Narrator: there was a
sh**ting in an upscale
Neighborhood in oklahoma city.
Ballistics identified the use of
two different g*ns, which meant
At least two sh**t.
These small marks on a shotgun
shell, some singed fibers, and a
Crime reconstruction revealed a
plot more twisted than anyone
Could have imagined.
To outsiders, it looked as if
rob andrew had everything anyone
Could want.
He had a high-paying job with an
advertising agency, lots of
Friends, and a growing family
whom he described as his source
Of strength.
Rob andrew was salt of the
earth.
I mean, this was a christian
man, attended church all the
Time, a loving father, just a
great guy and very successful
Businessman, as well.
Narrator: two days before
thanksgiving, rob andrew left
Work to pick up his children.
They planned to spend the
holiday weekend with his
Parents.
On the way, rob called his best
friend.
Rob had called my house
around 5:30, telling me how
Hurried he'd been all day and
that he was looking forward to
Picking the kids up and spending
a long weekend with them for
Thanksgiving.
Narrator: rob didn't plan to
stay long, so he parked his car
In the driveway.
I heard the overhead garage
door start up, and then rob
Paused and said, "hey, I'm gonna
have to let you go."
Narrator: as he walked into
the garage, his wife, brenda,
Asked him to relight the furnace
because it had gone out earlier
In the day.
Then there was a commotion.
Brenda said two masked men with
g*ns appeared out of nowhere.
[ g*nshots ]
and then they fled.
[ g*nshots ]
and then they fled.
Narrator: 43-year-old
robert andrew was pronounced
Dead at the scene.
Mr. Andrew was shot two
times -- once to the right side
Of the body, once to the left
side of the body.
They actually occurred from two
different locations, so that
Also tells us that two sh**t,
it's a possibility.
Narrator: brenda andrew
suffered a g*nsh*t wound and was
Rushed to the hospital.
Her wound was in the fatty
portion of her left upper arm.
Narrator: the b*llet that hit
brenda went through her arm and
Lodged in the wall of the
garage.
It was from a .22-caliber
p*stol.
Police found a spent 16-gauge
shotgun shell on the roof of
Brenda's van -- an indication
there were two different weapons
Used in the attack.
The empty cans on the garage
floor indicated rob saw the
Gunman and grabbed the bag of
empty cans as a shield.
As the second g*nsh*t wound
is about to be inflicted on him,
He is looking up and looking at
the face of his k*ller.
The motive, apparently, wasn't
robbery.
His wallet was not taken.
In fact, some of the pellets
from the shotgun went through
His wallet.
Narrator: the andrews' two
children were upstairs in their
Rooms, unharmed.
The attack had all the earmarks
of an execution.
Yet no one could think of a
reason why robert andrew would
Be targeted for m*rder.
With no motive, no leads, and no
description of the K*llers,
Investigators hoped the autopsy
would provide the clues they
Needed.
Narrator: news of
rob andrew's execution-style
m*rder was a shock to the
residents of oklahoma city,
Since crimes like this were
extremely uncommon.
Rob and brenda were a loving
couple.
They appeared to be.
The pictures showed the perfect
family -- the smiling, happy,
Loving couple with these two
great little kids.
Narrator: the couple were
active members of their church.
Brenda taught sunday school, and
rob performed missionary work in
South america.
Early in the investigation,
police learned there had been a
Prior attempt on rob's life.
Just one month earlier, rob
called police to report someone
Had tampered with his car.
Narrator: a few hours later,
rob was getting his brakes fixed
When he received a call from the
hospital.
The caller said his wife,
brenda, was critically injured
In a car accident and suggested
that he come to the hospital
Right away.
Hear a man's voice, saying
that his wife is in the
Hospital about 30 miles away,
that she needs him, and he needs
To get down there just as fast
as he can.
Narrator: now suspicious, rob
called the hospital back and
Learned the previous call was a
hoax.
Apparently the same person who
cut rob's brake line wanted him
To race to the hospital.
He took it as an attempt on
his life.
He realized that, in fact, he
was being set up to drive down
There at a high rate of speed,
and hopefully, get into an
Accident.
That's the obvious conclusion.
Narrator: several days after
rob's m*rder, his next-door
Neighbors returned home from
vacation and realized someone
Had broken into their home.
We unpacked our suitcases and
started putting things away.
When I opened my closet door, I
discovered that a little shoe
Rack that I'd had was no longer
there.
Then we decided to look around
the other bedrooms.
That's when we discovered the
spent shotgun shell in one of
The bedrooms.
Narrator: the shell was from
a 16-gauge shotgun.
It was immediately sent to the
forensics lab for testing.
An analyst placed it under a
microscope to compare it to the
The andrews' garage.
He looked specifically at the
brass casings at the base of the
Shells.
When casings are ejected, each
g*n creates a unique mark on the
Brass.
Depending on the amount of
correspondence and the
Preponderance of these matching
striations, an examiner can come
To the conclusion as to whether
these were fired by the same
Firearm or not.
Narrator: there was no
doubt -- both shells were fired
From the same g*n.
Also in the neighbors' attic,
police found several unused
.22-caliber b*ll*ts -- the same
as those used in the second g*n
In the m*rder.
They were just basically
accidentally dropped along the
Way.
They didn't appear to be placed
in any type of pattern but just
Like they were in a pocket, and
they fell out as someone crawled
Through.
Narrator: this suggested that
the K*llers hid in the
Neighbors' home after the m*rder
so they could make a clean
Getaway later.
Apparently, someone went up
in that attic, and they were
Either trying to climb up in the
master closet access, or they
Came down and landed on that
shoe rack and broke it.
It wasn't sturdy enough to hold
them, so then they tried to hide
Evidence of that -- in a rather
feeble attempt -- by putting it
Under the bed.
Narrator: and since the
neighbors' home had no signs of
Forced entry, it meant one of
two things -- either the K*llers
Were professionals, or they had
a key.
Narrator: with no solid
leads, police ask themselves,
"Who would benefit most from
rob andrew's m*rder?"
Rob's friends told police that
his wife, brenda, had the most
To gain.
We found that the marriage
was rocky, off-and-on.
They had a few periods of
separation.
And we also found that brenda
andrew was involved in several
Extramarital affairs.
Mr. Andrew was convinced at
this point that his insurance
Salesman, mr. Pavatt, and his
wife were having an affair.
Narrator: 48-year-old
james pavatt taught sunday
School with brenda...and they
flaunted their relationship even
In front of rob's children.
James and brenda had a very
interesting relationship.
Even prior to rob's death, the
two of them went on a vacation
Together down to texas with the
children.
I don't know of any husband who
would willingly just say okay to
His wife going down to mexico
with a complete stranger and
Taking his kids with him.
Narrator: just a few months
before his m*rder, rob demanded
That brenda end her affair with
pavatt.
Brenda refused and filed for
divorce.
Rob immediately changed the
beneficiary of his $800,000
Life-insurance policy.
Mr. Andrew made the
beneficiary, I think, his
Brother, for the benefit of the
children.
Since the children were minors,
he had to have an adult as the
Actual trustee of that money.
But after rob's death, police
were surprised to learn that
Brenda was again the sole
beneficiary.
Police were immediately
suspicious, and they arranged
For a handwriting expert,
david parrett, to authenticate
Rob andrew's signature on the
insurance policy.
A signature is produced with
style and speed.
It's the thing that you probably
write the most in your entire
Life.
In my analysis, I look at 13
years of rob andrew's
Handwriting in writing his
signatures -- 136 signatures.
Narrator: not surprisingly,
it was clear that rob andrew's
Signatures changed over the
years.
Over time, rob andrew's
signature had become more
Ornate, more artistic.
Narrator: and 2 1/2 years
before his death, rob added and
Extra element to his signature.
It was in the bottom
right-hand corner of his
Signature.
I then began looking at
signature after signature after
Signature, and that fish was
there.
Narrator: this was a
christian symbol -- the ichthus.
Rob added it to his signature as
a sign of his faith.
But it wasn't on the
change-of-beneficiary form.
I know that symbol is very
significant because he
Repeatedly used it in the more
formalized signatures that he
Wrote, such as in business
documents.
And that symbol was not in the
questioned document.
Narrator: and there was
another discrepancy in the
Life-insurance policy
signature.
Rob andrew had a
characteristic of connecting the
"N" and the "d" in the last
name "andrew."
Narrator: but it wasn't
signed that way on the insurance
Form, so parrett concluded it
was a forgery.
But he was unable to determine
the identity of the forger.
Police knew that brenda andrew
had the motive to make sure she
Was the beneficiary of her
husband's $800,000
Life-insurance policy, and her
lover, james pavatt, had the
Opportunity.
He was the life-insurance agent
who sold the policy.
Police now suspected brenda may
have been involved in her
Husband's m*rder.
So ballistics experts took a
much closer look at the
Photographs of her wound and the
b*llet hole in her sweater.
They found black rings --
g*nsh*t residue -- around both.
It is actually the unburned
and partially burned powder and
Soot and hot gasses that exit
the barrel right behind the
Projectile.
Narrator: using an identical
g*n, investigators ran tests to
Re-create the g*nsh*t-residue
patterns.
And my observations of those
patterns and of the sweater and
Of her wound allowed me to
conclude that she was shot at
Somewhere between actual contact
and approximately two inches
Away from her arm.
Narrator: this contradicted
brenda's statement that she was
Shot by someone 15 to 20 feet
away.
Police now knew that
brenda andrew was involved in
Rob's m*rder.
But was she the k*ller?
Narrator: to find out what
role, if any, brenda andrew
Played in her husband's m*rder,
investigators sent her
Bloodstained clothing to
tom bevel, an expert on
Blood-spatter analysis.
Bevel noticed that many of the
bloodstains on her jeans had an
Elongated shape consistent with
blood dripping from her arm onto
Her pants.
We have some low-velocity
blood drips -- that would be
Blood that is breaking away
primarily due to gravity --
Dripping down onto the jeans.
Narrator: dna tests confirmed
this blood was brenda's.
But bevel also found mist-like
blood spatter on brenda's jeans
Below the knee, which had
penetrated deep into the fabric.
It is from a high-velocity
occurrence, such as a g*nsh*t --
In this case, multiple g*nsh*t
pellets -- that has spattered
The blood traveling back from
him, referred to as "back
Spatter," and then subsequently
landing on her clothing.
Narrator: dna tests confirmed
that this was rob's blood.
This proved that brenda was
standing only a few feet away
From rob when he was k*lled.
The back spatter on the
pants -- I think that gave us
That one bit of evidence we
needed in order to put that g*n
In ms. Andrew's hand.
Narrator: prosecutors believe
brenda planned her husband's
m*rder for months.
She may have forged rob's
signature on the life-insurance
Policy, making her the
beneficiary.
Her first attempt on rob's life
involved cutting rob's brake
Lines.
Police believe it was
james pavatt who called rob with
The fake story that brenda was
in critical condition at the
Hospital.
When that didn't work, the
couple devised an elaborate
sh**ting scenario.
They planned to k*ll rob when he
came to pick up the children for
The holiday weekend.
On the night of the m*rder,
pavatt hid behind the van in the
Garage.
We prayed a little bit.
The holidays are coming up.
Narrator: when they heard
rob's car, they set the plan in
Motion.
Rob walked into the garage
expecting to see the children.
Instead, brenda asked him to fix
the furnace while she got them
Ready.
Pavatt fired the first shot from
behind the van...
Then handed the r*fle to brenda.
He is looking up and looking
at the face of his k*ller.
And whatever was said to him,
we'll never know.
Narrator: the blood spatter
On brenda's pants proved she was
less than two feet away.
Pavatt used a .22-caliber p*stol
to sh**t brenda's arm, but he
Fired it from a couple inches
away, leaving the burn marks.
Brenda called police with the
fake story of the two masked
Men.
Pavatt hid in the empty house
next door.
The homeowners had given brenda
the key for safekeeping.
Pavatt stayed there for at least
a day, until police were
Finished at the scene.
He ejected the spent shotgun
shell when he heard the
Homeowners' son walk into the
house to pick up his parents'
Mail.
Fortunately, the man didn't go
upstairs, or he might have been
k*lled, too.
Investigators never found the
m*rder w*apon, but they did find
Some important information.
During our investigation, we
also found that mr. Pavatt had
Purchased a .22-caliber p*stol
at a local g*n store with the
Use of a credit card about a
month before the homicide.
Everything was a piece of a
puzzle.
All of those little things out
there by themselves meant
Nothing, but when you started
laying it all out, clicking the
Pieces together, making the
matches, it just started
Pointing.
There's no way this woman
couldn't have been involved.
Narrator: brenda andrew and
james pavatt were both charged
With first-degree m*rder and
were tried separately.
Pavatt's trial was first.
We, the jury, having
heretofore found the defendant,
James dwight pavatt, guilty of
m*rder in the first degree, fix
His punishment at death.
Narrator: in brenda's trial,
prosecutors portrayed her as a
Heartless sociopath.
The jury saw photos of her
vacationing with pavatt and the
Children while she was married
to rob.
They also heard the messages
Brenda left on rob's telephone
answering machine in which she
Belittled rob for his parenting
skills and other perceived
Slights.
Hey, it's brenda, you halfway
dad, who can't even return calls
About your children.
You ought to call me if you even
care one little ounce.
Oh, that's right -- you don't.
We've been able to figure that
Out.
Narrator: and the jury also
heard this call between rob and
Brenda's mother before the
m*rder.
She does not like me.
That makes it really hard to
live there.
I look at her, and I just want
to break out and cry 'cause I
Love the girl so much, and I
have loved her for a long, long
Time.
And the one thing that I knew
that brenda liked was money.
Narrator: brenda andrew was
also convicted of first-degree
m*rder.
The forensic evidence was
impossible to overcome.
We, the jury, impelled and
sworn in the above entitled
Cause, do abide our oaths,
having hereto found the
Defendant, brenda evers andrew,
guilty of m*rder in the first
Degree, fix her punishment at
death.
Narrator: she is now the only
woman on oklahoma's death row.
I've had four years to ponder
and to think of why brenda and
Jim would take rob andrew's
life.
And for the life of me, I cannot
understand how someone could be
That mean or that evil and have
so little regard for another
Person's life.
Narrator: prosecutors
describe it as one of the most
Cold-blooded murders they have
ever seen.
The complexity of the case
was a problem.
It's a hard case to talk about
in a short amount of time.
There's so many different pieces
of evidence.
But what we believe that any
juror wants to hear is what
Happened at the key moment.
The physical evidence will
tell a story.
And it's just simply up to the
person that is trying to put
This together to understand what
the physical evidence is saying.
10x32 -Sunday School Ambush
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Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.
Documentary that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness.