- 3 months ago
From physical evidence to digital blunders, courtroom bombshells have sealed the fate of many defendants. Join us as we examine the decisive pieces of evidence that completely transformed high-profile trials! These smoking guns left attorneys speechless, juries convinced, and changed legal history forever. Which case surprised you most?
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00:00The gloves didn't fit. Remember these words, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 30 smoking guns that ended trials,
00:11either in favor of the prosecution or the defense.
00:14I think he realized the jig was up. He never thought that he left physical evidence.
00:21Wearing men's clothing, Joan of Arc.
00:24Article 1, you said that by God's command you have continually worn men's clothes.
00:30And that you have also worn your hair short, with nothing to distinguish you from the soldiers with whom you fought.
00:36This French soldier helped lead Charles VII to the throne during the Hundred Years' War.
00:40However, she was eventually captured by the Burgundians and put on trial by a pro-English ecclesiastical court.
00:46She was charged with heresy, and her penchant for wearing male clothing, especially military attire,
00:51was considered a prime piece of evidence.
00:54While trivial today, cross-dressing was considered a serious offense in 15th century Christian doctrine.
00:59Joan later signed an abjuration under threat of execution, agreeing to stop.
01:03But she continued to wear male clothing, which was considered a relapse into heresy, a much more serious offense.
01:09This allowed the court to label her a relapsed heretic, which carried the death penalty.
01:14And on May 30th, 1431, she was burned at the stake.
01:17As to this article, the scholars say that you have no comprehension of the authority of the church,
01:22that you have perniciously erred in the faith of God, and that you are a child of superstition,
01:28a wanderer from the faith, an invoker of demons, an idolater, and a heretic.
01:34The .32 caliber bullet, Sacco and Vanzetti.
01:38On April 15th, 1920, a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts was robbed,
01:43resulting in the deaths of guard Alessandro Berardelli and paymaster Frederick Parmenter.
01:47Two Italian immigrants and self-proclaimed anarchists were put on trial for the murders,
01:52Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
01:54One of the key pieces of physical evidence that tied Sacco to the crime
01:58was a .32 caliber bullet that had been removed from the body of Berardelli.
02:01Some experts claimed that this bullet matched Sacco's .32 caliber pistol.
02:06However, this conclusion was controversial, and the trial was rife with anti-Italian sentiment.
02:11But this was, quite literally, a smoking gun,
02:14and it helped result in the convictions of both Sacco and Vanzetti.
02:17They were both executed on August 23rd, 1927.
02:21And I won't tell you about Sacco and Vanzetti either.
02:23The two Antichrists that got the electric chair in Massachusetts?
02:27Anarchists.
02:28Isn't it Antichrist?
02:29They were two innocent men who got the chair because they were Italian.
02:33The atom bomb sketch.
02:34Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
02:36Julius and Ethel Rosenberg went to the electric chair for stealing the secret of the atom bomb for the Soviet Union.
02:43The star witness for the prosecution was David Greenglass, who happened to be Ethel Rosenberg's brother.
02:49Basically a real-life version of the Americans,
02:52Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
02:58In the late 1940s, the FBI began cracking down on Soviet spy rings,
03:02leading them to David Greenglass, his sister Ethel, and Ethel's husband Julius.
03:06At trial, Greenglass named Julius as his recruiter,
03:09and he produced a hand-drawn sketch of an implosion-type atomic bomb.
03:13Greenglass said that he had drawn the sketch at Rosenberg's request,
03:17and prosecutors successfully argued that Rosenberg then passed the sketch to his Soviet counterparts.
03:22While the actual value of the drawing is debated among historians,
03:25it was enough to convict the Rosenbergs, and they were both executed in 1953.
03:30We had a job to do.
03:37We had a job to do.
03:40A slew of forensic evidence.
03:43Sam Shepard.
03:43In the retrial of convicted killer Sam Shepard,
03:47the discoveries of forensic expert Leland Kirk were finally going to be heard.
03:51This American doctor was convicted of murdering his wife in 1954 and sentenced to life in prison.
03:57Fast forward to October 1966, when Shepard entered a famous retrial.
04:02This time, he was defended by the extremely popular and extremely capable F. Lee Bailey.
04:07He gave a master class in defense strategy,
04:09showing that the blood spatter suggested a left-handed killer when Shepard was right-handed.
04:13He also got coroner Samuel Gerber to admit that a murder weapon had never been found.
04:18Furthermore, forensic analysis also suggested that the killer had been heavily bloodied,
04:23but Shepard had almost no blood on him when police arrived.
04:26He successfully introduced enough reasonable doubt through forensic analysis to earn Shepard an acquittal.
04:31His story would later influence the fugitive.
04:34I didn't kill my wife!
04:36I don't care!
04:39Surveillance and video footage.
04:40Daryl Brooks Jr.
04:42Absolute chaos and horror in the Midwest tonight,
04:45after more than a dozen people are hurt at a Christmas parade.
04:48Wisconsin authorities say there are also fatalities after a driver sped into a procession,
04:53plowing into a crowd of onlookers.
04:55It's pretty hard to defend yourself when there's explicit video footage showing you committing a crime.
05:00On November 21st, 2021,
05:02Daryl Brooks Jr. drove an SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin,
05:07killing six people and injuring dozens more.
05:09Despite the fact that he obviously did it,
05:11Brooks entered a plea of not guilty, resulting in a surreal trial.
05:15Numerous eyewitnesses, including law enforcement officers, positively identified Brooks as the driver.
05:21But worst of all, multiple clear videos showed Brooks driving the SUV directly into the parade.
05:27Meanwhile, Brooks represented himself at the trial,
05:30often yelling, speaking in pseudo-legal gibberish, and engaging in constant arguments with the judge.
05:35His decorum, combined with the inarguable evidence, resulted in conviction and six life sentences.
05:41Criminal trespass to dwelling from 2006.
05:44I need to take a break.
05:45This man right now is having a stare down with me.
05:48It's very disrespectful.
05:49He pounded his fist.
05:50Frankly, it makes me scared.
05:52Amanda Knox, once dubbed Foxy Noxy by the media,
06:09spent nearly four years in an Italian prison for the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kircher.
06:15But in a plot twist that shocked, well, no one,
06:18Knox was eventually exonerated thanks to a key piece of DNA evidence that didn't hold up under scrutiny.
06:23The so-called smoking gun was a kitchen knife found in the apartment of Knox's then-boyfriend.
06:27Prosecutors claimed it had Knox's DNA on the handle and Kircher's on the blade, helping send her to prison.
06:33But forensic experts later revealed that Kircher's DNA was inconclusive, and it was deemed unreliable.
06:39So, with no physical evidence tying Knox to the scene, the case fell apart, and she was acquitted and freed.
06:45Amanda Knox's hand was said to have been on that knife.
06:48It was said to have murdered the victim in this case.
06:51No DNA.
06:53What?
06:54This is Italy, Shepard.
06:55It's a crazy, it's a little different than we're used to.
06:58Photographs.
06:59Jody Arias.
07:00The experts said it was taken upside down, so the camera's gonna be upside down,
07:03which makes sense, because that's how it could be accidentally triggered.
07:06By just moving the camera, it'll take a picture here.
07:08In 2013, Jody Arias went on trial for the murder of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
07:13Arias was claiming self-defense, but captured on a digital camera that was found in the washing machine,
07:19yes, really, were a series of chilling images.
07:22These photos were taken during the killing, including a famous photo of Travis that was taken right before his murder,
07:28and a blurry image of him bleeding on the floor.
07:30If this was self-defense, why did she take pictures of him actively dying?
07:34And for self-defense, he looked pretty harmless in the shower by himself.
07:38Combined with her constantly changing and inconsistent stories,
07:41these photos destroyed her credibility and sealed her fate, sending her to prison for life.
07:46What are we looking at?
07:49A lower view of the victim inside of the shower stall.
07:53The testimony of Linda Kasabian.
07:55Charles Manson.
07:56In 1970, Linda Kasabian, a former member of the famous Manson family, turned state's witness in exchange for complete immunity.
08:21Present during the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders, Kasabian never personally killed anyone,
08:26but she did witness it all, resulting in an emotional testimony that lasted an exhausting 18 days.
08:32She gave jurors a chilling firsthand account of the murders, describing Manson's control over his followers,
08:37and how he orchestrated the killings without ever getting his hands dirty.
08:41Her credibility was crucial, painting a vivid picture of the family's cult-like obedience to Manson,
08:46and the leader's unhinged belief systems.
08:48Manson was convicted of first-degree murder, despite no physical evidence linking him to the crimes,
08:53a fact that was largely based on Kasabian's testimony.
08:56Mrs. Kasabian, the truth is that you made up this whole story, didn't you?
09:02No.
09:02Didn't you?
09:03No.
09:04Nobody could make that.
09:07Nobody.
09:08An extravagant spending spree.
09:10The Menendez Brothers.
09:11Okay, you have to shoot first so that you don't back out.
09:14What?
09:18Okay.
09:19After brutally murdering their wealthy parents in 1989,
09:22Brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez went on trial in what was one of the biggest media circuses of the 1990s.
09:29They openly admitted to killing their parents,
09:31their defense resting on claims of self-defense and years of abuse.
09:35Their sudden lavish lifestyle raised eyebrows.
09:37In the months following the murders,
09:39the brothers went on a jaw-dropping shopping binge,
09:41snagging Rolex watches, luxury cars, and even a restaurant.
09:45Prosecutors argued that their extravagant spending wasn't just suspicious,
09:49it was motive.
09:50The spending painted a picture of cold-blooded killers
09:53who just wanted to cash in on their wealthy parents.
09:55And combined with some inconsistent alibis,
09:58their expensive habits gave the jury exactly what they needed.
10:01Okay, great.
10:02I want two dozen shrimp cocktails, tails off,
10:04and I want a case, not a bottle,
10:06a case of Perrier.
10:08Do you have Perrier?
10:09The Glasses.
10:10Leopold and Loeb.
10:11Well, it'll be in the early morning additions.
10:13Just another lucky break.
10:15How about the glasses?
10:17Glasses?
10:17What do you mean?
10:18What kind of glasses?
10:19Eyeglasses, you know.
10:21The police thought they belonged to the boy,
10:23but they looked pretty big to me,
10:24so when nobody was around,
10:25I tried them on the body.
10:27In May of 1924,
10:29wealthy University of Chicago students
10:31Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb
10:33thought they'd commit the perfect murder,
10:35and solely for the thrill of it.
10:37But their plan unraveled fast,
10:39really fast.
10:40Near the body of their victim, Bobby Franks,
10:42police found a pair of glasses with a unique hinge.
10:45In fact, it was so unique
10:46that only three people in Chicago had them.
10:49One of them, Nathan Leopold.
10:50When confronted,
10:51Leopold was flabbergasted
10:53and made up some bogus story
10:54about dropping them while bird watching.
10:56No one bought it.
10:57And this tiny but crucial detail
10:59tied him directly to the murder.
11:01The glasses became the smoking gun
11:03that shattered their illusion of genius
11:04and took them straight to prison.
11:06Well, this is all purely academic
11:08if they're not really my glasses,
11:09isn't it, sir?
11:10I don't know, of course,
11:11but I would imagine
11:12there must be a thousand pair of glasses
11:13like those right here in Chicago.
11:16The figure is about 4,000, Judd.
11:19But these happen to be your glasses.
11:23In spite of the fact
11:23they look like thousands of others,
11:25they aren't.
11:26The smoking gun tape.
11:27Richard Nixon's impeachment.
11:28I was advised that there was a possibility
11:31of CIA involvement in some way.
11:33It was certainly not my intent
11:36nor my wish
11:36that the investigation
11:37of the Watergate break-in
11:39or of related acts
11:40be impeded in any way.
11:42While not a criminal trial
11:44in the traditional sense,
11:45Nixon's infamous impeachment process
11:47was made possible
11:48thanks to the White House tapes.
11:49Like, it's literally called
11:51the smoking gun tape.
11:52How could we not include it?
11:53It was discovered
11:54during the Watergate investigation
11:56that Nixon had installed
11:57a secret recording system
11:58in the Oval Office,
11:59automatically capturing conversations
12:01between him and his aides.
12:03When Senate investigators
12:04demanded the tapes,
12:05Nixon refused,
12:06citing executive privilege.
12:08The tapes were eventually subpoenaed,
12:10and one clearly showed Nixon
12:12attempting to block
12:13the FBI's investigation
12:14into the case.
12:15Therefore,
12:16Nixon was directly implicated
12:17in obstructing justice
12:19and lost all remaining
12:20political support,
12:21resulting in his infamous resignation.
12:23Early Senate Republican
12:24Whip Griffin of Michigan
12:25suggested the president resign.
12:28Where both the national interest
12:30and his own interest
12:32will best be served
12:34by resigning.
12:35The Rope Hair,
12:36the West Memphis Three.
12:38New evidence released today
12:39claims testing unavailable
12:41in 1993
12:42shows no DNA
12:43from the three imprisoned defendants
12:45was found in the bodies
12:46of the murdered boys.
12:47A highly controversial case,
12:49the West Memphis Three
12:50were convicted of murdering
12:52three Arkansas boys in 1993,
12:54despite a significant
12:55lack of evidence.
12:56Today,
12:57it's remembered
12:58as one of the best examples
12:59of the satanic panic.
13:01In 2007,
13:02investigators tested a hair
13:03that was found
13:04in the rope
13:04used to tie one of the victims.
13:06It matched none
13:07of the West Memphis Three,
13:09but Terry Hobbs,
13:10the stepfather
13:10of one of the victims.
13:12Another hair,
13:13found on a tree stump nearby,
13:14was consistent
13:15with Hobbs' friend,
13:16David Jacoby.
13:17This new DNA evidence
13:18greatly undermined
13:19the prosecution,
13:20and when paired
13:21with evidence
13:22of jury misconduct
13:23and new statements
13:23from key witnesses,
13:25it helped exonerate
13:26the convicted.
13:26All three were released
13:28on Alford Pleas
13:29in 2011.
13:30And I did not want
13:31to take the deal
13:32from the get-go,
13:33however,
13:34they're trying
13:37to kill Damien
13:37and sometimes
13:40you just gotta
13:40bite the gun
13:41to save somebody.
13:42The Voice Recordings
13:43Clifford Irving
13:44Many of you
13:45probably didn't know
13:46he lived here,
13:46but a lot of you
13:47will remember
13:48the huge scandal
13:49he was best known for.
13:50By the 1970s,
13:52Howard Hughes
13:52was a recluse,
13:53and writer Clifford Irving
13:54saw an opportunity.
13:55He claimed Hughes
13:56had asked him
13:57to ghostwrite
13:58his official autobiography,
13:59even producing
14:00letters and voice recordings
14:02as proof of his correspondence
14:03with the famous aviator.
14:04Irving planned
14:05to publish the book,
14:06falsely assuming
14:07that Hughes
14:08would stay silent.
14:09Well,
14:09he didn't.
14:10Hughes got wind
14:11of the news,
14:12and in January 1972,
14:14shocked the world
14:15by holding
14:15a telephone press conference.
14:17Investigators
14:18compared his voice
14:19to earlier recordings
14:20and confirmed
14:21its authenticity.
14:22Meanwhile,
14:22forensic analysis
14:23exposed Irving's
14:24recordings as fake,
14:26proving beyond doubt
14:27that Howard Hughes
14:27had never collaborated
14:29with him.
14:29The hoax unraveled,
14:31and Irving was sentenced
14:32to two and a half years
14:33in prison.
14:33Do you owe anybody
14:34any money at this point?
14:35Yes,
14:36I owe a total of about
14:38just under one million dollars
14:41to the IRS,
14:42to McGraw-Hill,
14:44and to my various attorneys.
14:46Marked bills
14:47and fingerprints,
14:48Machine Gun Kelly.
14:49We repeat the message
14:50to the abductors
14:50of Little Cheryl Vito.
14:52Your message
14:53has been received.
14:54We will repeat this
14:55every 15 minutes
14:56until we receive
14:57further instructions.
14:59In 1933,
15:00famous gangster
15:01Machine Gun Kelly
15:02kidnapped oil tycoon
15:03Charles F. Urschel
15:04and held him ransom
15:05at his in-law's farmhouse
15:07for $200,000.
15:08After his release,
15:10Urschel helped the FBI
15:11track his captors
15:12by recalling key details
15:13like the presence
15:14of mosquitoes
15:15and the repeating sound
15:16of a nearby oil pump.
15:17His meticulous
15:18observations led
15:19federal agents
15:20to Paradise, Texas
15:21and they were even
15:22able to pinpoint
15:23the exact farmhouse
15:24that held Urschel
15:25using the sound
15:26of the oil pump.
15:27Urschel's fingerprints
15:27were found at the property,
15:29linking Kelly to the crime.
15:30To make matters worse,
15:32Kelly's accomplice
15:33was also caught
15:33with some marked ransom bills.
15:35With overwhelming proof
15:37of his involvement,
15:38Kelly was convicted
15:39and spent the rest
15:40of his life in prison.
15:41You're the tough man
15:42in the crowd?
15:44You got a tough name, Kelly.
15:45Why don't you shoot it out?
15:46Because I knew
15:49you'd kill me.
15:50Phone calls to Amber Frye,
15:51Scott Peterson.
15:52Amber is a true hero
15:55and she took many risks
15:57for justice in this case.
15:59In 2003,
16:00the remains of Lacey Peterson
16:01were found
16:02near San Francisco Bay,
16:04a year after her husband
16:05Scott reported her missing.
16:06Scott was later arrested
16:08and sentenced to life
16:08in prison for her murder.
16:10While the case mostly relied
16:11on circumstantial evidence,
16:13the most damning proof
16:14came from phone calls
16:15with his mistress, Amber Frye.
16:16Scott told Amber
16:17that he was a widower
16:18before Lacey
16:19was even reported missing.
16:21She then worked with police
16:22and recorded their calls,
16:24during which he repeatedly lied,
16:26once claiming to be in Paris
16:27while actually attending
16:29a vigil for Lacey.
16:30He also never once
16:31expressed concern
16:32for his missing wife.
16:33Yesterday,
16:34we told you that
16:34Scott Peterson
16:35was re-sentenced
16:36to life without parole
16:38for the murders
16:38of his wife Lacey
16:39and their unborn son.
16:40Now his sister
16:42is speaking out
16:43saying she couldn't
16:44be more pleased.
16:45These deceptive conversations
16:47made Scott appear
16:47detached and manipulative,
16:49significantly swaying
16:50public opinion
16:51and the jury against him.
16:53I wish he would take
16:54just a fraction
16:56of pain away
16:58and just be honest
17:00and, you know,
17:02say, you know,
17:03you did it.
17:04Fiber evidence.
17:05Wayne Williams.
17:06Fibers on the body
17:07consistent with what
17:08we found on other victims.
17:09The fibers we recovered
17:10are green
17:11and a very unusual shape.
17:12I saw green carpet
17:13in Williams' home.
17:14But you don't know
17:15if it's a match?
17:16No, sir.
17:16There were dog hairs
17:17on the victim.
17:18I found dog hairs
17:18in the suspect's vehicle
17:20and his family owns a dog.
17:21I own a dog, agent.
17:23While Wayne Williams
17:24was officially convicted
17:25of murdering two men,
17:26he remains the prime suspect
17:28in the Atlanta murders
17:29of the late 70s
17:30and early 80s,
17:31which resulted in 30 deaths.
17:33Many witnesses reported
17:34seeing Williams
17:35with many of the victims,
17:37but the smoking gun
17:37came in the form
17:38of fiber evidence.
17:39Investigators found fibers
17:41from Williams' home,
17:42clothes, car,
17:43and even his dog
17:44on many victims,
17:45all but linking him
17:46to their deaths.
17:48Prosecutors used these fibers
17:49to link Williams
17:50to at least some
17:50of the famous killings,
17:52and he was ultimately
17:53found guilty
17:53of murdering two men,
17:55Nathaniel Cater
17:55and Jimmy Payne.
17:56Perhaps most damning
17:57of all,
17:58the Atlanta murders
17:59stopped once Williams
18:00was imprisoned.
18:01From those few
18:02thin threads,
18:03Peterson would begin
18:05to build a case
18:06to try to catch a killer.
18:07DNA,
18:09Gary Ridgway.
18:09We had reference
18:10samples collected
18:11from potential suspects
18:13in the past.
18:16Those reference
18:17samples were run.
18:23One of them
18:24matched that
18:25of the evidence
18:26from the Green River
18:27victims.
18:28The Green River
18:29killer had been active
18:30since 1982,
18:31and since 1982,
18:33police have largely
18:34focused on one man,
18:36Gary Ridgway.
18:36He was the immediate
18:38primary suspect,
18:39and was even arrested
18:40in the early 80s,
18:41resulting in police
18:42taking a cheek swab
18:43for DNA analysis.
18:45However,
18:46they were never able
18:47to definitively link
18:48Ridgway to any
18:49of the murders.
18:50It wasn't until 2001
18:51that the case against him
18:52was reopened
18:53thanks to enormous
18:54advances in DNA technology.
18:56Investigators were able
18:57to test biological evidence
18:59left on several victims,
19:00and they were a complete
19:02match to Ridgway.
19:03Ridgway was finally arrested
19:04after many decades,
19:05and the conclusive
19:06DNA evidence
19:07helped put him away
19:08for life.
19:09We begin tonight
19:10with the man
19:10who terrorized
19:11Washington for years.
19:12The Green River killer
19:13pleaded guilty
19:14to the murders
19:15of dozens of women
19:17in King County,
19:18leaving several families
19:19grieving throughout
19:20the state.
19:21Floppy disk metadata.
19:22Dennis Rader.
19:23We could tell
19:23that it was somehow
19:24affiliated with
19:25Christ Lutheran Church
19:26and the Park City
19:27Community Public Library.
19:29And the next thing
19:30we looked at
19:31was statistics,
19:32and it shows here
19:33that it was last saved
19:34by Dennis.
19:35BTK committed
19:36one of the all-time
19:37dumbest blunders
19:38in criminal history,
19:39resulting in his
19:40infamous downfall.
19:41Real name Dennis Rader,
19:43BTK killed at least
19:4410 people in the
19:45greater Kansas area
19:46between 1974 and 1991.
19:49In the early 2000s,
19:50after a long silence,
19:51BTK started communicating
19:53with the police
19:54and boasting
19:54about his unsolved murders.
19:56He asked them
19:57whether they could trace
19:57a floppy disk
19:58if he sent one,
19:59and they said no.
20:00Well, that was a lie,
20:01and investigators
20:02quickly used metadata
20:04embedded within
20:04the floppy disk
20:05to identify Rader.
20:07They also collected
20:08DNA from Rader's daughter
20:09and found a familial match
20:11with DNA taken
20:12from one of BTK's victims.
20:14The evidence
20:14was simply unbeatable,
20:16and Rader was given
20:1610 life sentences.
20:18I need to ask you
20:19how do you like it?
20:22How do you want it?
20:24Because I was trying
20:24to catch you.
20:25A very unusual rope,
20:27John Jubert.
20:28I had never seen
20:28anyone like this,
20:29none of the other
20:30examiners in the laboratory.
20:31who deal with ropes
20:32on a daily basis
20:33over a number of years
20:34had ever seen
20:35a rope like this.
20:36American serial killer
20:37John Jubert
20:38was executed in 1996
20:40at the age of 33
20:41for murdering three boys.
20:43His first victim,
20:44Danny Eberle,
20:45was found bound
20:46with very distinctive
20:47multi-strand rope,
20:48commonly used in military
20:49or industrial settings
20:50and not found
20:51in everyday hardware stores.
20:53It also had a unique
20:54twisted pattern
20:55that made it easy
20:56to identify and trace.
20:57FBI profilers suspected
20:59that the killer
20:59had military experience
21:00owing to the precision
21:02of the bindings
21:02and a tip eventually
21:04led police to Jubert,
21:05an Air Force radar technician
21:07stationed in Omaha.
21:08A search of his belongings
21:09uncovered rope
21:10identical in composition
21:11and structure
21:12to that used on Eberle.
21:14Forensic analysis
21:14later confirmed
21:15an exact match,
21:17helping secure
21:17Jubert's conviction
21:18and eventual execution.
21:20I found that they were
21:21identical in all respects,
21:22microscopically,
21:23instrumentally,
21:24chemical tests,
21:25there were no differences
21:26between the two ropes.
21:27Fingerprints
21:28Richard Ramirez
21:29It is a 1976
21:31Toyota station wagon,
21:32orange in color,
21:34license number 482RTS.
21:37The Night Stalker
21:38terrorized California
21:39in the mid-1980s,
21:40breaking into homes
21:41and murdering
21:42at least 14 people.
21:43On the night
21:44of August 24, 1985,
21:46a teenager named
21:47James Romero
21:48was working on his bike
21:49when he saw Ramirez
21:50outside his house.
21:51Ramirez fled the scene
21:52in a panic,
21:53but Ramirez noted
21:54his orange Toyota
21:55and the car's license plate.
21:57Later that night,
21:58Ramirez broke into the home
21:59of Bill Carnes
22:00and Inez Erickson,
22:01assaulting Erickson
22:02and shooting Carnes.
22:04The orange Toyota
22:05was later found
22:05abandoned in Koreatown,
22:07and police were able
22:08to lift Ramirez's fingerprints
22:10from the rearview mirror.
22:11This print
22:12definitively linked Ramirez
22:13to the vehicle seen
22:14fleeing multiple crime scenes,
22:16including the most recent attack
22:17on Carnes and Erickson.
22:19And they were able
22:20to pull a latent fingerprint
22:22off the rearview mirror
22:24where apparently
22:24the suspect
22:25had reached up
22:26and adjusted.
22:26Audio recordings,
22:28Depp v. Heard.
22:29The defamation case
22:30between Hollywood actors
22:31and former partners
22:32Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
22:33centered around
22:33a 2018 opinion piece
22:35published in
22:36The Washington Post.
22:37He decided to sue
22:38his ex-wife personally
22:40over an article she wrote
22:41for The Washington Post,
22:44and this time
22:44he was taking the fight
22:46back home.
22:47In the article,
22:48Heard asserted
22:49that she had been
22:49a victim of domestic violence
22:51during their marriage.
22:52However,
22:52Depp sued her,
22:53insisting that he was
22:54the one subjected
22:55to violence at her hands.
22:56So much of the case
22:57was put to the jury
22:59as being whether or not
23:01Johnny Depp
23:01would be the sort of person
23:03or is the sort of person
23:05that would ever lay a finger
23:06against another woman.
23:08A crucial moment
23:08during the trial
23:09was the playing
23:10of an audio recording
23:11where the couple argued
23:12about a past physical altercation
23:14that left Depp's finger injured.
23:15On the tape,
23:16Heard appears to acknowledge
23:18hitting Depp
23:18and berates him
23:19for complaining about it.
23:20But you're fine.
23:22I did not hurt you.
23:23I did not punch you.
23:24I was hitting you.
23:25This incriminating tape
23:26likely influenced
23:27the jury's decision
23:28to hold Heard liable
23:29for defaming Depp
23:30quote,
23:30with actual malice.
23:32Terry Sanderson's
23:33post-incident travel,
23:34Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial.
23:36In 2023,
23:38actress and lifestyle entrepreneur
23:39Gwyneth Paltrow
23:40faced a civil lawsuit
23:41from retired Utah doctor
23:43Terry Sanderson.
23:44Oscar-winning actress
23:45Gwyneth Paltrow
23:46in court being sued
23:48accused of violently
23:49crashing into a man
23:50during a family ski trip
23:51in Park City, Utah.
23:52Sanderson alleged
23:53that in 2016,
23:55Paltrow collided with him
23:56on a ski slope,
23:57resulting in permanent
23:58traumatic brain injury
23:59and severe emotional distress,
24:01among other things.
24:02Paltrow's legal team
24:03challenged Sanderson's claims
24:05by presenting evidence
24:06of the numerous vacations
24:07he took after
24:08the supposed incident,
24:09as well as social media posts
24:11depicting him in good spirits.
24:12You posted a lot
24:13on social media?
24:15Relative to other people,
24:16it didn't seem like I did.
24:17Very little.
24:18All of these pictures
24:19are from your personal Facebook
24:22after the collision.
24:23Although Sanderson maintained
24:25that these trips
24:25were part of his recovery,
24:27the jury disagreed with him.
24:29They ultimately found him
24:30responsible for the accident
24:31and awarded Paltrow
24:33the requested $1 in damages.
24:35I believe she thinks
24:36she has the truth.
24:37I believe she thinks that.
24:39But I know.
24:43I absolutely know.
24:45And I said I would not
24:46bring any falsehoods.
24:48I'm going to tell the truth
24:49and I did.
24:49Handwriting analysis.
24:51The Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial.
24:53The 1935 trial
24:54of Bruno Richard Hauptmann
24:56for the kidnapping
24:56of the Lindbergh baby
24:57was one of the first cases
24:59hailed as
24:59the trial of the century.
25:01Despite the media attention,
25:02the police investigation
25:04quickly stalled.
25:05Hauptmann had been arrested
25:06after a significant portion
25:07of the ransom money
25:08was traced to him.
25:09However,
25:10he claimed that the money
25:11belonged to a former
25:12business partner
25:13who owed him a debt.
25:14Recent transactions
25:15are dominated by
25:16$10 and $20 gold certificates.
25:19Gold certificates
25:19are discovered in his home
25:21and in his pockets.
25:23Perhaps the most damning
25:24evidence against Hauptmann
25:25was handwriting analysis
25:26that seemed to suggest
25:27Hauptmann had written
25:28the ransom note.
25:29During the trial,
25:30eight handwriting experts
25:32took to the stand
25:32to testify to that.
25:34Despite the evidence
25:35against him
25:36being largely circumstantial,
25:37Hauptmann was convicted
25:38and sentenced to death.
25:40Hauptmann is found guilty
25:41and sentenced to death.
25:44Since then,
25:45some have raised doubts
25:46about his guilt.
25:47A pajama top,
25:48the United States
25:49versus Jeffrey R. McDonald.
25:51In February 1970,
25:53U.S. Army Captain
25:54Jeffrey R. McDonald
25:55reported the murders
25:56of his pregnant wife
25:57and two daughters
25:57by four intruders.
25:59It was Jeffrey McDonald
26:00who made the 911 call.
26:02He later claimed
26:03his family was attacked
26:04by four intruders.
26:05Despite evidence
26:07implicating McDonald,
26:08the Army dismissed the case,
26:09but it was later reopened
26:11in civilian court.
26:12The prosecution focused
26:13on McDonald's pajama top,
26:15which he claimed
26:15to have used as a defense,
26:17bearing 48 holes
26:18allegedly from an ice pick.
26:20Jeffrey McDonald
26:21has always maintained
26:22his innocence.
26:23Although his case
26:24has had more time in court
26:25than just about
26:25any other criminal case
26:26in American history,
26:28no new evidence,
26:29including DNA,
26:30has validated his claim.
26:32However,
26:33investigators found
26:33the holes too neat
26:34to have occurred
26:35during motion,
26:36suggesting that the cloth
26:37was stationary,
26:38likely covering his wife's body
26:40when the punctures occurred.
26:41They demonstrated
26:42that if the pajama
26:43was folded correctly,
26:44the 48 holes
26:45could have been made
26:46by 21 thrusts,
26:48the exact number of wounds
26:49on McDonald's wife.
26:50The FBI had also found
26:53that there was no evidence
26:54of a break-in,
26:55and all the weapons
26:56in the assault
26:57had come from the house.
26:59Consequently,
27:00McDonald was convicted
27:01of the murders.
27:02Video of Gage Grosskreutz
27:04holding a gun.
27:05The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.
27:07The Kyle Rittenhouse case
27:08was a highly controversial one
27:10that ignited
27:10intense political debates.
27:12In August 2021,
27:14Rittenhouse shot three men
27:15during a protest
27:16against police brutality
27:17in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
27:18In court today,
27:19two of the men died,
27:26while the third,
27:27Gage Grosskreutz,
27:28sustained severe injuries.
27:30Rittenhouse argued
27:30that he was safeguarding
27:32local businesses
27:32from violence
27:33and only fired in self-defense
27:35after the men
27:35drew their guns on him.
27:37When Grosskreutz
27:38took the stand at trial,
27:39he was confronted
27:40with footage showing him
27:41pointing his gun
27:41at Rittenhouse.
27:42What was going through
27:44your mind?
27:45That I was going to die?
27:46Although Grosskreutz
27:47admitted to being armed,
27:48he insisted that he had
27:50no intention
27:50of shooting Rittenhouse.
27:52Nevertheless,
27:53the jury sided
27:54with the defendant's
27:55self-defense plea
27:55and acquitted him
27:56of all charges.
27:58We the jury
27:59find the defendant,
28:00Kyle H. Rittenhouse,
28:01not guilty.
28:03Kyle Rittenhouse
28:04trembling with emotion
28:05as the court clerk
28:07read the jury's verdict.
28:08Incriminating text messages.
28:10The Alex Jones
28:11defamation trial.
28:12For years,
28:13Alex Jones spread falsehoods
28:15about the tragic
28:15Sandy Hook shooting,
28:16suggesting that it was staged
28:18and accusing victims
28:19and their families
28:19of being actors.
28:21As a result,
28:22many affected families
28:23sued Jones for defamation
28:24and won.
28:25Robert Parker weeps
28:27in a Connecticut courtroom
28:28after a jury ordered
28:29conspiracy theorist
28:30Alex Jones
28:31to pay him
28:31$120 million in damages
28:33for repeatedly claiming
28:35that the 2012
28:36Sandy Hook Elementary
28:37School shooting
28:38was a hoax.
28:39During his deposition,
28:41Jones had claimed
28:42that he couldn't find
28:43any text messages
28:44on his phone
28:44about the incident.
28:45However,
28:46at trial,
28:47it was revealed
28:48that Jones' own lawyers
28:49had accidentally sent
28:50two years worth
28:51of text messages
28:52related to Sandy Hook
28:53to the lawyer
28:53representing one
28:54of the victim's parents.
28:55As of two days ago,
28:56it fell free and clear
28:57into my possession.
28:59And that is how
28:59I know you lied to me
29:01when you said
29:02you didn't have
29:02text messages
29:03about Sandy Hook.
29:03Did you know that?
29:05Needless to say,
29:06this came as a rude shock
29:07to him.
29:08In the end,
29:09Jones was ordered
29:10to pay the family
29:10nearly $50 million
29:12in compensatory
29:13and punitive damages.
29:14After a resounding rebuke,
29:16the InfoWars host
29:17was ordered
29:18to pay an additional
29:19$45.2 million
29:21in punitive damages
29:22to the parents
29:23of a Sandy Hook
29:24shooting victim.
29:25Falsified documents,
29:27the United States v. Holmes.
29:28Through her company,
29:29Theranos,
29:30Elizabeth Holmes
29:31promised to revolutionize
29:32blood testing
29:32by using just a few drops
29:34of blood
29:34to detect several ailments.
29:36The goal is
29:37to empower the individual.
29:39We believe strongly
29:40that the future
29:40of health care
29:41is in enabling
29:42the individual
29:43to have the information
29:44that they need
29:45to take ownership
29:46of their health.
29:47However,
29:48these claims
29:48were inaccurate
29:49and Holmes attempted
29:51to validate them
29:51by forging documents
29:53to sway investors.
29:54Two particular sets
29:55of these documents
29:56played pivotal roles
29:57in her trial.
29:58The first,
29:59a counterfeit endorsement
30:00from pharmaceutical
30:01giant Pfizer,
30:02falsely suggested
30:03that they had endorsed
30:04Theranos' technology.
30:05Remember those logos
30:07that Elizabeth Holmes
30:09admitted she put
30:10on pharmaceutical company
30:12lab reports
30:13and then sent
30:13to prospective business
30:14partners like Walgreens?
30:16It was Pfizer
30:17and Shearing Plow.
30:18Well, it turns out
30:19she did more than just
30:20add the logos.
30:22The second set
30:23of documents
30:24presented inflated
30:25revenue projections
30:26of $40 million
30:27through purported contracts
30:28with drug companies,
30:30which were later
30:30proven to be bogus.
30:32These documents
30:33were all the jury
30:33needed to convict
30:34Holmes of fraud
30:35and sentence her
30:36to over 11 years
30:37in prison.
30:38Today,
30:39she entered
30:39the minimum security
30:40federal women's
30:41prison camp
30:42located in Bryan, Texas.
30:44Kennel video,
30:45the murder trial
30:45of Alec Murdoch.
30:47A member of South Carolina's
30:48prominent Murdoch family,
30:50Alec Murdoch
30:50became the prime suspect
30:51after his wife Maggie
30:52and their son Paul
30:53were killed
30:54in June 2021.
30:56For several months,
30:57Murdoch claimed
30:58that he was not present
30:59when the murders
30:59took place.
31:00Murdoch claimed
31:01he didn't go
31:02to the family's kennels
31:03that night
31:04until he found
31:05his wife and son's bodies.
31:07But an unexpected source,
31:08his own son Paul,
31:10unknowingly helped
31:10secure a guilty verdict
31:12from beyond the grave.
31:13Moments before
31:14his tragic death,
31:15Paul made a video
31:16in the family's dog kennel,
31:17which captured
31:18Murdoch's voice,
31:19thus shattering
31:20his supposed alibi.
31:21Prosecutors
31:22playing that video
31:23for him again
31:24in court.
31:25Can you point out
31:26Alec Murdoch,
31:26the person whose voice
31:27you recognize in this video
31:28in this courtroom, please?
31:30Sitting right in the grave, yeah.
31:31Prosecutors presented
31:32this incriminating footage
31:33in court,
31:34following which Murdoch
31:35changed his story
31:36but still maintained
31:37his innocence.
31:38However,
31:39the jury was already convinced.
31:41They deliberated
31:42for less than three hours
31:43before returning
31:44a guilty verdict.
31:45I sentence you to prison
31:47for murdering him
31:49for the rest
31:51of your natural life.
31:53Those sentences
31:54will run consecutive.
31:56Bite Marks,
31:57Ted Bundy's
31:58first murder trial.
31:59Throughout the 1970s,
32:00Ted Bundy reigned terror
32:02on women in the U.S.,
32:03claiming the lives
32:04of at least 30 individuals.
32:06Although he had killed
32:07several victims prior,
32:08Bundy's first murder trial
32:10was for the 1978 deaths
32:11of Margaret Elizabeth Bowman
32:13and Lisa Janet Levy,
32:14two Florida State University students.
32:16There was no doubt
32:17that when he was arrested,
32:19he was fearful
32:19of what was coming.
32:21We had strong belief
32:23that he had committed
32:23the sorority sister murders.
32:25Before taking her life,
32:27Bundy had bitten deeply
32:28into Levy's flesh,
32:30leaving a very visible
32:31bite mark.
32:32This would become
32:32key physical evidence
32:34during his trial.
32:35Two forensic odontologists
32:36seemingly matched
32:37the bite impressions
32:38to castings of Bundy's teeth,
32:40which they presented
32:41to the jury.
32:42Whoever made this mark
32:44in the skin,
32:45in the flesh,
32:46had crooked teeth.
32:47While this evidence
32:48was crucial
32:48in securing Bundy's conviction,
32:50bite mark analysis
32:51has since been proven
32:52as unreliable
32:53and shown to have resulted
32:54in several wrongful convictions.
32:56People that were board certified
32:58did not agree
33:01about what a bite mark was.
33:03If a science isn't a science
33:05and it's not reproducible
33:07and it's not reliable,
33:09courts of law
33:10should not allow it in.
33:11Period.
33:12Before we continue,
33:13be sure to subscribe
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33:25Bloodied Gloves
33:28The People v. O.J. Simpson
33:30If it doesn't fit,
33:32you must acquit.
33:33Those were the famous words
33:35uttered by Johnny Cochran,
33:36one of O.J. Simpson's
33:37defense lawyers
33:38during his 1995 murder trial.
33:40Simpson stood accused
33:41of murdering his ex-wife
33:42Nicole Brown Simpson
33:43and her friend
33:44Ronald Goldman.
33:45At the crime scene,
33:46detectives found
33:47a pair of bloodied gloves,
33:48which they believed
33:49Simpson had worn
33:50during the murders.
33:51Your Honor,
33:52at this time,
33:52the people would ask
33:53that Mr. Simpson
33:54step forward
33:55and try on
33:55the glove recovered
33:57at Bundy
33:58as well as
33:58the glove recovered
33:59at Rockingham.
34:00Lead prosecutor
34:00Marsha Clark
34:01rejected the idea
34:02of Simpson
34:02trying on the gloves
34:03in court,
34:04but her assistant prosecutor
34:05Christopher Darden
34:06proceeded with it,
34:07anticipating a,
34:08quote,
34:08big moment.
34:09His expectations
34:10were dashed,
34:11however,
34:11when the gloves
34:12didn't seem
34:13to fit Simpson's hands.
34:14The jury later
34:15adhered to Cochran's words
34:17and infamously
34:18acquitted Simpson
34:19of the murders.
34:19Back in the courtroom,
34:21Simpson smiled
34:21and his attorneys
34:22were obviously pleased
34:23and relieved.
34:25The prosecution team
34:26sat stone-faced.
34:27What do you make
34:28of this evidence?
34:29Let us know
34:29in the comments below.
34:30Alec Murdoch's alibi
34:31potentially destroyed
34:33by his son's own video.
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