‘Unlocking The Truth’ Recap: "Inside The Gates" *Spoilers*

“Inside The Gates” dove deeper into Byron and Michael’s cases. It also took Ryan back to the prison he spent 8 years in when he was wrongfully convicted. But first, let’s take a look at the information we gathered in episode 6 of Unlocking The Truth.

Previously on Unlocking The Truth…

Byron

We learn that Justin committed suicide before Anastasia was identified. Justin was known to have suicidal tendencies and depression. We also learn that Justin attended a gun show one week before Anastasia was murdered and that 7 hours after she was murdered he purchased a shot gun (the weapon he used to kill himself). Is this a murder-suicide? Or was Justin so grief stricken he chose to end his life?

One of the major issues in Byron’s case is that they cannot identify or locate a murder weapon. A high velocity gun (rifle or handgun) could have been used. The projectile found at the scene of the crime was lead but had no copper jacket like shot guns would have. However, this doesn’t rule out a shotgun or a long barreled gun as one could have been used if it only used lead projectiles.

Kalvin

Ryan and Eva spoke with Chris Swecker, former Assistant Director of the FBI. Swecker viewed Kalvin’s case and does not believe Kalvin committed the crime. Swecker stated that the evidence and investigation was flawed from the start.

Shane Fleetcher, a mentally unstable man, confessed to attacking Jill Marker months after Kalvin was arrested. He gave details that he shouldn’t have known about the crime. We then find out that he was connected to Kenneth Lamoureux. At one point they lived across the hall from one another in a psych ward. It is possible they could have communicated after the attack. Shane did have telephone privileges.

Ryan went to talk to Shane but couldn’t really get much out of him. He was not in a good state of mind and went where Ryan would take him. However, he does say that Kalvin did not commit the crime.

“Inside the Gates”

Byron

Ryan and Eva went to speak with Francesca, Anastasia’s sister. She said that there was no way all three (Byron, Justin and Kelly) weren’t there when Anastasia was murdered. Ryan and Eva also brought back the forensic linguist, Dr. Robert Leonard to examine the statements of Byron and Kelly. In both of their ’99 statements Byron and Kelly’s stories match up. There are a few differences but they are minor. If they were exactly the same it would look like the two met up before hand to corroborate their information. When the linguist looked at Kelly’s 2000 statement he noticed many contradictions within the same statement. Also Kelly was not very knowledgeable as to the location of where Anastasia was murdered. If she was that traumatized you think she would remember where her friend was killed.

We also got to look deeper into the timeline of the murder. Kelly claimed that they picked up Anastasia from the Dairy Queen around 4:30/5pm. However, when speaking to the manager at the time he claims that Anastasia was picked up near closing time, around 8/8:30pm. It was very dark out at that time. Ryan and Eva then speak to Glenn Colliver who was the grounds keeper of the first cemetery they got kicked out of. He told Ryan and Eva he kicked the group of teens out at about 8:45pm as he wanted to be home for his 9 o’clock television program.

These two statements do not corroborate with Kelly’s depiction of what happened. She’s either lying or she was so badly traumatized that she can’t get her timeline straight.

Michael

Ryan and Eva speak to Tina Carter, a friend of Rita Politte’s. She tells the duo that Michael and Rita had a close relationship until the divorce. Michael got a lot of flak from his father who put all the blame for the divorce on Rita. Tina also believes Ed orchestrated Rita’s death and had Michael set the fire.

Ryan and Eva also speak to Derek Politte (no familial relation to Rita), an ex-boyfriend of Rita. Prosecutors made a big deal about the fact that Derek told them that Michael was flicking a lighter at the dinner table when he was over. Derek knew Michael did not want him there but he did not think the lighter thing was a big deal. To him he was just a kid who was struggling with his parent’s divorce. It was a non-issue to him.

Paul Bieber, fire/explosions investigator was also brought in to go over the evidence presented in Michael’s case. He tells Ryan and Eva that there is no research to suggest a pattern was made with liquid and that you can’t eye ball a crime scene and determine what kind of accelerant was used. You have to take samples from the scene and test them. After reviewing the evidence it was determined that neither the crime scene nor Michael’s tennis shoes came back positive for gasoline. No accelerant was found at the scene of the crime.

Ryan then meets with Michael in prison. The same prison Ryan spent 8 years locked up in for a crime he did not commit. This meeting really brought home the fact that Michael was stripped from society at such a young age. He has never used the internet and he never got a driver’s license. He basically grew up in prison.

After gathering all this information, Ryan and Eva sat down with Michael’s attorneys for a case review and determined that he was wrongfully convicted; they believe him to be innocent. The case review revealed the following:

Johnny won’t sit down with Ryan or Eva, so we do not have his side of the story. Why was he in the field so early in the morning? Why was his truck parked there? We may never get an answer to these questions.
Josh does not implicate Michael
There was a possible misheard confession
The evidence against Michael was incorrect

Based on this information Michael’s attorneys are filing a habeas corpus petition on his behalf. Whether or not the petition is accepted is up to a judge.

Next Week:

Ryan meets Byron

Ryan and Eva wrap up Kalvin’s case

The search for D.R. Williams begins

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