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Pushed to Death (Fatal Fall Murder or Accident) - Season 1 - Episode 08: A Stream of Lies
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00:05a fatal fall in the shower a woman's life cut short in an instant sitting there talking to me
00:19two days earlier and now she's dead it was so sad and shocking was it truly a tragic accident
00:29he claims that he goes into the bathroom and there she is lying on the floor bleeding with a massive
00:35head wound or murder looking at it as a forensic pathologist she had head trauma and it was not
00:43consistent with an accident this starts to raise some serious questions
01:04leslie newlander was born in the early 1950s and grew up on long island new york before later moving
01:11north to syracuse former local chief medical examiner mary jambelic met leslie shortly after she moved to
01:20the same neighborhood leslie newlander is a prominent woman in the community here in syracuse
01:26and our social circles and business circles over overlapped she belonged to the same synagogue that
01:35my family belonged to and we would see each other at holiday events and other community fundraising
01:41events in town leslie was a devoted philanthropist and she donated her time to causes like the jewish
01:50community foundation syracuse university and loads of other charities it was always a joy to see her
01:58because she had such a bubbly and kind personality she just had a way about her of making you laugh
02:06and feel at ease and i always admired that about her in 1983 leslie had married prominent local
02:15obstetrician and gynecologist dr robert newlander people looked up to him greatly in the in the medical
02:23world and she had been a critical care nurse but had given up her career to raise her children bob
02:30had
02:30been married previously and had two children from that marriage and so she helped to raise those children as
02:38well and had a very full full life but on the morning of september 17th 2012 a distressing call was
02:50made from the newlander family home to emergency services on the other line was leslie's 23 year old
02:57daughter
03:02she's laying on the ground in the shower okay okay so you don't know if she's breathing is she unconscious
03:11i don't know i don't know i don't know is she awake i don't think she's awake can you go
03:16to her now and
03:17stand the phone with me
03:18come on are you okay um yes stand the phone okay i need to put you on hold i'm not
03:26it's like a house phone
03:37we're gonna get somebody started ma'am ma'am oh my god oh my god there's another
03:46Hi, Molly!
03:51We're down!
03:53We're back, we're going to be talking!
03:56Oh, my God, Tammy!
03:58OK, yeah, I'm on that.
04:10Responders arrived at just minutes later at 8.27,
04:13but unusually, they found Leslie not in the bathroom,
04:17but in the bedroom,
04:18and Robert was kneeling down near her body,
04:20covered in blood,
04:22with his daughter just screaming in distress.
04:27Robert told paramedics that his wife had slipped
04:30and fallen in the shower.
04:37The first police officer arrived five minutes later.
04:40They secured the scene and followed the trail of blood
04:43from the bathroom
04:46to the bedroom,
04:48where the first responders were working
04:49on Leslie's body, giving her CPR.
04:56Despite their best efforts,
04:58she was pronounced dead at the scene at 8.42 a.m.
05:07Shortly after Leslie was pronounced dead,
05:10the police went into the bathroom.
05:13They found the shower still running.
05:18And in the bedroom,
05:20there was blood everywhere.
05:24And a trail running in the corridor
05:27between the bedroom and the bathroom.
05:32Robert explained that he had moved Leslie
05:35from the bathroom where she had fallen
05:37into the bedroom,
05:38because he said it was easier and more comfortable
05:40for me to perform CPR on her there.
05:44The movements that Robert said he made
05:46checked out with the patterns of blood
05:48that the police found at the scene.
05:50This theory was actually backed up
05:52on the 911 call,
05:53where 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
06:07was the medical examiner,
06:09Dr. Robert Stoppaker.
06:11Dr. Stoppaker spoke very briefly
06:13to some of the officers,
06:15but he was advised that she had slipped
06:17and fallen in the shower.
06:19She had a massive wound
06:21to the right side of her scalp.
06:24It was probably about six inches long,
06:27maybe an inch wide.
06:32And based on that preliminary examination,
06:34he looked at it and said,
06:35yeah, this head wound is consistent
06:37with a slip and fall in the shower.
06:43In the shower itself,
06:45there was a stone bench.
06:47If one were to hit their head
06:49with sufficient force,
06:51it could cause a serious injury.
06:57On the same afternoon,
06:59Dr. Robert Stoppaker
07:00conducted 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,
07:10and she also had bruising to her internal organs.
07:14Taking into account Robert's version of events,
07:16Dr. Stoppaker ruled that Leslie had died
07:19from an accident,
07:20blunt force trauma due to a fall,
07:23and that she'd slipped in the shower
07:24and banged her head on the stone counter.
07:32News of Leslie's tragic death
07:34began to spread
07:35through the Newlanders' close-knit community.
07:39I had just arrived home from Europe
07:42where I had been hospitalized
07:44and near death myself
07:45from a small fall
07:47and subsequent infection.
07:49And so two days later
07:52when I'm sitting in my recliner,
07:55still recovering,
07:57my son with me,
07:58he saw a post on Facebook
08:00that was suggestive
08:03that Leslie had died.
08:07And so then there were a lot of phone calls
08:09that went around.
08:10And so finally I got a hold of my husband
08:13and he said,
08:14yes, it's true.
08:16You know, she fell in the shower
08:18and she's dead.
08:22I felt shocked
08:24because she had just been in the home
08:27two days earlier
08:28and now she's dead.
08:30It was so sad
08:31and shocking
08:33but I just accepted
08:35that that is what happened.
08:45Although Leslie Newlander's
08:47sudden death at her home
08:48had been ruled an accident
08:50following a fall in the shower,
08:54police followed standard protocol
08:56in cases of sudden death
08:57by opening an investigation
08:59which would come to the attention
09:01of Onondaga County District Attorney
09:03William Fitzpatrick.
09:05I was advised that
09:07Leslie Newlander had slipped
09:10and fell in the shower,
09:11struck her head and died.
09:14And that's unusual
09:16for a healthy 60-year-old
09:19but not unheard of.
09:21There's probably 2,500 people a year
09:24in the United States
09:25on average die
09:27due to bathroom accidents,
09:29most of them elderly people
09:31caused by heart attacks
09:33but there wasn't anything reported
09:35to me that indicated
09:36this was suspicious
09:37and, you know,
09:38the case just kind of sat in limbo.
09:42While the police carried out
09:44their investigation,
09:45friends rallied around
09:47the Newlander family.
09:49After Leslie died
09:51and the next night
09:53my husband went
09:54to the home to visit.
09:57Bob stayed in his room,
09:59he didn't really come out
10:00so my husband just talked
10:01with the kids
10:02and the rabbi was there
10:03and they just had
10:05a conversation.
10:08When he returned
10:09he said
10:10it was a little awkward
10:12that the kids
10:13seemed uncomfortable
10:15when he would bring up
10:16how close their parents were
10:19and how sad this was
10:20and I just attributed
10:22that to grief.
10:27On September 20, 2012,
10:30three days after Leslie's death,
10:32friends and family
10:34gathered for her funeral.
10:36Through the days
10:38that followed Leslie's death,
10:40including at the funeral,
10:43at other social gatherings
10:45where her name would come up,
10:47that the details
10:48were not clear.
10:53The only consistent story
10:56was Leslie fell in the shower.
11:02And that is pretty much
11:05what everyone knew.
11:11While friends and family
11:13tried to move on
11:14from Leslie's tragic passing,
11:17police continued
11:18to look into the circumstances
11:20surrounding her death.
11:22Although the medical examiner
11:24had ruled Leslie's death
11:25as an accident,
11:26the police still carried
11:28on their investigation
11:29and they now wanted
11:30to talk to their daughter
11:31about what she had seen
11:32that day.
11:33Oh my God!
11:35Oh my God,
11:36there's another!
11:36My God!
11:40Oh my God!
11:42We're down!
11:43We're neck,
11:43we're broken!
11:44We're back!
11:45We're back!
11:46We're back!
11:48Meanwhile,
11:49following her illness,
11:50Mary tried to return
11:52to normal life.
11:53Mark and I decided
11:54we would have
11:55a Thanksgiving party
11:57to thank my friends
11:59for being helpful
12:00during my recuperation.
12:05A friend of mine
12:06approached me
12:07at the party
12:08and said
12:08she had information
12:10that a close friend
12:11of Leslie
12:12had concerns
12:13about her death.
12:17She said,
12:18please will you talk
12:19with her?
12:19And so I agreed
12:21to do it.
12:26The friend had
12:27a lot to say
12:29about Bob's infidelity,
12:31about Bob's financial problems,
12:33his behavior
12:34on the day
12:34of Leslie's death.
12:36The friend talked
12:38talked about
12:38how she was sure
12:39that Bob killed Leslie.
12:43And I was a bit stunned.
12:46From my perspective
12:48as a medical examiner,
12:50it didn't carry
12:52the weight
12:53of actual evidence
12:55or forensic data.
12:58After she finishes
12:59her story,
13:01I say,
13:02well,
13:03why don't you go
13:04to the police
13:04and give them
13:05your statement?
13:11So she called me
13:13afterward
13:13and said,
13:14thank you
13:15for telling me
13:16to go.
13:17They're going
13:17to bring Bob
13:18back in
13:19for questioning.
13:20I heard he already
13:21has a lawyer.
13:23And while she's
13:24telling me this,
13:25I'm thinking,
13:25how odd is that?
13:28If this was just
13:29a cold piece
13:30of information,
13:31there's no way
13:32they would be saying
13:33to her,
13:34we're going
13:34to bring Bob
13:35back in
13:35for questioning
13:36and telling her
13:38about the lawyer.
13:39And so I thought,
13:40wow,
13:40there's something
13:41already going on.
13:46And a few hours later,
13:49Bob called the house.
13:52Mark took the call.
13:54They chat for a moment
13:56or two,
13:56and he gets off
13:58the phone with Bob
13:59and says,
14:00well,
14:00good for him.
14:01He's going to Israel.
14:04And now I'm sitting
14:05there thinking,
14:06oh, gosh,
14:08I think he will just
14:10go to Israel
14:11and not come back.
14:18It set off
14:19a red flag for me
14:20because I was looking
14:22at those two pieces
14:24of information,
14:24and they were
14:26highly concerning.
14:27He's supposed
14:28to give another
14:29statement to police.
14:31He's leaving the country.
14:32And why do the police
14:34want another statement?
14:36The fact that the police
14:37were grateful
14:38the friend came in
14:39and provided
14:40her own observations
14:43meant that the police
14:46are still concerned
14:47about this case.
14:48So I became concerned
14:50at that point.
14:54Unbeknownst to Mary,
14:55the district attorney's
14:56office was about
14:57to reopen the investigation
14:59into Leslie's death.
15:02Initial reports
15:03were that this was
15:04a slip and fall accident.
15:07And there wasn't anything
15:08that was brought
15:09to my attention initially
15:10that indicated
15:12that this was a homicide
15:13worth looking into.
15:14And then came
15:15an anonymous letter
15:17to my office
15:18that piqued my interest.
15:23It focused on
15:24the financial aspects
15:26of the Newlanders,
15:28the fact that they
15:28were living
15:29in separate bedrooms.
15:31Not only pointed
15:32that out,
15:33but pointed out
15:33that Leslie was going
15:34to sign a lease arrangement
15:37that day,
15:38which is something
15:39that I certainly
15:40was not aware of.
15:42Whoever he or she was
15:44was concerned
15:45that Newlander
15:46had a serious
15:47financial motive
15:48to kill Leslie.
15:50Now, he or she
15:51might not have said
15:52that in such overt terms,
15:54but that was
15:54the clear import
15:55of the letter,
15:56that this was not
15:57an accident,
15:58that this was a homicide.
15:59That kind of spurred
16:01a renewed interest,
16:02certainly by me,
16:04in considering
16:05bringing in
16:06Mr. Newlander
16:06for a further interview.
16:10Just as the district attorney
16:12resumed the investigation
16:13into Leslie's death,
16:15Leslie's friend
16:16and former medical examiner,
16:18Mary Jumbellic,
16:19got in touch.
16:21I had worked for years
16:23with William Fitzpatrick,
16:25and even though
16:26I hadn't spoken to him
16:27probably at that point
16:28in, you know,
16:29four years,
16:30I called him
16:31because I just wanted
16:33to alert him
16:34that someone the police
16:35is looking at
16:36is going to leave
16:37the country.
16:40I telephoned Fitz,
16:42and I said
16:44I was calling
16:45about a friend of mine.
16:46Before I could say
16:47anything further,
16:48he said,
16:49Leslie London Newlander.
16:53It was a good guess
16:54on my part.
16:55I did not know
16:56why Mary was calling me.
16:57I did not know
16:58that she was very close
16:59to Bob and Leslie.
17:01I hadn't really
17:02seen everything
17:03at that point
17:05because we were still
17:06in the embryonic stages
17:08of recharging
17:09this homicide investigation.
17:12But the crucial thing
17:14that I said to Mary
17:14was, would you look
17:15at the file?
17:21I realized that
17:22something about
17:24the cause
17:24and the manner of death
17:25were not settled.
17:28Only thing I knew
17:30was that Leslie
17:31had fallen in the shower.
17:33I didn't know
17:35what her injuries were.
17:36I didn't know
17:37if she had a heart attack.
17:38I didn't know
17:40anything.
17:40But I had a drive
17:42to try to help
17:43and answer the questions.
17:46That is what I spent
17:48my life doing,
17:48looking at the dead
17:51and speaking for them
17:52and trying to understand
17:53what happened to them.
17:54And so then I said,
17:57yes, I'll look at the file.
18:00That's when things
18:01really took off
18:02and it became
18:02a full-throttled
18:04homicide investigation.
18:12Following
18:13an anonymous tip-off,
18:15District Attorney
18:16William Fitzpatrick
18:17had reopened
18:18the investigation
18:19into Leslie's death.
18:21Had she slipped
18:23and fallen
18:23in the shower
18:24as her husband
18:25Bob claimed?
18:26Or had she been murdered?
18:30Hoping for a second opinion,
18:32William sent the case file
18:33to former medical examiner
18:35Mary Jumbelic.
18:37I focused really quickly
18:39on Leslie herself
18:42because that is my area
18:44of expertise,
18:46the examination
18:47of the deceased.
18:48And so I focused
18:48on her body position,
18:51the wounds I could see,
18:52what I could see
18:53at the scene,
18:54and all the details
18:56that I could learn
18:57from the autopsy.
18:58The photographs
18:59were very graphic.
19:05It was shocking
19:06to see my friend
19:07in the photographs,
19:09but even more shocking
19:11to see the trauma
19:12to her body.
19:14Leslie's right side
19:16of her head
19:17was bleeding extensively
19:19with a massive
19:20open wound there,
19:21and the skull
19:23was caved in partly.
19:27looking like two blows
19:29to the head,
19:30at least.
19:31And in addition to that,
19:33she had injuries
19:34on her face
19:35and on her neck.
19:37She had bruising
19:38on her arms.
19:39She had injuries
19:40on her fingers
19:41with bruising.
19:42The type of wound
19:43that she had,
19:45the amount of fracturing
19:47of the skull,
19:48and the other injuries
19:51that are present
19:51on the body
19:54all point to
19:55inflicted injury
19:57as opposed to
19:58just tripping
19:59and falling.
20:03But other details
20:05documented
20:06at the scene
20:07of Leslie's death
20:07also raise questions
20:09about Bob's story.
20:10She was laying
20:12on the floor
20:13of her bedroom
20:14face up
20:15and had been
20:17scooched
20:18into an area
20:19between the end table
20:20and the bed,
20:21so not a really
20:22ideal position
20:23for CPR.
20:25Why a physician
20:26would choose
20:27to carry
20:28an injured person
20:29who potentially
20:31could have
20:31a neck injury
20:3260 feet
20:34to perform CPR,
20:36certainly it's
20:38suggestive
20:38of a concern.
20:42But in addition
20:43to that,
20:43there were
20:44blood trails
20:45going all the way
20:46from the bed
20:47to the shower
20:49and not much
20:51per se
20:52in the shower
20:52itself,
20:53even though
20:54that was
20:54the purported
20:55area of the fall.
20:57The manner of death
21:00being called
21:01an accident
21:01didn't capture
21:03what really happened
21:04to Leslie,
21:05that she had
21:05had trauma,
21:06certainly,
21:07but was not
21:08consistent with
21:09a fall.
21:12She had been
21:13struck in the head
21:14and it was
21:15a homicide.
21:18Mary took
21:19her findings
21:19to William
21:20and he requested
21:21a search warrant
21:22for the Newlander's
21:23home.
21:25Around six months
21:26after Leslie's
21:27death,
21:28Mary,
21:28William,
21:29and forensic
21:30pathologist
21:30Dr. Barden
21:31visited the house,
21:33which they were
21:34now viewing
21:34as a crime scene.
21:37The house
21:38had been sold
21:38but the new
21:39owners hadn't
21:40moved in yet
21:40and the second
21:41floor was still
21:42untouched.
21:43And we wanted
21:44to focus on
21:45the area
21:46in the bedroom
21:47where Dr. Newlander
21:49claims he took
21:50Leslie
21:51after he removed
21:53her body
21:53from the shower.
21:54Most of the blood
21:55on the wall
21:56had been cleaned away
21:57but several things
21:58of incredible
21:59importance
22:00remained.
22:03So we ripped
22:04up the carpet
22:05and there's
22:06a little rubber
22:07undercarriage
22:08to the carpet.
22:09That was completely
22:10soaked with blood
22:11and then when we
22:12lifted that up,
22:13the floorboard
22:16completely soaked
22:17with blood.
22:17Should have been
22:18a minimal amount
22:19of blood
22:19because she had
22:20no pulse.
22:21In fact,
22:22there was a massive
22:24amount of blood
22:25completely inconsistent
22:26with his story.
22:28What that indicates
22:30to me
22:30is that while
22:31she's alive
22:31and has a pulse
22:33and is bleeding,
22:34her head
22:35is somewhere
22:36in that vicinity.
22:39The other amazing
22:40thing that we were
22:41able to get
22:41from that examination
22:43was the headboard.
22:45Now,
22:45it is very,
22:46very difficult
22:47to see any physical
22:48evidence on the board
22:50because it's
22:50a cloth-like material
22:52and it's very,
22:54very dark.
22:54And then when we
22:55examined that,
22:58there were several
23:00dozen blood spatters
23:01from Leslie.
23:07The new evidence
23:09discovered at the
23:09Newlander's home
23:10was sent away
23:11for forensic analysis.
23:14I knew Leslie's death
23:15wasn't an accident
23:16when I looked at
23:17the pictures of her body.
23:20The scene was
23:21corroborative
23:22with the findings there.
23:24This is a homicide.
23:25This is not
23:27a fall-from-standing
23:28height accident.
23:31Six months
23:32after Leslie's death,
23:34her case was now
23:35a full-blown
23:36murder investigation.
23:37But her death certificate
23:39remained an issue.
23:40It would be
23:41very difficult
23:42to ask a jury
23:43to convict someone
23:44beyond a reasonable
23:46doubt of a homicide
23:47when your medical
23:48examiner says,
23:49hold on,
23:50she died as a result
23:51of an accident.
23:53William and Mary
23:54presented their findings
23:55to the medical examiner,
23:57Dr. Stoppiker,
23:58to ask if he would
23:59reconsider the manner
24:00of Leslie's death.
24:02We discussed our
24:04difference of opinion
24:04and discussed the science
24:06behind it
24:07and talked about
24:08wounding patterns
24:09and what happens
24:09to the brain
24:10in a fall
24:11versus blows
24:12to the head.
24:14And at the end
24:16of that,
24:16I think the medical examiner
24:17felt they needed more.
24:19They needed more information.
24:20They needed more
24:22opinion
24:22in order to budge
24:25from the concept
24:26of the fall.
24:28So we decided
24:30that the expertise
24:31of a neuropathologist
24:33and particularly
24:34a forensic neuropathologist
24:38would be useful
24:39to elucidate
24:41this difference
24:43of opinion.
24:49In December 2013,
24:51while William awaited
24:53the forensic neuropathologist
24:54report,
24:55he approached Bob's lawyer
24:57with a request
24:58for a formal interview.
25:00Robert said
25:00that he had nothing
25:01to hide,
25:02so he voluntarily
25:03sat down
25:04for an interview
25:05with officers
25:06and the district attorney.
25:09We're going to talk
25:10about the events
25:11regarding the death
25:12of your wife,
25:13September 17, 2012.
25:15We're going to also talk
25:16about your relationship
25:17with your lady wife.
25:18During the questioning,
25:20he admitted
25:21that there was difficulty
25:22in their marriage.
25:23But you were sleeping
25:24separately.
25:26Okay, what was the reason
25:26for that?
25:27We had thought
25:30about a trial separation.
25:32You mean that you were
25:33thinking about getting
25:34the awards perhaps?
25:35There was nothing
25:36about the process
25:36we were talking about.
25:38We did it.
25:39We were talking
25:40about a trial separation.
25:42That's the only thing
25:42we discussed.
25:45William soon turned
25:46his questioning
25:47to the day
25:48that Leslie died.
25:49He says that he got
25:50up that morning,
25:52that he went jogging.
25:53He came back,
25:54prepared a cup of coffee
25:56for his wife.
25:57You take it.
25:58Is Leslie in her bed?
26:00Yes, I take it to her.
26:02Tell us what happens
26:03when you went
26:04to her bedroom.
26:06The shower is on.
26:07I hear the water running
26:08and I place it
26:10on the nightstand.
26:13He cleaned up
26:14from jogging,
26:15then began to make
26:16a small breakfast,
26:18then goes back upstairs.
26:20The shower is still running.
26:21Now she's been in there,
26:23according to him,
26:25at least 35 minutes
26:27at that point.
26:28He claims that he goes
26:29into the bathroom
26:30to see if she's okay.
26:33So when you get up
26:33to that door,
26:34doctor,
26:34tell us what you're doing.
26:35Well, again,
26:36I knock on the door,
26:38glass door,
26:38right there,
26:39call out.
26:40You're right, man.
26:43I'm still here.
26:45It's nice.
26:46Okay.
26:46And why did you do that?
26:48I opened the door
26:51to obviously
26:52see if she's,
26:54you know,
26:54just thinking,
26:55God,
26:56that's something she did.
27:01And did you see
27:02any signs of blood?
27:07I basically
27:09went into a shot
27:11to see her there.
27:13But I reached out
27:14to her again.
27:19I feel
27:20also so.
27:31This is a doctor
27:32of 30 years.
27:33What's the first thing
27:35you would do
27:35if you had never
27:36even seen
27:37a medical school?
27:38There's a phone
27:39five feet away from them
27:41on the counter
27:41of the bathroom sink.
27:43Pick up the phone.
27:44Call 911.
27:46Instead,
27:47he leaves her there.
27:48He does a cursory check
27:50to see if she's alive,
27:51claims that she's breathing,
27:53goes about 90 feet
27:55further into the house
27:56to get his daughter
27:57to call 911.
28:00Bob claimed
28:02he then carried Leslie
28:03from the bathroom
28:04into the bedroom
28:05to continue CPR.
28:07I then simply
28:08slid over to him
28:10a number of photographs
28:15and said,
28:17Dr. Newlander,
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
28:30surrounding Leslie'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 on the floor
28:42while he's trying
28:43to figure out
28:43what to do.
28:46This is not
28:47a premeditated crime.
28:49He did not plot this out.
28:53This was a rage homicide.
28:55Something snapped.
28:58They argued about something.
29:00Whatever it was,
29:00it set him off.
29:01And then he's faced
29:03with an opportunity now.
29:04What do I do?
29:06The only thing I can say
29:07to describe that wound
29:09is that she fell in the shower.
29:15But if Bob had murdered Leslie
29:17in the bedroom,
29:18the one thing
29:19that didn't add up
29:20was why the bedsheets
29:22weren't covered in 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.
29:36And 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 the bed
29:44on Friday.
29:47And she says,
29:48by the way,
29:49there's a pillow missing.
29:50There's only three pillows there.
29:55So when he was asked
29:56about the pillows,
29:57oh, we didn't have a pillow
30:00in a guest room
30:01and we needed a pillow
30:02for that.
30:04Who was that for?
30:06Well, people were coming over.
30:08Oh, yeah, people were coming over
30:10after she was dead.
30:11The pillow was missing
30:12before she was dead, Doc.
30:13What are you talking about?
30:16There's no question
30:17in my mind
30:17that the original sheets
30:18that she left
30:19on that bed Friday
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 of those items.
30:44With missing bed sheets
30:45and no murder weapon,
30:47investigators couldn'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, 18 months
31:00after Leslie's death,
31:02came the news
31:03they'd been waiting for.
31:04The neuropathology report
31:06and evaluation of 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
31:28with 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. Stapiker changed
31:38not the cause of death,
31:40but the manner of death.
31:41The cause 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.
31:52Three days later,
31:53on June 23rd,
31:55Dr. Robert Newlander
31:56is 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,
32:17her husband,
32:18Dr. Robert Newlander,
32:20went on trial
32:20for her murder.
32:22Big trials are part theater,
32:25and no one knew that better
32:27than Bob Newlander.
32:29Every 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,
32:40or, in some instances,
32:42Leslie's sister,
32:43consoling him as 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.
33:02They have not been subject
33:03to all of that information yet.
33:05And so, at the moment,
33:07naturally,
33:07a family going through
33:08a 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.
33:19And if they believe
33:20that their father did this,
33:22they're also, in a way,
33:23losing their father.
33:25So you can understand
33:25why people group together
33:27in this moment,
33:28because they're just trying
33:29to protect the little,
33:30sort of,
33:31normality of 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
33:46by 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,
34:12on the blinds,
34:13to say nothing
34:14of the blood
34:15in the bathroom.
34:21Here's the explanation
34:22they come up with.
34:24So he went out for a jog,
34:26came home,
34:27showered up,
34:28put his pajamas on,
34:30and then put another
34:32pajama top on
34:33for some reason.
34:35And when he was
34:37carrying Leslie,
34:38that top became
34:40saturated with blood.
34:44He took the shirt off
34:46because it was
34:47uncomfortable for him,
34:48and this blood
34:50cast off
34:52and spattered
34:52at various points
34:55throughout the bedroom.
34:58Secondarily,
34:59when the EMTs got there,
35:02as they removed
35:03their gloves,
35:04they removed them
35:05slingshot fashion,
35:07and that spattered
35:09a lot of blood
35:10throughout as well.
35:13Now, there's two
35:14significant difficulties
35:15with both
35:16of those explanations.
35:18Number one,
35:19no one saw him
35:20with a second shirt.
35:21The second thing is
35:23that the EMTs
35:24were 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 any blood
35:34on our gloves
35:34that we noticed
35:35because she wasn't bleeding.
35:39The prosecution
35:40also argued
35:42that Leslie's head injuries
35:43were not caused
35:44by an impact
35:45in the shower,
35:46as Bob had claimed.
35:48On the right side
35:49of the head,
35:50the skull injury
35:52is caved in,
35:54partly,
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 there's two blows
36:03on that side of the head.
36:06So both of those things
36:08don't line up
36:10with the stone bench theory.
36:12If you leave aside
36:13the medical evidence,
36:15the blood spatter,
36:16I thought the most
36:17significant part
36:18was calling the daughter
36:20to the stand.
36:23The daughter was called
36:25as a witness,
36:25and the 911 call
36:28was played
36:29in the courtroom.
36:31Ma'am?
36:32Oh, my God!
36:33Oh, my God!
36:34My mother!
36:35My mother!
36:36My mother!
36:37My mother!
36:39What was chilling
36:40in the courtroom
36:41was that the family
36:44is there listening
36:46to the daughter's 911 call,
36:49and it's just heartbreaking
36:53because you can feel
36:54the pain
36:55that the daughter feels
36:58when she first sees
37:01when she first sees
37:01her mother
37:01being carried
37:03by her father,
37:05and the 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 stack up
37:20to 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 911 call
37:29on hold,
37:30leaving her mother's office
37:32to head toward
37:33the bathroom,
37:34where she claimed
37:35Leslie was lying.
37:36Stand the phone, okay?
37:38I need to put you
37:38on hold.
37:39I'm not...
37:39It's like a house phone.
37:42When quizzed
37:44about the 12-second gap
37:45between switching phones,
37:47her story fell apart.
37:49Her story had changed
37:51significantly at trial
37:53in this very,
37:55very important regard.
37:57Yes, I went into the room
37:59with a bidet in the toilet,
38:00and I picked up the phone,
38:03but it wasn't working.
38:04So I dropped that phone.
38:07I then assisted my father
38:09in removing my mother
38:11from the shower.
38:12We then took her
38:14a couple of feet.
38:15We laid her down
38:16outside of the bathroom.
38:17My dad began
38:19to perform CPR.
38:22It didn't seem
38:23to be successful,
38:25so we moved her again
38:27further into the bedroom
38:29and dropped her
38:30just short of the bed.
38:32I then went,
38:33remembering that
38:34the 911 operator
38:35was still on hold.
38:37I 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.
38:43None of that
38:44is remotely possible.
38:47You cannot do
38:48everything that she claims
38:50that she did
38:51in 12 seconds,
38:54which was the amount
38:55of time between
38:56the 911 operator
38:58being put on hold
39:02and the oh-my-god-there's-blood-everywhere
39:05resumption of 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 are false,
39:22but you also have
39:23to remember
39:23that she has witnessed
39:25something really traumatic,
39:26you know,
39:26her mother dying
39:27in heinous circumstances,
39:29and so trauma
39:30can do really strange 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 for 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
40:10because juries
40:11are very earnest
40:12and they try very hard
40:14to do the right thing,
40:15but it doesn't always
40:16come out
40:16as a forensic professional
40:19might think it would.
40:23After three days
40:24of deliberation,
40:25the jury returned
40:26their verdicts.
40:27They found Robert Newlander
40:29guilty
40:31of second-degree murder
40:33and tampering
40:34with evidence.
40:35Everybody in this case
40:37was resolute.
40:38They knew that he did it.
40:39They felt comfortable
40:40with their verdict,
40:41and I felt great.
40:42I 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 to life.
40:58Bob was facing
40:59incarceration
41:00for the rest of his life,
41:02but his defense team
41:03appealed
41:04and argued
41:05for a retrial,
41:06citing serious
41:07juror misconduct.
41:08An 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 that this juror
41:26had sent over 7,000
41:28messages
41:29during this three-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 guilty.
41:51And she failed
41:52to disclose this
41:53to the court.
41:54The outcome
41:55of all of this
41:55was that in 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,
42:15very, very good lawyer
42:16out of New York City,
42:18and we began
42:19to prepare
42:20for trial number two.
42:23On February 28, 2022,
42:27almost 10 years
42:28after Leslie's death,
42:30the retrial began.
42:32I thought another
42:33group of jurors
42:34presented with
42:35the same information
42:36would see it
42:37the same way,
42:38but again,
42:39you never know
42:40until it's all the way
42:42through the trial.
42:43The jury,
42:44to 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, thank goodness.
42:58I hope the family
42:59can try 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 2, 2022,
43:11Bob was sentenced
43:12to 20 years to life
43:14for the second time,
43:15thanks not only
43:17to the prosecution team,
43:18but also Leslie's friend,
43:21former medical examiner,
43:22Mary Jambalik.
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.
43:32And yes,
43:33I do feel proud of it,
43:35but I also feel like
43:37it was a fulfilling
43:39of what has always
43:41been my calling,
43:42which was to do that
43:43for the dead.
43:46I remember Leslie
43:48for her lightheartedness
43:49and 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 those
44:18that knew her
44:19should think of that
44:21and remember her.
45:00you
45:03was so important
45:03to have to meet
45:03the people
45:03of the visitor
45:03and the people
45:08by her
45:08the sociologist
45:08who should let refuge
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