06x21 - Where the Blood Drops

[bunniefuu]

[music playing]

Come by Bill Mowbray Motors on
the expressway in Brownsville,

and prove it to yourself.

We really do have great
service and low prices.

NARRATOR: When a
Texas car dealer

was found shot to
death in his bed,

it looked at first like su1c1de.

But a closer examination
of the evidence

convinced investigators
the man had

been m*rder*d in cold blood.

A decade would pass.

And a family would
be ripped apart

before a jury rendered final
judgment on what really

happened that hot Texas night.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: In the early
morning of September 16, 1987,

a couple in Brownsville,
Texas watched late night TV

before going to bed.


complained of having trouble

with his back, and
told his wife, Susie,

he was going to sleep.

About a half hour later,
she switched off the TV

and turned in for the night.

Soon afterward, the Mowbrays'
lives would change forever.

Susie said she heard
a noise, and woke

up to see her husband's elbow
pointing upward into the air.

Seconds later, she
heard a loud expl*si*n.

She leapt out of bed and
found him bleeding profusely.

A p*stol lay near his hand.

She said she pulled it
away and dropped it.

It landed in a
pool of his blood.

She rushed downstairs
to call for help.

Her first call was to one
of her husband's coworkers.

He did it.

she told him.

He shot himself.

He did it.

He shot himself.

My husband, after threatening
su1c1de, for at least 3 years,

almost on a weekly
basis, finally did it.

And the worst thing that
could ever happen to anyone,

happened to me.

I'll call you back.

NARRATOR: After telling
the coworker what happened,

Susie Mowbray then called 9-1-1.

Homicide investigator,
George Gavito,

was one of the first
people on the scene.

GEORGE GAVITO: She was
waiting there at the gate.

She had a mixed
drink in one hand,

and she had a cigarette
in another had.

She went in when
the deputies came

in, went back to the house.

She pointed to the room
upstairs where it was.

NARRATOR: Paramedics
and investigators

found Bill Mowbray with
blankets pulled up to his neck.

He looked as if
he were sleeping--

except for the massive
damage caused by the 357

Magnum that lay near his body.

LAWRENCE DAHM, MD: The entrance
wound was on the right side,

the right temple.

And the exit wound was
on the left temple.

Now this was a very
high energy w*apon.

It was a very, very
disruptive blast.

It literally blew this
victim's head apart.

NARRATOR: The fatal wound
was a contact wound.

The g*n barrel had
been placed directly

against Bill Mowbray's head.

As the b*llet exited
his left temple,

it went through his
left hand, which

was apparently resting under his
head when the shot was fired.

This was either a
homicide or a su1c1de.

Either he shot himself
with his right hand,

and had his left hand
bracing his head.

That was a plausible
theory at that point.

Or somebody else shot him
while he was lying, or perhaps

sleeping on his left hand.

NARRATOR: Brownsville
residents were shocked

to learn that one of their
most high profile residents

had apparently k*lled himself.

Bill Mowbray ran a local
Cadillac dealership

and was well-known in town.

But the dealership had
fallen on hard times.

Bill was deeply in debt
and was being investigated

for alleged tax fraud.

JIM SHAW: He was
fairly desperate.

He had gone to a banker
and put his head down

on the desk, and cried and
in front of that banker,

and said, if you don't loan
me $200,000 to help me out,

I'm going to k*ll myself.

And he was desperate.

He had gone to every
source he knew for funds.

NARRATOR: It looked
as if Bill Mowbray had

gone through with his threat.

But investigators
weren't so sure.

They noticed something unusual
in the position of his body,

something that said it
was physically impossible

for him to have shot himself.

They were convinced
that Bill Mowbray's

death was not su1c1de.

It was m*rder.

At 39, Susie Mowbray was
attractive, personable,

and an asset to her
husband Bill's business.

Bill Mowbray
Motors-- where you can

buy your all American classic.

NARRATOR: The two, both
coming off divorces,

had met 9 years earlier
and married soon afterward.

They lived the good life--
a beautiful home, exotic

vacations, condos at the beach.

For Bill Mowbray,
money was no object.

My brother did have a tendency
to spend a lot of money.

He did like good things.

When he would get involved
in any kind of a hobby,

he would get
involved completely.

NARRATOR: But Bill was having
serious money problems.

He was overextended on his
business and in trouble

with the IRS.

He was also cheating
on his wife.

People knew they
were separating.

Bill was going out
with someone else.

And Susie had found
out about it too.

She found a couple of
glasses of champagne

in the bed when
she had come back,

and questioned
the maid about it.

And the maid had
confirmed that, you know,

Bill was going out with someone.

NARRATOR: On the day
before his death,

Susie discovered that
Bill had made changes

to their insurance policies.

She found that within
days, the current policies

would be canceled.

And Bill's daughter would
become the main beneficiary

of new policies worth
almost $2 million.

For police, this signaled a
possible motive for m*rder.

GEORGE GAVITO: We got the 2
year su1c1de policies in Texas.

If you buy an insurance policy,
you have to wait 2 years

before you commit su1c1de.

If you just buy it and
commit su1c1de, of course

it doesn't pay off.

And if the new
insurance-- to begin with,

she wasn't going to
receive any money.

So she had to make a move,
and she had to make it quick.

NARRATOR: Susie's actions
just after Bill's death also

aroused suspicions.

Bill's brother, Jim,
went to the house

just hours after Bill's
body had been removed.

JIM MOWBRAY: I'd
been told that he

had k*lled himself
in his bedroom,

which was up a set of stairs.

And as I got closer
and closer, I

started hearing music
and people laughing

and stuff, up in the bedroom.

And I was taken by that.

And about that moment, Susie
popped out in front of me.

And my first words to her
were, what's going on?

And she said, we're
having a painting party.

And I was dumbfounded.

It seems like having a
party at this point is rather

inappropriate considering--

NARRATOR: Everything had
been taken out of the room--

all the furniture, even
the carpet was gone.

But for police, the unusual
position of Bill Mowbray's body

provided clear
indications of foul play.

When a high powered g*n
is fired at close range

into someone's head, it creates
what is called blowback.

Basically, the force
of the blast blows

brain and blood matter
back onto the hand

and arm of the sh**t.

Bill Mowbray would have
had to sh**t himself

with his right hand, since
his left hand clearly

contained an exit wound.

But his right hand
was lying at his side,

and was virtually free of blood.

LAWRENCE DAHM, MD: There
was a very minimal amount

of blood smeared about the right
arm and hand, but no spatter.

To me, this indicated that
it was extremely unlikely

that he could have been
holding the g*n when

the shot was fired.

At that point then, I
reached the conclusion

that this individual could
not have shot himself.

NARRATOR: In addition, his
right hand was under the covers.

It seemed impossible that
he could have fired a b*llet

into his head and then pull
the covers back over himself

all the way up to his neck.

What's more, blood analyst,
Sergeant Dusty Hesskew,

said he found blood
spatter and traces of lead

on the nightgown Susie Mowbray
was wearing when Bill died.

All indications were that Bill
Mowbray had not k*lled himself.

And there was only one other
person in the house the night

of his death, his wife Susie.

And she had a $1.8 million
motive to k*ll him.

Prosecutor Bill Hagen theorizes
that Susie could have laid next

to Bill, and using the
pillows and blankets

as a barrier between them,
fired at point blank range

into his head.

[g*nsh*t]

He says that
despite the barrier,

blowback left blood spatter
and lead vapors on her gown.

These red dots
show where Hesskew

claimed to have found blood.


Susie Mowbray went on trial.

REPORTER: Do you feel confident
going into your trial now?

No.

[laughs]

I don't think anyone in
their right mind would say,

I feel confident going
into a trial like this, no.

I'm scared.

NARRATOR: After a 3 week trial,
Susie Mowbray was found guilty

and sentenced to life in prison,
the jury agreeing that it

was physically impossible
for Bill Mowbray

to have shot himself.

But as she was sent away, her
supporters said they found

evidence that she was innocent.

The question was
whether they would

ever get a chance to prove it.

In June of 1988, Susie
Mowbray was sent to prison

to serve a life sentence for
the m*rder of her husband, Bill.

She maintained her
innocence while attempting

to adjust to life behind bars.

SUSIE MOWBRAY: I
can remember there

was this moment of
utter, just terror,

after they had
announced the verdict.

And this female
officer, of some sort,

is escorting me over
to the county jail.

And first words
out of my mouth--

are they going to hurt me?

And she said, not unless
you give them a reason.

NARRATOR: Her supporters,
particularly Wade Burnett,

her 20-year-old son from
a previous marriage,

went back to the evidence
that was used to convict her,

claiming crucial details
were misrepresented.

He found that prosecutors had
not disclosed the report that

contradicted their own case.

It had been done by
Herbert MacDonell, a highly

regarded blood spatter expert.

He had examined the gown
Susie Mowbray was wearing when

she allegedly shot her husband.

The evidence I
examined strongly

suggested that that garment
wasn't anywhere near

Bill Mowbray when he was shot.

And of course, that
would assist the defense

and not the prosecution.

NARRATOR: MacDonell was
never called to testify.

Instead, the prosecution's other
blood analyst, Sergeant Dusty

Hesskew, testified that he
found 48 separate blood spatters

on Susie Mowbray's gown.

This was a particularly
damning piece of evidence.

He said he used Luminol
to examine the gown.

Luminol is a
chemical that causes

blood to glow, or luminescence,
even after it has been cleaned.

The effect only lasts for
about 30 seconds, time.

Hesskew said, to measure
all of the blood spatters.

This is a claim dismissed by
most blood spatter experts.

I don't doubt that he saw
specks of glowing material

in the dark.

But according to his
testimony, he saw many,

and he measured them.

This is like measuring
the length of a firefly

at night in the springtime.

That's a good trick.

I wish I knew how to do that.

I don't.

NARRATOR: There
were other problems.

Blood is not the only
substance that will glow

when in contact with Luminol.

Certain bleaches, even
something like horseradish,

will also glow.

No one doubts that Hesskew
saw something glowing

on Susie Mowbray's nightgown.

But no tests were ever performed
to determine if what he saw

was in fact blood.

JIM SHAW: The forensic
evidence in the original trial

pointed a particular way.

And it turned out that all their
testing and their forensics

were all flawed, and
probably carelessly done.

Everything was so directed
towards the finding of guilt,

that I really feel like
it wasn't a fair analysis

of the forensic evidence.

NARRATOR: When it was
discovered that the nightgown

had not been properly
tested, the judge

overturned the verdict.

And after serving 9 years, Susie
Mowbray was released from jail.

I am standing here with my
family, not inside a prison.

This is freedom.

NARRATOR: But she would
have to face a new trial.

And prosecutors
remained confident

that the evidence used to
convict her the first time,

would convict her once again.

She put a g*n to Bill's head.

And she pulled the trigger.

And she did it because her
marriage was going bad.

And she saw an
opportunity to continue

living the lifestyle she had,
and collecting some money.

NARRATOR: But her
defense attorney

said it was clear Bill
Mowbray k*lled himself,

and that key evidence
proving their case was gone.

The t-shirt Bill was
wearing when he was shot

had been torn apart by
paramedics trying to save him.

And the blanket
next to his body,

which would have absorbed
large amounts of blood spatter,

had been lost shortly
after his death.

Susie Mowbray's retrial
in January of 1998,

was perhaps the biggest media
event in the area's history.

People lined up for hours
to get a seat in court.

Thousands more watched
nationwide on "Court TV".

Finally, it appeared the
courts would answer a question

now almost a decade old.

Had Bill Mowbray k*lled
himself, or was he the victim

of a cold blooded k*ller?

The main bone of contention in
the retrial of Susie Mowbray,

centered on a simple issue.

Bill Mowbray had been shot
with a high powered g*n

at point blank range.

Whoever shot him would have
been spattered with blood.

Yet, Bill Mowbray's
right hand, the only hand

he could have used
to sh**t himself,

had no g*nsh*t residue, and
was virtually free of blood.

That left Susie Mowbray
as the only other suspect.

But a respected blood spatter
expert, originally hired

by the prosecution,
said there was

no blood on the
gown she was wearing

when her husband was shot.

PROF.

HERBERT MACDONELL: I could see
no staining whatsoever on it,

but neither inside or outside.

So I told him at
the time, I said,

I don't see how
she could have been

in close proximity to the
exploding head-- literally.

Bill Mowbray had
a lot of tissue,

brain substance,
dura, hair, skin, that

was blown all over the room.

NARRATOR: Prosecutors claimed
it was possible that Susie could

have placed pillows and
a blanket between herself

and Bill, and that
these received most

of the blowback blood spatter.

But that blanket and
the t-shirt Bill Mowbray

was wearing when he was shot,
had been lost-- a serious blow

to the prosecution.

Meanwhile, Susie
Mowbray's defense team

had its own problems.

They had to account
for what many

considered to be
her unusual behavior

just before and
after the sh**ting.

She found out just
before Bill's death,

that she was being cut out of
his life insurance policies.

[dial tone and dialing]

Then after he was shot,
she called a family friend

before calling 9-1-1.

He shot himself!

NARRATOR: And within


she was painting the room
where the sh**ting took place.

JIM SHAW: They were so fixed on
the impropriety of the way she

was acting, and the
way-- the times,

and the flow of traffic
through her house,

and how she dealt with people.

And then the
assertion that she was

sitting there
drinking a drink when,

in fact, it was probably water.

We had to get around the fact
that she acted inappropriately.

NARRATOR: Her defense
also concentrated

on Bill Mowbray's behavior.

His business was in trouble.

He was being investigated for
alleged tax irregularities.


actually attempted su1c1de.

And he told friends he would
k*ll himself before spending

one day in jail.

He even told a coworker
what funeral home

he wanted to handle his body.

JIM SHAW: The IRS was
about to close in on him,

and he had no place to turn,
because of whatever it was

about his personality,
and the way

it evolved, the only way out
for him was to k*ll himself.

NARRATOR: After 2 weeks,
Susie Mowbray's second trial

was nearing the end.

As the prosecutor made
his closing argument,

the courtroom sat riveted.

And then, there was a
shocking development.

Smoking her
cigarette, when she's

standing outside with
her drink in her hand,

when she's medicating
herself, he is still alive,

dangling in his own blood.
SUSIE MOWBRAY: I didn't do it!

[sobbing]

JUDGE: Your time is up,
counselor, thank you.

[sobbing]

SUSIE MOWBRAY: Please don't
let them do this to me again!

My God!

I didn't do it!

[sobbing]

JIM SHAW: She
makes this outburst

which is totally unexpected.

Although some think
it was choreographed.

But it was totally unexpected.

She makes this outcry.

And really what
it does for us is

it gives us a relief that look,
we've done everything we can.

We have got her to the edge.

And now if something goes bad,
I'm just going to look back

and say, it was Susie's fault.

NARRATOR: The
outburst was as close

as Susie Mowbray would come to
testifying in her own defense.

After 4 hours of
deliberation, the jury

came back with its verdict.

FOREMAN: We the jury
find the defendant

Rita S. Mowbray, also known
as, Susie Mowbray, not guilty.

[applause]

Signed, Edward.

[gavel]

NARRATOR: In a
highly unusual move,

the jury foreman read
a prepared statement

shortly after the verdict.

Furthermore,
members of this jury

have reached the conclusion
that the only issue decided

by this jury is that
the prosecution was

unable to prove beyond
a reasonable doubt

the guilt of the defendant.

NARRATOR: Jury members later
said they couldn't speak

to Susie's guilt or innocence,
only that the prosecution had

not proved its case.

Despite, or perhaps
because of that decision,

the case continues to
generate controversy.

I can't be absolutely sure
in a mathematical sense

that she is the one who did it.

But I am sure that he
did not sh**t himself.

There was a physical
impossibility for her

to have k*lled her husband.

NARRATOR: Susie Mowbray did not
receive the insurance money.

She is considering
writing a book.

I want my children
to be proud of me.

I've been given a new
lease on life, so to speak.

And I want it to be good.

I want it to matter.

I still don't know
exactly what it'll be,

but it's going to be OK.

[theme music]