04x06 - Til Death Do Us Part

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: when bobby curley

Was brought to the hospital

Hallucinating and in extreme

Pain, doctors could not find the

Cause.

At first, they diagnosed a

Neurological problem, but his

Condition deteriorated.

Something he was given in the

Hospital wasn't curing him.

It was k*lling him.



Young man with a ready smile,

Many good friends, and a loving

Family.

My brother bobby, he was a

Fun-loving guy.

He really was.

He cared for his family very

Much -- myself and his mom and

My other brother, dave.

He was just an all-around great

Guy.

Bobby was a perfect brother,

A great brother.

We fished together a lot.

We'd go to canada twice a year

Fishing, and we'd have a ball up

There.

Narrator: in august of 1990,

Bobby married joann chopak, a

Young widow with a 4-year-old

Daughter.

Bobby and joann had been dating

For about a year following the

Death of joann's first husband

In an automobile accident.

I gave them my blessings.

I said it was time for him to

Get married and have a life of

His own.

They had a beautiful wedding.

Bob really wanted to meet a nice

Girl and start a family and just

Enjoy life.

And he said he really loved her.

And I was very happy for bob.

Narrator: the couple moved

Into joann's home on a quiet

Street in

Wilkes-barre, pennsylvania.

Bobby worked for the

Morgan corporation as an

Electrician.

And in may of 1991, he and his

Crew started work on a major

Renovation project in a local

Chemistry lab.

We'd go in, and supposedly,

We were told that everything

Would be cleared out of the

Labs, there would be nothing in

There.

Well, we'd go in a lab, and

There'd be bottles of chemicals

Here, stuff over there spilled,

And that.

And it was kind of, you know, I

Thought hazardous.

Narrator: three months into

The project, bobby became ill.

His brother noticed something

Was wrong when they met at a

Local bar one day after work.

After one beer, he was ready

To leave, and I asked him why.

And he said he just didn't feel

Right.

His feet were burning for some

Reason and his feet hurt, and he

Had a hard time walking.

And I didn't know what was the

Problem.

Narrator: bobby also

Complained of numbness in his

Hands and pain in his feet.

When he went to the local

Hospital, doctors diagnosed his

Illness as guillain-barré

Syndrome, a rare condition that

Causes numbness and weakness of

The extremities.

Although it can be serious, most

Patients recover.

Bobby's condition gradually

Improved, and he was released

From the hospital.

But the pain returned, this time

Even worse than before.

He was also vomiting.

He couldn't even stand up.

And he had to go to the

Bathroom, and I remember my

Sister and I had to literally

Carry him to the bathroom.

Once we got him into the

Bathroom, he looked at me, and

He said, "sue, please call the

Ambulance."

He knew he was that sick.

Narrator: this time, curley

Was taken to a regional medical

Center about 100 miles away.

When he got there, he was

Hallucinating and had to be

Restrained.

I thought maybe at one point

That he would get better, but he

Never did.

He got worse and worse.

He couldn't sit.

He couldn't lay.

Everything was bothering him.

Narrator: although curley's

Blood tests were all normal,

Dr. Donovan had a hunch.

And if he was correct,

Bobby curley was dying.

Narrator: when bobby curley

Was examined by doctors in the

Regional medical center, his

Blood tests were all normal.

But his doctors noticed

Something that had previously

Been overlooked -- bobby curley

Was losing his hair.

He had had weakness and

Numbness in the extremities.

And he particularly had had

Burning and pain on the soles of

His feet, which is a classical

Description of arsenic and

Thallium poisoning.

That coupled with the hair loss

Almost makes the diagnosis.

Narrator: a special urine

Test confirmed dr. Donovan's

Suspicion.

Curley was suffering from

Thallium poisoning.

Thallium is a rare and highly

Toxic poison which doesn't show

Up in routine lab tests.

Before it was banned in the

United states in the early '70s,

Thallium was commonly used in

Rat poison.

It can take months to build up

In the body before causing

Symptoms.

Unfortunately there is no known

Antidote for thallium poisoning.

Well, my first thought was,

"Could I save this patient?"

Unfortunately by the time I was

Involved in this case and the

Diagnosis was being established,

There was very little that can

Be done.

And I remember him pointing

To all his diplomas and

Everything else, his

Certificates on his walls, and

Saying, "all of these can't do

Anything for your brother."

He said, "there is just nothing

That we can do.

Your brother is going to die."

Narrator: on september 26th,

Bobby curley lapsed into a coma.

When there were no longer any

Signs of brain activity, he was

Taken off life support.

We said our goodbyes to

Bobby, and we went.

And I couldn't see bobby going.

I couldn't.

It wasn't easy.

I talked to him.

Who knows, maybe he did hear.

We don't know.

But it wasn't good.

It wasn't fun.

Narrator: the autopsy

Confirmed that curley died of

Complications caused by thallium

Poisoning, most likely one large

Dose.

Hospital officials notified the

Occupational safety and health

Administration to see if curley

Could have ingested the thallium

While working at the chemistry

Lab.

One of curley's co-workers

Believed the work site was

Unsafe.

In one lab I found a wiping

Rag.

It had a note put on it,

"Thallium wiping rag.

Touch me and die."

And I remembered -- this was

After bobby was already sick --

And I remember going and telling

Joey and the other guys that,

"Don't go in that room and work.

There's thallium and it's heavy

Metal.

It's a poison.

I don't think we should be going

In there."

Thallium can be ingested, it

Can be absorbed through the

Skin, or it can be inhaled.

So any one of those roots could

Give you a poisoning-type

Exposure.

Narrator: to find out if

Thallium could have been

Accidently ingested by workers

In the lab, air samples were

Collected, counter and shelf

Surfaces were swabbed, and dust

And dirt samples were all taken

For analysis.

Joann curley told investigators

That her husband had brought

Home some cabinets from the

Laboratory which were going to

Be discarded.

The cabinets were also tested

For thallium.

The results of all of these

Tests were negative, and none of

The other electricians who

Worked with bobby curley at the

Chemistry lab had thallium in

Their systems.

Joann curley requested a

Thallium test for herself.

Both joann and her 4-year-old

Daughter, angela, tested

Positive for thallium.

It was not enough to either

Cause symptoms or even to need

Treatment, but it did indicate

That there had been abnormal

Exposure to thallium for both of

Them.

Narrator: investigators found

Traces of thallium in curley's

Home.

They found it in two thermoses

Bobby took with him to work

Every day, thermoses that

Usually held iced tea.

I did not know who placed the

Thallium in the iced-tea

Containers.

I cannot confirm that, but I

Think that somebody certainly

Did, and that caused his death.

And homicide is one person

Causing the death of another.

Narrator: police turned their

Attention to bobby curley's

Co-workers and the possibility

Of a practical joke gone bad.

Narrator: when traces of

Thallium were found in a thermos

Bobby curley took to work,

Police questioned his

Co-workers.

They'd ask me how well he got

Along with the other guys on a

Job, was there any bad blood,

Did he have any arguments, stuff

Like that.

Narrator: bobby curley was

Only 32-years-old when he was

Named foreman of the electrical

Job at the chemistry lab.

His promotion bypassed several

Older, more experienced

Electricians.

Was jealousy a possible motive?

Investigators also discovered

That curley was sometimes the

Victim of practical jokes.

Co-workers would sometimes lace

His food with seasonings as a

Joke.

Curley was just one of

Several people that had jokes

Played on him.

But it would be like hot pepper

And chewing tobacco or things of

That nature.

And it was theorized that

Possibly somebody put the

Thallium in his iced tea,

Mistaking it for valium, just to

See what it would do to him.

Narrator: when investigators

Looked closer at the thermoses

In curley's home, they found

Thallium in the threads of a

Pint-sized thermos that bobby

Never took to work.

Joann curley offered an

Explanation.

She recalled that once, after

Her husband came home from work,

She poured some leftover iced

Tea from his work thermos into

The smaller, pint-sized one so

It wouldn't go to waste.

Joann said that she and her

Daughter may have consumed some

Of that iced tea later, which

Would explain how they had

Thallium in their systems.

Bobby curley's family grew

Increasingly suspicious of

Joann's possible involvement in

Bobby's death, especially after

Thallium was found in bobby's

Thermos.

Curley's family asked

Authorities if there was any way

To prove whether joann was

Involved.

To find out, the district

Attorney had curley's body

Exhumed for a second autopsy.

Forensic toxicologist

Dr. Fredric rieders was

Particularly interested in

Analyzing bobby curley's hair.

When a substance like thallium

Is circulating in the

Bloodstream, it will attach to

The hair root, which is a cell.

Thallium then stays on the hair

Shaft, even as the hair grows

Out.

Hair grows at the average rate

Of 1.3 centimeters per month,

Which means that a strand of

Hair can contain six months or

More of medical history.

Dr. Rieders took samples of

Bobby curley's hair and cut them

Into smaller pieces, a process

Called segmental analysis of the

Hair samples.

Those segments were then

Analyzed with a test called

Atomic absorption

Spectrophotometry, which shows

Which sections of hair contained

Thallium and which sections did

Not.

The results were plotted on a

Calendar and indicated that

Bobby curley was exposed to

Thallium long before he started

Work in the chemistry lab.

Curley received a dose of

Thallium -- not a very large

One -- essentially two months

After they got married, about a

Year before he died.

Narrator: forensic tests

Would soon provide police with

Even more shocking evidence,

Evidence that pointed in only

One direction.

Narrator: segmental hair

Analysis indicated bobby curley

Had been systematically poisoned

With thallium for almost a year,

Long before he started work in

The chemistry lab.

And the tests also indicated

Bobby had ingested a massive

Dose of thallium as he lay dying

In the hospital.

This horrifying scenario was

Confirmed when dr. Rieders

Discovered a large concentration

Of thallium in bobby curley's

Intestines.

He got a very large dose not

Too long before he died.

The concentrations in the

Intestine were 1,000 times

Higher than the concentrations

In his blood and in his autopsy

Tissues, which meant that they

Were of very recent origin.

Narrator: using the timeline

Of ingestion, investigators

Eliminated individuals who had

No contact with bobby curley

During the times he had been

Poisoned.

This was an investigation of

Exclusion -- eliminating people

That could not have done it

Until you got down to the one

Person left that had to have

Done it, which was joann.

Narrator: police also learned

That joann and bobby were not

Always a happy couple.

At first, I do think bob was

Very happy, but then -- even

Just a few months into the

Marriage, I wasn't quite sure.

Bob made some different comments

Maybe that he wished he never

Got married.

Narrator: police discovered

That shortly after the wedding,

Bobby made joann the sole

Beneficiary of his

Life-insurance policies worth

Nearly $300,000.

Forensic tests showed that the

Poisonings began approximately

Two months after bobby and joann

Married.

That was a shocker.

I couldn't believe that.

It's like she planned it right

From day one.

When the papers were signed

Making her beneficiary of

Everything, that's when she

Started.

Narrator: family members

Recall joann's disturbing

Behavior the moment bobby was

Taken off life support.

I remember none of us could

Go into the room and stay there

And watch this happen, but joann

Could.

She wanted to stay in the room

And...

See bob die.

Narrator: on december 12,



And charged with first-degree

m*rder.

Facing overwhelming forensic

Evidence and the possibility of

The death penalty, she pled

Guilty to a lesser charge of

Third-degree m*rder.

At her sentencing, joann

Publicly admitted what forensic

Testing had already confirmed --

That she had systematically

Poisoned her husband with

Thallium.

Today joann curley is a

Confessed k*ller.

Today joann curley surrendered.

In open court and under oath,

Joann curley admitted that she

Personally poisoned her husband

Over a lengthy period.

She openly admitted to how it

Was done, when it was done, and

To the type of poison used.

Narrator: she placed the

Thallium in her husband's iced

Tea about a dozen times.

Her confession matched almost

Perfectly dr. Rieders' timeline.

And that her confession

Paralleled it, frankly, I was

Amazed.

I wasn't proud or delighted.

I mean, it was good.

But I was amazed.

Narrator: joann's confession

Told a horrific tale of m*rder

Motivated by greed.

Her answer when asked

Point-blank why she did this

Was, "for the money.

I k*lled him for the money."

Narrator: joann said she used

Rat poison she found in her

Grandmother's basement.

At first, she used only a small

Amount in her husband's iced

Tea, but later increased the

Amount when she feared it wasn't

Working.

Okay, here's your tea.

Oh, thanks, hon.

Have a good day.

You too.

Narrator: in the hospital,

Joann finished what she started.

She poured a massive amount of

Thallium into his soda and gave

It to him as he lay dying.

Honey, wake up.

I brought you something cold to

Drink.

Thanks.

That's unbelievable -- to be

Married two months and start

k*lling your husband.

And the last one, that's the

One that really bothered me --

That he got it while he was in

The hospital, 'cause I was there

That day, and joann was there.

And I was sitting next to her,

And her purse was right there

Between us.

And to know now that the

Thallium was in her purse at

That time is really -- that

Bothered me.

That really bothered me.

Narrator: tests revealed that

Joann and her daughter ingested

Minute traces of thallium

Sometime after bobby's death.

Joann may have ingested the

Thallium intentionally and given

A small amount to her daughter

In order to divert police

Suspicion.

Joann curley denies this and

Says she has no idea how she and

Her daughter ingested the trace

Amounts of thallium.

Ironically joann curley was not

Aware that thallium was present

In the chemistry lab where bobby

Was working before his death.

Her not knowing what the

Chemical was that she was

Poisoning him with and then to

Have found it at the university

Where he last worked, you

Couldn't ask for a bigger

Coincidence when you were

Sitting there as joann curley.

Narrator: but forensic

Science had established a

Toxicological timeline of a

Blushing bride's evil plan.

Joann curley was sentenced to 10

To 20 years in state prison.

Well, obviously she was

Somebody who was intent upon

Carrying out her plan.

She was intent on a result, and

The result that she wanted was

Bob curley's death.

And it was obviously a ghoulish

Type of a crime that you don't

See very often anywhere in this

Country.

I could never forgive joann

For what she did to bob.

To watch him die like that...

It was heartbreaking for me to

Watch him die, any human being

To die like that.

No one deserves to die like

That.

I know there's evil out

There, but that's the first time

I ever ran into anybody that

Could methodically poison

Somebody and watch them die.

She's a monster -- that's

What she is.

I'll always believe that.

In my heart, she took somebody

Away from us that was very dear

To us.

And we miss him terribly.

I couldn't believe that they

Got so much from so little.

From a few strands of hair, they

Were able to tell when she gave

Him the poison, how often she

Gave him the poison, and

Basically in how big of doses

She gave him the poison, right

Up to the last day.

It's amazing.