Sleeping with a Killer (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Dana Mackay - full transcript

- [Narrator] July, 2013.

James City County, Virginia.

A woman discovers her
neighbor brutally murdered.

- When I walked into the room,

the level of violence
that had been done

was something that I was
really unprepared for.

- Knowing what
happened in that house,

she was caught off guard.

A defenseless lady,
beat to death.

It'll stay with me.
(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] From the outset,



investigators are convinced
it is a targeted attack.

- She was afraid.
She was scared.

- To me, it didn't
look like a robbery.

- [Narrator] As the
investigation unfolds,

a complex web of jealousy, lies,

and ultimately
betrayal is revealed.

- She was extremely
jealous of Dana mackay

and the fact that she
was married to John.

- They wanted her to die.

They wanted her gone.

- [Narrator] This is the
story of Dana mackay,

the merciless attack
that ended her life,

and how investigators
unravel the crime

and bring those
responsible to justice.



- This was the most violent
attack that I've prosecuted.

(Suspenseful music)

(Suspenseful music)

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] July 27th, 2013.

The James city county
police department

in Virginia receives a 911 call.

- The call came in from a
lady named Beverly whaley.

She was the next-door
neighbor of Dana mackay.

She'd been contacted
by Ms. Mackay's mother

and she asked her to go
check on her daughter,

because she had not been able
to get in touch with her.

- Beverly goes over
to the front door,

rings the doorbell, knocks.

Nobody comes.

So she goes around to the garage

and notices that the
garage door is unlocked.

- When she first
entered the home,

the first thing that set her off

was Dana's dogs were present
and were uncared for,

which was not like Dana.

She loved those dogs.

It was clear that dogs
had been uncared for

for a little while.

And then she made
her way upstairs.

And then upstairs,

she found damage done
to Dana's bedroom door,

as well as some signs of blood.

- She saw Dana's body.

She was naked,
lifeless on the floor.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] First responders
arrive and enter the property.

- When I initially got there,

the patrol officer walked me in.

We looked around.

The house was very disheveled.

It appeared like there was
papers laying everywhere.

There was dog feces
in the floors.

It almost looked like
it had been ransacked.

- They go upstairs and they
see the door had been kicked in

at the bottom.

And you can see what looks
like a red substance.

What I would assume
was blood on the door.

So we go in.

And when you open the
door, you face her bed.

So on the right side of the
bed is where she's laying.

- [Jason] Dana was found
laying next to her bed,

completely disrobed.

- She had substantial
damage to her head

where she was the victim
of blunt force trauma.

- There were lacerations
to Dana's face.

- [Richard] Her finger
was almost severed off.

And at first we
thought it was cut,

but that was a defensive wound.

- The whole scene
was despicable.

Blood was everywhere.

- There's blood all
around her head and body

where she's laid on
the side of the bed.

- [Jason] And on the
chair to her right

and up the side of the
wall behind the bedroom.

- You can tell that she
has been beat severely.

It was a violent act.

- [Narrator] As Dana is
being moved for autopsy,

evidence is collected from her
body and the area around her.

- As they prepared Dana's body
to be taken to the morgue,

underneath her, they found
a piece of blue latex.

- There was a finger
part of a latex glove

that was stuck to her back.

Bloody clothes were taken.

Bed linen was taken.

Anything in there
that had blood on it

was pretty much taken.

- When we were able
to move Ms. Mackay,

we found several blonde
hairs in her hand.

- We were optimistic that
we had a wonderful lead

because there was hair
found in Dana's hand.

And we assumed that that was
going to be from her attacker.

- [Narrator] Crime
scene investigators

start processing the
scene for other evidence.

- With the way the house was,

with it being disheveled,
stuff laying around.

Looked like things had
been rummaged through,

robbery had been discussed
as maybe one of the motives.

- There was an extensive search

throughout the house
for any evidence.

A murder weapon was, of course,

something that they were gonna
be keen on trying to find.

But they didn't find anything
that truly matched up

with what they thought
caused her death.

(Suspenseful music)

- There was blood samples
that were taken from the home,

computers, papers,
documents, photographs.

Basically anything that we
could have possibly looked

to identify who may
have been in the home

and who may have been
linked to the homicide.

- And the TV was
still on the wall.

The big TV.

There was other things there.

So, to me, it didn't
look like a robbery.

(Melancholy music)

- [Narrator] Dana's
mother and stepfather

have been anxiously
calling neighbors

and police have to give
them the heartbreaking news.

- While we were at the scene,

dispatch was receiving multiple
phone calls from Georgia,

which was from Dana Mackay's
stepfather and mother.

And they had called
multiple times.

So I called them back.

And I had to tell them
that she was deceased.

Death notifications are probably
one of the hardest things

we do in the police department.

It's pretty rough.

It's an emotional event.

- [Narrator] Officers also
call husband John mackay

in New York to notify
him of his wife's murder.

- We talked to Dana's father
who tells us where John's at.

We don't talk to John
till the next morning.

And then my partner,
investigator Shadrix,

talks to John and tells
him that his wife is dead.

- He was telling me
that he was in New York,

that he'd heard
there was an issue,

and that he was driving back.

(Suspenseful music)

- John didn't seem upset.

And that's what was
puzzling to the police

because he was calm.

- He confirmed what
they believed they knew,

that he was in New York.

- He's like, oh, okay, well
I guess I'll drive home.

I'll be home Monday.
(Suspenseful music)

I'm thinking that's kind of odd.

You just found out
your wife's dead.

You're not gonna, you
know, come here right away?

- His statement was he
knew nothing about it

and knew nothing
about why anyone else

would want to do Dana harm.
(Suspenseful music)

- I don't believe he ever
asked how she was killed.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The
autopsy is carried out

and it's clear Dana put up a
desperate fight for her life.

- Dana had a number
of blows to her skull.

You could see that
some of the blows

were blunt force traumas.

- It looked like she'd been cut.

Like the head had
been split open.

- [Richard] The skull was, I
can't remember how many pieces,

but it was in several.

It was fractured several times.

- [Jason] Several of her
fingers appeared to be the same.

Like they'd been cut.

- She had suffered
wounds to her fingers,

severe lacerations,
which would show me

that she was also trying
to block the blows.

- There was marks on her arms
that were defensive wounds.

- It was somewhat
difficult to guess

as to what type of weapon
was used that did so much,

both blunt force as well as
sharp edged injuries to her.

- Because her body was nude,

we did not know
whether or not she may

or may not have been the
victim of a sexual assault.

So that is pretty
standard procedure

to have a physical
evidence recovery kit done,

a rape kit done on the victim

to see whether or not
that may provide any clues

as to what may or may
not have happened.

- You can take someone's life

without doing the
level of damage

that was done to Dana mackay.
(Suspenseful music)

- It looked like
it was personal.

It was rage. There's
just a Lotta rage.

- I think about what that
would've been like for her.

You know, how terrifying
it would've been.

(Melancholy music)

- [Narrator] As James
city county police

investigate the murder of
local woman, Dana mackay,

her closest friends
call with information

about Dana's husband, John,

and a suspected affair
he is having with a woman

they only knew as Nicole.

- So Dana's friends thought
that Dana was in love with John,

wanted to be with John.

She knew all about the affair.

She had talked to
them about Nicole.

- Dana was very scared of her.

That Nicole had been
harassing her and stalking her

and driving by.

Nicole had drove by
when Dana was at church,

yelling Satan out the window.

- She went to her home,
confronted her in the street,

yelled at her about how John
really wanted to be with her.

And she needed to
let that happen.

- She felt that
she was in danger.

She actually told
one of her friends,

if anything ever happened to me,

everything is
documented on my phone.

(Melancholy music)

- [Narrator] Before
they meet with John,

investigators get background
on Dana and her marriage

from her family and friends.

- Dana was from the
south, from Georgia.

Had a wonderful family
who she was very close to.

- She met John online.

- [Nate] He was in the
United States army.

- He was in Iraq when they
met on the dating site.

And then he came back,

'cause he he's
originally from New York.

- They immediately clicked.

They had a great relationship.

- And she was
willing to marry him

and follow him wherever his
military career took him.

- [Narrator] Dana
and John appear

to be the perfect couple,

but Dana becomes sick.

And that is when
the trouble starts.

(Suspenseful music)

- Her and John mackay
had been married

somewhere around four years.

Dana had went through some
medical problems herself.

She had recently had some
type of brain surgery

where she had some spinal fluid
or some fluid on the brain.

- To pay for extra costs,

John got a job at AutoZone

to help with the
financial burden.

- And that is where
he met Nicole Houchin,

who he ultimately developed
a relationship for.

And it was during that
time that Dana was ill

that John decided to start up

this relationship
with someone else.

- [Narrator] All those closest
to Dana beg her to leave,

but she is determined
to work it out.

- Dana was aware of
John's affair with Nicole.

But they went to counseling

because she really wanted
their marriage to work.

- I think she was not
gonna let this happen again

'cause it had happened
to her first marriage.

And she was gonna do
everything she could

to keep her marriage together.

- Dana's family, her
mother, her father,

supported her unconditionally.

And so therefore the fact
that Dana was willing

to forgive John
meant that they had

to be willing to forgive John.

I don't think they
would've done that

if it had not been for Dana.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Investigators
gained further insights

from Dana's neighbors during
a canvass of the area.

- [Jason] Investigator Pennycuff

and several of the
patrol officers

went and spoke to the neighbors.

- The neighbors indicated that
Dana had disclosed to them

that John was involved in
an extramarital affair.

- She had told the neighbors
that Nicole had stalked her.

She would text her.

And she was telling her

that John was going
to run away with her.

- And then we talked
to the neighbors

across the road who said

that they'd only known
him about a year.

And then one evening
Dana came over

and asked the neighbor
if her husband's home.

Her husband's also
a sheriff's deputy

for the next county over.

And wanted to know if he could
give her some information

or kind of point her in
the direction of what to do

because John had a girlfriend.

And the girlfriend
was stalking her.

Well at that time,
John came over

and was there while Dana
was telling the neighbor

all about John
having a girlfriend,

the girlfriend coming by.

But then the next day
or the next couple days,

the neighbor tells us they
see new security lights up

at the house and a no
trespassing sign put up.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] They also
tell investigators

that when Dana was away,

the woman stayed in her house.

- Earlier in the summer,

Dana had went to Georgia for
her grandmother's funeral.

John didn't go.

- And John really got
really bold in this affair

because when Dana
went to Georgia,

John actually moved Nicole
into the house for a week.

And they were outside
walking, walking the dog,

and where neighbors
could see them.

- He said, Dana
found out about it

and told him that she
wanted to work it out.

That she wasn't going
through this again.

One time, John and and Dana
were going to counseling

at a church.

And she rode by the church

and was screaming obscenities
and things at Dana.

She went into the church.

I think it was a constant coming
by the house, texting her,

telling her that John loved her.

He didn't love Dana.

- Dana did confront
her husband, John.

And John pretended that Dana
was crazy or delusional.

- She even changed
his phone number

so Nicole wouldn't have it.

Had him stop
working at AutoZone.

But somehow Nicole would
get the number he said,

and they would
still text and talk.

And then like I said,

Dana knew that he had her
living there for a week

while she was in Georgia.

- [Narrator] Dana
also tells a neighbor

that she has let John know

that she isn't going
without a fight.

- Dana had told John that if
he didn't end it with Nicole,

that she would go to
his first sergeant.

- She was not
going to let him go

and had made threats
against his military career

if he tried to leave.
(Suspenseful music)

- Dana knew that divorce was
frowned upon in the military.

Not only is it frowned upon,

but you're talking about
ending someone's career.

- [Narrator] With
police now aware

of the Mackays''
marriage difficulties,

the investigation gathers speed.

Detectives put in a call
to John's mother and sister

in New York to
confirm his alibi.

- I spoke with his
mother in New York

who told me that John got there

and was at her residence
for three or four days.

And then went to his sister's,

which is also upstate New York.

Then I spoke to John's sister
who said John was there.

And that he had
actually went to work

with her husband on Saturday.

So I talked to the
husband who said, yes,

John was there with him.

They got to the house
around 7:30 in the morning.

And they worked until
about one o'clock.

And then they left and
took the kids to the beach

'cause it was warm.

But he did say John made a
phone call from the residence

that they were working at.

But he said he didn't
know who John called.

- Of course we didn't
wanna take anybody

just at their word.

So we began to look at his phone

and his phone
records to determine,

could we see his
exact whereabouts

at the particularly
important points in time

of the night that
Dana was killed.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] At this stage
of the investigation,

detectives visit AutoZone to
speak with Nicole Houchin.

- Investigator Shadrix
went and found Nicole.

She gave a story that she
had nothing to do with it.

The night of the murder, she
had went with a friend of hers,

Greg Crawford, to look
to buy a motorcycle.

- And so she described
both the day leading up

to coming into contact with Greg

and then what she did
with Greg after that.

As she described this incident,

she was pretty specific
about the days and the times.

As she was asked to repeat it,

she started to confuse
some of the days and times.

And so we were fairly confident

that that story
was all concocted.

- At that point,

she had been asked for
several strands of her hair

so that it could be
compared against the hair

that was found in Dana's hand.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Nicole
tells officers

that her affair with John
started earlier that year.

- Nicole Houchin was
married, had a husband,

Nace Houchin, had a daughter.

She had what seemed

to be a very normal, happy
life with Nace on the surface.

Nicole got involved with
John and Nace knew about it.

Nace was okay with his
wife having like an affair

with another man

and would knowingly let her
leave the house to be with John.

- She said that
John had told her

that he was going to
get back with Dana.

And she initially said that
she was okay with that.

But later in the interview,

she says that she
wasn't okay with that.

That she wanted to be with John.

- [Narrator] Detectives decide
to speak to Greg Crawford

to see if he will back
up Nicole's alibi.

- Greg Crawford was interviewed.

He is a local guy that
worked at the AutoZone

with John and Nicole.

- Greg confirmed
what she had said,

but he was a little
bit different

on the times and the days.

- He had tried to tell us
that he and Nicole were off

trying to purchase a
motorcycle down in Hampton,

which is some ways
away from williamsburg.

- We even asked
him specifically,

well, which road did you take?

Or how did you get there?

And those stories
definitely didn't match.

- I had done a search warrant
for cell phone tower records

to try to show where his
location was at the time.

And during the time that
he said he was in Hampton,

he was still in the
williamsburg area.

- We wanted to try
and find out more.

So we asked more
and more questions

about who this owner
of the motorcycle was

that they were going to visit.

Because we could never
get a straight answer

on who owned that motorcycle,

we were very suspicious that
Greg was in on it as well.

And that the two of them

had basically prepared each
other's alibis for each other.

- You could just tell by his
mannerism, he was nervous.

He wasn't truthful
about something.

- [Narrator] Officers
then go to speak

with Nicole's husband, Nace.

- So investigator Shadrix
goes to fort Eustace army base

and talks with Nace.

He did say that he knew
Nicole had a boyfriend,

but he said he was with his
girlfriend in Gloucester.

And Nicole knew that
he had a girlfriend.

And he, again, said that
they were just married

for the benefits.

- He initially told us that
she had only been at home

about two hours before he had
to get up and go back to work.

Then he said that she'd
been home earlier than that.

And he had got up
and took her to work.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] With the
investigation opening up,

officers apply for and receive
multiple search warrants.

- We were doing search warrants

for phone records and documents.

The first 48 hours of a homicide
investigation are crucial.

Especially when you have
people of interest, suspects,

you want to lock
them into a story

and then backtrack

and try to verify what
they're telling you.

So you know you can eliminate
those people of interest

and move on.

Or whether or not you
need to concentrate

and focus more on those efforts.

- [Narrator] With her
story rapidly unraveling,

investigators decide to
pull Nicole Houchin in

for a formal interview.

- The stories of where she was,

it just didn't add up.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] When
Nicole Houchin arrives

at the police department,

investigators ask her
more detailed questions

about her marriage, the night
Dana mackay was murdered,

and her affair with John mackay.

- On Sunday morning, the
day after the homicide,

investigator Morse and I
interviewed Ms. Houchin.

- Her husband, Nace, was
actually in the army.

They lived on fort Eustace,
which is a army base here.

- Nace was constantly traveling

and Nicole didn't
really like the fact

that he wasn't around a lot.

That's what made Nicole seek
out attention for affection.

- [Narrator] Nicole also gives
an account of her movements

at the time of Dana's murder.

- The story she told us

that she had went
up to Fredericksburg

to get her niece and nephew.

And she was in her
mother's vehicle

and the truck broke down.

Her mom had to come get her.

And then she went back there.

And she said that she went
over to Greg Crawford's.

They smoked some marijuana

and then they were gonna go
look to buy a motorcycle.

- She arrived back home around,
I believe it was midnight.

- Her daughter was
home, but Nace was not.

She thought her husband
was in Gloucester

where he meets his girlfriend.

She got up at 5:00
am to go to work.

And her husband took her to
work and picked her up at 12:45.

- The stories of where she was,
between her and,

after speaking with
her and Greg Crawford

and her husband, Nace houchin,

it just didn't add up.

- When Nicole was confronted
with the inconsistencies

in her story, first, she said,

Greg picked her up and
they went to Hampton.

And then she said they did go
to a place in williamsburg,

but the guy had moved.

And then she said they stopped

and they were smoking
a lot of weed.

They asked Nicole, did
John want his wife dead

so he could be with her?

And she said, she didn't know.

Nicole was upset that John
didn't leave his wife.

She had attempted
suicide behind this.

Nicole was jealous of Dana.

She wanted her life.

She wanted John.

She wanted to be John's wife.

- She blatantly
denied everything.

She would never admit
that she was involved

in any of it actually occurring.

(Melancholy music)

- [Narrator] On Monday,
John mackay arrives

at the law enforcement
center for an interview.

- So John walks in.

We take him into the interview
room, introduce ourselves.

We sit down.

And we tell him that,

you know, his wife
has been murdered.

There's no emotion
on him at all.

We ask him, you know,
about his girlfriend.

There's still no emotion.

We tell him that she's
been severely beaten.

There's still no.
He has no emotion.

It just doesn't
feel right in there.

- John told the police
also that he felt

like he was boxed in.

And that Dana was always
looking over his shoulder.

Even if he come home
10 minutes late,

she was always questioning him.

The police asked John, was
Dana terrified of Nicole?

She was afraid. She was scared.

- He said that he tried to
get her to leave Dana alone.

She was scared of what Nicole
might ultimately do to her.

- [Narrator] Officers
questioned John mackay

over his lack of emotion.

- We've just told him
his wife's been murdered

and there's no emotion at all.

- He said that he hides
his emotions well.

While we were meeting and

he was still in the
interview room by himself,

he was being watched remotely.

He took a nap.

- [Narrator] In
their interviews,

Nicole and John deny any
involvement in the murder.

- What both of them began
to talk about was, yes,

they were involved
in a relationship.

But that relationship had
nothing to do with Dana's death.

And that was the story that
they were both sticking to

until we got another
really big break.

- [Narrator] While John
is being interviewed,

three of his colleagues
enter the center

with incriminating information.

- When we were
interviewing John,

someone knocked on the door.

And investigator
Pennycuff went out.

And then he called me out

and he advised that sergeant
Brooks from the U.S. army,

who was a friend of John's,

had come to the
police department

and had a phone that had
belonged to John mackay.

- He had brought the phone to us

because he had noticed
in the email account,

not everything had been deleted
from the phone and erased.

It was still signed
into John's account.

That there were deleted emails,

messages that spoke
of a relationship

between John and Nicole.

- The one that I believe caught

the friend's attention the most

was that night, there was
a message from John saying.

- Will it be done
when I get back?

- That really triggered some
concern for him, the friend.

And then once he
learned the next day

that Dana was, in fact, killed,

then he knew that he had
to come to the police

and share the
information that he had.

Immediately upon getting the
phone from sergeant Brooks,

the police got a search warrant

to get all of the
records from Google

and any other evidence

that could be obtained
from those phones.

- After we got
access to the device,

we got more information from
the account, more messages,

where they had been
communicating back and forth.

There were

a lot of sexual talk
between John and Nicole.

They were exchanging nude photos

of each other back and forth.

And then there was
also talk of Dana.

- With that, we were
able to confront John

about exactly what he and
Nicole were talking about.

- His initial
response was a denial.

And as we showed him more
and more of the messages

that we found,

it switched from a denial
to yes, we discussed that.

We discussed killing my wife,

but it was just fantasy.

- Him coming forward
with that phone

was a very huge
break in this case because

it provided investigators um,

firm, solid evidence

to support the claims of
the extramarital affair.

And then, ultimately,
the discussions

and planning of how
that may be carried out.

(Suspenseful music)

- John says that he didn't know
it was actually gonna happen

at the time when we're talking.

But they fantasized about
making it look like a robbery.

- The original plan
after killing Dana

was to return to the
house and set it on fire.

- [Stephen] He was no
longer in love with her.

And that he wanted to move
on and be with Nicole.

- She was the one that was
jealous of the relationship

that John had with Dana.

Jealous that they were
able to live openly,

that they didn't
have to sneak around.

- She wanted John and she
didn't want anyone else

to have him.

And she wanted Dana
out the picture.

- Nicole was the
controlling one.

Nicole was the one

that basically made
him do certain things.

Things that he didn't wanna do.

- He then tells us that,

on his way down
driving from New York,

he actually stopped
over in Pennsylvania,

walked in the woods,

and had thought about
taking his own life.

And for him, that fantasy
has become reality.

And his wife's now dead
and he played a part in it.

Then he starts showing emotion.

In my opinion, it
wasn't true emotion.

It was all him trying to put
on an act on for us then,

because now it's out
that he had played a part

in the murder and the
killing of his wife.

(Dramatic music)

- [Narrator] With part
of the story from John,

officers pull Nicole in
for another interview.

- Nicole's demeanor
was, I didn't do it.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

She really tried to
deny the whole thing.

- I was convinced that
this was not a situation

in which one person
controlled the other.

Both of these two
wanted the same thing.

Maybe for different reasons,

but they both wanted
the same thing.

And that is for Dana mackay
to be out of the picture.

We felt that we had
enough evidence to show

that Nicole was
involved in killing Dana

and that John encouraged it.

And so we felt we had probable
cause to make the arrest

at that time.

- When we arrested Nicole,

I remember going into the room

and telling her she
was under arrest.

And she started to cry
and was very upset.

Could not believe that she
was being charged with this.

Which was all an act.
(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Police
also carry out a search

of Nicole's house.

- And one of the investigators
noticed in the driveway,

there was a piece of a blue
surgical glove, rubber glove.

And recalling that
there was one recovered

at the crime scene,

took those gloves or that piece
of that glove as evidence.

- [Narrator] Detectives
now need to work out

who else is involved,

as Nicole physically
wasn't a match for Dana.

- I don't think that Nicole
would've had the courage

to kill Dana herself.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] With John
mackay and Nicole houchin

in custody for Dana
Mackay's murder,

officers get another
break in the case

from Nace Houchin's girlfriend.

- Trish Emmerich was
Nace's girlfriend.

She got in contact with
investigator Shadrix.

- Nace's alibi was, he was
at his girlfriend's house.

- And said, yes,

Nace was there with her
up until about 3:00 pm

and then left and then came
back the following Sunday.

- She said, well, he said
that he was gonna be coming

into some money.

$20,000.

That perked our interest

because it sounded
somewhat like someone

who was getting paid
to do something.

And $20,000 is no
insignificant amount.

And so we started paying
more attention to Nace.

As we looked more and
more into Nicole houchin

and both her
relationship with John

and her relationship with Nace,

it was very clear that
Nicole was very hot tempered.

- They had some domestic
violence issues.

- About a month prior
to the homicide,

we've learned that there was
an incident on fort Eustace

where Nace and Nicole
had got into an argument.

And Nicole had tried to
run him over in a vehicle.

- Nicole was violently obsessed
with getting what she wanted.

(Suspenseful music)

And at the beginning,

we just assumed that Nace

was aware that
Nicole was involved.

But that was about
the end of it.

We didn't think initially
that Nace played a part.

We were wrong.

Nace played an enormous part.

- [Narrator] Investigators
receive a call

from John Mackay's attorney.

John wants to give them
information about the murder.

- So investigator Shadrix,

along with commonwealth
attorney Nate green,

went down and met with
John and his attorney.

- John never confessed fully.

John confessed to
having a relationship

with the wrong woman.

He confessed that he
was involved with Nicole

and that he should
have never done that

because Nicole was the
reason this happened.

- And John told them that
this was all planned.

He was in New York.

That Nicole, her husband
Nace, and Greg Crawford

had went to the house

through the garage door.

Had went up in the
house and Nace went up

and was the one who actually
beat Dana and killed her.

(Dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Hearing
John has implicated him,

Nace disappears.

- As we were paying closer
attention to Nace, he left.

We lost track of Nace
for a period of time.

- [Richard] So we get
warrants for Nace.

Nace is currently on the run.

- Within a short time period,

we were tracking his
phone, trying to find him.

- We get a call from Trish
Emmerich, his girlfriend,

who says Nace showed
up to her house

and confessed to everything.

She said Nace told
her that there's also,

he had written a
confession letter

and it was in his truck.

- His truck had been parked
at a church in Gloucester

and been towed to
gunn's bodyshop.

- We did a search
warrant on his vehicle

and found a letter
that he had wrote,

confessing to the
murder of Dana.

- [Nate] John offered
him $20,000 to kill Dana.

- [Narrator] Officers
soon locate him

before he leaves the state.

(Suspenseful music)

- He's down in the
lower end of our county.

And patrol happens to see
a vehicle that he's in.

At which time, they
make a traffic stop.

There's a little struggle
and he's arrested.

He would not talk to us then.

- That conversation between
Nace and his girlfriend

really became the
linchpin to our case.

- [Narrator] With Greg
Crawford also now implicated,

investigators
interview him again.

- Greg Crawford was a
coworker of John and Nicole.

I never could really
say why he was involved.

- Greg wanted to be
something that he wasn't.

He wanted them to think that
he was something he wasn't.

- His role was to help to
be an alibi for Nicole.

- I think Nicole
houchin was able

to talk her husband,
Nace houchin,

and Greg Crawford
into going over

to the house with
her to kill Dana.

- All four of them were charged

with conspiracy
to commit murder.

And that carries the
death penalty in Virginia.

- [Narrator] John and
Nicole give a full account

of the murder in
exchange for a plea deal.

- We now know from talking
with all the suspects

that, at approximately one
o'clock in the morning,

Nicole and Nace and Greg
Crawford gathered together

and started to plan out exactly

how they were going
to take Dana's life.

- So John's in New York.

And they decide,
this is the time.

John tells Nace that
he'll give him $20,000.

So Nicole says they go over,

they go to Greg's house,

and they all put on two or
three layers of clothes.

She had shoes on
that were too big.

Nace had shoes on and Greg had
shoes on that were too small,

just in case they were to
leave footprints or anything.

They go over to the residence.

And the door's supposed to
be unlocked, but it wasn't.

So Greg uses an ID,
jimmies the lock.

And they go in.
(Dramatic music)

- Made entry into the house.

Nace went upstairs.

- Nace has to kick the door in.

- Which woke Dana up.

She jumps out of bed.

- And once in her bedroom,
beat Dana with a torque wrench.

- And if she puts her hands
up when he is hitting,

he is hitting so hard, severe,

and it's got a
little edge to it.

That's what almost
severed her finger off.

- That was the cause
of both the sharp

and blunt force injuries to
Dana's head, hands, torso.

- And then he comes down.
(Suspenseful music)

- [Richard] And she asked
him if Dana was dead.

And Nicole says, "Nace said
no, I think she was gargling."

- And she said, well,
go back and make sure.

And Nace returns to the bedroom

to make sure that
the job was done.

- She said, Greg told 'em,

hey, let's make it
look like a robbery.

So let's take some things.

So that's when they
took a laptop, the keys.

- Greg Crawford took
the murder weapon

and threw it over the
side of the ferry.

And he took the clothes,

we believe somewhere in Surry,
Charles city and burned them.

(Suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] Officers
finally have enough

to charge Greg Crawford.

- Greg was young and
able to be manipulated,

also by Nicole,
talked into this.

When we interviewed him,

he would become emotional.

Would cry, shake.

Was not really on the same
plane as Nicole was and Nace.

- [Narrator] Despite
the horror of the crime,

they receive reduced sentences.

- I wanted all four
of these individuals

to be found accountable
and culpable

for what they did that night.
(Suspenseful music)

For that reason,

I was unwilling
to make plea deals

that called for anybody
to testify against another

unless they admitted to
guilt and admitted to murder

and not something less than
murder in the second degree.

Nace houchin was sentenced
to life in prison,

but all but 40 years of
that sentence was suspended.

So he'll have a 40-year
sentence to serve.

John was sentenced
to life in prison

with all but 28 years and
seven months suspended.

And then Nicole was
sentenced to life in prison

with all but 23 years
and 11 months suspended.

Greg was sentenced
to 20 years in prison

with all but 17 years suspended.

(Melancholy music)

- I think people
would be disappointed.

I think they are disappointed

that two American soldiers
were directly involved

in this killing.
(Melancholy music)

They took an oath to
defend the constitution,

to, you know, be good citizens.

And here they are
involved in a murder.

- In my opinion, in this case,

Nicole was the
green-eyed killer.

She was the one that was jealous

of the relationship
that John had with Dana.

Jealous that they were
able to live openly,

that they didn't
have to sneak around.

She wanted that with John

and she was willing
to do whatever it took

to get Dana out of the way.

- [Narrator] The murder
has shocked investigators

and left an indelible
impact on Dana's family.

- Why?
(Melancholy music)

- Why murder?

There's other ways this
could have been handled?

Why murder?

- One of the tragic things
that happened during this case.

The case itself is,
of course, tragic.

But her father passed away
from a heart condition.

- I personally can't imagine

that this didn't have some
effect on him, on his health,

to where he passed
earlier than he would have

if this had never occurred.

- Dana's mother was,
you know, very strong.

I think she's very.

Faith got her through it,

but I'm sure it'll
never be the same.

You know, you never wanna
out outlive your children.

(Melancholy music)