10x32 -Sunday School Ambush

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: there was a
sh**ting in an upscale

Neighborhood in oklahoma city.

Ballistics identified the use of
two different g*ns, which meant

At least two sh**t.

These small marks on a shotgun
shell, some singed fibers, and a

Crime reconstruction revealed a
plot more twisted than anyone

Could have imagined.

To outsiders, it looked as if
rob andrew had everything anyone

Could want.

He had a high-paying job with an
advertising agency, lots of

Friends, and a growing family
whom he described as his source

Of strength.

Rob andrew was salt of the
earth.

I mean, this was a christian
man, attended church all the

Time, a loving father, just a
great guy and very successful

Businessman, as well.

Narrator: two days before
thanksgiving, rob andrew left

Work to pick up his children.

They planned to spend the
holiday weekend with his

Parents.

On the way, rob called his best
friend.

Rob had called my house
around 5:30, telling me how

Hurried he'd been all day and
that he was looking forward to

Picking the kids up and spending
a long weekend with them for

Thanksgiving.

Narrator: rob didn't plan to
stay long, so he parked his car

In the driveway.

I heard the overhead garage
door start up, and then rob

Paused and said, "hey, I'm gonna
have to let you go."

Narrator: as he walked into
the garage, his wife, brenda,

Asked him to relight the furnace
because it had gone out earlier

In the day.

Then there was a commotion.

Brenda said two masked men with
g*ns appeared out of nowhere.

[ g*nshots ]
and then they fled.

[ g*nshots ]
and then they fled.

Narrator: 43-year-old
robert andrew was pronounced

Dead at the scene.

Mr. Andrew was shot two
times -- once to the right side

Of the body, once to the left
side of the body.

They actually occurred from two
different locations, so that

Also tells us that two sh**t,
it's a possibility.

Narrator: brenda andrew
suffered a g*nsh*t wound and was

Rushed to the hospital.

Her wound was in the fatty
portion of her left upper arm.

Narrator: the b*llet that hit
brenda went through her arm and

Lodged in the wall of the
garage.

It was from a .22-caliber
p*stol.

Police found a spent 16-gauge
shotgun shell on the roof of

Brenda's van -- an indication
there were two different weapons

Used in the attack.

The empty cans on the garage
floor indicated rob saw the

Gunman and grabbed the bag of
empty cans as a shield.

As the second g*nsh*t wound
is about to be inflicted on him,

He is looking up and looking at
the face of his k*ller.

The motive, apparently, wasn't
robbery.

His wallet was not taken.

In fact, some of the pellets
from the shotgun went through

His wallet.

Narrator: the andrews' two
children were upstairs in their

Rooms, unharmed.

The attack had all the earmarks
of an execution.

Yet no one could think of a
reason why robert andrew would

Be targeted for m*rder.

With no motive, no leads, and no
description of the K*llers,

Investigators hoped the autopsy
would provide the clues they

Needed.

Narrator: news of
rob andrew's execution-style

m*rder was a shock to the
residents of oklahoma city,

Since crimes like this were
extremely uncommon.

Rob and brenda were a loving
couple.

They appeared to be.

The pictures showed the perfect
family -- the smiling, happy,

Loving couple with these two
great little kids.

Narrator: the couple were
active members of their church.

Brenda taught sunday school, and
rob performed missionary work in

South america.

Early in the investigation,
police learned there had been a

Prior attempt on rob's life.

Just one month earlier, rob
called police to report someone

Had tampered with his car.

Narrator: a few hours later,
rob was getting his brakes fixed

When he received a call from the
hospital.

The caller said his wife,
brenda, was critically injured

In a car accident and suggested
that he come to the hospital

Right away.

Hear a man's voice, saying
that his wife is in the

Hospital about 30 miles away,
that she needs him, and he needs

To get down there just as fast
as he can.

Narrator: now suspicious, rob
called the hospital back and

Learned the previous call was a
hoax.

Apparently the same person who
cut rob's brake line wanted him

To race to the hospital.

He took it as an attempt on
his life.

He realized that, in fact, he
was being set up to drive down

There at a high rate of speed,
and hopefully, get into an

Accident.

That's the obvious conclusion.

Narrator: several days after
rob's m*rder, his next-door

Neighbors returned home from
vacation and realized someone

Had broken into their home.

We unpacked our suitcases and
started putting things away.

When I opened my closet door, I
discovered that a little shoe

Rack that I'd had was no longer
there.

Then we decided to look around
the other bedrooms.

That's when we discovered the
spent shotgun shell in one of

The bedrooms.

Narrator: the shell was from
a 16-gauge shotgun.

It was immediately sent to the
forensics lab for testing.

An analyst placed it under a
microscope to compare it to the


The andrews' garage.

He looked specifically at the
brass casings at the base of the

Shells.

When casings are ejected, each
g*n creates a unique mark on the

Brass.

Depending on the amount of
correspondence and the

Preponderance of these matching
striations, an examiner can come

To the conclusion as to whether
these were fired by the same

Firearm or not.

Narrator: there was no
doubt -- both shells were fired

From the same g*n.

Also in the neighbors' attic,
police found several unused

.22-caliber b*ll*ts -- the same
as those used in the second g*n

In the m*rder.

They were just basically
accidentally dropped along the

Way.

They didn't appear to be placed
in any type of pattern but just

Like they were in a pocket, and
they fell out as someone crawled

Through.

Narrator: this suggested that
the K*llers hid in the

Neighbors' home after the m*rder
so they could make a clean

Getaway later.

Apparently, someone went up
in that attic, and they were

Either trying to climb up in the
master closet access, or they

Came down and landed on that
shoe rack and broke it.

It wasn't sturdy enough to hold
them, so then they tried to hide

Evidence of that -- in a rather
feeble attempt -- by putting it

Under the bed.

Narrator: and since the
neighbors' home had no signs of

Forced entry, it meant one of
two things -- either the K*llers

Were professionals, or they had
a key.

Narrator: with no solid
leads, police ask themselves,

"Who would benefit most from
rob andrew's m*rder?"

Rob's friends told police that
his wife, brenda, had the most

To gain.

We found that the marriage
was rocky, off-and-on.

They had a few periods of
separation.

And we also found that brenda
andrew was involved in several

Extramarital affairs.

Mr. Andrew was convinced at
this point that his insurance

Salesman, mr. Pavatt, and his
wife were having an affair.

Narrator: 48-year-old
james pavatt taught sunday

School with brenda...and they
flaunted their relationship even

In front of rob's children.

James and brenda had a very
interesting relationship.

Even prior to rob's death, the
two of them went on a vacation

Together down to texas with the
children.

I don't know of any husband who
would willingly just say okay to

His wife going down to mexico
with a complete stranger and

Taking his kids with him.

Narrator: just a few months
before his m*rder, rob demanded

That brenda end her affair with
pavatt.

Brenda refused and filed for
divorce.

Rob immediately changed the
beneficiary of his $800,000

Life-insurance policy.

Mr. Andrew made the
beneficiary, I think, his

Brother, for the benefit of the
children.

Since the children were minors,
he had to have an adult as the

Actual trustee of that money.

But after rob's death, police
were surprised to learn that

Brenda was again the sole
beneficiary.

Police were immediately
suspicious, and they arranged

For a handwriting expert,
david parrett, to authenticate

Rob andrew's signature on the
insurance policy.

A signature is produced with
style and speed.

It's the thing that you probably
write the most in your entire

Life.

In my analysis, I look at 13
years of rob andrew's

Handwriting in writing his
signatures -- 136 signatures.

Narrator: not surprisingly,
it was clear that rob andrew's

Signatures changed over the
years.

Over time, rob andrew's
signature had become more

Ornate, more artistic.

Narrator: and 2 1/2 years
before his death, rob added and

Extra element to his signature.

It was in the bottom
right-hand corner of his

Signature.

I then began looking at
signature after signature after

Signature, and that fish was
there.

Narrator: this was a
christian symbol -- the ichthus.

Rob added it to his signature as
a sign of his faith.

But it wasn't on the
change-of-beneficiary form.

I know that symbol is very
significant because he

Repeatedly used it in the more
formalized signatures that he

Wrote, such as in business
documents.

And that symbol was not in the
questioned document.

Narrator: and there was
another discrepancy in the

Life-insurance policy
signature.

Rob andrew had a
characteristic of connecting the

"N" and the "d" in the last
name "andrew."

Narrator: but it wasn't
signed that way on the insurance

Form, so parrett concluded it
was a forgery.

But he was unable to determine
the identity of the forger.

Police knew that brenda andrew
had the motive to make sure she

Was the beneficiary of her
husband's $800,000

Life-insurance policy, and her
lover, james pavatt, had the

Opportunity.

He was the life-insurance agent
who sold the policy.

Police now suspected brenda may
have been involved in her

Husband's m*rder.

So ballistics experts took a
much closer look at the

Photographs of her wound and the
b*llet hole in her sweater.

They found black rings --
g*nsh*t residue -- around both.

It is actually the unburned
and partially burned powder and

Soot and hot gasses that exit
the barrel right behind the

Projectile.

Narrator: using an identical
g*n, investigators ran tests to

Re-create the g*nsh*t-residue
patterns.

And my observations of those
patterns and of the sweater and

Of her wound allowed me to
conclude that she was shot at

Somewhere between actual contact
and approximately two inches

Away from her arm.

Narrator: this contradicted
brenda's statement that she was

Shot by someone 15 to 20 feet
away.

Police now knew that
brenda andrew was involved in

Rob's m*rder.

But was she the k*ller?

Narrator: to find out what
role, if any, brenda andrew

Played in her husband's m*rder,
investigators sent her

Bloodstained clothing to
tom bevel, an expert on

Blood-spatter analysis.

Bevel noticed that many of the
bloodstains on her jeans had an

Elongated shape consistent with
blood dripping from her arm onto

Her pants.

We have some low-velocity
blood drips -- that would be

Blood that is breaking away
primarily due to gravity --

Dripping down onto the jeans.

Narrator: dna tests confirmed
this blood was brenda's.

But bevel also found mist-like
blood spatter on brenda's jeans

Below the knee, which had
penetrated deep into the fabric.

It is from a high-velocity
occurrence, such as a g*nsh*t --

In this case, multiple g*nsh*t
pellets -- that has spattered

The blood traveling back from
him, referred to as "back

Spatter," and then subsequently
landing on her clothing.

Narrator: dna tests confirmed
that this was rob's blood.

This proved that brenda was
standing only a few feet away

From rob when he was k*lled.

The back spatter on the
pants -- I think that gave us

That one bit of evidence we
needed in order to put that g*n

In ms. Andrew's hand.

Narrator: prosecutors believe
brenda planned her husband's

m*rder for months.

She may have forged rob's
signature on the life-insurance

Policy, making her the
beneficiary.

Her first attempt on rob's life
involved cutting rob's brake

Lines.

Police believe it was
james pavatt who called rob with

The fake story that brenda was
in critical condition at the

Hospital.

When that didn't work, the
couple devised an elaborate

sh**ting scenario.

They planned to k*ll rob when he
came to pick up the children for

The holiday weekend.

On the night of the m*rder,
pavatt hid behind the van in the

Garage.

We prayed a little bit.

The holidays are coming up.

Narrator: when they heard
rob's car, they set the plan in

Motion.

Rob walked into the garage
expecting to see the children.

Instead, brenda asked him to fix
the furnace while she got them

Ready.

Pavatt fired the first shot from
behind the van...

Then handed the r*fle to brenda.

He is looking up and looking
at the face of his k*ller.

And whatever was said to him,
we'll never know.

Narrator: the blood spatter

On brenda's pants proved she was
less than two feet away.

Pavatt used a .22-caliber p*stol
to sh**t brenda's arm, but he

Fired it from a couple inches
away, leaving the burn marks.

Brenda called police with the
fake story of the two masked

Men.

Pavatt hid in the empty house
next door.

The homeowners had given brenda
the key for safekeeping.

Pavatt stayed there for at least
a day, until police were

Finished at the scene.

He ejected the spent shotgun
shell when he heard the

Homeowners' son walk into the
house to pick up his parents'

Mail.

Fortunately, the man didn't go
upstairs, or he might have been

k*lled, too.

Investigators never found the
m*rder w*apon, but they did find

Some important information.

During our investigation, we
also found that mr. Pavatt had

Purchased a .22-caliber p*stol
at a local g*n store with the

Use of a credit card about a
month before the homicide.

Everything was a piece of a
puzzle.

All of those little things out
there by themselves meant

Nothing, but when you started
laying it all out, clicking the

Pieces together, making the
matches, it just started

Pointing.

There's no way this woman
couldn't have been involved.

Narrator: brenda andrew and
james pavatt were both charged

With first-degree m*rder and
were tried separately.

Pavatt's trial was first.

We, the jury, having
heretofore found the defendant,

James dwight pavatt, guilty of
m*rder in the first degree, fix

His punishment at death.

Narrator: in brenda's trial,
prosecutors portrayed her as a

Heartless sociopath.

The jury saw photos of her
vacationing with pavatt and the

Children while she was married
to rob.

They also heard the messages

Brenda left on rob's telephone
answering machine in which she

Belittled rob for his parenting
skills and other perceived

Slights.

Hey, it's brenda, you halfway
dad, who can't even return calls

About your children.

You ought to call me if you even
care one little ounce.

Oh, that's right -- you don't.

We've been able to figure that

Out.

Narrator: and the jury also
heard this call between rob and

Brenda's mother before the
m*rder.

She does not like me.

That makes it really hard to
live there.

I look at her, and I just want
to break out and cry 'cause I

Love the girl so much, and I
have loved her for a long, long

Time.

And the one thing that I knew
that brenda liked was money.

Narrator: brenda andrew was
also convicted of first-degree

m*rder.

The forensic evidence was
impossible to overcome.

We, the jury, impelled and
sworn in the above entitled

Cause, do abide our oaths,
having hereto found the

Defendant, brenda evers andrew,
guilty of m*rder in the first

Degree, fix her punishment at
death.

Narrator: she is now the only
woman on oklahoma's death row.

I've had four years to ponder
and to think of why brenda and

Jim would take rob andrew's
life.

And for the life of me, I cannot
understand how someone could be

That mean or that evil and have
so little regard for another

Person's life.

Narrator: prosecutors
describe it as one of the most

Cold-blooded murders they have
ever seen.

The complexity of the case
was a problem.

It's a hard case to talk about
in a short amount of time.

There's so many different pieces
of evidence.

But what we believe that any
juror wants to hear is what

Happened at the key moment.

The physical evidence will
tell a story.

And it's just simply up to the
person that is trying to put

This together to understand what
the physical evidence is saying.