14x07 - Freeze Framed

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next...

Did this man k*ll himself?

The death certificate came

Back as a su1c1de.

Narrator: or was it m*rder?

What in the name of heaven is

He doing committing su1c1de by

Turkey baster?

Narrator: the evidence at the

Scene confounds investigators.

There was something more

Going on with this.

It just wasn't right.

I mean, it's creepy, it's

Chilling.

Narrator: and it would take

Years before the forensics could

Figure it all out.

This case was a forensic

This case was a forensic bonanza for me.

Bonanza for me.

Narrator: the heating and

Air-conditioning business was a

Lucrative one for david castor.

His perfectionism and attention

To detail were well-suited to

The job.

My dad was a very particular

Guy.

He liked everything a certain

Way.

Whenever we worked on something,

If something was, like, / inch

Off or wasn't perfectly level,

Start right from scratch -- do

It again.

Narrator: things were going

Well for david castor until his

Father d*ed.

The two had been very close, and

David was having a hard time

Dealing with the loss.

He was very depressed.

I really felt for him.

I just couldn't imagine what he

Went through...

What was going through his head.

Narrator: david's wife,

Stacey, told friends he began to

Drink heavily and his behavior

Became erratic.

When he locked himself in the

Bedroom and wouldn't come out,

Bedroom and wouldn't come out, stacey called police.

Stacey called police.

[ Siren wailing ]

David, are you inside?

Narrator: a sheriff's deputy

Arrived at the house, found the

Master-bedroom door locked, and,

With stacey's permission, broke

The door down.

This is a terrible scene.

The guy's sprawled naked on the

Bed.

He's facedown, but his head is

In the corner against the wall.

And there's a tremendous amount

Of vomitus and other biological

Material on the bed.

Narrator: emergency medical

Personnel pronounce david dead

At the scene.

For lack of a better word, I

Felt kind of r*ped, like a

Relationship was stolen from me.

Like, it was just...

Taken away.

Narrator: on the nightstand

Next to the bed were two

Glasses.

One was half full of a green

Liquid.

Another clear glass had remnants

Of something in it.

You could see it on the bottom.

Narrator: the green liquid

Was sent to the lab for testing.

We were able to identify

Ethylene glycol, the main

Component of antifreeze.

Narrator: ethylene glycol is

Toxic in large quantities.

The autopsy confirmed

David castor ingested a lethal

Dose.

The death certificate came

Back as a su1c1de.

Narrator: under the bed,

Emergency personnel found a

Shotgun and...

A container of antifreeze.

Investigators wondered, if

David castor had a g*n, why

Would he use antifreeze to k*ll

Himself?

Maybe he didn't use the

Shotgun under his bed because he

Wanted to k*ll himself over

Hours as opposed to, you know,

. Of a second.

Narrator: another item

Confiscated during the initial

Search also raised questions.

One of the deputies looked in

The trash basket in the kitchen

Area and found a turkey baster.

Well, the turkey baster had some

Traces of green liquid in it.

Narrator: again, tests showed

The green liquid was antifreeze.

And scientists found dna on the

Tip of the turkey baster.

The only dna on that turkey

Baster is at the tip, and it

Belongs to david castor.

What in the name of heaven is he

Doing committing su1c1de by

Turkey baster?

I've never heard of such a

Thing.

Narrator: so investigators

Now wondered if they were

Dealing with a m*rder.

Narrator: the official ruling

Of su1c1de in david castor's

Death was a hard sell for the

Investigators who were at the

Scene.

They hadn't seen many su1c1de

Cases where ethylene glycol was

Used, and there were several

Contradictions.

My gut was telling me that

There something more going on

With this.

It just wasn't right.

Narrator: for one thing, the

Victim's wife, stacey castor,

Told operators something

That contradicted the autopsy

That contradicted the autopsy findings.

Findings.

Narrator: yet the toxicology

Report showed no alcohol in his

System.

That caused us to raise our

Eyebrows again.

Narrator: there were two

Glasses found on david's

Nightstand.

On the rims of both glasses was

David's dna.

David's fingerprints were on the

Glass with the small amount of

Alcohol residue, but only

Stacey's fingerprints were on

The glass that held the

Antifreeze.

If david had been drinking

Out of that glass and poured the

Antifreeze himself -- he

Committed su1c1de by drinking

Out of that glass -- why didn't

It contain at least one

Fingerprint of his?

Narrator: and the location of

The antifreeze bottle on the

Floor beside david's bed told a

Story.

There's vomitus dripping from

The bed.

And you can see that there's

Vomitus under the antifreeze

Jug, but there's no vomitus on

The antifreeze jug itself.

Narrator: proof,

Investigators say, that the

Antifreeze bottle was placed

There after david consumed the

Antifreeze and got sick.

And investigators found several

Things very odd about stacey.

When I interviewed stacey, I

Asked her if she knew what the

Substance was in antifreeze...

That can k*ll you.

And she said to me, "ethyl

Glycol."

I found it very strange because

Most people wouldn't know that.

But off the top of her head, she

Knew that when I asked her.

Narrator: at the same time,

Stacey would routinely

Mispronounce the word

"Antifreeze."

So, maybe that's why he had

The antifree idea.

I'm not really sure.

Stacey castor used the word

"Antifree" in the interview -- a

Very odd way of saying

"Antifreeze."

Narrator: and stacey also

Admitted that she knew that

Antifreeze could be used in a

Homicide.

She said, "oh, by the way,

David and I had watched a

True-crime show where a woman

k*lled her husbands" --

Plural -- "with antifreeze by

Putting it in their jello."

Narrator: this was an

Interesting comment since

David castor wasn't stacey's

First husband to die under

Suspicious circumstances.

Five years earlier, stacey's

First husband, mike wallace,

d*ed unexpectedly at the age of

.

Nobody did an autopsy.

There's stacey castor at the

Hospital, saying, "no, no, he

Had a bad heart."

And the physician comes in and,

Just from a visual examination,

Looks at him and says, "well,

This is -- this is a heart

att*ck."

Narrator: mike's family had

Wanted an autopsy.

But stacey said no.

The family were very upset about

There not being an autopsy and

Wanted to know, but legally it's

The next of kin that makes that

Decision.

Narrator: a look at

Mike wallace's medical records

Showed no signs of heart

Problems before his death.

Even more bizarre, stacey had

Both husbands, mike wallace and

David castor, buried next to one

Another.

In between the two was where

Stacey planned to be buried when

She d*ed.

This whole thing is kind of

Like...

A really bad movie, like, that

You're in.

You're playing a major part, and

You don't want to be in it.

Narrator: investigators

Petitioned the court for

Permission to exhume

Michael wallace's body to see if

There was any connection between

His death and the death of

Stacey's second husband,

David castor.

A judge approved the order.

The doctor who was gonna be

Conducting the autopsy felt very

Strongly that if there was some

Type of poisoning in his system

That it would still be there.

Narrator: why?

Because the active ingredient in

Antifreeze, ethylene glycol, in

Lethal amounts causes the body

To create something it normally

Doesn't.

Ethylene glycol forms

Crystals, which will affect the

Kidneys of an individual,

Eventually leading to death.

Narrator: those crystals

Remain intact for years after

Death.

And the medical examiner found

Them during michael wallace's

Autopsy.

You look at mike wallace's

Major organs, you can see the

Little speckles of gold.

You can see the little crystals

In the organs.

Upon getting the results back

From the medical examiner's

Office, there was absolutely no

Doubt in my mind that stacey had

k*lled both of her husbands.

Narrator: but just as

Prosecutors prepared to arrest

Stacey castor for the m*rder of

Her two husbands, stacey made

Her two husbands, stacey made another call to .

Another call to .

[ Siren wailing ]

Paramedics arrived to find

Stacey's daughter, ashley, close

To death.

Next to her was a su1c1de note,

Along with an empty bottle of

Sleeping pills and an empty

Bottle of vodka.

There was a su1c1de note in

Which she claims responsibility

Not only for the death of

David castor but also for the

Death of her own father,

Death of her own father, michael wallace.

Michael wallace.

Narrator: but investigators

Were now faced with a dilemma.

Was ashley truly capable of a

Double homicide?

If ashley wallace k*lled

Michael wallace, she would've

Only been years old at the

Time, and could a -year-old

Really formulate such an

Elaborate m*rder scheme?

Narrator: and if ashley

Didn't survive, they might never

Know.

My biggest fear was that

Ashley was gonna die, because

Her vitals would crash and then

They would spike back up.

And...

That's one thing I don't think I

Would've ever gotten past was if

Ashley d*ed.

[ Speaking indistinctly ]

Narrator: ashley wallace's

Younger sister, bree, found

Ashley unconscious one morning

And urged her mother to call

.

Mom?! Mom?!

The doctor said she was

Probably minutes from death.

Narrator: thanks to bree's

Quick action and excellent

Medical treatment, ashley

Survived.

I actually woke up in the

Hospital.

And I had no idea of what day it

Was, I had no idea of where I

Was.

One of the detectives was asking

Me questions, like, "what was in

That note that you wrote?"

I was like, "what letter?

What pills are you talking

About?

All I remember was having a

Drink with my mom."

That's all I knew.

Narrator: ashley denied

Writing any su1c1de note and

Denied any involvement in

k*lling her father,

Mike wallace, and stepfather,

David castor.

I was always skeptical.

I didn't know exactly what

Happened.

I didn't know what to believe,

Really.

Prosecutors felt that whoever

Typed the note was also the

Person that poisoned the two

Husbands.

Narrator: to find out who

Typed the su1c1de note,

Investigators confiscated the

Castor family's computer and

Sent it to computer evidence

Specialist francis brackin.

The first thing he noticed was

That the document was created in

Microsoft word, which has a

Feature most users don't know

About.

If you open a document, type

In it, even if you don't save it

As a document, the program

Itself autosaves it for you in

The background, and it gives it

An unusual name that you would

Never recognize.

Narrator: interestingly, only

One person in the family used

Microsoft word.

Microsoft word had never been

Used on the ashley wallace

Account, but it had been used on

The stacey castor account.

Narrator: brackin found

Evidence there were numerous

Drafts of the su1c1de note,

Which the writer made a point of

Not saving.

But fragments of the final note

Still on the computer's hard

Drive were time-stamped.

The time stamps automatically

Registered by the computer

Showed ashley could not be the

Writer.

I was able to determine that

Microsoft word was not used

After : p.m. On /, the

Very same day, which therefore

Shows that ashley wallace

Couldn't have written the note

Because she was in school that

Entire day.

When I woke up and saw that

Police officer standing there, I

Absolutely knew that I didn't do

It.

And she was the only one there.

So it had to have been her.

Narrator: the final clue was

In the note.

In the note. Stacey let something slip.

Stacey let something slip.

There was always the word

"Antifree" in the su1c1de note.

It hit me like a ton of

Bricks.

My first reaction was, "oh, my

God -- antifree.

Antifree."

What stacey said in that

Interview is exactly what was in

That note.

Antifree.

It wasn't a note.

It was a confession.

And it was stacey castor that

Confessed in that note.

The more and more we learn

About psychopaths, the more and

More we learn that there are...

More of them out there.

They just don't rise to the

Level of a stacey castor.

Narrator: but stacey castor

Denied any involvement in the

Two deaths and continued to

Maintain her daughter ashley

k*lled both men.

It would be up to a jury to

Decide.

You want the honest opinion?

I hate her.

I...hate her.

And solemnly swear to tell

The truth, the whole truth, and

Nothing but the truth, so help

You god?

I do.

Be seated.

Narrator: as stacey castor

Was about to go on trial for the

m*rder of her husband,

David castor, and the attempted

m*rder of her daughter ashley,

The question on everyone's mind

Was motive.

I'll say that she is

Completely amoral.

She is completely self-absorbed.

Everything in life revolves

Around her.

She's narcissistic to the

Extreme.

She is troubled only by the

Inconvenience of other people.

Mike wallace becomes an

Inconvenience -- "I'll get rid

Of him."

David castor is an

Inconvenience -- "I'll get rid

Of him, pick up some cash on the

Side, you know, parting gifts

From don pardo as I leave this

Stage of life.

My daughter, I've got to frame

Her."

Narrator: financially, stacey

Got a $, insurance payout

After her first husband's death.

There was even more money after

The death of stacey's second

Husband.

Our best estimate is that she

Probably pocketed -- with the

House, the business, the cars,

The life insurance -- close to

$, For david castor.

Narrator: investigators

Believe since stacey got away

With her first husband's

m*rder...

Why not try it again?

Prosecutors say stacey put

Antifreeze in one of david's

Drinks sometime on friday night.

By the next day, david was

Unconscious but still breathing.

The evidence shows stacey tried

To get david to drink more, but

That didn't work.

That's why only stacey's

Fingerprints were on that glass.

So stacey used the turkey baster

To force more antifreeze into

David's mouth.

That's how david's dna was on

The tip.

Once stacey realized she was

About to be charged with david's

m*rder and the m*rder of her

First husband, michael, stacey

Came up with a plan to pin the

Murders on her daughter.

Stacey created the su1c1de note

On the family computer using

Phonetic spellings to words she

Routinely mispronounced...

And typed the document around

: In the afternoon, when

Ashley was in school.

Later that night, stacey mixed

Sleeping pills and other dr*gs

Into ashley's drink and left her

To die.

Thanks, mom.

You're welcome.

It was weird, like, how tired

I actually got from finishing

That drink.

And so I told her I was gonna go

Lay down because...

I was about to pass out.

Like, that's how drunk I felt

Off of one drink.

Narrator: if ashley's younger

Sister hadn't found her

Unconscious in bed the next day

And demanded her mother call

, Ashley would most likely be

Dead, too.

Mom?!

She k*lled two husbands, then

She tried to k*ll her own flesh

And blood.

There are no words that I'm

Familiar with in the english

Language that adequately convey

That type of person.

Narrator: on the witness

Stand, stacey insisted ashley

Was the k*ller.

You referred to her very

Negatively, didn't you?

I'm sure I did.

That's right, because she

k*lled, after all, your two

Husbands, didn't she?

Yes, she did.

I can't give you a reason why

She would do it.

Narrator: the jury didn't buy

It.

Stacey castor was convicted of

m*rder and the attempted m*rder

Of her own daughter.

She was sentenced to a minimum

Of years in prison.

You're not just a danger to

The general public, you're a

Danger to the people who love

You and are closest to you.

Narrator: prosecutors could

Still charge stacey for the

m*rder of her first husband,

Michael wallace, but with stacey

Serving a -year prison term,

There doesn't seem to be much

Need.

Ashley wallace has no contact

With her mother.

If I was to go see her, there

Better be more than just the

Plexiglas window in between the

Two of us.

I probably would slap her.

But...

I'd be so mad and so angry that

I would just scream and yell at

The top of my lungs because I

Don't understand.

I don't get it, and I don't

Think I ever will understand why

She did what she did.

Without the forensics, this

Case would've ended in with

The death of david castor being

Ruled a simple su1c1de, as it

Was.

And stacey castor would still be

Walking the streets today.

And everything that she said

And everything that she did just

Backfired on her, right in her

Face...

Because you're a k*ller.

Bottom line -- look yourself in

The mirror.

You know what you did.

And you know what you tried to