10x33 - Penchant for Poison

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: when a person is
cremated, the heat usually

Destroys any evidence of foul
play.

At least that was the theory
until a scientist in texas found

A way to test cremated remains
and in so doing made forensic

History.

San angelo, texas -- known for
its oil, cotton fields, and

Extremely hot weather.

It's great country.

There's a lot of rural area to
it.

Of course, the biggest problem
they have out there is you don't

Get a whole lot of rain.

Narrator: olgie and
leita nobles ran the town's

Air-conditioning business, and
they had no shortage of

Customers.

Perhaps it was the strain of
both living and working

Together, but the two didn't
always see eye to eye.

It was that kind of different
relationship where there was

Love involved, but you couldn't
tell it from the outside.

Mr. Nobles had a real
drinking problem, and they

Argued like cats and dogs.

Narrator: at the age of 70,
olgie died after a lengthy

Illness.

Shortly after the funeral, his
wife, leita, checked herself

Into a hospital.

She hadn't been feeling well for
weeks.

I was just sick, just
vomiting all the time.

Just deathly sick at my stomach,
and I'd just get weaker and

Weaker and got to where I
couldn't walk.

Narrator: leita blamed the
stress of her husband's death

For her illness, but doctors
found nothing wrong and released

Her.

Within days, the nausea and
vomiting returned, and leita

Developed another symptom --
numbness in her fingers and

Toes.

I woke up one night, and I
was so sick.

And I got up, tried to get in
the chair, and of course my legs

Didn't hold me, and I just went
down to the floor.

[ Wailing ]
narrator: leita went to the

Hospital once again.

This time doctors performed a
whole battery of tests and found

The problem.

Leita had been poisoned.

The level of arsenic in her
system was three times higher

Than a lethal dose.

It made you wonder who in the
world it could be that was doing

It.

Narrator: arsenic is a
tasteless, odorless element used

In rat poison.

Leita could think of only one
person who could have done

This -- her husband, olgie.

They loved each other, but
it's one of those marriages that

Stayed rocky all the time.

They just fought back and forth
all the time, and she did say

That he's probably the one that
did it.

Narrator: was it possible
that olgie poisoned his wife

Before he died?

I didn't think he had the
nerve.

I really didn't think the man
had the nerve to do a thing like

That.

Narrator: to find out,
scientists looked for evidence

In her hair.

It turns out that hair and in
some cases toenails or

Fingernails are good indicators
of body loads of certain

Elements.

In particular, in the case of
arsenic, it's often used as

Hair, where it's concentrated in
hair.

Narrator: since hair grows
approximately one-half inch per

Month, and leita's hair was
three inches long, this gave

Scientists a 6-month timeline to
see when leita was poisoned.

Each half-inch piece of hair was
tested with neutron-activation

Analysis.

Neutron activation has some
advantages, and one is that it

Is considered to be
nondestructive.

That is solid samples can be
irradiated directly without

Having to dissolve the sample in
any way.

Narrator: the results were
surprising.

Leita ingested ingested a
massive dose of arsenic in the

Month before olgie died.

But she ingested a second large
dose in the month after his

Death.

They were able to conclude
that she had had a large dose of

Arsenic in the time frame since
her husband had been dead, and

He couldn't have possibly
administered it.

Narrator: now investigators
question whether olgie, too, had

Been poisoned.

Narrator: tests on
leita nobles' hair indicated she

Ingested large doses of arsenic
in the month before and month

After her husband's death.

At one time, arsenic was an
ingredient in rat poison, but

It's no longer used for that
purpose.

Investigators looked in and
around the nobles' home for

Clues.

We took samples of the water.

We took samples from their
septic-t*nk system.

And we tested all the different
things in the house to be sure

That we could positively prove
that they didn't get the

Poisoning from something that
was in the house accidentally.

We did find arsenic in one
item.

It was an antacid.

The actual concentration in
there was sublethal, but it

Certainly would be toxic.

Narrator: with leita's
permission, investigators

Exhumed her husband's body five
months after he died.

His autopsy revealed lethal
doses of arsenic in all of his

Major organs.

Olgie nobles' death was now
ruled a homicide.

My first thought is that
there's somebody that's real

Close to the nobles and needs
them dead for some reason.

Narrator: only two people had
access to the food in the

Nobles' home.

They had a son who was
disabled who lived in the house

Who of course had to be a little
suspect.

Narrator: and it was telling,
too, that the nobles' son showed

No signs of arsenic poisoning.

The other person was the man who
bought the nobles'

Air-conditioning business,
timothy scoggin.

But leita refused to believe
either one was responsible.

She had an excellent
relationship with her son, and

Tim scoggin was like a member of
the family.

I didn't know what to think,
'cause I just couldn't, you

Know, believe it.

Leita nobles -- she'll look
you right in the eye and tell

You exactly what she thinks, and
that's what she did.

She looked us right in the eye
and told us tim scoggin wasn't

Doing that.

We were on the wrong track, and
that he would never do that.

She trusted him completely.

Narrator: tim scoggin was 33
years old, single, and a had a

Close, personal relationship
with the nobles.

But a background check revealed
an unusual past.

Before buying the nobles'
business, scoggin lived in

Llano, texas, about 130 miles
away.

While there, he met two elderly
sisters, catherine and

Cordelia norton, the last
surviving members of an old

Texas family that made millions
mining granite.

The two sisters never married
and lived in a large mansion

While running separate
businesses.


Younger of the two.

Her nickname was "girly."

She was very frilly, very
ladylike.

Narrator: catherine ran a
flower shop and met tim scoggin

While he was working for a local
funeral home.


Distributor and a cattle

Rancher.

She was rough.

She had a man's style haircut.

She wore khaki clothes, and she
could cuss better than any

Sailor you ever saw.

Narrator: as scoggin got to
know the sisters, he spent

Increasing amounts of time doing
their chores -- cooking for

Them, he acted them as their
driver, and helped them with

Their medications.

They were lonely.

They needed someone to talk to
them.

They needed someone to care for
them.

And that's what he did.

And they trusted him just like a
son.

He was at their beck and
call.

He would drive them anywhere,
take them to the doctors.

They would often go to
university of texas football

Games.

Narrator: not surprisingly,
the sisters appreciated

Scoggin's help and apparently
led him to believe his

Generosity would be rewarded.

He knew the ladies had a lot
of money, and he was gonna

Befriend them.

And he said that catherine and
cordelia had told him that they

Were gonna remember him in the
will.

So he was really thinking he was
gonna make a lot of money.

He bragged that he was
wealthy or that he was gonna be

An heir or already was an heir
of a wealthy family that -- I

Believe he said he was related
to the norton sisters rather

Than just a friend.

Narrator: then, all of a
sudden, the two sisters died

Within a day of one another.

The doctor signed off and
said, "death -- heart attack,

Old age."

And no one really knew anything
about it or thought a whole lot

About it.

They were buried.

Everyone went about their
business.

Narrator: the sisters' estate
was estimated to be

Approximately $5 million.

When investigators learned that
olgie nobles had been poisoned,

The deaths of the norton sisters
appeared suspicious.

Right away, I thought, well,
we need to exhume the bodies of

The norton girls.

Narrator: but they hit a dead
end.

Both norton sisters had been
cremated.

I was afraid we'd lost
everything.

Narrator: if tim scoggin
k*lled the norton sisters for

Their money and m*rder*d
olgie nobles, too, he had

Committed the perfect crime
three times.

You can't be around three
deaths and one near death under

Very similar circumstances and
just say it's a coincidence.

Narrator: but without
forensic evidence, there was no

Way to prove it.

Narrator: when investigators
looked at tim scoggin, they had

To wonder, did he simply have
bad luck, or was he a

Cold-blooded serial k*ller?

Within a 12-month period,
scoggin's two closest friends,

Leita and olgie nobles, were
both poisoned with arsenic.

And his friends catherine and
cordelia norton also died

Suspicious deaths within a day
of one another.

He was the last person alone
with cordelia, and he was the

Last person alone with
catherine.

He wanted money, he wanted
riches, and he liked the lavish

Lifestyle of particularly the
nortons.

The nortons traveled all over
the world.

They had friends from all over
the world come visit them, and

He was included in that circle.

Narrator: if scoggin poisoned
the norton sisters, no one could

Prove it.

They had both been cremated.

All that remained were their
ashes.

He believed he could burn up
the evidence, and he'd be safe.

Narrator: in the average
cremation, the body is subjected

To temperatures of more than


To 3 hours.

Virtually nothing remains.

It takes a lot of temperature
to reduce a body to nothing but

A little pile of ashes.

Narrator: investigators
called laboratories and

Universities around the country,
but no one knew of any way to

Test cremated remains for
forensic evidence.

I knew we had to try, and of
course when we went to the

Laboratory, our lab people were
pretty negative that we didn't

Have anything, and they kind of
had the same idea -- it had been

Burned up.

Narrator: but rod mccutcheon,
a toxicologist at the texas

Department of public safety
crime lab, was willing to try.

So I started thinking about
the possibility of detecting

Arsenic in a cremated remain
sample and decided it might be

Possible.

There were a lot of things to
consider.

Narrator: mccutcheon knew
that arsenic is actually a

Metal, and some metals survive
fire and intense heat.

It may change its form from a
solid to a gas, but you aren't

Going to destroy the arsenic
itself.

Narrator: so he took the
sisters' ashes and added an acid

Solution to dissolve all of the
organic material.

What was left was primarily
sulfuric acid.

In a process called colorimetric
testing, he added hydrochloric

Acid and zinc to the mix.

As it bubbles through this
device, the arsenic will react

And form, if it's present, a
purplish-violet color.

The more arsenic present, the
stronger, the more purple the

Color is.

Narrator: rod mccutcheon's
chemical cocktail made forensic

History.

The solution turned a deep
purple -- conclusive proof of

The presence of arsenic.

Theoretically it could be
done, but when it happened, that

Was a surprise.

I was elated when I found the
results, to tell you the truth.

I couldn't believe it.

Narrator: the depth of color
in the reaction showed that

Cordelia norton ingested a
massive amount of arsenic.

The test results on catherine's
ashes were inconclusive.

Nevertheless, their deaths were
ruled homicides, and it appeared

The sisters got the last laugh.

They died before changing their
will.

When they read the will, he
found he got nothing.

They said he was very
distraught, very angry when he

Left.

Narrator: tim scoggin was the
prime suspect in the murders of

Cordelia and catherine norton,
olgie nobles, and the attempted

m*rder of leita nobles.

Mr. Scoggin had no criminal
record.

He certainly didn't appear like
any kind of tv crook.

In fact he was the proverbial
wolf in sheep's clothing.

He appeared to be completely
nonthreatening and a loving

Friend to all his victims.

Narrator: investigators found
arsenic in some antacids in

Leita's home but couldn't find
out where it came from...

Until the owner of a local
supermarket called to offer some

Information.

He said when he saw scoggin's
picture in the newspaper, he

Remembered selling him a large
amount of rat poison.

He even remembered the brand --
cowley's original rat and mouse

Poison.

He remembered mr. Scoggin
coming in, looking for some sort

Of poison to k*ll varmints of
some kind.

I think he didn't buy it that
day, but he came back several

Days later and bought more than
one bottle.

I don't recall how many.

Narrator: forensic document
examiners analyzed the

Cremation-request orders signed
by the norton sisters and a

$30,000 Check the sisters made
out to scoggin shortly before

Their death.

They concluded the documents
were forgeries.

It was written near the time
of the death, which made it even

More suspicious because the
ladies were extremely ill at

This time, and they weren't in
the stage of just giving away

$30,000, 'Cause they were
deathly ill.

Narrator: prosecutors believe
that scoggin set his sights on

The norton sisters almost from
the minute he met them.

The norton sisters liked
scoggin, and he would often eat

Meals and stay overnight in
their hillside mansion.

Prosecutors think scoggin
poisoned them after he learned

The sisters' plan to include him
in their will.

As a mortician, scoggin had
access to the necessary

Paperwork to forge the sisters'
names on cremation papers.

But in a forensic first,
scientists found a huge amount

Of arsenic in the ashes.

When scoggin learned the sisters
had left him out of their will,

He was angry but undeterred.

For his trouble, scoggin forged
a check on the sisters' account

For $30,000 discovered later by
forensic experts.

Scoggin then moved 130 miles
away to san angelo, where he met

The nobles.

They lent scoggin the money to
buy their air-conditioning

Business.

He was to repay them in monthly
installments.

Prosecutors believe he poisoned
the couple so he could avoid

Making those payments.

Olgie nobles died from the
poison, but 69-year-old leita

Built up a resistance to it.

This lady was so tough.

Her inner strength was so
strong.

Her will to live was so strong,
and her body was able to absorb

This and build up a tolerance to
it.

But probably, if you had 10
people out there, 9 of those 10

Would have probably died from
it.

Narrator: had leita died,
police would never have

Questioned the cause of her
death or her husband's.

So they would never have made
the connection to the norton

Sisters.

The big mistake he did -- he
didn't finish out leita, or he

Would have gotten away
scot-clean, and nobody would

Have ever known the difference.

Narrator: tim scoggin was
arrested and charged with

m*rder and intent to commit
m*rder.

He's a very effeminate kind
of a man.

In fact when he talked on the
phone, people thought he was a

Woman, and he passed himself off
as secretary sometimes and

Called himself kim.

By his voice, you couldn't tell
the difference.

Uh...he had to be a cold,
calculating individual.

I've talked to a lot of

Serial K*llers, but this guy
here was the cold-bloodedest,

Most ruthless k*ller that I
dealt with.

Narrator: scoggin was
convicted and sentenced to two

Life sentences.

People k*ll for money.

It's the root of all evil.

It really is.

That's absolutely true, I think.

That's all he done it for was
money.

Narrator: leita nobles still
suffers from the poisoning.

To this day, she has trouble
walking.

Yes, I can get angry
sometimes.

I get to thinking about it, and
at first I couldn't talk about

It.

I'd just go to cry.

I just couldn't talk about it.

Narrator: now scientists all
over the world can test cremated

Remains for various substances,
thanks to the hard work and

Dedication of the scientists
involved in this case.

People sit around, trying to
think of the perfect crime.

And one could say that he nearly
did commit four nearly perfect

Crimes, and there were just a
few mistakes.

I'm not a chemistry major,
but I just felt like -- I hate

To lose, and I hate to see
someone get away with a crime,

And so it just happened to work
out, and I was very blessed that

It did.

Even though that this case
the perpetrator had gone out of

His way to try to destroy the
evidence, the evidence was

Persistent, and it was still
there, even after cremation.