11x20 - Live Wire

[bunniefuu]

It was a
Christmas gift delivered

to a Jacksonville, Florida home.

There was no card or label
identifying the sender,

but inside were some clues.

A thin piece of wire and some
cryptic numbers on a sales

receipt held the key to a
brutal and senseless m*rder.

January 6, 2001, was packing day

for Lillian Jarvis
and her two children.

She was moving her
family to a new apartment

in the same town,
just a few miles away.

I thought Lillian

was a very wonderful girl.

We didn't have any secrets.

We talked about everything,
and I don't even

want to tell you what
everything means either.

Lillian spent most
of her professional life

working with special
needs children.

She was a very sweet girl.

She would do
anything for anyone.

On moving day,
it was Lillian's mother

who first saw the gift
on the front porch.

There was no card, just a
note saying, sorry, it's late.

She carried the
package inside the house.

Lillian was actually
inside the bathroom

packing some
toiletries and things.

Marjorie came back into
the house with the package,

kind of excited, you
know, oh, look, look.

There's a Christmas
package here.

And everybody gathered
around to see what it was.

Inside was a green
fisherman's tackle box.



There's a fire in our house.

There's a fire and my
mom's burning to death.

The expl*si*n was immense.

It blew a hole straight
through the roof.

Shards of galvanized steel
proved it was a pipe-b*mb.

The fire component was
extremely uncommon.

The impact of the b*mb

threw my daughter
across the room.

I knew my daughter was dead.

I knew she was dead
when she landed.

There's no way she could
have got out of there.


Lillian Jarvis was k*lled.

Lillian's mother suffered
burns on her face and torso,

but, fortunately, she survived.

Lillian's boyfriend,
Dan Showalter,

also had burns on his
face and upper body.

He lost the sight in
one eye and sustained

permanent hearing loss.

Lillian's daughter was unharmed.

- It was very
difficult to tell who

the package was intended for.

The package did not
have a label on it

that we were aware
of, denoting who

this present or package
was intended for.

- A little child could have come
by and picked it up and opened

it, thinking it was
a Christmas gift

and not even thinking
that it wasn't

on their house or anything.

And then children
will do those things.

Firefighters could
smell the remnants of gasoline,

making this an
extremely unusual b*mb.

I think most b*mb
builders are revenge motivated,

to get even with the victim
or to k*ll the victim

for some reason, some
motive, other than just

a random k*lling.

- Most of the individuals who
do bombings are criminals,

basically think they're
smarter than everybody else,

but there's always
one mistake they make

that's going to get them caught.

Since the package
didn't have a shipping label,

it was most likely
delivered by hand,

but was Lillian the
intended target?

b*mb experts conducted
a grid search

inside and outside the home
in which Lillian Jarvis was

k*lled, and little
by little, searchers

found quite a few
pieces of the b*mb.

- b*mb builders think that
the bombs are destructive

and that they destroy
evidence, but, in fact,

bombs don't destroy evidence.

They create evidence,
and they create

very unique imprints
of evidence.

- There were, I believe, over


had to be sifted, and
separated, and looked

at under the microscope
or magnifying ring.

I spent upwards
of several months

to a year looking
through and going

through all of that evidence.

By testing the
debris with gas chromatography,

scientists confirmed that
gasoline was used in the b*mb.

- So not only was she blown up,
then she was also burned up.

And this, again,
shows that there

is a personal hatred
of this target.

Experts believe
that the gasoline was

in a balloon inside
the tackle box.

The b*mb was identified as
a type of pipe b*mb wrapped

with ball bearings to
make it more deadly.

Investigators also found bits
and pieces of the tackle box,

enough to identify
the make and model.

Fortunately,
there were stickers and labels

on some of the pieces that
I was able to reconstruct

and able to identify this tackle
box as a Plano tackle box.

Thousands of these tackle boxes

had been sold in
the area, making

it virtually
impossible to trace.

- They're sold in Jacksonville
as well as other parts

of the country, so we
ran into a little problem

in trying to
identify who may have

bought that tackle box as well.

It's a pretty generic item.

But investigators
did find an extremely important

piece of evidence in the rubble,
a tiny piece of metal wire,

no wider than a thread.

- A single wire that
was a little heavier

gauge than some of the
other wires, the house wires

that I'd been seeing
in the evidence,

and I recognized it as
a model rocket igniter,

just from my past experience and
seeing these in other devices.

The first suspect in the bombing

was Lillian's ex-husband,
William Jarvis, because he had

been clearly unhappy
about the divorce.

He was a 39-year-old
air traffic controller

with no criminal record.

He would be calling her

at all hours of
the day and night

and harassing her to come home.

And I love you, I'm
sorry, and yada yada yadi.

It just kept getting
worse and worse.

But his daughter, Katie,

was in the home at
the time of the blast.

No one believed
William Jarvis would

ever put her in harm's way.

WILLIAM McFARLAND: There was
some real confusion as to

whether or not the father
would actually send the device

to where his
daughter was staying.

Therefore, we kind
of ruled him out.

Then investigators
learned that Lillian's mother,

Marjorie, worked for an
organization that had received

a b*mb threat just


- The night before, there was
a b*mb threat called to where

I worked, which is
Community Hospice,

and they were thinking
that someone didn't like me

or they didn't like the company.

- When we were investigating
to see if Marjorie was

a target through Hospice and
the b*mb threat they received,

we looked very hard at the fact
that the caller was a female

and had a very strong
southern accent.

This was a tantalizing clue.

Lillian's new boyfriend,
Dan Showalter,

almost died in the blast.

His ex-wife, Connie,
had a southern accent.

Dan had a
protection order against Connie

he received, because
Connie had attempted

to take their
daughter, take custody

and flee the state
with the daughter.

When questioned,
Connie Showalter

said she was out of state
when the bombing occurred,

and her alibi checked out.

Plus, if you just look

at the nature of this particular
k*lling, which is highly

personal, with a very,
very vicious device,

it's just not... women
don't do that to women.

One piece of evidence
found in the rubble suggested

that Lillian Jarvis
may have been

the intended target after all.

- It was wrapped in some angel
Christmas wrapping paper,

and Lillian was known to
have a fondness for angels.

A background check
revealed Lillian had developed

extensive and sometimes
intimate relationships

over the internet.

We were concerned
that, perhaps, this b*mb had

been left by somebody
that she had met online

and had developed a
relationship with,

and that, that relationship
maybe had gone bad.

- And we conducted
almost 100 interviews

on various people that knew
Lil through the internet.

Five days after the bombing,

friends and relatives
held a candlelight vigil

for Lillian Jarvis
in a park nearby.

Detectives posed as TV news
crews to conduct surveillance.

And they actually

filmed the vigil, interviewed
some of the people there,

and we used that footage to
see who showed up and maybe who

didn't show up that might
help in the investigation.

You'd be surprised how often

K*llers show up at these things.

Bombing victim, Lillian Jarvis,
developed many friendships

online following her divorce.

Investigators spoke to everyone
on Lillian's buddy list

and email address book, but
all were virtual dead ends.

Then they learned
something suspicious.

Just two days after the
bombing, Lillian's ex-husband,

William Jarvis,
was due in court.

He owed Lillian a
considerable sum of money

as part of their
divorce settlement,

and he had been refusing to pay.

- He was to be in court with a
check for close to $44,000.00,

a cashier's check to present
to the judge for this money

that he owed her.

That was the date the
judge had told him,

and he said he was not
letting him go one more day.

The money was for back
child support and Lillian's 50%

share of the house
they own together.

Was the timing of the
expl*si*n just a coincidence?

Investigators didn't think
so, so they asked the judge

for a search warrant to look
inside William Jarvis' home.

At his desk was a hint that
some items from the house

had recently been removed.

- The tower computer was gone.

In fact, there was still
an imprint in his carpet

of a tower computer,
yet there was none.

And where did it go?

Investigators then searched the
home of Jarvis' new girlfriend.

WILLIAM McFARLAND: We
found two CD-ROMs, which

were in her underwear
drawer in her bedroom.

We were positive these were
the CDs belonging to William

Jarvis, because they
were various emails,

personal pictures, documents
relating to his divorce,

and his children.

And some of those
documents were incriminating.

Some documents and brochures

on how to build a b*mb.

He had demonstrated
that he had an interest

in the Oklahoma City bombing.

He had approximately


- One of the interesting items
that we found in that b*mb

was a sound bite, and
the sound bite stated,

I'll blow this place up and be
home in time for cornflakes,

which actually came out of
the movie "Total Recall."

In William Jarvis' home,

investigators found two
Walmart sales receipts

for items purchased just three
weeks before the bombing.

- The receipts had fallen by
a night stand next to a bed

and evidently had been missed.

On the receipts were what's

known as SKU or SKU numbers.

It stands for
stock keeping unit,

a way for stores to
keep track of inventory.

We went to
Walmart with that SKU number.

Walmart was able to tell
us that, that SKU number is

unique to a certain item,
that no other item they sell

would have that same SKU number.

The SKU numbers revealed

Jarvis bought a package of Estes
brand model rocket igniters.

A*F forensic chemist, Rob
Reed used x-ray fluorescence

spectroscopy to compare the
Estes wires from their rocket

igniter to the wire
recovered from the b*mb site.

X-ray beams identified the
chemical elements of the wires.

The Estes model rocket igniters

have a particular
alloy that's used

for the bridge wire
and the leg wires.

It's also very unique.

This is proprietary
information that Estes

doesn't share with anyone.

They shared it with
us for our own reasons

in trying to help solve crimes.

The wire in the b*mb debris

have the same metal alloys
as the Estes brand igniters.

The companies
that make these products have

no control over how we
use them as consumers.

They have an intended
purpose, but sometimes people

in their sick minds will
twist them and use them

for something that's
going to hurt someone.

- We had been working
long and hard on this,

and you almost start to take a
personal interest in the case

and, to get the first...
We had had other suspects,

but to get the first piece of
evidence that directly linked

our best suspect to the device...
It's like winning the lottery.

Investigators swept
William Jarvis' kitchen floor

for any microscopic particles
that might be present.

Under the microscope,
scientists found

irregularly-shaped
spheres of nitrocellulose,

an ingredient of
smokeless g*n powder,

the same type used in the b*mb.

Also on the sales
receipt was proof

that Jarvis purchased
Christmas wrapping paper.

The SKU number proved
it was the same wrapping

paper used with the b*mb.

It was a very rare
form of wrapping paper, which

had been distributed through
some stores in the southeast,

of which one of these stores
was this Walmart store, where

these particular
items were purchased.

The receipt also
showed Jarvis bought condoms.

Investigators suspected
Jarvis used the condoms

to hold the gasoline
in the b*mb.

- We did some tests to see how
long a condom could contain

gasoline and we found that the
couple of hours that it would

have taken for him to transport
the device from his home

to the victim's house, was
more than enough time...

That there was no
leakage or seepage

of the gasoline
from the condoms.

We were sure at
that point that we had our man

and that we were going
to be able to prove

it in court as well.

But Jarvis denied
any involvement in the bombing

and said he had an alibi.

He claimed he was at
home on his computer

at the time of the bombing,
which was an hour's drive away.

His online computer
service confirmed

he was on his computer.

So how did he do it?

Prosecutors believe William
Jarvis had two motives

for k*lling his
ex-wife, Lillian.

The first was money.

Bill Jarvis ended up
owing Lillian alimony and child

support payments in the
neighborhood of around $1,800

a month.

He was also, as part of
the settlement, property

settlement, had a balloon
payment due to her of almost

$30,000 that was due to
be paid to her in October,

and he did not pay it.

The other
thing was William Jarvis viewed

his wife as less of
a person than him,

and he was quite upset that she
would run around and do things

that he did not approve
of, and, therefore,

she had to be punished.

In other words,
Jarvis didn't approve of Lillian

dating other men after
they were divorced.

Three months before the
m*rder, store receipts

show that William Jarvis
purchased the same brand

of rocket igniter and wrapping
paper used in the bombing.

He also bought condoms,
which investigators

believe held the
gasoline in the b*mb.

The evidence shows
that Jarvis made

the b*mb on his kitchen table.

Microscopic particles
of smokeless gunpowder

fell onto his floor.

On the morning of the
bombing, prosecutors

believe Jarvis
woke around 5:00 AM

and logged onto his
AOL account, possibly

to establish his alibi.

Then he drove to
Lillian's house,


deliver the b*mb.

Prosecutors don't
believe Jarvis was home

when his computer
logged off AOL.

They believe AOL ended
his online session

at 5:15 due to inactivity.

Jarvis left the package
on Lillian's doorstep

around 6:00 AM.

He knew Lillian liked this
kind of wrapping paper,

so the children would
know it was for her.

Lillian's mother first saw
the package around 6:30.

She didn't think it
was for her because she

didn't celebrate Christmas.

When she handed
Lillian the package,

no one, except
William Jarvis, could

have anticipated what
would happen next.

My mom's burning to death.

I believe
William Jarvis waited around

in the neighborhood until
he heard the expl*si*n.

Then, instead of going home,

he went to work 45 minutes
before his shift started.

WILLIAM McFARLAND: We don't
think he wanted to go back

to his house,
fearing that people

might be there waiting for him.

Therefore, he had to
be at work, and he just

went to his normal
routine of going to work,

except he was early that
day, which is unusual.

William Jarvis'
hatred for Lillian

could easily have
resulted in the death

of his daughter,
Katie, had she been

the one who opened the package.

- The last image of my daughter
is seeing her standing

by the sink, opening the gift
that was wrapped for Christmas,

and it exploded, and
she was thrown in midair

across the room,
and everything went

up in flames, including her.

William Jarvis
was tried and convicted

of first degree
m*rder and arson.

He was sentenced to three
consecutive life terms

in prison with no
possibility of parole.

The forensic evidence proves
that Jarvis planned the bombing

for months, but was
convinced the expl*si*n

would destroy all the evidence.

WILLIAM McFARLAND: I'd say the
most critical piece of evidence

in this entire case was
one tiny piece of wire

that our lab technician found,
and this tied him to the b*mb.

Without that one piece
of wire, this case

probably wouldn't
have been solved.

That was the smoking
g*n in this entire case,

that one piece of wire.

- And that just goes to show that
you may think you're smarter

than the police, but you're not.

Eventually we'll get you.