for law enforcement.
457
00:35:18,117 --> 00:35:23,820
On December 10, 2013,
detectives pay Chris a visit.
458
00:35:23,822 --> 00:35:28,592
Would it be possible for us
to have a look at your cell?
459
00:35:28,594 --> 00:35:33,029
The text conversation with Marie
is still on his phone.
460
00:35:33,031 --> 00:35:37,400
And when they read it,
detectives are stunned.
461
00:35:40,072 --> 00:35:44,808
This is the biggest moment in the case.
462
00:35:44,810 --> 00:35:48,879
These text messages show
that Marie had a gun
463
00:35:48,881 --> 00:35:51,014
on the day of the murder.
464
00:35:54,686 --> 00:35:56,653
And she's asking her brother,
465
00:35:56,655 --> 00:35:59,222
how do I make certain
this gun is loaded?
466
00:35:59,224 --> 00:36:04,494
467
00:36:04,496 --> 00:36:07,364
And he told law enforcement
that a couple of weeks
468
00:36:07,366 --> 00:36:08,732
before the murder,
469
00:36:08,734 --> 00:36:13,036
that Marie came to him,
asked him for a gun.
470
00:36:13,038 --> 00:36:14,804
She stated that she wanted a gun
471
00:36:14,806 --> 00:36:19,976
because Mike was becoming
increasingly more violent.
472
00:36:19,978 --> 00:36:24,681
And he then provided her a gun.
473
00:36:24,683 --> 00:36:27,217
Chris says that
on the day of Mike's murder,
474
00:36:27,219 --> 00:36:31,655
Marie came to see him
in the library where he works.
475
00:36:31,657 --> 00:36:37,194
She handed the .380 to him in a plastic bag
476
00:36:37,196 --> 00:36:39,729
and said that she wanted him to have it
477
00:36:39,731 --> 00:36:41,097
because she didn't know
478
00:36:41,099 --> 00:36:45,936
what would happen with it
in her possession.
479
00:36:45,938 --> 00:36:47,470
Detectives confront Marie
480
00:36:47,472 --> 00:36:49,739
with her brother's statement.
481
00:36:49,741 --> 00:36:52,075
That was, I think, the breaking point,
482
00:36:52,077 --> 00:36:53,710
when she realized that her brother
483
00:36:53,712 --> 00:36:56,346
might be implicated in this.
484
00:36:58,383 --> 00:37:02,686
Then she gave her account of the events.
485
00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:51,468
Marie claims that Mike was controlling
486
00:37:51,470 --> 00:37:55,005
and she needed a gun
for her own self-defense.
487
00:38:04,883 --> 00:38:09,252
She said that Mike and she
went up to the shop,
488
00:38:09,254 --> 00:38:12,188
stayed in the shop a little while.
489
00:38:12,190 --> 00:38:15,091
She wanted to go back down to the house.
490
00:38:15,093 --> 00:38:17,494
Mike didn't want her
to go back down at the house
491
00:38:17,496 --> 00:38:20,363
because she said he was very controlling.
492
00:38:20,365 --> 00:38:22,932
She went back down to the house.
493
00:38:22,934 --> 00:38:26,169
Mike came back down to the house.
494
00:39:12,284 --> 00:39:15,018
But she does remember the aftermath.
495
00:39:30,535 --> 00:39:34,637
She was unaware of whether
she actually shot him or not.
496
00:39:34,639 --> 00:39:39,376
Marie claims she then drove to the library
497
00:39:39,378 --> 00:39:43,813
to give the gun back to her brother Chris.
498
00:39:43,815 --> 00:39:46,316
And when she returned home,
499
00:39:46,318 --> 00:39:50,220
she found Mike bleeding out in the driveway.
500
00:39:58,196 --> 00:40:00,964
But detectives aren't convinced.
501
00:40:00,966 --> 00:40:04,968
Her account just doesn't match
their findings at the scene.
502
00:40:04,970 --> 00:40:07,036
The physical evidence was very clear
503
00:40:07,038 --> 00:40:08,805
based upon the trajectory of the bullet
504
00:40:08,807 --> 00:40:12,308
that someone was sitting in a chair.
505
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:17,380
Mike was underneath the car.
506
00:40:17,382 --> 00:40:23,453
507
00:40:23,455 --> 00:40:25,755
And that is when he was shot.
508
00:40:25,757 --> 00:40:31,127
509
00:40:31,129 --> 00:40:36,533
510
00:40:36,535 --> 00:40:38,868
Mike Strickland staggered outside
511
00:40:38,870 --> 00:40:42,605
before collapsing
in the driveway from blood loss.
512
00:40:45,076 --> 00:40:49,646
The autopsy report showed that
Mike died from a gunshot wound
513
00:40:49,648 --> 00:40:54,117
that pierced the right
internal jugular vein.
514
00:40:57,088 --> 00:40:59,722
She then went to the library,
515
00:40:59,724 --> 00:41:03,426
where she gave the gun to Chris
516
00:41:03,428 --> 00:41:05,261
for Chris dispose of.
517
00:41:07,299 --> 00:41:09,799
Records actually show
she checked out a book
518
00:41:09,801 --> 00:41:13,870
at the library,
which is pretty incredibly cold.
519
00:41:17,776 --> 00:41:19,909
43-year-old Marie Strickland
520
00:41:19,911 --> 00:41:24,314
is arrested for the murder
of her husband, Mike.
521
00:41:24,316 --> 00:41:27,784
Police believe Chris smallin
was unaware of the killing,
522
00:41:27,786 --> 00:41:31,221
and he's charged with being
an accessory after the fact
523
00:41:31,223 --> 00:41:33,756
and given a two-year probated sentence.
524
00:41:36,361 --> 00:41:38,294
On June 5, 2015,
525
00:41:38,296 --> 00:41:41,064
Marie Strickland accepts a plea deal
526
00:41:41,066 --> 00:41:45,301
and pleads guilty to second-degree murder.
527
00:41:45,303 --> 00:41:49,672
She's sentenced to 21 years in prison.
528
00:41:49,674 --> 00:41:52,375
The mystery that shrouds this whole case --
529
00:41:52,377 --> 00:41:53,977
what is the motive?
530
00:41:53,979 --> 00:42:00,884
531
00:42:00,886 --> 00:42:04,521
He wasn't the best when he was angry.
532
00:42:04,523 --> 00:42:10,093
But why do you have to resort to murder?
533
00:42:10,095 --> 00:42:12,128
You get a divorce.
534
00:42:12,130 --> 00:42:15,031
You move out.
535
00:42:15,033 --> 00:42:18,134
Basically, you took being
a parent away from yourself.
536
00:42:18,136 --> 00:42:19,903
You know, your daughter --
you don't get to see
537
00:42:19,905 --> 00:42:21,804
your daughter anymore over this.
538
00:42:21,806 --> 00:42:24,140
And Jacob has no dad.
539
00:42:24,142 --> 00:42:25,441
That's where he gets
540
00:42:25,443 --> 00:42:27,777
his curly hair from his, his daddy.
541
00:42:27,779 --> 00:42:31,481
I like people to remember
my dad as a good person
542
00:42:31,483 --> 00:42:33,249
because I do believe him
to be a good person.
543
00:42:33,251 --> 00:42:35,985
He was a great person to me.
He was a great father.
544
00:42:35,987 --> 00:42:38,655
He was one of my best friends.
545
00:42:38,657 --> 00:42:41,624
I miss the laughs
that we would have together.
546
00:42:44,095 --> 00:42:46,262
I don't think
I'll ever forgive her
547
00:42:46,264 --> 00:42:52,702
because she took something away
that my kid will never get back.
40142
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