11x08 - Concrete Alibi
Posted: 01/19/24 07:30
Narrator: can the dead speak to the living?
A michigan woman tried to do just that by
Leaving a note to her survivors telling them
Her death was no accident.
Forensics uncover the secrets
She almost took to her grave.
Narrator: it seemed like a love story from a time gone by.
David duyst and sandy bose met in high school and fell in love.
They went to the same college, got married after graduation,
And started a family.
The duysts were churchgoing people, pretty conservative,
Well thought of.
He was an insurance salesman making a lot of money.
They had three kids.
Narrator: sandy had her own business, boarding horses in a
Stable on their land.
Sandy was very good with horses.
She loved the horses.
Her favorite place was to be in the barn -- very favorite, was
To be there.
Out of any place -- you could tell -- she just beamed when she
Was in the barn.
Narrator: but sandy soon learned the horse business can
Be dangerous.
Sandy said one of the horses got spooked and kicked her in the
Head.
[ Neighing ] bleeding profusely and barely
Conscious, sandy was able to crawl to her neighbor's house
For help.
[ Siren wailing ] after the accident, sandra
Started to experience extreme difficulties, mood swings,
Severe depression.
After about a year, it got to the point where I believe that
She was in such a state that their marriage had deteriorated
Completely.
Narrator: sandy's doctor prescribed antidepressants.
They appeared to be working, until, months after her
Accident, david duyst called .
, What is your emergency?
[ Siren wailing ] narrator: an ambulance rushed
Sandy to a nearby hospital, but she was declared dead on
Arrival.
And I said, "no."
It was just hard to believe 'cause she was so young, you
Know, was what it was.
Narrator: she was only years old.
In sandy's bedroom was a -millimeter semiautomatic
p*stol the family owned for protection.
David duyst told police he and sandy were having marital
Problems and no longer slept together.
Sandy slept in the master bedroom.
David slept on the sofa in the family room.
He told me that he had heard a sh*t and responded to the
Bedroom where his wife was asleep and found her.
He took the g*n out of her hand, laid it on the bed, ran back out
Of the room, and called .
Narrator: the children were in their bedrooms.
They said they heard their father downstairs.
They can hear his movement immediately after hearing the
Noises or sh*ts.
They can hear his movement from the den area through the other
Three rooms, opening the door to the bedroom, and going in.
Narrator: this corroborated david's story, but just to be
Sure, police confiscated david's clothing.
At that point, they did make a visual inspection of the shirt
And the pants.
And their report indicated that it was negative for bloodstain.
Narrator: to make certain nothing was left undone, police
Asked david to take a lie-detector test.
He passed.
We didn't have any reason to dispute his story.
And quite frankly, given his background, the fact that he
Appeared to be a stable, normal guy with a family and a good
Job and some community involvement and stuff, we
Basically gave him the benefit of the doubt and kind of
Accepted what he had said.
Narrator: but if it was a su1c1de, why didn't sandy leave
A note?
Narrator: anytime someone like sandy duyst dies of what's
Believed to be a self-inflicted g*nsh*t wound, it immediately
Raises suspicions.
Statistically it's rare that a woman uses a p*stol to k*ll
Herself.
Narrator: as is our custom, we do perform autopsies on
su1c1de victims.
We are, under law, obligated to investigate such deaths.
Narrator: in examining sandy duyst's head injuries, the
Forensic pathologist expected to find a single-b*llet wound, but
He found something else.
At that point, he said, "oh, I think you should come see
This."
Narrator: they found not one but two entrance wounds an inch
And a half apart.
It did show two separate wound tracks right through the
Middle of the brain, each one of them, indicating that the first
One had to be incapacitating.
And this ain't right.
She's got two in her head now.
Dr. Cohle's immediate statement was "that can't be."
Narrator: two entrance and two exit wounds meant that
Either the p*stol double-fired or sandy pulled the trigger
Twice.
I have had a number of cases in my own experience, and there
Have been a number reported in the literature, of more than one
Suicidal g*nsh*t wound to the head...
The common denominator in all those cases is that the first
sh*t was not incapacitating.
Narrator: also suspicious, investigators found blood
Spatter on the -millimeter p*stol but none on sandy's hands
Or arm.
It really suggests that she is not in control of the w*apon,
But the w*apon certainly was exposed to the spatter event.
Narrator: then investigators got a telephone call from
Sandy's sister.
She told them about a conversation she had with sandy
A year before her death.
Sandra had indicated to her sister, "if anything ever
Happens to me, I've left a note for you in the china cabinet of
The home.
Please just get it and read it."
Narrator: with a warrant, investigators searched the
Duysts' home.
This china cabinet not only held china, but it also seemed
To be like a repository, if you will, for family paperwork.
And so I just began searching this china cabinet from top to
Bottom.
On the very bottom shelf, way in the back, behind some dishes,
There was a white envelope, and all it said on it was the name
Of sandra's sister.
And I immediately retrieved it from where it was.
It was sealed.
I didn't open it up at that point.
Narrator: the note was immediately sent to the crime
Lab, where it was opened by forensic analysts.
It proved to be nothing less than a voice from the grave.
To anyone interested in what happened to me, look first to
David duyst.
He could be my k*ller.
Narrator: for the first time, sandy described what really
Happened in the horse stable months earlier.
On november th, my accident was no accident.
David b*at me with a hammer a*.
He came up from behind while I was in dexter's stall.
He hit me repeatedly.
I figured he would come back to k*ll me.
The only information that we had prior to this, that
Mrs. Duyst had always indicated, that she was kicked by a horse.
So now we have to begin kind of looking at this whole
Circumstance and trying to validate that.
I would never commit su1c1de.
He may have k*lled me.
Respectfully, sandra a. Duyst.
Narrator: investigators sent the note to a forensic document
Examiner who compared the handwriting to sandy's known
Handwriting samples.
He found it to be consistent.
Scientists found a fingerprint on the letter.
It was sandy's.
And dna testing confirmed that sandy licked the envelope to
Seal it.
We were all stunned.
It was kind of a jaw-dropper.
You just don't see those kinds of things in a case.
Narrator: now that sandy claimed the incident was an
att*ck, investigators reviewed hospital medical records and
Discovered that the attending physician doubted a horse had
Done that damage.
They were semicircular in nature, and there were a number
Of them, and they'd put lacerations in her head which he
Had to staple shut.
And he said, "it just didn't look like any horse-kick injury
I'd ever seen."
Narrator: dr. John hulsing was in the duysts' barn shortly
After the incident.
He, too, noticed inconsistencies.
I went in that stall, and I couldn't find any blood on the
Wall where this reportedly happened.
It was all outside of the stall in the walk-in area.
Narrator: david duyst was confronted with the letter and
Denied that the incident was anything other than an accident,
But he did make a confession.
He admitted he was having an affair with his secretary,
Linda ryan, and that sandy had found out about it.
David also gave police a voice mail sandy left on his
Office phone.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
Narrator: police now had evidence that sandy duyst's
Horse-barn incident was no accident.
In a letter found among her private papers, sandy described
The incident as a m*rder attempt perpetrated by her
Husband.
My accident was no accident.
Look first to david duyst.
Narrator: instead of leaving the marriage, sandy apparently
Tried to make it work.
Sandy really truly loved david.
She stayed with him because she did love him.
And she wanted the whole family to stay together, and family was
Very important to her.
And so I think that she just really loved him.
I think family first.
Stay with the family.
Make it work.
Do everything you can.
Narrator: david duyst denied hitting sandy in the stable and
Insisted her sh**ting death was a su1c1de.
He said the g*n must have double-fired.
To find out, investigators sent the w*apon to gunmaker
Brad bachelder.
It still had the original grease in the g*n.
The g*n had basically been fired very little.
There was almost no wear on the g*n whatsoever.
Narrator: the g*n was designed for safety.
It could not be fired without a complete pull of the trigger.
Various safety mechanisms had to be in place for this to happen,
All there to prevent an accidental discharge.
So that g*n can't accidently, through recoil or slam-f*ring or
Dropping or any malfunction that I've been exposed to thus
Far, involuntarily fire a second sh*t without full manipulation
Of the trigger.
Narrator: and tests showed that this trigger was difficult
To pull.
On most pistols, it takes between four and six pounds of
Pressure to pull the trigger.
But this g*n required almost pounds of pressure.
The conclusion -- the g*n could not have double-fired.
One of the beautiful things about mechanisms is they don't
Think.
They'll either function or malfunction.
It is very easy, with a right amount of background knowledge,
To look at a mechanism and determine if in fact it could or
Did fail.
With that knowledge, it makes it very hard for me to believe that
Story.
Narrator: but it is possible for a su1c1de victim to sh**t
Herself more than once.
In years, I've encountered two situations where a w*apon
Ultimately was fired twice during a su1c1de event.
It's not the typical, but it's not unheard of.
Narrator: but in sandy's case, doctors say either sh*t
Would have caused massive brain injuries and would have k*lled
Her instantly.
But what the wounds did that she received from that first
b*llet was -- it went right through the center of her brain
That controls your motor functions.
The thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the basal ganglion were all
Destroyed in that first sh*t.
So she was incapable of squeezing the trigger a second
Time.
The fact that she had two contact g*nsh*t wounds to the
Head, each of which would be instantly incapacitating and
Nearly instantly fatal, were sufficient for me to conclude
That this was a homicide and not the su1c1de, as it appeared to
Be.
Narrator: but if david duyst sh*t his wife two times at close
Range, why was there no blood spatter on his shirt?
When the clothing was sent over, it was labeled as a
su1c1de, not a homicide, investigation.
They just basically held it up and looked at it with the naked
Eye.
Narrator: the clothing was examined again.
This time criminalists used a high-powered microscope
Connected to a video camera.
Under high magnification, there were stains invisible to the
Naked eye -- tiny, microscopic bloodstains.
These stains are referred to as back spatter.
They're coming from the entry wound, and they are actually
Ejected back towards the sh**t.
Narrator: the blood penetrated into the fabric
Weave, the signature sign of high-velocity blood spatter.
And there was high-velocity blood spatter on the back sleeve
Of david's shirt.
Finding the spatter on the back of mr. Duyst's sleeve, I
Think, is rather telling because it suggests that his arm is not
Just down, but rather it's extended and up at the moment of
That spatter event...
Which is consistent with the position that one would have to
Be in if they're f*ring a w*apon into mrs. Duyst.
Narrator: david duyst was arrested and charged with
First-degree m*rder.
He continued to maintain his innocence.
He said when he found sandy, she was coughing, which explained
How her blood got onto his shirt.
It would be up to a jury to decide if david duyst was lying
Or telling the truth.
Narrator: prosecutors didn't have to look very hard to learn
The motive for sandy duyst's m*rder.
The duysts were heavily in debt.
All income that was coming into the duyst home was
Absolutely going out in expenditures.
There was no money left over.
Narrator: david duyst was an insurance agent, and he had
Written a $, insurance policy on sandy's life, which
Would pay even in the event of su1c1de.
And prosecutors also learned that david's lover, his
Secretary, was insisting he leave sandy immediately.
By having her out of the picture being dead, as opposed
To just divorcing her, he avoids paying alimony, child
Support, and adding further financial woe to his particular
Situation.
So the motives were the oldest ones in the world -- money and
Women.
And he had both of them.
Narrator: with $, worth of life insurance on sandy,
Prosecutors think david duyst chose m*rder over divorce.
They believe the first attempt on sandy's life took place in
The horse stable.
Sandy's letter said david hit her on the back on her head with
An axhammer.
But she survived those injuries and covered up the incident.
Months later, with david and sandy sleeping separately,
Prosecutors believe david slipped into sandy's bedroom
Shortly before dawn and used the p*stol he kept in the closet.
[ g*nshots ] the blood spatter on david's
Shirt and under his right sleeve proved he was the sh**t.
David left the g*n on the bed, then called .
She sh*t herself...in the head.
She must have had some inkling that he was gonna be
Doing something.
And here's a guy who thought he was smart enough to get away
With it...
If not for that second sh*t.
Narrator: after he was arrested, david duyst continued
To tell anyone who would listen that he was innocent.
He claimed the g*n double-fired and that his wife's letter was
Actually an attempt to frame him for her death.
During his trial, david duyst took the stand to tell the jury
His side of the story.
Nothing was ever good.
Everything was always bad...
That kind of mind-set.
That's what she thought.
That's what she said.
That's how she expressed herself.
Narrator: but most trial observers said david's
Testimony hurt him more than it helped him.
It was almost kind of lighthearted, jolly.
I said this to someone right afterwards -- he testified like
The insurance salesman that he was.
Narrator: after a monthlong trial, the jury made its
Decision.
All jurors, being in agreement, find that the
Defendant, david duyst, is, as to count one, guilty of m*rder
In the first degree.
Narrator: david duyst was sentenced to life in prison
With no possibility of parole.
I am the best expert witness in this entire case because I
Know what I did and I know what I did not do that morning.
I am innocent, and I will maintain my innocence for the
Rest of my life.
Oh, he's guilty.
David duyst is guilty.
He's...
I think he's a coward, and he's a coldhearted m*rder*r.
He can stick to his story all he wants, but there's nothing
That supports it, certainly none of the evidence we found.
He wanted it all.
The kids -- he didn't want to lose the kids.
He didn't want to lose the house.
He didn't want to lose nothing.
Those things he would have lost if he'd gotten divorced.
And he knows that.
Narrator: prosecutors don't think david's girlfriend,
Linda ryan, had anything to do with the m*rder.
But questions about the case remain.
Why did david fire the second sh*t?
Did he think that he needed to sh**t her once, did so, but
Then she wasn't dead, and he figured he had to finish the
Job?
That's possible.
Did something that happened that night that had angered him
So much that he wanted to walk into the bedroom and absolutely
Hold the g*n to his wife's head and sh**t her not once, but
sh**t her twice, and then say it was a su1c1de?
It just doesn't add up.
I don't know if I'll ever be able to answer that question.
Forensics were the case.
If we don't get dna off that envelope and fingerprints off
The letter, we can't authenticate that she had
Written that.
If we don't have the autopsy
Results that we have and the
Blood-spatter results that we
Have, we've got a whole
Different ball game here.
A michigan woman tried to do just that by
Leaving a note to her survivors telling them
Her death was no accident.
Forensics uncover the secrets
She almost took to her grave.
Narrator: it seemed like a love story from a time gone by.
David duyst and sandy bose met in high school and fell in love.
They went to the same college, got married after graduation,
And started a family.
The duysts were churchgoing people, pretty conservative,
Well thought of.
He was an insurance salesman making a lot of money.
They had three kids.
Narrator: sandy had her own business, boarding horses in a
Stable on their land.
Sandy was very good with horses.
She loved the horses.
Her favorite place was to be in the barn -- very favorite, was
To be there.
Out of any place -- you could tell -- she just beamed when she
Was in the barn.
Narrator: but sandy soon learned the horse business can
Be dangerous.
Sandy said one of the horses got spooked and kicked her in the
Head.
[ Neighing ] bleeding profusely and barely
Conscious, sandy was able to crawl to her neighbor's house
For help.
[ Siren wailing ] after the accident, sandra
Started to experience extreme difficulties, mood swings,
Severe depression.
After about a year, it got to the point where I believe that
She was in such a state that their marriage had deteriorated
Completely.
Narrator: sandy's doctor prescribed antidepressants.
They appeared to be working, until, months after her
Accident, david duyst called .
, What is your emergency?
[ Siren wailing ] narrator: an ambulance rushed
Sandy to a nearby hospital, but she was declared dead on
Arrival.
And I said, "no."
It was just hard to believe 'cause she was so young, you
Know, was what it was.
Narrator: she was only years old.
In sandy's bedroom was a -millimeter semiautomatic
p*stol the family owned for protection.
David duyst told police he and sandy were having marital
Problems and no longer slept together.
Sandy slept in the master bedroom.
David slept on the sofa in the family room.
He told me that he had heard a sh*t and responded to the
Bedroom where his wife was asleep and found her.
He took the g*n out of her hand, laid it on the bed, ran back out
Of the room, and called .
Narrator: the children were in their bedrooms.
They said they heard their father downstairs.
They can hear his movement immediately after hearing the
Noises or sh*ts.
They can hear his movement from the den area through the other
Three rooms, opening the door to the bedroom, and going in.
Narrator: this corroborated david's story, but just to be
Sure, police confiscated david's clothing.
At that point, they did make a visual inspection of the shirt
And the pants.
And their report indicated that it was negative for bloodstain.
Narrator: to make certain nothing was left undone, police
Asked david to take a lie-detector test.
He passed.
We didn't have any reason to dispute his story.
And quite frankly, given his background, the fact that he
Appeared to be a stable, normal guy with a family and a good
Job and some community involvement and stuff, we
Basically gave him the benefit of the doubt and kind of
Accepted what he had said.
Narrator: but if it was a su1c1de, why didn't sandy leave
A note?
Narrator: anytime someone like sandy duyst dies of what's
Believed to be a self-inflicted g*nsh*t wound, it immediately
Raises suspicions.
Statistically it's rare that a woman uses a p*stol to k*ll
Herself.
Narrator: as is our custom, we do perform autopsies on
su1c1de victims.
We are, under law, obligated to investigate such deaths.
Narrator: in examining sandy duyst's head injuries, the
Forensic pathologist expected to find a single-b*llet wound, but
He found something else.
At that point, he said, "oh, I think you should come see
This."
Narrator: they found not one but two entrance wounds an inch
And a half apart.
It did show two separate wound tracks right through the
Middle of the brain, each one of them, indicating that the first
One had to be incapacitating.
And this ain't right.
She's got two in her head now.
Dr. Cohle's immediate statement was "that can't be."
Narrator: two entrance and two exit wounds meant that
Either the p*stol double-fired or sandy pulled the trigger
Twice.
I have had a number of cases in my own experience, and there
Have been a number reported in the literature, of more than one
Suicidal g*nsh*t wound to the head...
The common denominator in all those cases is that the first
sh*t was not incapacitating.
Narrator: also suspicious, investigators found blood
Spatter on the -millimeter p*stol but none on sandy's hands
Or arm.
It really suggests that she is not in control of the w*apon,
But the w*apon certainly was exposed to the spatter event.
Narrator: then investigators got a telephone call from
Sandy's sister.
She told them about a conversation she had with sandy
A year before her death.
Sandra had indicated to her sister, "if anything ever
Happens to me, I've left a note for you in the china cabinet of
The home.
Please just get it and read it."
Narrator: with a warrant, investigators searched the
Duysts' home.
This china cabinet not only held china, but it also seemed
To be like a repository, if you will, for family paperwork.
And so I just began searching this china cabinet from top to
Bottom.
On the very bottom shelf, way in the back, behind some dishes,
There was a white envelope, and all it said on it was the name
Of sandra's sister.
And I immediately retrieved it from where it was.
It was sealed.
I didn't open it up at that point.
Narrator: the note was immediately sent to the crime
Lab, where it was opened by forensic analysts.
It proved to be nothing less than a voice from the grave.
To anyone interested in what happened to me, look first to
David duyst.
He could be my k*ller.
Narrator: for the first time, sandy described what really
Happened in the horse stable months earlier.
On november th, my accident was no accident.
David b*at me with a hammer a*.
He came up from behind while I was in dexter's stall.
He hit me repeatedly.
I figured he would come back to k*ll me.
The only information that we had prior to this, that
Mrs. Duyst had always indicated, that she was kicked by a horse.
So now we have to begin kind of looking at this whole
Circumstance and trying to validate that.
I would never commit su1c1de.
He may have k*lled me.
Respectfully, sandra a. Duyst.
Narrator: investigators sent the note to a forensic document
Examiner who compared the handwriting to sandy's known
Handwriting samples.
He found it to be consistent.
Scientists found a fingerprint on the letter.
It was sandy's.
And dna testing confirmed that sandy licked the envelope to
Seal it.
We were all stunned.
It was kind of a jaw-dropper.
You just don't see those kinds of things in a case.
Narrator: now that sandy claimed the incident was an
att*ck, investigators reviewed hospital medical records and
Discovered that the attending physician doubted a horse had
Done that damage.
They were semicircular in nature, and there were a number
Of them, and they'd put lacerations in her head which he
Had to staple shut.
And he said, "it just didn't look like any horse-kick injury
I'd ever seen."
Narrator: dr. John hulsing was in the duysts' barn shortly
After the incident.
He, too, noticed inconsistencies.
I went in that stall, and I couldn't find any blood on the
Wall where this reportedly happened.
It was all outside of the stall in the walk-in area.
Narrator: david duyst was confronted with the letter and
Denied that the incident was anything other than an accident,
But he did make a confession.
He admitted he was having an affair with his secretary,
Linda ryan, and that sandy had found out about it.
David also gave police a voice mail sandy left on his
Office phone.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
He said it proved she was suicidal.
Narrator: police now had evidence that sandy duyst's
Horse-barn incident was no accident.
In a letter found among her private papers, sandy described
The incident as a m*rder attempt perpetrated by her
Husband.
My accident was no accident.
Look first to david duyst.
Narrator: instead of leaving the marriage, sandy apparently
Tried to make it work.
Sandy really truly loved david.
She stayed with him because she did love him.
And she wanted the whole family to stay together, and family was
Very important to her.
And so I think that she just really loved him.
I think family first.
Stay with the family.
Make it work.
Do everything you can.
Narrator: david duyst denied hitting sandy in the stable and
Insisted her sh**ting death was a su1c1de.
He said the g*n must have double-fired.
To find out, investigators sent the w*apon to gunmaker
Brad bachelder.
It still had the original grease in the g*n.
The g*n had basically been fired very little.
There was almost no wear on the g*n whatsoever.
Narrator: the g*n was designed for safety.
It could not be fired without a complete pull of the trigger.
Various safety mechanisms had to be in place for this to happen,
All there to prevent an accidental discharge.
So that g*n can't accidently, through recoil or slam-f*ring or
Dropping or any malfunction that I've been exposed to thus
Far, involuntarily fire a second sh*t without full manipulation
Of the trigger.
Narrator: and tests showed that this trigger was difficult
To pull.
On most pistols, it takes between four and six pounds of
Pressure to pull the trigger.
But this g*n required almost pounds of pressure.
The conclusion -- the g*n could not have double-fired.
One of the beautiful things about mechanisms is they don't
Think.
They'll either function or malfunction.
It is very easy, with a right amount of background knowledge,
To look at a mechanism and determine if in fact it could or
Did fail.
With that knowledge, it makes it very hard for me to believe that
Story.
Narrator: but it is possible for a su1c1de victim to sh**t
Herself more than once.
In years, I've encountered two situations where a w*apon
Ultimately was fired twice during a su1c1de event.
It's not the typical, but it's not unheard of.
Narrator: but in sandy's case, doctors say either sh*t
Would have caused massive brain injuries and would have k*lled
Her instantly.
But what the wounds did that she received from that first
b*llet was -- it went right through the center of her brain
That controls your motor functions.
The thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the basal ganglion were all
Destroyed in that first sh*t.
So she was incapable of squeezing the trigger a second
Time.
The fact that she had two contact g*nsh*t wounds to the
Head, each of which would be instantly incapacitating and
Nearly instantly fatal, were sufficient for me to conclude
That this was a homicide and not the su1c1de, as it appeared to
Be.
Narrator: but if david duyst sh*t his wife two times at close
Range, why was there no blood spatter on his shirt?
When the clothing was sent over, it was labeled as a
su1c1de, not a homicide, investigation.
They just basically held it up and looked at it with the naked
Eye.
Narrator: the clothing was examined again.
This time criminalists used a high-powered microscope
Connected to a video camera.
Under high magnification, there were stains invisible to the
Naked eye -- tiny, microscopic bloodstains.
These stains are referred to as back spatter.
They're coming from the entry wound, and they are actually
Ejected back towards the sh**t.
Narrator: the blood penetrated into the fabric
Weave, the signature sign of high-velocity blood spatter.
And there was high-velocity blood spatter on the back sleeve
Of david's shirt.
Finding the spatter on the back of mr. Duyst's sleeve, I
Think, is rather telling because it suggests that his arm is not
Just down, but rather it's extended and up at the moment of
That spatter event...
Which is consistent with the position that one would have to
Be in if they're f*ring a w*apon into mrs. Duyst.
Narrator: david duyst was arrested and charged with
First-degree m*rder.
He continued to maintain his innocence.
He said when he found sandy, she was coughing, which explained
How her blood got onto his shirt.
It would be up to a jury to decide if david duyst was lying
Or telling the truth.
Narrator: prosecutors didn't have to look very hard to learn
The motive for sandy duyst's m*rder.
The duysts were heavily in debt.
All income that was coming into the duyst home was
Absolutely going out in expenditures.
There was no money left over.
Narrator: david duyst was an insurance agent, and he had
Written a $, insurance policy on sandy's life, which
Would pay even in the event of su1c1de.
And prosecutors also learned that david's lover, his
Secretary, was insisting he leave sandy immediately.
By having her out of the picture being dead, as opposed
To just divorcing her, he avoids paying alimony, child
Support, and adding further financial woe to his particular
Situation.
So the motives were the oldest ones in the world -- money and
Women.
And he had both of them.
Narrator: with $, worth of life insurance on sandy,
Prosecutors think david duyst chose m*rder over divorce.
They believe the first attempt on sandy's life took place in
The horse stable.
Sandy's letter said david hit her on the back on her head with
An axhammer.
But she survived those injuries and covered up the incident.
Months later, with david and sandy sleeping separately,
Prosecutors believe david slipped into sandy's bedroom
Shortly before dawn and used the p*stol he kept in the closet.
[ g*nshots ] the blood spatter on david's
Shirt and under his right sleeve proved he was the sh**t.
David left the g*n on the bed, then called .
She sh*t herself...in the head.
She must have had some inkling that he was gonna be
Doing something.
And here's a guy who thought he was smart enough to get away
With it...
If not for that second sh*t.
Narrator: after he was arrested, david duyst continued
To tell anyone who would listen that he was innocent.
He claimed the g*n double-fired and that his wife's letter was
Actually an attempt to frame him for her death.
During his trial, david duyst took the stand to tell the jury
His side of the story.
Nothing was ever good.
Everything was always bad...
That kind of mind-set.
That's what she thought.
That's what she said.
That's how she expressed herself.
Narrator: but most trial observers said david's
Testimony hurt him more than it helped him.
It was almost kind of lighthearted, jolly.
I said this to someone right afterwards -- he testified like
The insurance salesman that he was.
Narrator: after a monthlong trial, the jury made its
Decision.
All jurors, being in agreement, find that the
Defendant, david duyst, is, as to count one, guilty of m*rder
In the first degree.
Narrator: david duyst was sentenced to life in prison
With no possibility of parole.
I am the best expert witness in this entire case because I
Know what I did and I know what I did not do that morning.
I am innocent, and I will maintain my innocence for the
Rest of my life.
Oh, he's guilty.
David duyst is guilty.
He's...
I think he's a coward, and he's a coldhearted m*rder*r.
He can stick to his story all he wants, but there's nothing
That supports it, certainly none of the evidence we found.
He wanted it all.
The kids -- he didn't want to lose the kids.
He didn't want to lose the house.
He didn't want to lose nothing.
Those things he would have lost if he'd gotten divorced.
And he knows that.
Narrator: prosecutors don't think david's girlfriend,
Linda ryan, had anything to do with the m*rder.
But questions about the case remain.
Why did david fire the second sh*t?
Did he think that he needed to sh**t her once, did so, but
Then she wasn't dead, and he figured he had to finish the
Job?
That's possible.
Did something that happened that night that had angered him
So much that he wanted to walk into the bedroom and absolutely
Hold the g*n to his wife's head and sh**t her not once, but
sh**t her twice, and then say it was a su1c1de?
It just doesn't add up.
I don't know if I'll ever be able to answer that question.
Forensics were the case.
If we don't get dna off that envelope and fingerprints off
The letter, we can't authenticate that she had
Written that.
If we don't have the autopsy
Results that we have and the
Blood-spatter results that we
Have, we've got a whole
Different ball game here.