Forensic Files (1996–…): Season 7, Episode 9 - A Shot in the Dark - full transcript
NARRATOR: Ernestine Perea
was found dead in her bedroom
of a single gunshot wound.
The gun was by her side.
After examining the
forensic evidence,
her death was ruled a homicide.
But could that same evidence
be interpreted differently?
One man's life hung
in the balance.
[music playing]
In 1979, Martin Frias entered
the United States illegally
from Mexico looking for work.
MARTIN FRIAS: More
opportunity to raise
your family, better way
to educate your kids,
a better life.
NARRATOR: Frias landed a job at
a local marble processing plant
in the rural town of
Wheatland, Wyoming.
Two years later, he met
24-year-old Ernestine Perea,
a divorcee with
a young daughter.
They had two children of
their own, a boy, and a girl.
MARTIN FRIAS: She
was a good dancer.
We danced together good.
She was somebody
you want to be with.
NARRATOR: Ernestine
and Martin decided
to live together and
rented a mobile home
on the edge of town.
But they also fought, mostly
over insignificant matters,
says Martin.
On July 5, 1984, Ernestine
spent the entire day out
with her children
and didn't arrive
home until 10:30 that night.
Martin put the children to bed
while Ernestine went to sleep
in the couple's bedroom.
That night, Frias slept on the
sofa bed in the living room.
Around 1 o'clock in the
morning, Frias was awakened
by one of the children crying.
MARTIN FRIAS: She was like
saying, mommy, mommy, get up.
Turned the light on.
And that's when I saw she
was laying in the rug,
right there on the floor.
She had the gun next to her.
NARRATOR: Ernestine was
dead from a gunshot wound.
I see blood on her stomach.
And when I was walking
out [inaudible],
I saw also blood
splattered on the wall.
So I call for ambulance
and call the police.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: There was
no evidence of a break-in.
There was no evidence of anybody
else being out at the trailer
other than two small
children, I believe,
a four-year-old and a baby.
NARRATOR: When
questioned at the scene,
Frias lied saying he wasn't
home when Ernestine was shot.
Frias may have
had reason to lie.
Police records showed
that the Sheriff
had been called to
his home several times
for domestic disturbances.
On a number of
occasions, Ernestine
said that Martin had hit her.
A forensic analysis revealed
that Frias's fingerprints
were all over the rifle.
And there was more
evidence even more damning.
When Ernestine Perea was
found dead of a gunshot wound,
her common law
husband, Martin Frias
denied he was home when
the shooting occurred.
But he later changed
his story and admitted
he was home that night.
Investigators discovered
that Ernestine
was with some male friends
earlier on the day she died.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: She had
been wrestling in the grass.
She'd been drinking
with these friends.
And also that Martin
Frias had, evidently,
ridden by the park
at that time and very
possibly may have seen them.
NARRATOR: Frias said
Ernestine had come home drunk.
Tests prove this correct.
Her blood alcohol level
was 0.26, 2 and a 1/2 times
the legal limit.
He also said they
weren't getting along
and had stopped
sleeping together.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: We knew
there had been problems
between the two of them.
He was sleeping out on
the couch in the living
room at that time.
He'd been banished
from the bedroom.
NARRATOR: Although he said he
was sleeping down the hall,
he claimed he never
head the gun go off.
He told investigators
he was sleeping
on the couch at the other end
of the hallway in the trailer.
And at some time, during the
night, about the time when it's
believed that the
gun went off, he
said he heard what he thought
to be a twig breaking at night.
And he heard that and then
he went back to sleep.
Frias said Ernestine
committed suicide.
Next to Ernestine's body was a
high powered 300 magnum hunting
rifle which belonged to Frias.
His fingerprints
were on the rifle.
Ernestine's fingerprint
was found on the scope.
Her pants were ripped
near the zipper.
And the button had been
pulled off, indicating
some sort of struggle.
Ernestine had a large
wound in her abdomen
and a much smaller
wound in her back.
Since exit wounds are generally
larger than entrance wounds,
the coroner was
certain that Ernestine
had been shot in the back.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: The blood had
entered through a wound which
was a little less than
half inch in size,
and struck the vertebrae,
had gone through the body,
and had come out through the
abdomen on the front side.
NARRATOR: Also supporting
the homicide theory
was the evidence on
Ernestine's blouse.
IRVING STONE: On the
inside of the shirt,
there were copious amounts of,
of course, blood and tissue.
But I also found bone
fragments and lead fragments
from the bullet as
it was disintegrating
passing through the body.
NARRATOR: Proof Dr.
Stone says that Ernestine
was shot from behind.
The autopsy results
found the same thing.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: The results
of that autopsy confirmed
that the bullet had
entered the back
and had extended out the front.
NARRATOR: And there was no
gunshot residue on the front
of the blouse, which would
have been present had
she committed suicide.
DOUGLAS BRYANT:
They did not find
any evidence of
that in the front
or the back of the blouse.
And that indicated
that the weapon
was at least some 30
inches to three feet away,
according to their findings.
NARRATOR: Frias denied
he murdered his wife
and pointed to the fact that
his right arm was broken
and he wasn't able to
maneuver the rifle himself.
Nevertheless, Ernestine's
death was ruled a homicide.
Based on the forensic
evidence, prosecutors
believe that Frias
and Ernenstine
fought when she arrived home.
A violent tug from the rear
ripped her pants, causing
the bruises on her abdomen.
As Ernestine was getting
up from the floor,
prosecutors say Frias
shot her in the back.
[gunshot]
Blood spurted out of
her stomach and struck
the wall in front of her.
As she fell to the
floor, her body
twisted in reaction to the shot
and she landed on her back.
Prosecutors say Frias left
the rifle on the ground
to make it appear the
death was a suicide.
They didn't believe Frias'
cast would've hindered
his ability to fire the weapon.
MARTIN FRIAS: I felt that the
whole world fell on top of me.
It was just like
a real nightmare.
I was just like, God, why me?
What do-- I mean.
I couldn't-- I was shocked.
I was shocked completely.
NARRATOR: Martin Frias was
charged with his wife's murder.
Since he couldn't
afford an attorney,
the court appointed one for him.
At the time, the state
public defender's office
used the state crime
lab, the very same
lab used by the prosecution.
They had already ruled
Ernestine's death
was a homicide.
Frias's attorney
tried to come up with
an alternative explanation
for Ernestine's death,
but he couldn't.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: We
felt bad about how
the trial was going to go.
I remember a public
defender investigator named,
Walt Caroll, and I
talking before the trial
started about what a
grim prospect it looked
like for Martin.
NARRATOR: And they were right.
The jury convicted Frias
of second degree murder
and sentenced him to 25
to 35 years in prison.
But the story doesn't end there.
After the murder
conviction of Martin Frias,
his attorney, Robert Moxley,
started gathering information
to file an appeal.
Meanwhile, Moxley started
to have misgivings
about the competency of
the state's pathologist
who had performed the autopsy.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The
pathologist in this case
was not qualified to
do forensic cases.
And that's probably
being charitable.
NARRATOR: So he asked
Dr. Robert Lantz,
an independent gunshot
residue expert,
to test Ernestine's blouse.
ROBERT LANTZ: I'd used a much
more sophisticated, much more
modern technology
called scanning electron
microscopy with x-ray emission.
And what this does
is it provides
much better sensitivity
for gunshot residue.
What this told me was
the gunshot residue
had come from the
front, very clearly,
and had followed the bullet
right on through her abdomen
and come out the back.
NARRATOR: This contradicted
tests done by the state crime
lab, which found no
evidence of gunshot residue
anywhere on the blouse.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The tests that
had been done by the crime lab
were some rather
archaic chemical tests
where it's possible to do
them just a little bit wrong
and not find any
gunshot residue.
NARRATOR: Suddenly,
Frias's story
that Ernestine had
committed suicide
didn't seem so far fetched.
Yet, Frias remained behind bars.
MARTIN FRIAS: When I left
from prison, it was miserable.
I was mad, angry.
It was something that I don't
wish on nobody-- go to prison
for something he did not.
NARRATOR: After two
years in prison,
Wyoming Supreme Court
granted Frias a new trial.
But the defense had their
work cut out for them.
Prosecutors ordered
Ernestine's body
exhumed for a second autopsy.
The chief medical examiner for
Houston, Texas, Dr. Charles
Petty performed this one.
The results of
the second autopsy
were the same as the first.
The bullet entered
Ernestine's back
and came out
through for stomach.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: I think that the
evidence showed, at that time,
and still does, in my mind,
today that Martin Frias shot
and murdered Ernestine Perea.
NARRATOR: But the defense
introduced some new evidence
in the second trial, that
Ernestine was suicidal,
and that slash
marks on her wrists
proved she had tried to kill
herself numerous times before.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: I
was able to document
between the different
stories and medical records
somewhere between five and
maybe a dozen prior suicide
attempts or suicide gestures.
NARRATOR: And Moxley
attacked the heart
of the prosecution's case.
The first point was
Frias's contention
that he didn't hear the
gunshot from the living room.
Acoustics expert,
Dr. Harry Hollien
provided an explanation.
Hollien conducted a test
using the body of a dead horse
covered with a fabric
similar to Ernestine's blouse
with a 300 magnum rifle,
similar to Frias's rifle.
The first shot, three feet away
from the horse, was very loud.
[gunshot]
HARRY HOLLIEN: When the
gun was fired in the open,
we got dB readings of somewhere
between 110 and 120 dB--
and it sounded like gunfire.
NARRATOR: But when
the muscle was
placed against the
skin and material,
it sounded very different.
[muffled gunshot]
HARRY HOLLIEN: The gun shot
doesn't sound like gunfire.
It sounds like someone
kicking the side of a building
or kicking a piece of furniture.
And the energy
level is quite low.
[muffled gunshot]
NARRATOR: The sound
was similar to what
Frias described on the
night of his wife's death.
Judy Bunker, a blood
spatter expert,
analyzed the blood evidence
on the wall, only 18 inches
from the floor.
She says it clearly shows
Ernestine was sitting
on the floor with the
rifle to her stomach
when the shot was fired.
JUDITH BUNKER: The
bullet fragments
in the wall, their location,
along with the blood spatter
location across the wall,
and given the location
of her wounds, would
indicate that she
was either kneeling or seated
when the shot was fired.
NARRATOR: And she found
no blood spatter evidence
to suggest, as
prosecutors contended,
that Ernestine was shot in the
back, then twisted in the air
while falling to the floor.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: I
learned from Judith Bunker
that if somebody gets shot
and spins around, that they
spew vital fluids around.
NARRATOR: But there was no blood
spatter on the floor, walls,
or the bed from
the twisting motion
the prosecution says occurred.
The defense theory
was clearly suicide,
that Ernestine held the muzzle
of the rifle to her stomach
with one hand, then
leaned over and pushed
the trigger with the other.
But prosecution
experts said there
was a problem with that theory.
IRVING STONE: Had this weapon
had been used in contact
with the body at the
time of discharge
that I would have
expected that there
would have been
blood and or tissue
on the muzzle of the weapon.
And there was none.
NARRATOR: Dr. Vincent
DiMaio, an expert
in high velocity gunshot wounds,
testified for the defense.
VINCENT DiMAIO: The absence
of blood on the weapon
means absolutely nothing.
Maybe half the
times with handguns,
you don't find
blood on the muzzle.
It's a little more common
in shotguns [inaudible].
But don't forget with rifles,
and in this situation,
you had clothing in between.
NARRATOR: Dr.
DiMaio also believes
that the autopsy photos
clearly show that Ernestine
was shot in the stomach.
VINCENT DiMAIO: When
you discharge a gun,
out the muzzle of the
gun comes a flame.
That's about 1,400
to 1,500 degrees.
And out comes gas.
And out comes soot, carbon,
from burning gun powder.
If you put the muzzle of
the gun against the body,
then you're going to have
the soot and the flame burns,
and then the effects of gas.
If you look at the wound in
the abdomen, there's soot
and there's flame burns.
That means, the muzzle was
in contact with the body
the time of discharge.
Therefore, this has
to be the entrance.
NARRATOR: And Dr. DiMaio
says the gas discharge
from the rifle temporarily
inflated Ernestine's abdomen
with enough force that
it ripped her jeans,
contrary to the
prosecution's claim
that they were torn
during a fight.
Lastly, prosecution
experts testified,
as they did in the first trial,
that they found no gunshot
residue on the blouse,
supporting their claim
that Ernestine was
at least three feet
away when the gun was fired.
The defense presented
their new scanning electron
microscope evidence of
gunpowder residue on the blouse.
And with that, the
defense rested their case.
In a moment, the verdict.
In Martin Frias's
second murder trial,
there were two very different
theories presented to the jury.
The prosecution theory was that
Martin Frias shot Ernestine
in the back as she was
getting up from the floor
after a fight.
After the shot,
Ernestine twisted
as she fell to the
floor, which explains
why she was found on her back.
The defense maintained
that Ernestine was sitting
on the floor, the
rifle was upside down,
she used one hand to hold the
muzzle against her stomach,
and the other to
push the trigger.
[muffled gunshot]
During deliberations,
the jury wanted
to see if a woman Ernestine's
size could accomplish
what the defense said happened.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: And
there was a small woman
on the second jury.
They took the gun
into the jury room.
And she sat down on the floor
and replicated my theory.
And she told me later that her
finger had touched that scope
on that rifle exactly where
Ernestine's finger print had
been-- same alignment.
NARRATOR: After 2 and
1/2 hours, the jury
had a verdict, not guilty.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: I don't
question the wisdom of the jury.
I can see where
they may not have
been sure who had the
accurate opinion, who
had the accurate theory.
And there's no question in the
criminal justice system, as it
should be, that if there's a tie
or even anything close to a tie
that it's beyond a
reasonable doubt.
And I think the
jury didn't acquit
Martin Frias because they
felt he was innocent.
But I believe that
they acquitted
because they could
not find that he
was guilty beyond
any reasonable doubt.
MARTIN FRIAS: I was so
happy that I [inaudible]
to feel like cry at same time.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY:
We hugged each other
and danced around the
courtroom a little bit.
It was a good moment.
NARRATOR: Martin Frias now
lives in Southern California.
He is now an American citizen
and has tried to get custody
of his children, but they
remain with Ernestine's mother
in Wyoming.
MARTIN FRIAS: I'm married
and I got a good job.
I can't complain.
I make good money.
I got a little girl.
We enjoy life.
NARRATOR: The
forensic experts who
assisted Robert Moxley
in the second trial
did so without remuneration.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The forensic
community rallied around me
in this case to make sure
that I got the help I needed,
to find the expertise I needed.
And there were just
all kinds of people
out there committed to
making sure that justice
got done in this case.
MARTIN FRIAS: American justice.
It does work.
It's better than I thought.
[music playing]
was found dead in her bedroom
of a single gunshot wound.
The gun was by her side.
After examining the
forensic evidence,
her death was ruled a homicide.
But could that same evidence
be interpreted differently?
One man's life hung
in the balance.
[music playing]
In 1979, Martin Frias entered
the United States illegally
from Mexico looking for work.
MARTIN FRIAS: More
opportunity to raise
your family, better way
to educate your kids,
a better life.
NARRATOR: Frias landed a job at
a local marble processing plant
in the rural town of
Wheatland, Wyoming.
Two years later, he met
24-year-old Ernestine Perea,
a divorcee with
a young daughter.
They had two children of
their own, a boy, and a girl.
MARTIN FRIAS: She
was a good dancer.
We danced together good.
She was somebody
you want to be with.
NARRATOR: Ernestine
and Martin decided
to live together and
rented a mobile home
on the edge of town.
But they also fought, mostly
over insignificant matters,
says Martin.
On July 5, 1984, Ernestine
spent the entire day out
with her children
and didn't arrive
home until 10:30 that night.
Martin put the children to bed
while Ernestine went to sleep
in the couple's bedroom.
That night, Frias slept on the
sofa bed in the living room.
Around 1 o'clock in the
morning, Frias was awakened
by one of the children crying.
MARTIN FRIAS: She was like
saying, mommy, mommy, get up.
Turned the light on.
And that's when I saw she
was laying in the rug,
right there on the floor.
She had the gun next to her.
NARRATOR: Ernestine was
dead from a gunshot wound.
I see blood on her stomach.
And when I was walking
out [inaudible],
I saw also blood
splattered on the wall.
So I call for ambulance
and call the police.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: There was
no evidence of a break-in.
There was no evidence of anybody
else being out at the trailer
other than two small
children, I believe,
a four-year-old and a baby.
NARRATOR: When
questioned at the scene,
Frias lied saying he wasn't
home when Ernestine was shot.
Frias may have
had reason to lie.
Police records showed
that the Sheriff
had been called to
his home several times
for domestic disturbances.
On a number of
occasions, Ernestine
said that Martin had hit her.
A forensic analysis revealed
that Frias's fingerprints
were all over the rifle.
And there was more
evidence even more damning.
When Ernestine Perea was
found dead of a gunshot wound,
her common law
husband, Martin Frias
denied he was home when
the shooting occurred.
But he later changed
his story and admitted
he was home that night.
Investigators discovered
that Ernestine
was with some male friends
earlier on the day she died.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: She had
been wrestling in the grass.
She'd been drinking
with these friends.
And also that Martin
Frias had, evidently,
ridden by the park
at that time and very
possibly may have seen them.
NARRATOR: Frias said
Ernestine had come home drunk.
Tests prove this correct.
Her blood alcohol level
was 0.26, 2 and a 1/2 times
the legal limit.
He also said they
weren't getting along
and had stopped
sleeping together.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: We knew
there had been problems
between the two of them.
He was sleeping out on
the couch in the living
room at that time.
He'd been banished
from the bedroom.
NARRATOR: Although he said he
was sleeping down the hall,
he claimed he never
head the gun go off.
He told investigators
he was sleeping
on the couch at the other end
of the hallway in the trailer.
And at some time, during the
night, about the time when it's
believed that the
gun went off, he
said he heard what he thought
to be a twig breaking at night.
And he heard that and then
he went back to sleep.
Frias said Ernestine
committed suicide.
Next to Ernestine's body was a
high powered 300 magnum hunting
rifle which belonged to Frias.
His fingerprints
were on the rifle.
Ernestine's fingerprint
was found on the scope.
Her pants were ripped
near the zipper.
And the button had been
pulled off, indicating
some sort of struggle.
Ernestine had a large
wound in her abdomen
and a much smaller
wound in her back.
Since exit wounds are generally
larger than entrance wounds,
the coroner was
certain that Ernestine
had been shot in the back.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: The blood had
entered through a wound which
was a little less than
half inch in size,
and struck the vertebrae,
had gone through the body,
and had come out through the
abdomen on the front side.
NARRATOR: Also supporting
the homicide theory
was the evidence on
Ernestine's blouse.
IRVING STONE: On the
inside of the shirt,
there were copious amounts of,
of course, blood and tissue.
But I also found bone
fragments and lead fragments
from the bullet as
it was disintegrating
passing through the body.
NARRATOR: Proof Dr.
Stone says that Ernestine
was shot from behind.
The autopsy results
found the same thing.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: The results
of that autopsy confirmed
that the bullet had
entered the back
and had extended out the front.
NARRATOR: And there was no
gunshot residue on the front
of the blouse, which would
have been present had
she committed suicide.
DOUGLAS BRYANT:
They did not find
any evidence of
that in the front
or the back of the blouse.
And that indicated
that the weapon
was at least some 30
inches to three feet away,
according to their findings.
NARRATOR: Frias denied
he murdered his wife
and pointed to the fact that
his right arm was broken
and he wasn't able to
maneuver the rifle himself.
Nevertheless, Ernestine's
death was ruled a homicide.
Based on the forensic
evidence, prosecutors
believe that Frias
and Ernenstine
fought when she arrived home.
A violent tug from the rear
ripped her pants, causing
the bruises on her abdomen.
As Ernestine was getting
up from the floor,
prosecutors say Frias
shot her in the back.
[gunshot]
Blood spurted out of
her stomach and struck
the wall in front of her.
As she fell to the
floor, her body
twisted in reaction to the shot
and she landed on her back.
Prosecutors say Frias left
the rifle on the ground
to make it appear the
death was a suicide.
They didn't believe Frias'
cast would've hindered
his ability to fire the weapon.
MARTIN FRIAS: I felt that the
whole world fell on top of me.
It was just like
a real nightmare.
I was just like, God, why me?
What do-- I mean.
I couldn't-- I was shocked.
I was shocked completely.
NARRATOR: Martin Frias was
charged with his wife's murder.
Since he couldn't
afford an attorney,
the court appointed one for him.
At the time, the state
public defender's office
used the state crime
lab, the very same
lab used by the prosecution.
They had already ruled
Ernestine's death
was a homicide.
Frias's attorney
tried to come up with
an alternative explanation
for Ernestine's death,
but he couldn't.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: We
felt bad about how
the trial was going to go.
I remember a public
defender investigator named,
Walt Caroll, and I
talking before the trial
started about what a
grim prospect it looked
like for Martin.
NARRATOR: And they were right.
The jury convicted Frias
of second degree murder
and sentenced him to 25
to 35 years in prison.
But the story doesn't end there.
After the murder
conviction of Martin Frias,
his attorney, Robert Moxley,
started gathering information
to file an appeal.
Meanwhile, Moxley started
to have misgivings
about the competency of
the state's pathologist
who had performed the autopsy.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The
pathologist in this case
was not qualified to
do forensic cases.
And that's probably
being charitable.
NARRATOR: So he asked
Dr. Robert Lantz,
an independent gunshot
residue expert,
to test Ernestine's blouse.
ROBERT LANTZ: I'd used a much
more sophisticated, much more
modern technology
called scanning electron
microscopy with x-ray emission.
And what this does
is it provides
much better sensitivity
for gunshot residue.
What this told me was
the gunshot residue
had come from the
front, very clearly,
and had followed the bullet
right on through her abdomen
and come out the back.
NARRATOR: This contradicted
tests done by the state crime
lab, which found no
evidence of gunshot residue
anywhere on the blouse.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The tests that
had been done by the crime lab
were some rather
archaic chemical tests
where it's possible to do
them just a little bit wrong
and not find any
gunshot residue.
NARRATOR: Suddenly,
Frias's story
that Ernestine had
committed suicide
didn't seem so far fetched.
Yet, Frias remained behind bars.
MARTIN FRIAS: When I left
from prison, it was miserable.
I was mad, angry.
It was something that I don't
wish on nobody-- go to prison
for something he did not.
NARRATOR: After two
years in prison,
Wyoming Supreme Court
granted Frias a new trial.
But the defense had their
work cut out for them.
Prosecutors ordered
Ernestine's body
exhumed for a second autopsy.
The chief medical examiner for
Houston, Texas, Dr. Charles
Petty performed this one.
The results of
the second autopsy
were the same as the first.
The bullet entered
Ernestine's back
and came out
through for stomach.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: I think that the
evidence showed, at that time,
and still does, in my mind,
today that Martin Frias shot
and murdered Ernestine Perea.
NARRATOR: But the defense
introduced some new evidence
in the second trial, that
Ernestine was suicidal,
and that slash
marks on her wrists
proved she had tried to kill
herself numerous times before.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: I
was able to document
between the different
stories and medical records
somewhere between five and
maybe a dozen prior suicide
attempts or suicide gestures.
NARRATOR: And Moxley
attacked the heart
of the prosecution's case.
The first point was
Frias's contention
that he didn't hear the
gunshot from the living room.
Acoustics expert,
Dr. Harry Hollien
provided an explanation.
Hollien conducted a test
using the body of a dead horse
covered with a fabric
similar to Ernestine's blouse
with a 300 magnum rifle,
similar to Frias's rifle.
The first shot, three feet away
from the horse, was very loud.
[gunshot]
HARRY HOLLIEN: When the
gun was fired in the open,
we got dB readings of somewhere
between 110 and 120 dB--
and it sounded like gunfire.
NARRATOR: But when
the muscle was
placed against the
skin and material,
it sounded very different.
[muffled gunshot]
HARRY HOLLIEN: The gun shot
doesn't sound like gunfire.
It sounds like someone
kicking the side of a building
or kicking a piece of furniture.
And the energy
level is quite low.
[muffled gunshot]
NARRATOR: The sound
was similar to what
Frias described on the
night of his wife's death.
Judy Bunker, a blood
spatter expert,
analyzed the blood evidence
on the wall, only 18 inches
from the floor.
She says it clearly shows
Ernestine was sitting
on the floor with the
rifle to her stomach
when the shot was fired.
JUDITH BUNKER: The
bullet fragments
in the wall, their location,
along with the blood spatter
location across the wall,
and given the location
of her wounds, would
indicate that she
was either kneeling or seated
when the shot was fired.
NARRATOR: And she found
no blood spatter evidence
to suggest, as
prosecutors contended,
that Ernestine was shot in the
back, then twisted in the air
while falling to the floor.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: I
learned from Judith Bunker
that if somebody gets shot
and spins around, that they
spew vital fluids around.
NARRATOR: But there was no blood
spatter on the floor, walls,
or the bed from
the twisting motion
the prosecution says occurred.
The defense theory
was clearly suicide,
that Ernestine held the muzzle
of the rifle to her stomach
with one hand, then
leaned over and pushed
the trigger with the other.
But prosecution
experts said there
was a problem with that theory.
IRVING STONE: Had this weapon
had been used in contact
with the body at the
time of discharge
that I would have
expected that there
would have been
blood and or tissue
on the muzzle of the weapon.
And there was none.
NARRATOR: Dr. Vincent
DiMaio, an expert
in high velocity gunshot wounds,
testified for the defense.
VINCENT DiMAIO: The absence
of blood on the weapon
means absolutely nothing.
Maybe half the
times with handguns,
you don't find
blood on the muzzle.
It's a little more common
in shotguns [inaudible].
But don't forget with rifles,
and in this situation,
you had clothing in between.
NARRATOR: Dr.
DiMaio also believes
that the autopsy photos
clearly show that Ernestine
was shot in the stomach.
VINCENT DiMAIO: When
you discharge a gun,
out the muzzle of the
gun comes a flame.
That's about 1,400
to 1,500 degrees.
And out comes gas.
And out comes soot, carbon,
from burning gun powder.
If you put the muzzle of
the gun against the body,
then you're going to have
the soot and the flame burns,
and then the effects of gas.
If you look at the wound in
the abdomen, there's soot
and there's flame burns.
That means, the muzzle was
in contact with the body
the time of discharge.
Therefore, this has
to be the entrance.
NARRATOR: And Dr. DiMaio
says the gas discharge
from the rifle temporarily
inflated Ernestine's abdomen
with enough force that
it ripped her jeans,
contrary to the
prosecution's claim
that they were torn
during a fight.
Lastly, prosecution
experts testified,
as they did in the first trial,
that they found no gunshot
residue on the blouse,
supporting their claim
that Ernestine was
at least three feet
away when the gun was fired.
The defense presented
their new scanning electron
microscope evidence of
gunpowder residue on the blouse.
And with that, the
defense rested their case.
In a moment, the verdict.
In Martin Frias's
second murder trial,
there were two very different
theories presented to the jury.
The prosecution theory was that
Martin Frias shot Ernestine
in the back as she was
getting up from the floor
after a fight.
After the shot,
Ernestine twisted
as she fell to the
floor, which explains
why she was found on her back.
The defense maintained
that Ernestine was sitting
on the floor, the
rifle was upside down,
she used one hand to hold the
muzzle against her stomach,
and the other to
push the trigger.
[muffled gunshot]
During deliberations,
the jury wanted
to see if a woman Ernestine's
size could accomplish
what the defense said happened.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: And
there was a small woman
on the second jury.
They took the gun
into the jury room.
And she sat down on the floor
and replicated my theory.
And she told me later that her
finger had touched that scope
on that rifle exactly where
Ernestine's finger print had
been-- same alignment.
NARRATOR: After 2 and
1/2 hours, the jury
had a verdict, not guilty.
DOUGLAS BRYANT: I don't
question the wisdom of the jury.
I can see where
they may not have
been sure who had the
accurate opinion, who
had the accurate theory.
And there's no question in the
criminal justice system, as it
should be, that if there's a tie
or even anything close to a tie
that it's beyond a
reasonable doubt.
And I think the
jury didn't acquit
Martin Frias because they
felt he was innocent.
But I believe that
they acquitted
because they could
not find that he
was guilty beyond
any reasonable doubt.
MARTIN FRIAS: I was so
happy that I [inaudible]
to feel like cry at same time.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY:
We hugged each other
and danced around the
courtroom a little bit.
It was a good moment.
NARRATOR: Martin Frias now
lives in Southern California.
He is now an American citizen
and has tried to get custody
of his children, but they
remain with Ernestine's mother
in Wyoming.
MARTIN FRIAS: I'm married
and I got a good job.
I can't complain.
I make good money.
I got a little girl.
We enjoy life.
NARRATOR: The
forensic experts who
assisted Robert Moxley
in the second trial
did so without remuneration.
ROBERT T. MOXLEY: The forensic
community rallied around me
in this case to make sure
that I got the help I needed,
to find the expertise I needed.
And there were just
all kinds of people
out there committed to
making sure that justice
got done in this case.
MARTIN FRIAS: American justice.
It does work.
It's better than I thought.
[music playing]