08x34 - Web of Seduction

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a man was dead in a
michigan junkyard.

And there were no clues or
forensic evidence at the scene.

But computer forensic experts
found evidence of a crime that

Had everything -- sex, lies, and
a videotape.

Had everything -- sex, lies, and
a videotape.

On november 8, 1999,
chuck miller got a frantic call

From his sister-in-law.

His brother bruce was missing.

Bruce hadn't come home for
dinner, and he wasn't answering

His telephone at work.

Chuck drove out to his brother's
junkyard to look for him.

The door was shut.

I opened the door and walked in
and hollered his name.

He wouldn't answer.

And we walked around the corner
of the desk, and he was laying

On the floor.

Narrator: bruce miller was
dead of a g*nsh*t wound to his

Chest.

The telephone receiver was near
his head.

Bruce normally kept around
$2,000 in his front shirt pocket

To make change for his
customers.

That money was missing.

The motive appeared to be
robbery.

$2,000 Cash in the pocket
would look good to a lot of

People in the area.

We just thought it was just a
random -- someone just walked in

And shot him 'cause he always
kept money in his front pocket

And took that money.

It just appeared to be
another robbery, another

Day in flint.

Narrator: criminalists from
the michigan crime lab used

One-sided tape to collect
possible evidence from bruce's

Shirt.

The tape lift that I took
from this particular victim only

Had his own head hair on it.

There was nothing foreign that
was determined on the tape lift.

Narrator: and there were
other signs that this crime

Scene was a little too clean.

We're talking about a
business that hadn't been

Cleaned in probably since it
opened.

We're talking grease, oil,
everything that leaves a good

Latent print, a good boot
impression.

So he knew what to touch,
what not to touch, and might

Have even taken other protective
measures in order for him not to

Be found.

Narrator: it was also
troubling that bruce was on the

Phone when k*lled.

But to whom was he speaking?

No one's called and said, "I
was on the phone with

Bruce miller, and I heard a
g*nsh*t."

There's no latent prints, no
bloody prints, no money fallen

Where they were in a hurry to
get it out, why the pocket

Wasn't ripped when they're
taking the money out.

Narrator: bruce miller was 48
years old.




About to adopt her 3 children.

By all accounts seemed to be
a very hardworking kind of

Mellow guy, who took a chance
with marrying sharee miller and

Her kids and taking on that load
as well as having two jobs,

Working at general motors as
well as running a junkyard.

Narrator: according to
friends and family, it was a

Happy marriage.

She would talk to them at
length about bruce miller, how

He was the best thing that ever
happened to her, how he was a

Good lover, how her kids
endeared him.

This was an older gentleman that
caught the young woman, and he

Treated her like a princess.

Narrator: sharee had been at
home all day with her children

And several friends and wasn't
considered a suspect, but she

Had a pretty good idea of who
might be responsible.

She told detectives that one of
her former boyfriends,

John hutchinson, owed her
husband several thousand

Dollars.

Bruce had had run-ins with
john in the past, arguing over

Him stealing auto parts from the
business late at night, and they

Argued just recently over a sale
of a $20 tire to

John hutchinson's stepson.

Narrator: hutchinson claimed
he was at home alone at the time

Of the m*rder.

It was an alibi that couldn't be
corroborated.

It would take a second death
before detectives would get to

The truth.

Narrator: john hutchinson
emerged as the key suspect in

Junkyard owner bruce miller's
m*rder.

Hutchinson agreed to take a
lie-detector test.

He collapsed during the
examination.

John hutchinson had some kind
of episode, where he ended up

Going to the hospital, but
apparently, he was pretty

Stressed out by this polygraph,
which he did not pass.

Narrator: but police needed
more evidence than a polygraph.

The autopsy revealed bruce had
been k*lled with a 20-gauge

Shotgun.

In a search of hutchinson's
home, police didn't find a


Clothing, or the missing money.

The feeling was he had
probably done it.

We've exhausted all of our
leads.

This is our best prime suspect.

What aren't we doing?

What can we do differently to
make it work so we can get the

Truth?

Narrator: weeks went by, then
months.

There had been no new leads in
the case.

But something unusual happened


Missouri.

A former homicide investigator
named jerry cassaday was found

Dead in his home, his g*n still
in his hand.

There was a bible in his lap.

Divorce papers were on his desk
and a report showing he had

Recently been treated for
depression.

In a trash can outside the home,
police found a videotape marked

"For jerry's eyes only."

It appeared to be a home video
of a woman dancing seductively.

Definitely a seductive tool,
something you would send a guy

That you're trying to seduce.

Narrator: friends told police
they thought the woman on the

Tape was jerry's girlfriend, who
lived in flint, michigan, and

That her name was sharee.

When investigators called police
in flint, they knew just who

They were talking about.

It was like getting hit
upside the head with a sudden

Shock.

It's, like, "you know, I can't
believe it.

She duped me."

Narrator: sharee miller was
brought into police headquarters

For questioning.

She claimed that she did not
even know jerry cassaday.

Narrator: this is an audio
recording of the actual

Interrogation.

Did you ever send naked
pictures of yourself to jerry?

No!

Did you ever send jerry films
of you naked?

No!

Films of me naked?

No, I didn't.

You never sent those to
jerry?

No, I did not.

When we showed her that we
had this videotape of her for

Jerry cassaday, written right on
the tape, "for jerry's eyes

Only," she went from not knowing
jerry cassaday to turn around,

"I know him, but he's crazy."

Narrator: sharee said she met
jerry cassaday in a computer

Chat room.

Just messing around.

I mean, I mess around online all
the time just to figure out

Something new to do.

I mean, everybody does it.

Narrator: computer forensic
experts confiscated sharee's

Computer as well as
jerry cassaday's, and what they

Discovered inside answered some
important questions, but raised

Many others.

This is one of the most
bizarre cases I've handled in

The 10 years I've been dealing
with this subject matter.

There was deception.

There was a love triangle.

Whenever there's an internet
connectivity issue that relates

To a m*rder case, of course it's
gonna be sexy.

Narrator: things were
starting to get interesting.

Narrator: police sent
sharee miller's computer and the

One used by her suspected lover,
jerry cassaday, to an expert in

The new field of computer
forensics.

I get the stuff that's been
deleted.

I get the space that's unused by
the computer.

I get everything, and that's
what I examine as a computer

Forensic specialist.

Sergeant potrafka was able to
mirror the hard drive, which

Means he kept the hard drive in
it's original format, but makes

A mirror image of it that we as
investigators can use to

Download the information on
there without ever tampering

With the original best evidence.

Narrator: forensic computer
specialists can also gain access

To password-protected accounts
on a hard drive.

Passwords lock documents away
from anyone except the owner.

Investigators easily made their
way into jerry's and sharee's

Private files.

I believe we had like 300,


Had found that were relevant.

There were probably thousands of
hits on her name on just the

"Sharee1013."

Narrator: investigators found
incriminating evidence on

Jerry's computer and in his
private papers.

It was an instant message
conversation in which jerry and

Sharee discussed m*rder.

I'll call bruce at 5:00 p.m.

And tell him to call when he's
leaving.

Jerry, I'm scared.

Is the g*n loud?

It's deer-hunting season here.

Inside would be best,
muffled.

Pull up to the left of the
building, right to the door.

He'll stay at the desk inside.

Take his wallet.

Take the whole thing.

There was discussion about,
pull the car up, I believe it

Was to the right side of the
door of the office to the auto

Parts place, because then when
you open up the driver's side

Door of the car, it would help
hide a g*n in your hand as you

Stepped out and went towards the
front door of the business.

Police confronted sharee with
this computer message.

I'm telling you here I have
an e-mail that lays it out right

Here in front of me about how
you and jerry cassaday planned

His m*rder.

That's wrong.

Okay, why would jerry even
think about changing that?

I don't know!

It doesn't make sense, does
it?

I don't have a clue!

It may be because he was mad
because I wouldn't have nothing

To do with him!

Narrator: sharee said the
instant messages were forged.

Officials at a.o.l. Confirmed
that this was a possibility.

We first informed the
prosecutors and investigators

That this is an instant message
that may not be authentic.

It possibly could have been
edited.

But I couldn't say in fact it
was authentic and did come

Through the america online
service in its exact form.

It was very important for us
to forensically back up this

Instant message and show that
there was a relationship and

Show how she got jerry cassaday
to k*ll her husband.

Narrator: under court order,
a.o.l. Released information

Regarding cassaday's and
sharee's computer activity.

A.o.l. Verified that jerry and
sharee were both signed onto the

A.o.l. Service on the same day
at the same time and for the

Same length of time as the
instant message indicated.

Sharee also took steps to cover
her tracks.

A day and a half after the
k*lling of her husband, she

Calls america online to change
her first and last name, to

Change her street address, city,
state, and zip code.

After she learned of the su1c1de
of jerry cassaday, she did the

Same thing.

Narrator: and jerry's home
computer showed hundreds of

E-mails from the screen name,
"sharee1013," that had been

Deleted.

The data is still there until
such time as the computer needs

To write something new, and the
computer says, "oh, that spot's

Open.

I'll write it there now."

And so the data resides on the
hard drive until it's

Overwritten.

Narrator: among a stack of
papers on sharee's computer

Desk, investigators found the
name john "occonnor," which was

Misspelled, and a telephone
number in sharee's handwriting.

In the instant message which
sharee claimed was a

Fabrication, jerry wrote, "if
anything happens to me, call

Him, john occonnor, with the
same misspelling and his

Telephone number, which was also
incorrect.

It certainly corroborates the
fact that they had been

Communicating in that instant
message.

It was one in two quintillion
chances that that alone could

Have happened by coincidence.

That's 19 0s after the 2.

Narrator: the forensic
computer analysis also revealed

The motive for the m*rder.

In a moment, how sharee miller
managed to fool a seasoned

Homicide investigator.

Narrator: forensic computer
experts found proof that

Sharee miller and jerry cassaday
conspired to k*ll sharee's

Husband, bruce.

It was like reading a diary
of the relationship, and it

Showed her saying things to this
guy to really kind of bring his

Blood to both a sexual and
emotional boil, to really bring

Him into her and her world as
she was showing it to him.

Narrator: only a month after
sharee's marriage to

Bruce miller, she met
jerry cassaday in an america

Online chat room.

The two struck up a friendship.

Jerry was going through a
divorce.

Sharee said she was unhappy,
too.

Eventually, they met
face-to-face and became lovers.

When the two were apart, sharee
kept the spark in their

Relationship by sending jerry
erotic pictures of herself

Through e-mail.

She also recorded the videotape
later found by investigators in

Jerry's trash.

At one point, sharee told jerry
she was pregnant with twins and

That jerry was the father
although she had had her tubes

Tied years earlier.

Sharee e-mailed a picture of a
positive pregnancy test she had

Taken from a friend and
sonograms of a fetus, which were

Actually taken five years
earlier of her son.

Sharee claimed her husband,
bruce, was a member of organized

Crime, a drug dealer, and was
physically abusive towards her.

There was no evidence that any
of this was true.

She claimed bruce had beaten her
so badly that she miscarried

Jerry's unborn twins.

Sharee e-mailed jerry pictures
of her bruised and battered

Body, a feat she accomplished
with makeup.

This was a situation where a
woman very ploddingly and

Purposefully created an
artificial universe to cause

This guy to believe that he
would be doing the "right" thing

To come and m*rder bruce miller.

He couldn't see what the
truth was anymore and what was a

Lie.

He was gonna be the white knight
for sharee miller.

He was gonna k*ll the dragon and
claim his property.

Narrator: in an instant
message, jerry and sharee made

Plans for the m*rder.

Sharee said she would keep her
husband on the phone while jerry

Went in to k*ll him.

Telephone records confirmed that
this is precisely what happened.

[ g*nsh*t ]

Jerry's experience as a homicide
detective meant he could commit

The crime while leaving no
forensic evidence behind.

Just a few weeks after bruce's
m*rder, sharee double-crossed

Jerry.

She stopped answering his calls
and e-mails, and she found

Another boyfriend.

I think he was
grief-stricken -- "what have I

Done?

What has she led me to do and
for what?

She didn't give a darn about
me."

Narrator: among jerry's
personal papers was a su1c1de

Note addressed to his parents.

It was painfully obvious jerry
still believed most of sharee's

Lies.

"He beat the crap out of her
and k*lled my baby.

I'm sorry, mom.

These were my babies.

I loved them.

I wanted them.

I drove there and k*lled him."

Narrator: but jerry finally
realized he had been used.

There was no doubt, you know,
jerry said he did it.

Jerry did it.

There was no making it up.

Jerry wasn't that type of
individual that he'd pull

Somebody's leg like that,
especially in a situation like

This.

He wasn't gonna sh**t himself
and then leave this for somebody

If it wasn't true.

Narrator: in december 2000,
sharee went on trial for m*rder

And conspiracy.

The forensic computer analysis
was the state's primary

Evidence.

Did you k*ll your husband,
bruce miller?

No, I did not.

Did you help anybody k*ll
your husband?

No, I did not.

Did you love your husband?

Yes, I did.

Narrator: sharee continued to
maintain the instant messages

Were a forgery.

She claimed jerry was the
spurned lover and did this in an

Attempt to frame her.

So are you saying this entire
instant message is fake?

Yes, I am.

So when they talk about the
disks and the pictures on your

Back and legs and whatnot and
the bruises, you never had that

Conversation?

No, I did not.

Narrator: but the forensic
computer analysis proved

Otherwise and provided a
possible motive for the

m*rder -- money from bruce's
life-insurance policies and the

Sale of his junkyard business.

I told my wife that I think
sharee's grinning from ear to

Ear thinking the money she's
gonna get from this right here.

That was my thought the night he
got k*lled 'cause she was that

Kind of person, just a
money-hungry person.

Right after the homicide, she
re-did the house.

She spent a lot of money.

Even bruce's mother bought her
car with some of the money that

Was left to her, so money may
have been a motive.

We don't know.

Narrator: prosecutors do not
believe john hutchinson had

Anything to do with
bruce miller's m*rder.

In december of 2000,
sharee miller was found guilty

Of second-degree m*rder and
conspiracy to commit

First-degree m*rder.

She was sentenced to life
without the possibility of

Parole.

She had no respect for the
man she married.

She had no respect for my
brother.

She had no respect for her own
kids to put them through this.

She got what she deserved.

I've seen g*nsh*t wounds.

I've seen knife wounds.

I've seen dismemberment.

I've seen axe murders.

I've seen people who've drug
people by cars, k*lled by autos,

But I've never seen anyone
k*lled by a computer.

Narrator: for investigators,

The verdict was a triumph of
high-tech detective work and

Old-fashioned gumshoe
investigation.

If we had been unable to find
hard evidence to back up the

Printouts, the e-mails, the

Instant messages, we would not
have had a case.

By doing the computer
forensics, we showed that

Manipulation of jerry cassaday

And what brought him to k*lling
bruce miller and then taking his

Own life.

She thought she had beaten
the system.

She thought she planned the
perfect m*rder.

She thought that those things

That she typed in would never,
ever come back to haunt her, but

She was wrong.