01x02 - Emilia Carr

[bunniefuu]

[eerie music]

- [Reporter] Emilia Carr
was given the death penalty

for her role, as
prosecutors determined Carr

to be the mastermind
behind the kidnapping

and m*rder of Heather Strong.

- All of a sudden,
her story changed.

Part of me is feeling like she's
just extremely manipulative

and she's going to
tell us anything

to try to get herself
out of trouble.

- She was the little
devil on his shoulder.

- When Emilia got
the death penalty,

the first thing
crossed my mind was,

"Yay, you know, she
got what she deserved

and I'll be there
to see that happen."

[dark music]

[dramatic music]

[calm music]
[birds chirping]

[cellphone ringtone]

[suspenseful music]

- [Reporter] Today, Emilia Carr
was given the death penalty

for her role in a 2009 m*rder.

Prosecutors believe Carr and
her boyfriend, Josh Fulgham,

lured his ex, Heather Strong,

to a storage trailer,
tortured her and k*lled her.

[gentle music]
[birds chirping]

- I'm Heather Strong's mother.

Heather was a sweet
child growing up.

Fun-loving, outgoing,
everybody in school loved her.

She had a lot of friends.

Heather was always
really happy-go-lucky.

And it seemed like the more
she was helping somebody,

the happier she was.

- She was just always
like a mother figure to us

and any of the kids
in the neighborhood.

- She never thought
about herself.

- Heather met Josh when
she was in high school.

He was kind of quiet,

but the more he opened up,

I could see he was controlling.

Josh didn't really like me.

And I didn't really
like Josh very much.

Next thing we knew
she was pregnant.

Right after high school.

He's not even proposed, not
even mentioned marriage.

It wasn't long after their
first child was born,

Josh started seeing other people

and things had started
getting really bad after that.

- My name is Dolores Parthree

and I worked with Heather Strong
at the Iron Skillet Truck Stop.

We worked together
about two years.

Josh and Heather had a
very a*usive relationship.

He was constantly hitting her

and she's coming in with
bruises on her and crying.

She was just always
in a state of fear.

She'd leave him and
then he convinced her

to come back again.

That went on for over 10 years.

Emilia and Heather and Josh

were all actually good
friends at one point.

And then after Heather and
Josh split up one time,

then Josh and Emilia
started dating.

Josh had actually asked
Emilia to marry him.

He'd bought her a ring
and about a month later,

he took the ring back from
Emilia and then turned around

and Heather and
Josh got married.

- When I learned that
they got married,

I was so mad.

She called and we
ended up hanging up.

Couple months went
by and I decided,

okay, you know, I've
gotta talk to her.

So I called her back up
and told her I was sorry

that I hung up on her.

Two weeks after that,
she was missing.

[somber music]

I felt really bad, you know,

for doing that.

[suspenseful music]

- My name is Brian Spivey.

I'm a Captain with the Marion
County Sheriff's Office

and I've been here 24 years.

In February, 2009, Misty Strong,

who is Heather's cousin,
called the Sheriff's Office

to report her cousin missing.

- Heather was at work when
she got a phone call from Josh

and evidently had
made some remark

that something was
up with the children.

And nobody really knew
what was going on,

she just said she had to leave.

- As time went on and
this deputy was unable

to locate Heather, she began
to speak to a detective

in the homicide unit
about her suspicions

and ultimately convinced him

that there was a very good
reason for the homicide unit

to take a look at this case.

We saw that she was
married to Josh Fulgham

and also had two
children with him.

We also learned that there
had been a violent past

where he had once battered her

and then once threatened
her with a shotgun,

so we really wanted
to focus in on Josh.

On March 18th, 2009, we
brought him to the station.

- When we brought Josh
in for questioning,

his first story was that he
had gone to a gas station

right near where Heather lived
and picked up the children

and that she had
suitcases there with her

and that she was afraid
she was gonna be in trouble

so she wanted to get outta town.

- From day one of
the investigation,

each person we spoke to told us

that Heather absolutely
loved her children

and she would never
walk away from them

or leave them for any reason.

Knowing this and hearing this
from so many different people,

also raised our suspicions

that something may
have happened to her.

- It ain't adding up, Josh.

- We found that Heather
had a debit card

that was still being
used in the Ocala area,

even though she was missing.

- [Josh] Oh my God.

- Okay.
- Stay here.

- We knew that Josh has
been using Heather's card.

So we decide we're
going to arrest him

for fraudulent use
of that debit card.

- Josh.

- [Brian] Detective Buie
walked back into the room

to tell Josh it was
time to go to jail.

- When Josh told us
that he could possibly

take us to the body,

it just seemed like
the breakthrough

that we were waiting for.

- I made the decision
immediately to take him

to find this location
before he had the chance

to possibly change his mind.

[somber music]

[tense music]

[tense music]

- Josh leads us to this
potential grave site

behind Emilia's house.

There's an area behind
a storage trailer

with a pile of debris.

But Josh indicated that
underneath this pile of debris

was where Heather's
body would be.

The lead detective took a
stick and put it to the ground.

The stick just went right
down, right down into the dirt,

indicating that
that dirt is soft.

And at some point, some type
of hole had been dug there.

Once the debris was pulled
from off of the dirt,

detectives and evidence
technicians began to dig down.

They found a really
large black duffel bag

and Heather's body was
in that duffel bag.

[eerie music]

- When I heard that they
found Heather's body,

I was beside myself.

I could not believe that
this poor girl was now gone.

Her babies had no mother.

- All I could do was cry

and think about what
she went through.

- I remembered mom
walked up on the porch

and she had the
phone in her hand

and I remember her
dropping to her knees.

And she was like, "Oh my
God, no, not my baby girl,

not my baby girl."

And then all of a sudden,

my nose just started pouring
blood and I blacked out.

- Never thought that
Emilia would be in on it.

And this woman was eight
months pregnant at the time.

I don't understand that
somebody can do that.

How do you m*rder somebody

when you have a
baby inside of you?

Wow.

[tense music]

- After we found Heather's
body in Emilia's backyard,

we asked her to
come to the station

for further questioning.

- Emilia's first statement

was that she had no
idea where Heather was.

That the only information
she has about the case

is what she's heard from Josh.

- As Emilia's telling us
that these allegations

are not true, she doesn't
know we've found the body.

- All of a sudden,
her story changed.

Part of me is feeling like she's
just extremely manipulative

and she's going to tell us
anything she can at the time

to try to get herself
out of trouble.

[suspenseful music]

[somber music]

[eerie music]

[tense music]

- We know that Heather's
body was found

in Emilia's backyard,
but we don't know exactly

where she was k*lled
or how she was k*lled.

She's telling us
she saw the body

as Heather was dead
in the trailer.

So we decided to allow Emilia
to take us to the trailer

and show us exactly where
she saw Heather's body

and what condition it was in.

- It's a big moment
because this would indicate

that this was the m*rder scene
for where Heather was k*lled.

We have a body, we
have a crime scene.

And even though Emilia goes
right back into the same story

that she had nothing to
do with the homicide,

I didn't buy it.

Each story shows a little
bit more knowledge,

a little bit more involvement
that she conveniently left out

of the previous story
that causes me to believe

there's more that
she's involved with.

Josh has fully confessed
to Heather's m*rder

and has fully implicated Emilia.

But if all we have against
her is Josh's statement,

it's almost useless
because Josh has proven

time and time
again that he lies.

Detectives can't jump the g*n
and just arrest Emilia now.

We still have to gather more
evidence to prove Emilia

was there and had an actual
involvement in Heather's death.

[tense music]

After we found Heather's
body in Emilia's backyard,

her story changed from, "I don't
have anything to do with it

and have no knowledge,"
to, she happened

to go into the trailer and
happened to see Heather's body.

I didn't believe any
portion of that story.

So detectives set up a plan to
use Josh's relative to speak

to Emilia and act as
though she's trying

to help them get
their story straight.

But what was really happening
was an undercover operation.

Myself and the lead
detective were in a vehicle

parked right here, listening
to every single word

as Emilia spoke to
Josh's relative,

parked right under
the big oak tree.

[eerie music]

[tense music]

- Sitting in the car and
listening to Emilia speak

with Josh's relative, not
knowing we were listening,

that was when I felt like
we were getting the full,

honest truth, 'cause she's
not talking to the police.

- Now, we have what we believe
is the evidence to convict her

of participating in the
m*rder of Heather Strong.

So we brought her back in
to answer more questions.

[tense music]

I saw that look of defeat when
she knew we had recorded

that conversation between
her and Josh's relative.

[suspenseful music]

- As far as the law goes,
both of them are there,

both of them were complicit

and holding her
against her will.

Both of them are complicit in
participating in her m*rder,

regardless of whose hand
was over her mouth and nose.

[tense music]

- When I handled the case,

I was an Assistant
Attorney General

for the State of Florida.

The state's position

was and is that Emilia Carr

was the moving
force behind this.

When you compare
the two defendants,

Ms. Carr is very intelligent.

Her measured IQ score is 125,

which is in the superior range.

Josh Fulgham's
measured IQ is 81,

which is barely in
the low average range.

She is exploitative of
interpersonal relationships,

particularly with men

and from the psychological
mental state testimony

presented at trial, she is
not going to be manipulated.

At the end of the day,

this m*rder would not have
happened, but for Emilia Carr.

- The Emilia Carr
case was prosecuted

as a death penalty case because

three aggravating factors
existed under Florida law.

First, the m*rder was committed

during the course
of a kidnapping,

that the m*rder was especially
heinous, atrocious or cruel,

and that the m*rder was cold,
calculated and premeditated.

[somber music]

- I went to Emilia
and Josh's trial.

Emilia's was I think,
the hardest on me.

- I honestly don't think that
Josh would've k*lled her,

if it weren't for
Emilia being involved.

- She was the little
devil on his shoulder.

We were sitting in court,

they had showed a lot of
the forensic evidence.

They showed her torso,
her shirt that she had on,

duct tape, the chair,

it was like hours and hours
of clippings and photos.

- And she kept looking
back like she didn't have

any remorse whatsoever,
like she just didn't care.

- So I had sat there long
enough, I'd finally had enough.

I'd thought long and hard

of what I could get
through a metal detector.

I went outside and broke
me a stick off a tree

and sharpened it
on the concrete.

- And they said you looked jumpy
and they made you remove it.

- Yeah, they knew when I walked
outside and come back in,

when I did, they knew
I was up to something.

[tense music]

- Emilia Carr was convicted
by the jury of kidnapping

and first degree m*rder.

The jury returned
an advisory verdict

recommending death
by a vote of 7-5.

[pulsating music]

[tense music]

[tense music]

- [Reporter] Today, a jury
sentenced Joshua Fulgham

to life in prison for his
role in the kidnapping

and m*rder of his estranged
wife, Heather Strong.

His girlfriend and
co-defendant, Emilia Carr

was given the death
penalty for her role,

as prosecutors determined
Carr to be the mastermind

behind the kidnapping
and m*rder of Strong.

- When Emilia got
the death penalty,

the first thing
crossed my mind was,

"Yay, you know, she
got what she deserved

and I'll be there
to see that happen."

She acted with no remorse

and no feeling
anything about Heather.

I think the verdict
fit the crime.

- Personally, I believed that
Emilia got what she deserved

and I believe in
the death penalty.

And you know, she took this
poor woman from these babies.

I don't see any reason why
her life should be spared.

- The appeals process, I think,

is a roller-coaster
for everybody involved.

The average time on death
row is about 10 years.

There are people who've been
on death row for 30 years.

And that's why on occasion,

we would see inmates who
waived all of their appeals.

They ask that their date be set.

They don't wanna do that
time, they want to be done.

They want to be out
because they cannot handle

doing that time in isolation

with no control and
absolutely no freedom.

[tense music]

- Good morning,
I'm Chris Quarles.

I represent Emilia Carr
in this direct appeal

of her sentence for kidnapping
and first degree m*rder

and resulting death sentence.

[pensive music]

My job on direct appeal was
to argue that she deserved

a whole new trial on
both guilt and sentence.

After I lost the direct appeal,

post-conviction
lawyers took over.

[pensive music]

[tense music]

- The US Supreme Court ruled
that our whole death penalty

sentencing scheme
was unconstitutional,

in that the unanimous
jury vote is required

to sentence an
individual to death.

So in Emilia's case,

because it was only
a 7-5 vote for death,

the first time around,

they could have retried
her with a penalty phase.

- The prosecutor
decided not to retry her

at the penalty phase

and therefore she was
re-sentenced to life.

[calm music]

- When I found out that the
state had changed their law

from the death penalty,
I was pretty upset,

because I thought she
got what she deserved.

And I was so mad,
thought that was so wrong

that she could have
visitation, even.

- How could somebody
that k*lled a woman,

took their kids and
stuff from 'em,

have rights to see their family?

'Cause that's just something
that they took away

from Heather and I just didn't
feel like that was right.

- There's no words.

There's basically no words
for what I wanted to do,

but it wouldn't have
been very pretty

and probably would've ended
up landing me in prison.

[gentle music]

[tense music]

[pensive music]

- I was made aware that
an affidavit exists

that absolves Emilia
of any involvement.

The problem I see with
that is recanted testimony

and even recanted statements.

Confessions is very much
frowned upon by courts

because you told me you lied
before in this document.

How do I know you're
not lying now?

And Emilia faces the
additional problem,

I see, in the fact that her
statements about her involvement

have pretty much sealed
her fate, I'm afraid.

[gentle music]

- That is one of my favorite
pictures right there.

She's just really missed
and we loved her so much.

And she was just a sweetheart.

And it's sad that she
didn't get to enjoy

her life with her kids and
later her grandchildren.

She was robbed of a lot.

- Some of my favorite ones

was the last time
she'd come back.

She was happy to see everybody,

you could tell she
was happy to be home.

- Yeah.
- After being gone.

She was a great mother,
great sister, my best friend.

And she didn't
deserve what she got.

And I think there
should be some justice

that hasn't happened.

We haven't got the
closure that we needed.

- I just wish that
she was still here.

I miss so much.

[melancholy music]

I would love to go home,
I have four children.

My oldest is about
to be 19 in January.

Anyone who knows me knows
I am not the same person.

I'm sitting here on
two life sentences

for first degree m*rder and
first degree kidnapping.

This is crazy.

And sorry, I don't care how
many times I get knocked down,

I'm fighting to go home.

I'm fighting for my freedom.

I'm fighting for my life
and I'm not gonna stop.