11x14 - Dark Waters

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: the medical examiner ruled the death an accident,

But a forensic detective disagreed.

The final resolution took long years.

And raised questions about the accuracy of an autopsy.

Paterson, new jersey, is an industrial suburb outside

New york city which has its share of violent crime.

One of the town's most unusual cases happened in .

I would personally rank it as being one of the most

Interesting, challenging cases I ever had.

Narrator: -year-old frankie pullian was found dead

On a deserted road underneath an abandoned car.

Apparently, the person driving the vehicle hit frankie, then

Fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind.

Frankie pullian worked for a local funeral home as a

Handyman.

Before that, he served a brief stint in the u.s. m*llitary.

He would run errands for the funeral home, and the funeral

Home was also, kind of, a stopping-off point for the

Police, as well, and it was one of the more successful black

Funeral homes in paterson.

Narrator: police discovered that the hit-and-run vehicle had

Been stolen a month earlier.

The owner was a retired policeman who lived nearby who

Had an alibi for the night before.

He was an elderly gentleman.

There was no way that anyone would even, in their wildest

Dreams or imagination, suspect that he was involved in this.

Narrator: to approximate the time of the accident, paterson

Police checked patrolmen's records for the night before and

Found an important clue.

Earlier that morning, at approximately : a.m., The

Same patrol unit did pass that area, and the significance of

That is when they did pass at that time, the maverick and the

Body were not there.

Narrator: since frankie's body was discovered at :

A.m., The accident occurred sometime between : and :

A.m.

But what was frankie pullian doing walking along this street

In this part of town so early in the morning?

It wouldn't be a place where you'd, generally, be taking a

Walk, but it certainly would be a good place for a crime because

It was dark and it was unlikely there'd be other people around.

Narrator: frankie's body went directly to the funeral home

Where he worked.

The medical examiner conducted the autopsy there -- a common

Procedure at the time.

Passaic county did not have a centralized morgue, and what

They did have were contracts with various funeral homes that

Would act as morgues.

Narrator: the medical examiner concluded that frankie

d*ed of massive trauma -- the result of the hit-and-run

Accident.

There was nothing to show otherwise that it was other than

A hit-and-run due to the nature of the injuries that were

Reported by the m.e.

Narrator: but despite the autopsy report, investigators

Were troubled.

They thought some of the elements of the accident scene

Looked staged.

This car was at the far end of a dead-end street.

The car looked like it was facing out.

I don't know how this individual driving this vehicle could have

Gotten enough speed to run over somebody and k*ll them in this

Short distance.

Narrator: investigators searched the stolen vehicle for

Clues to the driver's identity.

There were no fingerprints in the car, not even on the

Steering wheel.

But investigators found blood inside the car, on the

Passenger side, which was very suspicious.

Then, instantly, it gets more interesting.

Narrator: and the focus of the investigation began to

Change.

Narrator: to find out whether frankie pullian's death was

Truly the result of a hit-and-run vehicle accident,

Investigators called in walter suhaka, a nationally

Recognized expert in accident reconstruction.

Luckily, police had taken numerous photos of the scene,

And what suhaka didn't see in those pictures was telling.

Behind the car, there were no skid marks.

Anybody that comes down the road that hits a pedestrian, in those

Days before a.b.s. Brakes, the first thing a person would do

Would be slam on their brakes.

There was no skid marks.

Narrator: there should have been serious front-end damage to

The car but there was none.

And the position of the body under the car didn't make any

Sense.

In a pedestrian accident with a gentleman who is '" tall,

And he weighed pounds, you would expect that if he was

Struck by a car, he would end up on the hood of the car, striking

The windshield, and then roll off the side.

Narrator: also, it looked as if the impact literally knocked

The victim's coat off his body.

Suhaka said this could not be the natural result of an

Accident.

How does the coat come off?

It did not make sense.

Also, there was a watch with just the watch face with no

Straps.

That didn't make sense at all.

We never found the straps.

Narrator: but most telling was the blood found in the tire

Tracks <span tts:fontstyle="italic">behind</span>the car.

If frankie had been hit by the front of the car and lodged

Underneath, his blood wouldn't be behind the rear tires.

And mr. Suhaka found blood spatter on the windshield inside

The car and blood drops on the inside trim of the

Passenger-side door.

Obviously, there wouldn't be blood inside a car from a

Collision outside.

It was one of my suggestions that we need to exhume the body

To find out what the actual injuries were.

Narrator: since the death had officially been declared an

Accident, it took more than three years of legal wrangling

To get permission for the exhumation.

The second autopsy was conducted by dr. Geetha natarajan, a

Pathologist with the state coroner's office.

The first thing I noticed is the level of preservation and

The condition of the body being fair.

The second-most important finding was that the external

Body surface failed to show any injury.

There were no bruises.

There were no brush burns like he was dragged by a vehicle.

Narrator: dr. Natarajan discovered four linear fractures

Along the back of the skull.

One, a depressed, circular fracture, was not noted in the

First autopsy.

This blow by a hammer-like object to the back of the head

Did not happen from being hit by a car.

It's a very small area of concentrated energy, and that's

Unusual when someone is struck by an automobile.

You can't take an automobile and have a person's skull being

Struck by a small area of / x / inch.

Narrator: and there were wood splinters around the wound.

Well, first of all, under a car, in front of the car,

There's no wood.

Why would there be wood splinters in the skull?

This was never mentioned during the first autopsy, nor do

I believe that an autopsy or a full examination of the skull

Was ever done during the first autopsy.

Narrator: there were also no broken limbs -- virtually

Unheard of when a pedestrian is hit by a car.

So dr. Natarajan changed the official manner of death from

Accident to homicide.

But how were these injuries overlooked in the first autopsy?

The medical examiner who did the autopsy, who issued the

Initial death certificate, was not a forensic pathologist.

He was not even a pathologist.

He was a general practitoner.

He did what best he could do under the circumstance, but he

Was not trained formally in pathology or in forensic

Pathology.

Narrator: and that autopsy was conducted at the funeral

Home of e. Lee white, the victim's employer.

Apparently, white started the examination <span tts:fontstyle="italic">before</span>the coroner

Arrived.

The medical examiner remembers mr. White calling him

And saying...

"Doc, I'll go ahead and start with the case so when you get

Here, I'll have the organs out."

Narrator: investigators now suspected that the original

Medical examiner didn't perform much of an autopsy.

Apparently, he accepted the hit-and-run scenario since

Frankie's body was found underneath the car.

Regardless, investigators now knew frankie pullian was

m*rder*d.

But why?

Narrator: there were two separate autopsies performed on

Frankie pullian's remains, done three years apart.

The original autopsy concluded frankie's death was the result

Of an automobile accident.

The second autopsy concluded he was m*rder*d with a blunt

Instrument before his body was placed beneath the car.

Had law enforcement had that information in the very

Beginning, obviously this case would have gone in a much

Different direction right from day one.

Narrator: and the photos of the vehicle provided evidence of

Where frankie was k*lled.

When I started reading reports, they said there was

Blood inside the car.

I had to read the report twice.

It just didn't make sense.

Turned out there was spatter from blood on the inside

Windshield and on the dashboard.

Narrator: serology tests identified the blood in the car

As type "o" -- the same blood type as frankie pullian.

Now suspicious, investigators dug a little deeper into

Frankie's background.

For a man making less than $, a year, frankie had nine

Separate insurance policies on his life with a total payout of

Nearly $ million.

It's very unusual that you would take out almost $ million

Worth of insurance and then, in a few short months, someone

Should die.

I mean, to me, that raises a flag automatically.

Narrator: the insurance premiums totaled $, a

Year -- almost half of frankie's annual salary.

First thing you're thinking is that, certainly, this is not

Right.

It's very odd, to say the least, but it certainly raises the

Possibility that there's an insurance fraud going on.

Narrator: and who were the beneficiaries of frankie's

Life-insurance policies?

One was his boss and longtime benefactor e. Lee white.

For his employer to insure him so heavily with multiple

Policies for large sums of money was very suspicious, which

Now creates a motive for the death of franklin pullian.

Narrator: another beneficiary was erna boone, listed on the

Policy as frankie's sister.

But records showed frankie had no sister and that erna boone

Was the maiden name of e. Lee white's wife, and two of

White's friends, lawrence scott and william brown, were also

Beneficiaries.

Brown had been convicted a few years earlier for fraud.

Lawrence scott and william brown, who both had

Affiliations with the funeral home with mr. White, also were

Beneficiaries on the policy, and the familiar relationship that

Was cited there was one of being cousins.

They weren't cousins.

Narrator: coincidentally, the insurance policies also

Contained an accidental death provision, meaning there was an

Extra payout of $, if frankie pullian d*ed in an

Accident.

The last of the policies was issued just five days before

Frankie's death.

Frankie's medical records indicated he was released from

The m*llitary because he was neurologically impaired.

I think within six to eight months he was released,

Discharged from the service, because he couldn't pass the

Particular tests that were required of him.

Narrator: yet the man who underwent the physical

Examination for the life-insurance policies was not

Neurologically impaired.

That individual, who reported to be franklin pullian, was

Healthy and fit.

Certainly it wasn't the same person.

Narrator: and there was another bizarre incident at the

Physical examination.

The person who represented himself to be mr. Pullian had

Notes, handwritten notes, and every time he was asked a

Question about his lifestyle, he referred to his notes, which I

Would think would cause some concern but, apparently, did

Not.

Narrator: a forensic document examiner compared frankie's

Known handwriting samples to the signatures on the insurance

Policies and concluded they were forgeries.

So, someone who met with the insurance writers, the insurance

Salesman, had to pose as mr. Pullian.

It's pretty crazy, and these are the things we would look at,

And all of a sudden you realize, "you know what, there's

Something that really is wrong here."

Narrator: when questioned by investigators, e. Lee white

Admitted he purchased the life-insurance policies but

Said he had nothing to do with frankie's death.

Then a witness came forward with some not-so-surprising

Information.

On the night before frankie's m*rder, she saw the car from the

Staged accident scene parked outside e. Lee white's funeral

Home.

Narrator: the only ones who stood to gain from

Frankie pullian's death were his boss, e. Lee white's wife, and

Two fellow employees, lawrence scott and

William brown.

They were beneficiaries of nine different insurance policies on

Frankie's life that totaled nearly $ million.

Humans are very greedy people, and now they see that

There's an opportunity for them to make almost $ million, they

Forget about their consciences.

They'll do anything to make a fast buck.

Narrator: prosecutors believe that mr. White was the

Ringleader, and he had planned the crime for years -- hiring

Frankie for the sole purpose of k*lling him.

It's extremely sad, but, apparently, the people that

Perpetrated this crime realized that that's the kind of victim

That they needed.

They needed to find someone that no one would care about, and no

One would come forward and knock on doors and look to question

Anything that had happened.

Narrator: mr. White purchased

Multiple life-insurance policies on frankie's life and sent

Impostors to the required physical examinations.

A witness reported seeing the stolen car parked outside the

Funeral home the night before the crime.

The evidence indicates someone -- no one knows who --

Lured frankie pullian into the stolen vehicle and hit him on

The back of the skull.

This created the blood spatter on the inside of the windshield

And dashboard and the dripping blood on the chrome strip on the

Bottom of the passenger-side door.

The perpetrators placed frankie's body on the ground and

Drove over it...

But, in doing so, left blood behind the vehicle.

They made other mistakes, too, like leaving frankie's clothing

And shoes in the wrong position.

E. Lee white knew that frankie's body would come directly to his

Funeral home for the autopsy.

He also knew he could start the autopsy without raising the

Suspicions of the medical examiner, who, apparently, did

Little to investigate the death on his own.

He did not go to the scene.

He did not look at the vehicle.

He did not talk to the officers who were at the scene.

He did not look at any photographs.

He did not examine the clothing of the victim.

These are all types of things that one would expect would be

Done following a proper protocol of an autopsy.

Narrator: and investigators believe white chose

Frankie pullian as his victim because he was single and had no

Close family living in the area.

E. Lee white and his alleged co-conspirators were all charged

With m*rder and insurance fraud.

They claimed there was no physical evidence tying them to

A m*rder, and investigators agreed.

But they said the circumstances linking the defendants to the

Crime were overwhelming.

You take all of that together -- you know that there

Was an intentional k*lling, but you know that it was a staged

Accident, and you know that four people stood to make over

$, If this theory of an accident could hold up.

You put all of that together, and it spells out one thing to

Us, and that is

m*rder-for-profit.

Narrator: perhaps what's most tragic about the case is that

Frankie pullian was an unwitting participant in his own m*rder.

He was the kind of person that would not suspect anything

Beyond the obvious.

Narrator: e. Lee white, lawrence scott, and

William brown were all found guilty of first-degree m*rder

And insurance fraud and sentenced to life in prison.

This is probably the most fascinating case I had in the

Years I served as a judge.

The m*rder mystery is actually <span tts:fontstyle="italic">who</span>did it.

There were three people that were tried and three people

Convicted, but who did it?

There's been no one that has come forward with any

Information regarding the homicide of franklin pullian

That would indicate who the actual k*ller was.

The compelling conclusion was that the individuals, who were

The owners and beneficiaries of these policies, were the ones

That were responsible for bringing about the death of

Franklin pullian.

We can't say that they did it by their own hand.

We don't know who did it, but we know that they conspired to have

It done.

Narrator: e. Lee white's wife, erna, was convicted of

Fraud and theft by deception.

She was placed on probation.

Investigators say e. Lee white and his accomplices almost got

Away with a cold, calculated m*rder, but their greed and the

Clues they left behind finally

If franklin pullian didn't die so soon after the policies

Were written, maybe no one's suspicions would have been

Aroused at that time.

But I think they saw this pot of gold and they probably tripped

Themselves up because they wanted a fast payoff.

It all comes down to forensic

Evidence, and forensic evidence

Doesn't lie.

It doesn't make up stories.

It's what it is.