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00:00Police asked for your help in finding a missing man, Gregory Rice.
00:10He was most recently seen on Friday.
00:12They used drones, people were on horseback.
00:15They searched a lot of area looking for Greg Rice to no avail.
00:20Where do you think he is?
00:21You think?
00:22I have no idea.
00:24Our fear was that the body had been burned and we would never find it.
00:28I did not create a name. I can't even run the machine.
00:31Megan and Chris were seen together constantly.
00:34I don't think it was a particularly well-kept secret.
00:37The only thing that I'm guilty of is somebody that's married.
00:40There were some locals.
00:42They smelled what you can never forget, the smell of a dead body.
00:47There's the body you threw over the bridge.
00:49You're going to be charged with murder, Chris.
00:50He had a murder dump kit in his shopping cart.
00:53The exact items that Greg Rice's body was wrapped in.
00:56This is a tale as old as time.
00:59An affair, a pregnancy, and a murder.
01:02She said, have you ever cheated on your wife?
01:04I said, no.
01:05She said, well, you're about to.
01:07The central part of Horry County has a small-town feel.
01:30Everybody knows each other.
01:32It was not the norm to have someone just completely disappear like Greg Rice did.
01:44My name is Ginger Popp.
01:49I'm an investigator here at the 15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office.
01:55Initially, there was talk that maybe he had a drug problem.
02:01Maybe he had an alcohol problem.
02:03You know, maybe he just wandered off and had drank too much.
02:06The person initially who reported Gregory Rice missing was Megan Jackson.
02:18Megan Jackson and Gregory Rice had had a longstanding relationship.
02:23They had several children in common and did not live together anymore.
02:27Megan Jackson reported him missing after she took the children to Greg Rice's apartment
02:56for a scheduled visitation, and he didn't answer the door or the phone.
03:00I said, you know what?
03:02Something's not right here.
03:03His car's here.
03:04He's not answering.
03:05And I was talking to him Friday and knowing he was, like, kind of messed up.
03:11I was really scared he was, like, in the apartment and no deed or something.
03:15Normally, when people take off, they take certain items on them that they can survive with.
03:21I mean...
03:22Well, that's why I was concerned.
03:24Megan Jackson was already known to local authorities because of her work for them
03:29as what is known as a body mover.
03:31We pick up bodies for the local coroner's office and the local funeral homes.
03:36My name is Charles Benjamin, and Megan Jackson used to work for me going to crime scenes
03:42and making the removal and taking them to the morgue.
03:45A lot of people say, oh, I could do that, and until they get out and have to clean up a nasty scene.
03:50But she adjusted real well.
03:52Has he ever tried to commit suicide or threaten suicide in the past?
03:56Just that one time I knew it was all the family stuff was going on was, like, 2007.
04:04But it wasn't like a... He just kind of threw himself down the steps.
04:08It wasn't a legit attempt.
04:11No.
04:11And I got to ask, does he like, as far as women, I mean, would he get online and find a prostitute?
04:20I mean, I hate to say that, but it's more frequent than you think with men.
04:25I honestly have no idea. He's into some...
04:29What's his sexual name? Is he...
04:31I know...
04:33Mellow, or does he like the weird stuff?
04:35He likes torture stuff.
04:38Okay. Well, thank you.
04:41Thanks for talking to us. Sorry for the situation.
04:44Horry County Police Department initially treated this right out the gate as a true missing person.
04:51A missing persons flyer was created, and it was all over the local news.
04:56Police asked for your help in finding a missing man.
04:59Who you see right here is Gregory Rice.
05:01He was most recently seen on Friday near Flint Lake Drive outside of Myrtle Beach.
05:05Horry County Police Department had dogs come search.
05:10They used drones.
05:11People were on horseback, four-wheelers.
05:15They searched a lot of area looking for Greg Rice to no avail.
05:21It doesn't make sense.
05:25One day, not hearing from him as normal, but two days, I kind of knew something was up.
05:32My name's Ryan McNevich.
05:34I was best friends with Greg Rice.
05:37Worked with him and golfed with him and surfed with him.
05:39And I was in constant contact with a lot of the detectives at the time.
05:46Greg Rice's cell phone record showed he was home most of the Friday night before he was reported missing.
05:52They knew the last contact that Greg had had with anyone, and that was with Megan Jackson.
05:58My name is Mary Ellen Walter, and I'm a senior assistant solicitor in Horry County.
06:03At that point, Megan Jackson and Greg Rice had been separated for some time.
06:08Didn't get along particularly well, but Greg was very, very focused on his children.
06:12Detectives began to gather surveillance video from the places Megan said she had been that Friday night,
06:19including a restaurant where Megan was seen with the county's deputy coroner, Chris Dantel.
06:25They were seen together constantly.
06:28They would often go to dinner together or lunch together.
06:31I don't think it was a particularly well-kept secret.
06:34So, Chris Dantel was brought in for questioning in what was still a missing persons investigation.
06:41How we got your name was Megan.
06:44Said that you guys had gone out to eat on Friday night.
06:48What's the relationship with you and Megan?
06:50Um, if I'm being honest, it's something I would get divorced over.
06:57And that's why I said, whatever it said in here, it stays in here waiting.
07:01They don't run and tell nobody.
07:02I mean, I, you know, I, I, you know, was expecting this, so.
07:08Did you ever have any contact with Greg about anything?
07:11None.
07:12I mean, not just like on this day, like period.
07:14Have you guys ever had contact with each other?
07:16I've never even said a word to him.
07:19I know of Greg.
07:20I know, um, to be honest with you, he's kind of a weirdo.
07:25Yeah.
07:26I know he's into some crazy stuff, and I think that's why she moved away from him.
07:32She had told me that it was an abusive relationship, but obviously she never got into details, but.
07:37Yeah.
07:38She always said.
07:38He's, he, um, he is a, he's a pervert.
07:45He's a violent pervert.
07:48Have you ever been to Greg's apartment?
07:49No.
07:49So she would always go there by herself?
07:52He would never, he never went over there by her?
07:54I never went there.
07:56I've never been to his apartment.
07:59And then later that day, Megan was brought in for a second round of questioning.
08:04Not in any trouble?
08:06No.
08:06Okay.
08:07There are claims that are being made against you that we have to have answers to.
08:13Right.
08:13Okay.
08:15Um.
08:17We talked to Chris this morning.
08:19Mm-hmm.
08:19We know about you and Chris.
08:22Okay.
08:23We don't care.
08:25Okay.
08:26That has nothing to do with this.
08:27But if some of the vagueness you gave the other day was to try to cover that up, it needs to go away.
08:37Okay.
08:38What are they going to know about him?
08:39What?
08:40Who said something about me?
08:42Like, the accusation he was.
08:44It's nothing against you, but, I mean, I, all the fingers from his family were like.
08:52Pointing at me?
08:53Yeah.
08:53So I have.
08:54Do you know what happened?
08:55So I got to treat you as.
08:56Do you know what happened?
08:57Suspect number one and prove that you aren't suspect number one.
09:01Detectives wanted to know what happened after Megan and Chris left the restaurant that Friday night.
09:07We both got in my car.
09:09Okay.
09:11That's the uncomfortable part, right?
09:13Yeah.
09:15Hmm.
09:16So y'all were in your car?
09:18Yeah.
09:18Okay.
09:20Did y'all have sex in your car?
09:22Possibly.
09:24Where did y'all go?
09:25Um, we drove our food.
09:28Okay.
09:29What I've kind of gathered over the past couple days is that, or what I've been told is that
09:36Greg recently found out that you and Chris were having sex together.
09:39And then detectives asked if Megan would let them go through her phone.
09:51You are going to see stuff on there where he, uh, about Chris.
09:55And I, I'll admit that there's been times that I was a true to him after he was, he was rude to me first.
10:07Did you do anything to cause his disappearance?
10:09No.
10:09Okay.
10:10Then you don't have anything to worry about.
10:23Three weeks after Greg Rice was first reported missing, there was still no sign of him.
10:28And detectives brought Megan Jackson in for a third round of questioning about her timeline on that pivotal Friday night.
10:38The lack of details is what's throwing these red flags, and why do we keep having to bring you back here?
10:43I mean, it's just because I don't remember.
10:46Here's the kicker in the whole thing.
10:47Did you ever go to Greg's house?
10:49No.
10:49But a license plate reader showed Megan's van going into Greg Rice's neighborhood that Friday night.
10:57Well, it shouldn't have.
10:59I have pictures of it.
11:01I mean, that's fine, but it shouldn't have.
11:06But it did.
11:08Right at the time that you called Greg and you exit six minutes later, which I've timed out, is just enough time to go to Greg's apartment.
11:19I didn't go anywhere.
11:20I have the camera from the LPR, from the license plate reader.
11:23Okay, but I didn't go to his apartment at all that night.
11:28Honestly, I think you're either covering for somebody's or you're covering for yourself at this point.
11:37You see what I'm getting here?
11:38It all adds up, and it all, you're not telling me the truth.
11:44Like, I know there's more to this than you were telling me.
11:46I know.
11:47It's not a coincidence.
11:49And there's more to what you're giving us.
11:52I mean, I can't help you with anything.
11:55I mean, I get it.
11:56I know it looks bad.
11:57One of the things that Megan Jackson told police was that Greg Rice was threatening to expose her affair with Christopher Dontell.
12:07Someone had sent anonymous messages to Erica Dontell, Christopher Dontell's wife, saying that he was having an affair with Megan Jackson and she was pregnant with his child.
12:17Megan admitted she had been pregnant but then had a miscarriage.
12:20Megan Jackson told Christopher Dontell that it was Greg Rice.
12:23She also told Erica Dontell that it was Greg Rice.
12:27Erica confronted her husband and things changed for them.
12:30But Greg Rice went missing pretty quickly after that.
12:34You know who has the motive?
12:36Who?
12:36Chris.
12:38He was with me.
12:39He has the motive.
12:41Chris has a wife, kids, a job.
12:44He has everything to lose.
12:46And Greg knows, and Greg was supposedly leaking information to Chris's wife.
12:51What do you do if somebody's leaking information?
12:55You plug the leak.
12:57He wouldn't do that though.
12:59Is it worth covering up for somebody that doesn't really give a shit about you?
13:03It's just a piece of a**?
13:04Because if you want to look at his phone, you're just a piece of a**.
13:09Is it worth covering up for somebody like that?
13:12I'm not covering for him though.
13:14I think you are.
13:16If he did something, I don't know about it.
13:22That would be the stupidest thing that he could do.
13:24He, I, I'm not a**.
13:25You do stupid stuff when, when, when your world's about to come crashing down.
13:30I mean, it, we're human beings.
13:31That's the way we were at.
13:33If you did know Chris had done something, would you tell us?
13:37I mean, if I knew he hurt him, then yes.
13:42Because, I mean, that's my kid's dad.
13:46He's a**.
13:47But I, I wouldn't be okay with something like that.
13:52But GPS phone data also showed that after about 10 p.m. that night, the phones of Megan, Chris, and Greg were all traveling together.
14:01All signs pulled towards that y'all were together that night, the three of you.
14:08We were not together.
14:11Then what?
14:11Where's Greg?
14:12I don't know.
14:13I'm the one that called you guys.
14:15I knew something was wrong right away.
14:17I honestly thought he was going to be dead in his apartment from an OD.
14:21The more I talk to you puts more doubt in my mind.
14:24I mean.
14:25And it just, it's, it's very alarming.
14:28And if something happened that night and you're covering up for somebody.
14:32Then I'm going to go down too.
14:33But I'm not.
14:34I don't, I don't care.
14:35As they tracked the three phones that night, it appeared there was a stop at a Myrtle Beach funeral home, which operates a crematory.
14:47And the only explanation for that is.
14:49Is that I cremated him.
14:51I did not cremate him.
14:52I can't even run the machines.
14:53The explanation of that is something happened that we don't understand.
14:58Our fear was the body had been burned and ashes were dispersed.
15:02We wouldn't have had the evidence we needed to know that it was a murder case.
15:08There is no doubt in my mind that you and Chris have done something that has resulted in Greg's disappearance.
15:17A thousand percent.
15:18Like, there's no doubt in my mind.
15:21And all I'm going to do is end up working in order to prove, to find out what it was that you all have done.
15:26I mean, that's fine.
15:28No, it's.
15:29I tell you right now.
15:30You're not going to find anything.
15:31You know what?
15:32You can say that, but all three of us in this room know that that's not true.
15:36It had nothing to do with it.
15:38I didn't have anything to do with it.
15:41The only thing that I'm guilty of is f***ing somebody that's married.
15:47The case was at a standstill for another two weeks until the waters of the Little Pee Dee River would surface a grisly discovery.
15:55Greg was missing for seven weeks.
16:05There were some locals who would go to Pitts Landing and they would set catfish lines.
16:14As they were setting the lines, they smelled what you can never forget, the smell of a dead body.
16:23It was the body of Greg Rice, shot dead, wrapped in a tarp that had been weighed down with cinder blocks.
16:29They went to some stores around Horry County to see if they sold those items.
16:35And surveillance footage at one of the stores the day after Greg Rice was last seen alive told the story.
16:41You can very clearly see Christopher Dantel pushing his shopping cart into the self-checkout line and buying the exact items that Greg Rice's body was wrapped in.
16:51He had a murder dump kit in his shopping cart.
16:54Very clear.
16:55It was cinder blocks, zip ties, ratchet straps, and a tarp.
16:59That was a big break.
17:01It was pretty clear, I think, to law enforcement who had caused Greg Rice to disappear.
17:08Megan Jackson was brought in for a fourth time.
17:11So, we're back for round two, I guess we'll say.
17:19Round four?
17:20Well, all I want, Megan, is the truth.
17:24Okay?
17:24So, you want me to show you where Chris was at $2.55 on Saturday?
17:30Uh, sure.
17:36What is that?
17:36Some cinder blocks, a tarp, zip ties, ratchet strap.
17:47I'm going to show you where I was this past Saturday.
17:51I got called out at 2 o'clock in the morning.
17:53You know who that is?
18:04Is that Greg?
18:05That's Greg.
18:07And guess what he was wrapped in and sunk with in the river?
18:11The s*** Chris bought on the third.
18:12So, like I said earlier, either you're this f***ing horrible person that killed your kid's dad,
18:21or you just took Greg to go see Chris to have a conversation.
18:28Greg was in the river for a f***ing month.
18:31You got two, two choices.
18:43Explain to us what happened.
18:45I look like the horrible person who killed your kid's father.
18:51You got two choices.
18:52You just said you guys were together the entire night.
18:56I don't know what happened.
19:03Yes, you do, Megan.
19:04I don't know what happened.
19:06Greg's f***ing dead.
19:07Somebody f***ing killed him.
19:09Shut up.
19:09This ain't a f***ing Megan story.
19:13Chris is going to be charged with murder today.
19:18This is your time to get yourself out of it.
19:20Do you want to be charged with murder today, or do you want to tell us what happened?
19:27I don't know.
19:29You do know, Megan.
19:31Down the hall, another pair of detectives was questioning Chris Duntel, who asked for a lawyer.
19:37All right, Chris.
19:38I'm not going to ask you any questions.
19:42I'll explain everything to you here in just a few minutes.
19:45What I do want to do, though, is I'll leave these here with you.
19:53As you're shopping, you bought a ratchet strap, a tarp, some zip ties, and two cinder blocks.
20:00All right?
20:04And there's the body you threw over the bridge.
20:07Or at least threw on the river.
20:09Take his phone, take his wallet, if you understand.
20:15You're not leaving the building today.
20:16You're going to be going to Kenny Jail here shortly.
20:18Okay?
20:19Is there a warrant for my arrest, or am I a free person right now?
20:21No, you're not a free person.
20:22You're not a free person.
20:23Why not?
20:24Because you are being charged with a crime, Chris.
20:25That's why.
20:26I'll tell you what.
20:27Sir, is there a warrant for my arrest right now?
20:29You're going to be charged with murder, Chris.
20:30Am I free?
20:31You're not a free man.
20:32I've answered your question.
20:34You are not a free man.
20:35You were not a free man when you walked out of your house and told your one-year-old boy I love you.
20:41You're not a free man.
20:42You're going to jail, and that's it.
20:45Hey, I have a book plan.
20:46Can I speak with my lawyer?
20:47Let's speak with me.
20:54Chris, stand up, turn around.
20:56All right, Chris.
20:57You're under arrest for the murder of Greg Rice, all right?
20:59I'll see you later on.
21:01Detectives tried to get Megan to confess by telling her that Chris was already blaming her.
21:08Chris is in another part of the building telling the story.
21:12And you know what he just said?
21:14It was your f***ing plan.
21:16It was your plan to kill Greg.
21:18I didn't have any plan to kill Greg.
21:20Well, you look at it like this.
21:22Chris just lost his job.
21:24He's about to lose his family.
21:26So who do you think he's going to put it on?
21:28You.
21:28He can put it on me all he wants.
21:30I don't have a story to tell.
21:32You are clear on how this is going to end today, right?
21:34You're either honest, or you're taking a ride.
21:38You can give me that s*** look all you want.
21:41My next phone call is to Greg's family.
21:45To let them know that you and Chris dumped him in the damn river.
21:50I love my lawyer.
21:51You're under arrest for murder, mate.
21:53And I get a call from my lawyer, right?
21:55Nope.
21:56You said your s*** right in.
21:58But they still didn't know who had actually pulled the trigger, Megan or Chris.
22:04So, prosecutors decided to take Chris Dontel to trial first, believing he was most likely the one who actually killed Greg Rice.
22:13I was halfway out of my chair, about to stand up and give the opening statement in the case,
22:17when Christopher Dontel stood up and said he wanted to plead guilty.
22:20Mr. Dontel, you want to plead guilty here today?
22:22Is that correct?
22:22That was not an agreement he made with the state in advance.
22:26He simply stood up and pleaded guilty.
22:29The murder charge against Dontel was dropped.
22:32He pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder.
22:37It was a big moment for us when Christopher Dontel finally decided to tell us what exactly had happened to Greg Rice that night.
22:46According to Dontel, he and Megan Jackson had indeed driven to Greg Rice's apartment that night, and they saw him walking along the road.
22:54Christopher Dontel said that Megan asked him to drive past and then pull alongside Greg, and then she jumped out and shot him.
23:00And when detectives searched Megan's home, they found evidence of another possible motive, the treatment of her children, malnourished and often locked in their rooms.
23:12They actually ended up charging Megan Jackson with unlawful conduct toward a child based on the living conditions in the home.
23:19So I think Greg was extremely concerned for the welfare of the children and may have been exploring getting custody of them, which means that Megan Jackson would have had to pay him child support.
23:30And that's certainly not something that she wanted to do.
23:32And then a final surprising discovery about who had sent those anonymous messages to Dontel's wife about the affair with Megan.
23:40Phone records showed it was not Greg Rice.
23:43In reality, it was Megan Jackson who was sending anonymous texts exposing the fact that she had been sleeping with Chris Dontel and was, in fact, pregnant with his child.
23:54She had two goals in mind.
23:57Number one, to be rid of Greg Rice and also to destroy Chris Dontel's marriage.
24:04Now he would be the key witness against her.
24:13We're now turning to a case out of South Carolina.
24:17Opening statements are about to begin in the trial of Megan Jackson, charged in the murder of her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children, Greg Rice.
24:25All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to begin the opening statement.
24:28Megan is a small female, short, very petite, long hair.
24:33Anytime you have a female defendant that can look frail, not strong, you can worry about what a jury may think of this person.
24:48Could they be capable of this?
24:51One of Megan's former co-workers, Marilyn Wood, was in the courtroom every day.
24:56Just as her support system for her.
24:58She had no friends, family, everybody's abandoned her.
25:02She says she doesn't know what happened.
25:05And I said, well, either you or Chris killed Greg.
25:09And she goes, well, was it me?
25:11May I please the court, honor?
25:12Yes, ma'am.
25:14Good morning.
25:17This is a tale that's all this home.
25:21It's the story of an affair, a pregnancy, and a murder.
25:26And the victim of that murder is Gregory Rice, the father of her children.
25:32There's one person at the center of everything you're going to hear.
25:37And that person is Mayden Jackson.
25:40She's sitting right over there.
25:42Now, when you look at Mayden Jackson, you may think, she looks meek, mild.
25:47She's a small woman.
25:48But looks can be deceiving.
25:52And this defendant is certainly deceiving.
25:55She deceived Greg Rice.
25:57She deceived her co-defendant, Christopher Dontel.
26:00She deceived Christopher Dontel's wife, Erica Dontel.
26:04And she deceived law enforcement.
26:06Not only is she a master manipulator, she was literally in the business of death.
26:12And at the end of this case, if you believe that Christopher Dontel and Megan Jackson are responsible
26:21for the murder of Gregory Rice, then there's only one verdict, and that's guilty.
26:26I'll be honest with you, I thought she was going to say Donatella in there, because that's what it sounded like, right?
26:39At the end of all that, Donatella was the one in the hand.
26:43Megan Jackson had written Greg Rice off.
26:46She's done.
26:47Fifteen years gone.
26:49See ya.
26:50Bye.
26:50She's already done something.
26:51She didn't need to do anything with him anymore.
26:53But the deputy coroner, don't touch me, man.
26:59I'm a deputy coroner.
27:01He's got something to lose.
27:03That's motive.
27:04We have a chance in this courtroom, these halls of justice, to show that the presumption of innocence is paramount.
27:16It means that you don't convict somebody of a murder without a murder weapon.
27:25You don't convict somebody of a murder without any video of a crime or a shooting, any audio of the crime they're accused of.
27:35Or a 911 calls from an apartment complex of that evening with five shots.
27:42No 911 calls.
27:45Zero.
27:48Remember that she's innocent until proven guilty.
27:51Look at everything.
27:55Everything.
27:57And say, presumption of innocence means something.
27:58It does.
28:02And we will come back when I'm not guilty.
28:04State can call your first witness.
28:06Thank you, Your Honor.
28:07The state calls Savannah Rice.
28:09The prosecution's first witness was the daughter of Megan Jackson and Greg Rice, Savannah.
28:14She called us after Christopher Dontell pleaded guilty and said she really needed to see justice for her father and she wanted to testify against her mother.
28:25How would you describe your parents' relationship?
28:29It was not great at all.
28:31There was constant fighting.
28:34They were mean to each other.
28:35They were mean to the kids.
28:37Just they didn't, they weren't compatible.
28:39You didn't hear I love you very much throughout the house.
28:45At some point, did you come to know that your mother was having an affair with Christopher Dontell?
28:51Yes, but not at first.
28:52How did you find out about the affair?
28:56I had some friends over and it was quiet.
29:00We went downstairs and we heard them having sex in their bedroom and it just kept getting louder and louder.
29:07And the next day I asked her and she said, I thought you knew.
29:13Did your mother ever say anything about your father between the time that he went missing and the time that they found his body?
29:20Yes.
29:21Can you just tell us about that?
29:24Take a couple deep breaths and tell us about that.
29:26She had come home drunk one night and I was in the kitchen and my sister wasn't behaving and I told my mom and she started screaming and my sister was upstairs but then she looked at me and she said, I hope what happened to your dad happens to your sister.
29:48And I asked her and I asked her and I asked her, what do you mean?
29:50And she just wanted to say anything.
29:54And that was before they found her father's body.
29:56It took such strength for Savannah to get up there and testify against her mother for killing her father and Megan Jackson showed absolutely no emotion during that testimony.
30:29Was your case called for trial in December last year?
30:33of last year? Yes ma'am. What happened when it was called for trial? When it was called
30:41for trial I planned to accessory after the fact and conspiracy. Did you plead guilty to
30:50those charges because you are in fact guilty of those charges? Yes. At some point did you
31:00and the defendant begin a sexual relationship? Yes. How did that begin? She said have you
31:06ever cheated on your wife? I said no. She said well you're about to. Dantel said after dinner
31:18that night at a local restaurant Megan told him she had to go see Greg. And I saw Greg on
31:25the left side of the road walking towards us. I was stopping right next to him and she said
31:30pull up don't be awkward. So I said pull up she said yeah pull up. So I pulled up so that
31:39we had passed him. What happened next? She opened the door and shot him. How many shots did you
31:51hear? A lot. What did you do? I froze. Did the defendant say he came to you at that point? Yeah she said
32:08what are you doing help me help me cursing at me help me. So what did you do? She said put it in the
32:16back of the van. So I opened the back of the van and we started treating him just as we would treat
32:24any other body. And we got in the van and I hightailed it out of there. Dantel said they stored the body
32:36overnight at the Myrtle Beach funeral home as if it were an official coroner's action. She told me
32:42that if I ever told anybody it would happen she would kill me. And that we have to be in this
32:52together. So did you agree to dispose of her body? Not at first. I heard her say you know do this or do
33:01that or I'm going to kill you. I had just watched her kill the father of a kid. I'm going to take it
33:11serious. So did you in fact dispose of her body? I did. So I went and I just started buying things that
33:24I thought might be useful. And it makes me sick to even tell this story. I'm sorry. I knew that the
33:34Pee Dee River was out on the county line. And it took about 10 seconds to put them in the water.
33:44What did you do after that? Went back to the defendant's house.
33:47Was there any conversation at that point about getting rid of it? Had you done that?
33:57I came in and she smiled at me and said did you do what you needed to do?
34:07I said yes. And she said good boy.
34:09I don't have any further questions at this time. I believe Mr. Tommy Burton may have some questions
34:15for you. Across the generation. You're the kind of man that will lie and betray an own wife.
34:24Is that true? I did for a period of time, yes.
34:29Well, let's just say, how many times do you have sex? I don't know.
34:33Too many to count, right? I suppose so.
34:36You blame Megan Jackson for having oral sex for you and all that kind of thing. Do you blame her?
34:45I don't blame Megan Jackson for that. No, sir. I blame myself.
34:49Okay. But even after the way you described the events of that night, through your tears,
34:59you were still having sex with Megan Jackson, afterwards.
35:02Correct. For a period, yes.
35:06Okay. That's adultery. You were committing adultery, right?
35:10Right.
35:10So you finally decided to tell the truth today, huh?
35:13I decided to tell the truth once I had protection from your client,
35:19once my family was protected from her and her threats.
35:22Your testimony is you don't have anything to do with the shooting.
35:28You didn't know it's going to happen, right?
35:31That's correct. I did not know the shooting was going to happen.
35:34You don't expect this jury to believe that you were scared of that woman to such an extent
35:40that you wouldn't report what you consider to be telling us it's her misconduct.
35:47I-
35:47What was the question?
35:51Are you scared? You said you did think wrong,
35:53but you scared of that woman sitting over there?
35:55Absolutely.
35:57My question is, as a county officer, why don't you take matters into your own hand
36:01and report her and see that justice was served over her?
36:05I've answered this question twice already and the answer is because she told me she would kill me
36:12and I had seen her kill the father of her kids and I believed that she would kill me as well.
36:19Nothing except your fear of that little woman there prevented you from reporting these incidents
36:28against the police. To the police. True or false? That's true.
36:43Have you made a decision as to whether or not you wish to testify in this case?
36:46Yes, sir. Do you wish to testify in this case?
36:49No. All right, and is this your decision?
36:52Yes, sir. All right. Will the defense be putting up any other witnesses or any other
36:57It kind of surprised me that she didn't testify, just because I think she's enough of a narcissist
37:05to think she could have gotten away with it and garnered some sympathy.
37:08Ladies and gentlemen, the defense has rested their case, but now is the time of the trial
37:13where the attorneys will make their closing arguments.
37:16All right, state wish to close.
37:17May I please the court?
37:18Yes, ma'am.
37:20This is a tale as old as time, as you were told in The Infinite.
37:24It involved an affair, a pregnancy, and a murder.
37:30But there was a fourth aspect of this case that is equally as important, and that's the subject.
37:37The defendant was the center of the affair, certainly the pregnancy, and most definitely the murder.
37:44She began to spin her web of lies because she wanted to destroy the Dantel's marriage.
37:51But she also wanted to get rid of Greg.
37:54And so she started to frame him for revealing information about the affair.
38:02What it is up to you to decide is, is the defendant guilty of the murder?
38:07Certainly, by Mr. Dantel's testimony, she is.
38:10If you have any hesitation about that, then South Carolina has hand of one, hand of all, which says that it doesn't matter.
38:21Two people can be guilty of killing another when only one of them has a gun and only one of them fires a shot.
38:27Now, the defendant is the only one who benefited from Greg's murder.
38:32It is your job to end the defendant's continued deception and speak the truth and convictor of murder.
38:43Thank you, Your Honor.
38:47Good morning.
38:54Now, what you're looking for in this case is a reason to hesitate.
38:59And in this case, there are many reasons to hesitate.
39:05How about the first one?
39:06Every word that was just uttered to you would have been used in a trial to try to convict Chris Dantel of murder.
39:18Now, all of a sudden, he's an eyewitness to it.
39:20If that doesn't tell you, give you a reason to hesitate, I don't know what else could.
39:24He's about himself.
39:25That's the reason he's pushing Megan.
39:28And that's the reason he killed Greg Rice, because he is about himself.
39:33You can piece it all together, but when you get right down to it, you're always going to have to come back to trusting Chris Dantel.
39:41And that's the one thing the state didn't want you to have to do, but they could never get around that.
39:47He sat up here and told you he disposed the body in some kind of favor?
39:51You can't mind that.
39:53You can't.
39:55You know what?
39:55He did a lot.
39:56I called him Chris Dantel, full of lies and cries.
39:59I'll tell you one, he wasn't crying.
40:01He wasn't crying when he was shopping.
40:04Just grabbing cinder blocks and parks.
40:07But just ask yourself at the end of the day, do you trust Chris Dantel?
40:11Because the only way you can predict her is if you trust that man.
40:14I don't think you can.
40:17The jury was out for about an hour and a half or two hours, so relatively quick verdict.
40:23I understand the jury's reached verdict.
40:25Is that correct?
40:27All right.
40:28If I ask the clerk, if you would please pose the verdict.
40:32The state of South Carolina, the county of O'Ree versus Megan Marie Jackson.
40:36As to the charge of murder, will the jury, by unanimous consent, find this defendant guilty?
40:46That was the one time she showed emotion.
40:51It was kind of like, oh God, I got caught.
40:53They realized what I did.
40:54So she finally showed emotion.
40:57Chris Dantel was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Megan Jackson faced between 50 years and life.
41:04Jackson, anything you want to say?
41:07Does anybody want to speak on your behalf?
41:12Your Honor, she wishes I'd speak.
41:14All right.
41:15Your Honor, might I have Miss Savannah Rice come up?
41:19But Savannah couldn't do it.
41:25Your Honor, she's understandably emotional.
41:27She says, this crime has torn apart my family, others' families, and friends beyond any measure.
41:34Not only from the loss of my father, but the loss of a mother, too.
41:38The loss of our lives.
41:40We have been waiting so many years for just a bit of closure, and this is it.
41:43I finally got to say what has been sitting in my brain the last four and a half years.
41:48It was a relief finally being able to tell the truth, and it go towards a cost.
41:52I believe that 50 years to life would be a sufficient amount of time.
41:56I thank you for your time, for listening to what I had to say.
42:03Your Honor, the state is asking for the maximum term of life imprisonment.
42:06We believe that there is clear evidence that this defendant not only plotted and planned this murder,
42:12but also tried to frame the victim for things that she was doing.
42:16We believe that there is nothing short of life imprisonment that would address this crime.
42:22All right, Ms. Jackson, you have been found guilty of murder by a jury of peers, a sentence
42:28of the court, I believe it's a state.
42:31A sentence of the court would urge you to be committed to the Department of Corrections
42:35for the remainder of your life.
42:38Life in prison, and that's no parole in South Carolina.
42:41She will be in prison until the day that she dies.
42:44Justice has been done, but you can never fully achieve justice for someone who's been killed.
42:53He was robbed of his life with his children, who he loved.
42:57He was so devoted to them.
42:59And you certainly can't achieve justice for those four children.
43:02They lost both parents in the worst possible way.
43:04Justice has been done.
43:05Justice has been done.
43:06Justice has been done.
43:07Justice has been done.
43:08Justice has been done.
43:09Justice has been done.
43:10Justice has been done.
43:11Justice has been done.
43:12Justice has been done.
43:13Justice has been done.
43:14Justice has been done.
43:15Justice has been done.
43:16Justice has been done.
43:17Justice has been done.
43:18Justice has been done.
43:19Justice has been done.
43:20Justice has been done.
43:21Justice has been done.
43:22Justice has been done.
43:23Justice has been done.
43:24Justice has been done.
43:25Justice has been done.
43:26Justice has been done.
43:27Justice has been done.
43:28Justice has been done.
43:29Justice has been done.
43:30Justice has been done.
43:31Justice has been done.
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