Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 5, Episode 2 - Dew Process - full transcript
Narrator:
IN AUGUST OF 1986,
BETTY WOLSIEFFER, A 32-YEAR-OLD
HOUSEWIFE AND MOTHER,
WAS STRANGLED AND MURDERED
BY AN ASSAILANT
WHO HAD BROKEN
INTO HER HOME.
HER HUSBAND,
DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER,
WAS ALSO STRANGLED
AND KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS
BUT SURVIVED THE ATTACK.
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
LIVED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET
AND WAS THE FIRST
TO ARRIVE AT THE SCENE.
A FEW MONTHS LATER,
NEIL WOLSIEFFER
WAS DEAD, TOO,
SOME SAY BECAUSE OF WHAT
HE LEARNED ABOUT THE INTRUDER.
GLEN AND BETTY WOLSIEFFER
HAD BEEN MARRIED FOR 9 YEARS.
IT WAS A ROMANCE THAT HAD BEGUN
20 YEARS EARLIER.
Man: THE FAMILY,
BOTH ON BETTY'S SIDE
AND ON GLEN'S SIDE,
CAME FROM VERY WELL-ESTABLISHED,
INFLUENTIAL FAMILIES
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY,
VERY WELL-LIKED
BY ALL OF THE COMMUNITY.
BETTY AND GLEN
WERE CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS.
THEY WENT THROUGH
HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER.
Narrator: GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WENT ON TO DENTAL SCHOOL,
LATER MARRIED BETTY,
AND AFTER GRADUATION,
THE COUPLE RETURNED
TO THEIR HOMETOWN
OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA,
TO SET UP PRACTICE.
THE WOLSIEFFERS BOUGHT A HOME
ON BIRCH STREET,
JUST A FEW HOUSES
AWAY FROM GLEN'S
YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL.
THE TWO BROTHERS
WERE UNUSUALLY CLOSE.
Woman: THEY WERE
ALMOST LIKE TWINS.
THEY VERY RARELY
DID THINGS APART.
THEY WERE REALLY
BIG INTO SPORTS,
AND THEY JUST GREW UP
TOGETHER LIKE THAT,
AND THEY LIVED
NEAR EACH OTHER,
AND THEY WERE INSEPARABLE,
HE AND HIS BROTHER.
Narrator: AND WHEN GLEN
AND BETTY GAVE BIRTH
TO A DAUGHTER DANIELLE,
THEIR LIFE TOGETHER
SEEMED PERFECT,
BUT TRAGEDY STRUCK.
ON SATURDAY MORNING,
AUGUST 30, 1986
JUST AFTER DAWN,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER CALLED
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL,
TELLING HIM THAT AN INTRUDER
HAD BROKEN INTO HIS HOME.
NEIL RAN ACROSS THE STREET
TO GLEN'S HOME,
AND WHEN HE SAW
THAT GLEN HAD BEEN ASSAULTED,
NEIL PHONED POLICE.
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WAS DOWNSTAIRS ON THE FLOOR,
FADING IN AND OUT
OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
UPSTAIRS
HAD BEEN RANSACKED.
FURNITURE WAS OVERTURNED,
DESK DRAWERS, EMPTIED.
Man: ONE OF THE OFFICERS
THAT WENT UPSTAIRS
FOUND HIS DAUGHTER WAS STILL
SLEEPING IN HER BEDROOM,
A 5-YEAR-OLD,
AND THEN WENT
INTO THE, UH...
THE WOLSIEFFERS' BEDROOM
AND FOUND BETTY
LAYING ON THE FLOOR,
AND SHE WAS DEAD
AT THAT TIME.
Narrator: BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
BODY WAS ON THE FLOOR
NEXT TO THE BED.
THERE WERE ABRASIONS
AROUND HER NECK,
AND HER FACE SHOWED SIGNS
OF A SEVERE BEATING.
Man: IT WAS OBVIOUS
THAT IT WAS A HOMICIDE
BECAUSE OF THE MARKS
AROUND HER NECK AND THE, UH--
YOU COULD SEE IT WAS A VICIOUS
ATTACK UPON THIS WOMAN.
MY FATHER HAD TOLD ME
THAT BETTY WAS MURDERED,
AND THEY WERE
THE SPECIFIC WORDS.
HOW OR WHAT HAD HAPPENED,
I DIDN'T KNOW,
BUT THAT JUST TOOK ME
TOTALLY BY SURPRISE, OF COURSE,
AND, UH, SO MANY THINGS
GO THROUGH YOUR HEAD,
YOU JUST--
YOU CAN'T EVEN
SORT THEM OUT.
Narrator: IT APPEARED
THAT THE INTRUDER
CLIMBED A LADDER
TO THE ROOF
OVER THE BACK PORCH
AND ENTERED
THROUGH A SECOND-STORY WINDOW.
THE WINDOW SCREEN HAD BEEN
REMOVED AND PLACED ON THE ROOF.
[THUMP]
GLEN WOLSIEFFER TOLD POLICE
THAT HE WAS ASLEEP
WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD NOISE
IN THE BACK OF HIS HOUSE
AROUND 6 A.M.
HE SAID HE GRABBED HIS GUN
AND SAW A MASKED INTRUDER
RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS,
AND HE FOLLOWED HIM.
THE INTRUDER SURPRISED HIM
FROM BEHIND,
STRANGLED HIM
WITH A BELT,
AND KNOCKED HIM UNCONSCIOUS
WITH A BLOW TO HIS HEAD.
SOME TIME LATER, WHEN GLEN
REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS,
HE PHONED HIS BROTHER.
NEIL, IT'S ME.
GET OVER HERE.
GET OVER HERE NOW.
COME ON.
Crane: THINGS LIKE THAT
JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN
IN WILKES-BARRE.
A VERY NICE WOMAN GETTING KILLED
IN HER OWN HOME
DID NOT MAKE SENSE
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
Narrator: GLEN WOLSIEFFER
TOLD POLICE
THAT $1,300 IN CASH WAS MISSING
FROM HIS DESK IN THE STUDY,
AND SOME GOLD
AND DIAMOND JEWELRY
AND A HOUSE KEY
WERE ALSO MISSING,
BUT POLICE NOTICED
SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS.
THE PHONE IN THE KITCHEN
WAS HANGING OFF THE HOOK.
POLICE WONDERED
IF THE VICTIM'S BROTHER NEIL
HAD SIMPLY FORGOTTEN TO HANG UP
THE PHONE AFTER CALLING POLICE
OR WHETHER IT WAS EVIDENCE
OF CRIME SCENE STAGING.
Narrator: THE NEWS
OF BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S MURDER
AND THE ASSAULT
ON HER HUSBAND GLEN
STUNNED THE SMALL
INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY
OF WILKES-BARRE,
PENNSYLVANIA.
DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WAS A SUCCESSFUL
DENTIST IN TOWN,
HIS WIFE, AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER
FOR MANY LOCAL CHARITIES.
NEITHER HAD
ANY KNOWN ENEMIES.
THEY WERE
A VERY POPULAR COUPLE.
EVERYBODY KNEW THEM.
THEY WERE, UM,
THE PRETTY COUPLE.
BETTY WAS VERY POPULAR.
HE WAS KIND OF A QUIET TYPE,
BUT STILL, HE WAS A JOCK,
GOOD-LOOKING,
AND SO, FOR THOSE REASONS,
EVERYBODY KNEW WHO
BOTH OF THEM WERE.
Narrator: POLICE ACKNOWLEDGED
THAT THERE HAD BEEN A NUMBER
OF RECENT BURGLARIES
IN THE WOLSIEFFERS'
NEIGHBORHOOD.
SINCE $1,300 IN CASH
AND SOME JEWELRY WAS MISSING
FROM THE WOLSIEFFERS' HOME,
ROBBERY WAS
A POSSIBLE MOTIVE.
IT APPEARED THAT THE INTRUDER
USED A LADDER
THE WOLSIEFFERS STORED
ON THE SIDE OF THEIR HOUSE
TO GAIN ENTRANCE THROUGH AN OPEN
SECOND-STORY WINDOW.
A PARTIAL PALM PRINT
WAS DISCOVERED
ON THE INSIDE
OF THE WINDOWSILL,
WHICH DID NOT MATCH
ANYONE IN THE FAMILY
OR THE POLICE.
THE AUTOPSY ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER
WAS PERFORMED BY LUZERNE COUNTY
CORONER DR. GEORGE HUDOCK,
WHO FOUND NO EVIDENCE
OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
THE CAUSE OF DEATH
WAS STRANGULATION,
WHICH WOULD TAKE
FROM 3 TO 5 MINUTES.
DURING THAT TIME,
IT WAS OBVIOUS
TO DR. HUDOCK
THAT THERE HAD BEEN A FIERCE
LIFE-AND-DEATH STRUGGLE.
Hudock: I BELIEVE THAT SHE
REALLY FOUGHT BACK...
WITH FURY
AND THAT SHE
INFLICTED SOME INJURIES
ON WHOEVER ASSAILED HER.
Narrator: BLUE FIBERS
AND A SMALL SPECK OF BLOOD
FOUND UNDER BETTY'S FINGERNAILS
CONFIRMED THAT SHE HAD BEEN
IN CLOSE CONTACT
WITH HER KILLER,
BUT DR. HUDOCK NOTICED
SOMETHING UNUSUAL.
DESPITE A SEVERE BEATING,
THERE WAS NO BLOOD
ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S NIGHTGOWN
AND VERY LITTLE BLOOD
ON HER FACE.
Hudock: THAT WAS
THE OUTSTANDING THING
THAT IMPRINTED ITSELF
ON MY BRAIN
WHEN WE SAW THE BODY.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE
A TRAINED FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WAS
SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS THERE--
ALL OF THE INJURIES
TO THE MOUTH AND THE NECK
AND NO BLOOD ON THE FACE
AND NO BLOOD ON THE CLOTHING.
Narrator: IT APPEARED THAT
AFTER KILLING BETTY WOLSIEFFER,
THE KILLER HAD WASHED HER FACE
AND CHANGED HER NIGHTGOWN.
POLICE SEARCHED
FOR HER BLOODY
CLOTHING IN THE HOUSE,
THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD,
AND THE NEARBY SUSQUEHANNA RIVER
WITHOUT SUCCESS.
SINCE THE BODY WAS LYING
IN FRONT OF THE FAN,
TIME OF DEATH
WAS DIFFICULT TO GAUGE,
BUT DR. HUDOCK ESTIMATED
THAT BETTY WOLSIEFFER
HAD BEEN MURDERED
BETWEEN 2:30 AND 4:30
IN THE MORNING,
2 TO 4 HOURS BEFORE GLEN SAID
HE HEARD THE INTRUDER.
AND THERE WAS ANOTHER
INCONSISTENCY.
DOCTORS AT MERCY HOSPITAL
NOTICED INJURIES
ON THE BACK
OF GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S NECK,
EVEN THOUGH HE SAID HE WAS
STRANGLED FROM BEHIND.
Keller: IT DOESN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE.
IT JUST COULD NOT
HAPPEN THAT WAY.
THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD GET THAT
INJURY TO THE BACK OF YOUR NECK
IS IF SOMEBODY PULLED
FROM THE FRONT.
Narrator: FRIENDS
TOLD INVESTIGATORS
THAT GLEN OFTEN WORE
A GOLD CHAIN AROUND HIS NECK.
Sworen: IF HE WAS INVOLVED
WITH A FIGHT WITH HIS WIFE
WHERE HIS WIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN,
SAY, IN THE BED UNDERNEATH HIM
AND HE WAS ON TOP OF HER
IN THAT POSITION,
HE WOULD HAVE SUSTAINED
THOSE TYPE OF INJURIES
FROM THAT PIECE OF JEWELRY.
Narrator: THAT TYPE OF FORCE
WOULD HAVE DAMAGED
THE SPLENIUS CAPITIS MUSCLES,
TWO LONG MUSCLES
WHICH SUPPORT THE HEAD--
THE SAME INJURY
EMERGENCY-ROOM DOCTORS
DIAGNOSED IN GLEN WOLSIEFFER
AFTER HIS WIFE'S MURDER.
WHEN INVESTIGATORS DUG A LITTLE
DEEPER INTO GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S
DENTAL PRACTICE,
THEY DISCOVERED HIS RELATIONSHIP
WITH HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
WAS MORE PERSONAL
THAT BUSINESS.
THE TWO HAD BEEN CARRYING ON
AN AFFAIR FOR 5 YEARS.
SHE TOLD INVESTIGATORS
THAT SHE EXPECTED GLEN
TO LEAVE HIS WIFE FOR HER,
BUT SHE REALIZED
THAT WOULDN'T HAPPEN
WHEN SHE DISCOVERED
THAT GLEN WAS CARRYING ON
ANOTHER AFFAIR
WITH AN AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR
IN TOWN.
FROM MOTEL RECEIPTS,
POLICE LEARNED THAT GLEN
WOULD SOMETIMES HAVE TRYSTS
WITH BOTH WOMEN
ON THE SAME DAY
BEFORE GOING HOME
TO HIS WIFE.
Sworen: HERE WAS A MAN
WHO NOT ONLY HAD AN AFFAIR
AND CHEATED ON HIS WIFE,
BUT HERE WAS A MAN
WHO HAD AN AFFAIR
AND CHEATED
ON HIS GIRLFRIEND
AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: AND POLICE
WANTED TO KNOW WHY GLEN'S
YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
FAILED TO GO UPSTAIRS TO CHECK
ON HIS BROTHER'S WIFE AND CHILD
WHILE HE WAITED
FOR THE POLICE TO ARRIVE.
WHILE ON HIS WAY TO THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
TO ANSWER
THAT VERY QUESTION,
NEIL MADE A DECISION
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE
OF THE INVESTIGATION.
Narrator: WHEN HOMICIDE
INVESTIGATORS LEARNED
THAT BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
BODY HAD BEEN WASHED
AND HER CLOTHES CHANGED
AFTER THE MURDER,
THEY LOOKED A LITTLE CLOSER
AT THE STATEMENTS
GLEN AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
NEIL BOTH GAVE TO POLICE.
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER SAID
HE WAS OUT WITH FRIENDS
AT A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB
AND DROVE HOME
AROUND 2:30.
HE SAID THAT HE
WENT RIGHT TO BED
AND SLEPT UNTIL DAWN,
WHEN HE HEARD THE INTRUDER
AND WENT DOWNSTAIRS
TO INVESTIGATE.
BUT THE POLICE VIDEO TAKEN
ON THE MORNING OF THE MURDER
SHOWS THAT GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S CAR
IN THE DRIVEWAY
WAS NOT COVERED WITH DEW,
YET HIS WIFE'S CAR WAS.
TO HELP SORT OUT
THE DISCREPANCY,
POLICE CALLED IN
A FORENSIC METEOROLOGIST,
DR. JOSEPH SOBEL,
WHO STUDIED THE WEATHER PATTERNS
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER.
Sobel: DEW IS MOISTURE.
IT'S CONDENSATION
THAT ACTUALLY FORMS
ON THE OBJECT
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT,
WHETHER IT BE A BLADE OF GRASS
OR A ROOFTOP OR A CAR TOP
OR ANY OBJECT THAT HAPPENS TO BE
OUTSIDE DURING THAT TIME.
Narrator: THE TEMPERATURE
ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE MURDER
WAS 70 DEGREES,
SO THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE,
THE POINT WHEN WATER IN THE AIR
BECOMES COLD ENOUGH TO CHANGE
FROM A GAS TO A LIQUID,
PRODUCING DEW,
WOULD HAVE OCCURRED
WHEN THE TEMPERATURE
REACHED 50 DEGREES.
Sobel: WE KNOW
THE NIGHT WAS CLEAR--
SURFACE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
SHOWED US THAT--
AND WE KNOW IT WAS VERY COOL
SO THAT THE TEMPERATURE
WAS ABLE TO DROP CONSIDERABLY,
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS
LITTLE OR NO WIND.
Narrator: THE TEMPERATURE
HIT 50 DEGREES AT 11 P.M.
GLEN WOLSIEFFER
SAID HE DROVE HOME
AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
YET THERE WAS NO DEW
ON HIS CAR
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED
AT 7 A.M.
IF HE HAD DRIVEN HOME
AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
GLEN'S CAR WOULD HAVE HAD
THE SAME AMOUNT OF DEW
AS HIS WIFE'S CAR.
THE LACK OF DEW MEANT
THAT SOMEONE HAD DRIVEN
GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S CAR
SOME TIME AFTER GLEN RETURNED
HOME FROM THE NIGHTCLUB AT 2:30
AND BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED
AT 7 A.M.,
EVAPORATING THE DEW
THAT HAD BEEN PRESENT.
AND THE SAME DEW POINTS PRODUCED
DEW ON THE WOLSIEFFERS' ROOF,
YET THERE WERE
NO FOOT OR HANDPRINTS
IN THE DEW ON THE ROOF
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED.
WHEN POLICE LOOKED MORE CLOSELY
AT THE LADDER,
THEY DISCOVERED IT HAD BEEN
PLACED UP TO THE ROOF BACKWARDS,
WITH THE STEPS FACING
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
THE PARTIAL PALM PRINT
FOUND ON THE WINDOWSILL
COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED,
POTENTIALLY CORROBORATING
GLEN'S STORY ABOUT AN INTRUDER.
POLICE WERE ALSO INVESTIGATING
WHAT CONNECTION, IF ANY,
GLEN'S YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
MAY HAVE HAD TO THE MURDER.
HE WAS THE FIRST ONE
TO ARRIVE AT THE SCENE
AND WAS THE ONE
THAT CALLED THE POLICE,
BUT WHEN POLICE ARRIVED,
THE PHONE WAS OFF THE HOOK,
HANGING
FROM THE WALL UNIT.
POLICE WERE ALSO SUSPICIOUS
OF NEIL'S BEHAVIOR.
HE ADMITTED THAT HE
DID NOT GO UPSTAIRS
TO CHECK ON GLEN'S WIFE
AND 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
DANIELLE
BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED.
NEIL WOLSIEFFER
DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT
IN THE CRIME,
BUT WHEN ASKED TO TAKE
A LIE DETECTOR TEST,
HE REFUSED.
Crane: A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK
THAT NEIL KNEW EVERYTHING,
THAT WHEN HE CAME
IN THE HOUSE,
THAT GLEN TOLD HIM
WHAT HAPPENED
AND SAID,
"YOU HAVE TO HELP ME.
WE HAVE TO CONCOCT
A STORY."
THERE'S PEOPLE THAT EVEN THINK
THAT NEIL MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE
TO KNOCK GLEN ON THE HEAD.
THEN THERE'S THE OTHER SCHOOL
THAT THINK THAT NEIL SUSPECTED,
AND HE JUST KEPT PUTTING
TWO AND TWO TOGETHER
AND THINGS THAT GLEN
MAY HAVE SAID TO HIM,
AND JUST THE VERY THOUGHT
WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIM TO BEAR.
Narrator:
NEIL WAS ASKED TO REPORT
TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE FOR AN INTERVIEW.
Mitchell: IT WENT PAST THE TIME
HE WAS SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE,
AND GARY SWOREN
LEFT THE ROOM,
AND HE CAME BACK IN,
AND HE SAYS, "UH...
NEIL WOLSIEFFER'S DEAD."
AND I WAS SHOCKED.
I WAS SHOCKED.
SO WE FOUND OUT
WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED--
THE INCIDENT OCCURRED--
SO WE WENT UP AND TOOK
A LOOK AT THE SCENE,
AND IT WAS GRUESOME.
HE PASSED THE COURTHOUSE.
HE DROVE ABOUT
ANOTHER 5 MILES,
AND THEN HIS CAR SWERVED
IN FRONT OF A DUMP TRUCK,
AND HE WAS KILLED INSTANTLY.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
COULD FIND NO SKID MARKS.
IT APPEARED THAT NEIL WOLSIEFFER
INTENTIONALLY TURNED IN FRONT
OF AN ONCOMING TRUCK.
THE CORONER RULED THE DEATH
A SUICIDE.
Hudock: IT MADE ME
FEEL SAD,
THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY
WAS INVOLVED...
WITH A CRIME,
AND BECAUSE OF GUILT,
SOME INNOCENT PERSON
HAD TO DIE,
AND WHEN YOU HAVE
THE DEATH OF A PERSON,
THERE'S ALWAYS SO MANY
OTHER PEOPLE THAT SUFFER.
WE KNOW THAT JOY
CAN BE SHARED WITH OTHERS
BUT HOW GRIEF CAN ONLY BE
ENDURED ALONE.
Narrator: AND WHAT
NEIL WOLSIEFFER MAY HAVE
KNOWN ABOUT THE MURDER
WENT WITH HIM
TO HIS GRAVE.
WITH DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER
AS THE PRIME SUSPECT
IN HIS WIFE'S MURDER,
POLICE DISCOVERED
THAT THE ALL-AMERICAN IMAGE
HE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC
WAS JUST THAT--
AN IMAGE.
BEFORE HER DEATH,
BETTY WOLSIEFFER TOLD FRIENDS
THAT SHE KNEW ALL ABOUT
HER HUSBAND'S AFFAIRS
WITH THE AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR
AND HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
AND THAT SHE
HAD HAD ENOUGH.
Sworen: WE FOUND OUT
FROM SOME OF BETTY'S GIRLFRIENDS
THAT SHE WAS VERY ANNOYED
WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS
THAT WERE HAPPENING,
VERY ANNOYED WITH HIM
GOING OUT AT NIGHTS
AND NOT COMING IN
UNTIL ALL HOURS
OF THE MORNING,
AND SOME OF THE GIRLFRIENDS
EVEN MADE COMMENTS TO HER--
"WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD
CONFRONT HIM.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD ASK HIM
WHAT'S GOING ON."
Narrator: TO SEE
IF THERE WAS ANY EVIDENCE
OF A PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION
BETWEEN GLEN
AND HIS WIFE,
F.B.I. ANALYST DOUG DEEDRICK
ANALYZED THE DEBRIS
UNDER BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
FINGERNAILS.
THERE, HE FOUND A NUMBER
OF BLUE COTTON DENIM FIBERS.
USING MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRY,
DEEDRICK ANALYZED
THE SPECTRUM OF COLOR
IN THE DYE
OF THOSE FIBERS
AND CONCLUDED
THAT THE DYE
WAS CONSISTENT
WITH THE DYE USED
IN THE DENIM SHIRT AND JEANS
THAT GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS SEEN
WEARING AT THE NIGHTCLUB
JUST HOURS
BEFORE HIS WIFE'S MURDER.
FINALLY, DEEDRICK ANALYZED
SEVERAL HEAD HAIRS
ON THE BEDSPREAD
NEXT TO BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S BODY.
THE HAIRS HAD BEEN
FORCIBLY REMOVED
AND WERE COMPARED
TO HAIR SAMPLES
FROM GLEN WOLSIEFFER.
Deedrick: FROM THE LABORATORY
STANDPOINT,
THE HAIRS THAT WERE
FORCIBLY REMOVED ON THE BEDDING
WERE CONSISTENT
WITH THE HUSBAND.
I LOOKED AT OTHER HAIRS THAT
WERE RECOVERED FROM THE BEDDING
AND FROM THE TOWELS,
AND THERE WERE NO HAIRS
OUT OF PLACE.
I MEAN, THE HAIRS THAT I FOUND
WERE CONSISTENT WITH PEOPLE
THAT LIVED IN THAT HOUSE.
Narrator:
ON NOVEMBER 5, 1990,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
HE PLEADED NOT GUILTY.
PROSECUTORS STATED
THAT ON THE AFTERNOON
BEFORE THE MURDER,
GLEN MET HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
FOR A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER.
A FEW HOURS LATER,
GLEN SAW HIS OTHER MISTRESS
AT A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB.
HE MAY HAVE BEEN HOPING
TO HAVE SEX WITH HER, TOO,
BUT HER HUSBAND
WAS THERE.
GLEN DROVE HOME
AROUND 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
AND BETTY MAY HAVE CONFRONTED
GLEN OVER HIS SEXUAL LIAISONS.
WHAT ARE YOU
DOING UP?
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT TIME IT IS?
WHY ARE YOU
ACTING LIKE THAT?
Narrator: THE ARGUMENT
TURNED VIOLENT.
AS SHE FOUGHT
FOR HER LIFE,
BETTY PULLED GLEN'S HAIR,
CLUTCHED AND GRABBED
HIS SHIRT,
AND CAUSED THE INJURY
TO HIS NECK
BY FORCIBLY PULLING
ON HIS JEWELRY.
AFTER THE MURDER,
GLEN REMOVED HIS WIFE'S
BLOODY NIGHTGOWN
AND WASHED HER BODY
IN WHAT WAS PROBABLY
A PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTEMPT
TO MASK HIS GUILT
OVER WHAT HAD OCCURRED.
PROSECUTORS BELIEVE
THAT GLEN USED HIS CAR
TO DISPOSE OF
THE BLOODY CLOTHING,
WHICH EVAPORATED THE DEW.
WHEN HE RETURNED,
HE STAGED THE CRIME SCENE
BY PLACING THE LADDER
UP TO THE BACK OF HIS HOUSE,
BUT HE MADE A MISTAKE
AND PROPPED IT UP
BACKWARDS.
HE ALSO REMOVED
THE WINDOW SCREEN
AND RANSACKED
SOME OF THE ROOMS.
THE TELEPHONE RECEIVER
FOUND OFF THE HOOK
WAS EITHER A MISTAKE
MADE DURING THE STAGING
OF THE CRIME SCENE
OR NEIL WOLSIEFFER SIMPLY
FORGOT TO HANG UP THE TELEPHONE
AFTER CALLING POLICE.
THE JURY HAD TO CHOOSE
BETWEEN GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S
INTRUDER STORY
AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE
PUT FORWARD BY PROSECUTORS,
AND AMID THE DISCREPANCIES
IN GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S STORY,
ONE FACT STOOD OUT.
AFTER AN ALLEGED LIFE-AND-DEATH
STRUGGLE WITH AN INTRUDER,
NEITHER GLEN OR HIS BROTHER NEIL
EVER WENT UPSTAIRS
TO CHECK ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER
OR 5-YEAR-OLD DANIELLE
BEFORE THE POLICE ARRIVED.
GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS FOUND GUILTY
OF THIRD-DEGREE MURDER
AND WAS SENTENCED
TO 8 TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON.
Tasker: THE DEATH
OF MY SISTER,
IT'S THE HURT ON BEHALF
OF BOTH FAMILIES...
VERY CLOSE FRIENDS
AND FRIENDS...
AND PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY
IN GENERAL
THAT THIS ONE PERSON
IS HURT.
THAT'S DEVASTATING.
THAT'S...
UNBELIEVABLE.
HERE'S A GUY WHO JUST CARED
ABOUT HIMSELF.
THE ONLY PERSON THAT HE EVER
CARED ABOUT WAS HIMSELF.
GLEN WAS WORRIED
ABOUT GLEN
AND NO ONE ELSE,
AND I THINK THAT WAS SHOWN
BY THE VERDICT IN THIS CASE.
Narrator:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ONCE SAID,
"THREE MAY KEEP A SECRET
IF TWO OF THEM ARE DEAD."
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN TRUE
IN THIS CASE
HAD IT NOT BEEN
FOR THE ROLE OF SCIENCE.
Sobel: AND WHEN I GO OUT
TO TALK TO PEOPLE
ABOUT FORENSIC METEOROLOGY,
I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THIS CASE,
AND I GO THROUGH THE WHOLE
SCENARIO AND THE SETUP, AND--
AND THEN I ASK PEOPLE,
"OK. SO WHERE'S
THE WEATHER CONNECTION?"
YOU KNOW, "WHERE DOES
WEATHER BECOME INVOLVED?"
AND USUALLY, ALL I GET
IS A SET OF BLANK STARES.
SO TO THINK ABOUT THAT
AND TO TIE IT IN AND THEN
TO GO GET EXPERT CORROBORATION,
I THINK, WAS REALLY A VERY,
VERY GOOD PIECE OF POLICE
AND DETECTIVE WORK.
IN AUGUST OF 1986,
BETTY WOLSIEFFER, A 32-YEAR-OLD
HOUSEWIFE AND MOTHER,
WAS STRANGLED AND MURDERED
BY AN ASSAILANT
WHO HAD BROKEN
INTO HER HOME.
HER HUSBAND,
DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER,
WAS ALSO STRANGLED
AND KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS
BUT SURVIVED THE ATTACK.
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
LIVED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET
AND WAS THE FIRST
TO ARRIVE AT THE SCENE.
A FEW MONTHS LATER,
NEIL WOLSIEFFER
WAS DEAD, TOO,
SOME SAY BECAUSE OF WHAT
HE LEARNED ABOUT THE INTRUDER.
GLEN AND BETTY WOLSIEFFER
HAD BEEN MARRIED FOR 9 YEARS.
IT WAS A ROMANCE THAT HAD BEGUN
20 YEARS EARLIER.
Man: THE FAMILY,
BOTH ON BETTY'S SIDE
AND ON GLEN'S SIDE,
CAME FROM VERY WELL-ESTABLISHED,
INFLUENTIAL FAMILIES
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY,
VERY WELL-LIKED
BY ALL OF THE COMMUNITY.
BETTY AND GLEN
WERE CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS.
THEY WENT THROUGH
HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER.
Narrator: GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WENT ON TO DENTAL SCHOOL,
LATER MARRIED BETTY,
AND AFTER GRADUATION,
THE COUPLE RETURNED
TO THEIR HOMETOWN
OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA,
TO SET UP PRACTICE.
THE WOLSIEFFERS BOUGHT A HOME
ON BIRCH STREET,
JUST A FEW HOUSES
AWAY FROM GLEN'S
YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL.
THE TWO BROTHERS
WERE UNUSUALLY CLOSE.
Woman: THEY WERE
ALMOST LIKE TWINS.
THEY VERY RARELY
DID THINGS APART.
THEY WERE REALLY
BIG INTO SPORTS,
AND THEY JUST GREW UP
TOGETHER LIKE THAT,
AND THEY LIVED
NEAR EACH OTHER,
AND THEY WERE INSEPARABLE,
HE AND HIS BROTHER.
Narrator: AND WHEN GLEN
AND BETTY GAVE BIRTH
TO A DAUGHTER DANIELLE,
THEIR LIFE TOGETHER
SEEMED PERFECT,
BUT TRAGEDY STRUCK.
ON SATURDAY MORNING,
AUGUST 30, 1986
JUST AFTER DAWN,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER CALLED
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL,
TELLING HIM THAT AN INTRUDER
HAD BROKEN INTO HIS HOME.
NEIL RAN ACROSS THE STREET
TO GLEN'S HOME,
AND WHEN HE SAW
THAT GLEN HAD BEEN ASSAULTED,
NEIL PHONED POLICE.
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WAS DOWNSTAIRS ON THE FLOOR,
FADING IN AND OUT
OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
UPSTAIRS
HAD BEEN RANSACKED.
FURNITURE WAS OVERTURNED,
DESK DRAWERS, EMPTIED.
Man: ONE OF THE OFFICERS
THAT WENT UPSTAIRS
FOUND HIS DAUGHTER WAS STILL
SLEEPING IN HER BEDROOM,
A 5-YEAR-OLD,
AND THEN WENT
INTO THE, UH...
THE WOLSIEFFERS' BEDROOM
AND FOUND BETTY
LAYING ON THE FLOOR,
AND SHE WAS DEAD
AT THAT TIME.
Narrator: BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
BODY WAS ON THE FLOOR
NEXT TO THE BED.
THERE WERE ABRASIONS
AROUND HER NECK,
AND HER FACE SHOWED SIGNS
OF A SEVERE BEATING.
Man: IT WAS OBVIOUS
THAT IT WAS A HOMICIDE
BECAUSE OF THE MARKS
AROUND HER NECK AND THE, UH--
YOU COULD SEE IT WAS A VICIOUS
ATTACK UPON THIS WOMAN.
MY FATHER HAD TOLD ME
THAT BETTY WAS MURDERED,
AND THEY WERE
THE SPECIFIC WORDS.
HOW OR WHAT HAD HAPPENED,
I DIDN'T KNOW,
BUT THAT JUST TOOK ME
TOTALLY BY SURPRISE, OF COURSE,
AND, UH, SO MANY THINGS
GO THROUGH YOUR HEAD,
YOU JUST--
YOU CAN'T EVEN
SORT THEM OUT.
Narrator: IT APPEARED
THAT THE INTRUDER
CLIMBED A LADDER
TO THE ROOF
OVER THE BACK PORCH
AND ENTERED
THROUGH A SECOND-STORY WINDOW.
THE WINDOW SCREEN HAD BEEN
REMOVED AND PLACED ON THE ROOF.
[THUMP]
GLEN WOLSIEFFER TOLD POLICE
THAT HE WAS ASLEEP
WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD NOISE
IN THE BACK OF HIS HOUSE
AROUND 6 A.M.
HE SAID HE GRABBED HIS GUN
AND SAW A MASKED INTRUDER
RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS,
AND HE FOLLOWED HIM.
THE INTRUDER SURPRISED HIM
FROM BEHIND,
STRANGLED HIM
WITH A BELT,
AND KNOCKED HIM UNCONSCIOUS
WITH A BLOW TO HIS HEAD.
SOME TIME LATER, WHEN GLEN
REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS,
HE PHONED HIS BROTHER.
NEIL, IT'S ME.
GET OVER HERE.
GET OVER HERE NOW.
COME ON.
Crane: THINGS LIKE THAT
JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN
IN WILKES-BARRE.
A VERY NICE WOMAN GETTING KILLED
IN HER OWN HOME
DID NOT MAKE SENSE
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
Narrator: GLEN WOLSIEFFER
TOLD POLICE
THAT $1,300 IN CASH WAS MISSING
FROM HIS DESK IN THE STUDY,
AND SOME GOLD
AND DIAMOND JEWELRY
AND A HOUSE KEY
WERE ALSO MISSING,
BUT POLICE NOTICED
SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS.
THE PHONE IN THE KITCHEN
WAS HANGING OFF THE HOOK.
POLICE WONDERED
IF THE VICTIM'S BROTHER NEIL
HAD SIMPLY FORGOTTEN TO HANG UP
THE PHONE AFTER CALLING POLICE
OR WHETHER IT WAS EVIDENCE
OF CRIME SCENE STAGING.
Narrator: THE NEWS
OF BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S MURDER
AND THE ASSAULT
ON HER HUSBAND GLEN
STUNNED THE SMALL
INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY
OF WILKES-BARRE,
PENNSYLVANIA.
DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER
WAS A SUCCESSFUL
DENTIST IN TOWN,
HIS WIFE, AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER
FOR MANY LOCAL CHARITIES.
NEITHER HAD
ANY KNOWN ENEMIES.
THEY WERE
A VERY POPULAR COUPLE.
EVERYBODY KNEW THEM.
THEY WERE, UM,
THE PRETTY COUPLE.
BETTY WAS VERY POPULAR.
HE WAS KIND OF A QUIET TYPE,
BUT STILL, HE WAS A JOCK,
GOOD-LOOKING,
AND SO, FOR THOSE REASONS,
EVERYBODY KNEW WHO
BOTH OF THEM WERE.
Narrator: POLICE ACKNOWLEDGED
THAT THERE HAD BEEN A NUMBER
OF RECENT BURGLARIES
IN THE WOLSIEFFERS'
NEIGHBORHOOD.
SINCE $1,300 IN CASH
AND SOME JEWELRY WAS MISSING
FROM THE WOLSIEFFERS' HOME,
ROBBERY WAS
A POSSIBLE MOTIVE.
IT APPEARED THAT THE INTRUDER
USED A LADDER
THE WOLSIEFFERS STORED
ON THE SIDE OF THEIR HOUSE
TO GAIN ENTRANCE THROUGH AN OPEN
SECOND-STORY WINDOW.
A PARTIAL PALM PRINT
WAS DISCOVERED
ON THE INSIDE
OF THE WINDOWSILL,
WHICH DID NOT MATCH
ANYONE IN THE FAMILY
OR THE POLICE.
THE AUTOPSY ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER
WAS PERFORMED BY LUZERNE COUNTY
CORONER DR. GEORGE HUDOCK,
WHO FOUND NO EVIDENCE
OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
THE CAUSE OF DEATH
WAS STRANGULATION,
WHICH WOULD TAKE
FROM 3 TO 5 MINUTES.
DURING THAT TIME,
IT WAS OBVIOUS
TO DR. HUDOCK
THAT THERE HAD BEEN A FIERCE
LIFE-AND-DEATH STRUGGLE.
Hudock: I BELIEVE THAT SHE
REALLY FOUGHT BACK...
WITH FURY
AND THAT SHE
INFLICTED SOME INJURIES
ON WHOEVER ASSAILED HER.
Narrator: BLUE FIBERS
AND A SMALL SPECK OF BLOOD
FOUND UNDER BETTY'S FINGERNAILS
CONFIRMED THAT SHE HAD BEEN
IN CLOSE CONTACT
WITH HER KILLER,
BUT DR. HUDOCK NOTICED
SOMETHING UNUSUAL.
DESPITE A SEVERE BEATING,
THERE WAS NO BLOOD
ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S NIGHTGOWN
AND VERY LITTLE BLOOD
ON HER FACE.
Hudock: THAT WAS
THE OUTSTANDING THING
THAT IMPRINTED ITSELF
ON MY BRAIN
WHEN WE SAW THE BODY.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE
A TRAINED FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WAS
SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS THERE--
ALL OF THE INJURIES
TO THE MOUTH AND THE NECK
AND NO BLOOD ON THE FACE
AND NO BLOOD ON THE CLOTHING.
Narrator: IT APPEARED THAT
AFTER KILLING BETTY WOLSIEFFER,
THE KILLER HAD WASHED HER FACE
AND CHANGED HER NIGHTGOWN.
POLICE SEARCHED
FOR HER BLOODY
CLOTHING IN THE HOUSE,
THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD,
AND THE NEARBY SUSQUEHANNA RIVER
WITHOUT SUCCESS.
SINCE THE BODY WAS LYING
IN FRONT OF THE FAN,
TIME OF DEATH
WAS DIFFICULT TO GAUGE,
BUT DR. HUDOCK ESTIMATED
THAT BETTY WOLSIEFFER
HAD BEEN MURDERED
BETWEEN 2:30 AND 4:30
IN THE MORNING,
2 TO 4 HOURS BEFORE GLEN SAID
HE HEARD THE INTRUDER.
AND THERE WAS ANOTHER
INCONSISTENCY.
DOCTORS AT MERCY HOSPITAL
NOTICED INJURIES
ON THE BACK
OF GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S NECK,
EVEN THOUGH HE SAID HE WAS
STRANGLED FROM BEHIND.
Keller: IT DOESN'T
MAKE ANY SENSE.
IT JUST COULD NOT
HAPPEN THAT WAY.
THE ONLY WAY YOU COULD GET THAT
INJURY TO THE BACK OF YOUR NECK
IS IF SOMEBODY PULLED
FROM THE FRONT.
Narrator: FRIENDS
TOLD INVESTIGATORS
THAT GLEN OFTEN WORE
A GOLD CHAIN AROUND HIS NECK.
Sworen: IF HE WAS INVOLVED
WITH A FIGHT WITH HIS WIFE
WHERE HIS WIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN,
SAY, IN THE BED UNDERNEATH HIM
AND HE WAS ON TOP OF HER
IN THAT POSITION,
HE WOULD HAVE SUSTAINED
THOSE TYPE OF INJURIES
FROM THAT PIECE OF JEWELRY.
Narrator: THAT TYPE OF FORCE
WOULD HAVE DAMAGED
THE SPLENIUS CAPITIS MUSCLES,
TWO LONG MUSCLES
WHICH SUPPORT THE HEAD--
THE SAME INJURY
EMERGENCY-ROOM DOCTORS
DIAGNOSED IN GLEN WOLSIEFFER
AFTER HIS WIFE'S MURDER.
WHEN INVESTIGATORS DUG A LITTLE
DEEPER INTO GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S
DENTAL PRACTICE,
THEY DISCOVERED HIS RELATIONSHIP
WITH HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
WAS MORE PERSONAL
THAT BUSINESS.
THE TWO HAD BEEN CARRYING ON
AN AFFAIR FOR 5 YEARS.
SHE TOLD INVESTIGATORS
THAT SHE EXPECTED GLEN
TO LEAVE HIS WIFE FOR HER,
BUT SHE REALIZED
THAT WOULDN'T HAPPEN
WHEN SHE DISCOVERED
THAT GLEN WAS CARRYING ON
ANOTHER AFFAIR
WITH AN AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR
IN TOWN.
FROM MOTEL RECEIPTS,
POLICE LEARNED THAT GLEN
WOULD SOMETIMES HAVE TRYSTS
WITH BOTH WOMEN
ON THE SAME DAY
BEFORE GOING HOME
TO HIS WIFE.
Sworen: HERE WAS A MAN
WHO NOT ONLY HAD AN AFFAIR
AND CHEATED ON HIS WIFE,
BUT HERE WAS A MAN
WHO HAD AN AFFAIR
AND CHEATED
ON HIS GIRLFRIEND
AT THE SAME TIME.
Narrator: AND POLICE
WANTED TO KNOW WHY GLEN'S
YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
FAILED TO GO UPSTAIRS TO CHECK
ON HIS BROTHER'S WIFE AND CHILD
WHILE HE WAITED
FOR THE POLICE TO ARRIVE.
WHILE ON HIS WAY TO THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
TO ANSWER
THAT VERY QUESTION,
NEIL MADE A DECISION
THAT WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE
OF THE INVESTIGATION.
Narrator: WHEN HOMICIDE
INVESTIGATORS LEARNED
THAT BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
BODY HAD BEEN WASHED
AND HER CLOTHES CHANGED
AFTER THE MURDER,
THEY LOOKED A LITTLE CLOSER
AT THE STATEMENTS
GLEN AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
NEIL BOTH GAVE TO POLICE.
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER SAID
HE WAS OUT WITH FRIENDS
AT A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB
AND DROVE HOME
AROUND 2:30.
HE SAID THAT HE
WENT RIGHT TO BED
AND SLEPT UNTIL DAWN,
WHEN HE HEARD THE INTRUDER
AND WENT DOWNSTAIRS
TO INVESTIGATE.
BUT THE POLICE VIDEO TAKEN
ON THE MORNING OF THE MURDER
SHOWS THAT GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S CAR
IN THE DRIVEWAY
WAS NOT COVERED WITH DEW,
YET HIS WIFE'S CAR WAS.
TO HELP SORT OUT
THE DISCREPANCY,
POLICE CALLED IN
A FORENSIC METEOROLOGIST,
DR. JOSEPH SOBEL,
WHO STUDIED THE WEATHER PATTERNS
ON THE NIGHT OF THE MURDER.
Sobel: DEW IS MOISTURE.
IT'S CONDENSATION
THAT ACTUALLY FORMS
ON THE OBJECT
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT,
WHETHER IT BE A BLADE OF GRASS
OR A ROOFTOP OR A CAR TOP
OR ANY OBJECT THAT HAPPENS TO BE
OUTSIDE DURING THAT TIME.
Narrator: THE TEMPERATURE
ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE MURDER
WAS 70 DEGREES,
SO THE DEW POINT TEMPERATURE,
THE POINT WHEN WATER IN THE AIR
BECOMES COLD ENOUGH TO CHANGE
FROM A GAS TO A LIQUID,
PRODUCING DEW,
WOULD HAVE OCCURRED
WHEN THE TEMPERATURE
REACHED 50 DEGREES.
Sobel: WE KNOW
THE NIGHT WAS CLEAR--
SURFACE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS
SHOWED US THAT--
AND WE KNOW IT WAS VERY COOL
SO THAT THE TEMPERATURE
WAS ABLE TO DROP CONSIDERABLY,
AND WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS
LITTLE OR NO WIND.
Narrator: THE TEMPERATURE
HIT 50 DEGREES AT 11 P.M.
GLEN WOLSIEFFER
SAID HE DROVE HOME
AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
YET THERE WAS NO DEW
ON HIS CAR
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED
AT 7 A.M.
IF HE HAD DRIVEN HOME
AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
GLEN'S CAR WOULD HAVE HAD
THE SAME AMOUNT OF DEW
AS HIS WIFE'S CAR.
THE LACK OF DEW MEANT
THAT SOMEONE HAD DRIVEN
GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S CAR
SOME TIME AFTER GLEN RETURNED
HOME FROM THE NIGHTCLUB AT 2:30
AND BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED
AT 7 A.M.,
EVAPORATING THE DEW
THAT HAD BEEN PRESENT.
AND THE SAME DEW POINTS PRODUCED
DEW ON THE WOLSIEFFERS' ROOF,
YET THERE WERE
NO FOOT OR HANDPRINTS
IN THE DEW ON THE ROOF
WHEN POLICE ARRIVED.
WHEN POLICE LOOKED MORE CLOSELY
AT THE LADDER,
THEY DISCOVERED IT HAD BEEN
PLACED UP TO THE ROOF BACKWARDS,
WITH THE STEPS FACING
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
THE PARTIAL PALM PRINT
FOUND ON THE WINDOWSILL
COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED,
POTENTIALLY CORROBORATING
GLEN'S STORY ABOUT AN INTRUDER.
POLICE WERE ALSO INVESTIGATING
WHAT CONNECTION, IF ANY,
GLEN'S YOUNGER BROTHER NEIL
MAY HAVE HAD TO THE MURDER.
HE WAS THE FIRST ONE
TO ARRIVE AT THE SCENE
AND WAS THE ONE
THAT CALLED THE POLICE,
BUT WHEN POLICE ARRIVED,
THE PHONE WAS OFF THE HOOK,
HANGING
FROM THE WALL UNIT.
POLICE WERE ALSO SUSPICIOUS
OF NEIL'S BEHAVIOR.
HE ADMITTED THAT HE
DID NOT GO UPSTAIRS
TO CHECK ON GLEN'S WIFE
AND 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
DANIELLE
BEFORE POLICE ARRIVED.
NEIL WOLSIEFFER
DENIED ANY INVOLVEMENT
IN THE CRIME,
BUT WHEN ASKED TO TAKE
A LIE DETECTOR TEST,
HE REFUSED.
Crane: A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK
THAT NEIL KNEW EVERYTHING,
THAT WHEN HE CAME
IN THE HOUSE,
THAT GLEN TOLD HIM
WHAT HAPPENED
AND SAID,
"YOU HAVE TO HELP ME.
WE HAVE TO CONCOCT
A STORY."
THERE'S PEOPLE THAT EVEN THINK
THAT NEIL MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE
TO KNOCK GLEN ON THE HEAD.
THEN THERE'S THE OTHER SCHOOL
THAT THINK THAT NEIL SUSPECTED,
AND HE JUST KEPT PUTTING
TWO AND TWO TOGETHER
AND THINGS THAT GLEN
MAY HAVE SAID TO HIM,
AND JUST THE VERY THOUGHT
WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIM TO BEAR.
Narrator:
NEIL WAS ASKED TO REPORT
TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE FOR AN INTERVIEW.
Mitchell: IT WENT PAST THE TIME
HE WAS SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE,
AND GARY SWOREN
LEFT THE ROOM,
AND HE CAME BACK IN,
AND HE SAYS, "UH...
NEIL WOLSIEFFER'S DEAD."
AND I WAS SHOCKED.
I WAS SHOCKED.
SO WE FOUND OUT
WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED--
THE INCIDENT OCCURRED--
SO WE WENT UP AND TOOK
A LOOK AT THE SCENE,
AND IT WAS GRUESOME.
HE PASSED THE COURTHOUSE.
HE DROVE ABOUT
ANOTHER 5 MILES,
AND THEN HIS CAR SWERVED
IN FRONT OF A DUMP TRUCK,
AND HE WAS KILLED INSTANTLY.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
COULD FIND NO SKID MARKS.
IT APPEARED THAT NEIL WOLSIEFFER
INTENTIONALLY TURNED IN FRONT
OF AN ONCOMING TRUCK.
THE CORONER RULED THE DEATH
A SUICIDE.
Hudock: IT MADE ME
FEEL SAD,
THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY
WAS INVOLVED...
WITH A CRIME,
AND BECAUSE OF GUILT,
SOME INNOCENT PERSON
HAD TO DIE,
AND WHEN YOU HAVE
THE DEATH OF A PERSON,
THERE'S ALWAYS SO MANY
OTHER PEOPLE THAT SUFFER.
WE KNOW THAT JOY
CAN BE SHARED WITH OTHERS
BUT HOW GRIEF CAN ONLY BE
ENDURED ALONE.
Narrator: AND WHAT
NEIL WOLSIEFFER MAY HAVE
KNOWN ABOUT THE MURDER
WENT WITH HIM
TO HIS GRAVE.
WITH DR. GLEN WOLSIEFFER
AS THE PRIME SUSPECT
IN HIS WIFE'S MURDER,
POLICE DISCOVERED
THAT THE ALL-AMERICAN IMAGE
HE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC
WAS JUST THAT--
AN IMAGE.
BEFORE HER DEATH,
BETTY WOLSIEFFER TOLD FRIENDS
THAT SHE KNEW ALL ABOUT
HER HUSBAND'S AFFAIRS
WITH THE AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR
AND HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
AND THAT SHE
HAD HAD ENOUGH.
Sworen: WE FOUND OUT
FROM SOME OF BETTY'S GIRLFRIENDS
THAT SHE WAS VERY ANNOYED
WITH SOME OF THESE THINGS
THAT WERE HAPPENING,
VERY ANNOYED WITH HIM
GOING OUT AT NIGHTS
AND NOT COMING IN
UNTIL ALL HOURS
OF THE MORNING,
AND SOME OF THE GIRLFRIENDS
EVEN MADE COMMENTS TO HER--
"WELL, MAYBE YOU SHOULD
CONFRONT HIM.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD ASK HIM
WHAT'S GOING ON."
Narrator: TO SEE
IF THERE WAS ANY EVIDENCE
OF A PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION
BETWEEN GLEN
AND HIS WIFE,
F.B.I. ANALYST DOUG DEEDRICK
ANALYZED THE DEBRIS
UNDER BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S
FINGERNAILS.
THERE, HE FOUND A NUMBER
OF BLUE COTTON DENIM FIBERS.
USING MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRY,
DEEDRICK ANALYZED
THE SPECTRUM OF COLOR
IN THE DYE
OF THOSE FIBERS
AND CONCLUDED
THAT THE DYE
WAS CONSISTENT
WITH THE DYE USED
IN THE DENIM SHIRT AND JEANS
THAT GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS SEEN
WEARING AT THE NIGHTCLUB
JUST HOURS
BEFORE HIS WIFE'S MURDER.
FINALLY, DEEDRICK ANALYZED
SEVERAL HEAD HAIRS
ON THE BEDSPREAD
NEXT TO BETTY WOLSIEFFER'S BODY.
THE HAIRS HAD BEEN
FORCIBLY REMOVED
AND WERE COMPARED
TO HAIR SAMPLES
FROM GLEN WOLSIEFFER.
Deedrick: FROM THE LABORATORY
STANDPOINT,
THE HAIRS THAT WERE
FORCIBLY REMOVED ON THE BEDDING
WERE CONSISTENT
WITH THE HUSBAND.
I LOOKED AT OTHER HAIRS THAT
WERE RECOVERED FROM THE BEDDING
AND FROM THE TOWELS,
AND THERE WERE NO HAIRS
OUT OF PLACE.
I MEAN, THE HAIRS THAT I FOUND
WERE CONSISTENT WITH PEOPLE
THAT LIVED IN THAT HOUSE.
Narrator:
ON NOVEMBER 5, 1990,
GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS CHARGED
WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
HE PLEADED NOT GUILTY.
PROSECUTORS STATED
THAT ON THE AFTERNOON
BEFORE THE MURDER,
GLEN MET HIS DENTAL ASSISTANT
FOR A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER.
A FEW HOURS LATER,
GLEN SAW HIS OTHER MISTRESS
AT A LOCAL NIGHTCLUB.
HE MAY HAVE BEEN HOPING
TO HAVE SEX WITH HER, TOO,
BUT HER HUSBAND
WAS THERE.
GLEN DROVE HOME
AROUND 2:30 IN THE MORNING,
AND BETTY MAY HAVE CONFRONTED
GLEN OVER HIS SEXUAL LIAISONS.
WHAT ARE YOU
DOING UP?
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT TIME IT IS?
WHY ARE YOU
ACTING LIKE THAT?
Narrator: THE ARGUMENT
TURNED VIOLENT.
AS SHE FOUGHT
FOR HER LIFE,
BETTY PULLED GLEN'S HAIR,
CLUTCHED AND GRABBED
HIS SHIRT,
AND CAUSED THE INJURY
TO HIS NECK
BY FORCIBLY PULLING
ON HIS JEWELRY.
AFTER THE MURDER,
GLEN REMOVED HIS WIFE'S
BLOODY NIGHTGOWN
AND WASHED HER BODY
IN WHAT WAS PROBABLY
A PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTEMPT
TO MASK HIS GUILT
OVER WHAT HAD OCCURRED.
PROSECUTORS BELIEVE
THAT GLEN USED HIS CAR
TO DISPOSE OF
THE BLOODY CLOTHING,
WHICH EVAPORATED THE DEW.
WHEN HE RETURNED,
HE STAGED THE CRIME SCENE
BY PLACING THE LADDER
UP TO THE BACK OF HIS HOUSE,
BUT HE MADE A MISTAKE
AND PROPPED IT UP
BACKWARDS.
HE ALSO REMOVED
THE WINDOW SCREEN
AND RANSACKED
SOME OF THE ROOMS.
THE TELEPHONE RECEIVER
FOUND OFF THE HOOK
WAS EITHER A MISTAKE
MADE DURING THE STAGING
OF THE CRIME SCENE
OR NEIL WOLSIEFFER SIMPLY
FORGOT TO HANG UP THE TELEPHONE
AFTER CALLING POLICE.
THE JURY HAD TO CHOOSE
BETWEEN GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S
INTRUDER STORY
AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE
PUT FORWARD BY PROSECUTORS,
AND AMID THE DISCREPANCIES
IN GLEN WOLSIEFFER'S STORY,
ONE FACT STOOD OUT.
AFTER AN ALLEGED LIFE-AND-DEATH
STRUGGLE WITH AN INTRUDER,
NEITHER GLEN OR HIS BROTHER NEIL
EVER WENT UPSTAIRS
TO CHECK ON BETTY WOLSIEFFER
OR 5-YEAR-OLD DANIELLE
BEFORE THE POLICE ARRIVED.
GLEN WOLSIEFFER WAS FOUND GUILTY
OF THIRD-DEGREE MURDER
AND WAS SENTENCED
TO 8 TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON.
Tasker: THE DEATH
OF MY SISTER,
IT'S THE HURT ON BEHALF
OF BOTH FAMILIES...
VERY CLOSE FRIENDS
AND FRIENDS...
AND PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY
IN GENERAL
THAT THIS ONE PERSON
IS HURT.
THAT'S DEVASTATING.
THAT'S...
UNBELIEVABLE.
HERE'S A GUY WHO JUST CARED
ABOUT HIMSELF.
THE ONLY PERSON THAT HE EVER
CARED ABOUT WAS HIMSELF.
GLEN WAS WORRIED
ABOUT GLEN
AND NO ONE ELSE,
AND I THINK THAT WAS SHOWN
BY THE VERDICT IN THIS CASE.
Narrator:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ONCE SAID,
"THREE MAY KEEP A SECRET
IF TWO OF THEM ARE DEAD."
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN TRUE
IN THIS CASE
HAD IT NOT BEEN
FOR THE ROLE OF SCIENCE.
Sobel: AND WHEN I GO OUT
TO TALK TO PEOPLE
ABOUT FORENSIC METEOROLOGY,
I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THIS CASE,
AND I GO THROUGH THE WHOLE
SCENARIO AND THE SETUP, AND--
AND THEN I ASK PEOPLE,
"OK. SO WHERE'S
THE WEATHER CONNECTION?"
YOU KNOW, "WHERE DOES
WEATHER BECOME INVOLVED?"
AND USUALLY, ALL I GET
IS A SET OF BLANK STARES.
SO TO THINK ABOUT THAT
AND TO TIE IT IN AND THEN
TO GO GET EXPERT CORROBORATION,
I THINK, WAS REALLY A VERY,
VERY GOOD PIECE OF POLICE
AND DETECTIVE WORK.