03x01 - A Question of Loyalty

[bunniefuu]

[somber instrumental music plays]

[woman] I'm so sorry.

I wish I could change things

and go back in time and

just not have any g*ns

in the house at all.

[music intensifies]

I hope someday that I can get out.

But I know that I took a life

and I got to pay for that.

And um, I'm so sorry that I did it.

And uh, if I could bring him back,

I would.

But I can't bring him back.

[music crescendos]

[eerie instrumental music plays]

[somber instrumental music plays]

Should my hair be behind me

or in front of me?

I think it should be in front of you.

My name is Victoria Smith.

I was convicted of first-degree m*rder.

My sentence was, uh, life

plus 25 years.

[downbeat melodic music plays]

I grew up in, uh, Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

I have, uh, eight siblings.

Two have passed,

and uh, the main two I was close to

was Roxie and Betty.

I'm really close to Betty.

She's my baby sister.

I was slow growing up.

Uh, like, learning disabilities.

I had learning disabilities

and I wasn't mentally right.

I've always had problems.

You know, I'm average

or below average education.

My mom raised us on Social Security.

I don't know who my father was.

My mother never told

Well, she told me that it could have been

a riverboat captain

or a man that worked on the riverboat,

but it was never confirmed.

But I felt my mom had a tough love.

I called it tough love,

and uh, it made me a stronger person.

I think that I wouldn't be

as strong as I was

if it wasn't have been for my mother.

I don't like to put my mother down,

but she had a drinking problem

when we was growing up,

and, uh, when she would drink,

she would take everything out on me.

She would kick me

and hit me with her fists,

and pull my hair and

I mean, just physical abuse, you know.

It was at least two or three times a week.

That's pretty much how I was raised,

up until I was 15.

And then I went and moved to Louisiana

with my older sister Goldie.

[music intensifies]

[melodic instrumental music plays]

He was a big baby.

He was 23.5 inches long.

He weighed 8 pounds, 10.5 ounces,

and I just thought

he was the greatest thing.

He was just everything,

everything to me.

[birds and insects chirping]

His father, during the whole,

I'd say he He

He abused me a lot.

He He was an alcoholic too.

I mean, it was normal for me to be abused.

He would choke me and, you know, punch me.

And it seems like every relationship

that I've ever been in, um,

it's been abuse.

There's been a lot of abuse

[inhales sharply]

and, um, it's hard.

It really was. It was hard.

[sniffles]

[moody melodic music plays]

I wanted to protect Kenny from the world.

And I definitely didn't want him

to be abused or anything.

I wanted to make sure

that he had a good life.

And he wouldn't have had that

if I'd have stayed with his father.

I started working full-time,

and my mom started taking care of my son.

I liked to go out on the weekends.

And, you know, I was a single person.

Because I went through a stage

of a drinking problem too.

And uh, I should have been

more at home with my son.

My mother thought

that I could have been a better mother.

Uh, she, uh, made me sign a paper

saying that he she was

had full custody of him

or I could no long

we could no longer live with her.

It broke my heart.

It really did. It broke my heart.

It just made me feel like, uh

I was losing my child.

I really lost it a little bit.

And, in my mind, um

I started drinking more and, uh

I started taking, uh, pills

and stuff that I shouldn't be doing.

[somber melodic music plays]

I was 34 years old, when me and Chris

started dating. He was 30.

And, uh, it was a good relationship

as we started out because he didn't drink.

He was pretty, pretty gentle

at the beginning.

And he was a very good-looking man.

We had a lot of fun.

[birds chirp]

[melodic music plays]

Chris worked for a private company.

And, uh, he hurt his back

from the, the labor that he had to do.

After that, he started taking opioids.

[grim music plays]

He changed.

He started becoming more aggressive.

There's times I had to go to the hospital,

where he had shoved me into, like,

coffee tables and stuff like that.

And I had broken ribs.

Several times I had to call my sister

because I thought he

he was basically gonna k*ll me.

And I was always scared

that something like that may happen.

[music intensifies]

[tense music plays]

I pretty much ran the household.

Paid the bills, cooked the meals.

And I couldn't do those things

as well as I could.

I tried, but I was too weak.

[music intensifies]

Chris was mad because I couldn't do

the things I used to do.

He got way more aggressive.

I mean, it was to the point

where he was like a madman at times.

Between the medications

and the stress that I was under,

and from not sleeping,

Uh

I was hallucinating.

And, uh, it was really getting bad,

and I was ready to leave.

I was ready. I was,

I was in the process

of getting my things out of the home,

getting rid of what I didn't need,

and um, um

when the incident happened.

[music crescendos]

[grim instrumental music plays]

This is what I remember.

I was laying down, but I was awake.

And I went to the kitchen.

I was gonna get

grab a pack of cigarettes, and um

[music intensifies]

I didn't grab the cigarettes.

I grabbed a p*stol.

Something told me to end him.

[tense music plays]

Chris was sleeping.

He was asleep on the couch.

The time I shot him.

[g*nshots ringing]

[g*nshots continue]

And that's the last I remember.

[somber instrumental music plays]

[sniffles]

[grim music plays]

[somber melodic music plays]

[woman 1] You and Chris used to ride

that big, old tricycle

off the high side of that porch

[man] Yeah, we'd jump 'em back here,

though.

[woman 1] Yes, then you boys would be

out there and get your boots

stuck in the cow patties.

[laughter]

[woman 2] I remember one time

that I think Kenny and Millie saw her.

[woman 1] And even though Chris

isn't here with us,

we've still got

all of our good memories of him.

- [man] Yep.

- [woman 1] He's living on through us, so

[sniffles]

This is Chris whenever he was a baby,

and that's Kay, and Billy, and that's me.

[sniffles]

[woman 2] We called him Kojak.

- Yes. He was bald-headed.

- [man] Yeah. [laughs]

Is that how he got his name?

- Because of his bald head?

- Yes.

- [woman 1] Didn't Daddy make that name up?

- Yes.

[woman 1] He was a sweet little boy

growing up.

He just loved everybody.

He was just full of life.

[indistinct conversation]

I am Cathy Colbert,

and Chris Isaac was my little brother.

There were eight of us all together.

Five girls and three boys.

[photos rustling]

Here's a graduation picture of him

when he graduated from Puxico High School.

And, um, we were so proud

to see him graduate

because Chris had learning disabilities.

And, um, for him to graduate,

it was just a really good day

for all of us. [sniffles]

The best way to describe him

is a big loving teddy bear

because that's what he was.

- Gentle.

- Yes.

Yeah. Very gentle.

[Cathy] I was working at the time,

and, um, I had a phone call.

The gal out at the office

came out and told me,

"Cathy, you need to come"

I'm sorry.

[sniffles]

"You need to come take this phone call."

[sniffles]

"It's very important."

I said, "Well, what is it?" [sniffles]

She said, "I can't tell you."

I said, "Is it?"

[sniffles] "Is it bad?"

"Just tell me if it's bad."

[sniffles]

And she said, "Yeah."

[sniffles]

It was my sister Gina.

[sniffles] She said, um, "Chris is dead."

[sniffles]

"Vicky shot him."

[sniffles] I'm sorry.

[sniffles]

It didn't make any sense at all

because I knew they had

they had some troubles, you know,

and most couples do have some troubles.

But, I mean, it just really blew my mind,

you know, when,

when we found out

she was the one who k*lled him.

I couldn't believe it.

That wasn't the Vicky we knew.

There's just so many unanswered questions,

you know.

So many unanswered questions. [sniffles]

[woman 2] I felt like a double whammy

that day

because I was so close to Vicky,

and still to this day, it breaks my heart,

because, I mean,

I loved her like one of my sisters.

We all did.

I don't know what happened.

[sighs]

[sniffles]

[sighs]

[insects chirping]

[grim instrumental music plays]

[music intensifies]

[woman] There are no sure things,

especially with a criminal investigation.

You better make sure

that you've looked in every corner

because you don't know

what's hiding around it.

My name is Betty Frizzell.

I started out as a deputy sheriff

in a little county

not too far from Poplar Bluff.

And then, eventually,

became a chief of police.

I've been studying the Chris Isaac case

for years,

probably since the day it happened.

I didn't work directly on the case.

'Cause I didn't want to get involved.

I wanted to live

my nice little life in St. Louis.

But I became involved

because I had reservations

that Victoria did the actual sh**ting.

I know when Victoria is lying.

Because I'm Victoria's sister.

[music intensifies]

This is the house that we bought,

and I was a grade-school girl

and Vicky was a

a teenager.

I had the back bedroom,

and Vicky had the middle bedroom,

and Mom had the front bedroom.

[birds chirping]

It brings, like,

a lot of feelings of sadness.

A lot of broken dreams.

It's like a a monument to Vicky's life.

[quavers] Tries to look pretty,

but it's still very damaged.

[somber instrumental music plays]

My earliest memory

is Vicky getting in trouble

[inhales]

and my mom was mad a lot,

especially if she'd been drinking.

Vicky had a slower intellect

and didn't know

how to control her behavior.

[swallows]

Vicky was the first time

I ever seen anything bleed.

[inhales]

And it was not just

a a spanking.

It was fist, and it was hair-pulling

and kicking.

Just like if she was getting in

a bar fight,

but with this little, 11-year-old girl.

Vicky would take every bit of beating

that my mom would throw out.

If my mom was hitting me,

Vicky would try to make her mad

so that she would

deflect her attention onto her.

She protected me because she wanted me

to have the life that I have now.

[sobs]

[sniffles]

I think Vicky's one of the most

self-sacrificing people I've ever met.

[eerie music plays]

I don't believe Victoria k*lled Chris.

I believe it was somebody else.

[music intensifies]

I believe it was my nephew Kenny.

[music intensifies]

This is not just an open and shut case

of two opioid addicts,

that one decided to k*ll the other.

I believe the police

fell into the trap of tunnel vision.

"She said she did it. Case closed."

I've worked many cases

where people made false confessions.

People make false confessions

all the time.

[grim instrumental music plays]

[muffled police radio chatter]

[officer] You wanna make sure

your investigation's done properly

because a lot of times,

it's not as simple as it looks.

But in this case, it was.

[music intensifies]

My name's Andrew Holden.

I am currently the Chief Deputy

at Stoddard County Sheriff's Department.

I was one of the investigators

in this homicide investigation.

Everything we looked at,

all the evidence,

all the interviews that we done,

led right back to that initial 911 call.

[phone speed dialing]

[ringing]

[operator] 911, what is your emergency?

[Victoria] I'm at 365 North Church Street.

I just k*lled my husband.

[operator] You just k*lled your husband?

[Victoria] Yeah, I shot him six times,

and 12 times in the head.

My name's Victoria Isaac.

[operator] What What's the address?

She called and said

that she had shot her husband,

and when we walked in and seen that,

it was pretty obvious

that's what had happened.

[music intensifies]

[cryptic instrumental music plays]

The spatter on her face was visible.

I mean, you could walk up to her

and see the little specks of blood.

It wasn't anything

you really had to search for.

It was obvious.

We collected what was called GSR,

which is g*nsh*t residue.

And that's that's normal to collect

in any any sh**ting you have.

Victoria tested positive

for g*nsh*t residue.

[music intensifies]

Another piece of evidence we found

was a piece of paper

that was Victoria's last will

and testament,

where she was basically giving

her possessions away to other people.

So that appeared

that she did intend on k*lling herself.

I really believe the ultimate plan,

in this case,

was a m*rder-suicide,

but something changed her mind, uh,

to keep her from k*lling herself.

[muffled recording plays]

I don't know why she k*lled him

for certain.

That's one of the questions

that we'd like to answer if we can.

[officer] Can you put your hands out

again for me, please? Thank you.

[Andrew] I personally never got

that "why" answered.

[officer] Can you turn them over for me?

Thank you.

Because the case is really so simple.

[blues-style music plays]

[Betty] Some police say they did

a good job and might believe they did.

Maybe they can go home at night

and sleep with that, but I can't.

Because I took an oath a long time ago

to uphold justice.

And my sister

did not get served justice in this.

I was surprised when Victoria told me

that Kenny was moving in

with her and Chris.

[grim music plays]

They have had

such a tumultuous relationship.

Vicky always wanted to be his mom.

He saw her more as a big sister.

Then when she married Chris,

Kenny didn't see him as a stepfather.

So you had these eschewed relationships

to begin with.

Kenny always exhibited some behavior

that was not rational.

A short time before the m*rder,

Chris and Kenny

had got into a physical altercation,

where Kenny ended up having a black eye.

I knew Kenny's personality.

Kenny didn't let anybody

get anything over on him.

My mom had instilled that in his mind.

How dare someone who's inferior,

such as Chris,

punch him and leave a black eye on him?

How dare he?

Revenge was the motive for this m*rder.

I believe what happened,

Kenny sees Chris laying there

on the couch, defenseless,

goes and finds the old 22mm g*n,

loads it and starts sh**ting Chris.

[music crescendos]

Vicky wakes up and hears this,

and then the last four rounds,

she's either struggling with Kenny

with that g*n,

or she talks Kenny out of it

and throws the g*n.

[music intensifies]

I don't believe Victoria

shot any of those b*ll*ts.

Victoria, she's a protector

of the people she loves.

She called 911 and confessed,

and stuck to that story.

[music intensifies]

This is a way of paying penance

for being a bad mom.

And I think that's what she's guilty of.

Being a bad mom, maybe,

but not being a m*rder*r.

[music crescendos]

[eerie music plays]

I admit there's no physical evidence

to prove Kenny did this.

But if someone's washed up,

or if somebody has changed clothes

and washed up,

there's not gonna be any.

[music intensifies]

However, there is tons

of circumstantial evidence

that proves my theory.

I've tried to talk to the police before,

and I've been shut down numerous times.

I've been told to stay in St. Louis,

mind my own business.

I've been threatened with arrest

just for telling the prosecutor

that we're gonna appeal Victoria's case.

But I'm a woman of faith,

and I'll just keep trying.

[blues-style music plays]

[indistinct chatter]

[indistinct chatter continues]

[muffled conversation]

Rosanna

- Okay.

- Yorker.

Okay.

[indistinct chatter]

What spurred me to write the book

was the injustice,

the lack of competent police work,

and just my need for the truth.

[indistinct chatter continues]

My ultimate goal is for Victoria

to stop perpetuating this lie

that she's told herself,

stop protecting someone

who didn't protect her,

and just start moving towards

telling the truth

of what really happened that day.

[indistinct conversation]

It's all about my sister.

She's, uh, serving life plus 25 years,

um, for a m*rder

that she may or may not have committed.

Now, this

She has her, uh, version of the story,

and this is my version.

So I'd like you to read it

and tell me what you think.

What do you think?

[chuckles] You know what I think.

[chuckling]

[indistinct conversation]

Maybe this book would also get the police

to look at this case again.

If Vicky would tell

really what happened that day

and provide more evidence

to what really went on,

maybe it would be reopened.

Maybe she would have a chance

to actually have another a real trial,

not just a plea deal.

[cryptic music plays]

[music intensifies]

[indistinct chatter]

Some people might just think

that I am making this up

or don't want to believe

that my sister committed this crime,

but there's a 911 call

days prior to this m*rder

in which Kenny tells his intent

to k*ll Chris,

and Vicky, and then himself.

That 911 call, to me,

really is the biggest piece of evidence

that proves that he did this.

[music intensifies]

[phone speed dials]

[operator] 911. What is your emergency?

[Kenny] Yeah, ma'am. I need an ambulance.

I'm having suicidal, homicidal thoughts.

I'm at the end of my rope.

I'm I'm outside pacing right now.

[operator] All right.

Is there anybody there with you?

[Kenny] Yeah, Mom and stepdad. I

I was having thoughts

of k*lling both, and then myself.

[operator] Okay, I completely

I can understand.

[Kenny] I can't take no more.

[static hum]

My name is Russ Oliver.

I was the prosecuting attorney

in the case of the homicide

of Chris Isaac,

perpetrated by his wife, Victoria Isaac.

On May 7, a week before the homicide, uh,

Kenneth Smith did call, um, 911

and told them

that he was suicidal and homicidal.

I mean, that, that wasn't anything

that we ignored.

That was definitely something

that we'd go, "Oh."

"Well, let's pay attention to that."

All right?

And, and even with that knowing that,

we still had, had no evidence that pointed

that Kenny did anything here.

[cryptic music plays]

The evidence is that Victoria

was covered in Chris's blood.

And blood spatter is not something

that you can just recreate, right?

Kenneth didn't have any blood spatter.

[music intensifies]

And he didn't have any g*nsh*t residue

on his hands.

To say that Kenny did this,

I mean, there is no evidence

to support that whatsoever.

I will not be reading Betty's book.

I don't have a lot of spare time,

and I certainly won't be spending my time

reading what Betty has to say.

Is it for attention?

Is it, uh

uh, to get sympathy for her sister?

I I don't know,

but her sister's not going anywhere.

Her sister shot her husband

ten times in the head execution-style.

She's never leaving prison.

What this lady is saying

is just rote accusations,

um

rote speculation

with absolutely no evidence to back it up.

And not even the person who's in prison

saying that's what's happened.

That should be a big indication

of how much credibility

this should be given.

I do feel for the Isaac family.

What Betty is saying is probably

pretty upsetting to them, I'm sure.

They don't deserve any of this.

Re-dealing with all of this.

[blues-style music plays]

[host] Welcome to Let's have a Chat.

So for this episode, I am joined by

perhaps one of the most interesting guests

that we have had

in our 16 months of shows, Betty Frizzell.

I want folks to read the book.

- I don't want to spoil major details.

- [Betty] Okay.

But Uh, but simply put,

you make a pretty strong case

that Kenny and not Vicky, uh,

k*lled Vicky's husband, Chris.

[Betty] I've worked for some small cities,

I've worked for some small counties, but

I've never seen this kind of,

you know, unprofessionalism.

It was a comedy of errors. Just because

they had a confession that this lady,

you know,

supposedly k*lled her husband and

What a damn lie.

That's the biggest crock of bullcrap

I've ever heard in my life.

[host] Uh, has there been any movement

since the book?

It's been out for, what,

about close to a month now?

[Betty] No. And as you know

[Cathy] She needs to let it rest.

She needs to think

about what it's doing to our family.

[somber music plays]

It's opening up old wounds.

Vicky did it.

Without a doubt in my mind,

I think Vicky did it.

She wrote out a statement

and confessed to it.

Betty didn't live in this area,

and, um, she wasn't around Vicky

that much either

for her to write

all the stuff in that book.

I don't know where she come up

with all of that stuff.

[Betty] but I couldn't save Vicky.

I think Betty is crazy,

and I think she's seeking attention.

I don't know how anybody

could try to pin a m*rder

on somebody else,

and it it makes me sick to my stomach.

[music intensifies]

[grim instrumental music plays]

[indistinct police radio chatter]

[radio chatter continues]

[beeping]

[Andrew] I don't think Betty

necessarily is lying.

But I think sometimes

your judgment becomes clouded,

um, even with a law enforcement background

or whoever you are

when you're trying to look into a crime

that your sibling has committed.

[somber melodic music plays]

I can absolutely understand

why Betty would make those claims.

Trying to cast doubt out there,

trying to get her sister out of prison.

And it's not uncommon

for family members to, um,

not believe

a law enforcement investigation.

And this is true in this case.

At the end of the day,

it doesn't matter what I think,

it doesn't matter what Betty thinks.

Until there's new evidence

that comes to light

or someone makes a claim or,

or a new statement,

uh, there's really nothing gonna change

in this case.

[grim instrumental music plays]

[Victoria] Last time I saw my son

was at the courthouse,

and I haven't seen him since

or talked to him.

And it hurts.

It hurts every day that I can't.

He's in my thoughts daily.

[music intensifies]

Would you mind?

Yep. I'm fine.

[Victoria] My sister Betty's been there

for me when nobody else has.

She's so encouraging.

I feel better after I talk to my sister.

I don't feel so alone.

I've read the book.

Um

Yes, I'm I'm, uh, I'm aware of what

what's been said.

[music intensifies]

You know, whether it's true or false,

I can't I can't tell you that,

because, uh, for the simple fact

of court matters,

and I could be going back

into court someday,

and that

that could damage what

what, you know, what, uh,

the judge would see.

And that's You know,

I really can't go any further.

[interviewer] In the first interview,

you told me you did do it.

Do you want to tell me again, like,

who pulled the trigger on that morning?

I could not be accurate

on telling you what actually happened

because of the medications.

You know, I was, uh

That day, I was out of it.

But that

That's all I got to say about that.

[music intensifies]

[interviewer] Can you tell me

if Kenny shot Chris?

Hm

I don't know. I don't know.

I mean, did I I don't know.

Did you talk to him,

or did somebody talk to him about this?

He was there, I was there,

and, uh

Everybody's got their own opinion.

And I was in a haze, and

Uh

Both me and my son,

both know how to

It was my mother's, uh, g*n,

and both of us know, uh, how to use it.

There's a lot of people,

not just my sister,

that think my son done it.

Uh

I can't dispute it,

but I can't tell you that he did it.

[interviewer] Do you think it might be

upsetting for Kenny

if he is protesting his innocence?

I don't, I don't believe

he would be upset, uh,

because he

He knows the detective side in his aunt.

And, uh, when you have a

a relative that's in law enforcement,

you know that they're gonna look

at every angle. They're gonna dig.

So he's He

I assume he's just thinking

that it's his aunt's detective in her.

You know, making sure.

[music intensifies]

[eerie instrumental music plays]