Murder Loves Company (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Devil in the Dance Hall - full transcript

Someone's been dancing a little too close with another's partner - and ends up dead.

When a local dance hall

becomes a breeding ground
for passion and greed...

The square dancers seem
to be no different

than a group of kids
at a high school dance.

...A friend's betrayal
will turn deadly.

People kill people
for love or money.

So, you look
at the money trail,

then you look at the people
involved around it.

Loyalties are tested
across this twisted tale...

They had placed chairs
underneath all of the doorknobs

and appeared to have been
trying to build a barricade.



...Revealing
a horrifying truth...

A killer within.

I really couldn't believe
what had happened.

In Texarkana,
Arkansas,

there is
no shortage of dance halls.

But for one group of friends,
the place to be on Friday night

is the guys and dolls
square dance.

Since its opening decades ago,

the club regulars have been here
to keep the music going.

Give a little wiggle back.

Square thru,
just bring your hands.

Around we go.

Then wheel and deal.

Every other Friday
night, we would have a dance.



And sometimes, on, like,
big dances,

we wouldn't even have
enough room for everybody

to even get
in the building.

The guys and dolls
square dancing club

invited anyone
from the community to come

and join in their lessons
and their,

you know, weekend dances,
that kind of thing.

But for the most part,
it was a core group of folks

who were close friends for whom
this square dancing was a hobby.

You had Barbara Ricketts.

You had Phyllis nabors.

Ray and Patti Wheelington
were heavily involved in it.

They called
a lot of the dances.

And then there were
James and Virginia Hyatt.

You had Ken Caldwell

and Thomas Quinn.

They not only got together
in dance,

they spent a lot
of their spare time,

you know, eating out together
or at each other's homes.

They were a close-knit
group of folks.

Bend the line.

Clap, clap, clap.

You should be home.

Alright.

The male-female ratio
at the guys and dolls

was not even at all.

So, there's a lot of women
and very few men.

Hands up to the middle
and back.

So, that was just common
that the men would dance

with other people
besides their wife.

The square dancers
reminded me of 8th graders

at a high school dance.

Very gossipy group.

I would hope that we would maybe
mature a little more as we age,

and maybe we don't.

911...
What's your emergency?

We think our friend is dead.

She's on her porch,
and there's blood everywhere.

Okay, and what's your
current location?

The 911 call
comes from

a quiet
residential neighborhood

on the east side of Texarkana.

And among those racing to
the scene is sergeant Paul Nall.

When I first arrived,
I noticed that patrol officers

and the initial investigator

who responded were talking
with some individuals

who were later identified

as Barbara Ricketts
and Phyllis nabors.

The women explain
they were concerned

because they couldn't get
in touch with their friend.

Barbara Ricketts and I
went out.

I said, "well, don't go
out there by yourself.

I'll go with you."

All the lights were on,

and we couldn't get her
to answer the phone.

Please leave a message
after the beep.

Hey, girl.

I know that you're tired of us
calling you and checking on you,

but I'm worried about you,
and we are at your house,

and your car's here,
but we don't see you.

We want to know
if you're okay.

Please give me a call.

Bye.

We finally got out
of the car.

We go up to the house.

We see her laying on the porch.

They identified the victim
as Patti Wheelington.

And they advised that she was
a close friend of theirs.

Patti's also the owner

of the guys and dolls
dance club,

making her the de facto head
of their group of friends.

At that point,
I approached the home.

I realized that this particular
house is actually very secluded.

I heard the dog barking
from inside the house.

Because of the dog,

I felt like it was not possible
that a suspect might be inside.

Arriving
at the front door,

nall reaches the grisly scene.

The victim was laying
on the front porch.

There was a small table
sitting on the porch

with a chair beside it,

and noticed that there was
a bullet hole

through the back of this chair.

The victim had actually
been seated in this chair

at the table at the time
that the suspect arrived

and fired the first shot,

which gives me the impression
that the victim was comfortable

with who she was talking to
and it was someone known to her.

The victim was laying
in a bath robe.

She had a cigarette
still in her fingers

that had burned completely out.

The table had a morning cup
of coffee,

so we knew that it had been
early in the morning.

Also, the blood on the porch
was dry,

so we knew that the victim
had been laying on the porch

for more
than just a few minutes.

Police theorize
the killer shot Patti

as she had
her morning cigarette.

I observed that there
was a blood trail,

which led from the chair over
to where the victim's body was.

I believe that she ran
across the porch.

Before she can escape,

Patti is gunned down
at close range.

The medical examiner
and the police officers

at the crime scene

had determined it was
about 4 to 6 feet.

This was not an accident.

This was not
a single gunshot wound.

This was multiple gunshot wounds
on the front, side,

and back of the body.

This wasn't self-defense.

This was a premeditated murder.

According to her friends,

it wasn't like Patti
to quarrel with anyone,

but that's not to say she didn't
rub some folks the wrong way,

especially after the passing
of her husband,

ray, 11 months ago.

It wasn't long after his death

that she returned
to guys and dolls.

And when Patti did,

many of the guys started
paying her special attention.

There was not a man
in that club

that was not in love with Patti.

I mean, they loved her.

A lot of the women
were jealous of her.

Well, I kept trying to get her

to flirt around
with different people.

I said, "just be bold.

You know, get out there
and find you a man.

Find you a dance partner."

She said, "well, everybody that
I know is already married

or got a partner.

I don't want to take
their partner."

You must be tired.

I am.
Thank you.

Those boys,
they're all over you.

They are circling
like piranha.

They are.

I think it's about time
you dance with one of them.

Oh, I've danced
with a couple of them.

Thomas Quinn danced with Patti
for a while,

and he loved it.

Ken Caldwell was learning
how to dance, and he did, too.

This information bodes
the question...

Could someone from
the close-knit dance hall club

have killed Patti?

We have no information as far
as who committed this crime.

We have no witnesses
who can say,

"this is the person
I saw do it."

We have to start
looking at everyone.

At that point,
it's a whodunnit.

A whodunnit with
the unavoidable scent

of jealousy and rage.

On the outskirts
of Texarkana,

the investigation
into 59-year-old

Patti Wheelington's murder
continues.

With her home now secure,

they are finally able to enter
and search for clues.

Of course, any homicide,

we're gonna want to get
into the property,

but because the dog
was so vicious,

we had to wait for it
to be removed.

Once inside,
what detectives discover

takes them all by surprise.

The house was spotless,
nothing out of place.

She had lots of valuables.

No valuables were touched.

No one entered that house.

The fact that none of the
victim's property was missing

or taken indicated to me,
as well as the investigators,

that this was
a personal vendetta

by somebody against Patti.

And what they find
next helps solidify that belief.

We found a receipt where
the victim had just had her door

locks changed the day prior.

Evidently, she felt like
she needed to change

the locks on her home.

Discoveries
from the home aside,

the most helpful clue
on day one of the investigation

comes from Patti's neighbors.

It was just like, bang, bang,
bang, bang, bang.

It was just
a quick five shots.

We have a lot
of Canadian geese.

And one of the neighbors
shoots up in the air sometimes,

so I just assumed
it was somebody

trying to get geese
off the pond.

Yeah.

But what time
do you think that was?

Ooh.
Just a guess is fine.

Between 8:00 and 9:00.

Between 8:00 and 9:00.
Okay.

I guess.

Using the information
to help estimate

Patti's time of death,

detectives reach out
to Patti's circle of friends.

If her murder was in fact
personal,

they all need to answer
some very tough questions.

First up is Thomas Quinn,

the man who asked Barbara
and Phyllis

to check on Patti at her house.

Phyllis and Barbara,
I called them.

Mr. Quinn had not been
a member

of the square
dancing community

maybe as long as
some of the other ones.

That square dancing group,
you're a part of that, too?

I used to be,
but not anymore.

I got the impression
that it was his intention

to kind of distance himself
from that community.

I'm finished with
the square dancing folks.

He just didn't want to be
a part of that anymore.

Thomas Quinn also
claims to be just another player

in the chain of telephone calls,
a chain that got started

by their mutual friend,
Ken Caldwell.

Okay, so run me
through this again.

Ken called you and...?

He called me.
I was at work.

Hello, Ken.

Ken had called Thomas Quinn
that day to go out and check

on Patti Wheelington
at her home.

Oh, I-I can't go check
on her.

I'm swamped here at work.

Alright,
I'm sure she's fine.

Thomas said that's when
he called Barbara Ricketts

and Phyllis nabors up and asked
them if they would go out there.

Why was it
so important to find Patti?

To answer that,
investigators track down

the originator of
the phone trail, Ken Caldwell.

Anything I can do
to help.

Ken Caldwell, he was so
in love with Patti,

just madly in love with her,
calls her every day.

And she was so sweet to him.

Ken told the police
that he needed to go

to the doctor
on a regular basis,

and Patti Wheelington
helped transport him

to and from the doctor's office,

and they had made arrangements
to go to the doctor that day.

Hey, Patti.
I'm just checking in with you,

see if we're still on
for today, right?

Yeah, yeah.

3:00.

As Patricia was talking
with Ken Caldwell,

she said,
"Ken, I've got to go."

We confirmed
that we're meeting,

and then she hung up
kind of abruptly.

Ken did not hear
from her again,

and she was supposed
to pick him up at 3:00.

She wouldn't have dared
not pick him up at 3:00.

Detectives take
possession of Ken's phone

and put in a records request
for Patti's.

They'll need proof
for his story to check out.

We were able to confirm,
first of all,

she did have a conversation
with Mr. Caldwell

early that morning
that she was killed.

Also, we were able
to establish he attempted

to contact her multiple times
throughout the day,

and he would leave
voice messages.

Hello.

I'm waiting for you,
and that's all.

Okay.

Thank you!

I was hoping you would be here
five minutes

after 3:00,
but that's alright.

If you're five minutes late,
that's fine with me.

If you're 10 minutes late,
that's fine with me, okay?

I just want you to know
I'm still waiting.

Kind of expected you
at 3:00, and it's now 3:15.

So either you're working
or you've already gone home

or something's happened.

So, please don't let anything
happen to you.

Bye-bye.

The records seem
to confirm Ken's story,

but investigators aren't ready
to clear him just yet.

We went through her
phone records

and tried to identify
each person

who called Patti
that morning.

Her voicemails paint
an eerie portrait

leading up to the moment
Patti's body is discovered.

Could one of the messages
have been left by her killer?

Patti,
if you get this message,

by the way,
would you call me?

I'm really worried about you.

Got a call,
and it's Ken Caldwell.

Supposedly, you were supposed
to pick him up at 3:00,

and he hasn't heard from you.

He's worried about you.

So, if you get this message,

would you please
give me a call back?

Bye.

Hi, girl. We were just kind of
worried about you.

It'd be nice if you'd
just text us back.

Thank you. Bye.

Hey, girl. Do I need
to come looking for you

or save you or something?

I'm getting worried
about you,

so just let us know
that you're okay.

Just moments after
the last message,

Phyllis and Barbara find
Patti dead on the front porch.

A murder that has her
closest friends under scrutiny.

It's only seven hours
into the investigation,

but a number of forensic pieces
have been added to the puzzle

that is the murder
of Patti Wheelington.

The murder weapon is pegged
as a .38 caliber revolver.

She died with five bullets
in her body.

The first three
bullets entered her chest.

The next hit her armpit.

The last shot hit the left lung
as she was trying to escape.

Based on all the evidence,

including the markings
and burn patterns

that were found on the victim's
robe that she was wearing,

it is believed that the shooter
was actually

in very close proximity
when the first shot was fired.

The brutality of five
direct hits have investigators

looking for
a personal connection.

By piecing together her
neighbors' statements

and her phone records,
detectives are making progress.

So, we were able to establish
that Ms. Wheelington

was actually killed
almost immediately

after getting off the phone
with Mr. Caldwell.

Pretty sure it was 8:00
or so in the morning.

We were able to clear
Ken Caldwell.

He was nowhere near
Ms. Wheelington's home

at the time
she was murdered.

We also cleared Thomas Quinn.

He, too, had a clear
and concise alibi,

which showed that he could not
have committed the homicide.

Operating under
the assumption

that this crime is personal,

investigators turn
their attention to Patti's

other square dancing friends...

Friends like James Hyatt
and his wife, Virginia.

Their friendship
had some limits.

Hey, everybody.
I wanted to introduce my niece.

Oh, hi!
How are you?

Welcome.

Oh, the dress just looks
perfect on you.

I knew it would.

James, would you mind
showing my niece

a couple steps
around the floor?

When you danced with James,

you got Virginia's
permission first.

Well, I'd be happy to.
Come on, niece.

We'll show you some steps.

Then she'd frown up
and not like it

even though she said
you could dance with him.

Despite their differences,

the two couples shared
a friendship

solidified years earlier,

when a different
kind of tragedy struck.

Ray and Patti's house
had burnt down,

and they had
hired James Hyatt

to oversee
all the building of it.

After James Hyatt
effectively acted

as the foreman
of the construction

of the wheelington's
new home,

I guess they had
really developed a close

and trusting friendship.

Then when ray
passed away 14 months later,

the bond between Patti
and James got even stronger.

We had to share James
with Patti after ray died

'cause she didn't have a partner
and she wanted to go with us.

So if there wasn't anyone else,
then James would dance with her.

Would you like
something to drink?

Sure.
Patti had a tendency to be...

Flirty.

There is nice and then
there's flirty.

And she was a little bit
more flirty

than most women
at square dancing.

Virginia, she was just
sure and certain

that she had stole
her husband,

and there was no
convincing her otherwise.

I said, "no, he's not
with Patti."

While friends thought
that the Hyatts'' marriage

was generally working,
things were not as they seemed.

Investigators discover
that James Hyatt

had filed for divorce
from Virginia

and had papers delivered
the day Patti was killed.

She knew he wanted
a divorce.

He told her,
"I am divorcing you."

Did the divorce
provide motive

for Virginia Hyatt
to kill Patti wheelington?

So, we're just trying to get
everybody's timeline here.

They asked Virginia,

"what were you doing
between 8:00 and 9:00?"

I was visiting my mother
at the nursing home.

They'll corroborate that?

Yes.
Excellent.

A call to the home
confirms Virginia's story.

But then, when given
an opportunity,

she doesn't hesitate
to point a finger

at the man she's been
married to for 38 years.

Now, do you own any firearms?
I used to have one.

My husband got me one
a while ago.

As we interviewed
Ms. Hyatt,

we approached the subject
of the weapon,

which we believe to be
a .38 caliber firearm.

She presented to us

that James had purchased
a gun years before.

I haven't seen it
in quite a while.

He may have it.

Your husband may have it?
Mm-hmm.

That's not
the only reason

Virginia says they should look
into her husband, James Hyatt.

When Patti and her
deceased husband

had made their wills out,
they jointly requested

Mr. Hyatt to be
the executor of their wills.

Having
all that information,

we raised all kinds
of questions toward James Hyatt.

Raising suspicion
even more is the fact

that James Hyatt
is now nowhere to be found.

He just left.

I did not know where he was.

No one knew where he was.

He called her and said
don't try to find him,

he wasn't coming back,
he had filed for divorce.

After 38 years,
he basically just said,

"it's over, and I'm leaving."

And he didn't say it to her.

He just left a message.

She called me crying,
"James is gone.

All his clothes are gone.

He's gone.
He's gone."

She was just hysterical.

Detectives run
a background check on James,

and one thing stands out.

James had two cellphones.

We got the cellphone records
on all his phones.

When we come across
information

that a particular individual
has two cellphones,

it does throw up
a red flag.

Feeling the need
to do something,

Phyllis reaches out
to her friend.

I had his phone number
and I text him,

and he calls me.

It's James.

No.
No, I'm on the road.

And he said, "Phyllis," he says,
"I am thousands of miles away."

And I said, "I don't care
how many miles away you are.

Somebody's just killed Patti.

You get back here."

And he said, "I can't talk
to you right now,"

and he hung up.

While James' behavior
isn't helping clear his name,

he soon will be joined
by two additional suspects.

A trio of friends all with
a potential motive,

and one with a desire to kill.

For the past two days,

the Texarkana police
have been on the hunt

for 70-year-old James Hyatt,

a suspect in the death
of his friend Patti wheelington.

And though they can't find him,

they do find some suspicious
information about him.

James Hyatt had
two cellphones.

We got the cellphone records
on all his phones.

We definitely had to sit down
and get his side of the story,

what was going on.

Finally,
after nearly 36 hours,

James shows up at
the Texarkana police station.

James Hyatt didn't come across
as someone

who was eager to get
everything out on the table.

He didn't volunteer anything
about a relationship,

and he denied having
a sexual relationship

with Ms. Wheelington.

But the record of
his electronic messages

suggests a different story.

James Hyatt
was confronted

with having these two different
number and these text messages

and the conversations
going back and forth.

He admitted that he did,
in fact,

have an extramarital affair
with Patti wheelington.

Most damning of all
was the timing of the affair.

After James Hyatt oversaw
the construction of the home

where Patti was
ultimately murdered,

the Wheelingtons then named him
as the executor of their estate.

When ray passed away,

James had a key
to Patti's house,

and he would fix things up
around the house.

And I think that
just drew them closer.

And it just went from there.

James tells
investigators he loved Patti

and has only been
lying to protect her.

This is the Bible belt.

You're not supposed to have
extramarital affairs,

and Patti wheelington had a good
reputation in the community,

and she did a lot
of charitable work,

and I don't think he wanted her
to be viewed in a bad light.

What about the missing
.38 caliber weapon

his wife says he purchased?

James immediately pointed
the finger to Virginia.

James Hyatt had given
his wife, Virginia, a gun,

but it was quite some time
before his affair

started with Patti.

According to James Hyatt,
his wife, Virginia,

was a good shot.

James claims that when
he inquired

about the location of the gun,
Virginia had a simple answer.

She stated to him at that time
that it was lost,

that when he and his wife
moved closer to town,

she could not find the gun.

James also
tells detectives

that his sister tipped him off

that Virginia
might mean him harm.

It was at some family event
shortly before the murder.

Virginia was talking
with James' sister,

her sister-in-law,
and made a comment

that she was worried
about James,

that he might
commit suicide.

It was just enough to make
the sister worry

that maybe Virginia was planning
to do something to James.

She was worried that Virginia
was gonna kill James

and make it look like suicide.

James says he shared
his fears with Patti.

Things are ramping up here,
and I just want you to be safe.

Before he left town,
he communicated with Patti

and warned her
to be extra careful

because he was telling Virginia
that he was leaving her,

and he was concerned
that that might cause her

to go over the edge
and do something to Patti.

Patti assured him
that she would be okay

and for him not to worry

because she felt like
she could handle Virginia.

I just want you to be
very careful.

But so far, all police
have is James' statement,

so they continue
to consider other suspects.

Regardless of how strong
James believes

that Virginia did it,

the police have to say,

"okay, we can take
that information,

but let's look
at everything else, too,"

because you always want
to investigate everyone,

and there's also the chance
that there's an accomplice.

There were individuals
involved

in the square dancing community

who Patti had been
associated with.

We learned that several of them,

including Phyllis nabors
and Barbara Ricketts,

received some type
of monetary gain in her will.

Each would get $20,000

with the exception
of one person...

Virginia.

When Virginia was offered this,
she declined, and she stated

that she did not want to be in
Patricia wheelington's will.

And so Ms. Wheelington
left her out.

With each member
of the group receiving money

upon Patti's death,

did one of them use it
as a motive to kill her?

People kill people
for many different reasons,

but two of the most common
are for love or money.

When you look at James
as a suspect,

the first thing
you have to look at,

could he possibly
have killed her?

And the answer to that was,
no, he couldn't have

because he was
actually in Florida.

Then you look, could he possibly
have had somebody do it?

Could he have paid someone?

And you look at the money trail.

You look at the people
involved around it.

Did they do it?

And when she's killed,
everybody gets money.

No one
is beyond suspicion,

not even the women who found
Patti dead on her porch,

Phyllis and Barbara.

But the truth is out there,

and it comes from the most
unlikely place possible.

James and Virginia Hyatt,

both suspects in the murder
of Patti wheelington,

appear to have
rock-solid alibis.

And it has police looking at
Patti's other friends

who may have
a financial motivation.

Due to the fact
that Phyllis nabors

and Barbara Ricketts,

two individuals present
when the victim was found,

were gonna receive monetary gain
from Ms. Wheelington's death,

of course,
we took a good, hard look

at the two of them.

Okay.
Your date of birth?

Patti had a
life insurance of $100,000,

and she said, "I'm gonna
put all of you on there,

which would mean $20,000 each."

I thought, "this is not
ever gonna happen."

I said, "okay, Patti,
you're younger than all of us,

and you think that we're going
to get any of this money?"

And so, you know, it was just
the strangest thing,

how it worked out.

And I said, Barbara,
she didn't need the money,

and I don't need the money.

When asked about
her whereabouts

leading up to the murder,

Phyllis says she was busy
consoling another suspect.

The day before Patti
was killed,

Virginia was really,
really upset

because James served
her divorce papers.

So, I just took her to bingo
with me

to try to keep
her mind off things.

Then the next day,
I was watching "price is right,"

not knowing that someone had
just shot Patti and killed her.

And Virginia comes to my house
around 10:00.

All of a sudden, she's fine.

And I thought, "this is weird."

You know, 'cause Virginia's
just been

boo-hooing
and her head down,

and now we're just having
a really good time now.

An immediate change in
Virginia's behavior

looks like relief.

She was fixated on
this relationship

that her husband
was having with Patti.

She was upset.

Virginia's suspicious
behavior prompts

detectives to take a closer
look at her alibi.

Initially, Ms. Hyatt
explained to us

that she had been
at a nursing home

during the time
of the homicide.

We were able to recover video
of the nursing home

from that morning, which showed
Ms. Hyatt

was not at the nursing home

for the period of time
that she indicated.

Investigators did see
that she was there

with a cup of coffee
from a local restaurant.

So, we checked all
the video surveillance

from that restaurant,
and it showed

Ms. Hyatt going through
their drive-through

at a time which was different

than what she had tried
to establish in her alibi.

Virginia was actually there
an hour and a half

after neighbors heard gunfire
that morning.

The lies
and video evidence

are enough to make an arrest.

The police came
to her home at about 2:00 A.M.

She didn't want to come out.

She had placed chairs
underneath all of the doorknobs,

trying to barricade herself in.

Ms. Hyatt,
open the door!

I believe Virginia was expecting
us to knock on her door

and had been expecting us
since the homicide.

Remove the chair
and open the door.

They talked her into
coming out of the house,

and they took her
into custody.

Virginia's house
is searched.

The murder weapon
is never recovered.

But detectives find other
damning evidence.

There was
gunshot residue found

on Virginia Hyatt's shirt.

You could see in the videos,

that Virginia was wearing
that shirt that day.

Virginia is questioned,

but frustrates investigators.

She talked to us
for a good long time,

but she would not admit
to killing Ms. Wheelington.

At trial,

Virginia paints a very
different picture of herself

for the jurors.

For some of the trial,
Virginia Hyatt

was wheeled into courtroom.

She would act
like she was hurt.

She would, like, stumble
and walk unevenly

and act like
she was really disabled.

Prosecutors
easily disprove

Virginia's "poor me" facade.

We had recent video
of her at a social gathering.

She was dancing, singing,
and so the show

that she put on in front
of the jury, it was laughable.

The video evidence
doesn't stop there.

One of the jailers, he goes,

"well, you should see her
when they opened the window

to serve the food trays.

She's the first one there.
She jumps up and runs."

So, after the jury saw the video
of her singing and dancing

and then saw her at the jail
running to the chow line,

it was like the last nail
in the coffin.

They're like, "you have not
been honest with us."

In 2016, Virginia is
convicted of Patti's murder

and sentenced to life in prison

without
the possibility of parole.

You just shake your head

and wonder
what goes through people's minds

to lead them to that point.

And you think of old ladies
as wholesome,

good, nice people, as well,
but that's not always the case.

I miss Patti.

And I was really mad
at Virginia.

She took out a beautiful person,
a gorgeous person,

such a giving person, you know?

Why would you take someone
like that?