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00:05you get a phone call from the police saying your father was killed in an accident
00:10how could that happen how could that happen you know you could immediately see he was burned
00:17severely from head to toe simplest explanation is probably the correct one
00:25he was a known cigar smoker who was on oxygen but is it the result of a tragic accident
00:33or something more sinister
00:38some scenes make perfect sense but this scene completely confused me
00:44you could immediately see that he had no clothing on the worst burns were on his back which indicated
00:53where the fire had started
00:59when the evidence leads to a seemingly disturbed suspect investigators must determine whether
01:06the crime was unintentional or if it's all an act
01:13you knew that there was something wrong with her mind it certainly appears that she had poor impulse
01:18control we all knew she was going to take his life one day what we were surprised about is the
01:24way
01:24that she did he screamed for me he's like come out back he was on fire screaming my name when
01:32she told
01:32me that i knew i was truly in the presence of evil
01:50june 16th 2022
01:53it's 5 23 a.m in susquehanna township pennsylvania when police receive a strange 911 call
02:02what's your name evelyn
02:05your last name
02:07vigorelli
02:08henderson
02:08tell me exactly what happened
02:10yeah i believe uh carmen q henderson
02:15did not make it
02:18he um
02:19what do you mean did not make it
02:20no you gotta be specific with me i'm not understanding what you're trying to tell me
02:24i think he is deceased
02:28the 911 operator is trying to get some information how do you know that he
02:32has passed away is he still breathing and she's like i i just know
02:36he is deceased yeah because he's burnt
02:40is there anything still burning
02:42uh no
02:44she said to the 911 operator that she had seen him at one o'clock in the morning heard him
02:53yell
02:53and chose at that time not to call 911
02:59she indicated that she found him in the morning when she got up
03:03the dispatcher's typing this information in uh it's going to the responding police officers
03:09the dispatcher felt there was something not quite right with the car
03:15police rushed to the address where they are met by evelyn
03:20purple alex wagner was the first on scene
03:22he asked what's going on and she said
03:25my husband's out back and he's dead
03:29as he's approaching the back door
03:31he could see mr henderson on the ground on the back patio
03:37he's just completely burned to death
03:41the officer immediately secures the scene and calls for backup
03:46as i come around the back there's a stone patio
03:49i look down and there is a naked burnt man
03:56i was completely not ready for that
04:00i knew mr henderson from years ago
04:03he was a retired susquehman township police officer
04:06probably back in the late 70s early 80s
04:10some scenes make perfect sense
04:11you look and you can say okay this is likely what happened
04:15but this scene completely confused me
04:17and we're looking at the possibility of an accident
04:20maybe he set himself on fire with the cigar
04:24investigators know that his wife evelyn must have answers
04:27they pull her away from the scene to get more information
04:31the questions running through our minds were related to the different scenarios
04:38of how this could have occurred
04:40most of the attention was focusing on trying to determine if this happened
04:45accidentally or intentionally
04:48the other day
04:54carmen q henderson was born october 31st 1937 in philadelphia to a doting mother
05:03my grandmother his mother took care gave him everything he was he had everything was to have as a child
05:11he grew up in germantown they moved up to harrisburg to change the way life was going for them
05:18his mother worked for the orphanage which is now the ywca and my dad went to school
05:25at william penn high school
05:30carmen met his first wife in high school
05:34the pair had two daughters together while he served in the military
05:38he was a airplane mechanic in the air force
05:42when he came out of the service he worked for firestone as a mechanic
05:50before long carmen decided he'd had enough of engine repair
05:54and began a new career back in pennsylvania
05:58first he was a state police officer
05:59then after that switched over to being a
06:02susquehane township police officer
06:04he was one of the first minority police officers in this area
06:09his reputation was uh everybody thought he was an incredible man
06:16during his early career in law enforcement carmen and his wife separated but he remained close to his daughters
06:24even though we live with our mother i would see my dad every day because i would go to my
06:29grandma's house after school every day
06:30and my dad was there and my grandma would cook dinner and me and my dad would eat dinner every
06:35day
06:35he took us to the philadelphia zoo he took us to atlantic city
06:40to jersey because he liked the land city
06:42my dad took us everywhere
06:46carmen was just as caring with the people in his community
06:51he had risen through the ranks to be a deputy sheriff in dauphin county
06:58he was a good man he was a fair man
07:00and he was very well liked
07:03all different colored people i would run into and they would tell me
07:06that my dad helped him a lot when they were on parole and stuff
07:10how you know it changed their lives
07:13he didn't treat them like criminals
07:15he treated them like people
07:18and i think that's what why everybody liked him so much
07:21carmen henderson was
07:24the grandpa of the neighborhood
07:26he was like mr rogers
07:28people love this man
07:29one person struck by carmen's charm was evelyn zigarelli
07:35born on march 4th 1956 in beaver county pennsylvania
07:41evelyn also seemed destined for a life of service
07:45she came from a family with a political background out in southwestern pa
07:51throughout high school evie was active in a range of activities
07:56including band sports and student government
07:59she carried a strong work ethic from adolescence into adulthood
08:04running for local office in 1983
08:07she was elected clerk of courts in beaver county in the mid 80s
08:12eventually she came to the harrisburg area and after she was here after she met mr henderson
08:18she tried to run for office in dauphin county
08:22no nonsense evelyn found a lifelong ally and supporter in carmen
08:27the pair married in 1991 and carmen's good reputation bolstered evelyn's political confidence
08:37she made several bids for office
08:39she came from beaver county and she thought that her experience and accolades and
08:43her past status as an elected official out there would would instantly transfer over
08:52that was a rude awakening when she came here and realized all of a sudden
08:55no you're you're an outsider after a slew of lost elections evelyn and carmen decided to pivot
09:03their energy into opening a business say you know i'm just going to give me a limousine
09:08that's what i'll do i'll just give me a limousine and start my own profession
09:13he did most of the work for the cars so he was able to save a lot of money that
09:18way
09:20evelyn ran the day-to-day part of the booking the trips and um getting clients
09:27they literally had the monopoly on limousines at one point
09:31and i can only imagine you know how proud he was of a business that he built
09:37but by 2022 the business had lost much of its revenue due to carmen's failing health
09:45mr henderson's health had been declining to some extent he was becoming uh more frail he was 84 years
09:53old wasn't able to walk as easily as he used to mr carmen was just you know getting older they
10:03were
10:03still getting some income in but it just slowly faded away
10:13but now carmen has been found burned to death in his own backyard and police are desperate for
10:21answers evelyn she now acts kind of surprised basically saying he caught himself on fire he was a cigar
10:32smoker everyone told us that he likes to smoke cigars out back and he will sometimes light the wrappers on
10:40fire so at one point she said maybe he set himself on fire because he was burning the wrappers
10:48her demeanor was described as strange you would expect someone to be hysterically crying and upset and
10:54inconsolable and she was just flat and had just a monotone reaction to everything
10:59one possibility would be that she's simply in shock from from what has occurred and what she witnessed
11:08i mean what's a normal reaction to have to your husband being burned alive
11:11there is no uniform normal reaction evelyn's bizarre response combined with the circumstances of carmen's
11:20death and the state of the home bolster detective's sense of urgency we treat every suspicious death as
11:27homicide until proven otherwise so i knew we were going to have to get a search warrant for the house
11:33i knew we're going to have to remove her from the house in order to perform the search warrant to
11:38secure
11:38the scene make sure nothing gets tampered with
11:43i took a closer look inside the house absolutely deplorable it was filthy there was rotted food
11:52places simian haphazardly it was it was it was squalor
12:03coming up a search warrant provides strange clues people don't burn as bad as mr henderson does without
12:12accelerant
12:15a search warrant and an interview with evelyn compounds the mystery it happened yesterday what
12:22happened when he caught himself on fire
12:40pennsylvania police are investigating the bizarre death of a former officer 84 year old carmen henderson
12:49his wife evelyn zigarelli henderson thinks he caught himself on fire but given the neglected state of
12:57their home detectives wonder about her mental state one of the first things that we look at in terms of
13:03how
13:04well people are doing mentally is how well do they take care of themselves if they're out of touch with
13:11reality or even just severely emotionally distressed that can be reflected in what surrounds them
13:18sometimes a place filled with clutter and that is not clean and has all sorts of indications of
13:24mental illness we asked her when didn't you see him last she said last night he went out to smoke
13:30a
13:30cigar around seven or eight o'clock and i went to bed and she said that she didn't see him
13:36until she
13:36woke up this morning called 9-1-1 evelyn originally said she saw carmen around 1 a.m evelyn is
13:46confusing
13:47details when you're getting different pieces of information like evelyn is giving here police are
13:51certainly going to be concerned about whether or not evelyn is a reliable source of information
13:57she had indicated that she was bipolar and she had stopped taking her her medication
14:05the characteristic bipolar disorder is cyclical mood swings from periods of elation to periods of
14:12depression this can affect memory and cause a person to become confused and that sometimes
14:18doesn't allow that person to perceive what's going on in the world in front of them
14:23so i said to her i said would you mind coming with us to the police station to talk and
14:27she said absolutely
14:30as evelyn is transported to the susquehanna township police station investigators search for other
14:37potential witnesses law enforcement canvases the neighborhood they want to talk to to neighbors
14:43and see if anyone saw or heard anything no one reported hearing any yelling any screaming this was june
14:50so it could be you know that people had air conditioners in their windows it could be
14:54the time of night it happened maybe everyone was in a deep sleep at first glance the scene itself
15:01doesn't provide many answers either you could immediately see that he had no clothing on
15:10and he was burned severely from head to toe my question is you know why is he naked
15:18when you looked on the ground there was actually a pile of debris burned debris everything charred
15:27there were shoes parts of a belt a cuff of a shirt and so the more you kind of looked
15:34at the scene the
15:36more it became apparent that he actually was dressed when he caught fire we believed as
15:44he was on fire he more than likely was disrobing
15:50the severity of the burns raises other questions
15:55the initial thought is there must have been some sort of accelerant some kind of liquid flammable
16:02liquid that would have been poured onto him either by himself or or somebody else that would have
16:08ignited to cause those kind of burns people don't burn as bad as mr henderson does without accelerant
16:17there are no nearby accelerants carmen could have used when igniting the fire
16:24we actually brought a dog an arson dog to the scene the dog ran through the scene and came back
16:30as
16:31uh not indicating that they they detected any form of accelerant but the one thing the dogs don't hit
16:39on is alcohol because it's common to homes so just because the dog didn't hit on anything that doesn't mean
16:46that there wasn't an accelerant used
16:50now there was ignition source on the table we found a lighter
16:56and also very strange we found a paper towel that was rolled up and burnt at one end almost as
17:05if
17:05it was used like some people would use it to start pilot lights or something like that
17:09so it didn't look this did not look accidental at all
17:15closer inspection of the patio reveals another clue
17:20there was a blue chair kind of off to the left as you walk out of the house and then
17:26there was
17:26another chair that was a gray chair like a folding camping chair that was turned on its side on the
17:33ground over near the wall the gray chair was involved in the fire it clearly had been burned in the
17:41back
17:41portion that you would lean against that was completely burned away but the arms the seat of the chair and
17:48the footrest were not burned at all but the most important piece of evidence comes from carmen's body
17:57i look closely at his face a lot of times when someone is alive when they're burning you'll see soot
18:05on the nose as there as a breathing in the soot but what i found was fly larva
18:14fly larva is generally about 24 hours after time of death so that told me immediately that the story
18:21evelyn told 9-1-1 dispatcher was a complete lie because there's no way with a short amount of time
18:28could flies have landed on the body and left their eggs behind they definitely think that something
18:36sinister has happened to him this is probably one of the worst ways that somebody could die so did she
18:44not remember because of her mental illness or is it deception either way it appears impossible that
18:53carmen lit himself on fire
19:10over three hours after evelyn henderson called 9-1-1 investigators are now seriously questioning her
19:18account of her husband's death when they sit down with her at the police station they ask
19:24her to go over the details of that evening again her demeanor is relatively the same as it is on
19:31the scene you know she doesn't get upset she is not crying she doesn't seem like she's grieving
19:38it did not seem like she was in any sort of shock from the incident at that point that that
19:45seemed like it may have been the case on the scene but now we're hours later she's removed
19:53from the scene uh and she's clearly understanding the questions so what happened that we're here
20:03today can you explain that to me well i called 9-1-1 because carmen hefterson needed help
20:11i'm trying to get her into a story that's consistent that she's staying with
20:17on the scene her version was that the last time she saw mr henderson was at
20:24seven o'clock at night and then she went to bed and didn't see him again till the morning
20:30then when she was talking to sergeant wilson the time changed to 11 o'clock at night
20:37i said evelyn didn't happen there's fly larva in his mouth and nose i said that takes at least 24
20:45hours to develop happened yesterday what yesterday what happened yesterday he caught himself on fire
20:53okay so now walk us through that because now we're talking about a whole different timeline now
20:58when someone is not giving proper sequencing it could be due to deception but it could also be due
21:04to a number of other factors including trauma
21:10unable to put evelyn in a consistent timeline they change tactics
21:16when they asked her did you go outside to the back patio you know she indicates yes i went outside
21:23well when i come to the door it was already on fire
21:29but i was not up there when it went first down and that was about what time i don't know
21:36i guess
21:37it was four or five o'clock i come back into call 911 and i did
21:45he screamed for me he was like come out back he was on fire
21:52so what did he scream he was just screaming my name
21:59evie evie
22:02he fell down he stopped talking and she just went about her day until at approximately 5 30 in the
22:09morning
22:10evelyn henderson bowed 9-1-1
22:14investigators are stunned to realize that at least four hours would have passed before evelyn finally
22:20called police
22:23when she told me that i knew i was truly in the presence of evil some people make mistakes some
22:28people do bad things but she at that moment struck me as truly an evil person
22:50she knew she should have called she saw him go down but she just didn't she had no good answer
22:58for
22:58why she waited to call 911.
23:00And of course, it's hard to come up with in your mind
23:03when you're trying to think, why would anyone wait?
23:09Could she have been having a mental health issue?
23:12Possible, absolutely, could it be possible.
23:14But how she was telling the story,
23:16it just felt to me that it almost felt
23:19like it was more of a controlled act
23:21as opposed to a person with a mental illness.
23:24I felt she was involved,
23:26but we didn't even have anything concrete at that point.
23:31The interview continues for several more hours
23:34as police try to determine
23:36whether Evelyn had a reason to murder Carmen.
23:42She talks about their relationship
23:45as being kind of up and down,
23:49that it was good for a long time,
23:52but in recent memory that they had,
23:55they had been arguing.
23:58That's what we're arguing about, money.
24:02What we're arguing about money for.
24:03She goes, he doesn't know where all the money went,
24:05and he was blaming me for losing the business.
24:10Evelyn admits she mismanaged the finances
24:13of the couple's limousine company,
24:16overspending on luxuries.
24:19The spending on her part,
24:22the not being able to manage money,
24:25is what kind of put them under.
24:27She said that she knew
24:29that they're going to lose the house.
24:30They were $40,000 in debt on a second mortgage.
24:33They stopped making payments on it.
24:36She was worried about losing the home
24:38or not having a place to stay.
24:41She admitted at some point
24:42that there was a $10,000 life insurance on him.
24:50Evelyn said over and over again
24:52that she did not do this,
24:54that he lit himself on fire.
24:57She kept saying that repeatedly.
24:59I said, look, Evelyn.
25:00I said, nothing's making sense.
25:03I said, you know what?
25:05I said, I think it's going to point back to you, Evelyn.
25:09Coming up,
25:11Carmen's loved ones
25:12share disturbing stories about Evelyn.
25:16That crazy BRG series.
25:19She effing did it.
25:22But can investigators prove
25:24she committed murder?
25:26He was actually breathing in more flames
25:30than any sort of smoke.
25:32It's excruciatingly painful being burned.
25:51After a seven-hour interrogation,
25:54detectives are convinced
25:55Evelyn Henderson is the one responsible
25:58for her husband's gruesome death.
26:02At that point,
26:03based on her changing stories,
26:06not having an accurate timeline of events
26:09and all of the evidence on scene,
26:11the decision was made to charge.
26:13The charges the district attorney told us to go with
26:16was aggravated arson,
26:17which is arson committed
26:19during the course of a felony.
26:21The felony would be the homicide.
26:23Evelyn is transported
26:25to Pennsylvania's Dauphin County Jail
26:27while authorities continue
26:29to build a case against her.
26:32They believe personal testimonials
26:34and forensic evidence
26:36will help earn a conviction.
26:40We certainly had probable cause
26:42at that moment
26:43to believe that she had committed this crime
26:46and the charges we had charged her with,
26:49but there were things
26:49that still needed to be done.
26:53To learn more about the relationship
26:55between Evelyn and Carmen,
26:57investigators reach out
26:59to family and friends
27:00later that same day.
27:02We get a phone call from the police
27:04saying your father was killed in an accident.
27:07They were saying that
27:09he was set on fire
27:10and said, how can that be?
27:12They said it's going to be treated
27:13as a homicide.
27:16So we're like, well,
27:18who did it?
27:19And they said,
27:20we arrested your dad's wife.
27:23I'm like, that crazy,
27:25excuse me,
27:26that crazy BRT series.
27:28She effing did.
27:34According to Carmen's loved ones,
27:36the problems in the marriage
27:38had nothing to do
27:39with his treatment of Evelyn.
27:42My dad gave her everything.
27:45Everything you think of.
27:47Trips, cars, clothes, jewelry.
27:51He did everything
27:52that she wanted to do.
27:53But she didn't seem
27:55appreciative of his efforts.
27:58They said everyone
27:58was rude to them,
27:59was mean to them,
28:00treated Mr. Henderson
28:02like garbage.
28:04She didn't want us in the house
28:05because of the things
28:06that she was probably doing
28:07to my father
28:07and he wouldn't tell us.
28:09In order for my dad
28:10to stay happy,
28:11we just didn't go around
28:12because it seemed to upset her
28:14if we would come over there
28:15to see him.
28:18They say Evelyn's behavior
28:21seemed to grow worse
28:22over time.
28:24She really just didn't have
28:26any type of people skills.
28:28So she would belittle people,
28:30she would be nasty to people.
28:34People that worked
28:35for the limousine company
28:37said she was mean
28:39and degrading
28:41and never had a kind word
28:43to say about anyone.
28:45She presented herself
28:46that she was better than them
28:48and everyone was below her.
28:49She had this air
28:50that she was like royalty.
28:53Evelyn was known
28:54to have some outbursts
28:55of anger
28:55and even yelling
28:56at strangers sometimes.
28:59And we know that
29:00people who've been diagnosed
29:02with bipolar disorder
29:03often engage
29:04in that very same behavior.
29:09Once Carmen's age
29:10forced him to retire,
29:12it left Evelyn
29:13completely in charge
29:15of the business
29:16and Carmen's failing health.
29:19He couldn't do
29:20all the work
29:21that he could do
29:22on the cars
29:23and Evelyn
29:25seemed to have
29:26more episodes
29:27and when she was
29:28having episodes
29:29she was also
29:30losing business.
29:31She was such a mean,
29:33horrible, evil person.
29:35A lot of people
29:36boycotting
29:36my dad's business.
29:39They used to tell
29:40my dad all the time
29:41you need to leave her
29:42because they saw
29:43something too
29:43in her that
29:44he didn't see.
29:46He never ever complained
29:48about how she would
29:51scream and holler
29:52how she would cuss
29:53or anything.
29:55He loved that.
29:57So I just didn't understand
29:59what happened.
30:01Why would you
30:02kill somebody
30:04and love you
30:05so much?
30:06We suspected
30:08just from everything
30:10that we knew
30:10that she may have
30:12grown tired
30:13of having to care
30:14for him
30:15since he was
30:17elderly
30:18and was not
30:19able to do
30:20everything for himself
30:21as time went on.
30:22That was something
30:24that put
30:24a larger burden
30:26on her.
30:26I truly believe
30:28she was waiting
30:28for him to die
30:30and he wouldn't die
30:32and in her evil
30:33heart she decided
30:35that's how she was
30:36going to get more
30:36money out of him
30:37for the last time.
30:41however, police still need
30:43direct evidence
30:44she killed Carmen
30:46and there are viable
30:48theories to the contrary.
30:51I believe
30:51in Occam's razor
30:52right, which
30:53the most simplest
30:54explanation
30:55is probably
30:57the correct one.
30:58Carmen
30:59was a known
31:00cigar smoker.
31:01He was an elderly
31:02gentleman
31:02with some
31:03physical limitations
31:04who was on oxygen.
31:06I'm just not convinced
31:08that she did it.
31:09Some people have said
31:10that she suffered
31:11from some type
31:12or types of
31:13mental illness
31:15but I don't necessarily
31:17think that that
31:18translates to somebody
31:19becoming a murderer.
31:23The autopsies
31:24still needed to be
31:25conducted here
31:25and then the fire
31:26investigators had to
31:27complete their
31:28investigation as well.
31:29After somebody
31:30is charged
31:31and or arrested
31:32that's really only
31:33the beginning
31:34of the investigation.
31:52Five days
31:53after Carmen
31:54Henderson's
31:55burned body
31:56was found
31:56on his porch
31:57a forensic
31:59pathologist
31:59performs an autopsy.
32:02The toxicology results
32:04for Carmen
32:04Henderson
32:05were not exactly
32:08what you would expect
32:09to see
32:09in a case
32:10if someone dies
32:11from a fire.
32:13Oftentimes
32:14the thing
32:15that kills them
32:16is inhaling
32:17all of the smoke.
32:18His blood results
32:20did not bear that out.
32:22Dr. Rost
32:23was able to figure
32:24that he was alive
32:26when he was burned.
32:27The one
32:29sure indicator
32:30of that
32:30was that
32:31there was
32:31some soot
32:32that was
32:33ultimately found
32:34in his throat
32:35area.
32:39This was a fire
32:41that caught
32:41quickly
32:42burned hot
32:44and so
32:45there wouldn't
32:46have been
32:46a lot of smoke
32:47initially
32:48and so
32:48he was actually
32:49breathing in
32:50more flames
32:52than any sort
32:53of smoke.
32:55another huge
32:56thing
32:56that was found
32:57was that
32:57a majority
32:58of the worst
32:59burns
33:00were on his
33:01back
33:01which indicated
33:03that that
33:04would have been
33:04where the fire
33:05had started.
33:06That triggered
33:08additional
33:08conversations
33:09talking about
33:11could it have
33:12still been
33:12accidental
33:13how could
33:13this happen
33:14where the fire
33:15essentially
33:16starts
33:16behind him
33:18if it's
33:19accidental
33:19looking at
33:21how cigars
33:23burn
33:23and how
33:24they can
33:24set clothing
33:25on fire.
33:26It just
33:27became more
33:28and more
33:29rock solid
33:29that there's
33:30no way
33:31he could
33:31have set
33:31himself
33:32on fire.
33:33Everything
33:34in the autopsy
33:35was consistent
33:36with this
33:36being a homicide.
33:39Based on
33:40the evidence
33:41investigators
33:42believe
33:42Carmen
33:43was sitting
33:43in his
33:44deck chair
33:44when the
33:45fire began.
33:47The
33:48seat
33:49of the
33:50chair
33:50had almost
33:51no fire
33:52damage to
33:52it
33:53but the
33:53upper part
33:54of the
33:54chair
33:55was
33:55completely
33:55burned
33:56away.
33:57That was
33:57something
33:57that was
33:58consistent
33:59with him
34:00being
34:00lit on
34:01fire
34:02from behind.
34:04Police
34:04obviously
34:05want to
34:05go and
34:06talk to
34:06Evelyn
34:06and confront
34:07her with
34:07this
34:07information
34:08because
34:08it does
34:08not
34:09align up
34:09with
34:09any
34:09of
34:10the
34:10stories
34:10that
34:10she
34:10has
34:10given
34:11to
34:11this
34:11point.
34:13The
34:14interview
34:14is done
34:15the same
34:15day as
34:15the autopsy.
34:17We
34:18drive to
34:18the Dauphin
34:19County
34:19prison
34:19asked to
34:20have her
34:20brought to
34:21an interview
34:21room.
34:23I said
34:23Evan look
34:24you're the
34:24only person
34:24that was
34:25there.
34:26I said
34:26you and I
34:27both know
34:28you set
34:28them on
34:28fire.
34:31It was the
34:32longest
34:32pause of
34:33my life
34:35and she
34:36goes
34:36I did
34:37it.
34:40She
34:41indicated
34:41that Carmen
34:42was sitting
34:42outside on
34:43the back
34:44patio
34:44in the
34:45chair.
34:46he had
34:47his back
34:47towards
34:48the
34:48house
34:48and she
34:49snuck up
34:50behind him
34:50and lit
34:51the back
34:51of the
34:51chair
34:52on fire
34:53and that
34:54his clothes
34:54became
34:55engulfed
34:56in flames
34:57and that
34:58he had
34:58called out
34:59Evie
35:00Evie
35:00help me
35:02as he
35:02burned
35:03and as
35:03she watched
35:03him burn.
35:08Those are
35:09chilling
35:10details you
35:11know
35:11setting
35:11somebody
35:12on fire
35:12that's
35:13not like
35:13shooting
35:14somebody
35:14from a
35:14distance
35:15it's a
35:17very
35:17personal
35:18thing
35:19and it's
35:20excruciatingly
35:21painful
35:22being
35:22burned.
35:25She really
35:25didn't give
35:26a reason
35:27why she
35:29had done
35:29this
35:29but her
35:32giving the
35:32confession
35:33and then
35:34talking through
35:35the details
35:36of how she
35:37did it
35:38in a way
35:39that was
35:39totally
35:40consistent
35:41with what
35:41we knew
35:42from the
35:42physical
35:43evidence
35:43it's
35:44validation
35:44of what
35:46you
35:46concluded
35:47happened.
35:50With
35:51Evelyn's
35:51confession
35:52prosecutors
35:53believe they
35:54have an
35:54open and
35:55shut
35:55murder
35:56case
35:56but at
35:57the first
35:58pretrial
35:59hearing
35:59she once
36:00again
36:00changes
36:01her story.
36:05By the
36:06time
36:06the
36:07preliminary
36:08hearing
36:08rolled
36:08around
36:09she
36:09was
36:10denying
36:10that
36:11she
36:11did
36:12the
36:12crime
36:12she
36:13basically
36:13recanted
36:14her
36:14confession
36:16so the
36:16case
36:17wasn't
36:17over
36:17yet
36:18at that
36:18point
36:18and the
36:19investigation
36:19wasn't
36:20over.
36:22If
36:22Evelyn's
36:23confession
36:23is determined
36:24to be
36:25inadmissible
36:26prosecutors
36:26must have
36:27evidence
36:28to prove
36:28she set
36:29Carmen's
36:30chair
36:30on fire
36:31and that
36:31it burned
36:32quickly enough
36:32to kill
36:33him
36:33before he
36:34could escape
36:35the flames.
36:37The biggest
36:38thing we had
36:38left to do
36:39was to
36:40conduct an
36:41experiment that
36:42showed this
36:43chair could be
36:44lit on fire
36:45without the
36:45use of
36:46accelerants.
36:47The decision
36:48was made to
36:49take portions
36:50of the chair
36:50that we had
36:51in evidence
36:52and actually
36:53test them
36:54do live
36:54testing on
36:55them to
36:55see if
36:55they were
36:55flammable
36:56and how
36:57fast they
36:57would be
36:58engulfed
36:58in flames.
36:59I naturally
37:00assume that
37:00if you're
37:01making a
37:01product that
37:02people use
37:02while camping
37:03it's going
37:04to be at
37:04least flame
37:05resistant
37:05but we
37:06found out
37:06later that
37:07camping chairs
37:08burn like
37:09solid rocket
37:10fuel.
37:11Detectives
37:12conclude the
37:13chair was
37:13incinerated
37:14within a
37:15matter of
37:15seconds.
37:19Obviously
37:20he's an
37:20elderly male
37:21we know
37:21that he
37:22has mobility
37:23issues
37:24trouble getting
37:24around.
37:26By the
37:27time he
37:27is able
37:28to react
37:30his clothing
37:31is now
37:32on fire
37:33he gets
37:34up
37:36frantically
37:37moving around
37:38which knocks
37:39the chair
37:39over
37:40gets his
37:41clothes off
37:42the best
37:42he can
37:42to try
37:43to get
37:43away
37:44from the
37:44flames
37:44but by
37:46then
37:46it's too
37:47late.
37:48He didn't
37:49fall asleep
37:49in his
37:49favorite chair
37:50and die.
37:51He was
37:51murdered
37:52and he
37:53was burnt
37:53to death.
37:54100%
37:55that's what
37:56the evidence
37:56proves.
37:56the only
37:58remaining
37:59question is
38:00whether a
38:01jury will
38:01believe the
38:02evidence
38:03or
38:03Evelyn.
38:05Evelyn
38:05Henderson's
38:06attorneys
38:07contended
38:07that
38:08Evelyn
38:09had been
38:09offered
38:09bipolar
38:10medication
38:10and had
38:11made a
38:12false
38:12confession
38:12to
38:13setting
38:13the fire.
38:28On
38:29March 12th
38:302024
38:31nearly
38:32two years
38:33after
38:33Carmen
38:34Henderson
38:34burned
38:35to death
38:35his wife
38:36Evelyn
38:37Zigarelli
38:38Henderson
38:38goes on
38:39trial
38:39for his
38:40murder.
38:41My
38:42opening
38:42statement
38:42I started
38:43it out
38:43essentially
38:44with what
38:44Carmen's
38:45last words
38:45likely would
38:46have been
38:46which was
38:47Evie
38:47help me
38:48and I
38:49just kind
38:49of cried
38:50that out
38:50to the
38:50jury
38:50five or
38:51six times
38:52to really
38:52get them
38:53to understand
38:54the impact
38:55of how
38:56awful
38:56of a
38:57death
38:57this was.
39:00The crux
39:01of the
39:02defense
39:02at trial
39:03was essentially
39:04to say
39:05that
39:06Evelyn
39:07Henderson
39:07gave a
39:08false
39:08confession
39:09that the
39:10only reason
39:11she said
39:11she did
39:12it
39:12was because
39:13she had
39:13given up
39:14as the
39:14defense
39:15put it.
39:17In many
39:18of these
39:18homicide
39:18cases
39:19there is
39:19an element
39:20of mental
39:20health.
39:21The defense
39:22in this
39:23case
39:23certainly
39:24brought up
39:25that she
39:25was bipolar
39:26which really
39:27the only
39:28evidence of
39:28that was
39:29she had
39:29indicated
39:30that she
39:30had stopped
39:31taking her
39:32medication.
39:33The claims
39:34of her
39:35being bipolar
39:35came from
39:36her and
39:37her alone.
39:37There was
39:37never any
39:38extrinsic
39:39evidence
39:39provided to
39:40us
39:40about
39:41that.
39:42The defense
39:43argues that
39:44the fire
39:45was simply
39:45an accident.
39:47Evelyn
39:48Henderson's
39:48attorneys
39:49also argued
39:50that
39:50Carmen
39:50Henderson
39:51set the
39:51fire
39:52himself
39:52during
39:53their
39:53closing
39:53arguments.
39:58Going into
39:59deliberations,
40:00we just
40:00hope that
40:01the jury
40:01followed the
40:02evidence.
40:03The jury's
40:03verdict in
40:04this case
40:04was very
40:05interesting.
40:06They convicted
40:06her of
40:07second degree
40:07murder,
40:08which is
40:08felony
40:09murder in
40:09Pennsylvania.
40:11That verdict
40:12kind of indicates
40:12that the jury
40:13didn't think
40:13that she
40:14meant to
40:14kill Carmen
40:15Henderson,
40:16but believed
40:17that she
40:17set the
40:18fire.
40:21The day
40:22that she
40:22was convicted,
40:23there was
40:24something that
40:24I had in
40:26my mind,
40:27a surprise
40:27for her.
40:29Sheriff
40:29Chimeney
40:30leaned over
40:30to me.
40:31He goes,
40:31you know
40:31those handcuffs
40:32that she's
40:32wearing?
40:33I said,
40:34yeah.
40:34Those are
40:35Carmen's.
40:36I asked
40:37Evelyn,
40:38how did
40:39those handcuffs
40:40fit?
40:41I said,
40:42these were
40:42your husband's
40:43handcuffs.
40:44Her reaction,
40:46her eyes
40:46kind of opened
40:47up and
40:48it kind of
40:48hit her.
40:52At
40:53Evelyn's
40:53sentencing
40:54hearing,
40:54Carmen's
40:55friends and
40:55family are
40:56given the
40:56opportunity to
40:57tell her how
40:58her actions
40:59affected them.
41:01I told her
41:02that if
41:03Mr.
41:04Carmen had
41:05survived the
41:06incident,
41:06he would
41:07come in
41:07and bandage
41:08this and
41:08all and
41:09be trying to
41:09convince the
41:10jury that
41:11she didn't
41:11mean it,
41:12he would
41:12forgive her.
41:13And I told
41:14her,
41:14that's the man
41:15you took
41:15from everyone.
41:17When I did
41:18the impact
41:18about how
41:19could you
41:20treat someone
41:20like that
41:21that was so
41:21kind to you
41:22and loved you
41:23and gave you
41:24everything,
41:24that's what
41:25she broke.
41:26That was the
41:27first time she
41:27ever looked up
41:28and you could
41:28see in her eyes
41:29that she did
41:30it and that
41:31maybe she
41:32regretted it.
41:36Evelyn is
41:36sentenced to
41:37life in prison
41:38without the
41:39possibility of
41:40parole.
41:42It was
41:42relief that
41:43we had gotten
41:44some justice
41:45for Carmen
41:45and for his
41:46family and
41:46that they
41:47would be
41:47able to
41:47put this
41:48portion
41:48behind them.
41:50It's a
41:50very small
41:51portion of
41:52the grief
41:53that they'll
41:53have to go
41:53through for
41:54the rest
41:54of their
41:54lives.
41:55I don't
41:56know why
41:56my dad
41:57didn't see
41:57it.
41:58How could
41:58love
41:58overshadow
41:59something
41:59that evil?
42:06I want
42:06everybody to
42:07know that
42:07he was
42:08happy,
42:09always willing
42:10to help
42:10everybody,
42:12sociable,
42:13and best
42:14swimmer
42:15ever.
42:16Everyone
42:17that you
42:17meet has
42:18something good
42:18to say about
42:19that and
42:20that was
42:20just,
42:21that kept
42:22us going,
42:22that we
42:23loved him
42:24and a lot
42:25of other
42:25people loved
42:25him.
42:26I wish
42:27everybody
42:27got a chance
42:28to be
42:29around him
42:29and I wish
42:30he was
42:30here right
42:31now.
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