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00:05A fatal fall in the shower a woman's life cut short in an instant sitting there
00:18talking to me two days earlier and now she's dead it was so sad and shocking
00:26was it truly a tragic accident he claims that he goes into the bathroom and there she is lying
00:33on the floor bleeding with a massive head wound or murder looking at it as a forensic pathologist
00:40she had head trauma and it was not consistent with an accident this starts to raise some serious
01:03questions
01:04Leslie Newlander was born in the early 1950s and grew up on Long Island New York before later
01:11moving north to Syracuse former local chief medical examiner Mary Jambelic met Leslie shortly
01:19after she moved to the same neighborhood Leslie Newlander is a prominent woman in the community
01:24here in Syracuse and our social circles and business circles over overlapped she belonged
01:33to the same synagogue that my family belonged to and we would see each other at holiday
01:39events and other community fundraising events in town
01:45Leslie was a devoted philanthropist and she donated her time to causes like the Jewish Community
01:51Foundation Syracuse University and loads of other charities
01:56it was always a joy to see her because she had such a bubbly and kind personality she just had
02:03a way
02:04about her of making you laugh and feel at ease and I always admired that about her
02:11in 1983 Leslie had married prominent local obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Robert Newlander
02:20people looked up to him greatly in the in the medical world and she had been a critical care nurse
02:26but had
02:27given up her career to raise her children Bob had been married previously and had two children from
02:34that marriage and so she helped to raise those children as well and had a very full full life
02:45but on the morning of September 17th 2012 a distressing call was made from the Newlander family home to
02:53emergency services on the other line was Leslie's 23 year old daughter
02:59when I was your emergency okay my mother I don't know if she's breathing but she's laying on the
03:05ground in the shower okay okay so you don't know if she's breathing I don't know if she's is she
03:11unconscious I'm not I don't know I don't know is she awake she's I don't think she's awake can you
03:16go
03:16to her now and stand the phone with me come on are you okay um yes stand the phone okay
03:24I need to put you
03:25on hold on hold I'm not I it's like a house fall oh my god he just went everywhere you
03:35please move
03:35me we're going to get somebody started ma'am ma'am oh my god oh my god there's another
04:09response is arrived at just minutes later at 8 27 but unusually they found Leslie not
04:16in the bathroom but in the bedroom and Robert was kneeling down near her body covered in blood
04:22with his daughter just screaming in distress Robert told paramedics that his wife had slipped and fallen in
04:31the shower the first police officer arrived five minutes later they secured the scene and followed
04:42the trail of blood from the bathroom to the bedroom where the first responders were working on Leslie's
04:51body giving her CPR despite their best efforts she was pronounced dead at the scene at 8 42 a.m
05:07shortly after Leslie was pronounced dead the police went into the bathroom
05:13they found the shower still running
05:18and in the bedroom there was blood everywhere
05:24and a trail running in the corridor between the bedroom and the bathroom
05:32Robert explained that he had moved Leslie from the bathroom where she had fallen into the bedroom
05:38because he said it was easier and more comfortable for me to perform CPR on her there
05:44the movements that Robert said he made checked out with the patterns of blood that the police
05:49found at the scene this theory was actually backed up on the 911 call where we can hear his daughter
05:55pleading with Robert not to move her mom's body
06:05one of the next to arrive at the scene was the medical examiner Dr. Robert Stoppiker
06:11Dr. Stoppiker spoke very briefly to some of the officers but he was advised that she had slipped and fallen
06:17in the shower
06:19she had a massive wound to the right side of her scalp
06:24it was probably about six inches long maybe an inch wide
06:32and based on that preliminary examination he looked at it and said yeah this this head wound is consistent
06:37where they slip and fall in the shower
06:43in the shower itself there was a stone bench
06:47if one were to hit their head with sufficient force it could cause a serious injury
06:57on the same afternoon Dr. Robert Stoppiker conducted an autopsy on Leslie's body
07:03he found that she'd had bleeding to the brain
07:07the skull had been shattered in so many places and she also had bruising to her internal organs
07:13taking into account Robert's version of events Dr. Stoppiker ruled that Leslie had died
07:19from an accident blunt force trauma due to a fall
07:22and that she'd slipped in the shower and banged her head on the stone counter
07:32news of Leslie's tragic death began to spread through the Newlanders close-knit community
07:39I had just arrived home from Europe where I had been hospitalized and near death myself from a small fall
07:47and subsequent infection and so two days later when I'm sitting in my recliner still recovering
07:57my son with me he saw a post on Facebook that was suggestive that Leslie had died
08:07and so then there were a lot of phone calls that went around and so finally I got a hold
08:12of my husband
08:13and he said yes it's true you know she fell in the shower and she's dead
08:22I felt shocked because she had just been in the home two days earlier and now she's dead
08:30it was so sad it was so sad and shocking but I just accepted that that is what happened
08:45although Leslie Newlander's sudden death at her home had been ruled an accident following a fall in the shower
08:53police followed standard protocol in cases of sudden death by opening an investigation
08:59which would come to the attention of Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick
09:05I was advised that Leslie Newlander had slipped and fell in the shower struck her head and died
09:14and that's unusual for a healthy 60 year old but not unheard of
09:21there's probably 2,500 people a year in the United States on average die due to bathroom accidents
09:29most of them elderly people caused by heart attacks but there wasn't anything reported to me that
09:35indicated this was suspicious and you know the case just kind of sat in limbo
09:42while the police carried out their investigation friends rallied around the Newlander family
09:49after Leslie died and the next night my husband went to the home to visit
09:57Bob stayed in his room he didn't really come out so my husband just talked with the kids
10:02and the rabbi was there and they just had a conversation
10:08when he returned he said it was a little awkward that the kids seemed uncomfortable when he would bring
10:16up how close their parents were and how sad this was and I just attributed that to grief
10:27on September 20th 2012 three days after Leslie's death friends and family gathered for her funeral
10:35through the days that followed Leslie's death including at the funeral at other social gatherings where her
10:45name would come up that the details were not clear
10:53the only consistent story was Leslie fell in the shower
11:02and that is pretty much what everyone knew
11:12while friends and family tried to move on from Leslie's tragic passing police continued to look into the
11:19circumstances surrounding her death although the medical examiner had ruled Leslie's death as an
11:26accident the police still carried on their investigation and they now wanted to talk to
11:31their daughter about what she had seen that day
11:48meanwhile following her illness Mary tried to return to normal life mark and I decided we would have a
11:55thanksgiving party to thank my friends for being helpful during my recuperation
12:01a friend of mine approached me at the party and said she had information that a close friend of Leslie
12:12had
12:12concerns about her death she said please will you talk with her and so I agreed to do it
12:26the friend had a lot to say about Bob's infidelity about Bob's financial problems his behavior on the day of
12:35Leslie's death the friend talked about how she was sure that Bob killed Leslie and I was a bit stunned
12:46from my
12:47so from my perspective as a medical examiner it didn't carry the weight of actual evidence or forensic data after
12:59she finishes her story I say well why don't you go to the police and give them your statement
13:11so she called me afterward and said thank you for telling me to go they're going to bring Bob back
13:19in for questioning I heard he already has a lawyer and while she's telling me this I'm thinking how odd
13:26is that
13:28if this was just a cold piece of information there's no way they would be saying
13:33there's no way they would be saying to her we're going to bring Bob back in for questioning and telling
13:37her about the lawyer and so I thought wow they there's something already going on
13:46and a few hours later Bob called the house
13:52Mark took the call they chat for a moment or two and he gets off the phone with Bob and
13:59says well good for him he's going to Israel and now I'm sitting there thinking oh gosh I think he
14:09will just go to Israel and not come back
14:18it set off a red flag for me because I was looking at those two pieces of information and and
14:25they were highly concerning he's supposed to give another statement to police he's leaving the country and why do the
14:34police want another statement the fact that the police were grateful the friend came in and provided her own
14:43observations meant that the police are still concerned about this case so I became concerned at that point
14:53unbeknownst to Mary the district attorney's office was about to reopen the investigation into Leslie's death
15:02initial reports were that this was a slip and fall accident
15:07and there wasn't anything that was brought to my attention initially that indicated that this was a homicide worth looking
15:14into and then came an anonymous letter to my office that piqued my interest
15:23it focused on the financial aspects of the new landers the fact that they were living in separate bedrooms not
15:32only pointed that out but pointed out that Leslie was going to sign a lease arrangement that day which is
15:39something that I certainly was not aware of
15:41whoever whoever he or she was was concerned that Newlander had a serious financial motive to kill Leslie
15:50now he or she might not have said that in such overt terms but that was the clear import of
15:56the letter that this was not an accident that this was a homicide that kind of spurred a renewed interest
16:02certainly by me and considering bringing in Mr. Newlander for a further interview
16:10just as the district attorney resumed the investigation into Leslie's death
16:15Leslie's friend and former medical examiner Mary Jambelic got in touch
16:20I had worked for years with William Fitzpatrick and even though I hadn't spoken to him probably at that point
16:28in you know four years
16:30I called him because I just wanted to alert him that someone the police is looking at is going to
16:37leave the country
16:40I telephoned Fitz and I said I was calling about a friend of mine before I could say anything further
16:48he said Leslie London Newlander
16:53it was a good guess on my part I did not know why Mary was calling me I did not
16:58know that she was very close to Bob and Leslie
17:01I hadn't really seen everything at that point because we were still in the embryonic stages of recharging this homicide
17:10investigation
17:11but the the crucial thing that I said to Mary was would you look at the file
17:21I realized that something about the cause and the manner of death were not settled
17:28only thing I knew was that Leslie had fallen in the shower
17:33I didn't know what her injuries were I didn't know if she had a heart attack
17:38I didn't know anything but I had a drive to try to help and answer the questions
17:46that is what I spent my life doing looking at the dead and speaking for them and trying to understand
17:53what happened to them
17:54and so then I said yes I'll look at the file
18:00that's when things really took off and it became a full-throttled homicide investigation
18:12following an anonymous tip-off district attorney William Fitzpatrick had reopened the investigation into Leslie's death
18:22had she slipped and fallen in the shower as her husband Bob claimed or had she been murdered
18:29hoping for a second opinion William sent the case file to former medical examiner Mary Jambelic
18:37I focused really quickly on Leslie herself
18:42because that is my area of expertise the examination of the deceased
18:47and so I focused on her body position
18:51the wounds I could see what I could see at the scene
18:54and all the details that I could learn from the autopsy
18:58the photographs were very graphic
19:05it was shocking to see my friend in the photographs
19:09but even more shocking to see the trauma to her body
19:14Leslie's right side of her head was bleeding extensively with a massive open wound there
19:21and the skull was caved in partly
19:27looking like two blows to the head at least
19:31and in addition to that she had injuries on her face and on her neck
19:36she had bruising on her arms
19:39she had injuries on her fingers with bruising
19:42the type of wound that she had
19:45the amount of fracturing of the skull
19:48and the other injuries that are present on the body
19:54all point to inflicted injury
19:57as opposed to just tripping and falling
20:03but other details documented at the scene of Leslie's death
20:07also raise questions about Bob's story
20:10she was laying on the floor of her bedroom
20:14face up
20:15and had been scooched into an area between the end table and the bed
20:21so not a really ideal position for CPR
20:25while a physician would choose to carry an injured person
20:29who potentially could have a neck injury
20:3260 feet to perform CPR
20:36certainly it's suggestive of a concern
20:41but in addition to that
20:43there were blood trails going all the way from the bed to the shower
20:49and not much per se in the shower itself
20:53even though that was the purported area of the fall
20:57the manner of death
21:00being called an accident
21:01didn't capture what really happened to Leslie
21:04that she had head trauma
21:06certainly
21:07but was not consistent with a fall
21:12she had been struck in the head
21:14and it was a homicide
21:18Mary took her findings to William
21:20and he requested a search warrant for the Newlander's home
21:25around six months after Leslie's death
21:27Mary, William and forensic pathologist Dr. Barden
21:31visited the house
21:33which they were now viewing as a crime scene
21:36the house had been sold
21:38but the new owners hadn't moved in yet
21:40and the second floor was still untouched
21:43and we wanted to focus on the area in the bedroom
21:48where Dr. Newlander claims he took Leslie
21:51after he removed her body from the shower
21:54most of the blood on the wall had been cleaned away
21:57but several things of incredible importance remained
22:03so we ripped up the carpet
22:05and there's a little rubber undercarriage to the carpet
22:08that was completely soaked with blood
22:11and then when we lifted that up
22:13the floorboard
22:16completely soaked with blood
22:17should have been a minimal amount of blood
22:19because she had no pulse
22:21in fact
22:22there was a massive amount of blood
22:25completely inconsistent with his story
22:28what that indicates to me
22:30is that while she's alive
22:31and has a pulse and is bleeding
22:34her head is somewhere in that vicinity
22:38the other amazing thing that we were able to get
22:41from that examination was the headboard
22:45now it is very very difficult to see
22:48any physical evidence on the board
22:50because it's a cloth like material
22:52and it's very very dark
22:54and then when we examined that
22:58there were several dozen blood spatters from Leslie
23:07the new evidence discovered at the Newlanders home
23:10was sent away for forensic analysis
23:14I knew Leslie's death wasn't an accident
23:16when I looked at the pictures of her body
23:20the scene was corroborative with the findings there
23:24this is a homicide
23:25this is not a fall from standing height accident
23:31six months after Leslie's death
23:33her case was now a full blown murder investigation
23:37but her death certificate remained an issue
23:40it would be very difficult
23:42to ask a jury to convict someone
23:44beyond a reasonable doubt of a homicide
23:47when your medical examiner says
23:49hold on she died as a result of an accident
23:52William and Mary presented their findings
23:55to the medical examiner Dr. Stoppiker
23:58to ask if he would reconsider the manner of Leslie's death
24:02we discussed our difference of opinion
24:04and discussed the science behind it
24:07and talked about wounding patterns
24:09and what happens to the brain
24:10in a fall versus blows to the head
24:14and at the end of that
24:16I think the medical examiner felt they needed more
24:18they needed more information
24:20they needed more opinion
24:22in order to budge from the concept of the fall
24:27so we decided that the expertise of a neuropathologist
24:33and particularly a forensic neuropathologist
24:38would be useful to elucidate this difference of opinion
24:49in December 2013
24:51while William awaited the forensic neuropathologist report
24:55he approached Bob's lawyer with a request for a formal interview
24:59Robert said that he had nothing to hide
25:02so he voluntarily sat down for an interview
25:05with officers and the district attorney
25:09we're going to talk about the events regarding the death of your wife
25:13September 17, 2012
25:15we're going to also talk about your relationship with your late wife
25:18during the questioning
25:20he admitted that there was difficulty in their marriage
25:23but you were sleeping separately
25:25okay what was the reason for that?
25:45William soon turned his questioning to the day that Leslie died
25:49he says that he got up that morning
25:51that he went jogging
25:53he came back
25:54prepared a cup of coffee for his wife
25:57you take it to Leslie in her bedroom
26:00yes, I take it to her
26:01okay
26:02tell us what happens when you're going to her bedroom
26:05the shower is on
26:07I hear the water running
26:08and I place it on the nightstand
26:13he cleaned up from jogging
26:15then began to make a small breakfast
26:18then goes back upstairs
26:19the shower is still running
26:21now she's been in there
26:24according to him
26:25at least 35 minutes
26:27at that point
26:28he claims that he goes into the bathroom
26:30to see if she's okay
26:32so when you get up to that door, doctor
26:34tell us what you're doing
26:35well again, I knock on the door
26:37glass door
26:38right there
26:39call out
26:39you're right there
26:43still be here
26:44still be here
26:44it's nice
26:45okay
26:46and what did you do then?
26:48I opened the door
26:51to obviously
26:52see if she's
26:53you know
26:54just forgetting
26:54time
26:56that's something she did
26:57and
27:00she was laying on the floor
27:02and did you see any signs of blood?
27:30this is a doctor of 30 years
27:33what's the first thing you would do
27:35if you had never even seen
27:37a medical school
27:38there's a phone
27:39five feet away from them
27:41on the counter of the bathroom sink
27:42pick up the phone
27:44call 9-1-1
27:45instead
27:46he leaves her there
27:48he does a cursory check
27:50to see if she's alive
27:51claims that she's breathing
27:52goes
27:54about 90 feet further into the house
27:56to get his daughter
27:57to call 9-1-1
28:00Bob claimed
28:02he then carried Leslie
28:03from the bathroom
28:04into the bedroom
28:05to continue CPR
28:06I then
28:07simply
28:08slid over
28:09to him
28:10a
28:11a number of photographs
28:15and said
28:16Dr. Newlander
28:18can
28:18can you explain this?
28:20can you explain the blood?
28:21and he looked at me
28:22and he said
28:23no I can't
28:26despite Bob's calm
28:28matter-of-fact account
28:29of the events surrounding
28:30Leslie's death
28:31William wasn't convinced
28:33by his story
28:35my theory
28:36that he attacked her
28:37in the bedroom
28:38and left her probably
28:39to die
28:41on the floor
28:42while he's trying
28:43to figure out
28:43what to do
28:46this is not a
28:47premeditated crime
28:49he did not plot this out
28:53this was a rage homicide
28:55something snapped
28:58they argued about something
28:59whatever it was
29:00it set him off
29:01and then he's faced
29:03with an opportunity
29:04now
29:04what do I do?
29:06the only thing
29:07I can say
29:07to describe that wound
29:09is that she fell
29:10in the shower
29:15but if Bob had
29:17murdered Leslie
29:17in the bedroom
29:18the one thing
29:19that didn't add up
29:20was why the bed sheets
29:22weren't covered
29:22in blood
29:25before questioning Bob
29:27police had interviewed
29:28the Newlander's housekeeper
29:31the housekeeper says
29:33I changed the sheets
29:34on Friday
29:35and Leslie was killed
29:38on a Monday
29:39she looks at the photos
29:40and says
29:41those are not the sheets
29:42that I put on
29:43the bed
29:44on Friday
29:47and she says
29:48by the way
29:49there's a pillow missing
29:50there's only three pillows
29:51there
29:54so when he was asked
29:56about the pillows
29:57oh
29:58uh
29:59we didn't have a pillow
30:00in a guest room
30:01and we needed a pillow
30:02for that
30:03who
30:04who was that
30:05for
30:06well people were coming over
30:08oh
30:08yeah people were coming over
30:10after she was dead
30:11the pillow was missing
30:12before she was dead
30:13doc
30:13what are you talking about
30:16there's no question
30:17in my mind
30:17that the original sheets
30:18that she left on that bed
30:20Friday
30:20were on that bed
30:21Monday morning
30:23when Leslie was assaulted
30:25and then soaked with blood
30:27he removed the sheets
30:29removed the pillow
30:30that probably had blood
30:31on it as well
30:32removed the murder weapon
30:33and then while he went
30:35for his supposed jog
30:36he was actually going out
30:37to dispose
30:38of those items
30:44with missing bed sheets
30:45and no murder weapon
30:47investigators
30:48couldn't determine
30:49what had been used
30:50to kill Leslie
30:51and with her death
30:52still ruled accidental
30:54police remained unable
30:55to charge Bob
30:56with her murder
30:58then
30:5918 months
31:00after Leslie's death
31:01came the news
31:03came the news
31:03they'd been waiting for
31:04the neuropathology report
31:06and evaluation
31:07of the brain
31:08indicated it was
31:10inflicted injury
31:11allowed the medical examiner
31:13to be able to change
31:15the death certificate
31:16to homicide
31:20the size of the wound
31:22combined with the discovery
31:23of distinctive bruising
31:25on the opposite side
31:26of Leslie's brain
31:27was consistent with being hit
31:29by an object
31:30not with a fall
31:32from standing height
31:34based on the accumulation
31:35of evidence
31:36Dr. Stoppaker changed
31:38not the cause of death
31:39but the manner of death
31:41cause of death
31:41was still a massive blow
31:43to the head
31:43but the manner of death
31:45was now listed
31:45as homicide
31:47that was it
31:48there were no more avenues
31:50of escape for Dr. Newlander
31:57being charged
31:57with second degree murder
31:59and tampering
31:59with physical evidence
32:08On March 16th, 2015
32:11two and a half years
32:12after Leslie Newlander
32:14was found dead
32:14at her home
32:15in Syracuse, New York
32:16her husband
32:18Dr. Robert Newlander
32:19went on trial
32:20for her murder
32:22Big trials are part theatre
32:24and no one knew that better
32:27than Bob Newlander
32:28Every day
32:30we would watch this litany
32:32of him walking down
32:34the courthouse hallway
32:36and he'd have his daughter
32:38his son
32:39or in some instances
32:42Leslie's sister
32:43consoling him
32:44as he walked
32:47It might look unusual
32:49that the family
32:50of the victim
32:51are seemingly siding
32:53with the accused perpetrator
32:54but you've got to remember
32:55at this time
32:56the family do not have
32:58all the evidence
32:59that Mary has
33:00or that the DA office have
33:01they have not been subject
33:03to all of that information yet
33:04and so at the moment
33:06naturally a family
33:08going through a traumatic period
33:09are rallying together
33:12You've also got to remember
33:13from the perspective
33:14of the children
33:15they've just lost their mother
33:16in really traumatic circumstances
33:18and if they believe
33:20that their father did this
33:22they're also in a way
33:23losing their father
33:24so you can understand
33:25why people group together
33:27in this moment
33:28because they're just
33:29trying to protect
33:29the little sort of
33:31normality
33:32of their family unit
33:35The prosecution argued
33:37that Leslie's death
33:38was no bathroom accident
33:40instead
33:41that she was murdered
33:42in the bedroom
33:43by her husband
33:44as proven
33:46as proven
33:46by forensic evidence
33:47There's blood spatter
33:49on the wall
33:50and on the ceiling
33:51from an object
33:53being struck
33:54on Leslie's head
33:56and then
33:56when it comes back
33:58for another strike
33:59it gets cast off
34:01on the wall
34:02and the ceiling
34:02There are blood droplets
34:04on the lampshade
34:06on the clock radio
34:08on family photos
34:10on the headboard
34:11on the blinds
34:13to say nothing
34:14of the blood
34:15in the bathroom
34:21Here's the explanation
34:22they come up with
34:23So he went out for a jog
34:25came home
34:27showered up
34:28put his pajamas on
34:30and then
34:31put another pajama top on
34:33for some reason
34:35and when he was carrying Leslie
34:38that top
34:39became saturated
34:41with blood
34:44He took the shirt off
34:46because it was uncomfortable
34:48for him
34:48and this blood
34:50cast off
34:51and spattered
34:52at various points
34:55throughout the bedroom
34:58Secondarily,
34:59when the EMTs got there
35:01as they removed their gloves
35:04they removed them
35:05slingshot fashion
35:07and that
35:09spattered a lot of blood
35:10throughout
35:11as well
35:13Now there's two
35:14significant difficulties
35:15with both of those explanations
35:17Number one
35:18no one saw him
35:20with a second shirt
35:21The second thing is
35:23that the EMTs
35:23were all very professional
35:25and they are trained
35:26on how to remove a glove
35:28to avoid exactly
35:29this type of issue
35:30In addition to that
35:31they also indicated
35:32we hardly had anybody
35:33blood on our gloves
35:34that we noticed
35:35because she wasn't bleeding
35:39The prosecution also argued
35:42that Leslie's head injuries
35:43were not caused
35:44by an impact
35:45in the shower
35:46as Bob had claimed
35:47On the right side
35:49of the head
35:50the skull injury
35:52is caved in
35:53partly
35:54in a pattern
35:56that is not consistent
35:57with hitting the edge
35:58of a marble bench
36:00In addition
36:01it appears
36:02there's two blows
36:03on that side
36:04of the head
36:06so
36:07both of those things
36:08don't line up
36:10with the stone bench theory
36:12If you leave aside
36:13the medical evidence
36:14the blood spatter
36:15I thought
36:16the most significant part
36:18was calling the daughter
36:20to the stand
36:24the daughter was called
36:25as a witness
36:26and the 9-1-1 call
36:28was played
36:29in the courtroom
36:31Ma'am?
36:32Oh my God!
36:33Oh my God!
36:35Oh my God!
36:35My mother!
36:39What was chilling
36:40in the courtroom
36:41was
36:42that
36:43the family
36:44is there
36:45listening
36:46to
36:47the daughter's
36:489-1-1 call
36:49and
36:50it's
36:51just
36:52heartbreaking
36:53because you can
36:54feel the pain
36:55that
36:56the daughter feels
36:58when she first
36:59sees her mother
37:01being carried
37:03by her father
37:04and
37:06the terror
37:07in her voice
37:08the sadness
37:09the angst
37:15The problem was
37:17her perception
37:18of events
37:18just didn't
37:19stack up to the facts
37:22One of the most
37:23crucial pieces
37:24of evidence
37:24for the prosecution
37:25was the moment
37:27Leslie's daughter
37:28placed the 9-1-1 call
37:29on hold
37:30leaving her mother's office
37:32to head toward
37:33the bathroom
37:33where she claimed
37:35Leslie was lying
37:36Stand the phone
37:37okay?
37:38I need to put you
37:38on hold
37:39It's like a house phone
37:42When quizzed
37:44about the 12-second gap
37:45between switching phones
37:46her story
37:48fell apart
37:49Her story
37:50had changed
37:51significantly
37:52at trial
37:53in this
37:54very, very important
37:56regard
37:56Yes
37:57I went into the room
37:59with a bidet
38:00in the toilet
38:00and I picked up the phone
38:03but it wasn't working
38:04so I dropped
38:05that phone
38:06I then assisted
38:08my father
38:09in removing
38:10my mother
38:11from the shower
38:12We then took her
38:14a couple of feet
38:14We laid her down
38:16outside of the bathroom
38:17my dad began
38:19to perform
38:20CPR
38:22It didn't seem
38:23to be successful
38:24so we
38:25moved her again
38:27further into the bedroom
38:29and dropped her
38:30just short of the bed
38:31I then went
38:33remembering that
38:34the 9-1-1 operator
38:35was still on hold
38:36I picked up the phone
38:38and I don't remember
38:39what I said
38:40but I can hear the tape
38:41and I understand that
38:42none of that
38:44is remotely possible
38:47You cannot do
38:48everything
38:49that she claims
38:50that she did
38:51in 12 seconds
38:54which was the
38:55amount of time
38:56between
38:56the 9-1-1 operator
38:58being put on hold
39:02and the
39:03oh my god
39:04there's blood everywhere
39:05resumption
39:06of that call
39:07It would have taken
39:09conservatively
39:10a minute
39:11to do everything
39:12that she claims
39:13that she did do
39:14in that 12 seconds
39:16Her statement
39:17has some really
39:18contradictory points
39:19that evidence
39:20can prove
39:21are false
39:22but you also
39:23have to remember
39:23that she has witnessed
39:24something really traumatic
39:26you know, her mother dying
39:27in heinous circumstances
39:29and so trauma
39:30can do really
39:31strange things
39:32to a person's memory
39:33so it might not be
39:34that she's intentionally
39:35misleading
39:36or proposing
39:38false information
39:38it might just be
39:39that actually
39:40she can't remember
39:42exact details
39:43After she testified
39:44the case was done
39:51After two weeks
39:53of hearing evidence
39:54the jury retired
39:55to deliberate
39:57The worst part
39:58of a trial
39:59is waiting
39:59for a verdict
40:00and you always feel
40:01the same way
40:02you put your heart
40:02and soul into the case
40:04some cases
40:05you feel more confident
40:06than others
40:07I was nervous
40:09because
40:10juries
40:12are very earnest
40:12and they try
40:13very hard
40:14to do the right thing
40:15but it doesn't always
40:16come out as
40:17a forensic professional
40:19might think
40:20it would
40:23After three days
40:24of deliberation
40:25the jury returned
40:26their verdicts
40:27they found
40:28Robert Newlander
40:29guilty
40:31of second degree
40:32murder
40:33and tampering
40:34with evidence
40:35Everybody in this case
40:37was resolute
40:37they knew that he did it
40:39they felt comfortable
40:40with their verdict
40:41and I felt great
40:41I was just
40:43professionally satisfied
40:44that justice was done
40:47Four months later
40:48he appeared in court
40:50and Robert Newlander
40:51was sentenced
40:51to 20 years
40:53to life
40:58Bob was facing
40:59incarceration
41:00for the rest
41:01of his life
41:02but his defence
41:03team appealed
41:04and argued
41:05for a retrial
41:06citing serious
41:07juror misconduct
41:09An alternate juror
41:11pointed out
41:11that they believed
41:12one of the 12
41:13actual jurors
41:15had been involved
41:16in something
41:17so the judge
41:17ordered examination
41:18of this juror's phone
41:23this investigation
41:24found
41:25that this juror
41:26had sent
41:26over 7,000 messages
41:29during this
41:30three week period
41:31to family and friends
41:32talking about
41:33the criminal trial
41:34and this was
41:35in direct violation
41:36of the judge's
41:37instructions
41:37for jurors
41:38not to discuss
41:39the case
41:40with outside sources
41:41or to get information
41:43from anywhere else
41:44and these messages
41:45included one
41:46from her father
41:47saying make sure
41:48he is found
41:49guilty
41:51and she failed
41:52to disclose this
41:53to the court
41:54the outcome of all
41:55of this was that
41:56in June 2018
41:57the conviction
41:58was vacated
41:59it was annulled
42:00as if the trial
42:01and conviction
42:02never happened
42:06Robert was released
42:08on a million dollar bail
42:09until the retrial
42:11could take place
42:12they hired a very
42:13a very good guy
42:14very good lawyer
42:16out of New York City
42:18and we began
42:19to prepare for
42:20trial number two
42:23on February 28th
42:252022
42:26almost 10 years
42:28after Leslie's death
42:29the retrial began
42:32I thought
42:33another group of jurors
42:34presented with
42:35the same information
42:36would see it the same way
42:38but again
42:39you never know
42:40until it's all the way
42:42through the trial
42:42the jury
42:43to our amazement
42:45five hours
42:45after they retired
42:47they came back in
42:48with a verdict
42:49of guilty
42:50and I feel great
42:51about that
42:52when I heard
42:53the verdict of guilty
42:55for the second trial
42:56it was just
42:57oh
42:57thank goodness
42:58I hope the family
42:59can you know
43:00try to move on
43:02in some way now
43:02because they really
43:04are carrying
43:05a huge burden
43:06with them
43:08on May 2nd
43:092022
43:10Bob was sentenced
43:12to 20 years
43:13to life
43:14for the second time
43:15thanks not only
43:17to the prosecution team
43:18but also
43:19Leslie's friend
43:20former medical examiner
43:22Mary Jambalic
43:24I took Leslie's message
43:27look what happened to me
43:28and I gave it to people
43:30who needed to hear that
43:31and yes
43:33I do feel proud of it
43:35but I also feel like
43:37it was a fulfilling of
43:39you know
43:40what has always been
43:41my calling
43:42which was to do that
43:43for the dead
43:46I remember Leslie
43:48for her lightheartedness
43:50and her kindness
43:51and her humor
43:54but I remember her
43:56in death too
43:57because it has helped
43:58other women
43:59who maybe are trapped
44:00in situations
44:02with spouses
44:03or have experienced
44:06domestic violence
44:08she was important
44:10in the community
44:11but she was just important
44:13on a personal level
44:14of how she made others feel
44:17and I think
44:18those that knew her
44:19should think of that
44:21and remember her
44:30of the most
44:32as she is
44:34and she is
44:46and she is
44:59You
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