12x03 - Cold Hearted

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Narrator: a young fireman's

Untimely death raised

Suspicions.

When a young policeman d*ed the

Same way, it was no coincidence.

Scientists wondered if these

Scientists wondered if these tiny crystals were the cause.

Tiny crystals were the cause.

A fireman's job is exceptionally

Dangerous, and for

Randy thompson, the year

Was particularly troublesome.

First, he fell off a fire truck

In cumming, georgia, and broke

His nose.

When he had surgery to repair

The damage, he developed a

Life-threatening staph

Infection.

The doctors told him, "this

Is a very, very serious

Situation.

You can die from this very

Easily."

Narrator: randy survived

That, but his health problems

Continued.

One of his friends found him

Sprawled on his kitchen floor

Vomiting and incoherent.

He started hallucinating.

He looked at me and said, "get

Back in your damn cage!"

And I said, "what?"

"Get in your cage."

"What are you talking about,

Randy?"

"I said, 'get in your cage.'"

Then I realized he thought he

Was talking to his bird.

Narrator: this was diagnosed

As a severe stomach virus.

But gradually, he improved,

Thanks to help from his

Common-law wife, lynn.

Every time I talked to him,

He sounded stronger and

Stronger, and he said, "lynn

Made me grilled cheese with

Sweet tea."

He said, "I held it down --

Didn't throw it up."

I said, "well, good, randy,

That's good.

Maybe you're on the uphill slide

Of this."

Narrator: two days later, his

Condition deteriorated, and

Randy thompson d*ed.

Horrible -- a daddy taken

From his children for no

Reason, a man taken from a

Career that he loved for no

Reason.

Narrator: at randy's autopsy,

Toxicology tests found no trace

Of dr*gs or alcohol in his

System, but the medical examiner

Found evidence of heart trouble.

He did have an enlarged

Heart.

He did have some significant

Coronary artery disease.

So as a consequence, then, I

Ascribed this gentleman's

Sudden and unexpected death with

His heart disease.

That was hard for us to

Swallow because he had never had

Any heart problems before.

I was devastated.

It was an experience I don't

Ever want to have again.

Narrator: randy left behind

His common-law wife, lynn, and

Their two young children.

He was just years old.

The very last thing he asked

Me was, "do you think I'm gonna

Die?"

Narrator: as time passed,

Randy thompson's friends and

Family gradually came to terms

With his untimely death...

Until a few weeks later, when

Randy's mother got a letter from

A total stranger -- the mother

Of a dead policeman from the

Next town over.

The contents of the letter were

Shocking.

"I want to share my sorrow in

The loss of your son randy.

My son glenn d*ed six years ago

Mysteriously."

I didn't really know what to

Think.

Everything she told me was

Exactly what happened to randy.

Narrator: a few weeks after

Randy thompson's death, his

Mother got a letter.

"I want to share my sorrow in

The loss of your son randy."

Narrator: it was from a woman

Who claimed her son d*ed under

Similar circumstances and

Suggested the two deaths were

Somehow related.

I was shocked that her son

And my son d*ed the exact same

Way.

The report from the hospital,

The autopsy reports --

Everything was just the same.

Nita thompson did not believe

Me.

She kept saying, "that can't be

True.

That can't be true."

Narrator: six years earlier,

Glenn turner, a police officer,

Had the same symptoms as

Randy thompson.

He was so sick, I could hear

His voice shaking when he talked

To me.

He just said he had an

Unbelievable stomach virus.

He couldn't get rid of it.

He was vomiting, couldn't stop

Vomiting, he had diarrhea, and

He just basically said to me,

"I've never been this sick like

This."

Narrator: he was also

Incoherent and hallucinating.

His wife said he had had a

Really bad night, that in the

Middle of the night he had got

Up, began to hallucinate, he

Began to run around the house.

He pulled out his w*apon.

He thought there was intruders

Outside, trying to get inside

The house.

Narrator: glenn's wife coaxed

Him back into bed.

The next morning, he appeared to

Be better.

He had called me, and he was

Gonna go to work the next day.

I thought that he was sounding

Good, and I thought that he was

Gonna be fine.

Narrator: but a few hours

Later, glenn turner d*ed.

The medical examiner made the

Statement in the autopsy that he

d*ed with an irregular

Heartbeat.

That was nothing that he ever

Had a problem with.

Narrator: glenn's mother

Immediately suspected foul play.

She asked his friends in

Law enforcement to investigate

His death, but she got nowhere.

They kept telling me that he

d*ed of natural causes and there

Was no reason to go into it any

Further because it cost too much

Money and that there was no foul

Play in his life.

I still had strong suspicions

That there was something else

Involved in it, but the m.e.

Stated that's what it was, and

I'm not a medical examiner, so I

Pretty much had to accept it.

Narrator: and that's how it

Stood until six years later,

When the turner family learned

That randy thompson d*ed the

Same way.

It was difficult to fathom how

Two civil servants in two

Neighboring towns, both in their

Early 's, d*ed so suddenly...

Until both families realized

They had something else in

Common...

The two men were both living

With the same woman when they

d*ed -- lynn turner.

I couldn't turn to get on the

Phone quick enough.

I called the lead investigator,

And I just basically said, "you

Need to go out there and seal

Off the apartment -- do what you

Need to do, because I'm telling

You, there's no way you could

Have two young guys like this

Pass away."

Narrator: when questioned,

Lynn turner claimed it was just

A tragic coincidence.

And local prosecutors found no

Evidence the two deaths were

Connected.

After all, lynn turner had no

Criminal history.

I actually just thought that

It was really bad luck that

Lynn had been involved with two

Men who had d*ed that way.

Narrator: and friends pointed

Out that lynn's common-law

Husband, randy thompson, had

Very little life insurance --

Just $,, hardly enough to

k*ll for.

And toxicology tests on both

Randy thompson and glenn turner

Found no evidence of dr*gs or

Alcohol in their systems.

We still had strong

Suspicions that something that

She had done to him that caused

His death, but at the time, I'm

Just a police officer.

I'm not an m.e.

I couldn't prove it.

Narrator: then investigators

Made a startling discovery.

Even though randy thompson had

Only $, worth of life

Insurance, lynn was in a big

Hurry to collect it.

We were able to determine

Through cellphone records that

On the day of randy's funeral,

Between the time of the service

In the church and the service

That was held at the cemetery,

Lynn was on her cellphone trying

To contact the insurance

Company.

Narrator: maybe there was

More to the death of these two

Men than first appeared.

Lynn must have had something

To do with some of this because

There is no way two young men --

A police officer and a

Firefighter -- dying at a young

Age without somebody doing

Something.

Narrator: what are the

Chances that two civil servants,

Both in their early 's, would

Die under mysterious

Circumstances from heart

Disease?

The southeast part of the

Country leads the nation in

Cardiovascular disease.

And in our office, it is not

Uncommon that we see young men,

Men of mr. Thompson's age, who

Have bad heart disease.

Narrator: toxicology tests on

The first victim, policeman

Glenn turner, showed no signs of

Alcohol or illegal dr*gs in his

System.

But during randy thompson's

Autopsy, the medical examiner

Found calcium oxalate crystals

In his kidneys.

These could be the result of

Prescription medications, or it

Could be a sign of poisoning.

The first thing I did was

Reach across my desk and pick up

The phone and call the

Toxicology department and ask

That an ethylene glycol test be

Performed.

Narrator: ethylene glycol is

The chemical name for

Antifreeze.

When we ran the sample from

Randy thompson and analyzed it

For ethylene glycol, the results

Came back negative for a

Significant quantity of

Ethylene glycol.

Narrator: but the medical

Examiner had a hard time

Believing that.

I thought that was very

Strange and bizarre.

Narrator: then dr. Koponen

Learned what happened to

Lynn turner's first husband,

Glenn, six years earlier.

On a hunch, he reviewed

Glenn turner's autopsy report.

I looked at all the tissues

And polarized the lung and the

Kidney as I do in all of my

Cases, and to my surprise, there

Were oxalate crystals in

Glenn turner's kidneys.

Narrator: so dr. Koponen went

Back to the toxicology lab and

Asked them to recheck the test

Results on randy thompson's

Tissue samples.

And the lab discovered they had

Made a mathematical error.

I immediately realized that I

Had made an error in calculating

The original concentration of

Ethylene glycol in

Randy thompson's blood.

And, in fact, it was off by a

Factor of .

When we made the appropriate

Correction for the mathematical

Error that I had made, suddenly

Became a lethal level of

Ethylene glycol.

I've been doing this for

Almost years now, and this is

The first time that such a

Mistake has ever been brought to

My attention.

Narrator: the medical

Examiner now knew that

Randy thompson's death was a

Homicide.

Based on the corrected

Toxicology report, then, it was

Quite obvious that mr. Thompson

d*ed as a consequence of an

Acute ethylene-glycol

Intoxication, or poisoning.

When I found out randy had

d*ed from antifreeze poisoning,

I knew when they exhumed glenn's

Body, when they took those

Tissues, I knew they were gonna

Find out he d*ed from the exact

Same causes.

Narrator: and that's

Precisely what happened.

Officials exhumed glenn turner's

Body, retested his tissue

Samples, and confirmed there was

A lethal amount of antifreeze in

His system.

It's a mixed feeling because

You're happy that you've got

Something happening, but you're

Not happy to hear what you hear.

Narrator: investigators did

Some digging into lynn turner's

Background and uncovered more

Incriminating evidence.

First was her visit to an animal

Shelter shortly before

Randy thompson's m*rder.

Lynn had inquired about what

The animal shelter uses to

Euthanize animals -- what

Chemical they use.

She had claimed that she had

A stray-cat problem and was

Wondering what it was that she

Could do about them.

Narrator: and the manager of

Lynn turner's bank told

Investigators lynn had serious

Financial problems.

She had a lot of debts

Outstanding, a lot of credit

Cards where she was being

Charged for unsufficient funds,

For late charges -- adding up to

Several thousands of dollars

Monthly.

Lynn had a middle-class

Income, but she spent like she

Was a millionaire.

She lived <span tts:fontstyle="italic">well</span>beyond her means.

Narrator: and that wasn't

All.

Lynn had gone into the bank

A few weeks before randy d*ed

And told one of the bank

Officials that she would have

Everything taken care of -- all

Her payments, mortgages,

Everything, et cetera, taken

Care of in just a few weeks.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

The motive for both murders was

Money.

Lynn turner was the beneficiary

Of her first husband's $,

Life-insurance policy and also

Received his pension payments of

$ A month.

And she was all set to collect

$, From randy thompson's

Life-insurance policy, but

Investigators found evidence

That randy double-crossed her.

Lynn had talked randy into

Buying life insurance of

$,, And she was the

Beneficiary of that policy.

But after randy passed away, she

Found out that the policy had

Lapsed and that she would not be

Getting that money.

Narrator: this also raised

The possibility that randy might

Have suspected lynn was trying

To harm him.

Investigators also learned that

A container of antifreeze had

Been found in the home lynn

Shared with her husband,

Glenn turner.

Although, at the time, no one

Found this suspicious.

So lynn turner was arrested on

Two counts of first-degree

m*rder.

She insisted she was innocent

And was sure there wasn't enough

Evidence to convict her.

Lynn was smart.

Lynn wanted to be a police

Officer.

She knew a lot.

She knew how to commit a crime,

She know what they'd look for,

And she knew how to create an

Alibi.

Narrator: lynn turner met her

First husband, glenn, while

Working as a operator.

But less than two years later,

Glenn told friends the marriage

Was in trouble.

He said that they had only

Had sex twice after they were

Married.

He said that she had some kind

Of female problem and she wasn't

Able to have sex.

Of course, we're all thinking to

Ourselves, "well, I could name

Three or four other guys she's

Seeing -- that she's having sex

With."

Of course, I couldn't say

Anything to him.

Narrator: glenn also told

Friends lynn was spending money

Faster than he could earn it.

He said, "here I am working

Days, working all these

Part-time jobs, sometimes two or

Three jobs a day, I about got it

Paid off, and here she just rung

Them all back up again."

She just had a stack of credit

Cards and just spent, spent,

Spent, spent.

Narrator: while lynn was

Married to glenn, she met

Randy thompson, a fireman from a

Nearby town.

Randy's family says lynn lied

About her marital status.

Lynn had told us she had been

Married but that she was

Divorced.

She told all of us that, told

Randy that.

We assumed she was divorced.

Lynn's primary motive for

Murdering glenn was for the

Money.

I think a secondary motive was

To be with randy thompson.

Narrator: the forensic

Evidence suggests lynn put

Antifreeze in glenn's food --

Possibly in gelatin, since this

Was found in his stomach during

His autopsy.

Glenn fell violently ill and

d*ed.

Lynn collected $, from his

Life insurance along with his

Pension of $ a month.

I knew she didn't love him.

So I knew it was pending gloom

For him, and I figured she'd use

Him for everything she could use

Him for, and then she'd spit him

Back out.

But I never thought that she'd

k*ll him.

Narrator: just a few weeks

After glenn's funeral, lynn

Moved in with randy thompson.

Although they had two children

Together, they were never

Legally married -- probably

Because lynn would have had to

Forfeit glenn turner's pension.

I believe that's why she

Didn't marry randy.

She would have lost glenn's

Pension by remarrying, so she

Didn't marry.

She's smart.

She knew that money was out.

Narrator: it wasn't long

Before randy thompson told

Friends, just as glenn turner

Had, that he was unhappy with

Lynn.

It was almost comical the way

They fought -- cat and dog, just

Back and forth, back and forth,

Back and forth.

And I asked him, I said, "why do

You keep calling her?

Why do you even take phone

Calls?"

"Well, she's the mom of my

Kids..."

I said, "okay, whatever."

Narrator: an employee of a

Local animal shelter said that

Lynn wanted to buy the chemicals

They used to euthanize cats, but

They refused to sell them to

Her.

She didn't want to use

Antifreeze again.

She checked around.

She wanted to use something

Different to k*ll randy, but she

Wasn't confident enough to use

Anything else, so she went back

To what she used before.

Narrator: randy told friends

Lynn prepared his lunch shortly

Before he became violently

Ill -- a grilled-cheese sandwich

And sweet tea.

Investigators think the

Antifreeze was in the tea.

Within a day, randy was dead.

It was only <span tts:fontstyle="italic">after</span>his death that

Lynn learned that randy allowed

His $, life-insurance

Policy to lapse just days

Earlier.

She gave him the ethylene

Glycol.

I think that is a very slow,

Cruel death.

It's not like you sh**t someone

And you immediately change your

Mind and start giving them first

Aid.

I mean, there was no aid given,

And she had plenty of

Opportunity to give aid, and she

Didn't on either case.

Narrator: when these murders

Happened, antifreeze had a taste

That could easily be masked with

Sweet-tasting foods.

The industry has since modified

Antifreeze so that it is now

Unpalatable.

We, the jury, find the

Defendant, julia lynn

Womack-turner, guilty of malice

m*rder...

Narrator: in may of ,

Lynn turner was convicted for

k*lling her husband, glenn.

Three years later, in ,

Lynn was also convicted of

Randy thompson's m*rder.

She is currently serving a life

Sentence with no chance for

Parole.

To hear the guilty verdict

Was very difficult.

You don't like to hear that your

Daughter-in-law has done

Something like this to anybody.

Narrator: despite the

Mathematical misstep by the

Toxicology lab, scientists

Eventually discovered the truth

About what happened to both

Randy thompson and glenn turner.

It was a challenging case to

Get it all out there, even

Though it really was quite

Simple in that you had two men

Who had been involved with her,

And both had d*ed the exact same

Way.

Forensic evidence -- without

It, we had nothing.

We wouldn't have had a case.

It would have been just a bunch

Of hearsay and rumors, but the

Forensic evidence was all the

Nails in the coffin.

It was the hammer that put