08x14 - A Welcome Intrusion

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a young woman
complained about

A shuttle van driver

Who took her home from
the airport.

A few days later,

There was a violent
confrontation

That left both the passenger
and the driver dead.

Police first thought
the incident was revenge,

But the blood patterns,

An old hammer,
and a hastily scrawled note

Told forensic scientists
something entirely different.

In august of 1995,


And her infant daughter bailey

Flew into the st. Louis airport

After spending a week in florida
visiting her parents.

During the ride home,

The shuttle van driver,
roger harrington,

Drove erratically
and exceeded the speed limit.

He also said he heard voices
telling him to k*ll people.

At home, donnah documented
the details of the incident.

When she and her husband
reported the incident

To the shuttle van company,

Harrington was suspended.

The wingers hoped that would
be the end of their involvement

With roger harrington,

But they were wrong.

[ Dialing ]

This is springfield police.
What is your emergency?

Man:
emergency, emergenc!

I just found this mn
in my house.

he's inside your house...

he k*lled --
he beat my wife!

where's the man at?

he's laying on the floo!

is he dead?

I don't know --
he's making weird sound.

is the man
still in your house?

yes, he's laying
there on the flor

with a b*llet in his hea!

did you sh**t him?

yes, I shot him --
he was k*lling my wif!

oh, my god --
my baby's crying!

my baby's crying -
I've got to go!

I'll call you
right back!

Narrator: when police arrived,

They found donnah winger
facedown

On the dining room floor.

Roger harrington lay
a few feet away on his back.

Paramedics rushed them
to the hospital,

Where they were both
pronounced dead on arrival.

We all lost something
in our hearts,

And she lost a lifetime

To be a mommy,

A daughter, a sister, a friend.

We've all lost.

Everybody lost.

Narrator: mark winger told
police he was in the basement

When he heard a commotion
upstairs.

He grabbed his p*stol,
ran into the hallway,

Saw harrington beating his wife
with a hammer,

And k*lled him.

Barringer: mark blurted out,

"This is the man that's been
stalking my wife!

This the man who's been
harassing my family."

We did ask mark

Why roger would be over
at his house on that day.

Mark said that he had no idea.

Narrator: police found
roger harrington's car parked

In front of the winger house.

Donnah's handwritten account

Of what happened
in the van with harrington

Was on the refrigerator door.

Williamson: that was
the one piece of evidence

That donna spoke to us through.

She was not alive,

So we couldn't ask her
what had occurred,

But she did document
what happened on the ride

With bart transportation
from st. Louis,

And that was supportive
of mark's facts.

Narrator: a background check
revealed harrington had

A history of mental illness

And had twice been hospitalized
for psychiatric treatment.

Schmidt: he was an individual
that, like many americans,

Have a mental illness,

And it was being addressed.

The hammer harrington
used to attack donnah winger

Had been
on the dining room table.

Barringer: donnah wanted
a picture hung in the house.

To remind mark
to hang the picture,

She placed the picture
and the hammer on a table

So mark would remember to
hang the picture.

Narrator: also on the table
were harrington's coffee mug

And a pack of cigarettes.

Police speculated
that harrington sought revenge

For the wingers' complaint.

Immediately determined
that it was more plausible

That a mentally ill subject had
att*cked donnah and k*lled her.

Narrator:
when the investigation was over,

Mark winger was called a hero
for trying to save his wife.

Not only had he lost
his precious wife,

But he also had to sh**t a man,
trying to protect her.

Narrator: the newspaper
published a letter

Mark winger wrote

Thanking the community
for its support.

Roger harrington's family
refused to believe it.

Well, I never have ever seen
roger be violent to anybody.

Narrator: four years later,

Forensic evidence came to light

That raised new questions
about what really happened

That day in the wingers' home.

Narrator: at joe dimaggio
children's hospital

In hollywood, florida,

Donnah winger's family
established a memorial playroom

In her memory.

We are making goodness
from evil tonight.

Mark winger thankfully has
straightened his life around,

But only after many, many months

Of difficult adversities
and tribulations.

Narrator:
back in springfield, illinois,

Mark winger married
his daughter's nanny,

Rebecca simick,

And together
had three more children.

Although four years had passed,

Donnah winger's best friend,
deann schultz,

Was still having
a difficult time.

She was suffering
from such a deep depression

She had to be institutionalized.

She was given
electroconvulsive therapy

To treat her depression.

Schmidt: probably the most
extreme measure you can go to

To try to become well.

She was on numerous
medications for it.

She was not getting any better.

One day, she tells her doctor,
"this is what I know.

This has been burdening me.
This is what I know."

The doctor says, "you've got to
tell someone about this."

Narrator:
her story was devastating.

Deann told us that she had
an affair with mark winger

Prior to and after the murders
taking place.

Narrator:
deann said her depression

Was caused by her suspicions
about donnah's death.

The motive was that he wanted
out of the marriage,

And deann was
under the impression,

Because rings
had been purchased,

That at some point
they would be married.

Narrator:
but after donnah's death,

Mark didn't marry deann,
as she had hoped.

Instead he married
his daughter's nanny.

Schmidt: mark obviously says
she's making all this up.

It's all fabricated,
it's all a lie,

And it's all just an effort
to get back at him

Because they're
no longer together.

She is the jilted individual.

Narrator: hotel receipts
and telephone records

Confirm deann's claims
of the affair...

And police were faced
with another discrepancy.

Mark winger told police
he had fired two sh*ts

Into roger harrington,

But a neighbor reported hearing
a pause of perhaps five minutes

In between the two sh*ts.

The recording of the 911 call
mark winger made to police

Told a similar story.

Woman: is the man
still in your house?

Mark: yes, he's laying
there on the floor

with a b*llet
in his head!

He says there's a man in there,
and he has a b*llet in his head,

On the 911 tape.

If you listen to it,
it's there -- "a b*llet."

Narrator: in the background,
you can hear a man moaning.

[ Moaning ]

Was it possible that while mark
was on the phone,

He realized that harrington
was still alive,

Hung up, and then
shot harrington a second time?

Lieutenant doug williamson
always had nagging doubts

About mark winger's story,

But at the time,
his superiors disagreed,

And the case was closed.

That day of the m*rder,
and for at least several weeks,

If not months,
after the m*rder occurred,

Most people
at the police department

That were there on the scene

Thought that mark's story
was true.

Narrator: and williamson
was also bothered by the fact

That paramedics found
donnah winger facedown

On the floor.

If mark cradled his wife
in his arms, as he claimed,

Why would he put her facedown?

In the case file
were three photographs

Of the crime scene

Shot before the victims
were taken to the hospital.

The bodies were not
in the position

Mark originally described.

Barringer: when you look
at the pictures,

Roger's head is facing the same
direction as donnah's head,

So it's not possible
that he fell backwards

As mark had repeatedly stated
during interviews.

Narrator: the photographs
of the death scene

Were never compared
to the statements

Winger had made to the police.

And I thought,
"they'll read my report

"And they'll find that pictures
have been placed in evidence,

And they'll find them either
that night or the next morning."

Narrator: but they never did.

The final straw may have been
the multimillion dollar lawsuit

Mark winger filed against
the transportation company

That employed roger harrington.

Police decided
to reopen their investigation,

And called in some of the
world's best forensic scientists

To help.

Narrator: four years after
the sh**ting,

Police in springfield, illinois,
took a closer look

Into what really happened
that day between mark winger,

Roger harrington,
and donnah winger.

Mark winger told police
that he ran down this hallway

And saw roger harrington
facing him,

Kneeling on the floor,
striking his wife with a hammer.

Winger says he shot harrington
twice in the head,

But the physical evidence
contradicted this story.

Ballistic tests
on winger's p*stol

Showed that shells are ejected
back to the right.

Mark winger, when he told us
that he fired that first shot,

Indicated he was standing
in his hallway.

Therefore, that shell casing
could not have landed

Where we found it --
in the dining room.

Narrator: and there was evidence

Roger harrington's body
had been moved

Before the second shot
was fired.

On the floor
were two separate pools

Of roger harrington's blood.

The smaller pool was where
he was shot the first time.

Later, he was turned over
and shot again.

Schmidt: that's where he was
at rest the longest.

In that larger pool of blood --
what's in it?

A b*llet -- a .45-caliber,
semi-a*t*matic projectile.

Narrator: this was consistent

With the next-door neighbor's
story that she heard one shot,

Then a long pause
before hearing a second shot.

To analyze the blood spatter,

Police turned to world-renowned

Forensic bloodstain pattern
analyst tom bevel.

In the winger case,

We were taking
the physical evidence

And ultimately comparing it
against the statements

That were given by mark winger.

Narrator: first,
if roger harrington

Had been striking donnah winger,

Traces of donnah's blood
would have been on his shirt,

But the only blood
on harrington's shirt

Was his own.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Second, winger's story
that harrington fell backwards

After he was shot
was not only inconsistent

With the crime scene
photographs,

It was physically impossible.

Bevel: he would literally
have to either do a backflip

Or levitate
or some sort of a circus act

In order to get his feet
pointing away from her body

As well as
the length of his body --

His heighth --
also away from her.

This is real life --
this is not the movies.

A lot of times when people
get shot on the movies,

In these very violent movies,
people get blown backwards.

Their body -- whole body --
gets up and moves.

Narrator: finally,
the blood spatter evidence shows

That whomever struck
donnah winger

Did so from an entirely
different location

Than the one mark described.

When a person is hit
with an object,

It produces what is called
"cast-off blood spatter."

Blood is being cast off in
the direction that I'm swinging,

And if there's
a close enough object,

It'll go, for example,
to a wall,

Or if it's swinging hard enough,
it may go to a ceiling.

Narrator: the cast-off blood
spatter of donnah's blood

On the walls and ceilings
shows that donnah had walked

Down the hall
towards the dining room,

Stopped, then turned
towards the front door,

As if trying to get away,
and was att*cked from behind.

A single, elongated cast-off
blood spatter of donnah's blood,

Identified as
"stain number seven,"

Was on mark winger's
right sleeve.

Bevel says
this proves mark winger

Was closer to donnah during
the attack than he admitted.

Which then makes it
much more consistent

That he is the person
that is delivering the blows

Versus harrington.

Narrator:
and police found evidence

That mark winger had invited
roger harrington

To come over to his house
that day.

Harrington's roommates
told investigators

That mark winger called
harrington at home,

Gave harrington his address, and
a time for the meeting -- 4:30.

Corroborating that was a note
found in harrington's car

With the winger's home address
and the time -- 4:30.

Roger harrington's family
hoped that a court of law

Would vindicate their son

And convict the man
they always believed

Was responsible
for donnah winger's death.

I believe that mark winger
is a cold, calculated,

Arrogant individual who thought
he could outsmart everyone,

And he was unable to do so.

Narrator: in 1995,

Investigators
called mark winger a hero

For fatally sh**ting an intruder

Who he claimed
was attacking his wife.

Four years later,

There was a dramatic change
of opinion,

And mark winger
was charged with the m*rder

Of both roger harrington
and his own wife, donnah.

This is exactly the sort of
a plot that a fiction writer

Would love to work up.

As is often said,

Reality is stranger
than fiction, and in this case,

I'd almost say
that fits the bill.

Narrator: the motive was
partially financial.

Donnah had $200,000 worth
of life insurance,

And mark was suing the shuttle
bus company, as well.

Krieger: he made the mistake of
being just a little too greedy.

He had the perfect crime,
and he blew it

Because he wanted to
press forward

And see if he can get
more money.

Narrator: and mark's mistress,
deann schultz,

Told prosecutors that mark
no longer wanted donnah

As his wife.

Donnah's bizarre trip

With shuttle van driver
roger harrington

Gave mark the perfect set up
he needed to commit m*rder.

Williamson: according to deann,

As soon as mark got the story
about the trip,

He knew that was the guy...

And then set things in motion
to get him inside his house.

Narrator: after harrington
was suspended from his job,

The evidence shows
that mark called harrington,

Inviting him over
to discuss the matter,

With the hope
of settling it amicably.

Hello?

Narrator: harrington showed up
at 4:30 --

The time he wrote on his note --

And walked in with his coffee
cup and cigarettes.

These are hardly the weapons
of a psychotic k*ller.

Narrator: prosecutors believe
mark winger walked harrington

To the refrigerator,
possibly to see donnah's note.

Mark then pulled the g*n,
ordered harrington to his knees,

And fired a single shot
into his head.

The next-door neighbor
heard that shot.

So did donnah winger.

She turned
towards the front door.

Mark hit her with the hammer,

Causing the cast-off
blood spatter

In an area inconsistent
with his statement to police.

Then winger called 911.

Woman: is the man
still in your house?

Mark: yes, he's laying
there on the floor

with a b*llet
in his head!

did you sh**t him?

yes, I shot him --
he was k*lling my wif!

Narrator: but during the call,

Winger realized harrington
was still alive.

oh, my god --
my baby's crying!

my baby's crying -
I've got to go!

I'll call you
right back!

Narrator: instead of going
to his daughter's room,

Winger turned harrington over
and shot him a second time.

The neighbor heard
this second shot

Five minutes
after the first one.

Schmidt: he finished him off.

He ex*cuted him
on both occasions --

He shot him in the head
both times --

But that last one ensured

That roger harrington
did not survive.

Narrator: moments later,
the dispatcher called back.

[ Telephone ringing ]

Mark: yes -- what?
Hello?

Woman: winger?

yes! Yes!

this is the police department.
We've got officers en route.

I need to know
what's going on there.

my wife is dying
on the floor!

okay,
is she still alive?

I think so!

Narrator: the police photographs
taken as paramedics arrived

Showed roger harrington's
feet pointed

In the same direction
as donnah's --

Inconsistent
with her husband's story.

A picture's worth
a thousand words.

It shows the thousand words
mark gave us aren't correct --

They're a lie.

Narrator: although mark winger
maintained his innocence,

He was tried and convicted
of the two murders

And sentenced to life in prison
without parole.

The forensic evidence proved
roger harrington

Was not a k*ller
but an innocent victim

Caught in the middle of
a diabolical scheme of m*rder.

Bevel: the forensics
are absolutely crucial.

Roger has been the villain,
and mark has been the hero.

And now we come to find out
that harrington's name

Has been unjustifiably smeared.

Schmidt: roger was not
a violent individual.

He was not a homicidal maniac,
as mark tried to portray him.

He was an individual that,
like many americans,

Have a mental illness --
or had a mental illness --

And it was being addressed.

They cleared his name,

But, like they said,

We buried him a m*rder*r.

The beauty
of forensic evidence --

And I say this many times --

The beauty of a fingerprint,
the beauty of dna

Is it doesn't have
an interest, a bias,

A prejudice, or a motive.

It is what it is...

And that constant
of the forensics in this case

Showed the other evidence
for what it was.

It let it be
a building block

To show the judge
and the jury --

Our community --
what happened,

And I was thankful
that we had it.

Yeah, thank you, tom bevel.

[ Laughs ]

I mean, I hope someday
I can meet you face-to-face.

[ Laughs ]