Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- tonight on "the first 48: Critical minutes,"

we look back at three homicides

that erupted in the heat of the moment.

- A confrontation turns deadly.

- That's my love of my life.

- You know who was involved in this homicide.

- And an easter visit ends in murder.

- Were you mad about her hitting you?

Female interpreter: Oh, yeah.

- Then...

- A mother caught in the middle of a lethal dispute.

[dramatic musical sting]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- as a homicide detective,

I've seen how an impulse

like rage or jealousy

can turn out badly for everyone involved.

In our first case in kansas city,

an altercation between a man's girlfriend and his ex-wife

spun out of control.

♪ ♪

[radio chatter]

♪ ♪

- ready? - We're ready.

- Mark, what's going on, man?

How are you? - Good.

- All right, catch you up to speed.

He's shot in the face.

He's still alive and still has a pulse

and all that kind of thing.

They said they're concerned about his brain, though.

Andrew harman.

Male narrator: 37-year-old andrew harman

worked at a marble-countertop company

and loved carpentry and fixing cars.

He leaves behind a large family,

including two daughters and two sons.

♪ ♪

- where is she at?

- I think she is en route with her daughter.

Narrator: Andrew's wife and stepdaughter

have been transported to homicide for questioning.

♪ ♪

- oh, god.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- what's the deal with the baseball bat?

- I don't know.

♪ ♪

- this wasn't a random shooting.

They had an intended target.

And his wife was sitting right next to him

when this happened,

so hopefully she can identify the shooter.

♪ ♪

sorry to meet you guys

under these circumstances, obviously.

We really need to know what happened.

[sobbing]

♪ ♪

[sniffles]

- had you've ever seen that car before?

- Can you describe what the car looked like?

- It was a black four-door sedan,

and it was a newer car.

Shiny and very new-- it was nice.

I remember that.

- Did you see the people inside the car?

- Yeah, I seen the driver perfectly.

♪ ♪

- so what did the driver of that car look like?

- Short hair, buzzcut.

♪ ♪

- who all was outside right before this happened?

- I had gotten into a confrontation

with the girl across the street, jennifer.

Jennifer cooper is his ex-wife. [chuckles]

she's still trying to say she's his wife.

- Jennifer...

Narrator: Sarabeth says andrew's first wife

lives right across the street.

- She sells dope. [sniffles]

I [bleep] hate that house across the street.

Bright-red hair, glasses.

She's so doped out.

♪ ♪

she keeps on driving through my field,

spinning her tires and screwing up my yard.

And I have been letting it go, letting it go.

Narrator: She says earlier that night,

she went across the street to confront jennifer.

[sniffles]

♪ ♪

- you think this was this tray person?

♪ ♪

[sniffles]

- so you think you'd definitely be able identify him?

- For sure.

[cell phone ringing]

- hey, sarge.

♪ ♪

- I told you I'd keep you updated on everything,

and I'm sorry to tell you, but he did die.

- [sobbing]

♪ ♪

- one of the hardest things about this job

is telling people that somebody they care about

has been murdered,

but it does give us motivation

to go out and find the person that did this.

♪ ♪

this is jennifer.

Narrator: 30-year-old jennifer cooper

has been convicted of dealing methamphetamines

and has an outstanding warrant

for failing to register as a drug offender.

♪ ♪

- since she has an outstanding warrant,

we can pick her up if we can find her.

♪ ♪

narrator: Patrol heads out to look for jennifer cooper...

♪ ♪

and tracks her down near her mother's house.

♪ ♪

- ok, yesterday there was a altercation

out in front of your mother's house.

Is that correct? - Yes, sir.

- Can you describe what happened?

- My husband and his new girlfriend

had come out the fence with baseball bats

and broke out my friend tray's taillight.

- And your husband is...? - Andrew harman.

- Ok, and then who's his...

- Sarabeth ross. - And then who's tray?

- A friend of mine. - Ok.

Did tray threaten-- - yes, yes, tray did.

He told andrew that he would kill him.

"I will kill you

'cause you guys just broke out my taillights to my car."

♪ ♪

tray left, and I took off walking up the street.

And next thing I know, I started hearing gunshots.

And I thought I was shot.

I looked down, and I felt my chest,

make sure I wasn't bleeding.

- What happened next?

- I left, and I contacted my mama.

That's when they told me my husband was dead.

- Ok, what did you do then?

- [voice breaking] I started crying.

[cries]

that's my husband of 13 years.

♪ ♪

- ok.

And have you seen tray since all this happened?

- No.

♪ ♪

I just want to let you guys know

that I loved my husband very much.

♪ ♪

- ok.

♪ ♪

- [sighs]

- it's hard to believe that all this is over a broken...

- [chuckles] both: Taillight...

- But it's on a cadillac. - That's true.

♪ ♪

narrator: The team books jennifer

on her outstanding warrant.

♪ ♪

- hey, I'm gonna go through her phone.

I'm gonna hook it up to the machine.

Yeah, getting all of it. - That's a good call.

♪ ♪

- it's gonna take a lot to download all the data.

Once we do, we'll take a look at it

and see if it matches up with her story.

She gave us permission to go through it

because she wants us to catch the guy

that murdered her husband.

♪ ♪

narrator: Detectives track down tray and bring him in.

♪ ♪

do you know who was involved in the murder of drew?

♪ ♪

- do you remember any conversations

that happened right before you left there?

♪ ♪

- who is she?

♪ ♪

- do you know who she made that phone call to?

♪ ♪

narrator: No longer believing tray had anything to do

with andrew's murder, detectives let him go.

- We need to go to the county jail

and talk to jennifer again.

Her story isn't adding up.

♪ ♪

- can we talk to jennifer cooper?

♪ ♪

- hey, jennifer. - Hello, sir.

Please tell me you caught him. - Not yet.

- No, not yet?

♪ ♪

- we're kind of hoping you can help with that, though.

- Ok.

- Here's the thing.

I don't think that you wanted this to happen.

Obviously, this is your husband--

- that's my love of my life,

and that's why I'm still married.

Still to this day, I will always be married to andrew

because that's my husband of 13 years.

- But here's the thing.

The other day, you have this disturbance

that happens there at the house.

You guys all get into it, and you're in love with this man.

Everybody knows that, which means when you're in love,

that means anything can happen.

♪ ♪

- yes, I love that man with everything I got, sir.

- Let's show that now, ok?

♪ ♪

you know who was involved in this homicide.

- Ok.

♪ ♪

- no doubt.

♪ ♪

- isaiah butler's the one who pulled the trigger.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- how do you know butler? - I don't know him very well.

♪ ♪

- I'm just trying to put

why isaiah would come down the street and shoot him after--

- I couldn't tell you.

You guys, I wasn't there. I don't know.

And I loved that man with everything I got.

- Just because jennifer says somebody else did it

doesn't mean that she's not involved.

With her being the ex-wife and living across the street,

you've always got to keep jennifer in mind as a suspect.

♪ ♪

narrator: The next morning...

- There you go. That's him.

♪ ♪

- could you see if-- which one of the people

in the car was shooting?

- Both.

I saw both their arms hanging out the passenger window.

- Can you tell me who the person is

that I'm showing you in the photo here?

- It's time to go find this guy.

♪ ♪

narrator: Two days later, with no sign of isaiah,

the team finally gets a look at jennifer's phone records.

- At 17:20, there's a outgoing text message

from jennifer cooper to isaiah butler

that's saying, "call me."

about 9:20 in the evening,

there is an incoming text message

from isaiah butler, and it's a screenshot

of a post about andrew harman being killed.

He comments, "is this the same guy?"

with question marks underneath it.

It appears that he didn't necessarily know

who the victim was before all this happened,

which makes me believe even further

that jennifer probably set this up.

♪ ♪

narrator: The next morning...

- There's some other information that's come up

that makes me concerned about some things

that I'd have to ask you. - Ok.

- I do want to read you your rights, ok?

- Ok, am I in trouble?

- I'll explain to you, and you can explain to me.

- Ok. - Ok?

Have you ever had someone read their rights to you before?

- "you have the right to remain silent.

"anything you say, can and will be used against you

"in a court of law.

You have the right to an attorney."

so I will ask for my attorney right here.

- Ok. - Ok.

- I understand. - Thank you.

♪ ♪

- I do feel good about the fact

that we've got three very violent people

that we're gonna be able to get off the streets

of kansas city.

♪ ♪

[solemn music]

- there's a fine line between love and hate.

And when you're dealing with a crime of passion,

that line can be crossed in the blink of an eye.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- yeah, not exactly the way you want to spend easter.

♪ ♪

- pockets? - Pockets.

♪ ♪

- well, she got one to the forehead

and then one to the right side of the head.

She's shot one time in the back.

Narrator: The two shots to her head

were fired at close range.

- Yeah, she's also got one in the left wrist, too.

♪ ♪

yeah, the arms.

It seems indicative of her being on her back

trying to protect her face

and those are probably the shots

that, you know, entered through her hands

and then hit her in the head.

Narrator: Two feet from the victim,

they find a cell phone.

[metal detector beeping]

- [sighs]

narrator: They find no other evidence at the scene.

- Once we know who she is,

that'll give us a place to start

as far as finding out who she was with last

and what she was doing.

♪ ♪

the only evidence so far is a cell phone.

We're hoping that leads us to some information.

♪ ♪

[cell phone beeping]

narrator: Brown checks the phone

and finds several voice mails.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

the callers are expressing concern

for a woman named chandra.

♪ ♪

- man, there's some interesting phone calls on here.

There's some voice mails saying, "where are you at?"

♪ ♪

I was about to see if there's a missing person called in.

Narrator: Brown checks to see

if anyone in the victim's family reported her missing.

♪ ♪

- well, a call just came in about 15 minutes ago

in the same area where we were at.

And someone is calling in a female as missing--

chandra belton.

♪ ♪

it looks like our missing female.

♪ ♪

"40-year-old chandra belton

went to the store... To exchange some fish."

narrator: The report states chandra was last seen

five hours earlier when she left for the grocery store.

She never came back.

♪ ♪

brown calls the missing persons unit,

who was with the victim's family.

- Don't let them know that it's being worked as a homicide.

Wait till we get out there.

♪ ♪

- they don't know it yet,

but, unfortunately, we'll have to, you know,

break the news to them that she's deceased.

♪ ♪

- most murder victims are killed by somebody they know.

That's why the victim's family can be key

to cracking a case.

♪ ♪

- love is a dangerous thing.

♪ ♪

"love" is probably not the right word.

That's not love.

It's machismo, I guess, ego.

Lots of people die over it.

♪ ♪

- that guy.

♪ ♪

- have a positive id by reynolds.

Narrator: 51-year-old jerry belton

has a prior conviction for stabbing a former girlfriend

and her 11-month-old baby in louisiana.

♪ ♪

brown calls the local police in jerry's hometown

of amite, louisiana, 300 miles away.

- Name's jerry belton.

♪ ♪

right. Ok, cool.

Thanks, man.

♪ ♪

they knew exactly who he is,

and they're gonna try to put their hands on him.

♪ ♪

jerry, we're here to get your side of the story.

That's the reason I've driven

all the way from houston here just to talk to you.

♪ ♪

interpreter: I need a cigarette--after I smoke.

♪ ♪

narrator: Jerry says he was enjoying the visit

until he found out

that chandra was dating another man.

Interpreter: I mean...

Narrator: He says on easter Sunday,

chandra asked him to go to the store with her.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- well, jerry, there's a big difference

between someone that makes a plan

to kill someone else

and goes and executes it. Interpreter: No, no, no, no.

No, no, no. Uh-uh, uh-uh. I didn't do that.

No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no.

- Well, then I need you to explain to me

how this incident came about.

I need to know if you planned to kill chandra this weekend.

Interpreter: No, no."

- I didn't say I didn't believe you.

I didn't say I didn't believe you,

but we got some things we have to clear up if that's the case.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I want your side of the story.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

narrator: He says then chandra lashed out.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

interpreter: I think he wants to...

Act like you're sitting. Act like you're sitting.

♪ ♪

- were you mad about her hitting you?

Interpreter: Oh, yeah.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

narrator: Jerry later confesses to shooting chandra.

♪ ♪

- he's about as truthful as you'd expect

a murder suspect to be in a situation like that.

♪ ♪

he admits that he got angry

and shot her several times,

so it's a good confession on our part.

♪ ♪

- this next case from atlanta

features a different kind of love

that went wrong in a moment of fury.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- how are you? - I'm ok, tired.

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

narrator: 51-year-old barry hawkins,

known to his friends and family as paco,

lived in the apartment with his wife, sabrina.

They'd been together nearly 30 years,

and he helped raise her three children.

- What they're telling me

is that the wife is inside.

Narrator: Paco's wife, sabrina, was in her bedroom

when the shooting occurred.

- She can't get out 'cause of the crime scene.

- I'm gonna go take a look at the scene and...

♪ ♪

- this is dark back here.

♪ ♪

take a quick video and get the lay of the land.

♪ ♪

a lot of blood.

♪ ♪

narrator: While leonpacher examines the scene...

Narrator: Detective john egbert

interviews the victim's wife, sabrina.

♪ ♪

narrator: Sabrina says she was in her bedroom

when she heard some men shoving her husband

in the next room.

♪ ♪

narrator: Sabrina is physically disabled

and was unable to get up to see what was going on.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

narrator: Egbert breaks the news to sabrina

that her husband didn't survive.

♪ ♪

- I'm so sorry for your loss,

and I'm gonna do everything in my power

to make sure that whoever's responsible

for his untimely death is held accountable for it.

♪ ♪

narrator: Leonpacher spots a rifle case

on sabrina's bed...

♪ ♪

and blood nearby on the floor.

♪ ♪

- I need to know, are there any guns in here?

- But the case is on the bed.

The fact that the case is on the bed

tells me someone came and retrieved a gun from the case.

♪ ♪

- I want to collect the case for prints.

♪ ♪

- someone came in there and took that gun.

- Mm-hmm.

♪ ♪

- she says no one came into the back bedroom,

yet these gun cases are on her bed.

They're not under the bed. They're not in the closet.

They're on her bed right next to where she's sitting.

It doesn't make any sense.

It appears as if someone came back there

and retrieved that weapon.

She's as much of an eyewitness as I've ever seen.

- Anger is a powerful emotion,

and when you combine a moment of extreme anger

with access to a gun,

it can have devastating consequences.

♪ ♪

- hey, there. I'm detective egbert.

Narrator: The team turns to the neighbors.

♪ ♪

- your neighbor here just got shot.

I just want to know if you heard anything.

♪ ♪

she looked out the window

and saw four people getting

into a gray smaller mercedes.

♪ ♪

she thinks that she's seen that same gray mercedes here

two or three times before today.

- Ok.

♪ ♪

- back to the shop. [grunts]

♪ ♪

[line trilling]

♪ ♪

who drives the silver mercedes?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- do you know the stepson's name?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- here we go.

♪ ♪

there he is.

♪ ♪

narrator: Javoris hurston is 25 years old.

♪ ♪

- he's the registered owner of a silver mercedes.

Witnesses saw someone running from the scene

get into a silver mercedes and flee

right after the shooting occurred.

Why would she be withholding the identity

of the man that killed her husband

unless it were someone that were as important to her

as her son?

♪ ♪

narrator: Leonpacher checks sabrina's apartment complex

for javoris' mercedes.

♪ ♪

narrator: To get a warrant for javoris,

leonpacher needs sabrina to cooperate.

- I've got a single photograph of her son.

If she makes the id, then that's enough.

[knock at door]

[lock clicks]

hello.

- Thank you. - Uh-huh.

- Y'all getting cleaned up?

Sabrina?

♪ ♪

narrator: Leonpacher shows sabrina

a photo of her son javoris.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I know you're in a tough spot.

♪ ♪

narrator: Sabrina admits it was javoris who shot paco.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[leonpacher sighs]

♪ ♪

- you know, it's just a sad situation.

It's a traumatic situation for her and for her family.

I mean, her family's destroyed.

She's lost someone that she loved,

and she may lose a second person that she loves,

so I feel for her.

It just sounds like an argument

that spiraled out of control.

♪ ♪

narrator: After searching for three weeks...

[elevator bell blares]

♪ ♪

[door opens]

♪ ♪

- I'm detective young. - Hey.

- So the night that barry was killed...

- [inhales deeply]

- tell me what happened, bro.

- [breathing heavily]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- I know. Get it out, man.

Just get it off your chest.

- [snorts, exhales deeply] all right.

[snorts]

♪ ♪

so...

Narrator: Javoris says he felt his mother

was being taken advantage of.

♪ ♪

narrator: He says he gave the rifle to paco a few months ago

for protection.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

like...

Like... [imitates gunshots]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[sniffles]

- did he say anything to you? [crying]

[sobs, snorts]

- how long you known him?

[sobbing]

bro...

[sniffles]

[snorts]

[snorts, exhales deeply]

♪ ♪

- I'm not saying he's a stone-cold murderer,

but damn.

Like, you only know how to solve your problems one way,

with a gun?

♪ ♪

- the suspect in this case made a terrible decision,

and I think that when you do these things to a person

that you love that you immediately regret.

There is going to be guilt. There's going to be remorse.

You're never going to see them again.

That's the ultimate punishment, right?

I mean, for me, personally,

that would be worse than going to jail.

♪ ♪