11x32 - Critical Maneuver

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a computer hard

Drive holds hundreds of secrets.

Every keystroke, every download,

Every deletion tells a story.

But if someone downloads a song

About m*rder, does it make him a

About m*rder, does it make him a k*ller?

k*ller?

It was a hot august night in

Jacksonville, florida, and a

Time of celebration for april

And justin barber.

It was their third wedding

Anniversary, and april was about

To finish her training as a

Radiology technician.

April barber had gone into

The field of oncology,

Specifically radiology-type

Treatment for cancer patients,

Which was inspired by her

Mother's death with cancer.

Narrator: justin had good

News, too.

He had just got a job as a

Financial analyst for a large

Lumber company.

He was a very good guy --

Very smart, very successful, had

Everything going for him.

I mean, just like my sister.

I mean, they were two of a kind,

I guess.

Narrator: the couple's

Anniversary dinner was at an

Italian restaurant.

Later, they took a walk along

The beach.

But their romantic evening ended

There when a man with a g*n

Demanded money.

Give me your money and your

Jewelry.

Narrator: april diverted the

Man's attention.

Justin tried to grab the g*n.

sh*ts were fired...

And that's the last thing justin

Remembered.

When he regained consciousness,

He realized he had been sh*t and

Was bleeding.

He found april unconscious and

Facedown in the water.

Justin dragged april's body

About yards, toward their

Car, but his wounds made it

Impossible to carry her up the

Long flight of stairs.

So he left her near the

Boardwalk and drove for help.

He flagged down a motorist a few

He flagged down a motorist a few miles away.

Miles away.

Justin told the ambulance crew

That april was down on the

Beach.

By the time they got there, she

Was dead from a single g*nsh*t

Wound to her face.

People were calling me,

Telling me my sister was sh*t.

I was in shock.

It was -- I mean, it was nothing

I expected.

Narrator: at the hospital

Emergency room, doctors treated

Justin for four g*nsh*t wounds.

[ g*nshots ]

He survived but was unable to

Provide a good description of

Their attacker.

Justin couldn't see his face,

And it was too dark, and I

Believe that it is too dark to

See anybody's face out there.

Narrator: at the beach,

Police didn't find much

Evidence, just the impressions

From justin dragging april's

Body in the sand.

And the tides were rising.

Soon, there would be nothing

Left of the crime scene.

Narrator: initially, it

Looked like a robbery gone

Wrong.

A man demanded money from april

And justin barber while they

Were walking on the beach, and

They were both sh*t.

But robbery may not have been

The motive.

When they looked at

April barber's body, she had on

Her jewelry, an expensive ring,

Earrings, and her watch.

If this were a robbery, why was

Nothing taken?

Narrator: at the autopsy, the

Medical examiner discovered foam

Around april's mouth.

The foam was still present

Around her nose or mouth or

Both, and it's due to the damage

The salt water causes to the

Lining of the lung.

Narrator: dr. Steiner also

Noticed that the blood from

April's g*nsh*t wound was on top

Of the foam.

This meant that april had almost

Drowned but survived and was

sh*t afterwards.

My conclusions were that she

Had suffered a near-drowning

Episode and she had been sh*t

While she was alive.

If she had been dead from the

Drowning, there wouldn't have

Been any vital reaction to the

g*nsh*t.

There wouldn't have been a

Hemorrhage into the sinus.

Narrator: but why did the

Autopsy findings differ from

Justin's version of the

Incident?

It would be very traumatic.

The incident itself was very

Traumatic to him if it had

Occurred as he stated.

His wife is now missing.

He's been sh*t four times.

And I wouldn't expect a lot of

Detail from a person who just

Went through that type of

Traumatic experience.

Narrator: eventually, as

Justin recuperated from his

Wounds, he provided a much

Better description of the

Assailant -- good enough for

Police to create a sketch.

He was taller than me,

Heavier, but he wasn't

Overweight.

He was strong.

His shirt was dark.

It was baggy.

It was a t-shirt.

Right.

He had a dark hat, like a

Baseball cap.

Narrator: incredibly, the

Police sketch resembled a local

Man -- -year-old

David alan shuey, who had

Previous arrests for sexual

as*ault.

In fact, shuey allegedly used a

g*n while committing an as*ault

On the same beach where justin

And april were sh*t.

He went down to the beach to

Find a female.

She was sunbathing, topless

On the beach.

A gentleman came up, somehow

Confronted her, certainly

Intended on doing some type of

Sexual as*ault, sexual battery

To her.

Narrator: fortunately, the

Victim got away, but she later

Identified shuey as her

Attacker.

So police questioned shuey

Regarding his whereabouts on the

Night of april barber's m*rder.

He denied any involvement and

Claimed he had an alibi.

We ran all his credit cards

Because he was all over the

Country, unfortunately,

Committing r*pes.

We know from his credit-card

Records that he was in

Connecticut, living with his

Fiancée, at the time of this

Homicide, so we absolutely know

He was not the assailant.

Narrator: next, investigators

Looked into justin barber's

Background.

I talked to justin, and I

Said, "tell me about your

Marriage."

"We had a happy and normal

Marriage."

"Have you ever had an affair?"

"No. Never."

Narrator: but investigators

Dug deeper and learned that

Justin was having an affair with

His tennis partner,

Shannon kennedy.

So I said, "justin, listen.

Here's the deal.

I got shannon in the next room.

She's saying y'all are engaged

In an extramarital affair.

I'm gonna bring her in here, and

We're gonna get to the bottom of

It."

He's like, "no. Don't do that.

We are.

I don't want to get her

Involved."

I'm thinking, "well, why in the

Heck is this guy lying about

This?"

I mean, your wife is dead.

Don't lie to the guy that's

Trying to help you.

Who knows where that could lead?

Narrator: and april's friends

Told police that she knew all

About her husband's affair.

She told everybody who would

Listen to her -- "justin's

Having an affair.

I know he is.

I confronted him about it."

At the time, it appeared that

He was only dating one other

Person, but it appeared that he

Had as many as five extramarital

Affairs during the three-year

Marriage.

Narrator: police asked

Justin barber for permission to

Search his home, and he was

Happy to comply.

He also made his computer

Available.

He had it all boxed up, ready

When the detectives came, and he

Said, "here it is," and hands it

To them.

Narrator: justin's computer

Went to chris hendry of

Florida's computer evidence

Recovery section.

I made a copy of justin's

Home-computer hard drive.

The next thing I did was go

Through and look for anything

That would have been deleted,

Such as folders and files.

Narrator: one of the first

Things hendry noticed was that

Justin downloaded a song onto

His computer just hours before

His wife's death.

The lyrics are violent.

They're about k*lling somebody.

Narrator: it was a song by

The group g*ns n' roses, with

The lyrics "I used to love her,

But I had to k*ll her.

She drove me nuts, and now I'm

Happier this way."

It's kind of strange this is

Deleted hours before we actually

Got the machine.

Narrator: was this merely a

Coincidence?

After all, it was only a song.

Narrator: justin barber told

Police that a robber sh*t his

Wife, april, in the head and

sh*t him four times while they

Were walking on the beach.

[ g*nshots ]

He claimed he passed out, later

Regained consciousness, and

Found his wife facedown in the

Found his wife facedown in the ocean.

Ocean.

But the forensic evidence

Contradicted parts of justin's

Story.

She had evidence of

Abrasions -- small abrasions --

On her collarbone, by her ear,

And on the back of the neck that

Are consistent with force or

Pressure being placed there.

Could this have been caused by

Forcibly being held in the

Water?

Yes.

Narrator: and on justin's

Computer, forensic experts found

Evidence of a possible motive.

Apparently, justin had been

Trading stocks on the internet,

And he wasn't doing very well.

We have his e-trading.

He got himself quickly into

$,, $, In debt just on

That.

It didn't appear that any of his

Trades paid off.

He lost quite a bit of money.

Narrator: to cover the

Losses, justin borrowed money

Against his credit cards at very

High interest rates.

You can't get any worse than

That.

You're borrowing money at %

To pay off money that you lost

In the stock market.

Justin barber should have

Been a little bit brighter with

His money.

That was a time of low-interest

Home-equity loans.

That's really significant

When you talk about somebody

Who's a finance major and has an

Mba in business.

Also, it's important to note the

Psychological effects of a lot

Of consumer debt.

That affects people's psyche.

Narrator: also suspicious --

Investigators learned that april

Owned a $-million

Life-insurance policy, which she

Bought primarily to support her

Younger brother and sister in

The event of her death.

We didn't have our mother.

We didn't have our father.

So april felt like it was her

Responsibility to take care of

Us -- if something happened to

Her -- and justin knew that,

Too, and that was a big part of

The reason for those.

Narrator: but justin was the

Sole beneficiary, which meant he

Could have done anything he

Wanted with the money.

Was this enough motive to k*ll

His wife and then...

[ g*nshots ]

...sh**t himself four times to

Cover it up?

Risky, but people do a lot of

Crazy things for over

$ Million.

Narrator: using an

Ultraviolet light, crime-scene

Reconstructionist jerry findley

Examined the shirt justin was

Wearing on the night of the

att*ck.

You could see some visible

g*nsh*t residue, or what

Appeared to be g*nsh*t residue.

And looking at it with the

Ultraviolet light, I wanted to

See the extent of the pattern.

Narrator: the g*nsh*t residue

Could have come from justin

Being in close contact with the

Assailant.

But the angles of the b*llet

Wounds to justin's body were

Another matter.

One sh*t went through his left

Hand.

The other three sh*ts were

Directed away from vital organs

And bone -- a remarkable

Coincidence.

To me, the location of them

Was not consistent with a

Mugger, even somebody struggling

Over a g*n.

If you've already sh*t and

k*lled one person and you've

sh*t another one four times,

You're not gonna leave a

Witness.

Narrator: investigators also

Analyzed april's clothing and

Found another inconsistency.

Justin claimed that he carried

April's body yards up to the

Base of the stairs after they

Had both been sh*t by the

Assailant.

One of the g*nsh*t entries

That he had sustained is on his

Left hand, so his hand would

Have been bleeding and bleeding

Quite a bit, and there should be

Blood all over the waistline,

The waist, and the front of

Those pants of april barber,

And, in fact, there was not.

If she's bleeding from this

g*nsh*t, one, she did not have

It on her body or clothing, and

He doesn't have it on his.

So I think that that speaks for

Itself.

Narrator: and by the

Direction the blood traveled

From the wound, investigators

Could tell april's body had not

Been moved after she was sh*t.

Blood flow on april barber

Was in one direction, which was

Straight down to the left from

The g*nsh*t wound, and if the

Body had been moved in various

Positions, the blood flow would

Have changed.

Narrator: and, finally, there

Was something else that bothered

Investigators.

Why didn't justin use april's

Cellphone that was in her purse

In the car?

Why wouldn't he just call on

Her cellphone and get help?

He had to get rid of the g*n.

Narrator: unfortunately,

Police couldn't find the m*rder

w*apon in the thick vegetation

Along the -mile stretch of

Road.

But they did discover one last

Tantalizing piece of evidence on

Justin's computer -- almost more

Valuable than finding the m*rder

w*apon.

Narrator: on justin barber's

Computer, forensic experts found

E-mail evidence of his

Extramarital affairs and

Financial records proving he was

Deeply in debt.

But that wasn't all.

Forensic experts also discovered

That in the weeks and months

Leading up to april's m*rder,

Justin searched various websites

Looking for information on blood

Loss and g*nsh*t wounds to the

Right chest.

What's the chances of

Somebody researching that thing

Very specifically -- g*nsh*t

Wounds to the right chest -- and

Then six months later getting

sh*t in the right chest?

I just don't believe that's

Possible.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

That when april barber learned

About her husband's infidelity

And his financial problems, she

Wanted a divorce.

I believe april barber had a

Very good idea of how bad the

Debt was.

She told her loved ones the

Marriage was failing, that she

Tried numerous times to try and

Straighten it out or fix things

With justin, but that they

Weren't improving.

Narrator: prosecutors also

Believe that justin wanted the

$ Million from april's

Life-insurance policy.

So he searched computer websites

To learn how to sh**t himself

Without inflicting serious

Injury.

Justin believed if he drove to

The hospital with g*nsh*t

Wounds, everyone would believe

His robbery story.

Justin barber wanted it all.

He wanted, in my belief, to show

Up with his bride in the s.u.v.

At the hospital as a hero -- as

Somebody who was not only a

Hero, but also a victim --

Collect the money, have

Everybody feel sorry for him,

Move on with his life from

There.

Narrator: but it didn't turn

Out that way.

They say when you commit a

Homicide, you make about

Mistakes and you can't remember

But about five.

Narrator: the first mistake

That night happened just after

: P.m.

Justin downloaded the

g*ns n' roses song -- "I used to

Love her, but I had to k*ll

Her."

What time is our reservation?

Narrator: prosecutors believe

That april told justin over

Dinner that she wanted a

Divorce.

After that, justin enticed april

To go for a walk along the

Beach, possibly to continue

Their discussion about how to

End their marriage amicably.

But right away, his plan fell

Apart.

Perhaps april sensed something

Was amiss or she saw the g*n.

[ Screams ]

Narrator: either way, there

Was a struggle.

Justin subdued her by holding

Her head under the water until

She lost consciousness.

He then carried her towards the

Car, but there was no blood

Transfer because, at that point,

Neither one was bleeding.

He fired a single sh*t into

April's head.

The blood from her head wound

Was now on top of the foam

Produced by the near drowning.

Justin then sh*t himself four

Times, careful not to break any

Bones or hit vital organs.

But the excruciating pain and

The daunting task of carrying

April's body up the long flight

Of stairs required a change of

Plans.

He had no choice but to leave

April's body there.

Justin got rid of the m*rder

w*apon somewhere along the

Highway, then tried to gather

His thoughts and compose a

Possible explanation for the

Water in april's lungs.

He drove for miles, passing

Numerous homes and businesses

Along the way, before he asked a

Fellow motorist to call .

Justin said that he didn't

Want to stop at one of the

Houses 'cause he did not want to

Wake up an old man or something

To that effect.

Narrator: perhaps the oddest

Piece of forensic evidence was

That justin erased the

g*ns n' roses song from his

Computer just an hour or so

Before turning it over to

Police.

It's hard to hear that he did

It.

I mean, he was somebody I

Trusted and I looked up to.

I mean, there's not a day that

Goes by that I don't think about

My sister.

Narrator: in june of ,

Justin barber went on trial for

The first-degree m*rder of his

Wife, april.

The forensic evidence was simply

Too much to overcome.

He was convicted and sentenced

To life in prison.

Investigators describe it as one

Of the most unusual and

Cold-blooded cases they've ever

Seen.

If you take somebody like

Justin barber, who's probably a

Sociopath, who's probably

Narcissistic, he looks at

Everything as how it suits him.

He did not want the stigma of a

Divorce.

There were no independent

Witnesses, other than the

Decedent and the m*rder*r.

You know, there were only two

People on that beach, so, in

This case, forensics made the

Entire case.

The truth of the matter is,

With the physical evidence we

Have, once we developed it,

Analyzed it, and had it in its

Final form and compared it to

The story, it revealed that