08x28 - Bed of Deceit

[bunniefuu]

He's dead!

Oh, god, he's dead!

Ma'am. Ma'am.

Narrator: a retired police officer was found sh*t to death

In his bedroom, but it was unclear exactly what happened.

Some of the evidence pointed to su1c1de, while other signs

Suggested foul play.

But it took crime-scene reconstruction, an automated

Teller machine, and some forensic textbooks in the

Victim's home to write the final chapter in this real-life

Whodunit.

Traverse city, michigan, is a beautiful area for those who

Love sailing and fishing.

And it was home to dan and cynthia mcdonnell and their two

Teenage children.

-Year-old dan mcdonnell was a retired police officer who

Worked part-time as a maintenance worker.

Cynthia was a freelance writer.

Everything seemed like a normal marriage -- cindy taking

Charge all the time.

She was master of the household and the boss.

Narrator: the last day in december in was a busy one

For the mcdonnell family.

-Year-old patrick was sleeping over at a friend's house.

Dan decided to sleep late.

Cynthia and her -year-old daughter erin spend the day

Shopping in traverse city.

For several hours they went from shop to shop, stopping at a

Local department store, an office supply store, and a

Beauty shop.

On the way home, cynthia picked up hamburgers for the whole

Family.

But when the arrived home shortly after noon, they found

Dan in bed, dead of a single g*nsh*t wound.

Erin!

We just walked in.

I need to see if he's breathing.

Okay.

He's dead!

He's dead!

Oh, god, he's dead!

Ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am.

Help! Help! Help!

Father is a retired police officer.

We have g*ns in the house.

My sister had called us on the phone.

And she said, "I have to break some bad news to you.

I just saw it on television.

Your brother was m*rder*d."

Narrator: investigators found no g*n near the body.

But several hundred dollars was missing from his wallet, so

Robbery was a possibility.

I was devastated.

I couldn't believe that this good man that hurt nobody was

Not living anymore.

Narrator: police were able to confirm that cynthia and her

Children were out all morning.

It would take crime-scene reconstruction to determine what

Really happened to dan mcdonnell.

Narrator: on the afternoon of new year's eve , retired

Police officer dan mcdonnell was found dead in his bedroom of a

Single g*nsh*t wound to his head.

Dan's wife cynthia initially suspected a robbery.

But there were no signs of forced entry, and police were

Suspicious.

When police questioned cynthia a second time, she said she had a

Confession to make.

I got a call that said she had changed her story.

It wasn't a robbery.

She came down in the morning and found that he had committed

su1c1de.

Narrator: this is a tape recording of cynthia's statement

To police.

Erin was almost ready to go.

And I told her I'd get our coats and stuff and get the car warmed

Up.

And I went in to tell dan we were leaving.

Okay.

And at that time you found that he had sh*t himself?

Yes.

Okay.

You found his g*n that he had sh*t?

Yes, I did.

Narrator: cynthia told police that dan had undergone surgery

For prostate cancer, which had left him impotent.

According to cynthia, dan left a su1c1de note, but she destroyed

It.

The note said, "I'm devastated over my prostate

Cancer.

I want you to have the insurance money," and to the effect that

If they found out it was a su1c1de, there would be no

Insurance and the children would not get the money.

'Cause I didn't want the kids...

Okay.

You didn't want...

...to know that he'd gotten --

All right.

You didn't want pat and erin to know that their father had taken

His own life.

Yes.

Was that a yes?

Yes.

Okay.

Narrator: dan had $, worth of life insurance, but the

Policies were negated in the event dan committed su1c1de.

If there was a su1c1de, the insurance wouldn't pay.

And the only reason we got it was for the kids' college

Expenses.

Narrator: cynthia said she complied with dan's wishes and

Altered the scene to make the death appear to be a homicide.

She said she wiped her husband's prints from the g*n then

Continued on the shopping trip with her daughter so she

Wouldn't arouse suspicion.

What we might perceive as normal response would be to just

Fall apart instantaneously.

But not all of us are that way.

Until we're in the situation, I think it's impossible to say how

A human being would react.

Narrator: cynthia said she threw her husband's revolver

Into a nearby field, although police search dogs and metal

Detectors couldn't find it.

She certainly committed foul play by changing the scene.

She committed foul play by disposing of the firearm.

Those are pretty good indicators to open up a serious

Investigation.

My brother did not commit su1c1de.

He was gonna buy a boat.

He was gonna buy a new truck.

He was gonna do all these things.

So a man that makes these kinds of plans is not one that is

Attempting su1c1de.

Narrator: at the autopsy, dr. David start looked for the

Telltale signs of su1c1de.

X-rays of dan's head revealed the b*llet was still inside his

Skull, so the wound in the back of his head was an entry wound.

It certainly raises the possibility that it's not a

Self-inflicted g*nsh*t wound, that this g*nsh*t wound could

Have been inflicted by another person, in particular given the

Location in the back of the head.

Narrator: cynthia's lawyer says that this wasn't proof of a

Homicide, only that dan himself may have played a role in the

Deception.

If anybody has the ability to understand how to, you know,

Self-inflict a mortal injury on one's self, so to speak, and

Make it look like a homicide, this was a man who had probably

As much understanding as anybody else.

And it might have been in his mind that, "hey, you know, if I

Can make this look like a homicide, my family will get the

Life insurance."

Narrator: but investigators discovered something else.

Cynthia mcdonnell wasn't just a freelance writer.

She was an aspiring m*rder-mystery writer.

And police also learned that cynthia had made some derogatory

Statements about them at a neighborhood cocktail party.

And she said, "you could commit a m*rder and the police

Were not smart enough in northern michigan to catch you."

That didn't sit very well with the state police.

Narrator: police decided to take a closer look at some of

Cynthia's stories.

Narrator: police were investigating the mysterious

Death of retired police officer dan mcdonnell.

The victim's wife, cynthia, said her husband committed su1c1de

And that initially she hid that fact so the family could collect

On his life insurance policy.

Almost immediately forensic experts found some

Inconsistencies.

The x-rays show the b*llet going from back to front as it

Goes through the brain and from left to right as it goes through

The brain.

It was obvious it would have had to come from the left side

From someone who was left-handed.

The victim, daniel, was right-handed.

Narrator: a su1c1de victim rarely sh**t himself in the

Back of the head.

There needed to be some additional investigation done,

That this case very well could represent a homicide, and

Allowed the police to further their investigation.

Narrator: investigators began their analysis by studying the

Blood spatter.

Whenever a blood source, be it a pool of blood or be it a

Head, a b*llet going through a head, that blood travels in a

Straight line.

But it can travel in a -degree radius, completely

Out in all directions.

The blood that comes back toward the force that's being applied

Is what we call the back spatter.

Narrator: but there was no blood spatter on either of dan's

Hands.

Dan's left arm was clutching a pillow and tucked underneath his

Body.

Next to his arm was a clearly defined pool of blood.

This proved dan's left arm never moved after the sh**ting.

There was no change in the blood stain pattern to indicate

That that arm had ever been in any other position either at

The time of sh**ting or immediately after sh**ting.

So it indicated that that was the position that that body was

In at the time it was sh*t.

Narrator: it would have been difficult for dan to use his

Right hand to sh**t himself in the left side of the head.

The right hand, in order to inflict this wound, would then

Have to have come around the back of the head and then be

Able to get the muzzle to the head, which you'd have to be a

Contortionist to do.

So you have a little bit difficulty with the trajectory,

But definitely it can be done.

However, once it's done, your hand is going to remain up here.

It's not going to be able to tuck itself back underneath the

Covers, remain completely bloodless and completely free of

Stippling from the cylinder gap or any powder, and end up next

To the body without a drop of blood on it.

That's not possible.

Narrator: investigators also found gunpowder and a b*llet

Hole in the pillow next to dan's body.

This indicated that the g*n was pressed against a pillow when

Fired.

The only way that this could have happened is if this person

Would have had three arms -- one to hold the g*n, one to hold the

Pillow down, and the one that he's laying on on his left side.

Narrator: dan's death was ruled a homicide.

A look into dan and cynthia's marriage revealed a possible

Motive.

In the months before dan's m*rder, the mcdonnells were

Spending more money than they were bringing in.

Cindy was buying all of these objects, like computers, like

New furniture, like numerous things that were quite expensive

Items.

Narrator: investigators also discovered that dan managed a

Trust fund for a mentally handicapped relative.

In the year before dan's death, more than $, had been taken

From this trust account and the bank had been demanding answers.

Bank documents showed withdrawals ranging from $ to

$, Almost every other day, and the fund was virtually

Depleted.

And bank surveillance cameras identified the individual who

Was responsible.

[ Camera shutter clicks ]

Narrator: when police interviewed dan mcdonnell's

-Year-old daughter erin, she remembered something unusual

About the morning her father was k*lled.

Erin places herself in the shower and explained to the

Investigators that her mother came into check on her a number

Of times, which was out of character -- also turned up the

Radio while erin was in the shower.

She told investigators that she heard what she believed to be a

Car backfiring or a bang.

[ g*nsh*t ] narrator: inside the

Mcdonnell's home, police found forensic textbooks cynthia was

Using in her research for a m*rder mystery she planned to

Write.

With titles like "body trauma" and "armed and dangerous," there

Were chapters entitled "accidental sh**ting vs.

su1c1de," "who sh*t whom?" And "premeditated domestic k*lling."

Prosecutors believe cynthia consulted these books to plan

What she thought would be the perfect crime.

The motive was money.

Cynthia was in financial trouble, so she withdrew $,

From a trust fund her husband was managing by forging his

Name.

Surveillance cameras at the bank's automated teller machines

Proved it.

[ Camera shutter clicks ] the bank contacted dan and

Demanded answers.

Prosecutors believe dan confronted cynthia and told her

He was going to local authorities with a plan to

Return the funds.

But this would have cramped cynthia's lifestyle.

On new year's eve, while erin was in the shower, cynthia went

Into the bathroom to turn up the volume on the radio to mask the

Sound of the g*nsh*t.

Prosecutors say cynthia took dan's service revolver and fired

It into the back of his head using the pillow to muffle the

Sound.

She later disposed of the g*n, although it has never been

Recovered.

Cynthia then went shopping with erin, thinking the sales

Receipts would give her an alibi.

Before returning home, she even stopped to buy hamburgers.

She even bought one for her husband even though she knew he

Was dead.

That's unimaginable, that she was that conniving, to think

That she could get away with it.

I mean, ordering your dead husband a hamburger.

Narrator: cynthia mcdonnell was charged with first-degree

m*rder.

She pleaded not guilty.

Her defense included testimony from an outside forensic expert,

Dr. L.j. Dragovic, who said that it was possible

Dan mcdonnell's death could have been su1c1de.

Dr. Dragovic demonstrated how he thought dan could have taken his

Own life and left gunpowder residue and a hole in the

Pillowcase.

You can have the g*n in your left hand and pull the trigger

With your left index finger where the pillowcase is

Entrapped between the muzzle and the head.

Narrator: dr. Dragovic also points out that gunpowder

Residue tests weren't conducted on dan mcdonnell's hands, which

Might have proved he had fired the w*apon.

It would have made a stronger case for the prosecution.

Of course, had there been positive gunpowder residue on

The hands at the scene, it would have closed the case.

Narrator: the medical examiner says it wasn't

Necessary.

We did not test for g*nsh*t residue at the time of autopsy.

And, in my opinion, it would not have given any significance to

The overall findings of the case in that a person can be found

With g*nsh*t residue on their hands, even if they're in close

Proximity to another person f*ring a g*n.

So, that's a test that's -- although often referred to -- is

Not routinely performed.

Narrator: as in most cases, it's the jury's job to make the

Final judgment.

We find the defendant guilty of first-degree m*rder.

Members of the jury, listen to your verdict as recorded.

You do say guilty of first-degree premeditated

m*rder?

Yes.

Narrator: her daughter erin told the judge to show no mercy.

I don't understand why this had to happen to us.

We had a good family.

My father was a good man.

And I thought my parents had a very loving relationship.

And I ask that you give the maximum.

Thank you.

Narrator: cynthia mcdonnell was sentenced to life in prison

With no possibility of parole.

She continues to claim that she is innocent of k*lling her

Husband, whom she calls "mac."

"Mac committed su1c1de.

I didn't k*ll my husband.

I loved him, had nothing to gain by his death, and everything to

Lose.

This has devastated my children -- split the family

Apart."

Cynthia is devoid of a conscience, devoid of any

Responsibility, and she will never admit her guilt.

Cynthia is an individual that will resolve her problems, her

Shortcomings, by v*olence and m*rder.

Narrator: kevin mcdonnell keeps his brother's police badge

Close-by.

What can you say?

It's over and done with...

But I love him.

And I wish it never happened.

He didn't deserve it.

And I'll see him soon.

Narrator: even though cynthia studied books on forensics, she

Didn't realize that science would tell the real story.

Maybe she had read just enough that she thought she

Could do it and get away with it and had read not yet enough

To realize that there's a whole lot more involved in real life

Than there is the storybook version.

Narrator: and cynthia's other mistake was in changing the

Plot.

She originally tried to make the death look like an intruder

k*lled her husband.

But when she forgot to create the illusion of forced entry,

She had no alternative but to change her story.

When the officers questioned her, she blanked and went with

Another story that she thought they would buy.

And in this case, if she wanted it to look like a homicide, it

Certainly did.

Cynthia mcdonnell bragged she could write the book on the

Perfect m*rder.

Well, she should have read the final chapter where there are no

Perfect murders.