| 00:00:00 | They first hit him over the head with a heavy
object,
and then shot him in the head with a shotgun.
|
| 00:00:05 | And based on the conditionof his corpse,
he'd been deadfor quite some time.
|
| 00:00:11 | Bob samuels lay there for, we think, about
two days.
|
| 00:00:16 | It was like a horrible scenefrom one of bob's
movies.
|
| 00:00:20 | And the mystery ofhis murder was only beginning.
|
| 00:00:23 | To solve it, the cops would haveto wait eight
..
|
| 00:00:29 | For the sequel.
|
| 00:01:23 | Guys
remember,
we're a solar system.
|
| 00:01:30 | ..and...
|
| 00:01:32 | Um,
it's only 10am.
|
| 00:01:35 | Who hasn't had their jimmy dean
breakfast this morning?
|
| 00:01:40 | Mmmm!
|
| 00:01:42 | Now lets orbit
I feel awesome.
|
| 00:01:44 | You're all awesome.
|
| 00:01:47 | Jimmy dean breakfast sandwiches,
fight the morning fade.
|
| 00:03:23 | ÷ aCq
( narrator )ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 9th,
Mary ellen samuels had found herestranged
husband, bob,
dead in the hallwayof his northridge home.
|
| 00:04:42 | A few hours later,the l.a.p.d.
|
| 00:04:43 | Was still busy combingthe couple's house
for clues.
|
| 00:04:47 | They had pretty much concludedit was an inside
job.
|
| 00:04:50 | The crime scene was notconsistent with a
break-in,
with a robbery gone bad.
|
| 00:04:57 | There was nosign of forced entry,
there wasn't anythingmissing.
|
| 00:05:02 | When the cops broughtmary ellen
down tothe station for questioning,
she didn't seem too distraughtover bob's
death.
|
| 00:05:09 | She was dressed in a very low-cut outfit
and certainly made sure that her dress was
noticeable.
|
| 00:05:16 | At one point in time, she put her hand
on one of the detective's bald head and talked
about
how she liked bald guys.
|
| 00:05:23 | Mary ellen wouldarouse even more suspicion
in the days ahead.
|
| 00:05:27 | The moment the cops took downthe yellow crime
scene tape,
she and her daughtermoved back into the house
where bob had been killed,
and went on like nothinghad happened.
|
| 00:05:37 | Mary ellen putthe sandwich shop up for sale,
filed a claim to collectbob's life insurance,
and went back toher two favorite pastimes:
Bar hopping and shopping.
|
| 00:05:47 | I think it was pretty clear,
that she was not a grieving widow.
|
| 00:05:51 | She was traveling, I think she went to las
vegas
within two weeks after the murder.
|
| 00:05:56 | Meanwhile, the police keptinvestigating.
|
| 00:05:58 | After questioning a few ofmary ellen and
bob's friends,
they discovered that shortlybefore his death,
bob had decided to make thecouple's separation
permanent.
|
| 00:06:08 | Bob began to realize that it wasn't going
to work.
|
| 00:06:10 | And at that point, he went to seek
the guidance of an attorney in the divorce.
|
| 00:06:15 | And this time, according to whathis attorney
told the cops,
bob wasfeeling far less generous.
|
| 00:06:21 | He would make about1,100 or $1,200 a month
in payments to support her,
and the settlement wouldn'tinclude the life
insurance.
|
| 00:06:30 | But since she was still marriedto bob at
the time of his death,
mary ellen ended upwith everything.
|
| 00:06:36 | She inherits the property-- it becomes hers.
|
| 00:06:38 | And of course all of the life insurance policies.
|
| 00:06:41 | After her husband died, she collected
about a half a million dollars in life insurance.
|
| 00:06:46 | Not that the half a millionwould last long
at the ratemary ellen was spending it.
|
| 00:06:51 | She bought fur coats,
she went to a boutique on melrose avenue
calledtrashy lingerie--
miniskirts, leather push-up bustiers,
that style of dress, which was kind of hip
then.
|
| 00:07:01 | In march of 1989, four monthsafter her husband's
murder,
mary ellen threwherself a birthday bash
at an l.a. nightclub.
|
| 00:07:10 | ( Dean )SHE CAME INTO OUR ESTABLISHMENT
With eight of her girlfriendsin a stretch
limo.
|
| 00:07:17 | I gave them a nice table,
and sent overa bottle of champagne.
|
| 00:07:21 | The next thing I know, we're out on a date.
|
| 00:07:23 | A week or two later, we're on an item,
a month later, we're living together.
|
| 00:07:28 | Soon, mary ellen laidout $50,000 on a down
payment
for a present for hernew boyfriend.
|
| 00:07:34 | I walked out the door and there's that
beautiful whiteporsche.
|
| 00:07:39 | The cops gotan unexpected gift, too.
|
| 00:07:43 | But not from mary ellen.
|
| 00:07:45 | In may of 1989,after months of investigation
had failed to connect herto bob's murder,
an anonymouscaller gave the l.a.p.d.
|
| 00:07:53 | A critical piece ofinformation.
|
| 00:07:55 | One of her daughter's friends
started calling up and giving anonymous tips.
|
| 00:07:59 | He just knew things,
and knew who some of the players were.
|
| 00:08:02 | The callersuggested the cops talk to
a 27-year-old electronicstore clerk,
and wannabewise guy, named jim bernstein.
|
| 00:08:10 | He was fromthe east coast, new jersey,
street talker-type of guy.
|
| 00:08:13 | He kinda fanciedhimself as
knowing peoplein the underworld.
|
| 00:08:18 | He also happenedto be dating mary ellen's
now 17-year-olddaughter, nicole.
|
| 00:08:23 | She was a lot younger.
|
| 00:08:25 | Kinda seemed to be a mis-match to me.
|
| 00:08:27 | He had went out of his way to find money
just to buy her stuff that she wanted:
Expensive dresses, clothes, jewelry.
|
| 00:08:37 | Looking to confirm the tipabout bernstein,
the cops hit the barsmary ellen frequented,
hoping she mighthave let something slip
to her drinking buddies.
|
| 00:08:46 | She had-- in fact,it appeared that mary ellen
hadn't been very discreet
in her search for a hitmanto kill bob.
|
| 00:08:53 | She just didn't seem to care
who heard her soliciting his murder.
|
| 00:08:58 | It was a very open topic of conversation.
|
| 00:09:00 | ( Ann ) THE THING THAT AMAZED ME
Is a woman could go out to a singles bar,
asked people if they knew where she could
find a hitman
and no one called the police.
|
| 00:09:08 | It blew me away.
|
| 00:09:09 | Most of mary ellen'sfriends, though,
figured it wasjust the liquor talking.
|
| 00:09:14 | They didn't believe her,
that it was just rantings and ravings
of a woman going through a divorce.
|
| 00:09:19 | ON JUNE 15th,THE COPS BROUGHT MARY ELLEN
Down to the station forquestioning.
|
| 00:09:24 | When detectivestold her an informant
had fingered her asthe killer,
mary ellendenied everything.
|
| 00:09:47 | Then she demanded to know heraccuser's identity.
|
| 00:10:00 | Then the detectives trieda new tactic.
|
| 00:10:03 | They'd also brought jimbernstein in that
same night,
and were questioning him
in a neighboringinterrogation room.
|
| 00:10:10 | Once the cops figured both weresufficiently
rattled,
they broughtbernstein down the hall
and left him alonewith mary ellen.
|
| 00:10:17 | They alsoleft the tape rolling.
|
| 00:10:30 | The cops hopedeither bernstein or mary ellen
would break down and confess,or that they'd
slip up,
and saysomething incriminating.
|
| 00:10:39 | Neither happened.
|
| 00:10:40 | The cops had to let bothbernstein and mary
ellen go.
|
| 00:10:44 | At that time, there was insufficient evidence
to charge her.
|
| 00:10:48 | FOUR WEEKS LATER, ONJULY 23rd, 1989,
Nearly eight monthsafter mary ellen samuels
found her husband boblying dead
on the floorof his los angeles home,
a ventura county couple madea similar discovery
along a remote mountain road.
|
| 00:11:03 | A man and wife had stoppedon the side of
the road
to look at someflowers growing wild up there
and had found the body layingoff the side
of the road.
|
| 00:11:12 | The bodywas badly decomposed,
but fingerprints gavethe cops a name.
|
| 00:11:18 | And later thatday, the dead man's boss
confirmed the corpse'sidentity.
|
| 00:11:22 | ( Matt ) I GOT A KNOCK ON THE DOOR FROM
Some sheriff investigators
with a picture of a guy on a slab.
|
| 00:11:28 | They asked me if I knew him,
"
the investigationinto the murder of cameraman,
bob samuels, was nowa double-feature.
|
| 00:12:44 | ♪
|
| 00:12:45 | [ Female Announcer ]REVITALIZE YOUR SKIN
With the schick intuition plus.
|
| 00:12:48 | It has a moisture-richconditioner,
now in pomegranate.
|
| 00:12:51 | Lather, shave, and moisturize in one easy
step.
|
| 00:12:54 | Schick intuition plus,
now in pomegranate.
|
| 00:12:57 | Free your skin.
|
| 00:13:00 | Farm
sandwich.
|
| 00:13:02 | How 'bout a pudding cup pudding cup whose...
|
| 00:13:04 | Pudding cup!
|
| 00:13:04 | Can I get a Halloween candy? Full stash of
Halloween candy.
|
| 00:13:06 | Going one...twice...sold,
to the lady up front with the pony!
|
| 00:13:09 | Hillshire Farm lunch meat.
|
| 00:13:10 | By products are out,taste is sealed in.
|
| 00:16:50 | ( narrator )AT THE END OF JULY, 1989,
41-Year-oldmary ellen samuels
was the focus of a policeinvestigation
seeking to solvethe eight-month-old murder
of her husband bob.
|
| 00:17:01 | When jim bernstein,the man police suspected
as her accomplice inthe killing,
was found deadalong a ventura county road
ON JULY 23rd, THE COPSNATURALLY ASSUMED
That the twocrimes were connected.
|
| 00:17:13 | ( Jan )JIM BERNSTEIN THREATENED TO GO TO
The police
and mary ellensamuels decided that
he couldn't be trusted anymore,and that he
had to be killed.
|
| 00:17:23 | And that wasn't justspeculation.
|
| 00:17:25 | Bernstein apparently wasplanning on going
to the police,
according to what bernstein'sboss told investigators.
|
| 00:17:32 | He had called me upand he said,
"i'm just going totell the police what i
"
and that's the last timei talked to him.
|
| 00:17:38 | Jim bernstein's death hada sobering effect
on several ofmary ellen's drinking buddies.
|
| 00:17:43 | They didn't wanna be on her hit list.
|
| 00:17:45 | I think they were a littleafraid of mary
ellen,
but they were also afraid ofwhat they may
be charged with,
you know,as co-conspirators.
|
| 00:17:53 | Cops had little to go on untila check for
$1,500 dollars,
written justafter the murder,
led police to mary ellen'sfriend, anne hambly.
|
| 00:18:03 | Hambly reluctantly admitted
she'd helped mary ellenarrange the hit.
|
| 00:18:06 | In exchange for immunity,hambly told the
cops everything.
|
| 00:18:11 | She told us who did it.
|
| 00:18:12 | She knew for a fact that mary ellen samuels
had hired two guys to kill james bernstein.
|
| 00:18:17 | One of the hitmen was hambly'sboyfriend,
paul gaul.
|
| 00:18:22 | ON JANUARY 26th, 1990,POLICE TRACKED HIM
Down.
|
| 00:18:27 | He realized when we went in to get him,
that it was pretty much over.
|
| 00:18:31 | He admitted to his part in it.
|
| 00:18:33 | And he said it wasmary ellen who hired him.
|
| 00:18:35 | Had it not been for the murder of james bernstein,
mary ellen samuels might very well have
gotten away with the perfect murder.
|
| 00:18:43 | That same day,detectives drove out
to the house in northridge,
where a littlemore than two years prior,
mary ellen had "discovered"her husband's
dead body.
|
| 00:18:52 | She was rather surprised that we were there,
because she thought she was home free on
the whole thing.
|
| 00:18:56 | Once tuse apart.
|
| 00:19:03 | They didn't care whatthey took.
|
| 00:19:05 | They took mystuff, her stuff,
they went through everything,everything.
|
| 00:19:10 | That's when police foundthe photo
dean hadsnapped months earlier
in the couple's cancunhotel room,
of mary ellencovered in a mound of cash.
|
| 00:19:18 | That was a very personal thing.
|
| 00:19:20 | That wasn't for public use.
|
| 00:19:23 | That photograph was all about me.
|
| 00:19:25 | The cops thoughtdifferently.
|
| 00:19:27 | They seized it as evidence.
|
| 00:19:29 | In april of 1994,mary ellen samuels stood
trial
for the double murders ofbob samuels and
jim bernstein.
|
| 00:19:39 | In her opening argument,prosecutor, jan maurizi
said the photograph proved
that mary ellenwas obsessed with money.
|
| 00:19:47 | Obsessed enough to killfor it.
|
| 00:19:49 | A picture is worth 1,000 words,
and this was probably worth 10,000 words.
|
| 00:19:53 | Because here the jury could look at
this woman seated at council table
and then they look at the photograph of this--
this cold-blooded killer.
|
| 00:20:03 | To back up that statement,hitman, paul gaul,
and his accomplicedarrell ray edwards testified
that they were hired bymary ellen samuels.
|
| 00:20:12 | Then the prosecutioncalled anne hambly--
who testified that it wasno coincidence
mary ellen wascelebrating in cancun
when bernstein was killed.
|
| 00:20:22 | ( Jan ) SHE HAD PLANNED TO BE IN CANCUN
With her new boyfriend when the murder went
down.
|
| 00:20:27 | Our witness was to call her in cancun, after
it happened,
with a coded message to let her know that
the homicide had taken place.
|
| 00:20:35 | When it was the defense's turn,mary ellen's
attorney said
his client had nothingto do with either murder.
|
| 00:20:41 | ( Ann )THE DEFENSE SAID MARY ELLEN DIDN'T
Kill her husband.
|
| 00:20:45 | These other people did it.
|
| 00:20:46 | Everybody in the world waslying, except for
mary ellen.
|
| 00:20:49 | She was the victim here.
|
| 00:20:51 | THEN ON MAY 16th,
A suddenly meek and demuremary ellen
took the standin her own defense.
|
| 00:20:57 | She was a very coolcustomer.
|
| 00:20:59 | She didn't giveyou anything emotionally.
|
| 00:21:02 | On the standshe categorically denied
's allegation thatshe was obsessed
with money.
|
| 00:21:08 | She tried to convince the jury
that nothing had changed-- her lifestyle
hadn't changed,
and therefore, she's trying to tell them,
"i had no motive to kill him, because my
"
it was a claimthe prosecutor picked apart
on cross-examination.
|
| 00:21:23 | ( Jan ) WHEN YOU CONFRONT HER WITH THE $50,000
Cash
that she'd put down on herporsche,
and her trashy lingerie, and her trips,
and her condo in cancun and her birthday
bash--
she very, sort of grudgingly admitted,
"well, you know, maybe my lifestyle
"
another lifestyle changewould soon be in
store
for maryellen samuels.
|
| 00:21:44 | ON JULY 1st, 1994,
The jury found her guiltyon both counts
of first-degree murder.
|
| 00:21:51 | The informantsand insurance evidence
contributed to her conviction.
|
| 00:21:55 | But accordingto the jury foreman,
it was mary ellen's infamousmoney-shot that
cinched it.
|
| 00:22:01 | As soon as your husband is killed,
you're partying here, you're partying there.
|
| 00:22:07 | You're buying this, you're buying that.
|
| 00:22:09 | And you're rolling in all this money-- nude.
|
| 00:22:12 | Give me a break.
|
| 00:22:13 | That picture did more damage to her than
anything else.
|
| 00:22:17 | ON JULY 21st,
Mary ellen samuels receivedher sentence--
the death penalty.
|
| 00:22:24 | ( Jan ) ARGUING FOR DEATH IS VERY SOBERING.
|
| 00:22:27 | It took a lot of courage, I think, for the
jurors
to be willing to come forward with that verdict--
which I believe is the appropriate verdict,
based on the facts.
|
| 00:22:59 | ( narrator )ON FEBRUARY 7, 2001,
Successful technical writerbrookey lee west
was driving homefrom a las vegas7-eleven
when she was pulled overby a patrolman,
but this was noroutine traffic stop.
|
| 00:23:12 | She was taken intocustody there,
and I took herover to our office.
|
| 00:23:17 | Earlier that week,police had been called
tocanyon gate storage facilityin northwest
vegas,
alerted by reportsof a suspicious odor.
|
| 00:23:27 | It was the unmistakablesmell of death.
|
| 00:23:32 | Inside the unit,
detectives had discovereda sealed trash can.
|
| 00:23:36 | There were maggotsthat were visible
with a brownish red fluidoozing from the
trash can.
|
| 00:23:44 | And when detectivesopened it up,
they lifted the lid on oneof the most shocking
crimes
las vegas had ever seen.
|
| 00:23:53 | Captioning made possible byOXYGEN MEDIA,
L.l.c.
|
| 00:24:10 | Born in el paso, texas,in 1953, brookey lee
west
was raised in an atmosphereof poverty and
hardship.
|
| 00:24:18 | ( man )BROOKEY'S MOTHER, CHRISTINE SMITH,
Was an unstable individual,a chronic substance
abuser,
did a lot of drugs, dranka lot of alcohol.
|
| 00:24:28 | It was leftto brookey
to look after heryounger brother, travis.
|
| 00:24:32 | When brookey was eightyears old,
her mother, christine, hadan affair with
a married man.
|
| 00:24:38 | But when the affairhit the rocks,
christine arranged tosay goodbye one last
time
and brought a gunwith her.
|
| 00:24:47 | ( man )SHE INVITED THE YOUNG MAN AND HIS
Wife
to meet her for dinnerat a restaurant
and held the gununderneath the table
and decided to shoot himat point-blank range
with a shotgun.
|
| 00:25:01 | She was proud of the factthat she had shot
this man.
|
| 00:25:03 | Brookey's mother was sentencedto 14 years
in prison
for the shooting,
leaving her father, leroy,to look after the
children.
|
| 00:25:12 | But leroy had other priorities,as brookey
discovered
when she arrivedhome early one day.
|
| 00:25:19 | She heard some strange noises
and, as a young girl, walked down the stairs
and saw her father and this neighbor
and a group of people in black robes
performing this occult ceremony.
|
| 00:25:34 | It wasn't longbefore brookey, too,
began to experimentwith witchcraft.
|
| 00:25:40 | Brookey was walking down the street
dressed as a witch, dressed all in black
with this makeup on
that made her look real pasty, almost,
no color to her face,
and it was as if she was practicing in the
occult.
|
| 00:25:56 | But it wasn't just witchcraftthat brookey
excelled at.
|
| 00:26:00 | Eventually,after two marriages,
problems with alcohol,
and severalunsuccessful careers,
she discovered a talentfor technical writing.
|
| 00:26:10 | It would turn out to beher ticket out of
poverty.
|
| 00:26:14 | BY THE EARLY 1990s,
Brookey found herselfliving in silicon valley
and earning $100,000 a yearwriting technical
manuals
for computer software.
|
| 00:26:26 | Brooke was making excellentmoney as a technical
writer.
|
| 00:26:29 | She was driving ajaguar,and life was good.
|
| 00:26:33 | But one aspectof her life
did not fit in withthe new, successful brookey--
her new husband.
|
| 00:26:41 | john,
a native americanshe met at an a.a. meeting.
|
| 00:26:49 | He and brookey madean odd couple.
|
| 00:26:53 | ( Glenn ) HOWARD SIMON ST. JOHN,
A man with basically nothing in his life,
who'd done nothing but drink and party all
his life
and ended up homeless,
and people couldn't understand what brookey,
an attractive, successful woman was doing
with this man.
|
| 00:27:09 | After less thana month of marriage,
things were already headingin a bad direction.
|
| 00:27:15 | ON MAY 21st, 1994,A DOMESTIC DISPUTE ENDED
When brookey pulled outa gun and shot him.
|
| 00:27:26 | Howard, remarkably, survived
32 caliber
handgun
at point-blank range.
|
| 00:27:33 | His luck wouldbe short-lived.
|
| 00:27:36 | Two weeks later,he was dead.
|
| 00:27:39 | john turns updead on the side
of the road,
dumped in the side of theroad in california.
|
| 00:27:47 | Howard had been shot,
and his face coveredwith a plastic bag.
|
| 00:27:51 | Given the recentdomestic shooting,
brookey lee west wasthe prime suspect
in her husband's murder.
|
| 00:27:58 | But police could never findenough evidence
to charge her.
|
| 00:28:01 | The investigation waseventually shelved.
|
| 00:28:09 | Hen,r,christine, now out of prison,
had turned to brookeyfor support.
|
| 00:28:14 | She basically latched on to brookey,
so wherever brookey went, christine went,
and it caused a tumultuous and difficult
relationship
between mother and daughter.
|
| 00:28:31 | Some days, you thought that they loved each
other dearly,
and other days, you thought they hated each
other.
|
| 00:28:38 | Either way, their relationshipwas unusual,
to say the least.
|
| 00:28:43 | Their take onmother-daughter bonding
was to go shopliftingtogether.
|
| 00:28:48 | ( Glenn ) THEY WOULD GO INTO HIGH-END DEPARTMENT
Stores,
likenordstrom's, and steal stuff.
|
| 00:28:55 | The two were actually--
got a reputation in santa clara county
as a mother-and-daughter shoplifting team.
|
| 00:29:03 | By 1998, brookeywas living in las vegas
and commuting to her lucrativewriting jobs
in silicon valley.
|
| 00:29:12 | She was still supportingher mother,
although the two wereno longer getting along.
|
| 00:29:18 | One neighbor saw them actually fighting with
one another,
the mother and daughter,
in the front yard, yelling and screaming.
|
| 00:29:26 | In february, 1998, brookeytold friends and
neighbors
she was taking christineto live with travis,
brookey's brother.
|
| 00:29:35 | Brookey had said, "i'm taking mom
"to live in california with travis.
|
-2010-02-21-0/0_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/1_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/2_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/3_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/4_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/5_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/6_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
-2010-02-21-0/7_snapped-(mary ellen samuels)-2010-02-21-0.jpg)
