03x07 - Grave Evidence

[bunniefuu]

[ g*nsh*t ]

Narrator: two friends spent a

Summer afternoon skeet sh**ting

In rural pennsylvania.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Only one returned home.

The other d*ed of what was

Determined to be an accident.

What happened that day sent

Shock waves through a small town

And launched a mystery that

Would take 20 years to solve.

Montrose is a quiet, rural area

In the northeastern corner of

Pennsylvania.

It's a small, close-knit

Community with stately homes,

One traffic light, and a

Courthouse that dominates the

Town square.

In 1976, montrose was home to



Wife, pat, and their two young

Children.

Marty dillon was a very

Popular man in town, and his

Father was the local mayor.

Everybody knew him and really

Liked him.

Narrator: on june 2, 1976,

Martin dillon left work early to

Go skeet sh**ting at his

Family's hunting camp -- a

Secluded place called

"Gunsmoke."

His good friend

Dr. Stephen scher went along.

Stephen scher was one of the

Town's doctors and a close,

Personal friend of the dillons.

Martin asked some other friends

To go with him that day, but

They all had other plans.

And I said, "marty, I can't

Go out.

I got just so much going on.

I just can't get away."

And he, uh...

I just didn't go.

Narrator: a few hours later,

Martin dillon lay dead.

Martin dillon was laying on

His back, with his arms

Outstretched.

There was clay pigeons under the

One arm.

The wound itself was dead center

Into the chest, right into the

Heart.

There was no mistaking that it

Went straight into the heart.

Narrator: dillon's ear

Protectors and sunglasses were

Lying on the ground near his

Body.

The shoelace of his right boot

Was untied.

Dr. Scher told police that he

And dillon were headed towards

The cabin when dillon spotted a

Porcupine, grabbed scher's

Loaded shotgun, and ran to sh**t

It.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Scher said dillon apparently

Tripped over his shoelace and

Fell on his g*n, which went off

Accidentally, blasting a hole

Into his chest.

Scher attempted to perform cpr,

Then went next door to get a

Neighbor.

He saw a porcupine.

He grabbed my g*n.

Narrator: he smashed the

Shotgun against a tree in a fit

Of rage, saying the g*n would

Never k*ll anyone again.

State policeman frank zanin took

The photographs of the scene.

And I said, "wait a minute.

He was running from where?"

He said, "down the path, he ran

Up the path here after a

Porcupine."

I said, "well, this doesn't make

Sense because his bootlaces are

Untied."

He said, "yeah, that's what he

Tripped over."

I said, "no, take another look.

The boot itself is tight to the

Leg.

If he had been running, that

Boot would have been wide open."

Narrator: and zanin was

Concerned about another part of

The story.

Well, he said he rolled him

Over.

He tried to perform cpr.

I said, "cpr?

The hole is right through his

Heart.

It's dead center in the chest."

He's a doctor.

He did no cpr.

He's dead.

Narrator: martin dillon's

Body was taken to the county

Morgue in the basement of a

Funeral home in montrose.

On the death certificate, the

Coroner -- who was a political

Appointee -- ruled the manner of

Death an accident.

The funeral took place in the

Same church where martin dillon

Was married.

Dr. Scher was one of his

Pallbearers.

For martin dillon's father,

Larry, sadness was overshadowed

By suspicion and doubt.

He did not believe his only

Son's death was an accident.

Narrator: a few months after

The sh**ting death of

Martin dillon, dr. Stephen scher

Divorced his wife, anne.

Some said it was the stress of

The death of his best friend.

Others said trouble had been

Brewing between scher and his

Wife for some time.

Either way, stephen scher moved

From the small town of montrose,

Pennsylvania, and eventually

Settled in north carolina.

A year and a half later,

Stephen scher remarried.

His new wife -- pat dillon, the

Widow of his best friend,

Martin dillon.

When larry dillon learned that

His daughter-in-law and his two

Grandchildren were moving in

With the only witness to his

Son's death, he grew

Increasingly suspicious.

He questioned the conclusions of

His son's autopsy, which was

Done by a family doctor who was

Not trained in forensic

Medicine.

So larry dillon went to visit

This man -- stew bennett, a

Friend of his son's and a former

Police officer who was running a

Small company in montrose,

Specializing in accident

Reconstruction.

He felt that he was m*rder*d.

He did not tell me specifically

Why, or he couldn't.

He just felt in his heart that

It was not the way it was

Reported was correct.

Narrator: bennett studied the

Autopsy photos and read the

Report.

The first thing he noticed was

That dillon's wound was one inch

By 1 1/2 inches in size.

But the internal diameter of a



Inch.

A contact wound made by that g*n

Would be the same size -- 5/8 of

An inch -- and not any larger.

To find out for sure,

Stew bennett conducted an

Experiment.

He stretched some pigskin over a

Mannequin and used the same make

And model 16-gauge shotgun, with

The same amm*nit*on used in the

Accident.

In order to create a wound the

Same size, the g*n had to be

Three to five feet away from the

Pigskin.

Now, when I say the firearm

Is three to five feet away, I'm

Talking about the end of the

Barrel, all right, where the

Shell actually comes out.

Now, you have another 40

Inches -- 36 to 40 inches -- to

The trigger housing itself.

So now you're up to between five

And six feet away from the

Trigger housing to discharge the

Firearm, which means that he'd

Have to employ a stick or some

Other type of string to have the

g*n discharge.

Narrator: and there was no

Gunpowder residue on dillon's

Shirt, which would have been

Present if it had been a contact

Wound.

And there was no blood from the

Wound found on the shotgun

Barrel.

Stew bennett suspected homicide

And shared his feelings with

Larry dillon.

It didn't surprise him.

In fact, the family broke down

And cried.

Narrator: and the dillons,

Like others in the small town of

Montrose, began to hear rumors

That dr. Scher and

Martin dillon's wife, pat, were

Having a sexual affair before

Martin's death.

Pat dillon had been a nurse at

Montrose general hospital, the

Same hospital where dr. Scher

Practiced.

There were rumors going on,

By employees in the hospital, of

Open caressing, that sort of

Thing, going on.

Narrator: maria eftimiades

Described this clandestine

Relationship in her book

"Secrets from the grave."

They just didn't seem to

Care.

They didn't care if anyone knew,

If anyone saw them.

When they were caught, they just

Sort of went back to their work,

And it would just happen again.

Narrator: seasons passed,

Then years.

And in time, law enforcement

Agencies moved on to other

Cases.

But questions remained -- what

Really happened at gunsmoke

That day in june of 1976?

For almost 20 years, those

Questions remained unanswered.

Narrator: martin dillon's

Parents never gave up their

Fight to have their son's death

Reinvestigated.

They were convinced that the

Autopsy was incomplete and the

Manner of death incorrect.

The state policeman who

Photographed the accident scene

Agreed with the dillons and was

Never convinced it was an

Accident.

It's very frustrating when

People don't want to listen and

You know something's wrong.

Back then, the state police -- I

Mean, I love the state police.

I was with them for 28 years.

But they have -- back then,

Especially -- a philosophy

Whereas if you have less time on

The job than another man, you

Don't know anything.

Senior man always ruled.

Narrator: in 1991, 14 years

After the accident, frank zanin

And others helped convince the

State police to send the

Evidence to the fbi lab in

Washington, d.c.

And they also sent the evidence

To this man --

Herbert macdonnell, an expert in

Blood spatter.

The first thing he analyzed were

The boots dr. Scher was wearing

On the day of the accident.

Dr. Scher said he was 150 feet

Away from where dillon tripped,

Fell, and accidentally sh*t

Himself in the chest.

But on dr. Scher's boots,

Macdonnell discovered a very

Fine mist of blood, which he

Identified as high-velocity

Impact spatter.

High-velocity impact spatter

Results when something, such as

A b*llet or shotgun pellet,

Strike a source of blood, like a

Body.

As a result, the energy breaks

Up blood into very small spots.

The little droplets are almost

Atomized or vaporized.

Narrator: high-velocity impact

Spatter was also found on the

Side of the tree stump closest

To dillon's body and on the

Instep of martin dillon's left

Shoe.

This indicated that dillon was

Squatting near the tree stump

When he was sh*t, not running

After a porcupine.

Forensic pathologist

Dr. Isidore mihalakis was also

Asked to look at the evidence.

He noticed another inconsistency

In the photograph of dillon's

Body -- the legs of his trousers

Were pulled up, exposing his

Socks.

Indicating that somehow he

Had been either in a seated or

In a squatting position.

Otherwise why would the cuffs

Ride up?

Narrator: dr. Mihalakis also

Noticed what is called

"Scalloping" on the edges of the

g*nsh*t wound -- evidence that

The sh*t pellets had started to

Spread as they traveled through

The air before striking the

Skin.

Scalloping does not occur around

A contact wound.

Once the dillons heard of this

New information, they filed a

Petition to exhume their son's

Body for a second autopsy.

This time, dr. Mihalakis

Performed the autopsy.

Dr. Mihalakis discovered that

The direction of the wound track

Was in a downward direction, at

A 45-degree angle.

The sh*t came from the right of

Martin dillon and went through

Dillon's heart and left lung.

The wound track is wrong if

The g*n had dropped and then

sh*t him.

We would either have a perfectly

Backward or an upward wound

Track.

Here this was a sharply downward

And very angulated from right to

Left.

Narrator: authorities could

No longer ignore the evidence,

And on june 26, 1995,

Martin dillon's death was

Formally declared a homicide.

The next day, dr. Stephen scher

And his wife, pat, returned to

Pennsylvania to hold a news

Conference.

Scher told reporters he was

Innocent and still maintained

That dillon was chasing a

Porcupine and fell, accidentally

sh**ting himself in the chest.

The last I saw marty dillon

Alive, he was moving away from

Me up the end of this trail,

Towards where we had just been.

I just waited there for him to

Come back or to tell me to do

Something else.

I heard a click and a shotgun

Blast, and I think I yelled out,

"You couldn't hit the broadside

Of a barn"...

[ Clears throat ]

...teasingly.

And then nothing.

Steve's not capable of the

Things they've accused him of.

I've known him and lived with

Him for 17 years.

He's not capable of this.

Is it true that you two had

An affair?

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

They claim that they've got a

m*rder case.

They've had 19 years to

Investigate it.

They've had investigators, all

The state police.

They've had their autopsy and

Everything else.

Their move next.

We challenge them.

Narrator: the challenge was

Accepted.

Dr. Stephen scher was arrested

And charged with the m*rder of

Martin dillon.

Two decades after his death,

Martin dillon would finally get

His day in court.

Narrator: 21 years after the

sh**ting death of martin dillon,

Stephen scher sat in a courtroom

On trial for the m*rder of his

Former friend.

According to the prosecution,

Martin dillon knew that scher

Was having an affair with his

Wife and told him that day,

While skeet sh**ting, that he

Had talked it over with his

Wife, pat, and that she agreed

To end her affair with scher.

Scher would not accept this.

But scher was obsessed, and he

Said to himself, "it's not gonna

Be this way.

It's not gonna be this way.

I'm going to get what I want,

One way or another, and you have

To die."

[ g*nsh*t ]

[ Echoing ] nice sh*t, man.

[ Echoing ] yeah, I've still

Got it.

Narrator: while martin dillon

Was reloading the machine with

Clay pigeons, stephen scher

Placed special amm*nit*on into

His g*n...

Moved to within five feet...

[ g*nsh*t ]

...and fired a single sh*t into

The center of his chest.

The sh*t entered dillon's chest

At a 45-degree downward angle,

Directly into his heart.

The blast caused high-velocity

Impact spatter to land on

Scher's boots and onto the side

Of the tree stump nearest to

Dillon's body.

Scher then removed dillon's ear

Protectors and sunglasses and

Untied his shoelace, making it

Appear that dillon tripped and

Fell.

Scher then invented the story

About dillon running after a

Porcupine with his g*n.

When scher returned to the scene

With the neighbor, he picked up

The g*n and smashed it against a

Tree in a public display of

Grief.

In court, when dr. Scher learned

Of the forensic evidence against

Him, he changed his 21-year-old

Story.

He finally admitted that he had

Been having an affair with

Dillon's wife, pat, at the time

Of the accident.

He also admitted fabricating the

Porcupine story.

But he still claimed

Martin dillon's death had been

An accident.

Scher said he and martin argued

Over the affair.

There was a scuffle, and the g*n

Went off accidentally.

Scher said he didn't think

Anyone would believe him, so he

Staged the accident scene and

Made up the story about the

Porcupine.

But prosecutors didn't believe

This new version, either.

The only reason he put

Himself in proximity to the

Deceased at the time is because

Of the overwhelming evidence we

Had of the blood spatter on his

Boots.

Narrator: the angle and

Direction of the wound track,

The hiked-up trousers with the

Socks showing, and the size and

Location of the blood spatter

All pointed to only one

Conclusion -- that

Martin dillon, while kneeling

Near the tree stump, from

Approximately five feet away,

Was m*rder*d by stephen scher.

The motive -- stephen scher

Wanted pat dillon all to

Himself.

He had essentially been

Dumped.

Pat dillon said, "no.

I'm staying with my husband.

I'm not leaving him.

I'm not divorcing him."

Narrator: martin dillon's

Children, whom dr. Scher had

Raised since they were small,

Stood solidly behind their

Stepfather during the trial,

Even contributing a part of

Their father's life insurance

Proceeds for his defense.

But the forensic evidence was

Too great.

The jury convicted

Dr. Stephen scher of

First-degree m*rder, and he was

Sentenced to life in prison

Without parole.

It's a case in which,

Originally, somebody took

Somebody's word and believed it

And did not look any further.

And there was no in-depth

Investigation done at that

Particular time.

The dillons had some peace

Of mind.

It's what really I wanted to

See, was the dillons relieved

Of the burden that had been

Hanging on their shoulders for

All those years.

And I was happy for them.

[ Crowd cheering ]

Narrator: the verdict was a

Long-fought victory for the

Parents of martin dillon.

Larry, what kind of thoughts

Went through your mind when the

First-degree verdict came back?

Were you thinking of marty?

Yes.

What kind of thoughts are

Going through your mind?

Well...

I really did it for him.

Did you ever think this day

Would come?

I've been praying for it.

Narrator: after dr. Scher

Spent 20 months in prison, the

Pennsylvania superior court

Overturned his conviction.

A judge said, "the state's



Substantial prejudice to his

Right to a fair trial."

In 2002, that decision was

Overturned.

Dr. Scher was retried in march

Of 2008.

A jury deliberated just two

Hours before finding him guilty

Yet again.

He will spend the rest of his

Life behind bars.