Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 7, Episode 38 - House Call - full transcript
Narrator: A WELL-KNOWN DOCTOR
WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED
IN HIS HOME.
INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED
THAT TELEPHONE TRAFFIC
NEAR THE VICTIM'S HOME
INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY
WITHIN SECONDS OF THE CRIME.
THOSE CALLS,
TRACKED WITH A SOPHISTICATED
FORENSIC COMPUTER PROGRAM,
UNCOVERED
AN INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY.
DR. LOUIS DAVIDSON WAS ONE OF
THE MOST RESPECTED PEDIATRICIANS
IN ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA.
AT 38 YEARS OLD, HE WAS HEAD OF
PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE
AT THE BAYFRONT MEDICAL CENTER.
IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE PATIENT --
THE BABY, THE TODDLER,
THE CHILD.
HE TREATED THEM EACH
WITH UTMOST RESPECT.
UM...NEVER A SNIDE COMMENT.
AND HE GAVE 100% OF HIMSELF
TO EACH CHILD.
AND HE WAS SO SMART,
HE WAS ALMOST SCARY.
Narrator: ON JANUARY 25, 1994,
DR. DAVIDSON FINISHED HIS WORK
AT THE HOSPITAL
AND HEADED HOME
TO GET SOME SLEEP.
DR. DAVIDSON'S GIRLFRIEND
STOPPED BY HIS APARTMENT
LATER THAT DAY,
AND THIS IS WHAT SHE SAW.
SHE HAD HER OWN KEY
TO THE APARTMENT,
AND SHE USED HER KEY
TO ENTER THE APARTMENT.
AND AS SHE WALKED IN,
SHE SAW THIS CRIME SCENE,
WHERE STUFF WAS JUST SPEWED
ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SHE WALKED BACK
AND FOUND HIM IN THE TUB.
Narrator: DR. DAVIDSON WAS DEAD
IN THE BATHTUB.
HE HAD BEEN BEATEN
AND APPARENTLY DROWNED.
Hartzig: I KNEW RIGHT AWAY
THAT THIS WASN'T AN ORDINARY
SUICIDE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT --
THAT THIS WAS DEFINITELY
A BRUTAL CRIME SCENE.
Narrator: DETECTIVE MIKE CELONA
WAS ASSIGNED TO THE CASE.
HIS IDENTITY IS CONCEALED
BECAUSE
HE'S NOW WORKING UNDERCOVER.
THE MASTER-BEDROOM CLOSET HAD
OBVIOUSLY BEEN GONE THROUGH --
CLOTHING PULLED OFF HANGERS,
THROWN ON THE FLOOR.
HOWEVER, ONE OF THE ITEMS
THAT WAS STILL IN THE CLOSET
WAS A GARMENT BAG,
AND IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
GARMENT BAG WAS $20,000 IN CASH.
Narrator: MEANING,
THE MOTIVE WASN'T ROBBERY.
THE CRIME SCENE HAD BEEN STAGED
TO MAKE IT APPEAR TO BE ROBBERY.
DAVIDSON'S GIRLFRIEND
TOLD POLICE
THAT THE DOCTOR
HAD BEEN RECEIVING
STRANGE TELEPHONE CALLS AT HOME
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
SOMETIMES, THEY'LL COME
AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING.
SOMETIMES, 4:00 IN THE MORNING.
SHE SAYS THAT SOMEONE CALLS
AND THEN HANGS UP,
LOOKING JUST TO SEE
IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY HOME
IN THAT APARTMENT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS FOUND
THEIR FIRST PIECE
OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE
ON A TILE FLOOR
IN THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
TILE FLOORS ARE VERY CONDUCIVE
TO LEAVING EVIDENCE,
ESPECIALLY SHOEPRINTS.
Narrator: TILE IS
FLAT AND NONPOROUS --
A PERFECT TEMPLATE
FOR PRINTS.
SO TECHNICIANS
DUSTED THE AREA...
AND JUST AS THEY EXPECTED,
A SHOE IMPRESSION APPEARED.
NEXT, THEY USED A GEL PAD
AND PUSHED THE ADHESIVE
ONTO THE PRINT,
WHICH FIXES THE DUST IN POSITION
FOR LATER ANALYSIS.
Procissi: IT WAS AMAZING TO ME
THAT THAT SHOEPRINT
WAS PRESERVED.
NORMALLY, THAT SHOEPRINT
COULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
BY DETECTIVES AND OFFICERS
AND PARAMEDICS GOING
IN AND OUT OF THAT RESIDENCE,
BUT SOMEHOW THAT SHOEPRINT
SURVIVED.
Narrator: THE IMPRESSION
WAS SENT
TO THE FBI IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
TO THEIR FOOTWEAR IMPRESSION
DEPARTMENT.
THERE, THE PRINT WAS COMPARED
TO THE THOUSANDS OF SHOE
IMPRESSIONS ON FILE.
FBI EXPERTS NOTICED IT WAS
A SIZE 9 SNEAKER AND WAS NEW.
THEIR COMPARISONS REVEALED
IT WAS A VOIT BRAND SHOE --
A RELATIVELY OBSCURE BRAND.
BUT HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS
NEEDED
MORE THAN ONE SHOE IMPRESSION
TO FIND THE KILLER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS WERE
STILL PROCESSING THE CRIME SCENE
WHEN NEWS OF DR. DAVIDSON'S
DEATH WAS RELEASED TO THE MEDIA.
IT WAS ON THE NEWS,
AND JUST THE WAY HE DIED...
WAS...
SO HORRIFIC THAT IT WAS LIKE...
TOO HARD TO GRASP.
IT WAS LIKE BEING IN
SOME BAD MOVIE, BUT IT WAS REAL.
EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE LOOK FOR
IN A SORT OF A JUICY,
ALMOST A SOAP-OPERA-STYLE STORY
WAS THERE IN
THIS PARTICULAR MURDER CASE.
Narrator: THE DOCTOR'S
CO-WORKERS COULD THINK OF NO ONE
WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM HIM,
BUT INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED
THAT DR. DAVIDSON
WAS GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE.
HIS WIFE, DENISE,
A FORMER FINALIST IN
THE MISS JAMAICA BEAUTY PAGEANT,
WAS ASKING FOR CUSTODY
OF THEIR 8-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER --
SOMETHING
THE DOCTOR WAS RESISTING.
WHEN POLICE TOLD DENISE THAT
HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN MURDERED,
SHE APPEARED TO HAVE INFORMATION
THAT HADN'T YET BEEN RELEASED
TO THE MEDIA.
HERE IS DENISE DAVIDSON,
ASKING THE DETECTIVES
THAT ARE TELLING HER
HER HUSBAND WAS FOUND MURDERED
IN HIS APARTMENT,
"WELL, WAS IT A ROBBERY?"
Narrator: NOW SUSPICIOUS,
POLICE PLACED DENISE DAVIDSON
UNDER 24-HOUR SURVEILLANCE.
Man: WE'RE THINKING THAT IT WAS
A PAGER SHE HAD CALLED.
Narrator: THREE DAYS LATER,
DENISE MADE AN UNUSUAL TRIP.
Celona: SHE WALKS IN
AND GOES TO A WESTERN UNION.
NOW, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN SHE LEAVES,
WE WALK IN RIGHT BEHIND HER
AND DETERMINE THAT
SHE'S USING WESTERN UNION
AND SHE SENDS
A MONEY TRANSFER --
A $1,200 MONEY TRANSFER.
Narrator: DENISE HAD USED
AN ALIAS FOR THE TRANSFER --
PAULINE WHITE.
THE MONEY WAS SENT
TO A ROBERT GORDON IN MIAMI.
IT'S BEING SENT
BY A PAULINE WHITE,
WHICH IS NOT
DENISE DAVIDSON'S NAME.
IT'S OBVIOUS
THAT'S A DIFFERENT NAME.
FICTITIOUS ADDRESS,
FICTITIOUS PHONE NUMBER...
BUT WE WATCHED HER SEND IT.
Narrator: ROBERT GORDON
WAS AN ACQUAINTANCE
OF MIAMI NIGHTCLUB OWNER
LEO CISNEROS,
WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO BE
DENISE DAVIDSON'S
CURRENT BOYFRIEND
AND THE FATHER OF
HER UNBORN CHILD.
CISNEROS ALLEGEDLY HAD TIES
TO JAMAICAN DRUG TRAFFICKING.
FLIGHT RECORDS INDICATED
THAT LEO CISNEROS FLEW
TO JAMAICA
ON THE DAY OF
DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
AND TELEPHONE RECORDS INDICATED
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON MADE
NUMEROUS CALLS TO ROBERT GORDON
ON THE MORNING
HER HUSBAND WAS MURDERED.
Celona: BETWEEN
9:30 IN THE MORNING
AND 11:30 IN THE MORNING --
A TWO HOUR PERIOD --
THERE ARE 52 TELEPHONE CALLS
MADE
FROM DENISE DAVIDSON'S HOUSE
TO ROBERT GORDON'S PAGER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
NOW BELIEVED
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON KNEW
MORE ABOUT HER HUSBAND'S MURDER
THAN SHE ADMITTED,
AND THEY ASKED THE COURT
FOR PERMISSION
TO WIRETAP HER TELEPHONE.
THAT ORDER WAS GRANTED,
BUT IT DIDN'T REVEAL
WHAT INVESTIGATORS HOPED FOR.
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
Man: HELLO?
Denise: HELLO.
HI, BABE.
I CALLED WESTERN UNIO,
AND THEY SAID THE MONEY S
AVAILABLE TO BE PICKED U.
Schaub: YOU GOTTA REMEMBER,
DENISE DAVIDSON,
FROM THE BEGINNING, KNEW
THAT HER PHONES MAY BE TAPPED,
SO SHE WAS CAREFUL
WITH WHAT SHE SAID
AND WHAT SHE DIDN'T SAY
ON THE PHONE.
Narrator: THEN, POLICE NOTICED
AN IRREGULARITY.
WHILE LEO CISNEROS
WAS IN JAMAICA,
SOMEONE WAS USING HIS CELLPHONE
IN FLORIDA,
AND THOSE CALLS COULD BE EASILY
TRACED.
WHEN SOMEONE
MAKES A CELLPHONE CALL,
THE SIGNAL GOES THROUGH A SERIES
OF WHAT ARE KNOWN
AS CELL-SITE TOWERS
BEFORE IT GETS
TO AN INDIVIDUAL'S PHONE.
POLICE CAN TRACE
A CELLPHONE CALL
BY THE IDENTITY OF THE TOWERS
THE CALL USES.
ALL OF THIS CELL-TOWER
AND WIRETAP INFORMATION
IT THEN PUT INTO
THE ACISS COMPUTER PROGRAM.
ACISS STANDS FOR
"AUGMENTED CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATIONS SUPPORT SYSTEM."
ACISS HAD NOT EVER BEEN UTILIZED
BY OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT
FOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS.
IT HAD BEEN UTILIZED
FOR NUMEROUS YEARS
BY THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION,
BY THE NARCOTICS DIVISION,
BECAUSE THEY DEAL A LOT
WITH TELEPHONE RECORDS,
WIRETAPS,
LARGE AMOUNTS OR VOLUMES OF
PEOPLE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER.
Narrator: THIS COMPUTER ANALYSIS
REVEALED AN IMPORTANT PIECE
OF INFORMATION.
CISNEROS' CELLPHONE WAS USED
ON THE MORNING
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER
FROM OUTSIDE
THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
A FEW HOURS LATER,
CALLS WERE MADE FROM THIS MOTEL
NEAR DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT,
AND THE CALLS CONTINUED WHILE
THE INDIVIDUAL HEADED SOUTH
ALONG HIGHWAY 60,
ROUTE 95, ALL THE WAY TO MIAMI.
THE LAST CALL THAT DAY
USED A CELL TOWER
A FEW BLOCKS AWAY
FROM ROBERT GORDON'S HOME.
GORDON WAS THE MAN
DENISE DAVIDSON
HAD WIRED $1,200 TO
A FEW DAYS AFTER THE MURDER.
WHEN POLICE VISITED THE MOTEL
NEAR DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT,
THEY DISCOVERED ROBERT GORDON
HAD STAYED THERE
AROUND THE TIME
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
Celona: THE MAID RECALLS
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING
LEFT BEHIND IN THAT ROOM.
ONE OF THEIR POLICIES
AT THE TIME WAS
THAT IF THERE ARE ITEMS LEFT
BEHIND BY A CUSTOMER,
THEY WOULD PUT THEM IN A BAG
WITH A CARD
THAT HAD THE DATE AND THE ROOM
NUMBER WHERE THEY WERE FOUND,
AND THEY'D PUT THEM
IN A STORAGE CLOSET.
Narrator: THE BAG CONTAINED
A SWEATSHIRT
AND SOMETHING INVESTIGATORS
HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR
SINCE THE DAY OF THE MURDER.
Schaub: AND GUESS WHAT ELSE
WE'VE GOT.
WE'VE GOT SOME SHOES --
SNEAKERS TO BE EXACT.
Narrator: THE SAME SIZE
AS THE IMPRESSION FOUND
IN THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
INVESTIGATORS HOPED
THIS CHANCE DISCOVERY
WOULD SOLVE THE MURDER.
Narrator: DENISE DAVIDSON
HAD WIRED MONEY
TO ROBERT GORDON IN MIAMI
JUST DAYS AFTER
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
INFORMANTS IN MIAMI
TOLD POLICE
THAT GORDON HAD AN ASSOCIATE,
MERYL McDONALD,
WHO WAS WITH GORDON
IN ST. PETERSBURG
AROUND THE TIME
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
DURING QUESTIONING,
BOTH DENIED
ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRIME.
THEY ALSO DENIED OWNING
THE SWEATSHIRT AND SNEAKERS
LEFT IN THEIR MOTEL ROOM.
TECHNICIANS COMPARED
THE SHOE IMPRESSION FOUND
ON DR. DAVIDSON'S TILE FLOOR
WITH THE SNEAKERS
FROM THE MOTEL.
BOTH WERE SIZE 9,
BOTH WERE
THE OBSCURE VOIT BRAND,
AND BOTH WERE IDENTICAL
IN WEAR PATTERNS.
THE SHOES MATCHED
GORDON'S SHOE SIZE.
NEXT, TECHNICIANS ANALYZED
THE SWEATSHIRT
AND DISCOVERED A NUMBER OF
HEAD HAIRS, FACIAL HAIRS,
AND SOME FOREIGN FIBERS.
THE FACIAL AND HEAD HAIRS WERE
FOUND INSIDE THE SWEATSHIRT --
NOT UNCOMMON WHEN SOMEONE IS
TAKING THE GARMENT OFF
OVER HIS HEAD.
THE HAIRS WERE UNUSUAL,
SINCE THEY CONTAINED
A CHEMICAL DYE.
A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THAT DYE
MATCHED THE DYE FOUND
ON THE HEAD AND FACIAL HAIR
OF THE SECOND SUSPECT,
MERYL McDONALD.
Schaub: MR. McDONALD MADE THE
MISTAKE OF COLORING HIS HAIR.
THE FBI LAB WAS ABLE
TO DETERMINE
THAT THE TYPE OF COLOR USED
ON THIS STRAND OF HAIR
WAS CONSISTENT WITH
THE TYPE OF COLORING
MR. McDONALD USES ON HIS HAIR.
SCIENTISTS ALSO FOUND
BLUE CASHMERE FIBERS
ON THE SWEATSHIRT.
THOSE FIBERS MATCHED
THE VICTIM'S CASHMERE BATHROBE.
FINALLY, AND MOST DAMNING,
A DNA ANALYSIS
OF BLOOD FOUND ON
THE SWEATSHIRT AND SNEAKERS
WAS THAT OF DR. DAVIDSON.
ONE MORE NAIL HAS BEEN PUT
INTO THE COFFIN
OF THESE TWO DEFENDANTS --
THESE TWO MEN
THAT WERE HIRED TO KILL,
THAT DECIDED THAT MONEY WAS
MORE IMPORTANT THAN A LIFE.
Narrator: BUT INVESTIGATORS HAD
NO SOLID PROOF
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON WAS
INVOLVED IN THE MURDER PLOT.
SHE STOOD TO INHERIT
MORE THAN A HALF MILLION DOLLARS
FROM HER ESTRANGED HUSBAND'S
LIFE-INSURANCE POLICY,
AS WELL AS GAIN
FULL CUSTODY OF THEIR DAUGHTER.
DURING HOURS
OF POLICE INTERROGATION,
DENISE INSISTED
SHE DIDN'T KNOW ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD
AND HAD NOTHING TO DO
WITH HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
DENISE WAS
UNDER POLICE SURVEILLANCE
WHEN SHE WENT
TO THE WESTERN UNION OFFICE
TO TRANSFER MONEY
TO ROBERT GORDON,
BUT SHE SIGNED THE RECEIPT USING
AN ALIAS -- PAULINE WHITE.
A FORENSIC HANDWRITING EXAMINER
COMPARED
THE PAULINE WHITE SIGNATURE
TO KNOWN HANDWRITING SAMPLES
OF DENISE DAVIDSON.
HE CONCLUDED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL
SIGNED THEM BOTH.
FORENSIC TECHNICIANS
TESTED THE RECEIPTS FOR LATENT,
OR HIDDEN, FINGERPRINTS.
THEY STAINED THE RECEIPT
WITH NINHYDRIN,
A CHEMICAL SOLUTION
THAT TURNS THE AMINO ACIDS
IN FINGER OILS PURPLE.
WE HAVE IT PROCESSED
FOR FINGERPRINTS,
AND IT'S DENISE DAVIDSON'S
FINGERPRINTS
ON THAT PIECE OF PAPER.
Narrator: AND POLICE FOUND
EVIDENCE
THAT DENISE PURCHASED
A MAN'S GRAY SWEATSHIRT
AND A PAIR OF
SIZE 9 VOIT SNEAKERS
JUST BEFORE
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER --
IDENTICAL TO THE ITEMS FOUND
IN THE MOTEL
WITH HER HUSBAND'S BLOODSTAINS.
DENISE DAVIDSON NOT ONLY DENIED
ANY INVOLVEMENT
IN HER HUSBAND'S MURDER,
SHE NOW SAID
SHE HAD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
Pittman: HOW MUCH STRANGER
CAN THIS CASE GET?
HOW MANY MORE TWISTS
CAN THIS CASE TAKE?
Narrator: THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE
CLEARLY PLACED ROBERT GORDON AND
MERYL McDONALD
INSIDE DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT
DURING HIS MURDER.
THE TWO PEOPLE THAT
WERE HIRED TO DO THE KILLING --
MR. GORDON AND MR. McDONALD --
DIDN'T KNOW THE DOCTOR AT ALL.
THE REASON THEY TOOK HIS LIFE
WAS STRICTLY
FOR MONETARY REASONS.
Narrator: BUT JUST AS POLICE
WERE ABOUT TO ARREST
THE VICTIM'S ESTRANGED WIFE,
DENISE,
THE CASE TOOK
AN UNEXPECTED TURN.
DENISE TOLD POLICE
THAT THE REAL KILLER HAD CALLED
HER HOME WHILE SHE WAS AWAY
AND LEFT A THREATENING MESSAGE
ON HER
TELEPHONE-ANSWERING MACHINE.
Denise: WE'RE NOT AVAILABLE
RIGHT NOW,
SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME
AND YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBE.
[ BEEP ]
[ WOMAN SPEAKING ]
[ CLICK ]
Narrator: BUT POLICE
ARRESTED DENISE ANYWAY,
JUST AS SHE WAS ABOUT
TO BOARD A FLIGHT TO JAMAICA.
Celona: I APPROACHED HER
AS SHE SAT THERE WAITING
FOR HER FLIGHT TO ARRIVE.
SHE WAS VERY SURPRISED
WHEN SHE SAW ME,
AND HER FIRST WORDS WERE,
"DETECTIVE CELONA,
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1995,
DENISE WENT ON TRIAL
FOR SOLICITING
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
DENISE TOOK THE STAND
IN HER OWN DEFENSE
AND TOLD THE JURY
ABOUT THE THREATENING
TELEPHONE CALL SHE RECEIVED
FROM THE PERSON
SHE SAYS WAS THE REAL KILLER.
BUT PROSECUTORS
WERE READY FOR HER.
Woman: YOU'LL BE SORRY, DENISE.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
HAD TRACED THAT CALL
AND DISCOVERED IT HAD ORIGINATED
FROM THE STORE
WHERE DENISE WORKED.
AND DENISE HAD BEEN UNDER
POLICE SURVEILLANCE THAT DAY.
I COULD SEE IN HER EYES,
SHE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING,
AND IT ALMOST LOOKED,
AT THAT TIME,
LIKE THE AIR
HAD JUST BEEN TAKEN OUT OF HER.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS
PRESENTED THE JURY
WITH THIS SURVEILLANCE VIDEO
SHOWING DENISE
ENTERING THE STORE
SHORTLY BEFORE
THE THREATENING CALL WAS PLACED
AND LEAVING JUST AFTER
THE CALL WAS COMPLETED.
WHEN THE STATE ATTORNEY
DIRECTED THE QUESTION TO HER
AS TO WHETHER THAT WAS HER VOICE
ON THAT TAPE,
SHE COULD ONLY ANSWER,
"I DON'T THINK SO."
SHE JUST LISTENED TO IT
AND LOOKED AT IT
AND REALLY GAVE NO EXPLANATION
FOR WHO
THAT PHONE CALL CAME FROM
AND WHY IT WAS MADE.
Celona: SHE WAS HOLDING UP
PRETTY GOOD WITH HER LIES
THROUGH THE FIRST PORTION
OF HER TESTIFYING.
BUT FROM THAT POINT ON,
EVERYTHING WAS FALLING APART.
AND I THINK
THE JURY SAW WHAT I SAW,
AND THAT WAS FEAR
IN THE EYES OF A LADY WHO HIRED
TWO MEN TO KILL HER HUSBAND.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS BELIEVE
THAT DENISE ASKED
HER BOYFRIEND, LEO CISNEROS,
TO KILL HER HUSBAND.
INSTEAD, CISNEROS HIRED
ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD.
LEO CISNEROS, THE BOYFRIEND,
HAD NO COURAGE.
HE COULDN'T
COMMIT THE CRIME HIMSELF,
SO HE HIRED
THE TWO SCARECROWS --
ROBERT GORDON AND
MERYL McDONALD --
WHO HE SAID DIDN'T HAVE A BRAIN
AMONGST THEM.
Narrator: THE TWO TRACKED
DR. DAVIDSON FOR DAYS
BY CALLING HIS APARTMENT.
AND A WITNESS SAID
THEY WERE AT THE HOSPITAL,
DRESSED LIKE DOCTORS,
TRYING TO GET
DR. DAVIDSON'S SCHEDULE.
ON THE DAY OF THE MURDER,
DR. DAVIDSON WAS RUNNING
TWO HOURS LATE
AND DIDN'T ARRIVE HOME
UNTIL 10:00.
THIS EXPLAINS WHY DENISE CALLED
ROBERT GORDON'S PAGER 52 TIMES
BETWEEN 8:00 AND 10:00
THAT MORNING --
APPARENTLY CONCERNED ABOUT
WHY THE MURDER WAS DELAYED.
[ KNOCK ON DOOR ]
WHEN GORDON AND McDONALD
KNOCKED ON THE DOCTOR'S DOOR,
HE ANSWERED IN HIS BATHROBE.
IN THE SCUFFLE,
DR. DAVIDSON'S ROBE FIBERS
AND BLOOD
GOT ON McDONALD'S SWEATSHIRT --
THE ONE DENISE HAD PURCHASED
FOR HIM.
AFTER DROWNING DAVIDSON
IN THE BATHTUB,
GORDON LEFT HIS SHOE IMPRINT
ON THE TILE FLOOR.
AND WHEN McDONALD
REMOVED THE SWEATSHIRT,
HE LEFT EVIDENCE
OF HIS DYE-COLORED HEAD HAIRS.
FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON,
GORDON MADE THE MISTAKE
OF LEAVING THE SNEAKERS AND
SWEATSHIRT BEHIND
AT HIS MOTEL --
A MOTEL IDENTIFIED THROUGH
DENISE'S TELEPHONE CALLS.
PROSECUTORS PRODUCED RECEIPTS
SHOWING DENISE HAD SENT GORDON
AND McDONALD A TOTAL OF $15,000.
AFTER A 2-WEEK TRIAL,
DENISE DAVIDSON WAS FOUND GUILTY
OF SOLICITATION FOR MURDER.
SHE WAS SENTENCED
TO LIFE IN PRISON.
IF I HAD ONE ONE-LINE
DESCRIPTION OF DENISE DAVIDSON,
IT WOULD BE,
"SHE'S A COLDHEARTED BITCH."
Narrator: ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD
WERE TRIED AND CONVICTED
OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
THEY WERE BOTH
SENTENCED TO DEATH.
ONE OF THE MORE GLARING IRONIES
OF THE CASE IS
THAT DR. DAVIDSON,
THROUGH HIS ALIMONY PAYMENTS,
ENABLED HIS WIFE TO HIRE
THE HIT MEN
WHO ULTIMATELY KILLED HIM.
Narrator: DENISE'S BOYFRIEND,
LEO CISNEROS,
WHO ALLEGEDLY HIRED THE HIT MEN,
HAS NOT BEEN CAPTURED.
HE IS BELIEVED TO BE
IN JAMAICA OR VENEZUELA.
INVESTIGATORS SAY
THE MOUNTAIN OF FORENSIC
EVIDENCE AGAINST DENISE
PAINTS AN UNMISTAKABLE PORTRAIT
OF GREED AND PREMEDITATION.
Rush: THE FORENSIC TECHNICIANS
IN THIS CASE
DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.
THEY WORKED ON THIS CASE
TEDIOUSLY.
THEY WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP
EVIDENCE THAT WAS NOT VISIBLE
TO THE NAKED EYE.
AND BECAUSE OF THEIR DEDICATION,
THEY WERE ABLE
TO USE THIS EVIDENCE IN COURT
TO GAIN A CONVICTION.
ONE THING I LEARNED
FROM THIS CASE IS,
IF YOU'RE GOING TO COMMIT
A CRIME,
BE CAREFUL ABOUT
TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY.
WAS BRUTALLY ATTACKED
IN HIS HOME.
INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED
THAT TELEPHONE TRAFFIC
NEAR THE VICTIM'S HOME
INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY
WITHIN SECONDS OF THE CRIME.
THOSE CALLS,
TRACKED WITH A SOPHISTICATED
FORENSIC COMPUTER PROGRAM,
UNCOVERED
AN INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY.
DR. LOUIS DAVIDSON WAS ONE OF
THE MOST RESPECTED PEDIATRICIANS
IN ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA.
AT 38 YEARS OLD, HE WAS HEAD OF
PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE
AT THE BAYFRONT MEDICAL CENTER.
IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE PATIENT --
THE BABY, THE TODDLER,
THE CHILD.
HE TREATED THEM EACH
WITH UTMOST RESPECT.
UM...NEVER A SNIDE COMMENT.
AND HE GAVE 100% OF HIMSELF
TO EACH CHILD.
AND HE WAS SO SMART,
HE WAS ALMOST SCARY.
Narrator: ON JANUARY 25, 1994,
DR. DAVIDSON FINISHED HIS WORK
AT THE HOSPITAL
AND HEADED HOME
TO GET SOME SLEEP.
DR. DAVIDSON'S GIRLFRIEND
STOPPED BY HIS APARTMENT
LATER THAT DAY,
AND THIS IS WHAT SHE SAW.
SHE HAD HER OWN KEY
TO THE APARTMENT,
AND SHE USED HER KEY
TO ENTER THE APARTMENT.
AND AS SHE WALKED IN,
SHE SAW THIS CRIME SCENE,
WHERE STUFF WAS JUST SPEWED
ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SHE WALKED BACK
AND FOUND HIM IN THE TUB.
Narrator: DR. DAVIDSON WAS DEAD
IN THE BATHTUB.
HE HAD BEEN BEATEN
AND APPARENTLY DROWNED.
Hartzig: I KNEW RIGHT AWAY
THAT THIS WASN'T AN ORDINARY
SUICIDE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT --
THAT THIS WAS DEFINITELY
A BRUTAL CRIME SCENE.
Narrator: DETECTIVE MIKE CELONA
WAS ASSIGNED TO THE CASE.
HIS IDENTITY IS CONCEALED
BECAUSE
HE'S NOW WORKING UNDERCOVER.
THE MASTER-BEDROOM CLOSET HAD
OBVIOUSLY BEEN GONE THROUGH --
CLOTHING PULLED OFF HANGERS,
THROWN ON THE FLOOR.
HOWEVER, ONE OF THE ITEMS
THAT WAS STILL IN THE CLOSET
WAS A GARMENT BAG,
AND IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
GARMENT BAG WAS $20,000 IN CASH.
Narrator: MEANING,
THE MOTIVE WASN'T ROBBERY.
THE CRIME SCENE HAD BEEN STAGED
TO MAKE IT APPEAR TO BE ROBBERY.
DAVIDSON'S GIRLFRIEND
TOLD POLICE
THAT THE DOCTOR
HAD BEEN RECEIVING
STRANGE TELEPHONE CALLS AT HOME
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
SOMETIMES, THEY'LL COME
AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING.
SOMETIMES, 4:00 IN THE MORNING.
SHE SAYS THAT SOMEONE CALLS
AND THEN HANGS UP,
LOOKING JUST TO SEE
IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY HOME
IN THAT APARTMENT.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS FOUND
THEIR FIRST PIECE
OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE
ON A TILE FLOOR
IN THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
TILE FLOORS ARE VERY CONDUCIVE
TO LEAVING EVIDENCE,
ESPECIALLY SHOEPRINTS.
Narrator: TILE IS
FLAT AND NONPOROUS --
A PERFECT TEMPLATE
FOR PRINTS.
SO TECHNICIANS
DUSTED THE AREA...
AND JUST AS THEY EXPECTED,
A SHOE IMPRESSION APPEARED.
NEXT, THEY USED A GEL PAD
AND PUSHED THE ADHESIVE
ONTO THE PRINT,
WHICH FIXES THE DUST IN POSITION
FOR LATER ANALYSIS.
Procissi: IT WAS AMAZING TO ME
THAT THAT SHOEPRINT
WAS PRESERVED.
NORMALLY, THAT SHOEPRINT
COULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED
IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
BY DETECTIVES AND OFFICERS
AND PARAMEDICS GOING
IN AND OUT OF THAT RESIDENCE,
BUT SOMEHOW THAT SHOEPRINT
SURVIVED.
Narrator: THE IMPRESSION
WAS SENT
TO THE FBI IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
TO THEIR FOOTWEAR IMPRESSION
DEPARTMENT.
THERE, THE PRINT WAS COMPARED
TO THE THOUSANDS OF SHOE
IMPRESSIONS ON FILE.
FBI EXPERTS NOTICED IT WAS
A SIZE 9 SNEAKER AND WAS NEW.
THEIR COMPARISONS REVEALED
IT WAS A VOIT BRAND SHOE --
A RELATIVELY OBSCURE BRAND.
BUT HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS
NEEDED
MORE THAN ONE SHOE IMPRESSION
TO FIND THE KILLER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS WERE
STILL PROCESSING THE CRIME SCENE
WHEN NEWS OF DR. DAVIDSON'S
DEATH WAS RELEASED TO THE MEDIA.
IT WAS ON THE NEWS,
AND JUST THE WAY HE DIED...
WAS...
SO HORRIFIC THAT IT WAS LIKE...
TOO HARD TO GRASP.
IT WAS LIKE BEING IN
SOME BAD MOVIE, BUT IT WAS REAL.
EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE LOOK FOR
IN A SORT OF A JUICY,
ALMOST A SOAP-OPERA-STYLE STORY
WAS THERE IN
THIS PARTICULAR MURDER CASE.
Narrator: THE DOCTOR'S
CO-WORKERS COULD THINK OF NO ONE
WHO WOULD WANT TO HARM HIM,
BUT INVESTIGATORS DISCOVERED
THAT DR. DAVIDSON
WAS GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE.
HIS WIFE, DENISE,
A FORMER FINALIST IN
THE MISS JAMAICA BEAUTY PAGEANT,
WAS ASKING FOR CUSTODY
OF THEIR 8-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER --
SOMETHING
THE DOCTOR WAS RESISTING.
WHEN POLICE TOLD DENISE THAT
HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN MURDERED,
SHE APPEARED TO HAVE INFORMATION
THAT HADN'T YET BEEN RELEASED
TO THE MEDIA.
HERE IS DENISE DAVIDSON,
ASKING THE DETECTIVES
THAT ARE TELLING HER
HER HUSBAND WAS FOUND MURDERED
IN HIS APARTMENT,
"WELL, WAS IT A ROBBERY?"
Narrator: NOW SUSPICIOUS,
POLICE PLACED DENISE DAVIDSON
UNDER 24-HOUR SURVEILLANCE.
Man: WE'RE THINKING THAT IT WAS
A PAGER SHE HAD CALLED.
Narrator: THREE DAYS LATER,
DENISE MADE AN UNUSUAL TRIP.
Celona: SHE WALKS IN
AND GOES TO A WESTERN UNION.
NOW, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN SHE LEAVES,
WE WALK IN RIGHT BEHIND HER
AND DETERMINE THAT
SHE'S USING WESTERN UNION
AND SHE SENDS
A MONEY TRANSFER --
A $1,200 MONEY TRANSFER.
Narrator: DENISE HAD USED
AN ALIAS FOR THE TRANSFER --
PAULINE WHITE.
THE MONEY WAS SENT
TO A ROBERT GORDON IN MIAMI.
IT'S BEING SENT
BY A PAULINE WHITE,
WHICH IS NOT
DENISE DAVIDSON'S NAME.
IT'S OBVIOUS
THAT'S A DIFFERENT NAME.
FICTITIOUS ADDRESS,
FICTITIOUS PHONE NUMBER...
BUT WE WATCHED HER SEND IT.
Narrator: ROBERT GORDON
WAS AN ACQUAINTANCE
OF MIAMI NIGHTCLUB OWNER
LEO CISNEROS,
WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO BE
DENISE DAVIDSON'S
CURRENT BOYFRIEND
AND THE FATHER OF
HER UNBORN CHILD.
CISNEROS ALLEGEDLY HAD TIES
TO JAMAICAN DRUG TRAFFICKING.
FLIGHT RECORDS INDICATED
THAT LEO CISNEROS FLEW
TO JAMAICA
ON THE DAY OF
DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
AND TELEPHONE RECORDS INDICATED
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON MADE
NUMEROUS CALLS TO ROBERT GORDON
ON THE MORNING
HER HUSBAND WAS MURDERED.
Celona: BETWEEN
9:30 IN THE MORNING
AND 11:30 IN THE MORNING --
A TWO HOUR PERIOD --
THERE ARE 52 TELEPHONE CALLS
MADE
FROM DENISE DAVIDSON'S HOUSE
TO ROBERT GORDON'S PAGER.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
NOW BELIEVED
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON KNEW
MORE ABOUT HER HUSBAND'S MURDER
THAN SHE ADMITTED,
AND THEY ASKED THE COURT
FOR PERMISSION
TO WIRETAP HER TELEPHONE.
THAT ORDER WAS GRANTED,
BUT IT DIDN'T REVEAL
WHAT INVESTIGATORS HOPED FOR.
[ TELEPHONE RINGS ]
Man: HELLO?
Denise: HELLO.
HI, BABE.
I CALLED WESTERN UNIO,
AND THEY SAID THE MONEY S
AVAILABLE TO BE PICKED U.
Schaub: YOU GOTTA REMEMBER,
DENISE DAVIDSON,
FROM THE BEGINNING, KNEW
THAT HER PHONES MAY BE TAPPED,
SO SHE WAS CAREFUL
WITH WHAT SHE SAID
AND WHAT SHE DIDN'T SAY
ON THE PHONE.
Narrator: THEN, POLICE NOTICED
AN IRREGULARITY.
WHILE LEO CISNEROS
WAS IN JAMAICA,
SOMEONE WAS USING HIS CELLPHONE
IN FLORIDA,
AND THOSE CALLS COULD BE EASILY
TRACED.
WHEN SOMEONE
MAKES A CELLPHONE CALL,
THE SIGNAL GOES THROUGH A SERIES
OF WHAT ARE KNOWN
AS CELL-SITE TOWERS
BEFORE IT GETS
TO AN INDIVIDUAL'S PHONE.
POLICE CAN TRACE
A CELLPHONE CALL
BY THE IDENTITY OF THE TOWERS
THE CALL USES.
ALL OF THIS CELL-TOWER
AND WIRETAP INFORMATION
IT THEN PUT INTO
THE ACISS COMPUTER PROGRAM.
ACISS STANDS FOR
"AUGMENTED CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATIONS SUPPORT SYSTEM."
ACISS HAD NOT EVER BEEN UTILIZED
BY OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT
FOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS.
IT HAD BEEN UTILIZED
FOR NUMEROUS YEARS
BY THE INTELLIGENCE DIVISION,
BY THE NARCOTICS DIVISION,
BECAUSE THEY DEAL A LOT
WITH TELEPHONE RECORDS,
WIRETAPS,
LARGE AMOUNTS OR VOLUMES OF
PEOPLE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER.
Narrator: THIS COMPUTER ANALYSIS
REVEALED AN IMPORTANT PIECE
OF INFORMATION.
CISNEROS' CELLPHONE WAS USED
ON THE MORNING
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER
FROM OUTSIDE
THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
A FEW HOURS LATER,
CALLS WERE MADE FROM THIS MOTEL
NEAR DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT,
AND THE CALLS CONTINUED WHILE
THE INDIVIDUAL HEADED SOUTH
ALONG HIGHWAY 60,
ROUTE 95, ALL THE WAY TO MIAMI.
THE LAST CALL THAT DAY
USED A CELL TOWER
A FEW BLOCKS AWAY
FROM ROBERT GORDON'S HOME.
GORDON WAS THE MAN
DENISE DAVIDSON
HAD WIRED $1,200 TO
A FEW DAYS AFTER THE MURDER.
WHEN POLICE VISITED THE MOTEL
NEAR DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT,
THEY DISCOVERED ROBERT GORDON
HAD STAYED THERE
AROUND THE TIME
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
Celona: THE MAID RECALLS
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING
LEFT BEHIND IN THAT ROOM.
ONE OF THEIR POLICIES
AT THE TIME WAS
THAT IF THERE ARE ITEMS LEFT
BEHIND BY A CUSTOMER,
THEY WOULD PUT THEM IN A BAG
WITH A CARD
THAT HAD THE DATE AND THE ROOM
NUMBER WHERE THEY WERE FOUND,
AND THEY'D PUT THEM
IN A STORAGE CLOSET.
Narrator: THE BAG CONTAINED
A SWEATSHIRT
AND SOMETHING INVESTIGATORS
HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR
SINCE THE DAY OF THE MURDER.
Schaub: AND GUESS WHAT ELSE
WE'VE GOT.
WE'VE GOT SOME SHOES --
SNEAKERS TO BE EXACT.
Narrator: THE SAME SIZE
AS THE IMPRESSION FOUND
IN THE DOCTOR'S APARTMENT.
INVESTIGATORS HOPED
THIS CHANCE DISCOVERY
WOULD SOLVE THE MURDER.
Narrator: DENISE DAVIDSON
HAD WIRED MONEY
TO ROBERT GORDON IN MIAMI
JUST DAYS AFTER
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
INFORMANTS IN MIAMI
TOLD POLICE
THAT GORDON HAD AN ASSOCIATE,
MERYL McDONALD,
WHO WAS WITH GORDON
IN ST. PETERSBURG
AROUND THE TIME
OF DR. DAVIDSON'S MURDER.
DURING QUESTIONING,
BOTH DENIED
ANY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRIME.
THEY ALSO DENIED OWNING
THE SWEATSHIRT AND SNEAKERS
LEFT IN THEIR MOTEL ROOM.
TECHNICIANS COMPARED
THE SHOE IMPRESSION FOUND
ON DR. DAVIDSON'S TILE FLOOR
WITH THE SNEAKERS
FROM THE MOTEL.
BOTH WERE SIZE 9,
BOTH WERE
THE OBSCURE VOIT BRAND,
AND BOTH WERE IDENTICAL
IN WEAR PATTERNS.
THE SHOES MATCHED
GORDON'S SHOE SIZE.
NEXT, TECHNICIANS ANALYZED
THE SWEATSHIRT
AND DISCOVERED A NUMBER OF
HEAD HAIRS, FACIAL HAIRS,
AND SOME FOREIGN FIBERS.
THE FACIAL AND HEAD HAIRS WERE
FOUND INSIDE THE SWEATSHIRT --
NOT UNCOMMON WHEN SOMEONE IS
TAKING THE GARMENT OFF
OVER HIS HEAD.
THE HAIRS WERE UNUSUAL,
SINCE THEY CONTAINED
A CHEMICAL DYE.
A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THAT DYE
MATCHED THE DYE FOUND
ON THE HEAD AND FACIAL HAIR
OF THE SECOND SUSPECT,
MERYL McDONALD.
Schaub: MR. McDONALD MADE THE
MISTAKE OF COLORING HIS HAIR.
THE FBI LAB WAS ABLE
TO DETERMINE
THAT THE TYPE OF COLOR USED
ON THIS STRAND OF HAIR
WAS CONSISTENT WITH
THE TYPE OF COLORING
MR. McDONALD USES ON HIS HAIR.
SCIENTISTS ALSO FOUND
BLUE CASHMERE FIBERS
ON THE SWEATSHIRT.
THOSE FIBERS MATCHED
THE VICTIM'S CASHMERE BATHROBE.
FINALLY, AND MOST DAMNING,
A DNA ANALYSIS
OF BLOOD FOUND ON
THE SWEATSHIRT AND SNEAKERS
WAS THAT OF DR. DAVIDSON.
ONE MORE NAIL HAS BEEN PUT
INTO THE COFFIN
OF THESE TWO DEFENDANTS --
THESE TWO MEN
THAT WERE HIRED TO KILL,
THAT DECIDED THAT MONEY WAS
MORE IMPORTANT THAN A LIFE.
Narrator: BUT INVESTIGATORS HAD
NO SOLID PROOF
THAT DENISE DAVIDSON WAS
INVOLVED IN THE MURDER PLOT.
SHE STOOD TO INHERIT
MORE THAN A HALF MILLION DOLLARS
FROM HER ESTRANGED HUSBAND'S
LIFE-INSURANCE POLICY,
AS WELL AS GAIN
FULL CUSTODY OF THEIR DAUGHTER.
DURING HOURS
OF POLICE INTERROGATION,
DENISE INSISTED
SHE DIDN'T KNOW ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD
AND HAD NOTHING TO DO
WITH HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
DENISE WAS
UNDER POLICE SURVEILLANCE
WHEN SHE WENT
TO THE WESTERN UNION OFFICE
TO TRANSFER MONEY
TO ROBERT GORDON,
BUT SHE SIGNED THE RECEIPT USING
AN ALIAS -- PAULINE WHITE.
A FORENSIC HANDWRITING EXAMINER
COMPARED
THE PAULINE WHITE SIGNATURE
TO KNOWN HANDWRITING SAMPLES
OF DENISE DAVIDSON.
HE CONCLUDED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL
SIGNED THEM BOTH.
FORENSIC TECHNICIANS
TESTED THE RECEIPTS FOR LATENT,
OR HIDDEN, FINGERPRINTS.
THEY STAINED THE RECEIPT
WITH NINHYDRIN,
A CHEMICAL SOLUTION
THAT TURNS THE AMINO ACIDS
IN FINGER OILS PURPLE.
WE HAVE IT PROCESSED
FOR FINGERPRINTS,
AND IT'S DENISE DAVIDSON'S
FINGERPRINTS
ON THAT PIECE OF PAPER.
Narrator: AND POLICE FOUND
EVIDENCE
THAT DENISE PURCHASED
A MAN'S GRAY SWEATSHIRT
AND A PAIR OF
SIZE 9 VOIT SNEAKERS
JUST BEFORE
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER --
IDENTICAL TO THE ITEMS FOUND
IN THE MOTEL
WITH HER HUSBAND'S BLOODSTAINS.
DENISE DAVIDSON NOT ONLY DENIED
ANY INVOLVEMENT
IN HER HUSBAND'S MURDER,
SHE NOW SAID
SHE HAD EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
Pittman: HOW MUCH STRANGER
CAN THIS CASE GET?
HOW MANY MORE TWISTS
CAN THIS CASE TAKE?
Narrator: THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE
CLEARLY PLACED ROBERT GORDON AND
MERYL McDONALD
INSIDE DR. DAVIDSON'S APARTMENT
DURING HIS MURDER.
THE TWO PEOPLE THAT
WERE HIRED TO DO THE KILLING --
MR. GORDON AND MR. McDONALD --
DIDN'T KNOW THE DOCTOR AT ALL.
THE REASON THEY TOOK HIS LIFE
WAS STRICTLY
FOR MONETARY REASONS.
Narrator: BUT JUST AS POLICE
WERE ABOUT TO ARREST
THE VICTIM'S ESTRANGED WIFE,
DENISE,
THE CASE TOOK
AN UNEXPECTED TURN.
DENISE TOLD POLICE
THAT THE REAL KILLER HAD CALLED
HER HOME WHILE SHE WAS AWAY
AND LEFT A THREATENING MESSAGE
ON HER
TELEPHONE-ANSWERING MACHINE.
Denise: WE'RE NOT AVAILABLE
RIGHT NOW,
SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME
AND YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBE.
[ BEEP ]
[ WOMAN SPEAKING ]
[ CLICK ]
Narrator: BUT POLICE
ARRESTED DENISE ANYWAY,
JUST AS SHE WAS ABOUT
TO BOARD A FLIGHT TO JAMAICA.
Celona: I APPROACHED HER
AS SHE SAT THERE WAITING
FOR HER FLIGHT TO ARRIVE.
SHE WAS VERY SURPRISED
WHEN SHE SAW ME,
AND HER FIRST WORDS WERE,
"DETECTIVE CELONA,
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1995,
DENISE WENT ON TRIAL
FOR SOLICITING
HER HUSBAND'S MURDER.
DENISE TOOK THE STAND
IN HER OWN DEFENSE
AND TOLD THE JURY
ABOUT THE THREATENING
TELEPHONE CALL SHE RECEIVED
FROM THE PERSON
SHE SAYS WAS THE REAL KILLER.
BUT PROSECUTORS
WERE READY FOR HER.
Woman: YOU'LL BE SORRY, DENISE.
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS
HAD TRACED THAT CALL
AND DISCOVERED IT HAD ORIGINATED
FROM THE STORE
WHERE DENISE WORKED.
AND DENISE HAD BEEN UNDER
POLICE SURVEILLANCE THAT DAY.
I COULD SEE IN HER EYES,
SHE KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING,
AND IT ALMOST LOOKED,
AT THAT TIME,
LIKE THE AIR
HAD JUST BEEN TAKEN OUT OF HER.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS
PRESENTED THE JURY
WITH THIS SURVEILLANCE VIDEO
SHOWING DENISE
ENTERING THE STORE
SHORTLY BEFORE
THE THREATENING CALL WAS PLACED
AND LEAVING JUST AFTER
THE CALL WAS COMPLETED.
WHEN THE STATE ATTORNEY
DIRECTED THE QUESTION TO HER
AS TO WHETHER THAT WAS HER VOICE
ON THAT TAPE,
SHE COULD ONLY ANSWER,
"I DON'T THINK SO."
SHE JUST LISTENED TO IT
AND LOOKED AT IT
AND REALLY GAVE NO EXPLANATION
FOR WHO
THAT PHONE CALL CAME FROM
AND WHY IT WAS MADE.
Celona: SHE WAS HOLDING UP
PRETTY GOOD WITH HER LIES
THROUGH THE FIRST PORTION
OF HER TESTIFYING.
BUT FROM THAT POINT ON,
EVERYTHING WAS FALLING APART.
AND I THINK
THE JURY SAW WHAT I SAW,
AND THAT WAS FEAR
IN THE EYES OF A LADY WHO HIRED
TWO MEN TO KILL HER HUSBAND.
Narrator: PROSECUTORS BELIEVE
THAT DENISE ASKED
HER BOYFRIEND, LEO CISNEROS,
TO KILL HER HUSBAND.
INSTEAD, CISNEROS HIRED
ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD.
LEO CISNEROS, THE BOYFRIEND,
HAD NO COURAGE.
HE COULDN'T
COMMIT THE CRIME HIMSELF,
SO HE HIRED
THE TWO SCARECROWS --
ROBERT GORDON AND
MERYL McDONALD --
WHO HE SAID DIDN'T HAVE A BRAIN
AMONGST THEM.
Narrator: THE TWO TRACKED
DR. DAVIDSON FOR DAYS
BY CALLING HIS APARTMENT.
AND A WITNESS SAID
THEY WERE AT THE HOSPITAL,
DRESSED LIKE DOCTORS,
TRYING TO GET
DR. DAVIDSON'S SCHEDULE.
ON THE DAY OF THE MURDER,
DR. DAVIDSON WAS RUNNING
TWO HOURS LATE
AND DIDN'T ARRIVE HOME
UNTIL 10:00.
THIS EXPLAINS WHY DENISE CALLED
ROBERT GORDON'S PAGER 52 TIMES
BETWEEN 8:00 AND 10:00
THAT MORNING --
APPARENTLY CONCERNED ABOUT
WHY THE MURDER WAS DELAYED.
[ KNOCK ON DOOR ]
WHEN GORDON AND McDONALD
KNOCKED ON THE DOCTOR'S DOOR,
HE ANSWERED IN HIS BATHROBE.
IN THE SCUFFLE,
DR. DAVIDSON'S ROBE FIBERS
AND BLOOD
GOT ON McDONALD'S SWEATSHIRT --
THE ONE DENISE HAD PURCHASED
FOR HIM.
AFTER DROWNING DAVIDSON
IN THE BATHTUB,
GORDON LEFT HIS SHOE IMPRINT
ON THE TILE FLOOR.
AND WHEN McDONALD
REMOVED THE SWEATSHIRT,
HE LEFT EVIDENCE
OF HIS DYE-COLORED HEAD HAIRS.
FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON,
GORDON MADE THE MISTAKE
OF LEAVING THE SNEAKERS AND
SWEATSHIRT BEHIND
AT HIS MOTEL --
A MOTEL IDENTIFIED THROUGH
DENISE'S TELEPHONE CALLS.
PROSECUTORS PRODUCED RECEIPTS
SHOWING DENISE HAD SENT GORDON
AND McDONALD A TOTAL OF $15,000.
AFTER A 2-WEEK TRIAL,
DENISE DAVIDSON WAS FOUND GUILTY
OF SOLICITATION FOR MURDER.
SHE WAS SENTENCED
TO LIFE IN PRISON.
IF I HAD ONE ONE-LINE
DESCRIPTION OF DENISE DAVIDSON,
IT WOULD BE,
"SHE'S A COLDHEARTED BITCH."
Narrator: ROBERT GORDON
AND MERYL McDONALD
WERE TRIED AND CONVICTED
OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
THEY WERE BOTH
SENTENCED TO DEATH.
ONE OF THE MORE GLARING IRONIES
OF THE CASE IS
THAT DR. DAVIDSON,
THROUGH HIS ALIMONY PAYMENTS,
ENABLED HIS WIFE TO HIRE
THE HIT MEN
WHO ULTIMATELY KILLED HIM.
Narrator: DENISE'S BOYFRIEND,
LEO CISNEROS,
WHO ALLEGEDLY HIRED THE HIT MEN,
HAS NOT BEEN CAPTURED.
HE IS BELIEVED TO BE
IN JAMAICA OR VENEZUELA.
INVESTIGATORS SAY
THE MOUNTAIN OF FORENSIC
EVIDENCE AGAINST DENISE
PAINTS AN UNMISTAKABLE PORTRAIT
OF GREED AND PREMEDITATION.
Rush: THE FORENSIC TECHNICIANS
IN THIS CASE
DID AN EXCELLENT JOB.
THEY WORKED ON THIS CASE
TEDIOUSLY.
THEY WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP
EVIDENCE THAT WAS NOT VISIBLE
TO THE NAKED EYE.
AND BECAUSE OF THEIR DEDICATION,
THEY WERE ABLE
TO USE THIS EVIDENCE IN COURT
TO GAIN A CONVICTION.
ONE THING I LEARNED
FROM THIS CASE IS,
IF YOU'RE GOING TO COMMIT
A CRIME,
BE CAREFUL ABOUT
TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY.