Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 04: Malice - video Dailymotion

Chainoflove

Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 04: Malice

Transcript

00:00:02tonight on dateline he says i'm so sorry but your dad has passed the coroner is telling me

00:00:09this is a suicide this is a suicide there's no freaking way my husband just shot his show i ran

00:00:18down the hallway i thought i was gonna lose my mom she was like don't go back in the bedroom

00:00:24this

00:00:24was your dad's wife yeah you see the handgun right there in his hand i mean it's obvious you didn't

00:00:29think his body needed another look any more testing any more anything no based on the information that

00:00:34i had at that time was that a mistake zero investigation zero autopsy open and shut we

00:00:39have pictures of what exactly happened in that bedroom it was painfully obvious the body had

00:00:45been moved you didn't have to be an expert to see that this crime scene was staged you have to

00:00:50admit

00:00:50that it does look suspicious i don't know what it looks like to other people i know he loved me

00:00:56and

00:00:56i loved him fire shot through my entire body my dad did not take his own life how does your

00:01:01family

00:01:02handle this we get to work it was ruled a suicide but who really pulled the trigger

00:01:08a family fights to uncover the truth i'm lester holt and this is dateline

00:01:22here's blaine alexander with malice

00:01:32time once it's gone it's the one thing you can never get back time with loved ones time spent waiting

00:01:41for answers the clock on this story for this family began on a saturday morning i want to talk about

00:01:48june 28th 2014

00:01:56okay

00:02:03all benny georgia a woman on the line with 9-1-1 she was frantic

00:02:17her name was susan embert she was calling about her husband jake

00:02:21i thought maybe he was cleaning his guns or something because he's always messing with them you know

00:02:33so i i didn't know what happened when you heard the noise did you immediately know it was a gunshot

00:02:39i knew it was a gunshot but i didn't know if it came from back there or where i just

00:02:42heard it was loud

00:02:55she was still on the phone when a truck pulled up to the house

00:02:59it was will embert jake's 17 year old son from a previous marriage

00:03:07he had been there earlier that morning and was coming back to spend the day with his dad

00:03:12turn my truck off

00:03:14and i can hear yelling

00:03:15susan comes out like just comes barreling out the house real fast she's on the phone she's yelling

00:03:20could you hear what she's saying

00:03:22just is discombobulated and i'm like what's going on

00:03:25and she was like don't go back in the bedroom

00:03:28you were trying to keep him away from the house

00:03:30to protect him

00:03:31you know from not seeing that

00:03:33sight

00:03:35don't go back there they said don't go back there don't touch nothing

00:03:37the ambulance is on the way

00:03:39i was like why

00:03:41and she wouldn't tell me why

00:03:42and eventually she just told she told me that

00:03:45my dad shot himself

00:03:47oh god

00:03:49what did you do

00:03:50i fell on the ground

00:03:51i think i blacked out

00:03:53i was very upset i was crying

00:04:05i remember

00:04:06i looked up

00:04:08well i remember susan

00:04:10saying that the police are here

00:04:13i remember i opened my eyes

00:04:15and

00:04:15the daugherty county police car pulling up the driveway

00:04:18will got on the phone with his older sister rachel

00:04:21she was 30 at the time

00:04:22he said calm as can be

00:04:27i'll never ever ever forget it

00:04:30i don't know how to tell you this

00:04:34instantly i'm thinking

00:04:35oh my gosh my little brother's about to tell me

00:04:38that he got his girlfriend pregnant

00:04:40because you could hear in his voice

00:04:41something was

00:04:43yes

00:04:43something was just off

00:04:46and he just paused

00:04:48he didn't say anything

00:04:49and i'm like

00:04:51just spit it out will

00:04:52and he said

00:04:56dad's dead

00:04:57and i

00:05:00have to get there

00:05:01i have to get to him

00:05:03i have to get to my dad's house

00:05:04jump in the vehicle

00:05:05don't stop at any red lights

00:05:07don't stop at any stop signs

00:05:10at the house

00:05:11daugherty county police officers were already inside

00:05:14there's blood on the floor right there

00:05:17as they surveyed the scene in the bedroom

00:05:19their conversation was broadcast over the county-wide police channel

00:05:23there goes the bullet right there too

00:05:27yeah right there in the wall

00:05:29there's a gun

00:05:30i haven't touched anything

00:05:32there's all this matter and stuff on that

00:05:34do we need to retain this

00:05:36the weapon

00:05:37i don't see why

00:05:39the coroner arrived next

00:05:41and had a look at jake's body

00:05:42he was still there

00:05:44when rachel pulled up to the house

00:05:46i get to my dad's house

00:05:48they have a very long

00:05:49dirt driveway

00:05:50so i park at the end of the driveway

00:05:52and i immediately jump out of the vehicle

00:05:54i'm stomping up

00:05:56the driveway

00:05:57my fists are

00:05:58balled by my side

00:05:59and i'm literally just stomping up the driveway

00:06:01i see officers

00:06:02up at the house

00:06:03i see susan standing out there up at the house

00:06:06and instantly

00:06:07i'm like

00:06:08what the f*** happened

00:06:09what the f*** happened

00:06:13it would not be the last time jake's family asked that question

00:06:17nobody ever asked you

00:06:19hey what did you see

00:06:20what happened

00:06:21you didn't think his body needed another look

00:06:23didn't need any more testing

00:06:25any more anything

00:06:25nothing went upstairs on in your head

00:06:28nothing did

00:06:30nothing

00:06:30there's blood splatter

00:06:32floor

00:06:33never cleaned up

00:06:35you basically have a detective's mind at this point

00:06:38no

00:06:39i just watch

00:06:40daylight

00:06:41that's what i want

00:06:55jake and brooke's sister yvonne lived 600 miles away in north carolina jake's daughter rachel called her

00:07:02she said

00:07:03ain't your mom

00:07:06my dad shot herself

00:07:10and immediately i thought he was cleaning his gun and it must have went off

00:07:14so i started screaming at her and asking her

00:07:18where is he

00:07:19i just kept screaming where is he

00:07:25and she said

00:07:29he's not here anymore

00:07:32i felt like i left my body

00:07:34i said i

00:07:36this can't be

00:07:37it can't be

00:07:41it was a cruel mixture of pain

00:07:43and sheer disbelief

00:07:45that jake was suddenly gone

00:07:46he had always been dedicated to his family

00:07:49did he have a

00:07:51a philosophy or a special way that he lived his life

00:07:53yeah you know he just always put himself full force than ever in anything if he committed to

00:07:59something he was going to just see it through and that was just with everything

00:08:04he was also a jokester who loved to make others laugh

00:08:07so he would throw a joke in any situation

00:08:09in any situation

00:08:09no matter what

00:08:10yes

00:08:10even if it wasn't really appropriate

00:08:12yes yes that part

00:08:14but what really made jake light up his family says

00:08:17being a dad

00:08:19jake wasn't rachel's biological father

00:08:21he married her mother when rachel was just a baby

00:08:24he was never like a stepfather or an adoptive father

00:08:27he was your daddy

00:08:28he was my dad

00:08:29like through and through and through my dad

00:08:31yeah

00:08:32i love how you describe him

00:08:33because you talk about he was funny

00:08:35but at the same time he had this military like discipline about him

00:08:39oh absolutely

00:08:39yeah definitely authoritative

00:08:41you wanted to always remain on my dad's good side

00:08:45jake was an army veteran and mechanic at a nearby marine base

00:08:48he was a guy's guy who rachel says did his best to relate to his makeup loving daughter

00:08:55and then his son will was born

00:08:57i don't even know if my mom got a hold him that day

00:09:00i'm pretty sure my dad was like

00:09:02my son

00:09:03you know

00:09:03i mean he was just so over the moon

00:09:05immediate bond

00:09:06yeah

00:09:07you guys were

00:09:08instantly best friends

00:09:09right

00:09:10you know like most kids would try and get away from their parents

00:09:13as often as they could

00:09:14but i always

00:09:16wanted to hang out with my dad

00:09:18jake loved taking his son to the racetrack

00:09:21cars had always been his thing since he was a little boy

00:09:24his sister remembers a time jake took the family ford out for a spin

00:09:28when he was six years old

00:09:30he had gotten in the car

00:09:33in the driveway and i guess he knocked it out of gear

00:09:36so this man knocked on the door and told my mom

00:09:38um i believe that's your car across the street

00:09:42and it rolled out of the driveway

00:09:44yes

00:09:44oh gosh

00:09:45but jake acted like it was great

00:09:47he was you know at the steering wheel doing his little thing

00:09:50and had no idea that he had done something wrong

00:09:52jake was the youngest of six

00:09:54and the only boy

00:09:55you all must have doted on him

00:09:58like crazy

00:09:59we used to tease and say that he had six mothers

00:10:02five sisters and his real mother

00:10:05jake went from a childhood surrounded by women

00:10:08to a marriage of 26 years

00:10:10when that marriage ended in divorce

00:10:12jake found himself without a woman in his life

00:10:15for the first time

00:10:17he joined an online dating service and soon met susan

00:10:21she was 48

00:10:22jake 51

00:10:24what was it about jake that caught your eye

00:10:27he was uh

00:10:28well around my age

00:10:30and he was clean cut

00:10:32i mean you know we just clicked

00:10:33we clicked

00:10:33we just had a good time

00:10:35we didn't have to do anything

00:10:36we could just ride somewhere

00:10:37and we had fun

00:10:38she was a nurse

00:10:40um you know

00:10:41she was a good person

00:10:43he was interested in her

00:10:45so he was really going on about her

00:10:47yes

00:10:48just a few months into the relationship

00:10:50jake's health took a sudden turn

00:10:52he had a heart attack

00:10:55susan moved in with jake as he was recovering

00:10:57and she says

00:10:58very soon after

00:10:59he suggested they get married

00:11:01i said are you serious

00:11:02and he's like yes

00:11:03and i was like no

00:11:04i'm not ready to get married

00:11:05were you surprised when he asked you to marry him

00:11:07yes

00:11:08but

00:11:09i know he loved me

00:11:11and i loved him

00:11:12three months later

00:11:13he asked me to marry him again

00:11:14this time the answer was yes

00:11:16they married in a short courthouse ceremony

00:11:19in front of just a few family members

00:11:21to rachel it all seemed too fast

00:11:24but in a way she could understand it

00:11:26sometimes when things happen

00:11:29you know like him having a heart attack

00:11:31um her being a nurse

00:11:35yeah you probably would want that woman's touch

00:11:38you know around

00:11:40that's what i would want

00:11:41you know i would want to be

00:11:42cared for

00:11:43yeah absolutely

00:11:45after recovering from the heart attack

00:11:47jake had a new health problem

00:11:49he started having seizures

00:11:51they checked him out

00:11:52and

00:11:53they couldn't find nothing wrong

00:11:55but he was having seizures

00:11:57i didn't understand

00:11:5916 months after his first heart attack

00:12:01jake had another one

00:12:02and it was massive

00:12:04jake survived

00:12:05jake survived

00:12:06but he started to have

00:12:07even more symptoms

00:12:08stomach pain

00:12:09and nausea

00:12:10at this point will

00:12:11were you getting

00:12:12worried

00:12:12yeah

00:12:13he started just getting

00:12:14sick and

00:12:15sicker and sicker

00:12:17and just wasn't getting better

00:12:18he ended up

00:12:19because he was so sick

00:12:20um

00:12:21having to

00:12:22remain out of work

00:12:24um

00:12:25which that was the first

00:12:26in his

00:12:26entire working life

00:12:28that he's ever

00:12:29missed

00:12:30so much work

00:12:31his health problems

00:12:32led to financial problems

00:12:34and then

00:12:34another blow

00:12:35his dog

00:12:36zoe got sick

00:12:37and had to be put down

00:12:39my dad was crying

00:12:40he was upset

00:12:42he said that

00:12:44susan

00:12:45took zoe

00:12:46to the vet

00:12:47the vet said that she had

00:12:48distemper

00:12:49and that she needed

00:12:50to be euthanized

00:12:51it was all too much

00:12:53losing his health

00:12:54his dog

00:12:55and jake's family

00:12:56could tell

00:12:57it was taking a toll

00:12:58soon

00:12:59the normally

00:13:00upbeat persona

00:13:01was largely gone

00:13:04did you get the sense

00:13:05that he was

00:13:05trying to put on

00:13:06a brave face for you

00:13:07i feel like he was

00:13:08trying to put it on

00:13:09for everybody

00:13:10he's a tough guy

00:13:12he was fighting

00:13:14and um

00:13:17i think he knew

00:13:18that i would try

00:13:18to help him

00:13:20just didn't get

00:13:21the chance

00:13:23let me get some gloves

00:13:24and i'll get that gun

00:13:25for you

00:13:26now june 28th

00:13:282014

00:13:29after struggling

00:13:29with his health

00:13:30for a year and a half

00:13:31jake was gone

00:13:33the victim

00:13:34it seemed

00:13:34of his own depression

00:13:35you can see the handgun

00:13:37right there

00:13:37in his hand

00:13:37right there

00:13:38i mean

00:13:38i'm not no csi

00:13:40kind of person

00:13:41or nothing like that

00:13:41but i mean

00:13:43it's obvious

00:13:43an obvious suicide

00:13:47to first responders

00:13:48at the scene

00:13:49susan was telling police

00:13:50about jake's health

00:13:51struggles

00:13:52and how sad

00:13:53he had been

00:14:01after assessing the scene

00:14:03the coroner made it

00:14:04official

00:14:04he documented jake's gunshot

00:14:06as self-inflicted

00:14:08open and shut

00:14:09it seemed

00:14:10but not to everyone

00:14:12what are you thinking

00:14:13at this point

00:14:14things are not adding up

00:14:15nothing is adding up

00:14:33susan ember remembers the days

00:14:34following her husband's death

00:14:36as some of the hardest

00:14:37of her life

00:14:38i thought he was going to be

00:14:41the one

00:14:42that

00:14:43you know you grow old together

00:14:46rockin' rockin' chairs

00:14:47front porch

00:14:48kind of thing

00:14:49after that

00:14:50time

00:14:50i uh

00:14:51i wasn't in my right mind

00:14:53for two months

00:14:53i didn't think i was coming back

00:14:55and my mom had to take care of me

00:14:57this is susan's daughter

00:14:59krista

00:14:59were you talking to your mom

00:15:01throughout this time

00:15:02what was her state of mind then

00:15:05she was

00:15:06she was just crying

00:15:07she was hysterical

00:15:08she was devastated

00:15:09that her husband was gone

00:15:11i knew that jake was

00:15:13was sad

00:15:14and

00:15:14and stuff like that

00:15:16but like

00:15:18you never think somebody's actually

00:15:20going to do something like that

00:15:22will certainly didn't think

00:15:24his dad was depressed enough

00:15:25to take his own life

00:15:26and not on that day

00:15:28of all days

00:15:29he'd seen his dad

00:15:30just that morning

00:15:31they'd had coffee together

00:15:32and made plans

00:15:33to go to the racetrack

00:15:34in fact

00:15:35jake's old car

00:15:36was set to be raced

00:15:37that very afternoon

00:15:39a 1975 firebird

00:15:41it wasn't even a question

00:15:43it was like

00:15:44we're gonna go see it

00:15:45we're going

00:15:46because he loved that car

00:15:47he did

00:15:47i said okay

00:15:48um

00:15:49i'm gonna go

00:15:51pick up my girlfriend

00:15:52and come back

00:15:53and then we can go

00:15:54when you left

00:15:55what was his demeanor like

00:15:57was he excited

00:15:57what was

00:15:58yeah

00:15:58yeah he was

00:15:59i just expected him

00:16:01you know

00:16:01to go

00:16:02shower and get dressed

00:16:03and we

00:16:04by then i'd be back

00:16:06that timing seemed

00:16:07especially puzzling

00:16:09to rachel

00:16:09she just couldn't

00:16:11wrap her mind

00:16:11around her dad

00:16:12ending his life

00:16:13then

00:16:14when will

00:16:14was on his way

00:16:15back to the house

00:16:16and would likely

00:16:17see the aftermath

00:16:18the relationship

00:16:19that my dad

00:16:21and my brother

00:16:21had together

00:16:22was so

00:16:24oh my gosh

00:16:27when i say

00:16:28best dad award

00:16:29i mean that

00:16:30in all capital letters

00:16:31he was

00:16:32he never

00:16:33ever

00:16:34knowing that

00:16:35will was coming

00:16:36right back

00:16:38never

00:16:38would have done that

00:16:40to my brother

00:16:42confused

00:16:43and looking for answers

00:16:44rachel and will

00:16:45went back to the house

00:16:46that night

00:16:47after the shooting

00:16:47they went into the

00:16:49bedroom where their

00:16:49dad died

00:16:50i went back there

00:16:52um

00:16:52saw it

00:16:54the sheets were

00:16:55stripped off

00:16:55the mattress was

00:16:56still there

00:16:57there were two

00:16:58towels

00:16:59laid

00:17:01on top of the

00:17:02blood

00:17:02but the blood

00:17:02was still soaking

00:17:03through the towels

00:17:04and then so my

00:17:05brother and i

00:17:06were just standing

00:17:07in the room

00:17:07and we just

00:17:08started crying

00:17:10rachel tried to

00:17:11imagine what her

00:17:12dad had been

00:17:12thinking

00:17:13it wasn't easy

00:17:14my dad was

00:17:16sick

00:17:17he was experiencing

00:17:18health issues

00:17:19you know

00:17:20i try to put myself

00:17:22in everybody's shoes

00:17:23okay you're sick

00:17:24all of this stuff

00:17:25is transpiring

00:17:26and everything

00:17:27i just kept being

00:17:29right to the back

00:17:30there's no freaking

00:17:31way

00:17:32she wanted more

00:17:33information from

00:17:34susan

00:17:35but susan and her

00:17:36dad hadn't been

00:17:37married that long

00:17:38just over a year

00:17:39rachel didn't know

00:17:40her very well

00:17:41and it was an

00:17:42emotional time

00:17:43for everyone

00:17:44when rachel and

00:17:45will returned to

00:17:46the house the next

00:17:47day the locks

00:17:48were being changed

00:17:49changing the locks

00:17:51on our home

00:17:52why

00:17:53that part

00:17:54why

00:17:55why

00:17:56that is

00:17:58you know i mean

00:17:59the trauma makes

00:18:01you do weird

00:18:01things

00:18:02but that was

00:18:03very bizarre

00:18:05also strange

00:18:06what rachel says

00:18:07happened when

00:18:07family members

00:18:08tried to talk

00:18:09to susan about

00:18:10planning a memorial

00:18:11service

00:18:12well we're not

00:18:13having a memorial

00:18:13service

00:18:14that's what susan

00:18:15says

00:18:15yeah well

00:18:16why are we not

00:18:17having a funeral

00:18:19service

00:18:19well because he

00:18:20doesn't have any

00:18:21family or friends

00:18:21it was just us

00:18:22it was just us

00:18:23he's got a sister

00:18:24yes

00:18:24got tons of family

00:18:26tons of friends

00:18:27tons of co-workers

00:18:28people who would

00:18:29want to remember him

00:18:29absolutely

00:18:31susan says

00:18:32jake's family

00:18:33has it all wrong

00:18:34she was planning

00:18:35a service but

00:18:36they went ahead

00:18:37and organized one

00:18:38without her

00:18:39they took it

00:18:39upon themselves

00:18:40i guess to have

00:18:41it before me

00:18:41i was i was

00:18:42trying to get it

00:18:43together but

00:18:44it was like they

00:18:44wanted it done

00:18:45right then

00:18:45and did you go

00:18:46to that one

00:18:47i did not

00:18:47i wasn't

00:18:48no i did not

00:18:49i wasn't invited

00:18:50over there

00:18:50they didn't want

00:18:50me there

00:18:51did you feel

00:18:52that there was

00:18:53some contention

00:18:54between you

00:18:55and rachel

00:18:55i felt like

00:18:56something was

00:18:56going on

00:18:57yes i didn't

00:18:58know

00:18:58i was not even

00:18:59in my right

00:19:00mind at that

00:19:00time actually

00:19:01i mean i was

00:19:01really devastated

00:19:04as the emberts

00:19:05said goodbye

00:19:05to jake

00:19:06they were still

00:19:07in disbelief

00:19:08maybe even

00:19:09denial about

00:19:10how he died

00:19:11i remember my dad

00:19:12having a conversation

00:19:13with me about that

00:19:14and how strongly

00:19:15my dad was

00:19:17against suicide

00:19:18thinks that

00:19:19it's a permanent

00:19:20solution to a

00:19:21temporary problem

00:19:22so you were very

00:19:23clear on where

00:19:23your dad stood

00:19:24yeah

00:19:25when it came

00:19:25to suicide

00:19:26yeah

00:19:26i asked this

00:19:27devil's advocate

00:19:29there are

00:19:30unfortunately

00:19:31plenty of people

00:19:31who have

00:19:32mental health

00:19:33issues

00:19:34who mask

00:19:34it very well

00:19:35who can appear

00:19:36happy but

00:19:37still go off

00:19:38and take their

00:19:38own life

00:19:39did you think

00:19:40that was a

00:19:40possibility

00:19:40no

00:19:42i didn't think

00:19:43so at all

00:19:44things are not

00:19:44adding up

00:19:45nothing is

00:19:47adding up

00:19:47we were trying

00:19:49to figure out

00:19:50what really took

00:19:52place on june

00:19:5328th

00:19:55jake's family

00:19:56made a decision

00:19:56they needed

00:19:57someone to look

00:19:58at this

00:19:59this is uh

00:20:00yvonne magnus

00:20:01in reference to

00:20:02my uh

00:20:02the death of my

00:20:04brother

00:20:04yes ma'am

00:20:19like jake's kids

00:20:20his sister yvonne

00:20:21just couldn't accept

00:20:23the official

00:20:23narrative of

00:20:24her brother's

00:20:24death

00:20:25did you believe

00:20:26that your brother

00:20:27had hurt himself

00:20:28oh no

00:20:28instantly i was

00:20:30like no

00:20:31not even for a

00:20:31second

00:20:32not even for a

00:20:32second

00:20:33she drove down

00:20:34from north carolina

00:20:35and went to see

00:20:36the police

00:20:37you're thinking

00:20:37someone has to

00:20:38look into this

00:20:39you're trying to

00:20:40rally someone

00:20:41to look into

00:20:42this case

00:20:43right

00:20:44in fact jake's

00:20:45family pleaded

00:20:46their case to

00:20:46officers several

00:20:47times

00:20:48and so two

00:20:49detectives went

00:20:50to the house

00:20:51they spoke briefly

00:20:52with susan until

00:20:53she declined to

00:20:54talk further

00:20:54but nothing

00:20:55changed

00:20:56this is uh

00:20:57yvonne magnus

00:20:58in reference to

00:20:59my uh

00:21:00the death of my

00:21:01brother

00:21:01yes ma'am

00:21:03yvonne recorded

00:21:04one of her

00:21:04follow-up phone

00:21:05calls with the

00:21:06detective

00:21:06the evidence

00:21:07at the scene

00:21:08and the evidence

00:21:08that we have

00:21:09come across

00:21:10since then

00:21:11there's nothing

00:21:11that would leave

00:21:12our agency to

00:21:14believe that it

00:21:14was homicide

00:21:15so if it went

00:21:16wrong then it'll

00:21:17i guess it'll come

00:21:17back on me

00:21:18you know it is

00:21:19what it is

00:21:19and i mean i

00:21:20can't change

00:21:20what happened

00:21:21you know from

00:21:23the investigation

00:21:23that's what we've

00:21:24determined

00:21:25it's closed

00:21:26nothing

00:21:27they can't do

00:21:28anything

00:21:28you know just

00:21:29in my

00:21:30short time

00:21:31of knowing you

00:21:32yvonne

00:21:33i'm very sure

00:21:34that you

00:21:35are not one

00:21:36to be messed

00:21:36with

00:21:39it's very clear

00:21:40that you know

00:21:40you don't take

00:21:41no for an answer

00:21:42i don't take

00:21:42no for an answer

00:21:43when i believe

00:21:44that

00:21:46somebody either

00:21:47isn't telling

00:21:47the truth

00:21:48or something

00:21:49is very wrong

00:21:50and you believed

00:21:51both of those

00:21:52things

00:21:52yes

00:21:54a friend suggested

00:21:55yvonne try a

00:21:56different approach

00:21:57a private eye

00:21:58had you ever

00:21:59thought of that

00:22:00before did you

00:22:00know much about

00:22:01private investigators

00:22:02no

00:22:03i know for a lot

00:22:04of people that

00:22:04sounds like

00:22:05something you hear

00:22:05in a

00:22:06it was like

00:22:06foreign

00:22:06a movie or a

00:22:08tv show

00:22:08yeah i had no

00:22:10idea what to do

00:22:11where to find one

00:22:11where to go

00:22:12so she did what

00:22:13most of us would

00:22:14do

00:22:14i was sitting in

00:22:15front of my

00:22:16computer and i

00:22:17actually typed

00:22:19private

00:22:19investigators

00:22:20albany georgia

00:22:21just googled

00:22:23just googled

00:22:24and i was crying

00:22:25so hard i couldn't

00:22:26see my screen

00:22:27so i pointed to it

00:22:28and touched the

00:22:29screen

00:22:30and when i did

00:22:31i said lee wilson

00:22:33i got the call

00:22:34lee wilson

00:22:36a former police

00:22:37detective with more

00:22:38than 20 years

00:22:38of experience

00:22:40he's handled all

00:22:41kinds of cases

00:22:42including suicides

00:22:44it had been a month

00:22:45since jake died

00:22:46lee met with his

00:22:47family he listened

00:22:48and he agreed

00:22:49the case did

00:22:50deserve a second

00:22:51look

00:22:52you know your

00:22:53son's gonna be

00:22:54coming back in an

00:22:55hour with his

00:22:56girlfriend and

00:22:57y'all gonna go to

00:22:58a planned event

00:22:59that day and you

00:23:00just walk in the

00:23:01bedroom and take

00:23:01your own life

00:23:02it just didn't

00:23:03sound right

00:23:03it just those

00:23:04details

00:23:05you know it

00:23:06piqued my interest

00:23:07but he says in

00:23:08his experience

00:23:09law enforcement

00:23:10usually makes

00:23:11the correct call

00:23:11so he took the

00:23:13case with no

00:23:14promises

00:23:15you were pretty

00:23:16frank with him

00:23:17you said you

00:23:17know what if my

00:23:18findings determine

00:23:20that he did die

00:23:21by suicide

00:23:22you'll have to

00:23:23accept this

00:23:23yes i tell him

00:23:25that you know i

00:23:26will call it like

00:23:27i see it

00:23:28that's all we

00:23:29wanted

00:23:30investigate it

00:23:32investigate it

00:23:32so lee got

00:23:34started

00:23:35first step

00:23:36collect as many

00:23:36records as he

00:23:37could

00:23:38i wanted to

00:23:39see the

00:23:40photographs i

00:23:41wanted to see

00:23:41any crime any

00:23:43lab reports

00:23:44toxicology reports

00:23:45police report

00:23:46i wanted to see

00:23:47what led law

00:23:49enforcement and

00:23:50ultimately the

00:23:51coroner to put on

00:23:52the death

00:23:53certificate that

00:23:54jake died from

00:23:55the result of a

00:23:56self-inflicted

00:23:57gunshot one

00:23:58but all those

00:23:58things that you

00:23:59mentioned toxicology

00:24:00measurements all

00:24:01sorts of forensics

00:24:02any of that stuff

00:24:03was any of that

00:24:04done

00:24:04no

00:24:05the case file he

00:24:07got from police

00:24:07was thin

00:24:08as far as he

00:24:09could tell no

00:24:10detective had even

00:24:11shown up at the

00:24:11scene the entire

00:24:13investigation took

00:24:15less than an hour

00:24:17from the time the

00:24:18call came in until

00:24:21the last call to the

00:24:22radio radio operator

00:24:23saying they were

00:24:24clearing the scene

00:24:25and processing a

00:24:26scene like that

00:24:26should typically

00:24:27take

00:24:28hours

00:24:30just zero

00:24:31open and shut

00:24:32called in as a

00:24:33suicide ruled out

00:24:34as a suicide with

00:24:35zero investigation

00:24:36boom

00:24:38lee spoke to one of

00:24:39the first officers on

00:24:40the scene to find

00:24:41out what happened

00:24:42turns out he was

00:24:44brand new to the

00:24:45force that scene

00:24:46had been his first

00:24:47time responding to

00:24:49a death call

00:24:49he explained to me

00:24:51that you know

00:24:52when he got the

00:24:53call he thought

00:24:54in his mind that he

00:24:55was prepared for that

00:24:57scene he admitted

00:24:58that he had watched

00:24:59videos in the police

00:25:00academy he'd never

00:25:02seen a dead body

00:25:02he had not seen a

00:25:04dead body from my

00:25:06understanding before

00:25:07that day so he walks

00:25:09into that having never

00:25:11seen a dead body fresh

00:25:12out of police academy

00:25:13and his comment to me

00:25:15was mr lee i just

00:25:16wanted to get out of

00:25:17there

00:25:18as for the more

00:25:19experienced officers

00:25:21i'm not no csi kind of

00:25:22person or nothing like

00:25:23that but lee learned

00:25:24they didn't do much

00:25:26more i mean it's

00:25:27obvious you know

00:25:28here's lee talking to

00:25:30one of them

00:25:30when you went into

00:25:31the bedroom did you

00:25:33do any kind of

00:25:35investigative work or

00:25:36make any observations

00:25:38to determine whether

00:25:39it was suicide or not

00:25:40i looked at the body

00:25:42and of course i saw

00:25:43the deceased with the

00:25:44gun in his hand

00:25:47laying back on his

00:25:49bed and i just

00:25:49pretty much assumed

00:25:51it was quickly ruled

00:25:53a suicide based on

00:25:55their observations at

00:25:57the scene and the

00:25:59statement of susan

00:26:00number no one ever

00:26:03mentioned or discussed

00:26:04or considered to your

00:26:05knowledge that this

00:26:06could be something other

00:26:07than suicide did that

00:26:08no sir the coroner never

00:26:10ordered an autopsy and

00:26:12susan had the body

00:26:13cremated within 24 hours

00:26:16there was so much that

00:26:19could have been it should

00:26:21have been done before

00:26:22determining cause of

00:26:24manner of death

00:26:24he could have taken it

00:26:26back to the morgue he

00:26:28could have cleaned the

00:26:29wounds there taking

00:26:30measurements check for

00:26:31gunpowder residue on the

00:26:33hands of mr embert the

00:26:36coroner's role is

00:26:37especially frustrating to

00:26:38jake's family because

00:26:39rachel had pleaded with

00:26:41him at the scene i said

00:26:43over and over are you

00:26:44sure my dad did this are

00:26:46you sure my dad did this

00:26:47are you sure my dad did

00:26:48this he could have taken

00:26:51that and said something to

00:26:53somebody and are you sure

00:26:54yes and and said hey the

00:26:57daughter's out there

00:26:57questioning you know if

00:26:59we're sure nothing went

00:27:00upstairs on in your head

00:27:02nothing did nothing

00:27:05reinvestigating the case

00:27:07with so little evidence

00:27:08would be an uphill battle

00:27:09but lee says the

00:27:11responding officers did

00:27:12manage to do one thing

00:27:14right and it would make

00:27:16all the difference you

00:27:18knew that there was

00:27:18something wrong with those

00:27:20photos yeah i knew that

00:27:21this had been manipulated

00:27:23by somebody

00:27:37in homicides and suicides

00:27:40there's a typical method of

00:27:41processing a scene

00:27:42collect evidence test

00:27:44forensics interview witnesses

00:27:46in the case of jake embert

00:27:48almost none of that happened

00:27:50we asked the doherty county

00:27:52police department about that

00:27:54but they declined to answer

00:27:55our questions my job is

00:27:57determined to cause the

00:27:58amount of depth of the

00:27:59individual but michael fowler

00:28:00the doherty county coroner

00:28:02did agree to an interview

00:28:03june 28 2014 how long had

00:28:06you been the coroner about a

00:28:08year and a half what's your

00:28:10first step once you get there

00:28:11first i have to speak with

00:28:12him is then i need to go see

00:28:14the individual i saw the gun

00:28:16laying beside him once i see

00:28:17him then i pronounced the time

00:28:19up there then i go back out and

00:28:21see what's going on so to get

00:28:24with the law enforcement and i

00:28:25listen for miss embert talk for

00:28:27a while then i went back into

00:28:28the house trying to see was the

00:28:30story kind of lining up what she

00:28:31was saying jake embert's

00:28:33daughter rachel kept saying over

00:28:34and over again are you sure are

00:28:36you sure we're talking less than

00:28:37an hour at that point how could

00:28:40you definitively say at that

00:28:41point that this is a suicide

00:28:44there'd been no autopsy the body

00:28:45hadn't been transported based on

00:28:47the investigation to speak with

00:28:49the law enforcement what they'll

00:28:52find as if in the process of

00:28:54interviewing whoever was there i

00:28:57take that finding and come up with

00:28:58that determination on law

00:29:00enforcement and on what susan embert

00:29:02told police that's what i was

00:29:03basing it on jake embert was

00:29:05cremated the next day yes you

00:29:07didn't think his body needed

00:29:08another look didn't need any more

00:29:09testing anymore anything no i was

00:29:11pretty comfortable at that time based

00:29:13on the information that i had at that

00:29:15time was that a mistake no i don't

00:29:17think it's a mistake

00:29:19and based on the information i have

00:29:21at that time i'm basing on that

00:29:24now a month and a half later private

00:29:27investigator lee wilson was at the

00:29:28doherty county police department

00:29:30picking up those photos from the

00:29:32scene i'm waiting on the receipt for

00:29:35my payment and i start flipping through

00:29:37the photographs it wasn't much but lee

00:29:41was noticing things he thought

00:29:42investigators had missed and i got to

00:29:45like the fourth fifth photograph in the

00:29:47packet and the police chief was

00:29:50standing in the hallway and i said

00:29:53chief you got a problem you got a

00:29:56problem i knew that scene had been

00:29:58manipulated he took us through those

00:30:00photos on an ipad what immediately

00:30:03stands out to you if you can show me

00:30:05you know here his hand is laid over the

00:30:08gun there's two fingers laid across the

00:30:11handle of the gun but nothing on the trigger

00:30:14the other thing is if you look the gun

00:30:16is tucked up under his right leg so you're

00:30:19thinking how would the gun have gotten

00:30:21under his leg that yeah lee knew that with

00:30:25a self-inflicted gunshot to the head there

00:30:27likely would have been blood on jake's

00:30:29hand but none was visible lee also noted

00:30:32the state of the bed around jake to him it looked

00:30:35like jake had been moved there's a bath mat behind his

00:30:39head look at the sheets the rippling of the sheets look how tight the sheets are

00:30:44over here look at the rippling there what does that say to you somebody's trying

00:30:48to pull that body back up onto the bed to test his theory he asked a couple of

00:30:53colleagues to take a look i had a couple of friends that were still in law enforcement that had done

00:30:59a number of death investigations gave them no background just sent the photographs and both of

00:31:05them came back said that's staged scene and immediately they said that yeah i just wanted to

00:31:11see if they were seeing what i saw and they did yes if the scene was staged that meant jake

00:31:17hadn't

00:31:18killed himself he was murdered and the only other person in the house was susan what had started as

00:31:26an unspoken suspicion in jake's family was now out in the open we all had our own kind of suspicions

00:31:35but we were not talking about it to each other so all of you had some sort of sneaky suspicion

00:31:42yes

00:31:42somewhere yes in order to dig deeper and get access to jake's records and property lee had rachel

00:31:49petitioned the court to become executor of his estate after susan found out she left albany there

00:31:56was a u-haul at our house and she was loading up everything and then she booked it right to

00:32:01florida so

00:32:02when you go back in there i mean the house filthy unrecognizable filthy rachel's father had been dead

00:32:10two months when she recorded this video of the house today is august the 29th at a 24 2014 at

00:32:19approximately 4 p.m never cleaned trash everywhere and there were some things missing too everything

00:32:26everything from washer and dryer were no longer there kitchen table dining room set no longer

00:32:33there she had completely vacated the house we had a plethora of childhood heirlooms no longer there

00:32:40you can blatantly see how it was left just left nothing but her trash this house has never been

00:32:47disturbingly dirty susan had the bloody mattress moved to the yard but the bedroom still had not been

00:32:54cleaned uh there's blood splatter on the floor never cleaned up

00:33:04more blood this is where the bullet hit the wall you can see that this dripping on the wall is

00:33:15possibly

00:33:17i'm assuming brain matter the state of things confirmed to jake's family

00:33:24the way something was not right and to them that something was susan well she wasn't who she

00:33:31portrayed herself to be

00:33:46in the weeks and months after jake embert's death his family grew more and more suspicious

00:33:51that his wife susan was hiding something they didn't like how she behaved after the shooting

00:33:56but the truth was they'd had issues with her even before that will lived with jake and susan part

00:34:02time he remembers lots of yelling he says by susan what would she say to your dad he accused

00:34:09him of cheating all the time susan would drink and pick fights that had to have been a really

00:34:14difficult dynamic i didn't understand it i remember i was there for two occasions that the police showed

00:34:20up both of them were really unfounded nobody got arrested now they thought back to that rushed

00:34:27wedding at the courthouse will had expected to be the best man but the wedding happened without him

00:34:32or his sister was it surprising to you that he got married without either of his kids there very

00:34:42yes rachel had long wondered what drew them together now she went looking for clues

00:34:48i hacked into my father's facebook account i figured out the password all these facebook messages

00:34:57between my dad and susan pages upon pages upon pages upon pages and then i get to a part in

00:35:02the

00:35:02facebook message right before they get married where susan says to my dad she's not feeling well

00:35:09her stomach is hurting she just took a pregnancy test and it came out positive

00:35:18i was floored that is what signified why my dad married her was she in fact pregnant oh absolutely

00:35:26not and once they were married there was something else that bothered the family they had always known

00:35:32jake to be responsible with his money but susan took over the bills and soon they had serious financial

00:35:38problems jake called yvonne for help and i could hear her telling him to do it this is on the

00:35:45phone

00:35:46what was she saying ask her for money ask her for more money and this is something your brother has

00:35:53never done never in all your years never not ever no and then there was jake's life insurance

00:36:02they weren't even married six weeks when he said susan susan's pressuring me to change my life

00:36:08insurance beneficiary to her to her and i said jake you have an underage son i think you should think

00:36:18about that he said i heard he did it and he said yvonne susan will take care of will if

00:36:24anything

00:36:24happens to me yvonne wasn't so sure and she was apparently right to not trust susan my investigation

00:36:31showed there was actually a completely different side of this woman that the family didn't know and

00:36:38and they had strong reason to believe jake didn't know a different side meaning what well she wasn't

00:36:45who she portrayed herself to be susan had been married three times before lee spoke with two of her

00:36:51ex-husbands she used to drink but i don't know what she does now right but when y'all were

00:36:56married

00:36:56it was the drinking oh god god oh mate was it ever you know she's always been messed up in

00:37:02the head

00:37:02i mean there ain't no two ways about it she also had things in her background about 15 years where

00:37:09she

00:37:09had had encounters with law enforcement what were those interactions there was several arrests down in

00:37:15florida her record includes convictions for trespassing resisting arrest and several duis

00:37:21susan and the kids were no longer speaking but rachel and will told lee everything they could

00:37:26remember about how susan described the shooting that morning so the first thing is she's just getting

00:37:33out of the shower heard the bang went back there found my father just out of the shower but will

00:37:40remembered how susan looked when he pulled up minutes later she looked like she was ready to go

00:37:45i mean she's fully dressed makeup hair everything later that night rachel recalled susan telling another

00:37:53version of what happened she said i was by the computer desk heard the bang i went back there and

00:38:01i found your dad and that's different from what she told you that morning so different susan spoke with

00:38:05yvonne that same night and added yet another detail and she said well i was blow drying my hair and

00:38:12i went to

00:38:14the computer you know where that is right yvonne and i yelled back to jake i'll be right back i

00:38:19have

00:38:19to straighten my hair and boom those small inconsistencies didn't seem like a big deal at the time but now

00:38:26they seemed important to the family at this point what are you thinking happened she killed my brother

00:38:32was the rest of your family thinking the same yes by then susan had left the state she wanted nothing

00:38:39to do with jake's family or their search for answers and then the phone rang this is susan amber susan

00:38:48would have her own story to tell you were the only other person there susan did you shoot your husband

00:38:53no i did not am i really hearing this i could not pick my mouth up off the floor and

00:38:59just when they

00:39:00thought it was over i mean typically that's where the story ends you might think

00:39:19private eye lee wilson had been investigating susan embert for a couple of

00:39:23months when out of the blue he got a phone call this is susan embert how did she know that

00:39:30you

00:39:30were even looking into her her words were that she heard i'd been asking about her i don't know why

00:39:35i'm

00:39:36being investigated you're asking questions about me and stuff i don't understand why if it's any

00:39:41questions i'd rather not answer any because i haven't done anything i could say that as you talked to

00:39:47her i mean what vibe did you get from her how did she sound over the phone she was fishing

00:39:51trying to

00:39:52figure out what i knew lee talked to susan several times each time she insisted she had nothing to do

00:39:59with jake's death yeah no i'm trying to but uh i um i don't have i don't know what you're

00:40:08wanting from

00:40:09me all i know my husband's death june 28th it was closed out that day i don't know why he

00:40:16did it

00:40:16she said she was grieving i cry every single night okay every every other day about this stuff and that

00:40:22all

00:40:22she really wanted from jake's family was to be left alone i'm trying to move all of my life and

00:40:28i'm

00:40:28trying to you know survive out here that's all i'm trying to do in each conversation lee prodded her

00:40:34for any bit of clarity it would probably be a little bit easier if the family had some answers too

00:40:42you

00:40:42don't seem to feel i don't that's what i'm saying mr wilson i don't have an answer and then she

00:40:49was done

00:40:504 40 p.m i'm sure she hung up on me the phone calls didn't yield any new information about

00:40:58that

00:40:58morning but lee wasn't done digging jake's family pushed his investigation in an entirely new direction

00:41:05they suspected the shooting was not the first time susan tried to kill her husband all of us kept

00:41:12coming back to the conclusion because of how sick he was because of the only common denominator was

00:41:20when she entered his life and the rapid decline maybe it was a possibility that she could be in fact

00:41:28poisoning my dad poison well as jake's family saw it it seemed the more susan nursed jake

00:41:34the worse he got there were the two sudden heart attacks his serious gi issues and that onset of

00:41:41unexplained seizures yvonne struggled to understand this new symptom she recalled asking susan the nurse

00:41:49about jake's meds i said to her he shouldn't be having seizures there's there's not heart medicine

00:41:56that causes you to have seizures yvonne says even before her brother died she started to question

00:42:02susan's medical knowledge i mean you know she said she was a nurse i just didn't take that i got

00:42:08online

00:42:08and researched it did you ever find any evidence that she was a nurse no in fact my investigation

00:42:14showed that she had gone to registered to go to a nurse's aid school similar to what they call a

00:42:20cna

00:42:22in georgia but she didn't even complete that it was susan who administered all of jake's medication

00:42:28and susan who cooked all of his meals around the same time jake's dog zoe started having stomach

00:42:34problems too she started throwing up and going to the bathroom in the house i mean she she was

00:42:41an older dog but it just started happening like older dogs they start to kind of get incontinent

00:42:47is that happening there yeah but it just out of nowhere like it took my dad by surprise it took

00:42:53me by

00:42:53surprise when she started getting real sick it was susan who took zoe to the vet to get checked out

00:42:59and returned empty-handed telling jake the vet had ordered she'd be put down my personal belief is

00:43:06she was poisoning the dog maybe perhaps testing some of her point i don't know whether it was

00:43:11or whether she just wanted to get rid of zoe but it shows her mindset it doesn't surprise me that

00:43:17she

00:43:17killed jake if she did that to that man's dog this was just a theory they would need forensic evidence

00:43:24to prove it and at susan's direction jake's body had been cremated the day after his death but yvonne

00:43:31had an idea i said to rachel you need to go to the house and get jake's hairbrush and she

00:43:38said what she

00:43:40said why because that's what she always does why why i said rachel just get it get a brown paper

00:43:48bag

00:43:49put the hairbrush in the bag don't tell anybody you have it so you're directing her to take it and

00:43:53bag

00:43:54it for evidence pretty much you basically have a detective's mind at this point no i just watch

00:44:03dateline rachel played detective she went back to the now deserted house she found one of her dad's

00:44:09brushes and handed it over to lee jake's family saw themselves as investigators uncovering the truth

00:44:16but if you ask susan embert they were just reaching for the perfect scapegoat they don't know me i don't

00:44:23know why they're lying i have no idea you're maintaining that all of these people are lying

00:44:42i don't have nothing to hide from nobody and i still don't susan embert's story was entirely

00:44:47different than the one being told by her husband's family she says when she and jake first got married

00:44:53their life was nearly perfect i had a a good husband and man he had a good wife and i

00:45:00had a

00:45:00stepson that i loved and it was it was nice susan says she felt accepted by her husband's family and

00:45:08insists they were all invited to the courthouse wedding she remembers jake even moved up the date

00:45:13to accommodate their schedules will is saying that he had no idea that he would have been there he

00:45:18wanted to be there and be his father's best man but that he was blindsided when he found out after

00:45:24the

00:45:24fact he knew the date that we were going to get married and he also knew the date was moved

00:45:28up

00:45:29are you saying that will is mistaken i think so yes there were some facebook messages between

00:45:35you and jake where you told him that you were pregnant did that play a role in the timing of

00:45:41your wedding i never told him i was pregnant that i know of you don't remember facebook messages that

00:45:48you sent to him saying you took a test your stomach was feeling uncomfortable oh yeah when i took

00:45:53a pregnancy test it said positive but i knew i wasn't i didn't think i was pregnant i didn't know

00:46:00susan believes jake's family has been twisting her words she denies ever telling them she was a nurse

00:46:05you did not lead them to believe that no i told them i worked in the nursing field i was

00:46:09actually i i said the nursing field in the medical field because i have a lot of certificates and um

00:46:18stuff like that in the medical field and susan says jake had money troubles before they got married

00:46:24it was only when his house went into foreclosure she says that he admitted it he said that um he

00:46:31used his

00:46:31money um unwisely or you know didn't use it wisely that he would buy like him and his son like

00:46:39real

00:46:40expensive things like bows and arrows and guns and all kind of stuff like that but he raised his

00:46:47hand and took blame for it you're saying yes that it was his his fault yes as you learned about

00:46:52this

00:46:52financial situation did it have an impact on your relationship you and jake well i mean to me i don't

00:47:00i mean it wasn't really i was not really worried about it i mean i was worried to a certain

00:47:06extent but

00:47:06i wasn't because i knew that with me and him together we could work it out we could get it

00:47:11worked out they were inseparable says susan and she claims it was jake's idea for her to be the

00:47:18beneficiary on his life insurance policy after all she was his wife he said he had this and that and

00:47:24he needed to change it over to me and i said okay well when you're whenever you want to do

00:47:28it we'll do

00:47:28it the sister yvonne says that just within weeks of getting married that you were pressuring him to

00:47:35change the policy so that you were the beneficiary that's not true you never asked him no you never

00:47:44pressured no suggested no and then there was that day in 2014 she took us through her version of that

00:47:53morning it was around 9 or 10 a.m and she was getting ready for the day she says talking

00:47:58to

00:47:58jake while he stayed in bed we was just talking i was talking about going to the race as a

00:48:03matter of

00:48:03fact he was going to the race yeah we were going to the races that day that night what was

00:48:10he saying

00:48:10about it i was asking him if he still wants to go yeah what did he say he said i

00:48:18don't know probably

00:48:19or something like that you know he didn't seem really excited but susan told us she went into

00:48:24another room and what she says happened next is yet another version of what she was doing when the gun

00:48:30went off i was in that living room i went to get my vapor cigarette believe it or not yeah

00:48:42my vapor

00:48:43said and i heard the gun go off what happened then i ran down the hallway and i fell going

00:48:51down there

00:48:51and the door was cracked open about that much take me back to that moment when you first saw jake

00:48:59i was ecstatic i was

00:49:03i thought i was gonna lose my mind i didn't know what to do so i called 911 like i

00:49:07was supposed to do

00:49:08i didn't know what to do that's what i did i called 911. my husband just shot himself you were

00:49:14the only

00:49:14other person there susan did you shoot your husband no and then staged the room to look like a suicide

00:49:21no i did not

00:49:26no did you poison jake embert no i did not nope i wouldn't poison somebody i loved no i wouldn't

00:49:35poison

00:49:35anybody did you poison the dog no if people were to look at the situation knowing that it was just

00:49:42you just him you were in charge of his meals you prepared the food people would say that you had

00:49:49plenty of opportunities to put things in there to poison your husband over a period of time how do you

00:49:55explain that i can't explain that because i i would i did not poison my husband i would not have

00:50:01done it

00:50:01we all ate the same food i have to ask susan in our interview in our conversation you have repeatedly

00:50:07said that a lot of people are lying about you from jake's family to his sister other people how is

00:50:16it

00:50:16that so many people are lying about you i don't know i don't know i don't know why they're lying

00:50:25about

00:50:25me they don't even know me enough to lie about me but they don't know i mean i don't even

00:50:29talk they

00:50:30don't know me i don't know why they're lying i have no idea you're maintaining that all of these

00:50:34people are lying no matter how much susan declared her innocence lee wilson kept working and finding

00:50:41what he says is proof she murdered her husband he was so confident in his evidence that he presented

00:50:48his findings to the coroner and the district attorney greg edwards edwards had his investigators

00:50:53pour over wilson's work and came to a conclusion and in my immediate opinion you know this was a staged

00:51:01crime scene and a homicide that needed to be prosecuted another major move the coroner changed his

00:51:08findings on jake's death certificate from suicide to homicide investigators tracked susan down in florida

00:51:15the moment jake's family had long been waiting for she's gonna get arrested in february 2015 a group of

00:51:22investigators swarmed susan's front door they said georgia wants you i said for what and they said um

00:51:30homicide susan was arrested on charges of malice murder felony murder and aggravated assault

00:51:37that had to have felt surreal for you it did it was worth every minute to get to that point

00:51:42but there

00:51:43was still a long way to go susan would go on trial and try to explain herself and her words

00:51:49to a jury

00:51:50and what she would say would leave everyone in the courtroom stunned why did you tell the 9-1-1

00:51:58operator that jake emory had sexually transmitted disease i didn't say that

00:52:20four months after susan embert was arrested the district attorney called lee wilson there was news

00:52:27and it was about that hairbrush rachel collected from her dad's house the da's office had sent it out

00:52:33for testing and the toxicology results were in what did those results show it showed that jake had high

00:52:40levels of different pesticides indeed is the common name that we know it by and there was antifreeze when

00:52:48you got those results those lab results what did that tell you about susan embert she was a cold

00:52:55blooded murderer it's pretty hard to believe

00:53:00but for a while i blamed myself but you know that wasn't your fault

00:53:09i protected him his whole life

00:53:13this time i didn't

00:53:17but i didn't know i needed to

00:53:20most of the state's case was circumstantial now the lab results gave prosecutors something they could

00:53:26sink their teeth into the da tacked on another aggravated assault charge related to the poisoning

00:53:32in addition to murder but there was delay after delay you all have quite a waiting game ahead of you

00:53:40oh gosh so long yes four and a half years yes

00:53:44in december 2019 the trial finally got underway jake ever killed himself we're going to show you that

00:53:51that's not so the prosecution laid out its case arguing that jake was poisoned before he was shot

00:53:57heat insect repellent antifreeze

00:54:03and various other heavy metals these toxic chemicals

00:54:08could have only been in his body

00:54:11only in his body from direct ingestion if the state was right and susan embert was in fact trying

00:54:19to kill her husband with poison why shoot him lee wilson pointed to the timing jake had an

00:54:25upcoming doctor's appointment where they planned to run some tests and sooner or later some lab

00:54:31report would have shown some sort of level in his blood or some of the tests that was inordinate

00:54:37and they would have in all likelihood gone to exploring the poisoning aspect so you're saying that

00:54:42she felt that she would have soon been exposed it's my belief uh you know and i think he just

00:54:48wasn't dying quick enough as evidence of her premeditation the state called this man to the stand

00:54:54douglas buckner a fellow race car lover about two weeks before jake was shot buckner came by the house

00:55:01to buy jake's firebird and at one point he was alone with susan i was like well what's going on

00:55:07with mr jake getting rid of his car she was like well he's not in good shape he's not gonna

00:55:11be here much

00:55:11longer and he wasn't around for much longer because prosecutors say susan shot jake then she worked hard

00:55:19they argued to redirect investigators the prosecutor played susan's 911 call he had two hard things on

00:55:25his tire hurting the da asked the jury to listen carefully to this part we got married about two

00:55:32years ago and then he i found out he was gay i didn't know this and i didn't give my

00:55:37heart time i said

00:55:38you know so long just tell you what's wrong well he was gay and then he got these diseases and

00:55:44transmitted

00:55:44diseases jake embert was gay and had transmitted diseases what was susan talking about susan embert

00:55:53within within seconds 30 seconds of starting the call begins to lay out why jake embert supposedly

00:56:02killed himself unprompted unprompted you know he's gay he has these diseases and it shows premeditation

00:56:10she had thought this out and was going to say that after having done the act on the stand yvonne

00:56:16testified her brother was not gay and susan was lying was he holding some secret that you didn't

00:56:24detect all the years you know him no the prosecution brought up another apparent inconsistency in the 911

00:56:32call susan told the dispatcher she didn't touch jake all right ma'am don't touch him or anything okay

00:56:39but will testified that when he saw her at the scene i remember seeing her on her hand

00:56:46it looked like blood to me susan's defense team had one clear message the coroner's first determination

00:56:52was the right one this was a suicide the kind of death that can be hard to accept nobody can

00:56:59understand why he did it they planned their counter-attack to the state's narrative around susan

00:57:04they called her to the stand and asked her directly about that 911 call were you sincere at the time

00:57:11when you were having that conversation with on the 911 i was very sincere

00:57:19what state of mind would you describe you were being in a bad state of mind i was ecstatic

00:57:28as for telling the dispatcher jake was gay i don't know why i said that i had no proof that

00:57:34he was

00:57:34gay she did testify that she and jake were having intimacy issues i asked him i said do you have

00:57:40another girlfriend what prompted all that because

00:57:50our sex life went down and he didn't seem like he was interested in me anymore

00:57:55i'm sorry our sex life went down i didn't think he was interested in me anymore

00:58:00during that call you told the operator that jake was gay and had transmitted diseases are either of

00:58:09those two things true no the transmitted disease they had that wrong i said he had ptsd they said i

00:58:17said std that was ptsd i have the 911 call and i want to bring it up so we can

00:58:24listen to it together

00:58:25okay well you said transmitted diseases i said no i didn't i don't i didn't hear that i i know

00:58:36i said ptsd

00:58:37i thought this and that's what i meant i said why bring up those two details that he was gay

00:58:43and had

00:58:44transmitted diseases especially if you're saying now that you didn't believe that to be true why

00:58:49why say that on the 911 call because that's the last thing i said to him before i walked out

00:58:54the

00:58:55room to get my vapor cigarette and i thought maybe it might have had something to do with why he

00:59:01did what

00:59:01he did so you were and i've had to live with that last words all these years that's my last

00:59:09words

00:59:09so in the moments before he died you all were arguing i wasn't arguing i asked him a question

00:59:17you asked him are you gay yes what did he say he didn't say anything that conversation was a new

00:59:25detail she never told the family or investigators and i have to ask in a situation like this obviously

00:59:32details granular details are important the story that you told on the stand that you're telling me

00:59:38is different from what jake's family says that you initially told them both rachel and yvonne say

00:59:45that they heard different versions of that story why are there differences in those details maybe they

00:59:51didn't hear the whole story i don't know because that's the deep that's how that's what happened but

00:59:57you're saying all along you've told one story that is the story i told the one i just told you

01:00:03susan never wavered on her innocence telling the jury what she told us she didn't poison jake

01:00:09and she definitely didn't shoot him my husband committed suicide that day but would this sway

01:00:15the jury we the jury find the defendant susan embert i mean typically that's where the story ends you might

01:00:22think

01:00:36it had been more than five years since will embert arrived at his father's house on that june

01:00:41morning five years since susan embert told him jake was dead being in that courtroom that brought you

01:00:48again into the same room with susan for really the first time almost since it happened right that

01:00:54couldn't have been easy yeah it was very uneasy failing and now susan's fate was in the hands of 12

01:01:00jurors they deliberated for less than an hour we the jury find the defendant susan embert count one

01:01:07malice murder guilty guilty of murder and aggravated assault i mean are there words to describe that

01:01:15moment no no it was just i can't use the word happy i guess but you're just glad to know

01:01:24that she's

01:01:25going to pay for what she did susan embert was sentenced to life in prison with 10 years tacked

01:01:30on for the poisoning charge i mean typically that's where the story ends you might think not this time

01:01:38while jake's family finally tried to move on susan's daughter krista could not i felt like my entire

01:01:45being my entire soul was shattered like i just lost my best friend my mom i can't call my mom

01:01:51just to say

01:01:51hey anytime i want to i have to wait on her schedule i have to talk to her on a

01:01:55tablet like

01:01:56i can't hug my mom susan assured her daughter it wasn't over i knew one day i'd be living because

01:02:04i knew one day the truth will come out i knew i'd be going home i just said don't win

01:02:08she found a new

01:02:10lawyer to mount an appeal there's been so many errors in this case it was just like one after another

01:02:16defense attorney jen hyman was fresh out of law school when she took susan's case

01:02:20this was actually the first motion for new trial that i worked on hyman scrutinized every part of

01:02:27the case the investigation the evidence testimony even the jurors so you just ran some of the names

01:02:34through google just to see what popped up yeah she found something and it was big

01:02:42one of the jurors had some criminal history so you see this information and you knew that you had

01:02:48found something major absolutely yes the juror was a felon and while there is a process to restore

01:02:53rights to serve on a jury that had not happened and no one from the court or the district attorney's

01:02:59office caught it that was grounds to overturn susan's conviction should your office be taking a closer look

01:03:07double checking things like this when you're seating a jury yes we now require documentation indicating

01:03:13they are not disqualified from serving as a juror so we we just double down on making sure that that's

01:03:19that's reviewed an important fix but too late for jake's family and the mistake was costly thank you lord

01:03:29thank you lord thank you family thank you attorneys i love y'all after more than four years in prison

01:03:36susan embert walked out a free woman they called me and they told me that susan was being released

01:03:43and that is like i was astound what do you mean she's being released how do you even process this

01:03:49you know i'm angry i'll be honest yeah i'm very angry how did this transpire how jake's family felt

01:03:57the mistakes and wasted time had plagued the process from day one and now with susan's release they would

01:04:04have to start again what do you even do with that news question the whole judicial system are you just

01:04:11thinking to yourself there's this pattern of people just missing things folks not doing their jobs exactly

01:04:19susan would have to stand trial all over again this time with a new jury but her new attorney had

01:04:25a plan

01:04:26we immediately started working on the motion to get the case dismissed on what grounds so it's a

01:04:33speedy trial violation a lot of people are probably familiar with the fact that you have a right to a

01:04:39speedy trial but most probably aren't familiar with how that actually works the defense argued that now

01:04:45too much time had passed since she was first charged a delay that violated her rights and so you're saying

01:04:52that because that felon was on the juror that was thrown out and it's almost like saying a trial never

01:05:00happened in the first place it's exactly like saying that and so now you're starting the clock

01:05:04from back in 2014 when she was first charged exactly the judge agreed the delay was unfair to susan it

01:05:12was

01:05:12a critical decision that meant she would not face another trial all charges against her were dropped

01:05:19it was amazing getting a murder case dismissed is you know an amazing feeling it wasn't long after that

01:05:27ruling when we sat down with susan we've talked about you walking out of prison you're out now on

01:05:35a technicality what would you say to people who look at you and say she got away with murder what

01:05:43would i

01:05:43say what would you say to those people i'd say no i didn't because i didn't do it i got

01:05:49away with telling

01:05:50the truth and that's what set me free i didn't get away with anything i know the truth god knows

01:05:57the

01:05:57truth and people that know me know the truth susan's family members were not her only supporters

01:06:03her ex-husband glenn melton also stood by her did you ever think that susan is capable of murder no

01:06:12no way no question ain't no question about it ain't no way she could do nothing like that

01:06:17the da's office wasn't done it appealed the judge's ruling about the speedy trial violation to the

01:06:23georgia supreme court for jake's family another excruciating wait i knew it wasn't over then i knew

01:06:33we're gonna probably have to start completely over he was right the supreme court sided with the

01:06:40prosecution susan embert would stand trial again like oh yay we're gonna get her again

01:06:48a retrial but far from a repeat because the prosecution's case was about to take a huge hit

01:06:55and the defense had a new plan of attack it wasn't evidence it was just fantasy and it was just

01:07:00absurd

01:07:01fire shot through my entire body because you knew this wasn't good no not at all

01:07:28the whole poisoning theory just needed somebody to step in and say wait a minute is this possible

01:07:36is this reasonable does this make any sense at all

01:07:38he thought the poisoning evidence was weak remember jake's body had been cremated quickly

01:07:43and there was no autopsy so it was all based on the hairs found in jake's brush collected by jake's

01:07:50daughter the first part is you have to ask was there a chain of custody on the hair right and

01:07:56there

01:07:56wasn't it wasn't gathered by the police or anything like that and the lab that detected pesticides and

01:08:01antifreeze had its license suspended after accusations of misconduct you're saying that evidence should

01:08:07have been nowhere near the first trial because it wasn't evidence it was just fantasy and it was

01:08:11just absurd the idea that she's poisoning him with deet like she's spraying insect repellent on the food

01:08:18for years and you're saying that's just not reasonable that's just not realistic that's not

01:08:22reasonable that's not realistic just weeks before the trial began the defense asked the court to drop

01:08:28the poisoning charge and exclude all evidence of poisoning from the trial the judge agreed a major victory

01:08:35for the defense so this time around poisoning wasn't even supposed to be mentioned yes during the

01:08:43proceedings completely excluded anything suspecting of poisoning mentioning of poisoning when susan

01:08:49embert's second trial began in december 2025 the prosecution's case was whittled down significantly

01:08:56this case is about the murder of mr jake embert

01:09:02on the first day of testimony the state called coroner michael fowler to the stand this time

01:09:08he sounded defiant does the michael fowler of today regret not ordering a medical examination

01:09:16of this body in 2014. not certainly i was still standing on what i what i did on that part

01:09:21it's gone shot one in the head okay and i'm now for the information that i received now about the

01:09:29here say the antifreeze did no sir it was that word antifreeze here say the antifreeze fire shot

01:09:38through my entire body because you knew this wasn't good no not at all and it stopped the

01:09:46proceedings in their tracks yep what happened in the courtroom in that moment well we made a motion for

01:09:51mistrial the judge declared a mistrial so the case is over for now rachel furious with all the mistakes

01:10:01and delays sent a scathing letter to the da's office i want to read you just a portion of this

01:10:08yes

01:10:09our father was murdered once the justice system has destroyed us repeatedly ever since

01:10:14this is not delay this is not normal this is not justice it's not those are very strong words and

01:10:21i mean every word of them every single word the ball was dropped on so many different levels whether

01:10:31it be from these government agencies the corner the judicial system you were not supposed to mention

01:10:38poison no one half told me didn't tell me that you had no idea no one told me that i

01:10:42wasn't supposed

01:10:43to mention that i'm standing on this they did not tell me that we asked the district attorney he says

01:10:49that you all left him hanging out to dry on that well i can only anticipate that maybe that that

01:10:57might

01:10:57have happened maybe that did slip through the crack so i can't say that that did not happen

01:11:04one month later both sides were back in court this time for trial number three

01:11:11the da's office knew it was time for a new approach dowdy white was assigned as lead prosecutor this

01:11:17case touched everybody in the da's office at some point every single person worked on this case this

01:11:23defendant intended to kill jake and stage it as a suicide the prosecutors knew they had to do more

01:11:33with a lot less evidence and that included getting the jury to focus on susan's potential motive

01:11:39mr buckner good morning jake's friend douglas buckner testified again and prosecutor guy terry asked

01:11:46him to tell the jury about something new did you uh receive any late night communication off and on i

01:11:53received a text that had some content in it she in fact sent uh buckner uh semi-nude and new

01:12:00photographs

01:12:01of herself oh and i finally told her that day i was like listen when i see mr jake saturday

01:12:06i want to be

01:12:07showing mr jake all the texas the prosecution said susan was worried that if he showed jake the texts

01:12:14jake would divorce her jake finds out about what she's doing with with mr buckner

01:12:21he's gonna kick me out and the prosecution said susan didn't want a divorce she wanted jake's money

01:12:27specifically that life insurance policy jake had signed over to her after his death susan received

01:12:34a payout but jake's children never got a dime however prosecutors dowdy white and guy terry say

01:12:40the most important part of the case was the crime scene analysis the whole theme of the case was showing

01:12:46that suicide is not a reasonable option here we had to focus on on the crime scene the only solid

01:12:54evidence remaining from the crime scene those photos these pictures are absolutely crucial they

01:13:00were absolutely critical in the entire analysis prosecutors say the photo of the gun in jake's hand

01:13:06was most telling given the power of a 45 caliber the gunpowder in there you're gonna have a gun that

01:13:13kicks are you saying it's likely that the gun would have had so much kick it would have just flying

01:13:16out it probably would have flown out of his hand and ended up on the ground over here

01:13:20another critical detail the gun was found in jake's right hand so this is jake's you know jake's

01:13:27right hand jake's left-handed that was new information in trial number three if a person is

01:13:35going to commit suicide with the firearm that's arguably the most important shot that person's ever

01:13:40going to make do you make that shot with your non-dominant hand a forensics expert confirmed

01:13:45what private investigator lee wilson had noticed about the bed this body appears that it has been

01:13:52moved are you able to conclude that this scene was manipulated staged and altered to appear as if it was

01:14:00a

01:14:01suicide it appears that way yes it all added up the prosecution said to one thing jake's death was not

01:14:10a suicide every element of murder is met but susan's defense team had another explanation

01:14:18something about jake that even those closest to him didn't know were you aware that he's seeing a

01:14:24psychiatrist for more than 10 years jake's family and prosecutors had fixated on the botched police

01:14:46investigation they believed that if the case had been handled differently susan's guilt would have been

01:14:51clear from the start but defense attorney charles cullen didn't see it that way what would have

01:14:57changed for your client had there been a thorough police investigation she would have been exonerated

01:15:02they would have been able to say no we did an autopsy here's what we found they could have said

01:15:09you know we

01:15:09tested her for gsr there's no gsr on her there's only gsr on him and the problem is that you

01:15:16know once you

01:15:16don't do that all that evidence is gone right all that evidence is lost there will be no evidence

01:15:22that rules out suicide as for the left-handed jake being found with the gun in his right

01:15:27cullen said plenty of people shoot with both hands like many other people who are either ambidextrous or

01:15:36own guns that are not altered to accommodate left-handed shooters like jake embert he was capable and

01:15:44possibly even preferred shooting with his right hand talking to his family all of them say that

01:15:49they have never seen jake shoot a gun with his right hand why would he choose to put the gun

01:15:56in his

01:15:57right hand to take his life so i think that it's important to remember that this family believes 100

01:16:08percent that susan embert murdered him and i think that as the case has gone on

01:16:16sometimes memories can change a little bit to sort of fit what you need them to fit he also said

01:16:23that

01:16:24susan may have mixed up words and details but it wasn't because she was guilty this is a person who

01:16:30kept

01:16:30saying you know i i i was ecstatic that day i was ecstatic i was ecstatic and she means hysterical

01:16:40right so this is someone who confuses words mixes things up the defense maintained that the most

01:16:46logical explanation for what happened to jake was also the simplest he was depressed maybe more than his

01:16:53family knew if you would just stand up and raise jake had been a patient of dr bruce houston for

01:16:58more

01:16:58than four years he's also prescribed fluoxetine fluoxetine prozac that's okay that's also known as prozac

01:17:08prozac is also an antidepressant it's similar to lexapro it's an ssri were you aware that he's

01:17:16seeing a psychiatrist no were you aware that he was being prescribed lexapro no prozac no there is

01:17:26such a stigma on mental health but we all need a little bit of help sometimes and there's absolutely

01:17:32nothing wrong with that hey y'all i know that's exactly the point prosecutor dowdy white tried to

01:17:37make during closing arguments with a surprising admission of his own ladies and gentlemen i take

01:17:42anti-depressant every day that mean i'm suicidal no of course not it was a pretty strong way to

01:17:55drive home this point that this medicine that the defense has brought into the equation is a non-issue

01:18:01for jake susan did not testify in this trial her defense focused on what they said the prosecution

01:18:07was missing ask did they prove murder they want you to just plug or ignore these holes

01:18:21in their case susan's fate was once again in the hands of the jury her daughter krista was confident

01:18:29you're supposed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody committed a murder or somebody

01:18:34committed a crime and they couldn't do that after a couple of hours the jurors went home for the night

01:18:41and i just asked that god give them the clearest hearts and the clearest minds and the cleanest eyes

01:18:47and when they returned the next morning they have a verdict a decision count one now is murder guilty

01:18:56as to count two felony murder guilty

01:19:00what did you feel when you heard the jury return that verdict like a weight lifted off my shoulders

01:19:0612 days later jake's family returned to albany for one final day in court susan's sentencing there

01:19:14are no words that could describe the pain that i feel inside the same pain that i've had since june

01:19:2028

01:19:202014. you remember that day don't you susan while nothing can undo what's been done accountability

01:19:28matters matters matters for my brother for my family for justice so no other family ever

01:19:35has to endure endure what we have at the hands of pure evil susan was sentenced to life in prison

01:19:44she's already filed a motion for a new trial it was clear that just getting up there and talking was

01:19:50hard well it's hard when she's looking at you and you know what she did and um up until this

01:19:59point

01:19:59whenever i looked at her she wouldn't look at me did she look at you today she did what did

01:20:03you see

01:20:04in her eyes nothing nothing after 12 years does this feel like justice from the judicial aspect yes we're

01:20:14forever broken you know the prosecutors have said that this case would never have gotten to this

01:20:19courtroom if it weren't for you well i mean i appreciate the recognition but it was just a lot of

01:20:29trying to undo what was wrongly done in the beginning and it culminated today with this sentence

01:20:36but getting to this day had been a long process through a system that the family says

01:20:40caused years of frustration it's the coroner's fault it's the investigating officer's fault it's

01:20:46the on-call detective that didn't show up's fault it's the court's fault for not vetting their jurors

01:20:52better that's the justice system's fault that's them not doing their job will was just 17 when his

01:21:00father died in the years since he served in the army got married and now he's chosen to be part

01:21:06of that

01:21:07very same justice system as a police officer i'm not gonna do my job the way that they did theirs

01:21:15more times than not it is probably somebody's worst day so they need you to be 100 so that's what

01:21:23i

01:21:24that's what i give them when you go to calls like that that's always in the back of your mind

01:21:29always

01:21:31what do you think your dad would say to know that you're a police officer now i think you'd be

01:21:35proud

01:21:35i'm sure he is a final note this evening we cover these kinds of difficult cases every week during

01:21:45our olympic break one especially hit home for all of us the disappearance of nancy guthrie savannah's mom

01:21:54investigators are still desperately seeking clues a reminder that anyone with any information can call

01:22:00the fbi's tip line at 1-800 call fbi our hearts are with savannah and the entire guthrie family

01:22:10that's all for this edition of dateline we'll see you again next friday at 9 8 central i'm lester holt

01:22:17for all of us at nbc news good night

Dateline NBC - Season 35 - Episode 04: Malice

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