Relatively Evil (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Masked Motives - full transcript

This is the true story
about what happens

When an outsider is led in
and families are torn apart.

Lies...

...Betrayal...

My father called me,
and he was in a rage.

This is your mother's car!

...And murder.

It's all relative.

Welcome to your new home.

It's moving day
for 46-year-old single mother

Denise gay and her 10-year-old
daughter dominique.



Hey, sweetheart.

I'm so glad we're here.

Denise is thrilled to be
given another chance at love.

With 41-year-old widower
tyrone coles.

Tyrone's wife passed away
after suffering from an illness,

And it really hit
the entire family hard.

They were kind of a family

That I think was struggling
to figure out

Where to go from there.

Hey, little girl.
Hi.

Hey.

Tyrone and denise
worked together,

And denise started building
on the co-worker relationship

That they had after
her tyrone's wife died.



When his wife passed away,

Denise took it upon herself
to become a better friend.

She would stop by his house
and clean up the house

Or make some meals.

I got it.
Okay? I got it.

And sort of fill the void

That his wife left
when she passed away.

She knew tyrone
did have a steady job.

He had a home,
provided well for his family,

And saw an opportunity to,
for lack of a better word,

Kind of swoop in.

Denise had two daughters.

She had an older daughter
who was out on her own,

And then she had dominique
who was still a child.

We got your own room for you.
Okay?

Okay.

That's exciting.
Yeah.

Let me introduce you
to my family.

Marqweisha...

Tyrone has eight kids
of his own.

...Michelle...

...And martre.

But only one,
18-year-old martre,

The youngest, lives with him.

I was upset
about my brother's feelings.

I just wanted to know
was my brother

Feelings as involved
in the decision.

You know,
his mother just passed

And here's this new woman.

Hi, martre.

Martre, help them out.

My dad say anything to him.

He just moved
a brand new family in.

For martre,
the change comes with

Both positives and negatives.

Tree had a hard time
at the house,

But he felt like denise
was a motherly figure.

Denise's daughter
however is far more upset

About the new
living arrangements.

Dominique is basically uprooted

And moved
into this stranger's home,

And now she has a pseudo brother
in the house

That she's supposed to play nice
with and get along with.

It was tyrone,
martre, denise and dominique

All under one roof.

Conflict soon erupts
over what feels like

A constant demand
to watch over dominique.

Tre was technically
a legal adult,

But he was still
a young man a teenager.

there we go.

He felt that he was being
held responsible

To take care of this child

That he really didn't want
anything to do with.

They weren't brother and sister,

But they bickered
like they were.

Go outside!

I don't want to be here
with you!

And it started with bickering,

And just silly things
like the remote control.

But that seemed to escalate,

And that just added
to the tension in the house.

One of the things
that they love to argue about

Was the fact that being
that me and martre

Stayed on the phone a lot.

She would always want
to use the phone.

I know.

She was provoking him,
he was provoking her.

You're talking about
a 10-year-old and a 19-year-old

That are kind of fending
for themselves.

Dominique zeroes in
on martre's weakness.

He had a huge passion
for art.

That was what he loved to do.

Anytime he could
that's what he would be doing.

What are you doing?

What is wrong with you?!

With the battle lines
between the make-do

Brother and sister now drawn,

A new side to dominique appears

Dominique had some kind
of behavioral issues.

She'd been thrust into this
situation that made her unhappy,

And I think that just caused
even more angst.

She would do little things
like mess up things

Around the house,
and he always got blamed for.

What is this?

Pick it up.

Each passing day
sees household tension grow.

For denise her own daughter
starts to be viewed

As a liability.

Let me tell you something.

I done worked too hard
to get here.

Don't you mess this up for me.

Do you understand?

As the weeks go on,
nothing is resolved

And the conflict deepens.

Bro, I'm waiting for a call.
What are you doing?

Bro, I don't care.

Give it back.
No.

It was bad tension.

It was like,
what is going on here?

What is the problem?
That's what it was.

Negative tension.

Hello?
Shut up. I'm on the phone.

They didn't get along.
It was...

Terrible.

I don't think this is anything
that we would expect

From blended families
because there are plenty

Of blended families there
that do very, very well.

Get out of my face
and go.

Bro, give me a the phone.
No!

I don't care
what you're waiting for!

You're not getting the phone!
Just wait your turn!

It is my turn!

I was on the phone
with martre,

And they were just arguing
about the phone.

Give it to me!
No!

I was hearing a bunch
of arguing

And screaming and yelling

No.
Stop. Do not touch my stuff.

A lot of noise
is in the background,

Like stuff being moved around
like forcefully

And throwing stuff.

Don't touch my stuff.
Don't!

What all starts
as simple bickering and yelling

Is on course to something
far more terrifying.

I'm so tired of her.

But no one has any idea
of the true threat

That lies in wait.

Hey, sweetheart.

When denise gay
moves in with her boyfriend

Tyrone coles,
she assumed her and her daughter

Would be welcomed additions
to the family.

Instead tensions between
tyrone's son

Martre and dominique flare.

Don't touch my stuff.
Don't!

The daughter didn't like
martre,

Martre really didn't care
for dominique.

And no one can stop
their constant arguing

From boiling over into violence.

Dominique takes
a pair of scissors

And stabs martre.

You go from losing your mom
to having a woman move in

With this child who stabs you.

You're not even safe
in your own home.

I can't imagine how he felt.

That would be terrifying
for anyone.

Immediately
after the attack,

Martre flees to his sister
marqweisha's house.

Do you want to stay here?

Maybe.
I don't know.

He liked denise.

When I was telling him
that he could come with me.

He's just always like,
she cooks

And she cleans
and she helps me.

I was very afraid of, you know,
with him living there

And because of so many incidents
where him and dominique

Would get into -- major fights
and stuff would happen.

And it just made me nervous
for him to live there.

As soon as she can
track down martre,

A panicked denise moves to mend
the splintered family.

Go on.

I'm sorry.

Let's just keep this
between us.

Okay.

He's okay, but she doesn't tell
his father what happened.

She doesn't mention it
to tyrone.

She keeps it quiet
and under the rug.

As insane as this sounds,

There is a reason
everyone agrees to this.

My father was very
strict, very stern,

He expected a lot,
a whole lot.

And it's no secret
father and son

Have their own
combative history.

Tre's feelings
were disregarded

About everything.

He lost his mother,
and then he was isolated

By his own father.

They just butted heads.

Well, martre was, I guess you
could say, a typical teenage boy

In the sense
that he wasn't neat.

He was a good kid,
but he was a slob.

I'm tired of looking
at this.

Clean it up.

Do it now!

I think my dad ignored the fact
that tre was going through

A lot of depression
when he lost his mother.

With the household
dynamics in constant turmoil,

Leaving tre and dominique
alone together

Is no longer an option.

But denise has a plan.

Now latoya is in charge.

Her oldest daughter
21-year-old latoya

Is recruited
to keep a close watch.

Latoya was out on her own.

She was an adult,
but the mother and daughter bond

Was very strong.

They were very close
to each other.

Denise would often call latoya

To report back to her mother
what she observed.

The situation is one
19-year-old martre

Immediately resents.

Martre was always
a very outgoing,

You know,
happy considerate teenager,

And at some point
that started to change

Or it seemed like
it was changing

To the people around him.

The only time it ever really
seemed like martre

Was at peace was whenever
he was there by himself --

Everybody at work,
dominique at school.

The boy loved to draw.

That's his world.
He loved to draw

That's what he always did
in his free time.

Made him happy.

Martre's art becomes the sole
outlet for his frustrations.

Denise thought that was
a good outlet for him,

But she thought some of his
artwork was evil

Or you know depicting
of the devil or satan.

She didn't understand
what it was,

And she was worried
that he was troubled.

Then one day denise
and her daughter latoya

Decide to enter his room.

She found a pentagram
in his room hidden by a rug,

And she's thinking
what's going on here.

My dad called me.

He's like tre drew
on a floor in our house.

So he sent me a picture of it,
and the drawing

Looked like a pentagram.
It did.

It was just horrible.

Confronted by his father,

Martre denies
drawing the satanic symbol,

But his denial over
the evidence is hard to believe.

And from then on, everything
that happens is tre's fault.

My father called me.
He was in a rage.

"you're going have to come
and get him.

You're going have to come
and get him.

He set the car on fire."

I'm like, "what car?"
"my mom's car."

I'm like, "no, no."

And I told him he need to
think about what he was saying.

Tre would not burn
his mother's car.

First of all,
he just know better.

That looks, like, mean,

Like someone's trying
to make a statement.

And he wanted us
to come and pick him up,

But I refuse to go
and pick him up

Because I wanted my father
to be a father.

With their lives
spinning out of control,

One adult in the home decides
to step in and take charge.

Not surprisingly,
it's tyrone's girlfriend denise.

Are you okay?

I've been better.

Tre wanted to escape
the situation he was in.

He wanted to go out
on his own

And become his own person
and be independent

Like most young men
that age do.

Denise encourages tre
to follow his dreams

Of attending art school.

I can't even recall the first
time he ever mentioned it to me.

It was just something
he talked about a lot

Just because it was a place
he was very passionate

About going to.

He was just really excited

About the possibility
of pursuing his passion,

And there was one school and
that's where he wanted to go.

The school is a private liberal
arts university in florida,

Over 700 miles
away from home.

Denise offered to pay
for tre to go to school.

She was helping filling out
the applications,

And helping him get a date
to visit the college

So she could attend with him.

Go ahead and hit send.

Alright.

Several weeks later,

Martre is contacted
by an admissions counselor

Named shelia crenshaw.

A woman from the school
he wanted to go to

Reached out to him via e-mail,

And asked if he wanted
to come visit.

They were going to get
to see the campus,

Learn about the programs,
see the living arrangements,

You know, what most people
would expect

If they were considering
going to the university.

You could tell
from his response

How enthusiastic, how excited,
how hopeful he was.

He was really looking forward
to visiting the school

And starting his future.

The visit is set
for March 20, 2017.

Before martre leaves,
he must complete an essay

And an art portfolio.

Denise was supportive
in every way,

And she and martre
spent a lot of time

Making paper mache masks.

The image was
to be of his face.

They put a lot of effort,

And she helped him,
and things looked good.

With life remaining
tense in the home,

If martre gets in,

The entire family
stands to benefit.

If martre
were out of the picture,

Then denise would have
the family that she created

As opposed to the one
she was forced to live with.

On Sunday morning,
March 12th,

Tre readies for his trip.

Baby.
Yeah?

I love you.
I love you, too.

Yeah!

You know, he was
taking a bus from virginia

All the way down to florida.

That would be a long,
stressful trip,

And just I'd be worried,
because me being me,

I worry a lot.

You all ready to go?

Yeah, just about.
I got everything.

Got my phone,
I got my wallet...

I left it
at my sister's house.

I'll go get it.

I got a text that tre
was walking to my home

To get his wallet.

What should have been
a quick trip is never completed.

Even stranger, his phone
is going unanswered.

Hey, it's martre.
Leave a message.

I thought maybe he went
to the college

And didn't tell me
he was leaving.

No goodbyes, no nothing.

And I was messaging denise
and asking her

If she's heard from him,
and she told me that

Basically she didn't know
where it was just, you know,

He was in the house one minute
and then the next he wasn't.

She sounded concerned.

Baby.
Yeah?

I love you.
I love you, too.

In the spring
of 2017,

Martre coles
disappears hours

Before he's supposed to leave
to visit a college in florida.

So, martre was preparing
to go visit the school,

And then suddenly he was gone.

I left it
at my sister's house.

There was no trace of him.

His girlfriend knew
something was wrong

Because she didn't
hear from him,

And they were in constant
contact,

But it was as if he had dropped
off the face of the planet.

There wasn't an excuse
for him to at least not

Reach out to me and
say something because you can.

There's always places you can go
and charge your phone

Or use wi-fi.

My first thought was
he was upset with ashlyn.

He wasn't responding
because maybe they got

Into an argument,
he just didn't want

To talk to her at the moment.

Hey, it's martre.
Leave a message.

He would have responded
to somebody by now.

The following morning,
martre's sisters,

Michelle and marqweisha
drive to their father

Tyrone coles' house.

And inside waiting
is his girlfriend denise gay...

Martre never showed up.

...And her daughter dominique.

Okay.

I mean,
he said he lost his wallet.

He went to go
and pick it up,

And I haven't heard from him,
so...

What's going on?

We can't find martre.

Well, he hasn't been here
all day.

His room's still a dump.

So,
you just haven't seen him?

No, I haven't.
Anybody called his girlfriend?

I felt like
my dad wasn't as concerned

As a parent should be.

I didn't feel like
I could trust him

At that moment,
and I'm just like,

"why no one's making
eye contact in here?"

No one is looking
no one face this.

Everyone is looking
at the ground.

So that to me was off.

With no sign
of martre,

His sisters turned
to the police.

We don't know where he is.

This is not normal,
and we filed a missing report.

Since denise
is the last person

To see martre...

...Police talked to her first.

She had been home
with martre on the day

That he was last seen.

You all ready to go?
Yeah.

Tree had left that morning
to go get his wallet

That he had left
at his sister's house

The night before.

Denise was just very
calm and collected.

Nothing was wrong.

Police vowed
to follow up,

Teenagers go missing
on their own every day.

Approximately what time?

Usually when a teenager
disappears

It's not for some
horrible reason.

It's nothing sinister.

There really weren't a lot
of reports of anyone seeing him.

One week goes by, then another
with no sign of martre.

Me and michelle drove around
every single day.

Everyday we would
drive around.

It just got hard every day

Because it just felt like
we wasn't getting close,

We weren't
getting any answers.

We're just basically
riding around

And we're looking in places

That we know
he really wouldn't be

But we still looking.

Just hope...For hope.

A man is walking
on his lunch break

Through a wooded area
in an industrial part

Of the county,
and he sees this container

Just randomly sitting there
in the woods.

He opens the container...

And inside
is a young man's body.

On April 2, 2017,
a grim discovery is made

In a wooded area several miles
from the home

Of missing 19-year-old
martre coles.

With the details
of what had been found

And a general description
of what martre looked like,

Pretty quickly henrico police
were able to piece together

That we believed
that this was martre coles.

There was no clear
sign of injury.

We could tell that
he hadn't been shot,

He hadn't been stabbed.

We weren't really sure
how he died,

Which gave us very few clues
to how he came to be

In the woods
in a plastic storage bin.

An autopsy report reveals tre
was drugged and suffocated

Before being placed in the bin.

It was death by asphyxia
with the complication

Of the drugs in the system,

So that immediately
clued us into the fact

That this was probably something
that was intentionally done

And not an accidental death

That someone
was trying to cover.

Detectives called and asked
could they speak with me

That morning, and I say sure.

They came over and told me
that they had found tre.

So I was like, "good.
We're he at?"

And she said tre's dead.

And I remember...

I was just screaming.

I called michelle.

I was in tears when I called,
so she kind of knew.

They had told us that
they found him stuffed in a bin

With his hands
tied behind his back

In the woods behind a factory.

I was in denial
for quite some time.

At first I didn't cry
because I was just in shock,

And then once I really came
to accept the fact

That he was gone, that's when I
really just broke down.

Playing on a hunch
that the killer might return

To move martre's remains,

Investigators hide
a surveillance camera

Before leaving
the discovery site,

And then they dig in
on new information

That's come from
his girlfriend ashlyn.

Me and martre
had each other's, you know,

Social media passwords,
everything.

So I got on his account

By logging
into martre's e-mail account,

She's come across
all his correspondences

With the college counselor
in florida.

I did go through his e-mails
and noticed her e-mail

Or something to that sort.

That is when the sisters
expressed some concern

To law enforcement that they
thought perhaps this woman

By the name of shelia crenshaw
may know about tre's murder.

Detectives contacted
the university,

And they did confirm that not
only did they not have anyone

By that name
as an employee at the school,

But that they never use
gmail accounts

For their employees.

Further digging into
the origin of the e-mails

Reveals a startling detail.

We realized
that shelia crenshaw

Was a person or character,
if you will,

That was created
within the coles-gay residence

Using the same exact ip address,

That is the router for the home
that martre was living in.

And so naturally you look
to the people

That would have had
the last contact with him.

There was obviously
tension with dominique.

There had been problems
with denise.

They talked to his father.

We all found it
very strange.

If your son has been missing
for weeks...

Clean it up.

...You would expect
that you would be asking

What do you know about my son
or can you help me find my son.

But before police
can question

Martre's family again,

The surveillance camera
triggers an alarm.

There were images found
of the back of a vehicle

That tyrone identified as his,

As well as a finger that
had something in their hand.

The April 2017
investigation

Into martre coles' murder
has a new clue,

A crime scene
surveillance camera

Has captured a blurry image,

Though it forms
a very clear picture for police.

We had a vehicle that matched
the description of the vehicle

That denise was known to drive.

And the individual that is seen
in those photographs we believe

To be the approximate stature
of denise gay.

Denise, the one
who tre looked to

For motherly guidance,

May be the one who sent him
to an early grave.

She was not weepy or upset.

Denise denied having anything
to do with martre's death.

She didn't do it.
Someone else must have.

With no clear motive,

Could denise be covering
for someone else.

Investigators bring in
tre's father, tyrone coles,

And press him
about his son's murder

When police told tyrone
what had happened to his son.

Tyrone didn't really show
much emotion.

He didn't respond the way
you would assume a parent would.

He didn't seem devastated.
He didn't cry.

He wasn't really
even in disbelief.

We were very concerned
about tyrone's initial reaction

To the investigation
and his level of,

What we deemed to be,
cooperativeness.

And so we couldn't
really count him out.

When police suggested
that he might possibly

Have something to do
with martre's death,

Tyrone said no way.

Then 11-year-old
dominique is questioned.

Dominique had actually
attacked tre.

Dominique admits that she
and tre had their issues...

No, you're not!

...But then she makes
a startling admission.

Dominique says she heard
martre cry out,

And she went to his room
and saw him on the floor

With something white
on his face.

And her mother and sister
are on top of him.

Dominique tells police
that her mother told her

To go back to her room,
so she did.

She says a short time later
she heard the sound of someone

Going up into the attic

And pulling something
out of the attic.

So dominique goes back out
to see what's going on.

She's wondering
what's happening.

And she says she sees
her sister latoya

Moving a rubber bin
across the floor.

Dominique is shown
a photograph of the container,

Certainly not
with tre's body in it

And asked her if she
recognized it, which she did.

Police ultimately
believe dominique.

They believe her story.

It matches up with the evidence
that they have.

Dominique tells them
tyrone had nothing to do

With the murder or the cover up.

They never could confirm

That he had any thing to do
with martre's death

Or that he was covering up
for any reason.

Based on the evidence
and dominique story,

Denise gay is charged
with the murder of martre coles.

Investigators believe
she used his dreams

Of getting into college

As a cover
for her diabolical scheme.

We believe that her plan
was to kill him,

Dispose of the body,
and then tell everyone

He must have been at college

Because look at all
these e-mails that

We have where we were
planning this trip.

But when martre
leaves his wallet

At his sister's house,
it foils her plan,

Forcing the last minute change.

And that's when we believe she
came up with the second story,

Which was well he must have
gone back to his sister's home

To find his wallet.

They also suspect she was
responsible for the pentagram

And the car fire.

Both attempts to get tyrone
to kick martre

Out of the house.

Denise says she had nothing
to do with it.

She insisted,
even after she was arrested,

That she was innocent

And that she did nothing
to hurt martre.

The following week,
denise's daughter,

21-year-old latoya gay,
is arrested.

Latoya denied it initially,
but ultimately said

She had a hand in his death.

We always thought latoya
was being used by her mother.

There was no doubt in our mind
that this was a situation

Where denise had picked up
the phone

And said to her daughter,
latoya, "I need your help."

And that latoya
would do anything

She could to help her mother.

The truth is finally out,

But for martre's
grieving loved ones,

It's little consolation.

It was just hard for me
to accept

That somebody would hurt
somebody like him

Because he didn't have
any trouble with anybody,

So it was just kind of like
a big major shock for me.

Um...

It was all so heartbreaking

That she will use something
he was so passionate about

To murder him.

She knew how much he loved art.

She knew he was determined
to go to school for art.

She knew what he wanted
to do in life,

And it hurts that she used
that against him.

Tyrone takes the news
especially hard.

He kept repeating that
he was sorry to my mother.

As if she was there.

He apologized
for what happens to his son

For not paying attention.

He was just apologizing.

On July 10, 2018,
denise gay is convicted

Of one count of conspiracy
to commit murder

And one count
of first-degree murder.

She is sentenced
to life plus 10 years

For the conspiracy charge.

Latoya gay is convicted
on the same charges

And sentenced
to 30 years in prison.

Hit send.

We never could establish
a clear motive in this case.

Our theory to the jury
was he was simply in the way.

What are you doing?
Stop touching the remote.

He made her life inconvenient
because his presence at the home

Created a volatile relationship
with dominique.

Don't you mess
this up for me.

When dominique got in trouble,
that would impact denise,

Impact her work impact,
impact her life.

It's really a story
of betrayal.

It started with denise betraying
martre,

And tyrone as well.

And dominique ultimately
betraying her mother.

It came full circle.

It's just a disgusting feeling
that someone would take

The lengths that denise took
to murder somebody,

Especially him because
he was so kind to her.