08x13 - When the Dust Settled

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Narrator: a union official was ex*cuted in his home

Not long after a strike by union membership.

No one in the neighborhood heard any g*nshots.

It would take a forensic sound test,

An electron microscope,

And a nightgown to explain why.

-Year-old joe doyle was an official of the local afscme,

A union representing government employees.

It could be the most bitter, cold day in the world,

And if he thought you were cold, he'd take his shirt off

And give it to you even if he didn't know you.

Now, he also, as big as he was,

He wasn't afraid to tell you exactly what he thought.

Collins: he got into people's faces.

He was a wonderful guy.

They either loved him, or they might've hated him.

Narrator: joe and his wife katie

Had been married for about years.

On july , ,

The couple went to a private club after work for drinks.

Early the next morning, katie phoned police in a panic.

Woman: . What is your emergency?

Katie: my husband won't move,

And there's some blood around him.

Did you hear him fall or anything?

No, he's laying in bed on his stomach.

I went in to wake him up for work.

All right. We'll get somebody right there.

Don't touch anything.

Narrator: joe doyle had been sh*t at close range.

It was an execution-style k*lling.

When someone's dead with four g*nsh*t wounds to the head,

The first question that anyone's gonna ask

Is "did this person have enemies?"

Because, obviously, it wasn't a friend that did this.

Narrator: there was no sign of forced entry.

And joe's empty money clip was on the floor,

Which, according to katie, had contained approximately $,.

The first suspect in a m*rder like this

Is always the surviving spouse.

Katie's hands were tested for g*nsh*t residue,

Which would have been present had she fired a g*n.

The test was negative.

Katie told police that they got home from the club around :,

Had dinner, then went to bed.

Around midnight,

Katie said she went to sleep in an adjacent bedroom.

It was because of joe's really, really, really loud snoring

That she couldn't take it.

She tried to get to sleep, and she lay there for an hour or so,

But she finally had to leave and go into this next-door bedroom

Because of the snoring.

Narrator: the next morning,

When katie went in to wake her husband,

She found him dead under the covers.

Katie insisted she didn't hear any g*nshots.

Neither did any of her neighbors.

Mcintyre: one of the funniest things in the case

Was that no one heard the g*nshots -- no one.

We really did not have any good evidence

Of any hearing of g*nshots that night.

Collins: it's possible a sil*ncer could've been used.

It could be a professional type of sil*ncer

That is affixed to the g*n.

Narrator: police couldn't help but notice the amount of dust

In the doyle's home,

And wondered whether this might help track

The k*ller's movements

And ultimately reveal his identity.

Narrator: after the m*rder of -year-old joe doyle,

Friends and family told police

That his marriage to wife katie seemed solid.

The couple were building an addition to their house

And planning for the future.

Katie was telling the police

That joe was the love of her life,

That she loved him more than you could love anyone,

That everything was perfect in their marriage,

That they'd just had sex the night before he was k*lled.

Narrator: joe and katie both worked at the same hospital,

And their co-workers gave police

A different picture of their relationship.

Katie was having a brazen, brazen affair with a co-worker,

That she was basically flaunting that relationship,

That she told people that she was obsessed with george,

That she wanted nothing to do with her husband,

That her husband was controlling,

That george was the love of her life.

Narrator: george louis was a groundskeeper at the hospital,

And police found evidence the two were more than just lovers.

Schreiber: she purchases jewelry for him.

She gives him a $, down payment for a vehicle.

She purchases clothing for him.

She does everything for him, really.

Narrator: katie admitted the affair,

But her lawyer says it meant nothing.

Collins: it was a fling.

It was not brief,

But it was not a motive for m*rder.

Narrator: at the crime scene,

Police found a clue in the nightstand next to the bed.

In the nightstand was a lock box.

Marks in the dust indicated the box had recently been moved,

But no fingerprints were found.

Missing from the box

Was joe doyle's mm makarov p*stol.

This is one of the four b*ll*ts recovered from doyle's body,

Deformed by impact.

When a handgun is fired,

The b*llet spins as it travels through the barrel.

The soft outer shell is scored by a corkscrew line

Cut into the barrel,

A process known as "rifling."

It causes a b*llet to rotate on its longitudinal axis,

Giving it an aerodynamic stability while it's in flight.

Narrator: the line cut into the b*llet is called a "groove."

The spaces between the grooves are called "lands."

These lands and grooves are different for each make of g*n.

Investigators wanted to know whether this b*llet

Was from a p*stol like the one owned by joe doyle.

Using a comparison microscope,

Forensic scientists compared the b*llet from joe doyle's body

To one fired from a makarov p*stol.

Townshend: on the makarov,

It has four lands and grooves with a right twist.

And there are not many firearms

That have those class characteristics.

Narrator: the results were clear --

Joe had been k*lled with the same model mm p*stol

That he had once owned but was now missing.

Collins: the b*ll*ts were consistent

With being fired from this model.

So that was the evidence with the g*n.

That's what they started with.

And on the defense side,

We established that there were at least , other g*ns

Of this make and model alone that existed in our state,

About , in the country.

Narrator: police then looked into joe's union ties.

Schreiber: there recently had been a strike with the union,

And the victim was involved in some of the activities

Regarding that strike.

Narrator: it was a strike by state employees.

Joe had the potentially dangerous task

Of repossessing the state-owned cars

Driven by the striking members.

Schreiber: people can be volatile.

Tempers flare up during a strike situation,

One person against another.

There could've been some problems between him

And one of the people whose cars he repossessed.

Joe, in some sense, was viewed at this type of tyrant.

He had to confiscate vehicles.

Uh, tensions ran high.

Um, you know, arguments occurred, that sort of thing.

And it's a typical union scenario.

Narrator: at the same time, katie told investigators

That her husband was involved in "project children,"

An organization which brings children from northern ireland

To the united states for summer vacations.

Here's a guy who travels to another country,

To a hot spot in the world --

A bed of terrorism, a bed of strife.

I mean, I think anyone with common sense

Would look into this and see if there's a connection here.

The fact that he was ex*cuted in his own bed,

Most likely at night while he was sleeping,

And no one seemed to have heard sh*ts,

Led people to believe, "they might've used a sil*ncer.

"It was an execution.

This could be as a result of his ties with the i.r.a.,"

If he had ties.

Narrator: the investigation took forensic scientists

From the united states all the way to northern ireland.

But the real evidence

Was right in joe doyle's backyard.

Narrator: police investigating the m*rder

Of -year-old union official joe doyle

Pursued every possible lead,

Looking into his union activities

Over the past several years,

As well as his involvement with a charity in northern ireland.

Police couldn't identify anyone angry enough with doyle

To want him dead.

So they looked once again at his wife, katie,

And her lover, george louis.

Research into katie's background

Found evidence of substance abuse

And financial disagreements.

Mcintyre: joe was tough on katie.

Katie had had a drug problem years before.

Joe caught her.

Joe didn't trust katie anymore. He didn't trust her with money.

Collins: no relationship's perfect.

This one certainly wasn't a perfect relationship.

They're gonna take a microscope and examine the spouse,

Their entire life.

And they're gonna try to dig up any piece of dirt possible.

Narrator: her boyfriend, george louis,

Had an alibi for the night of joe doyle's m*rder.

Mcintyre: george basically was a real lover.

He had other girlfriends besides katie, apparently,

And so he was out with one of his girlfriends that night.

Schreiber: two people alibied him.

The first one,

Which would be for the earlier part of the evening,

Was with the other woman with whom he was having an affair,

And then for the later part of the evening was with his wife.

Narrator: as for katie doyle,

She said that she had sex with her husband that night

And later left to sleep in an adjacent bedroom

Because of joe's snoring.

The door was shut, and the air conditioner was running.

And she claimed she never heard the sh*ts.

The head of her bed would be resting against a wall.

That wall is the same wall that separates her room

From the bedroom where the victim is sleeping,

Which puts them in extremely close proximity to each other,

A matter of feet.

Narrator: the distance was feet,

Separated by a -inch wall and a closet.

Investigators brought in dr. Harry hollien,

A forensic audio expert, to test katie's claims.

On a sh**ting range, hollien fired a makarov mm p*stol

And recorded the sounds.

When you fire a g*n,

You explode some gunpowder in a cartridge in a barrel.

And that expl*si*n is very rapid.

So the acoustic signal coming out of the barrel

As the b*llet comes out of the barrel very rapidly,

The acoustic signal also is one that's very abrupt.

Narrator: the makarov generated

Between and decibels of sound.

And it would be comparable to a motorcycle,

A heavy bus close by,

A power lawnmower, a chainsaw, things such as that.

Narrator: but the sound created by a g*n is of short duration.

Would katie doyle have heard it?

To find out, hollien used two adjacent bedrooms in his house.

He then put the recording he had made of the makarov p*stol

In one bedroom

And a sound meter in the other bedroom.

If the sh*t was decibels,

% Of that sound -- approximately decibels --

Reached the other bedroom.

Hollien: if you're asleep,

There's a very good chance that it would wake you up.

Narrator: and forensic scientists

Found another discrepancy in katie's story.

Katie said she left joe's bedroom around midnight,

And that she found him dead at : a.m.

But forensic scientists found alcohol in joe's stomach.

The alcohol he consumed at the club

Would all have been absorbed in his body

Had he been k*lled after midnight.

The medical examiner estimated the time of death

Was closer to : p.m.

This could easily explain why neighbors didn't hear the sh*ts.

The ambient sounds of television, radios, and stereos

At that time of night could easily have muffled them.

Next, investigators wanted to test katie's nightgown

That was found on the floor next to joe's body.

Pulling the trigger creates a small expl*si*n

When the primer ignites the gunpowder,

Which in turn, propels the b*llet.

Gases from that expl*si*n create a small cloud,

About to feet in diameter,

That usually wafts back over the sh**t.

The gases from the primer escape from the firearm

Through any available opening,

In the form of a gas or a vapor.

It then solidifies into tiny particles,

Which are deposited on the hands, clothing,

Or the immediate proximity of the discharge.

Narrator: using an aluminum disk with a permanent adhesive,

Scientist skip schwoeble

Lifted samples from the surface of the nightgown.

Next, he removed the stud from its plastic holder

And placed it inside a scanning electron microscope.

The particles are magnified and scanned

To reveal their chemical makeup.

On katie doyle's gown were thousands of particles,

Seen here magnified , times.

They were made up of lead, antimony, and barium,

The chemical components of gunpowder.

Schwoeble: it's not natural in the environment.

When those three particles are fused together,

That's unique to g*nsh*t residue.

Narrator: schwoeble also found g*nsh*t residue

On the bedding next to the body.

Collins: g*nsh*t residue is going to get on the bed

And on the items on the bed.

Katie said that before she left that room

And went to the other room to go to sleep,

She took her nightgown off, threw it on the bed.

She doesn't recall where she threw it on the bed.

It was dark.

Narrator: with no g*nsh*t residue on katie's hands,

And g*nsh*t residue on the bedding

As well as her nightgown,

Prosecutors had no forensic evidence

Katie doyle fired the p*stol.

And without forensic evidence,

Prosecutors had plenty of suspicions,

But very little proof.

Narrator: police believe katie doyle lied

When she told them her husband was alive

When she left his bedroom around midnight.

An analysis of his stomach contents

Put the m*rder closer to : p.m.

According to their home-phone records,

Someone called for joe shortly after : p.m.

And what katie told the caller was revealing.

She said that the victim couldn't come to the phone

Because he was toast.

In other words, he was intoxicated,

And that's why he couldn't talk on the phone.

Narrator: there was no g*nsh*t residue on katie's hands,

But her nightgown, found on the floor,

Did test positive for g*nsh*t residue,

And so did the covers on the bed.

So skip schwoeble decided to analyze the nightgown

To study the exact concentrations and placement

Of the residue.

Years ago, when we didn't have the automated analysis

By scanning electron microscope,

A sample could take , hours, looking at it manually.

Today, we're able to look at many thousands of particles

In a short period of time.

Narrator: those tests revealed large amounts of residue

On both the right and left front-chest area,

Consistent with where a g*n would be positioned.

That was all the evidence police needed.

The significance of the gown

Is the reason why I arrested the victim's wife

For the m*rder of her husband.

Narrator: prosecutors think they know the motive for the m*rder.

Mcintyre: she was head over heels over this guy.

She didn't want joe anymore.

This is your standard one spouse not wanting to be married.

Narrator: the forensic evidence shows

That joe doyle was in bed sometime before : p.m.

Prosecutors believe katie went into the bedroom,

Took her husband's mm p*stol from the lock box,

Then fired four sh*ts into his head at close range.

The invisible g*nsh*t vapor drifted backwards towards her

And settled on her nightgown.

Katie took off her nightgown and threw it on the floor

To show police the two had slept together.

But it was proof of something else,

Proof that she had worn it while k*lling her husband.

Katie had or hours to leave home and get rid of the p*stol.

The next morning,

Neighbors said katie's car was in a different parking spot

From where it was the night before.

According to telephone records,

Katie called her boyfriend three times

On the night of the m*rder.

Prosecutors don't believe the boyfriend was involved.

Mcintyre: if she even acknowledged and admitted

That she had gotten in touch with george that night,

If he had any role in it, we have no proof of it.

Narrator: katie doyle was convicted of first-degree m*rder

And sentenced to life in prison.

Her lawyer maintains katie is innocent,

But he has no idea who k*lled joe doyle.

Collins: why are we looking at katie?

Because she's the wife,

Because the police don't want to get outside the house,

Because that's their mode of investigation,

And they're stuck there.

And they're stuck there to this day.

Narrator: investigators say science leaves no doubt

About the k*ller's identity.

Schwoeble: it's much harder to get away with a crime today

Than it was years ago.

We have instrumentation,

Preparation techniques

That are much more advanced now.

We can do particle extraction from clothing, from hands,

And it doesn't have to be specifically g*nsh*t residue.

If it wouldn't have been, again,

With the work that skip schwoeble did

With the microparticles that were found on the nightshirt

That she had been wearing the night that this occurred,

We probably would've never had enough information

To make an arrest, let alone to get a conviction.

I'd rather rely on science in every case

Than on a human being.

Science, especially when you can get different areas of science

All pointing to the same suspect,

Is key to any prosecution.