01x06 - A m*rder*r Among Us

[bunniefuu]

- ♪

- Female narrator:
When a grieving family

Buried their grandmother,

They had no idea she was
the victim of a m*rder...

Or that they'd have to exhume
her body to find her k*ller.

- ♪

- I was devastated when
I found out grandma died.

I had a feeling that there
was something not right.

- The level of darvon in her
system, it was enough to k*ll

A person her size
and another adult male.

We had a problem.

- Nobody accidentally takes
that number of pills.

- Narrator: Could this quiet
community have a serial k*ller

In their midst?

- Death rates
increased dramatically.

- The thought of having
someone in the hospital staff

k*lling people, that would
just be a terrifying thought.

- Narrator: Police will have
to disturb the peace

Of a family matriarch

To help catch
the most heinous of K*llers.

- I wanted to know about
any puncture wounds

Anywhere on the body.

- We had sheer determination

We're gonna find out
what happened.

- ♪

- Scott p:
When you bury somebody,

You shouldn't bother them
and bring them back up.

- ♪

♪♪

- ♪

- Narrator: Bedford, indiana,
is a quiet town

Full of neighborly people.

- Bedford's my home.

It is a fantastic small
community where neighbors

Like to help each other,
people look out for each other,

And when someone needs help,
the community in general is

Really good about reaching out
and making sure that person

Receives some assistance.

- ♪

- Narrator: It's early in the
morning on September 16, 2002.

Erma prince, a beloved
and vibrant grandmother,

Is recovering overnight
at dunn memorial hospital.

- Erma was 82,
in a hospital,

Just had surgery.

She had broken her hip.

They decided to just place
pins in her hip

To repair the injury.

- Narrator: It's
a straightforward procedure,

And surgeons are confident
erma will recover completely.

- Her surgery had been
successful,

And the doctors felt good
about her situation.

- My grandmother was only
supposed to stay in the hospital

For a couple of days.

And then after that, they was
gonna do rehabilitation

And different things
on what she has to do.

If she does everything
she's supposed to do,

She will be up
and walking and fine.

- Narrator: At 4:45 a.M.,

A nurse on her rounds
checks in on erma.

- As soon as she entered
the room, she noticed that

There was something wrong
with erma.

She's not breathing.

She was unresponsive.

Efforts to revive
went on until finally

The doctor
pronounced her dead.

- ♪

- Narrator: Doctors record
erma's time of death

At 4:57 a.M.

The sudden death comes as an
unexpected trauma to everyone.

- I was devastated when
I found out grandma died,

And I was in shock.

I was like, "really?"

I couldn't believe it.

This ain't happening,
this ain't true.

This ain't happening.

I thought, "a routine
pin in her hip?

She should've
made it through that."

I had a feeling that there
was something not right.

- Narrator:
Doctors are also surprised.

- John: She was given
anesthesia, and within 24 hours,

She passed away, which triggered
the investigation

Into her death.

- Narrator: The hospital
sends the body for autopsy.

- They were just trying to find
some answers,

And they started with an autopsy
to figure out what happened.

- John: I had been a coroner
and chief deputy coroner

A little past five years.

We decided that we better take
the case on.

A few red flags went up.

She was pretty healthy
for her age.

We were looking
for surgical cause,

Such as a blood clot, which is
common in elderly people.

- Narrator: The team first
rules out medical malpractice,

And moves on to any
other possible causes.

- John: There was
no evidence of stroke,

Heart attack, injuries.

Nothing that supported any type
of physical cause of death.

- Narrator: With the mystery
deepening,

An increasingly suspicious
sherrill decides to order

A toxicology report.

- John: We had
a comprehensive panel

That covered 2 to 250
different items.

- Narrator: The labs will take
about two weeks,

And without any obvious findings
of foul play or trauma,

Erma's body is released
to the family for burial.

- Scott p: This funeral home
that we had my grandma at,

We had a lot of people there.

My grandma was very loved.

She was very energetic.

She was a loveable,
kind person.

She loved church.

She loved people.

Family time was
very important to her.

My grandma and mom, carolyn,

There were really close.

We was around grandma quite
often.

- ♪

- Narrator: And she was
important to her family,

Especially her 31-year-old
granddaughter, shay.

- Scott p: They were very, very
close, those two.

The only person that cared
for her and took care of her

For all of her life,
was my cousin shay.

When you seen shay, you saw
grandma, most of the time.

- Diana: Shay seemed to be
very upset

And disturbed by erma's death.

Shay submitted an obituary,

And I believe even paid for that
to be in the newspaper.

- Narrator:
It's an immeasurable loss.

- It was all overwhelming to me.

I did say I loved her,
and, "I'll see you someday."

That memory is sad, knowing that

I would never see my grandma
again.

- ♪

- Scott p: When I was a
pallbearer that day,

I thought that I was
doing the right thing

By taking grandma to her grave.

- Narrator: But scott and the
rest of his family could never

Have imagined that
just six months later,

They would return
to erma's grave with

The bedford police department
in tow to unearth her body.

Back at the coroner's office,

John sherrill is still stumped
as to why erma died at all.

- We have a lady
that we don't have

An anatomical cause of death

After surgery, that in itself,
made me a little on edge.

- Narrator:
Then, over a week later,

The results of her
toxicology report come in.

And john sherrill is floored.

- It was a fatal level of
the common drug called darvon.

Enough to k*ll a person her size
and another adult male.

- They told me that darvon
was a pain medication.

I didn't know what darvon was or
darvocet or nothing like that.

But that's what they said
was in my grandma's system.

Darvon.

- To me, the level of darvon
in her system did not support

Any type of accidental overdose.

We had a problem.

Someone k*lled erma prince.

- Narrator: Erma's death is
immediately ruled a homicide.

- Scott: There was somebody
coming in there

And k*lling our grandma.

- John: We had to call
the bedford police department.

We had to start over
now at square one

With a criminal investigation.

- Robert: The coroner
at the time, john sherrill,

Came into the division offices
with the toxicology report

And let us know
that we had a problem.

Someone had done something
overtly

To cause this person's death.

- ♪

- Narrator: Detectives
immediately consider

A grim possibility,

One that is all too familiar
in this small community.

- Erma's death was just
three years after indiana had

One of its most infamous cases
that we've ever had.

- Narrator: In 1999, hospital
nurse orville lynn majors

Was sent to prison for k*lling
elderly patients in his care.

- ♪

- Orville lynn majors had moved
from facility to facility

And as he went to work
in a facility,

Death rates
increased dramatically.

- Scott c: He's a piece of crap
that k*lled a bunch of people.

- Narrator: The string
of murders only ended

After law enforcement exhumed
more than a dozen bodies.

- They discovered that he was
murdering a lot of his patients

By giving them lethal overdoses
in the hospital setting.

- The question arises:

Is there a copycat,
uh, of this other case?

- Narrator: Could erma have
fallen victim to another

Angel of death
lurking in the hospital?

- It was very alarming.

- The thought of having
someone in the hospital staff

k*lling people like that,

That would just be
a terrifying thought.

- ♪

- Narrator: Coming up,
as detectives uncover secrets--

- A large amount of medication
was found within the home.

- Narrator: --And shocking
information comes to light.

- Robert: When she passed
the bottle off,

It was missing only one pill.

There were discrepancies
in that story.

- Narrator: They have to make
a difficult,

But critical decision.

- It was determined that
a second autopsy

Should be conducted.

- What we had
is a unusual death.

I wanted the exhumation.

- Scott p: They said, "you're
more than welcome

To come to the graveyard."

I was thinking, "let's get
this person that did it."

- ♪

- Narrator: When police find
that erma prince was k*lled

With an overdose of darvon
after a routine surgery,

They face
a horrifying possibility.

Could they have
a copycat k*ller nurse

Working in their local hospital?

- Scott c: Erma's death was
three years after indiana

Had a nurse that was k*lling
their patients

Over in vermillion county.

There is at least that knowledge
that that can happen,

Because we'd seen it happen in
indiana just three years before.

Somebody put the pills in her.

Nobody accidentally takes
that number of pills.

- ♪

- Scott c: You're looking
at the hospital as suspect,

And it's limitless.

There are doctors, there are
nurses, there are custodians.

One of the first questions
law enforcement had is:

Did they have darvon
in the hospital

And was it all accounted for?

- Narrator: Police immediately
look at the pharmacy's records.

- We need to find out how much
darvon they had issued.

- They have to dig
into the charts,

Dig into the medications,

Count the medication,
make sure it's all there.

- Narrator: And what
investigators find is startling.

- Darvon had not been used in
a hospital in over six months.

- Robert: The fact is that
darvon

Came from
outside of the facility.

- Narrator: Detectives have
a new objective:

Find the darvon, and perhaps,
they'll find their k*ller.

- It was gonna be hard to
determine

How she got the medication.

- ♪

- Narrator: They have little
to go on,

But they do have a timeline.

- We determined from the time
it was ingested to the time

Death would occur, it would
probably be around

30 minutes to an hour.

- Narrator: This means she was
given the medication

In the early morning hours,
sometime before 4:30 a.M.

- It was well beyond
visitation hours.

You wouldn't expect anyone
but patients

And staff members
to be present.

We were going to
have to interview every

Single medical person that had
come into contact

With her during that time.

- ♪

- Robert: We wanted to make
sure that we were able

To account for
the medical caregivers.

- Narrator: Investigators
meticulously cross reference

Medical records,
witness statements,

And hospital logs.

- We were able to fully clear
everybody that was

Directly related or associated
with the hospital

Of any involvement in this.

- Narrator: They don't have
a copycat angel of death,

But it also means that
erma's k*ller

Has to be someone
from out in the community.

Investigators have no suspects,

But one interview
with a hospital staff member

Provides a small
but possible hint.

- Robert: The respiratory
therapist was interviewed.

She described a female who
was sitting in the room

Toward the head of erma's bed.

She gave a description of
this person

As wearing dark clothing.

While there was no interaction
with this female,

She observed the person in the
room in the early morning hours

Of the morning that erma died.

- Narrator: While this is
a huge lead, the description

Of a darkly clothed female
isn't much to go on.

- So having someone that's
identified as non-hospital staff

Is something that would be
of significance.

With the description that
was provided to us, there were

Any number of scenarios that
were possibilities.

- ♪

- Narrator: Who would have
had motive to m*rder

This family-minded,
gentle grandmother?

- ♪

- That was somewhat baffling.

I mean, why did this happen?

Who--who did it,
and why did they do it?

It was just hard to fathom.

There was no life insurance
money.

It's a real
sort of head-scratcher.

- Why? Why would somebody
do this?

- Narrator: Investigators
check with the hospital

About security camera footage.

But there's a problem.

- They didn't have any cameras
inside the hospital.

So there was no way to go back
and review any video

Of anyone inside the hospital.

So no video at that time, uh,
just makes it very, very tough.

- Narrator: It's a dead end.

Hoping to identify
the mystery woman,

Detectives shift their focus
to the people closest to erma

To see who might have had
motive.

- Law enforcement's gonna
look at the family.

- You start getting into
the folks who were there

At the event,
where the fall took place.

And then outside of that even,
is family.

Who is our victim around
normally?

- Narrator: Could this
close-knit family

Have hidden rifts?

- The police learned erma
and her family were

A very dysfunctional family, but
they seemed to make

The best of it with what they
had.

- Narrator: Detectives look
at the person who was with erma

When she broke her hip--

Daughter-in-law,
carolyn prince.

- She and grandma would go
to church on Sunday mornings.

They would go out to eat,
they were very close.

- Narrator: Detectives bring
carolyn prince

Into the police station
for questioning.

- During our interviews with
carolyn, she provided

Information that the fall
that erma took

Was down just a short stint
of stairs.

She had
erma's medication bottle.

The pills that were in there

Were reported
to us to be darvon.

- Narrator: It's a bombshell
piece of information.

Erma died of a darvon overdose.

And carolyn has a bottle
of darvon in her possession.

- We were interested in how
much medication

She had provided to erma.

We were also very interested
to find out as to what

The timeline was between when
she had provided medication

And erma's passing.

- Narrator:
Police need to find out:

Could carolyn have poisoned
her mother-in-law?

- We had sheer determination

To make sure that erma's case
was resolved.

We're gonna find out
what happened.

- ♪

- Narrator:
In the fall of 2002,

Bedford police learn that
a member of erma prince's family

Was in possession of the drug
that eventually k*lled her--

Her daughter-in-law,
carolyn.

- Scott c: Law enforcement
looked at everybody,

You know, anyone that had
contact with erma that day,

And she had been with carolyn.

And carolyn did have the darvon.

- Robert: Carolyn having darvon
as the medication that

Erma had oded on, that was
an immediate concern for us.

- Narrator: But carolyn is
instantly cooperative

With police.

She says she did
give erma the drug,

But not enough to k*ll her.

- She said
she gave her a pill--

A single dose of darvon
that afternoon.

- Carolyn had given erma prince
a darvon after she had fallen.

She'd given that at about
3:30 in the afternoon.

- Narrator: When asked if she
gave further doses to erma,

Carolyn throws
a curveball at detectives.

- Carolyn said that she passed
the bottle off,

And that when she passed
the bottle off,

It was missing only one pill.

She passed the medication
to shay white,

Erma's granddaughter.

- Narrator:
In addition to carolyn,

Investigators now have
a new person of interest:

31-year-old shay white.

- Grandma raised shay
as her own daughter.

She raised her ever since
she was a baby.

- Narrator: As an adult,
shay returned the favor,

Caring for
her elderly grandmother.

- Scott c:
Shay was a nurse.

Erma prince had actually
lived with shay.

So, what possible motive could
shay have

For k*lling her grandmother?

- Narrator: Authorities release
carolyn for the time being,

And shift their focus
onto erma's granddaughter.

Detectives key in on a small
bit of intriguing information

From hospital staff.

- Shay was in and out
of the hospital.

Then after erma died, shay had
called for the body to be

Brought over to the funeral
home, and the hospital staff,

They say, "well, we can't
release it

'cause there's gonna be
an autopsy,"

And shay goes ballistic.

She's extremely loud.

She is hysterical.

She's screaming.

She's threatening to sue.

- Diana: Shay's reaction to
an autopsy was not good.

And there was some concern why
shay did not want an autopsy.

- Narrator: For police,
it's definitely a red flag.

One that makes them want to
look more closely at shay.

- ♪

- Narrator: They quickly get
a warrant to search her house.

- ♪

- When the detective arrived
at the house

With the search warrant,
he met with shay.

- Scott c: When police ask shay
where she was on

The early morning hours of
September 16th,

Shay reported to the police that
she was actually home asleep.

- Narrator: Detectives are
looking for the smoking g*n,

Or in this case,
the bottle of darvon.

- There was a search warrant
issued

Specifically
mentioning the bottle.

There wasn't any real
organization.

The house was largely unkept.

A large amount of medication
was found within the home.

- Narrator: There are over
1,000 tablets

Of prescription drugs.

- Some of the medication
was prescribed to shay white,

And a significant amount
of the medication was also

Prescribed to our victim,
erma prince.

- Scott c: During the search,
they specifically ask her

For the pain medicine.

- Narrator: Shay is cooperative

And quickly retrieves
the bottle from her purse.

- Shay made the comment
to the detective,

"it was empty when I received
it back from carolyn."

- ♪

- Scott c: Shay met
carolyn prince at the hospital,

At the emergency room
that day.

And carolyn handed over
a darvon bottle.

- Shay said she received the
medication bottle from carolyn.

But when she received the bottle
back, that it was empty.

- Narrator: Now, detectives
are stumped.

Two relatives are saying
two different things

About the deadly bottle
of darvon.

- So that was
a bit problematic.

- ♪

- Narrator: Police know
someone is obviously lying.

What they can't prove
is who.

- And so, what's law enforcement
gonna do from this point?

- Narrator: Investigators
check up on both carolyn

And shay's whereabouts
at the time of erma's death.

Carolyn's story checks out.

- They ruled carolyn out
very early.

- Narrator: Shay's alibi
is far flimsier.

But police can find no other
proof that shay was home

At the time of the m*rder.

- In today's world, you might
find cameras at gas stations

And so forth, but 2002, they
couldn't find anything

That would show moving between
her house and the hospital.

- Narrator: Shay is definitely
setting off alarm bells,

But there's just no evidence.

So detectives
take another approach.

- We didn't know how
the drug was administered.

- It was then determined that
a second autopsy

Should be conducted.

- ♪

- Narrator: That means
only one thing:

To get to the truth,

They'll have to exhume
erma prince's body.

- ♪

- What we had is
a unusual death

And no medical explanation
for why erma prince died.

I wanted the exhumation.

- Narrator: Coming up...

Detectives tighten the net
on a suspect.

- She says, "that's not true.
I was there, I saw it."

- Narrator: But not all
witnesses prove cooperative.

- She basically said she didn't
have any information

That would be useful to us.

- The police officers set up
a polygraph.

She failed it.

- Narrator: Will investigators
dig up enough evidence

To convict a k*ller?

- In my 16 years, it was by far
the hardest case I ever had.

- ♪

- Narrator: Investigators know
there's only one way to solve

The mystery of
erma prince's m*rder:

They need to examine

The beloved
grandmother's body.

- Scott c: How would this level
of darvon been ingested by erma?

I wanted to know about
any puncture wounds,

Any, ah, track marks from
a needle anywhere on the body.

When the first autopsy was done,

There was no suspicion
at that point.

So you're not looking at
between the fingers,

Between the toes, or any
place else on the body

For any needle marks.

- Narrator: Detectives'
main suspect, shay white,

Is a nurse.

If a needle was used
to k*ll erma,

Shay would know
how to use it.

- The bedford
police department felt strongly

About a second autopsy,
a second opinion.

- And so, a decision's made

That we're
going to exhume erma's body.

- Narrator: Detectives
approach erma's grandson,

Scott prince,
about the exhumation.

- Scott c: It's very personal
for the family.

They have buried this loved one.

They have been laid to rest,
and we are now disturbing that.

- Narrator: Scott prince knows
it won't be easy,

But his hunger for justice
cuts through his pain.

- I was thinking now
let's get somewhere with it.

Let's get this person
that did it.

Then they said, "you're more
than welcome

To come to the graveyard."

I didn't have to be there,

But I wanted to be there,
because I loved my grandma.

- Narrator: On March 23, 2003,
6 months after erma's death,

Scott prince and
the bedford police department

Arrive at the cemetery
to begin the exhumation.

- I was in charge of
the exhumation of erma prince.

We felt we were on the right
track

To get to the bottom
of erma's case.

- A person never really loses
sight that they're dealing

With another human being.

You want to have
that level of respect.

That is always there,
that's on your mind.

- When you bury somebody,
you should leave them alone,

And let them be
in their resting place.

You shouldn't bother them
and bring them back up.

But I told myself,
"I got to do it."

And I knew that I was
doing the right thing.

- John:
The gravedigger come in,

They dig the grave
around the vault.

- Robert: We needed to do
a proper examination,

And we needed to gather

All the material that
was gonna be relevant

To that and all of the
circumstances surrounding it.

- Narrator: But as soon as
the vault is lifted

Out of the ground, investigators
see something

That could derail
the entire case.

- I can see it as if I'm
standing there right now.

When they brought it up out
of the ground

That water just shew--just
gushing out of that.

And I was shocked by that.

- Narrator:
It's an unsettling sight,

But they hope the vault has
taken the brunt of the damage

And that the casket
has been protected.

- The vault is then opened, and
then we take the casket out.

- The moisture had made its way
inside the casket,

In the short amount of time
that erma had been buried.

- Scott c: I knew that that's
not good for us,

Ah, water's never good
for evidence.

- Narrator: If the evidence
is damaged,

Erma's k*ller
will never face justice.

The tent covering the burial
site shields the prince family

From seeing the water damage,
but nothing can protect them

From the pain
of attending the exhumation.

- Scott p: I was very
emotionally tearful.

I was devastated.

I was like, "why?
Why would somebody do this?"

I didn't think it would ever
happen to anybody but it--

For one, I would've never
thought

It would happen to my grandma.

It was like one big nightmare.

- It was very difficult
for family members,

But I know that they wanted us
to pursue whatever we needed

To do to figure out
who m*rder*d erma.

- John: We felt good that we
had, uh, the right people

To perform a second autopsy, and
gather the information,

Evidence needed.

We were focused on looking
for things that might not have

Been in our forefront of
our mind

During the first autopsy.

Specifically,
in the second autopsy,

To try to figure out the route
of administration for the drug.

He was checking
for the needle marks.

- That would give us a way
to say this is how this darvon

Was put into erma.

We were hopeful that we might
find that injection in a spot

That there
wasn't supposed to be.

- ♪

- We were able to look
at the body, and the pathologist

Said that there were
no needle marks.

That was disappointing,
but it didn't stop our case.

- ♪

- Narrator: If the darvon
hadn't been injected directly

Into erma's body, could it have
been injected into her iv?

- Robert:
We started to conduct tests.

One thing that we found was
this medication does not

Chemically mix with water
or other things.

It suspends.

What will happen is, after
a while, like a snow globe,

It'll all settle
down to the bottom.

- The results of that would show
crystallization in the lungs.

- Narrator: If the darvon was
in erma's iv,

They'd find these crystals.

- The lungs were
microscopically looked at.

But there was no crystallization
of the pills

Found in the lungs.

We were safe to say, we couldn't
determine

The point of administration.

- Narrator: Then detectives
realize something horrible:

The only logical way for the
drug to show up in erma's body

Was for someone to have fed
erma the drug--

Someone she trusted.

And there was no one she trusted
more than shay white.

- You move through the process
of elimination.

You allow for the information
to come in.

If those facts line up

And it puts a person in a
position to commit the crime,

You have someone who
develops as a suspect,

We followed the information
everywhere that it led us.

You're going to compare some of
those people

Who are close related
and closely involved.

Especially if that person
was shay.

- Narrator: The autopsy
strengthens their suspicions

Toward shay, but they still
need real proof.

They start questioning shay's
circle of friends and family,

Searching for
any shred of evidence.

Then a woman comes forward

With some expl*sive
new information.

- Frequently, cases are resolved
with a little bit of luck,

And in this instance,
we were extremely fortunate.

- John: We felt like we were
on the right track

To get to the bottom
of erma's case.

- ♪

- ♪

- ♪

- Narrator: Police suspect that
shay white m*rder*d

Her grandmother, erma,
with a fatal dose of darvon.

With no solid proof, police
shift into high gear,

Interviewing anyone who knows
shay...

And get a huge lead.

- Scott c: Kathy wilson was
familiar with the family.

She is a pastor
at the salvation army.

Erma prince was
at the salvation army camp

When she fell.

- Narrator: Kathy tells police
that she was with the family

At the hospital and later, when
police came to search the house.

- Scott c: She's a witness to
the exchange of that pill bottle

Between shay
and carolyn prince.

- Narrator: Shay had told police
the bottle was empty,

But now kathy tells police
something different.

- ♪

- Scott c: The pastor says,
"that's not true.

"I was there, I saw it.

"that pill bottle was full.

There was a lot of pills in it."

- Narrator: If shay lied,

And she
had a full bottle of darvon

In her possession,

It points to her
as her grandmother's k*ller.

- ♪

- Narrator: It's a huge lead.

And then police find another
witness who has

Even more damaging information.

- Scott c: Donna flynn was
shay white's best friend.

She had actually lived with
shay white

For approximately four years

And knew erma through that.

- Narrator: At first,
donna refuses to cooperate.

- Robert: Donna denied knowing
anything.

She basically said she didn't
have any information

That would be useful to us.

- The police officers knew that
donna flynn knew something,

So they set up a polygraph
for donna flynn.

And, uh, she failed it.

They confronted her, "hey,
you failed this.

What's going on with this?"

- Narrator: Donna breaks down

And tells police the horrifying
truth.

- Donna recounted that she had
had conversations with shay.

Shay's making statements that
she would see her grandmother

Dead before she ever saw her
go to a nursing home.

- ♪

- Narrator: Could this be
motive?

- 'cause grandma was a little
bit of a burden,

And now that grandma had fallen
and had a broken hip,

What was she going to be like
after that?

- I think shay knew grandma

Was gonna have to have a lot of
help.

I think that shay knew it was
gonna cost money,

And shay didn't want to put
no more money out on grandma.

- So she decided.
Shay white decided

That erma prince
is not gonna live anymore.

- Narrator: And what's more,
donna tells police shay told her

Exactly how she planned
to k*ll her grandmother.

It's precisely what
the exhumation suggested--

That the person who k*lled erma
would have to be close to her.

- That's when donna flynn
disclosed the information

That shay had called
in the early morning hours

Of September 16--
that same day erma died.

- Narrator: That evening, donna
was working the overnight shift

At a nursing home.

- Shay told donna flynn that she
could

Give darvon through a dropper.

You could try to dissolve it,
suck it into a baster,

Place the baster
in her mouth, of course,

She would try to drink it down.

I really thought that was
quite ingenious,

Because that would be--it
wouldn't leave the--the mark.

- The more information that
we gathered, it started to be

Indicative that shay
was involved,

And she was responsible for it.

- Scott c: Shay white called
donna flynn, and said,

"it's been done,
she's either dead,

Or she's
in the process of dying."

That becomes critical in the
case because law enforcement

Could tie the timing of that
phone call to before erma died.

- Shay had called people and
told them erma was dead

Before she was ever
pronounced dead.

- That was incriminating
towards shay.

- Diana: Everyone was convinced
that shay did it.

And an arrest warrant
was issued.

- ♪

- Narrator: Authorities prepare
to apprehend shay white,

But before police can even
arrive at her house,

They are hit
with a strange complication.

- Because shay had,
according to her physician,

Physically deteriorated to a
point to where she required

A wheelchair and was on oxygen
all the time,

We had to make
special arrangements,

So that we could have one
of our city buses

That had a wheelchair lift
on the back of it, uh, go to

The house and meet with us there
to execute the arrest warrant,

So that we could
transport her to the jail.

- Narrator: Investigators find
her sudden deterioration

Incredibly suspicious,

And suspect it is
some kind of stunt.

- Having these symptoms appear

Only
after an investigation begins,

And a person becomes a target
of the investigation...

Definitely would lead you
to believe that, uh,

It was all made up.

- Narrator: Regardless
of her condition, shay white

Will go on trial for the m*rder
of her grandmother, erma.

- It was just kind of hard for
a lot of people to even

Comprehend that someone could do
this to their own grandmother.

But I believe certain members
of the family would not have

Stopped until justice was
served.

- The family was very passionate
about seeking justice for erma.

And it was their passions that
fueled me in my efforts,

In this case.

- Narrator: The case has motive
and witnesses,

But prosecutors know there is
a strong possibility

The alleged k*ller could walk.

- There was no straight evidence
that shay did it.

It was just circumstantial.

- ♪

- There were many days when
I was uncertain and very worried

That in fact we would not
get a conviction.

- ♪

- Narrator: Shay white has been
arrested for murdering

Her grandmother
with an overdose of darvon.

- Shay, during the portion of
her incarceration

At the county jail prior to
trial...

Had a miraculous healing.

- Narrator: Now, almost two
and half years after erma prince

Was k*lled, the trial begins

On February 17, 2005.

- I was living this case all day
every day.

It was very circumstantial.

This was an extremely difficult
prosecution.

In my 16 years, it was by far
the hardest case I ever had.

- Narrator: But will a jury
agree?

- Any time you have 12 people,
you never know.

Ah, you can think you know,
but you don't.

- Narrator: The prosecution
presents their findings

From the exhumation, and how it
eliminated ways in which darvon

Could have been administered.

- Robert: The exhumation was
significant in this case

Because we confirm the lack of
presence of the crystallization

In the lungs that may appear

As a result of feeding it, uh,
intravenously.

- Narrator: The theory derived
from the exhumation is that erma

Would only have taken extra
darvon from someone close,

Someone she trusted.

- And then there was
the additional information

From other witnesses,
specifically donna.

- Narrator: Donna's testimony
proves particularly crucial

To the prosecutor's case.

- Donna received a phone call
from shay, and during the course

Of that phone call, shay had
described

That erma had already passed.

- Law enforcement could tie
the timing of that phone call

From shay to before the doctor
pronounced her dead.

- Narrator: Now, the jury
adjourns to deliberate.

- Any time a jury goes out,
it is stressful for everyone.

I can't imagine how difficult
it is

For the family members waiting.

- Oh, it was so long.

I'll never forget that night.

We was there several hours.

We didn't think they was going
to reach a verdict.

- We were called back
around midnight that night

For the verdict reading.

The verdict was guilty.

On one side, you had a lot
of the family members of

Erma prince who were very happy,

And you also had other members
of erma's family that were

Very upset because it was shay--
and some of their mom,

Their sister--going to prison
for this.

After she was convicted,
she was not happy at all, and

I believe threatened everyone in
the courtroom that day.

- Narrator: Shay is sentenced
to 55 years in prison.

- It was so overwhelming.

It was the greatest day
of my life,

But the kind of sentencing that

I would have preferred
would be the death penalty.

- Everyone in this line of work
probably has one case that

Sticks with them their whole
life.

I knew shay white.

I knew the family.

You have an elderly lady
poisoned in her own

Hospital room and m*rder*d by
her granddaughter.

I think it's--it's
a pretty sad day.

- Robert: The exhumation was
significant in this case,

Because the toxicology report
that came back.

- Narrator: Shay is convicted
and sentenced

To 55 years in prison.

- Forensic science it's--it's
one of the biggest tools

You can have in law enforcement.

- Erma's case was a reminder
that with the amazing amount

Of teamwork, good can
come from a horrible event.

- Narrator: While justice
may have been served,

Scott prince still grapples
with the tragedy

That tore a family apart.

- Scott p: I think about my
grandma a lot,

About every--every day--
every day.

I miss her.

I miss all the days that we had
together.

No, there's never enough days
when you lose

Someone that you're close to.