01x09 - Bones of Truth

[bunniefuu]

- Female narrator: For years,
the gardens of this cemetery

In saint pauls, north carolina,
have been a sanctuary

Where the dead lay peacefully.

Except one woman
whose life was snuffed out,

And no one knew the truth...
Until now.

- It's like somebody just
punched you right in the gut,

You can't catch your breath.

- Narrator:
Police dig for answers.

- And their mouths drop open.

- Narrator: But unearthing
the truth means

Disturbing the dead.

- It was harder then
than it was when she died.

When they took her body out,
put it in a body bag...

I couldn't even look.

- Captain adkins: Any time
somebody commit a crime,

They are assuming that they're
gonna get away with it.

That burns me up to my core.

- Joe: There's somebody
out there that's responsible,

That we have to go find.

- I don't know nothin'
how she died.

My brother has not got
anything to do with this.

- Narrator: Will a voice
from the grave speak loud enough

To capture a k*ller?

- Because she can't
speak for herself,

She needs someone
to speak for her,

To try to tell her story.

- ♪

♪♪

- [bird chirping]

- Narrator:
It's March 11, 2011,

In saint pauls, north carolina.

- Donnie: Saint pauls is
about 2,000 people.

Typical rural, uh, town
in southeastern north carolina.

God-fearing, simple people
who get up, work hard,

And don't expect anything
to be given to 'em.

- Narrator: 57-year-old
steve burrow is one of those

Hardworking people.

But on this morning,
when he arrives home

From his overnight shift,

Steve's world
comes crashing down.

- My wife was lying
on the couch.

Uh, I assumed was asleep,
and so, I called her name

And she didn't answer.

I went over and touched her
to wake her up,

And she was cold.

At that point, I realized
something was wrong.

- Narrator:
Steve immediately calls 911.

- I said, "my wife's not
breathing, I think she's dead."

And they told me to get her
on the floor and give her cpr.

My mind was running
a thousand miles an hour,

I was in a panic mode, really.

- Narrator:
Ems rushes to the modest home.

- They pronounced her dead
right there on the scene.

It was just like the whole
world crushed down on me.

- Narrator:
Patricia diana burrow,

A churchgoing mother,
was 63 years old.

She and steve had been married
for nearly 40 years.

- Steve:
I felt like I lost a part of me.

It was one of the worst
days of my life,

Like living a nightmare.

- I was a captain of the
saint pauls police department,

I was in law enforcement
for 18 years.

We would call it a routine call.

We looked for the signs
of anything other

Than natural causes.

We're trained to look
at other things, you know,

That people may not see.

- Narrator: But captain adkins
is shocked to discover

That the victim was a friend.

- Everybody in town knew diane.

I would go and sit
on the porch and talk to her.

She was a nice lady.

Probably give you
the shirt off her back.

She would go and, um,
feed people who wasn't able

To feed themselves.

It was just heartbreaking.

At that time, we really
couldn't get the, uh, husband

To talk too much about her,
other than what he was basically

Saying to the ems people.

- Captain adkins understands
mr. Burrow is upset.

He just asked, "does anything
seem out of the ordinary?"

And they did kind of walk
around the house to look

And didn't see anything
that struck 'em

As being abnormal,
anything that looked odd.

- There was no signs of any kind
of forced entry

Into the residence,
the home was locked.

There were no signs of anybody
fighting in the house

Or anything like that.

- Narrator: One officer
takes a closer look at diana

And discovers something odd.

- She had a small abrasion
over her left eye.

- Narrator:
It's a concerning discovery.

They ask diana's husband
about the injury.

- Joe: Mr. Burrow had explains
that diana had had some

Balance issues of recent.

- My wife was kind of
clumsy sometimes.

She'd fell like the week before.

- Narrator: The cut on her head
must have been from the fall,

Her husband tells police.

- He had mentioned that she had
health issues and she was on,

You know, several medications.

Going by what
mr. Burrow had said,

That she was laying there
peacefully,

Like she passed away sleeping.

It was case closed.

We didn't see any reason
to go any further with it.

- Narrator: Investigators
leave steve to break the news

To his family.

- Daddy said,
"your momma has died."

I still, you know,
in disbelief.

- I could not believe that
my mom was not here anymore.

- Steve: Me and diana
got married in 1973.

She was happy with
just being with me,

And I was happy
to being with her.

- She loved her man.
[laughs]

I mean, there's really
no other way to put it.

- Narrator: The coroner
doesn't note anything

Out of the ordinary.

The cut on diana's eye
is minor,

And as her husband said,
likely from a fall.

Diana's cause of death
is attributed to heart disease.

- An autopsy
was not performed

Due to the fact that
the family felt

That it was natural death.

- Narrator: But now,
the burrow family

Lays their beloved wife
and mother to rest.

- Ronnie:
She was a--a caring person.

She'd almost take a burden on
for you, if you were hurting.

- Steve:
It was just overwhelming,

The amount of love
that people showed.

- Narrator: And during
this difficult time,

No one could have imagined that
over a year and a half later,

Police would return
to the grave

To unearth diana's body.

Not long after diana burrow
is interred,

A local mail woman contacts
the police

With some intriguing information
about diana burrow's death.

- Being a mail lady,
she knows everybody,

And she talked to everybody.

- Narrator: The mail carrier
tells him something troubling.

- Captain adkins: The mail lady
told me that she was hearing

Rumors that miss burrows
may have had foul play

That actually played
a part in her death.

- Narrator: He's stunned
by what she says next.

- Someone actually may have
smothered her.

When she said that, you know,
it really perked up my ears.

Who would do
miss diane like this?

- Narrator: Unfortunately,
she doesn't have any specifics.

- Captain adkins:
It's a small town and...

Small-town people
are pretty close-knit.

Rumors in a small town
carry a lot of weight.

And I told her, "see whatever
else you can find out,

"come back to the office
and talk to me.

Give me a full statement
on what you heard."

- Narrator:
It may just be a rumor,

But the possibility still
sticks in captain adkins's head.

- Captain adkins: It's just
racing through my head

That ms. Burrows could
have been m*rder*d.

As an investigator,
I was wondering

If somebody actually
may have done this.

If somebody did do this,
I wanted to get 'em.

- Narrator: Captain adkins
and his team put out

Their own feelers.

- We jumped on and, you know,
put our ears to the ground.

We got confidential
informants I put out there.

- Narrator: But the informants
come up empty.

Then, two weeks after
diana is buried,

Her husband steve arrives home
to another shock.

- Steve: Drawers were open.

My kitchen
cabinet doors were open.

I went around to look,

And I start seeing some
things missing.

My wife's cell phone
was missing.

We had some other jewelry
and stuff that got gone.

Very upsetting because my wife
had just died.

They was taking away
part of what we had left

Of my wife's memory.

It made me feel like very
much that I've been violated.

- Narrator: As steve is dealt
this crushing blow,

He calls police for the second
time that month.

- Captain adkins:
Nothing big was taken.

Whoever did it, knew enough
that to put it in their pocket,

Not to be seen with it.

- Narrator: As they walk
around steve's house,

An investigator spies where
the intruder may have broken in.

- There was a screen missing
on the--on the back side

Of his house.

The officer found that
the paint that was around it,

It was chips there.

Like somebody may have pried it
open just a little bit.

We was trying to put two
and two together,

When did this occur?

- Narrator: Steve has
an unnerving feeling

That someone had been there
weeks ago.

- It dawned on me after
my house got broken into.

The screen was missing
around the time my wife died.

- Captain adkins: For me, that
was the most intriguing part.

That's saying, "you know what?
Something else is really

Going on here."

- Donnie: That became a red flag
and started the investigation

Going into another direction.

- Narrator:
Investigators wonder,

Is this just a random robbery,

Or are the burrows
being targeted?

And if so, why?

Coming up...

- This really needs
further investigation.

So we need to go
ba*ls to the walls with this.

- Narrator: But there's no
clear-cut evidence of a m*rder.

- Nobody suspected anything.

- Narrator: Only by bringing up
the dead do investigators

Have a chance of solving
the mystery.

- Donnie: For that to happen,
they must have some really good

Evidence that something else
is going on here.

- ♪

- ♪

- Narrator: Saint pauls
police are hearing rumors

That diana burrow was m*rder*d.

But no one knows why,
or if it's even true.

And now, her home has been
broken into.

Detectives wonder if there's
more to the talk

Than just small-town rumors.

- Donnie: I think the pressure
on police officers

May be a little bit more
when the victim's a friend.

They all knew miss burrow,

And, you know, wanted to
do right by her.

- Captain adkins:
That's the time I asked

For the assistance of the state
bureau of investigations.

To come in
and give me some help.

- I was a resident special agent
with the north carolina

State bureau of investigation.

We're an assistant agency,

And we assist local
law enforcement.

- Narrator: Police begin
to re-examine diana's death

And the circumstances around it.

Immediately, they realize
they're at a disadvantage.

- There was no autopsy
and no crime scene.

- Joe: There was absolutely no
physical evidence gathered

From the home because nobody
suspected anything at the time,

There's no reason to.

- Narrator: But now the rumors
that diana was m*rder*d,

Combined with evidence
of two break-ins,

Give investigators a solid
direction to follow.

- Finding out that she may
have been m*rder*d

Just kind of opened
the wound back up.

It was harder then
than it was when she died.

- Narrator: Investigators look
first to the person

Closest to diana:
Her husband, steve.

- If somebody did do this,
it had to be someone...

Was close to her.

One of the first things
we look at

Is a family member,
maybe a husband.

We looked into mr. Burrow's
background,

As far as we could go.

We checked his alibi.

He was where he said he was
when all of this occurred,

So he was ruled out.

They had a tight-knit
family. Full of love.

So I didn't think anything
would go on in that family

Other than pure happiness.

- Narrator: With immediate
family ruled out,

Detectives talk to those
close to diana.

Could someone in her life
have had a motive to k*ll?

- Captain adkins: The first
thing that you want to do

Is to kinda learn about
the victim herself.

- My wife, uh, diana, she wanted
to help people all the time.

- Narrator: Diana saw
the good in people,

And would help anyone she could,

Even if they had
a criminal past.

- I'm thinking, well, maybe
one of these people

That she had done something
for may have

Taken advantage
of her niceness at that time.

So as an investigator,
I wonder,

"who would she
have been talking to?"

One of my first things,
to see who may have went

And visited her.

I didn't find anything that
I would say that--

That was worth her dying for.

No marital affairs,
no fighting in the house.

No kind of issues whatsoever.

- Narrator:
Then, a 911 call comes in.

A fight between two local
brothers would cause

Diana's death investigation
to take a new direction.

- Police responded to an
incident involving two brothers.

- Narrator: Police speed out
and break up the fight

Between the two men, siblings
named daniel and jason johnson.

- An officer responded
to the fight.

He pulled up, he sees daniel
punch the other brother,

And daniel's arrested.

- Captain adkins: Daniel johnson
was one of the locals

That I have actually
watched grow up.

He was one of those
career criminals that did

A lot of, uh, break-ins.

- Narrator: Police empty
daniel's pockets at the scene.

- There was a necklace,
a mom ring,

As well as a pill bottle.

Guess what?
On that pill bottle

Was the name
patricia diane burrow.

- ♪

- The police called me
and told me to come down

And identify the stuff
that was stolen,

Whether it was ours or not.

- Joe:
He identified the pill bottle,

But also the jewelry
and the cell phone saying,

"yeah, all that
belonged to my wife."

- This is very big news because
there was no reason why daniel

Should have had ms. Burrow's
items in his possession.

- Narrator: Police find out

That diana knew these
brothers as well.

- They were mischievous
as a lot of young people were.

They had had some
juvenile problems

And got in trouble.

My wife would still love them.

Jason would come over and
borrow a dollar from my wife,

And my wife would've gave him
anything that she had.

- She always tried to be good
to 'em if they needed something,

Or just a general hello.

- Narrator: Could daniel johnson
have robbed the home

And k*lled diana?

- Agent williams: He's caught
with the goods, so to speak.

So it's up to daniel to explain,

"how did you get
those particular items?"

- Narrator: Daniel tells police
he doesn't know

About a break-in.

It appears he got the jewelry
from his girlfriend.

- Daniel was pissed off,
and he snatched the gold chain

Off of her.

- Joe: The problem
with daniel's story

Wasn't necessarily
the information he was giving,

It was just...Daniel was well
known to not tell the truth.

The problem was the credibility
of daniel himself.

He was someone who had a history
of breaking and entering.

He had a history of stealing
things and so his credibility

Was very suspect.

- Captain adkins: This really
needs further investigation.

So we need to go
ba*ls to the walls with this.

- Narrator: Now,
investigators question

Daniel's girlfriend
to verify his story.

- She was really scared.

- I ask her, "where
did you get that jewelry?"

- Captain adkins: We thought
that she had mainly got it

From a pawn shop
or something like that.

- Agent williams: She said that
she bought the items from

Daniel's brother jason
for $50.

He was selling things,
and she liked the items

And she bought 'em.

Jason just might be our real
guy.

- Narrator: But detectives
now have a problem.

Each person they speak with
points to a new suspect,

With little evidence
to support their story.

- We have to get more because
that's not gonna cut it.

- Agent williams: So what we
have to do is try to talk

To jason and see what his side
of the story is.

- Narrator: Are daniel
and his girlfriend selling out

Jason over stolen goods,

Or pointing detectives
towards a k*ller?

- Daniel was caught
with some of the items.

It's possible daniel
could have been involved

And he's just trying to put it
all on jason now.

You never know what people
are gonna say

Until you talk to 'em.

- Narrator: But then,
an unexpected witness

Comes forward,

And the investigation
kicks into high gear.

- That interview left us
with a real suspect.

- ♪

- ♪

- Narrator: Saint pauls police
are focusing on daniel

And jason johnson as possible
suspects in the rumored m*rder

Of diana burrow,

When they receive
a surprise visit.

- His mother comes to
the police department and, uh,

Tells them that she wants to--
to talk with 'em.

- I know she was
a struggling mother.

She had two sons,
they were always in trouble.

- Captain adkins: She was very
truthful and straight up

With us, she didn't
try to hide anything.

- Joe: She believes that her son
jason was the one

That actually went in
miss burrow's home

And ended up k*lling her.

The interesting twist to it
was, is that,

They just arrested daniel,
he's got a property on him,

And they're expecting it
to be daniel.

And all of a sudden,
she says jason,

And their
mouths drop open.

- We thought, "okay, we may
really have something here."

It's more than just
a random person calling in.

This is a woman tellin' us
information about her own son.

- Narrator: Special agent
williams immediately brings

Daniel johnson into
the interrogation room.

- Agent williams: At first,
he didn't wanna talk to us.

He denied, um, telling
his mother much of anything.

- We had leverage, you know,
he's the one with the pending

Charges for the items that were
found in his possession.

- Narrator: The jewelry
and other items found

In his possession have been
positively identified

As belonging
to the victim, diana.

- Agent williams: We sensed that
he wasn't gonna be able

To hold out too much longer,
'cause we knew too much.

- Narrator: Now,
detectives have a real mystery.

If diana really was m*rder*d,
which brother did it?

- What we have to do is
try to figure out

What the truth is.

- Joe: Both jason and daniel
were known as thieves.

If it wasn't nailed down
in saint pauls,

Johnson brothers
would've stole it.

Jason accumulated so many
crimes on a lower level,

But nothing would rise to
the level of a violent offense.

- Narrator: Without
a history of violence,

Detectives only have stories.

And there's still no concrete
proof

That a m*rder even took place.

- Agent williams:
We need some concrete evidence.

The very first thing is,
you gotta prove that

There was, in fact, a homicide.

- Joe: And we
couldn't go any further.

That's pretty much
the make-or-break point.

- Narrator:
It may be unthinkable,

But there's only one way
to know if this is a homicide.

- The determination was made
to start the process

Of exhuming miss burrow's body.

- I was editor of the newspaper
for 24 years,

And it's the only time
I can ever remember

A body being exhumed.

For that to happen,
they must have some really

Good evidence that something
else is going on here.

- Narrator: Captain adkins
calls steve burrow

To discuss the possibility
of exhuming diana's body.

- We always take the family's
considerations into account

Because we know they've
been through enough.

- Steve: I was wanting
to know for sure.

I hadn't had any closure
on this thing.

I was wanting it to happen.

- Joe: If there's evidence
of foul play that's found,

That changes the whole
tenor of the case.

It goes from being natural
causes to a homicide.

- Captain adkins: Anytime
somebody commit a crime,

They are assuming that
they gonna get away with it.

That burns me up to my core,

And I wasn't gonna
let this happen.

- Narrator: Coming up,
a senseless act comes to light.

- Crystal: It's like somebody
just punched you

Right in the gut,
and you can't catch your breath.

- She deserved justice.

I don't care what it took,
we were going to get it.

- Upon removal of the makeup,
that's when you start being able

To see some things that
we weren't expecting.

- Joe: Got a call from
special agent williams, um,

And the first thing
that he said is,

"you're not gonna believe this."

- ♪

- ♪

- Narrator:
On October 25, 2012,

A year and a half since
diana burrow's death,

Police arrive at
the gardens of faith cemetery

To exhume her body.

- Captain adkins:
It was overcast.

There was probably about
seven or eight people around.

- There were a few
family members present.

- They...Started digging
up the grave,

And bringing the vault up.

It was a very sad day.

And I'm glad I had
my family around with me.

It was more than livin' it over.

It was--
it was worse than that.

- Agent williams:
It was very solemn.

We tried to be
as respectful as we could.

- They took the chisels
and start breaking open

The vault.

- ♪

- We wanted to go fast.

You know, "let's hurry up
so the family

Won't have
to look at it too much."

- And they took out the casket.

- When the body was exhumed,
and the casket was open...

It was a little bit surreal.

- She was in pristine condition.

I didn't see anything different
other than maybe a little

Small mark on her nose.

- Agent williams: The idea was
to--to get the body up,

And send it to the chief
medical examiner's office.

- Narrator: Saint pauls police
carefully remove diana

From her casket.

- I remember seeing
steve burrow there that day,

And you know,
my heart went out to him.

- When they took her body out,
put it in a body bag...

I couldn't even look.

I had to turn my face.

- Joe: When you're talking
about an exhumation of a body,

You're exposing the family
to a risk of

There may not be any
usable evidence.

That could re-traumatize them.

- Steve:
But whatever pain it took,

We wanted to get to
what actually happened.

- Narrator:
And so do investigators.

They take her body
for an autopsy...

Hoping to finally get the truth.

- Joe: Depending upon what the
finding is of the pathologist,

It could be undetermined...

Or it could go all
the way to a homicide.

- The pathologist on the case

And the team
that was taking care of her

Documents and look for any
kinds of struggle, foul play.

Because she can't speak
for herself,

She needs someone
to speak for her,

To try to tell her story.

Upon removal of the makeup,
that's when you started

Being able to see some things
that we weren't expecting.

She's got some scrapes
on her ears,

On her forehead,
and on the side of her nose.

Now, that's kind of surprising.

- Narrator: It's not clear
to the m.E.

Whether those abrasions
are from her fall

Or something more sinister.

The pathologist looks
for signs of strangulation.

- There was no bruising
on the outside of the neck,

But you don't have to have
bruising

On the outside of the neck
to have deep injury inside.

So, it was critical that
they move on to the next step,

And that's taking a look
inside of the body.

- Narrator: Diana's family
believed she died

Of heart disease, and now,
the m.E. Looks for evidence

Of that.

- Michelle: She has some
chronic heart disease,

But it's not severe,
it's relatively mild.

Not enough to k*ll her
at this point.

- Narrator: So what did
k*ll diana burrow?

- Dr. Aurelius:
We start looking at the chest,

And on her left side,

She's got a fracture
on one of her ribs.

Where did that come from?

It's close here to the top,
so that could mean

That someone held her down.

That could be from a push.

That could be from
a knee in a chest.

We were worried
this was a homicide.

Taking a closer look,
her hyoid bone, it's cracked.

- Narrator: This is a huge clue.

The hyoid bone sits
under a person's chin,

And it doesn't get broken
by accident.

- It takes a lot of pressure
exerted in that area

To actually break that bone.

That's not just a natural death,
that bone should not be broken.

When you see that,
you got something.

- Narrator: The pathologist
has seen enough.

She makes her final ruling.

- Her death was ruled
to be asphyxiation.

But it's huge category.

And it just means your
body's getting enough oxygen.

There's so many different
ways to do it.

That could be smothering,
strangulation.

You can also have something
over your nose or mouth.

That's asphyxia.

Diana burrow did not die
of natural causes.

It was a homicide.

- I was stunned
when I heard the results.

- Breaking the news to
the family was especially hard.

And they took it very hard.

- Joe: For the burrow family,

They had this image in their
mind of how their mom

Had passed away at that point:

At home, in her sleep.

There's some
peacefulness to that.

The fact is,
is that she was m*rder*d.

It's devastating to them.

- It's like somebody just
punched you right in the gut,

And you can't catch your breath,
and you're so full of hurt.

Trying to put myself
in her shoes and know that

She suffered at the hands
of somebody else,

And that she was scared,
and that she was alone.

- I think in the back
of our minds we was hoping

Nothing had happened;
that it was just a rumor.

But then that call comes
and it's reality that,

You know,
your mom had been m*rder*d.

I wanted answers.

- Narrator: With diana's m*rder
confirmed,

Police ramp up
their investigation.

They have two suspects: Brothers
daniel and jason johnson.

One of the brothers
may have k*lled diana.

But which one?

- Captain adkins: Now we had
to find out who did this.

I wanted the family
to have justice.

- ♪

- Narrator: Saint pauls police
department finally has

Confirmation that diana burrow
was k*lled by asphyxiation.

- I think that is one
of the coldest forms

Of--of death that somebody
can ever experience.

Everybody wants to know
who would do this to miss diane.

That's what made me wanna
work even harder.

She deserved justice,

And that's what we
were setting out to do.

I don't care what it took,
we were going to get it.

- Narrator: With diana's m*rder
moving from theory to fact,

Investigators focus
on two suspects:

Brothers daniel and jason
johnson.

Detectives look back at what
they now know was a crime scene.

- The k*ller actually took
the blanket

And pulled it up
around her torso.

- Joe: It told us
that somebody knew her.

That they had a personal level
of relationship with her,

Enough to put a blanket
back on her.

- To me, that's a sign that
someone's ashamed

Of what he just did.

- I knew daniel johnson
and jason johnson

Since they was kids.

Jason was one that was seemed
like just closest to my wife.

He was always
very courteous to her.

We thought that daniel
was the one.

Because he was the one that
got in trouble more.

- Agent williams:
We really didn't know

Daniel's involvement.

He had, uh, ms. Burrow's
items on him.

Was he just trying to get out
of charges he had

By pointing the finger
at his brother

Or was he
really involved?

- You've got the mother,
the brother,

And the brother's girlfriend all
pointing at the same person--

Jason johnson.

- What was also important
was for us to speak

To additional people
that knew him.

- Narrator: And they've
got their sights set

On talking to one
person in particular.

The johnson brothers'
roommate, carolyn.

Did she see anything suspicious
the day of the m*rder?

- She said that where her house
is situated, you can look

Across the yard and actually
see ms. Diana's house.

And on the day that they found
ms. Diana, uh,

There were police
vehicles there.

- Joe: She saw jason looking
through the little peephole

In the door directly over
towards the burrow home,

Just constantly going back
to the peephole,

Then walking away, going back
over there and looking.

- Her own words was that, "jason
was a nervous wreck."

- Joe: She'd never seen him
act like that at all.

She really painted a very
good picture of him

And his behavior that day.

- My gut told me then
that jason is our man.

- Agent williams:
Jason is our suspect, but,

What we need in this case
is a confession.

- Narrator: Because jason
allegedly confessed to daniel

Once before, detectives wonder
if daniel can get his brother

To do it again...On tape.

- Daniel knows his brother
better than anybody.

- Joe: Daniel said, "yeah,
I think he'll talk to me

About it again,"
and so a decision was made

To actually wire daniel.

- Agent williams: We knew all
along that daniel and jason

Were very, very tight.

We thought we had a good plan.

We were really hyped
and pumped for that one.

- Joe: Daniel's got the wire on
and they're walking

And they're having some
conversations about, you know,

Just regular stuff.

And daniel starts to try to move
into that subject,

And he starts very slowly, uh,
trying to get jason to kinda

Engage in the conversation.

- Daniel's trying to bait him
a little bit more.

- Joe: There were some
statements that jason made,

But they were
more indirect statements.

- Jason kind of stopped himself.

Whether he suspected
something or whether he didn't

And he just didn't wanna
talk about it, I don't know.

But in the end there's no
direct statement

That he m*rder*d miss burrow.

- We were really disappointed
when it didn't work.

- ♪

- Narrator: Investigators know
that there's no way

To make a m*rder charge stick
without a confession

Or hard evidence.

- A confession would be,
uh, perfect.

- I went a few sleepless nights
because I knew that I had

To find a way to put him away
for this crime.

So the pressure was on me.

- Narrator:
On November 1, 2012,

Captain brent adkins
and special agent williams

Sit down with jason.

- I knew he cared about
his brother and his mother,

Even if he didn't care
about his self.

- Narrator: Special agent
williams decides to play

On jason's allegiance
toward his brother.

- Agent williams: He was
very emotional, crying,

And complaining that we were--
we were just not believing him

That he's telling
the truth.

- He's exhibiting all the, uh,
emotions of someone who cares,

But at the same time,
we know his history.

I didn't believe jason.

- Captain adkins: We knew
jason was hard to break,

And I knew then
how to break him.

- ♪

- Narrator: Special agent
williams is investigating

The m*rder of diana burrow.

He is in the middle
of interrogating jason johnson,

And uses the threat of forensic
evidence to get a confession.

- It was very frustrating.
He's been in trouble so much,

He knew not to say anything,
because he knew anything he said

May incriminate him.

- Narrator:
Without a confession,

They have nothing to tie
jason to the m*rder,

So they conclude the interview.

- We need for jason to own up
and say that he actually

Did k*ll mrs. Burrow.

- Narrator: Investigators
decide to let jason stew

For a few days, and then,
against their standard

Operating procedure, try again.

- Agent williams:
Sometimes, we don't like

To interview the suspect
twice, 'cause you kinda

Reveal things that
you don't wanna reveal.

Sometimes it can backfire.

- Narrator: Adkins ups the ante
on his strategy,

Playing on jason's love not only
for his brother,

But for his mother as well.

- Captain adkins: I said,
"I'm gonna charge them

"for this crime,
because they both knew about it.

Who is it, you or your mother
and your brother?"

- Narrator:
But jason doesn't budge.

He continues to deny any
involvement in diana's m*rder.

- I said, "okay."
I picked up my cell phone,

I said, "agent williams,
he don't wanna cooperate,

"let's go ahead and charge
daniel and their mother

"with the m*rder
of miss burrows.

We got enough to do that."

Right when I said that, he said,
"wait a minute, wait a minute."

He said, "man,
my brother didn't do that."

I said, "well, who did it?"

He said, "I'll tell you
everything."

- He told us that
he was high,

That he was looking for
something to sell

So he could get some
money for drugs,

And then he cut straight
to the chase

And told how he did it.

- He explained
that he'd done it,

And he explained
how he'd done it,

And I'm just thinking that,
"I got you."

- Narrator: Jason johnson's
detailed confession is enough

To arrest him on the spot.

He is charged with burglary
and the first-degree m*rder

Of diana burrow.

- And in my heart, I just felt
the pressure just off then.

That was such a good feeling
to go and let the family know,

"hey, we got him."

- I was angry, because,
first of all, my wife knew 'im.

She had helped 'im.
She had...Been nice to 'im.

- Narrator: Jason johnson's
case never goes to trial,

The family accepts a plea deal.

- I was fine with the plea,
you know, 'cause I don't wanna

Have to see him again.

- Narrator: Jason is sentenced
to nearly 50 years in prison.

- His release date is
sometime in March of 2062.

- Steve: In jason's case,
I hope he thinks about it

Hard and long,
but it don't bring back diana.

I don't think that no justice
can bring back someone

Who's been m*rder*d.

He stole the more precious
thing: Diana's life.

He robbed my kids
and my grandkids

Of a mother and grandmother
that they loved very dearly.

- Narrator: Diana was taken
away from her loving family,

But they are thankful
to law enforcement

For never giving up.

- I am so grateful
for the fact

That people can be exhumed

And that justice
can be...Given.

- Joe: The exhumation
of ms. Burrow's body was,

By far, the most important thing
that led to

The justice in this case.

Without that exhumation
and the subsequent autopsy,

I don't necessarily know that
jason johnson, in the end,

Would have confessed.

- Steve: Everybody showed
respect to diana.

And I--I appreciate that.

I want people to remember
diane,

How nice she was
and how she treated people;

Her love for her family;
love for her community.

She was very simple person,
but she had a big heart,

And she loved--
she loved everybody.