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Name:
"American Justice Ep 191"
Description:
A MURDER BEFORE HOMECOMING On 10th October 1996, the body of 16-year-old cheerleader Heather Rich was found in a Texas creek near the Oklahoma border. Heather had been shot nine times and tossed from a bridge a creek just off the Red River. She'd been missing from Waurika, a small Oklahoma town, for a week. Detectives interviewed students and locals from Waurika and zeroed in on three friends who were drinking together the night of Heather's disappearance. They were 17-year-old Randy Wood (pictured), a football player and homecoming king; 17-year-old Josh Bagwell, a popular and spoiled troublemaker; and Curtis Gambill, a 19-year-old outsider with a criminal record. A close friend of Heather's told investigators that she thought that Heather had gone to a party at Josh Bagwell's trailer the night she disappeared. Investigators broke the case after discovering that Josh and Curtis had purchased the type of bullets found in Heather's body at a Waurika store. Curtis Gambill confessed to Heather's murder and implicated Josh Bagwell and Randy Wood in the crime. Curtis named homecoming king Randy as the shooter, but investigators did not believe the young felon. Randy insisted that Curtis was the shooter, and laid out the events of 2nd October in detail for investigators. Police believed him. Heather had joined the boys in Josh's trailer that night. One or more of the boys raped her as she lapsed in and out of consciousness, and she'd lashed back. Curtis panicked and, afraid that Heather would pin them with rape charges, announced she would have to die. Randy claimed that under threat of Curtis Gambill's gun, he and Josh loaded her into a pickup truck. The boys then drove deep into Texas, stopping at an isolated bridge in the early hours of 3rd October. They propped Heather against the guardrail. Curtis shot her nine times, and then ordered the boys to weight her body and toss it in the creek. Nine days later, Randy Wood was crowned homecoming king at Waurika High. One week after that, the boys were arrested. District Attorney Tim Cole initially pursued the death penalty against Curtis Gambill, but back-pedaled after realising he needed his testimony in the trail of Josh Bagwell who hadn't confessed to anything. Cole offered Curtis a plea bargain in return for his admission to being the shooter. He also offered a plea to Randy Wood, who's story he believed, if he would testify against Curtis and Josh. At Josh Bagwell's trial, Curtis Gambill reneged on the deal, and testified again that Randy Wood was the shooter. Cole promptly declared him a hostile witness. The night before he was due to testify, Randy also turned his back on the plea. Randy insisted he would testify but without the shadow of a plea bargain. It was a move that stunned the entire court; implicating himself on the stand could result in the death penalty. Randy Wood wanted his testimony to be believed. He insists he gave up the plea for Heather, her family, and himself. It worked - they believed him. In an emotional prison meeting, Gail Rich, Heather's mother, forgave Randy for his role in Heather's murder and thanked him for telling the truth. Six months later, Randy was sentenced to life in prison with possible parole in 40 years, a much harsher sentence than he would have received with the plea. In the end, the prosecutor chose not to seek the death penalty.
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Genre: Crime / Police ,
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View number: 2107
Currently Rated: over 0 Votes (Not Rated)
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