13x05 - Double Cross

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: up next...

This is the story of my life

As a defenseless woman in the

Navy.

Narrator: ...a naval officer

Alleges a cover-up and threatens

To go public.

Very soon, I'll have enough

Evidence to send to the media,

And then something will be done.

Narrator: but before that can

Happen, she's m*rder*d -- some

Say by the man she named as her

r*pist.

And I started suspecting that

Something is amiss, that this

May be all a setup.

Narrator: can forensic

Science separate fact from

Fiction?

The videotape is startling.

It is scary.

She is foretelling her own

She is foretelling her own death.

Death.

Narrator: after a long,

Stressful day working as an

Air-traffic controller at one of

The largest naval jet bases in

The world, elise makdessi went

To dinner with her husband at an

Italian restaurant in

Virginia beach, virginia.

Eddie makdessi worked in the

Computer business.

He did a lot of contract

Work, and some of it was for the

U.s. Navy.

And that is when he met

Elise makdessi.

Narrator: sometime after :

P.m., When the couple returned

Home from dinner, someone was

Waiting for them.

When eddie regained

Consciousness, his hands were

Bound behind his back.

He saw his wife tied to the bed,

And a man raping and stabbing

Her.

Somehow, eddie managed to free

His hands, grab the handgun he

Kept in the nightstand, and sh*t

The assailant.

[ g*nsh*t ]

[ g*nsh*t ] then he called .

Then he called .

But the intruder wasn't dead.

The assailant leaped up,

Lunged towards him with the

Kn*fe, and eddie sh*t the

Individual again.

Narrator: when paramedics

Arrived, elise was barely alive.

Her dress had been pulled up.

Her pantyhose had been ripped.

She had multiple s*ab wounds to

The chest, and her throat had

Been cut ear to ear.

She's trying to talk.

They absolutely believe she was

Trying to communicate, and could

Never get the words out.

Before anybody could really give

Her any significant help, she

d*ed on the way to the hospital.

Narrator: the assailant was

Identified by his driver's

License as -year-old

Quincy brown.

He was laying with his legs

Pinned underneath him, laying on

His back, and he had three

g*nsh*t wounds to the chest.

Narrator: brown was one of

Elise's co-workers at the oceana

Naval air base.

Quincy brown, m*llitary man,

Worked at the same command where

Elise worked.

So it wasn't a random crime.

Something happened to bring

Co-workers into the same room,

And neither one of them left

Alive.

Narrator: elise's husband,

Eddie, was treated for his head

Injury and released.

As incredible as eddie's story

Seemed, evidence at the scene

Appeared to support it.

The entranceway floor was

Littered with takeaway

Containers of leftover food from

The restaurant.

Electrical cords used to tie

Eddie's hands were on the

Bedroom floor.

Underneath the intruder's right

Hand was the Kn*fe used in

Elise's m*rder.

And eddie gave police a

Videotape that elise made before

Her death.

It contained some shocking

Allegations against her

Superiors in the navy --

Allegations that perhaps the

Navy didn't want to be made

Public.

Narrator: elise and

Eddie makdessi had been married

For only five years at the time

Of elise's m*rder.

They lived in an apartment off

The m*llitary base and had no

Children.

Elise enjoyed being in the

Navy.

She was looking forward to her

Future as an air-traffic

Controller.

Tough job, and especially for

Females.

And she would have been good at

It if she had had more time.

Narrator: quincy brown, the

Man found sh*t to death in the

Makdessis' bedroom, had no

History of v*olence.

Quincy had been in the navy

For over years.

He was married.

He had a child.

He did not have any kind of

Criminal background.

Narrator: quincy brown worked

With elise at the naval air

Base.

Everybody that we talked to

That knew quincy brown, that

Didn't go with his character at

All.

It seemed to be completely

Conflict of his character.

Narrator: but the facts were

Undeniable -- a r*pe test kit on

Elise makdessi showed signs of

Sexual intercourse, and the

Biological evidence matched

Quincy brown's dna.

A Kn*fe covered with elise's

Blood was found underneath

Brown's body.

But what drove brown to m*rder?

Eddie makdessi thought he knew

Why.

He said his wife made a

Videotape before her m*rder, and

Videotape before her m*rder, and he gave it to the authorities.

He gave it to the authorities.

The videotape elise makdessi

Made is more perplexing to me

Than anything I've run into in

Years of covering crime.

It is startling.

It is scary.

You see a woman who is speaking

From the grave.

Narrator: elise described a

Tale of horror.

She alleged sexual abuse covered

Up at the highest levels of the

Up at the highest levels of the navy.

Navy.

It's a confession of sorts.

Like a diary -- it's almost a

Video diary of all these

Terrible things happening to

Terrible things happening to her.

Her.

Narrator: police used a court

Order to get elise's journal.

Quincy brown had been named

In her journal as one of those

Attackers.

Narrator: elise listed all

Five men who she claimed r*ped

Her while on duty.

At this point, we knew we

Needed to get the naval criminal

Investigative service, ncis,

Involved, because obviously now

We had two of their members

Dead.

Narrator: the ncis questioned

The four other men elise accused

In her journal.

They all denied the allegations.

She had accused four of the

Best guys I've ever known, the

Best guys I've ever worked with,

Family men, really decent,

Respectable guys.

Narrator: nancy simpson was

Elise's friend, as well as one

Of her supervisors.

I knew that it was a bunch of

Crap.

Elise never told me that she had

Been sexually harassed at work.

If that had happened, she

Certainly would have told me.

It would have never been

Covered up.

Narrator: but eddie makdessi

Was outraged.

To him, the evidence was clear.

Eddie believes that

Quincy brown went there to shut

Her up and to make her stop

Talking about what was going on

At the base.

Eddie's also said that quincy

Was part of a larger conspiracy,

Involving higher navy forces, to

Keep her quiet.

Narrator: as proof, eddie

Pointed out that elise had

Recently been demoted at the

Navy base, eddie claims, in

Retaliation for her

Sexual-harassment claims.

Eddie says they really slowed

Down her training, reassigned

Her because of it.

He said that she was the victim

Not only of the harassers, but

Of the same superiors that she

Had confided in.

Narrator: then investigators

Noticed small inconsistencies in

Eddie's story.

According to quincy brown's

Cellphone records, he called the

Makdessis' apartment at : on

The night of the murders, which

Was after eddie claimed they

Were assaulted at the door of

Their apartment.

The call lasted minutes and

Seconds.

It's out of the ordinary that

Somebody's gonna call and then

Come over and r*pe someone and

k*ll them.

Narrator: the Kn*fe found

Under quincy brown's hand, the

One used to k*ll elise makdessi,

Didn't contain brown's

Fingerprints, and his shirt

Didn't have elise's blood.

Quincy gets none of elise's

Blood on his body.

How in the world could he have

Done this and not had any of

Elise's blood on him?

Narrator: and on the night

Before her m*rder,

Elise makdessi bought the g*n

Used to k*ll quincy brown in a

Sporting-goods store in

Virginia.

Then I started suspecting

That something is amiss.

This may be all a setup.

Narrator: but who wanted both

Elise makdessi and quincy brown

Dead?

And why?

Narrator: in this video

Journal made shortly before her

Death, elise makdessi claimed

She had been r*ped and sexually

Assaulted by five co-workers at

The oceana naval air base.

On the tape, she claimed she'd

Reported these incidents to her

Superiors and had been ignored,

Superiors and had been ignored, so she threatened to go public.

So she threatened to go public.

But the navy denied

Elise makdessi ever filed one

Single claim, let alone five.

I was her superior.

And my immediate superior was a

Very tough female, tougher than

Me.

There was no word of this.

Nothing was ever reported to any

Of us, and either one of us

Would have acted immediately.

Narrator: one of the men

Elise named in her journal was

Quincy brown, the man found sh*t

To death in her apartment.

Elise's husband, eddie, claimed

Brown knocked him unconscious

And m*rder*d elise to stop her

From going public with these

Allegations.

Investigators weren't so sure.

To find the truth, investigators

Started with the only hard

Evidence they had -- the crime

Scene.

We wanted fresh eyes,

Somebody to really tell us

Something that we weren't able

To see.

Narrator: virginia beach

Police contacted ross gardner, a

Nationally recognized

Crime-scene analyst.

This was a very complex crime

Scene, and it wasn't until we

Got a lot of the dna information

Back that we were able to make

Sense of it.

But certain aspects of the

Crime-scene analysis certainly

Supported eddie's statement.

Narrator: but then gardner

Looked more closely at the

Crime-scene photos and noticed

That they contradicted eddie's

Story.

The autopsy showed that the

First sh*t penetrated quincy's

Heart.

This creates arterial spurts,

High-pressure ejections of blood

From the body -- and they are

Easily identified.

Because the blood is ejecting

Out in a stream, it breaks up

Into larger masses.

And so what we see in an

Arterial spurt are very large

Elliptical-shaped stains.

Narrator: eddie said when he

Saw his wife being att*cked, he

Grabbed the g*n from the

Nightstand and sh*t quincy brown

As he rushed towards him.

[ g*nshots ]

Yet, the blood-spatter evidence

And the crime-scene photos

Showed that quincy brown was

Facing in the opposite

Direction.

There is no evidence

Whatsoever that suggests that

Quincy was ever standing when

That wound was ejecting blood,

Or that he was ever facing back

Towards the nightstand.

The void in the arterial spurts

On the carpet tell us that

Quincy was in this kneeling

Position at the time of the

First sh*t, and that his

Physical position never altered,

Other than to lay back.

Narrator: investigators now

Had a theory that eddie makdessi

Was involved in an elaborate

Scheme.

First, he convinced his wife to

Make the videotape and written

Journal accusing her five

Co-workers of r*pe and sexual

as*ault.

Their plan was to file a lawsuit

Against the navy.

Eddie makdessi told several

People that this sexual

Harassment with his wife in the

Navy would be bigger than

Tailhook...

Referring to another civil suit

In which someone collected a lot

Of money from the navy.

Narrator: and elise was a

Willing participant in the

Scheme.

It was obvious that they had

A plan in action.

It would appear that there

May have been some partnership

Between eddie and elise as far

As setting this thing up.

Narrator: they planned to

Prove their case by luring one

Of the men she named in her

Journal, quincy brown, to their

Apartment to have unprotected

Sex with her, and then claim it

Was yet another r*pe.

Only this time, they'd have dna

Evidence to prove it.

Quincy did not force his way

Into that apartment.

He came there willingly.

He had sex with elise willingly.

Narrator: investigators

Believe eddie planned to k*ll

Quincy after the sexual act was

Complete in order to silence

Him.

It's not clear whether elise was

Aware of this or not.

Elise and eddie bought the

g*n in hampton, virginia, the

Night before this event

Occurred.

I don't know if elise had

Planned that quincy would die.

I don't know.

Narrator: but why did eddie

k*ll his wife?

Eddie makdessi had taken out

A half a million dollar

Life-insurance policy on his

Wife.

This was less than days prior

To the incident.

That's a lot of money to have

In a life-insurance policy for a

Sailor who has no family

Fortune, is not earning but a

Low rate in the navy, not making

Much money.

Narrator: this plus an

Additional $, from her

Navy life insurance was a

Significant payout.

Of the seven deadly sins,

Greed is my favorite.

And this man loved his money,

And he was willing to sacrifice

Innocent people for $,.

So he could live the good life.

Narrator: and he could pin

Her m*rder on quincy brown.

He's a cold-blooded k*ller.

Narrator: ironically, elise

Helped plan, organize, and carry

Out her own m*rder.

The only thing that changed

Is elise was double-crossed and

She was k*lled in the process as

Well.

Narrator: eddie's plan was

Almost too perfect.

Narrator: based on the

Forensic evidence, prosecutors

Believe that eddie makdessi was

Responsible for the murders of

Both his wife, elise, and

Quincy brown.

They believe this whole thing

Started as a sexual-harassment

Scam against the navy.

Elise makdessi made a videotape

And written journal claiming

That five men sexually assaulted

And r*ped her while on duty at

The naval air base where she

Worked.

Despite her claims on the tape,

The navy says she never filed

Any charges against these men.

Sexual harassment, sexual

as*ault, and r*pe.

Narrator: but eddie and elise

Needed forensic evidence, so

They invited one of the men she

Named in her journal,

Quincy brown, over to their

Apartment for a sexual

Threesome.

Elise would have claimed that

Quincy had r*ped her, and

Therefore, they would have been

Able to pursue their

Sexual-harassment claim.

Narrator: on the night of the

Crime, there was no as*ault

Outside their apartment.

When they returned home from

Dinner, quincy brown called

Their apartment at :, most

Likely to confirm their date.

[ Telephone rings ]

Hello?

Are we still on for tonight?

He said he'll be here in

Minutes.

Okay, let's get ready.

Narrator: investigators

Believe eddie set the scene by

Tying elise to the bed.

To quincy brown, it would appear

To be a bondage fantasy for the

Evening.

To the police, it would look

Like a violent as*ault.

[ Knock on door ]

When quincy arrived, he had a

Condom in his pocket.

Perhaps he was encouraged not to

Use it, although no one really

Knows.

Go ahead on in.

I'm just gonna kick back and

Watch.

Narrator: after the sexual

Encounter, eddie pulled his

First double-cross of the

Evening on quincy brown.

Okay, I think you're

Finished.

Break into my house, knock me

Out, you r*ped my wife...

Narrator: they blame him for

Breaking into the apartment and

Raping elise.

[ g*nshots ]

It's unclear whether elise knew

If quincy would die.

Cut me loose now, honey.

Narrator: but she obviously

Didn't know eddie would

Double-cross her, too.

Eddie staged the scene to make

It look like a break-in,

as*ault, and a r*pe-m*rder

Perpetrated by quincy brown.

And eddie collects $, in

Life insurance.

And maybe he walks away with

A sexual-harassment case also.

Narrator: he almost got away

With it, too.

But in the end, he left too many

Clues.

It was obvious that

Eddie makdessi was lying to me

About what happened, and how

Things had happened in that

Bedroom.

He told us this happened,

This happened, this happened.

And multiple claims by

Eddie makdessi were refuted by

The forensic evidence.

Narrator: but when it came

Time to arrest eddie makdessi,

He had fled to russia.

The problem we're having is

That he's now a russian citizen,

And we don't have an extradition

Treaty, so we can't get him out

Of russia.

Narrator: for almost a

Decade, eddie makdessi was on

The run.

Reporter mike mather decided to

Track him down, despite everyone

Telling him it was useless.

The state department at the

Time told me, virginia beach

Police told me, the embassy told

Me, "you're wasting your time.

He's never coming back here."

So I said, "let's go find out."

Sent him an e-mail.

He agreed to meet with me.

Flew to moscow.

Narrator: apparently,

Mike mather caught makdessi at

Just the right time.

He clearly didn't like living in

Russia.

How can I say this?

They took my money, they b*at me

Up, they put me in jail because

They thought I was an american

Spy, and here I was, without

American documents to prove that

I'm an american.

Narrator: makdessi chose to

Return to the united states and

Face trial, thinking that

Elise's videotaped allegations

Would provide the reasonable

Doubt he needed for acquittal.

I want to do that because I

Know I can prove I'm innocent.

I know that what has happened to

Me and all this that happened to

Me, the american people should

Know about.

Narrator: years after the

Double homicide, eddie makdessi

Went on trial.

The forensic evidence was

Overwhelming.

We, the jury, find the

Defendant guilty of first-degree

m*rder of quincy b. Brown,

Guilty of first-degree m*rder of

Elise m. Makdessi.

Narrator: makdessi was

Sentenced to two consecutive

Life terms.

In cross, we explained very,

Very well how the blood-spatter

Evidence contradicted what eddie

Said.

It wasn't he said, she said.

It was he said, and everyone

Else was dead.

It's never left me that eddie

Did that, and I've never

Questioned that he was capable

Of it.

Not even for a second.

Without the forensic

Evidence, without ross gardner

And the blood-spatter analysis

Of the crime scene to be able to

Disprove eddie's statement --

Because all we had was eddie's

Statement and the crime scene.