Zahn: SHE FOUND HER HUSBAND...
[ SCREAMS ]
...SHOT IN THEIR OWN BED.
Darlene: THE BACK DOOR WAS OPEN.
THE GUN CABINET WAS OPEN.
I WAS BASICALLY FREAKING OUT.
Zahn: POLICE THOUGHT THE MOTHER OF THREE
KNEW MORE THAN SHE LET ON.
Officer: SOMETHING AIN'T RIGHT HERE, MAN. I'M TELLING YOU.
Zahn: DETECTIVES COULDN'T BREAK HER.
THEY TRIED TO TRICK HER.
I COULDN'T GET ON THE TELEPHONE FAST ENOUGH.
I SAID, "START THE CAMERA AND GET OUT OF THERE."
Zahn: DID SHE REALLY KILL HER HUSBAND?
OR WERE POLICE SETTING HER UP?
YOU REALLY WANT ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE POLICE OFFICERS ARRIVED
AT YOUR HOUSE CONVINCED OF YOUR GUILT?
Zahn: THE FORMER BEAUTY QUEEN WAS USED TO BEING JUDGED,
BUT NEVER LIKE THIS.
THIS IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.
IT WAS A CIRCUS -- THE WHOLE THING.
THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
--Captions by VITAC-- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
I'M PAULA ZAHN.
AND TONIGHT, WE'RE ON THE CASE IN ROBINSON, TEXAS,
A SMALL TOWN OUTSIDE OF WACO.
WHAT BEGAN AS AN EARLY-MORNING CALL FOR HELP
FROM A BEAUTIFUL MOTHER OF THREE
WOULD BECOME A TALE OF LIES AND BETRAYAL.
WHEN POLICE SET A TRAP FOR A SUSPECT,
WHAT THEY CAUGHT ON VIDEOTAPE WAS SO SHOCKING,
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT.
JUST BEFORE DAWN ON NOVEMBER 9, 2005,
A CALL CAME IN
TO THE ROBINSON, TEXAS, POLICE DEPARTMENT.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
THE CALLER WAS DARLENE GENTRY,
A 31-YEAR-OLD FORMER BEAUTY QUEEN.
DARLENE AND HER HUSBAND, KEITH, HAD BEEN TOGETHER
EVER SINCE THEY WERE COLLEGE SWEETHEARTS.
THE YOUNG COUPLE HAD BOUGHT A HOME AND STARTED A FAMILY.
THEY HAD THREE YOUNG BOYS.
DARLENE AND KEITH GENTRY SEEMED TO BE LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM.
DARLENE GENTRY AGREED TO SIT DOWN WITH US
TO DISCUSS WHAT WOULD BECOME
ONE OF THE MOST SENSATIONAL CRIMES IN TEXAS.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY LIFE
ONCE THE THREE BOYS CAME ALONG?
I COULD TELL THEY'RE THE LIGHT OF HIS LIFE,
AND THEY WERE THE LIGHT OF MINE.
THEY'RE A GOOD COMBINATION OF THE BOTH OF US,
SO YOU COULD SEE HIS PERSONALITY IN THEM
AND ALSO MINE, SO THEY WEREOUR LIFE.
Zahn: ON THAT NIGHT IN 2005, DARLENE SAID HER BABY WAS SICK,
SO SHE SLEPT IN HISROOM INSTEAD OF HER OWN.
WHEN SHE WENT TO WAKE HER HUSBAND UP IN THE MORNING,
SHE HEARD A NOISE.
DESCRIBE TO US WHAT HAPPENED ONCE YOU WERE AWAKENED.
I HAD REALIZED THE BACK DOOR WAS OPEN,
'CAUSE YOU COULD FEEL THE BREEZE COMING THROUGH.
AND SO I'D GONE THROUGH, JUST TO SHUT IT,
AND THAT'S WHEN I NOTICED THINGS WEREN'T RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, THE GUN CABINET WAS OPEN.
Zahn: FEELING SCARED AND VULNERABLE,
DARLENE SAYS SHE CALLED OUT FOR HER HUSBAND.
THERE WAS NO ANSWER.
I GO, STILL AGAIN, HOLLERING AT HIM TO GET UP,
YOU KNOW, THAT SOMEBODY HAD BEEN IN THE HOUSE.
I GET OVER THERE, AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZE
THE NOISE IS ACTUALLY COMING FROM HIM.
Zahn: AS SHE GOT CLOSER,
DARLENE SAYS SHE SAW BLOOD ON THE BED.
KEITH WAS MAKING A STRANGE NOISE, AND PINK FOAM, SHE SAYS,
WAS COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH.
DARLENE SAYS SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED,
BUT THE SENSE OF DANGER WAS OVERWHELMING.
SHE STARTED TO PANIC.
Darlene: HONESTLY, I DON'T KNOW
IF I JUST WENT INTO A STATE OF SHOCK.
I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I WAS BASICALLY FREAKING OUT.
DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED FROM THAT POINT ON.
I JUST WAS FOCUSED ON THE BOYS,
"GET OUT OF THE ROOM, GET OUT OF THE ROOM.
LET'S GO IN HERE."
AND I GOT THEM INTO THE LIVING ROOM.
Zahn: IT WAS JUST AFTER 6:00 A.M.,
ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE, WHEN DARLENE CALLED 911.
O'Connor: I GOT A PAGE FROM THE POLICE DISPATCH
OF A HOME-INVASION ROBBERY,
AND THE HOMEOWNER POSSIBLY WAS SHOT.
[ SIREN WAILS ]
Zahn: POLICE RUSH TO THE GENTRY HOME.
WITH THEIR DASHBOARD CAMERAS ROLLING,
THE FIRST OFFICERS ARRIVED AT THE SCENE.
KNOWING IT WAS A POSSIBLE SHOOTING,
POLICE WERE ALREADY ON HIGH ALERT.
THEN, THEY SPOTTED SOMETHING ON THE LAWN.
O'Connor: THERE WERE WEAPONS FOUND
STACKED IN THE FRONT YARD OF THE RESIDENCE.
Zahn: AND WITH THE ENTIRE GENTRY FAMILY
AND POSSIBLY A GUNMAN STILL INSIDE,
THE OFFICERS PREPARED FOR ANYTHING.
AS ONE POLICEMAN STOOD GUARD OVER THE GUNS,
OTHER OFFICERS WENT INSIDE THE HOUSE.
IT WAS A PRESSURE-PACKED MOMENT.
OFFICERS HAD TO SEARCH FOR AN INTRUDER
AND GET DARLENE AND HER BOYS TO SAFETY,
AND IT ALL HAD TO HAPPEN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
THE HOUSE HAD TO BE SECURED
BEFORE PARAMEDICS COULD BE ALLOWED IN TO TREAT KEITH.
AFTER GOING THROUGH EVERY ROOM, IT BECAME CLEAR,
IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN THERE, THEY WERE NOW GONE.
ONCE THE HOUSE WAS CLEARED, POLICE TURNED THEIR ATTENTION
TO KEITH GENTRY.
HE HAD BEEN SHOT ONE TIME IN THE HEAD.
HE WAS STILL ALIVE BUT BARELY HANGING ON.
KEITH'S PARENTS, WAYMON AND GLENDA GENTRY,
LIVED RIGHT NEXT DOOR, AND THEY IMMEDIATELY RAN OVER,
BUT POLICE WOULDN'T LET THEM COME INTO THE HOUSE.
AND NO ONE WAS TELLING YOU ANYTHING?
MNH-MNH. WOULDN'T TELL US.
Glenda: WE SAW HIM WHEN THEY PUT HIM
IN THE AMBULANCE OUTSIDE.
Zahn: IT WAS A HEARTBREAKING MOMENT.
WAYMON AND GLENDA FELT HELPLESS.
ALL THEY COULD DO WAS WATCH FROM A DISTANCE
AS THE AMBULANCE PULLED AWAY
AND TOOK THEIR SON TO THE HOSPITAL.
AS DOCTORS TRIED DESPERATELY TO SAVE KEITH'S LIFE,
POLICE WERE BACK AT HIS HOUSE, TRYING TO GET INFORMATION
FROM THEIR ONLY POSSIBLE WITNESS --
DARLENE GENTRY.
THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE STARTING TO OVERWHELM
THE MOTHER OF THREE.
IT WAS LIKE A CIRCUS.
I MEAN, IT WAS JUST SO MUCH HAPPENING.
AND WE'RE TALKING, YOU KNOW,
CHILDREN FROM 5 TO 19 MONTHS AT THIS TIME.
SO THEY'RE SCARED, NOT KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON.
THEY FINALLY LET GLENDA COME OVER AND GET THEM.
Zahn: ONCE INSIDE THE HOUSE, GLENDA TOOK CARE OF THE CHILDREN
AND PRESSED A DETECTIVE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HER SON KEITH.
Glenda: I SAYS, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH KEITH?"
AND HE SAID, "HE'S BEEN SHOT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD."
I SAID, "IS HE ALIVE?" AND HE SAID, "HE'S BREATHING.
HE WAS BREATHING WHEN HE LEFT HERE."
THAT'S WHAT HE SAID.
AND I SAID, "OKAY."
SO I WENT IN AND GOT THE BOYS.
AS LONG AS HE WAS ALIVE, THERE WAS HOPE.
Zahn: DETECTIVES MADE A SWEEP OF THE HOUSE.
THEY QUICKLY REALIZED THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF FORCED ENTRY,
AND THE GUN CABINET LOOKED LIKE IT HAD BEEN OPENED WITH A KEY.
NOTHING WAS MISSING.
THE WEAPONS WERE THE ONLY THING THAT HAD BEEN TAMPERED WITH,
AND THEY WERE STACKED IN THE FRONT YARD.
Zahn: BUT DARLENE HAD TOLD THEM THE BACK DOOR WAS OPEN
WHEN SHE WOKE UP.
AND WITH THE GUNS MISSING FROM THE CABINET,
SHE THOUGHT THERE HAD BEEN AN INTRUDER IN HER HOUSE.
INVESTIGATORS WERE GETTING SUSPICIOUS.
THEY HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE SHOOTING OF KEITH GENTRY.
AS 31-YEAR-OLD KEITH GENTRY WAS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE,
POLICE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO SHOT HIM AND WHY.
THEY WERE HOPING HIS WIFE, DARLENE, MIGHT KNOW SOMETHING,
BUT WHAT SHE WAS TELLING THEM ONLY RAISED MORE QUESTIONS.
WHILE CRIME-SCENE INVESTIGATORS BEGAN A TOP-TO-BOTTOM SEARCH
OF THE GENTRY HOME, DETECTIVES ASKED DARLENE TO COME DOWNTOWN
AND ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS.
ALL SHE SAID SHEWANTED WAS TO BE WITH HER HUSBAND
IN THE HOSPITAL, BUT SHE AGREED TO GO.
I GOT A CONSENT TO SEARCH FROM HER AND ASKED HER
TO COME BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
SO I CAN GET A MORE IN-DEPTH FEEL OF WHAT WAS GOING ON.
Zahn: DARLENE TOLD DETECTIVES
SHE WOULD HELP IN ANY WAY SHE COULD.
SHE'D LET DETECTIVES TAKE HER FINGERPRINTS
AND A SAMPLE OF HER DNA.
SHE ALSO AGREED TO HAVE HER INTERVIEW RECORDED.
JUST HOURS AFTER HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN SHOT,
DARLENE SAT DOWN WITH LIEUTENANT O'CONNOR
AND ONCE AGAIN WENT THROUGH THE EVENTS OF THAT MORNING.
WITH A CAMERA ROLLING, HE ASKED HER ABOUT
WHAT SHE HEARD AND DIDN'T HEAR, CONSIDERING THAT DARLENE SAID
SHE HAD BEEN SLEEPING IN HER CHILDREN'S BEDROOM
AT THE TIME OF THE SHOOTING.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE -- I KEEP TRYING TO PHYSICALLY
RACK MY BRAIN ABOUT.
THE ONLY -- I MEAN, I HAD THE DOOR CLOSED TO OUR BEDR--
THE KIDS' BEDROOM, BUT OUR BEDROOM,
WE ALWAYS KEEP IT OPEN.
Zahn: DARLENE SAID SHE DID WAKE UP AROUND 5:15
BUT TURNED OVER AND WENT BACK TO SLEEP.
BUT YOU THINK YOU HEARD SOMETHING
AT 5:15 IN THE MORNING?
SOMETHING HAD TO HAVE WOKEN ME UP.
I HEARD THE DOGS BARKING AFTER I WOKE UP.
BUT, IN MY MIND, I'M THINKING, "OKAY, THE DOGS DID SOMETHING
RIGHT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW."
Zahn: POLICE WENT THROUGH HER STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN
FOR AN EXCRUCIATING TWO HOURS.
DARLENE SAYS SHE WAS STILL FOCUSED
ON GETTING TO THE HOSPITAL, BUT SHE WAS TOLD THAT
AS THE ONLY POSSIBLE WITNESS, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GET
ALL THE FACTS.
WHEN AN OFFICER TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING,
THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO,
AND THAT'S WHAT I DID.
Zahn: A LITTLE WHILE LATER, THE HOSPITAL CALLED
AND TOLD POLICE TO GET DARLENE THERE RIGHT AWAY.
KEITH GENTRY WAS NOW BRAIN-DEAD.
DARLENE, HOW DID YOU GET THE NEWS THAT KEITH HAD DIED?
THE WHOLE REASON WHY THE HOSPITAL
HAD BASICALLY MADE THE OFFICERS TAKE ME UP THERE IS BECAUSE
THEY WERE WANTING US TO CONSENT TO DO AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT.
Zahn: AT THE HOSPITAL, DARLENE AND KEITH'S FAMILY
MADE THE PAINFUL DECISION TO TAKE HIM OFF LIFE SUPPORT
AND DONATE HIS ORGANS.
HE WAS SOMEBODY THAT I LOVED, I PRODUCED CHILDREN WITH.
THERE'S THAT BOND THAT YOU LOSE,
AND SO PART OF ME STILL FEELS ALMOST NUMB.
Glenda: I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE,
I THINK HALF OF YOU DIES WHEN YOUR CHILD DIES.
Zahn: THE CASE WAS NOW A MURDER INVESTIGATION.
BACK AT THE GENTRY HOME,
INVESTIGATORS WERE STARTING TO FIND EVIDENCE.
Foster: IN THE BOTTOM OF THE HOUSE TRASH WAS A LATEX GLOVE
THAT HAD BEEN ROLLED DOWN AS IF TO REMOVE THE GLOVE,
AND INSIDE WAS A SPENT .22 CARTRIDGE.
O'Connor: THE DETECTIVE CALLED ME WHILE WE WERE AT THE HOSPITAL,
TOLD ME HE FOUND THE SHELL CASING IN THE TRASH CAN
AND ASKED ME WHAT SIZE BULLET
MAY HAVE CAUSED THE VICTIM'S INJURIES.
SO I VISITED WITH THE E.R. DOCTOR, AND HE SAYS,
"IT'S GONNA BE A SMALL CALIBER, POSSIBLY A .22.
Zahn: KEITH'S FATHER TOLD DETECTIVES HE HAD GIVEN HIS SON
A .22-CALIBER REVOLVER AS A GIFT A FEW YEARS BACK.
Foster: ALL THE OTHER GUNS THAT HAD BEEN IN THE GUN CABINET
WERE PLACED OUT IN THE YARD EXCEPT FOR THE .22 PISTOL.
Zahn: INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THAT WAS THE MURDER WEAPON.
POLICE SEARCHED THE ENTIRE HOUSE FOR THE GUN BUT HAD NO LUCK.
Foster: WE DID LOOK IN ALL THE AIR VENTS.
THERE WAS A WELL OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
THAT WE OBTAINED A LARGE MAGNET TO SEE IF WE COULD FIND
THE GUN DOWN IN THERE WITH THE MAGNET,
AND WE DID NOT FIND THE GUN AT ALL.
Zahn: INVESTIGATORS WERE LEFT WITH A LOT OF QUESTIONS
AND NOT MANY ANSWERS.
THEY ONCE AGAIN TURNED TO THEIR ONLY WITNESS -- DARLENE GENTRY.
DARLENE WAS AN EMOTIONAL MESS.
SHE HAD JUST LOST HER HUSBAND,
THE FATHER OF HER THREE CHILDREN.
BUT DESPITE THAT, SHE AGREED TO GO BACK TO THE POLICE STATION
AND ANSWER MORE QUESTIONS.
[ SIGHS ]
NO. I'M TELLING YOU.
Zahn: DARLENE SAID KEITH WAS WELL-LIKED BY EVERYONE.
BUT SOMEONE CLEARLY WANTED HIM DEAD,
AND INVESTIGATORS NEEDED TO FIND OUT WHY.
SOON, THE QUESTIONS BEGAN TO FOCUS ON
DARLENE AND HER MARRIAGE.
YEAH, AND EVERYCOUPLE ARGUES ABOUT MONEY.
IT WASN'T ANYTHING DIFFERENT.
HE HAD NO GIRLFRIENDS. I HAD NO BOYFRIENDS.
I MEAN, WE WERE FINE ON THAT.
Zahn: IT APPEARED AS THOUGH
YOU HAD A PRETTY HAPPY MARRIAGE. DID YOU?
WE DID. I MEAN, NO ONE HAS A PERFECT MARRIAGE.
BECAUSE IF I SAID THAT, I WOULD BE LYING,
BECAUSE WE WOULD ARGUE ABOUT LITTLE THINGS HERE AND THERE.
Zahn: COULD AN ARGUMENT OVER A LITTLE THING
BECOME A MOTIVE FOR MURDER?
IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKELY.
BUT AS POLICE WENT OVER HER STORY,
THEY FOUND OUT SOMETHING THAT RAISED A HUGE RED FLAG.
DARLENE WAS A REGISTERED NURSE, AND WHEN DETECTIVES LEARNED THAT
SHE DIDN'T GIVE HER DYING HUSBAND ANY MEDICAL CARE,
THEY BECAME EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS.
YOU KNOW, CERTAIN PEOPLE ACT DIFFERENTLY
IN A TRAUMATIC TYPE EVENT, BUT WITH HER TRAINING
AND EXPERIENCE, YOU WOULD THINK THAT
SHE WOULD STEP IN THERE AND HELP, ESPECIALLY A HUSBAND.
Zahn: INVESTIGATORS WERE ZEROING IN ON DARLENE.
SHE BEGAN TO FEEL THE HEAT.
THE MORE THEY ASKED HER ABOUT HER MARRIAGE,
THE MORE SHE BEGAN ASKING QUESTIONS OF HER OWN.
I MEAN, ARE WE LOOKING TO THE POINT THAT I'M GONNA HAVE TO GET
AN ATTORNEY OR SOMETHING?
I MEAN, THIS IS -- I -- I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING.
I LOVED MY HUSBAND AND...
[ SIGHS ]
[ Voice breaking ] I WOULD HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING
TO TAKE HIM AWAY FROM HIS BOYS, EVER.
Zahn: AS LIEUTENANT O'CONNOR CONTINUED TO PRESS HER,
DARLENE BEGAN TO BREAK DOWN.
I'VE TRIED TO BE STRAIGHTFORTH AND HONEST
WITH EVERYTHING THAT I'M TELLING Y'ALL.
AND WHAT I DON'T KNOW, I'M TELLING YOU, I DON'T KNOW.
[ SIGHS ]
I'VE JUST -- I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS,
AND I'M JUST STARTING TO GET..
[ SIGHS ]
...EXTREMELY NERVOUS, JUST BECAUSE I'VE GONE OVER THIS,
EVEN WITH YOU, FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES.
AND IT'S JUST -- AND I KNOW IT'S YOUR JOB.
I KNOW IT IS, AND I'M NOT...
I'M SORRY. I'M JUST...
Zahn: FINALLY REALIZING SHE WAS A POSSIBLE MURDER SUSPECT,
DARLENE ASKS FOR AN ATTORNEY.
THE LAWYER CALLED ME AND SAID,
"WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING THERE?"
AND I'M LIKE, "ANSWERING QUESTIONS.
YOU KNOW, I JUST ANSWERED IT TRUTHFULLY."
AND HE WAS LIKE, "GET OUT OF THERE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE."
Zahn: THE ENTIRE TIME DARLENE WAS AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS,
INVESTIGATORS WERE AT HER HOUSE, SEARCHING FOR CLUES.
WHEN DARLENE ENDED THE INTERROGATION,
SHE ALSO TOLD POLICE TO LEAVE HER HOUSE
AND STAY AWAY UNLESSTHEY HAD A SEARCH WARRANT.
BUT AS THEY CLEARED OUT OF HER HOUSE,
INVESTIGATORS TOOK WITH THEM THE GLOVE AND THE SHELL CASING
THEY HAD FOUND IN THE TRASH.
IT WASN'T TRASH ANYMORE.
NOW IT WAS EVIDENCE IN A MURDER INVESTIGATION.
COMING UP, COULD THIS BEAUTY-QUEEN BRIDE
BE A COLD-BLOODED KILLER?
I KNEW THAT I HADN'T DONE THIS, SO I WASN'T AFRAID.
AS POLICE WAITED FOR THE EVIDENCE TO COME BACK
FROM THE CRIME LAB, THEY BEGAN TO TAKE A HARD LOOK
AT KEITH GENTRY'S WIFE, DARLENE.
HAD THERE REALLY BEEN AN INTRUDER IN THE HOUSE
THAT MORNING, OR COULD THE MOTHER OF THREE
HAVE MURDERED HER OWN HUSBAND?
DARLENE GENTRY WAS DESPERATE.
HER HUSBAND WAS DEAD,
AND A DETECTIVE HAD JUST PUT HER THROUGH
A GRUELING INTERROGATION, EVEN ACCUSING HER
OF PLAYING GAMES WITH THE TRUTH DURING QUESTIONING.
I TOLD HIM, "HOLD UP. YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A GAME.
THIS IS OUR LIVES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE'RE JUST PLAYING AROUND WITH,"
LIKE HE WAS IMPLYING.
SO, I KNEW THAT I HADN'T DONE THIS, SO I WASN'T AFRAID.
Zahn: TO KEITH'S PARENTS, DARLENE WAS FAMILY.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK SHE COULD HAVE HAD ANYTHING TO DO
WITH THEIR SON'S MURDER.
SHE HAD JUST ALWAYS BEEN SO GOOD.
Glenda: AND WE TAKE OUR SON-IN-LAWS
AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAWS INTO US LIKE OUR CHILDREN.
FROM THE MOMENT THEY MET DARLENE,
THEY THOUGHT SHE WAS THE PERFECT MATCH FOR THEIR SON.
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE EARLY DAYS
OF KEITH'S AND DARLENE'S RELATIONSHIP?
THE FUN THEY SEEMED TO HAVE, LAUGHING AND JOKING AND...
DARLENE'S PRETTY SMILE. YEAH.
THEY JUST MADE A GOOD-LOOKING COUPLE.
WE LOVED HER TO DEATH. YEAH.
THE WHOLE FAMILY DID.
BUT THE GENTRYS COULD SEE
THAT DARLENE AND KEITH'S MARRIAGE STARTED TO SOUR
AFTER THE BIRTH OF THEIR THIRD CHILD.
YOU JUST KNEW THEY WAS ANGRY WITH EACH OTHER
IF THEY WAS BOTH REALLY QUIET.
I MEAN, YOU COULD FEEL THE TENSION.
AS POLICE DUG DEEPER,
THEY LEARNED THE COUPLE WAS HAVING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.
IT APPEARED THAT MAYBE DARLENE HAD BEEN SPENDING
THE MONEY -- THE FAMILY MONEY -- ON OTHER THINGS
OTHER THAN PAYING BILLS.
Zahn: WAYMON AND GLENDA TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT KEITH HAD
CONFRONTED DARLENE ABOUT IT THE NIGHT BEFORE HE WAS KILLED.
ON THE NIGHT BEFORE KEITH WAS MURDERED, YOUR IN-LAWS TOLD ME,
THEY WATCHED THE TWO OF YOU HAVE A VERY HEATED DISCUSSION
AND THAT KEITH LATER CAME OVER AND TOLD HIS FATHER
THAT HE HAD FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAD GOTTEN
A NUMBER OF CREDIT CARDS WITHOUT HIS AUTHORIZATION
AND RUN UP A LOT OF DEBT ON THEM,
AND THAT TRIGGERED AN ENORMOUS FIGHT.
WE ACTUALLY SAT DOWN AND HAD
PROBABLY THE MOST CIVIL CONVERSATION ABOUT ALL OF THIS
THAN WE PROBABLY HAD IN OUR ENTIRE MARRIAGE,
AND TALKING ABOUT DOING DIFFERENT THINGS --
YOU KNOW, CONSOLIDATING THAT WITH THE HOUSE LOAN
AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND GETTING RID OF ALL OF THAT.
Zahn: DARLENE SAYS IT WAS JUST A CONVERSATION
ABOUT FINANCES BETWEEN A HUSBAND AND A WIFE.
BUT TO INVESTIGATORS, IT WAS ANOTHER RED FLAG.
AND THEN THEY CAME ACROSS SOMETHING ELSE
THAT SPARKED THEIR INTEREST.
KEITH HAD TWO LIFE-INSURANCE POLICIES, VALUED AT $750,000.
THAT'S A SUBSTANTIAL LARGE AMOUNT OF MONEY,
AND THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD MOTIVATING FACTOR
FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS TO COMMIT MURDER.
Zahn: DARLENE SAYS SHE KNEW ALL ABOUT THE INSURANCE POLICIES
AND THAT SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE HURT HER HUSBAND FOR MONEY.
POLICE SAY THAT YOU HAD MADE SOME SORT OF SICK CALCULATION
THAT KEITH WAS WORTH MORE TO YOU DEAD THAN ALIVE.
THAT'S THEIR PERCEPTION.
NO ONE'S LIFE IS WORTH MONEY.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
HE WAS MY HUSBAND, FATHER OF MY KIDS,
AND MONEY DID NOT MEAN ANYTHING
COMPARED TO OUR CHILDREN AND OUR MARRIAGE.
Zahn: BUT POLICE WERE STILL SUSPICIOUS OF DARLENE.
AND THE EVIDENCE DIDN'T SEEM TO SUPPORT HER THEORY
THAT AN INTRUDER HAD BEEN IN THE HOUSE THAT MORNING.
INVESTIGATORS FOUND FINGERPRINTS ON THE GUN CABINET
AND ONE OF THE WEAPONS LEFT ON THE LAWN.
BUT THEY DIDN'T BELONG TO ANY INTRUDER.
THEY WERE DARLENE'S.
Darlene: OF COURSE MY STUFF IS GOING TO BE EVERYWHERE.
I LIVE THERE.
Zahn: BUT POLICE WERE ALSO INTERESTED
IN GETTING DNA TEST RESULTS
ON THE LATEX GLOVE FOUND INSIDE THE HOUSE.
AT THE HENRY C. LEE INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE,
DR. MIKE ADAMOWICZ TALKED TO US ABOUT THE DNA EVIDENCE.
EXPLAIN TO US HOW YOU LEAVE BEHIND YOUR DNA
ON THE INSIDE OF A LATEX GLOVE.
WELL, PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING
THAT YOUR BODY COMES IN CONTACT WITH,
YOUR CELLS ARE GOING TO COME OFF ON.
OUR BODIES SHED SKIN CELLS ALL THE TIME.
IT'S PART OF A NATURAL PROCESS OF RENEWING OUR SKIN.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE CELLS HAS OUR DNA.
Zahn: WHEN THE TEST RESULTS ON THE LATEX GLOVE CAME BACK
IN THE GENTRY CASE, THEY SHOWED KEITH'S BLOOD ON THE OUTSIDE
AND DARLENE'S DNA ON THE INSIDE.
THEY WERE ABLE TO LINK SOME DNA
FROM THE GLOVE TO MS. GENTRY, SO THOSE GLOVES IS SOMETHING
THAT SHE HAD HANDLED OR HAD WORN.
Zahn: POLICE WERE NOW CONVINCED
DARLENE GENTRY HAD MURDERED HER HUSBAND AND SET IT UP
TO LOOK LIKE A BREAK-IN.
THE POLICE TOLD US, ONCE THEY FOUND A LATEX GLOVE
IN THE GARBAGE WITH YOUR DNA ON IT
AND A SHELL CASING FROM A .22-CALIBER GUN,
THEY WERE PRETTY SURE YOU HADSOMETHING TO DO
WITH YOUR HUSBAND'S MURDER.
WELL, TO HAVE MY DNA ON THE GLOVES IS VERY LOGICAL,
BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT THEM HOME FROM MY WORK.
KEITH HAD BEEN HAVING BLOOD-SUGAR ISSUES,
AND I KNOW THAT WE HAD USED THEM FOR THAT.
I MEAN, THERE'S EXPLANATIONS UP THE WAZOO
WHY IT WOULD HAVE MY DNA ON IT.
Zahn: EVEN IF DARLENE HAD USED GLOVES
WHILE TESTING KEITH'S BLOOD SUGAR,
THAT STILL DIDN'T EXPLAIN HOW A .22 SHELL CASING,
THE SAME CALIBER AS THE BULLET THAT KILLED KEITH,
WAS FOUND INSIDETHE GLOVE.
POLICE HAD A THEORY.
SHE PICKED THE .22 SHELL UP WITH THE GLOVES
AND ROLLED THE GLOVES DOWN
WITH THE SPENT SHELL INSIDE THE GLOVE.
Zahn: DARLENE HAS HER OWN THEORY.
IF YOU DIDN'T PUT THAT SHELL CASING IN THE TRASH, WHO DID?
EITHER DETECTIVE NOEL, JUST BECAUSE THEY WANTED
TO WRAP ALL OF THIS UP, OR THE PERSON THAT ACTUALLY,
YOU KNOW, COMMITTED THIS JUST TO LEAVE THINGS AROUND.
Zahn: DARLENE SAYS THOSE SHELL CASINGS
ACTUALLY SUPPORT HER INNOCENCE.
WHY WOULD SHE GET RID OF THE GUN
AND YET LEAVE BEHIND A CRITICAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE?
WHY WOULD I BE DUMB ENOUGH, IF I WAS GOING TO DO SOMETHING
LIKE THIS, TO LEAVE THAT PIECE OF EVIDENCE BUT BE SMART ENOUGH
TO GET RID OF THE WEAPON?
I MEAN, IT MAKES NO SENSE.
Zahn: BUT IT ALL MADE PERFECT SENSE TO POLICE.
THREE WEEKS AFTER KEITH GENTRY WAS MURDERED,
THEY ISSUED A WARRANT FOR DARLENE GENTRY'S ARREST.
IT WAS JUST AN ACCUMULATION OF THINGS,
STRICTLY CIRCUMSTANTIAL BUT STILL ENOUGH
FOR US TO OBTAIN A WARRANT.
Zahn: KEITH'S PARENTS WERE FOLLOWING THE INVESTIGATION CLOSELY,
AND THEY WERE CERTAIN POLICE HAD IT ALL WRONG.
THEY STILL BELIEVED IN DARLENE.
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD DARLENE WAS ARRESTED
FOR YOUR SON'S MURDER?
COULD YOU BELIEVE IT?
NOPE, STILL DIDN'T.
A TEXAS RANGER TOLD US, "YOU'RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS.
SHE KILLED YOUR SON."
COMING UP, A DRAMATIC STING OPERATION.
WILL POLICE CATCH DARLENE RED-HANDED?
I COULDN'T GET ON THE TELEPHONE FAST ENOUGH.
I SAID, "START THE CAMERA AND GET OUT OF THERE."
LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AFTER HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN SHOT,
DARLENE GENTRY WAS ARRESTED FOR HIS MURDER.
WHILE PROSECUTORS BUILD A CASE AGAINST HER,
DARLENE MAINTAINED HER INNOCENCE.
BECAUSE THE CASE AGAINST DARLENE GENTRY
WAS CIRCUMSTANTIAL, PROSECUTORS KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE
A HARD TIME PROVING SHE KILLED HER HUSBAND.
WE FELT LIKE IT WAS ONE THAT WE COULD GET AN INDICTMENT
FROM THE GRAND JURY AND COULD TRY,
BUT IT WASN'T WHAT YOU'D CALL A SLAM DUNK.
Zahn: MEANWHILE, DARLENE WAS TRYING TO PICK UP THE PIECES
AND MOVE ON WITH HER LIFE.
SHE DECIDED SHE COULD NO LONGER LIVE IN THE HOUSE
WHERE HER HUSBAND, KEITH, HAD BEEN MURDERED.
SHE GOT IN TOUCH WITH A HOME BUILDER
NAMED ROBERT PAVELKA.
PAVELKA GAVE DARLENE DIRECTIONS TO A PIECE OF SECLUDED LAND
NEXT TO A POND.
A FEW HOURS LATER, SHE GOT BACK IN TOUCH WITH HIM.
SHE CALLED ME BACK AND SAID,
"DOES THE POND COME WITH THE LAND?"
AND I TOLD HER, "YES, IT DOES."
SHE SAID, "WELL, THAT'S GREAT, BECAUSE KEITH ALWAYS WANTED
A POND FOR HIS KIDS TO GO FISHING IN."
DID YOU TELL ROBERT, YOU KNOW, KEITH HAD LIKED TO FISH
AND HE WANTED THE BOYS TO KNOW HOW TO FISH
AND IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A POND?
WELL, THAT'S WHAT I TOLD HIM.
I SAID, "IT IS SOMETHING THAT AT ONE TIME
KEITH WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE HAD."
Zahn: PAVELKA SAYS DARLENE WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THE POND,
HE WASN'T SURPRISED WHEN SHE CALLED TO SAY
SHE WAS GOING TO BUY THE PROPERTY.
A FEW WEEKS LATER, SHE MET UP WITH HIM TO SIGN THE PAPERWORK.
AT THE END OF THE DEAL, SHE SAID,
"WELL, YOU CAN COVER THAT POND UP NOW."
AND I KIND OF LOOKED AT HER STRANGE,
BECAUSE THAT WAS WHY SHE REALLY WANTED THE LAND.
Zahn: DARLENE HAS HER OWN STORY.
SHE SAYS SHE AND HER MOTHER HAD DISCUSSED
THE SAFETY OF THE POND, AND WITH THREE YOUNG BOYS,
SHE DECIDED TO FILL IT IN.
MOM TOLD ME -- SHE SAID, "YOU MAY, YOU KNOW,
THINK REAL HARD ABOUT COVERING THIS UP
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE KIDS AT THEIR YOUNG AGE."
Zahn: PAVELKA KNEW THAT DARLENE HAD BEEN ARRESTED
FOR HER HUSBAND'S MURDER, AND SOMETHING ABOUT
HER SUDDEN REVERSAL ABOUT WANTING THE POND FILLED IN
DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT TO HIM.
FOR TWO WEEKS, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY BOTHERED ME.
I SAID, "YOU KNOW, WHY?
SHE WANTS THE LAND FOR THE POND,
AND NOW SHE WANTS ME TO COVER IT UP,"
SO I CALLED A FRIEND OF MINE.
Zahn: PAVELKA'S FRIEND WORKED IN THE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
HE PUT HIM IN TOUCH WITH TEXAS RANGER STEVE FOSTER.
THE FIRST THOUGHT THAT I THOUGHT WAS,
"SHE HAS THROWN THE .22 PISTOL IN THE TANK."
Zahn: IT WAS JUST A HUNCH,
BUT FOSTER WAS A SEASONED INVESTIGATOR, AND TO HIM,
PAVELKA'S STORY ADDED UP TO JUST ONE THING --
DARLENE HAD GOTTEN RID OF THE MURDER WEAPON IN THE POND
AND NOW WANTED TO COVER IT UP.
HE CALLED LIEUTENANT TRACY O'CONNOR.
AS SOON AS HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE POND LOCATION,
I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT -- I SAID, "I BET YOU THAT GUN'S THERE."
HE SAID, "THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING."
Zahn: THEY CALLED IN A STATE-POLICE DIVE TEAM.
TWO OF THEM SUITED UP, BEGAN TO SEARCH THE POND
TO SEE IF THEY COULD FIND A WEAPON.
15 MINUTES INTO GETTING INTO THE WATER, ONE OF THEM SAID,
"I'VE GOT SOMETHING."
AND SURE ENOUGH, HE PULLED UP A .22 PISTOL.
Zahn: THE PISTOL MATCHED THE DESCRIPTION
OF THE GUN MISSING FROM THE GENTRY HOME.
POLICE BELIEVED THEY HAD FOUND THE MURDER WEAPON.
THAT WAS A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT WE REALLY NEEDED,
WAS THAT GUN.
Zahn: BUT WHAT GOOD WOULD THE GUN BE IN PROVING THEIR CASE
IN THEY COULDN'T LINK IT DIRECTLY TO DARLENE?
INVESTIGATORS DEVISED A SCHEME TO DO JUST THAT.
WE WENT ABOUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A PLAN AS TO GET HER
INVOLVED MORE, BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT SHE COULD SAY, YOU KNOW,
"IT'S NOT ME. SOMEBODY ELSE PUT IT THERE."
WE WANTED TO SEAL THE DEAL WITH HER.
Zahn: THEY TURNED TO ROBERT PAVELKA FOR HELP.
WE TALKED ABOUT HOW COULD WE GET HER BACK OUT THERE.
AND I SAID, "WELL, THE POND HAS TO BE PUMPED
TO EITHER PUSH IT IN OR TO CLEAN IT OUT.
EITHER WAY, THE WATER HAS GOT TO GO."
Zahn: PAVELKA CALLED DARLENE TO SET THE BAIT.
HE TOLD HER HE NEEDED TO DRAIN THE POND BEFORE FILLING IT.
INVESTIGATORS FIGURED IT WOULDN'T BE LONG BEFORE DARLENE
WOULD SHOW UP AT THE POND TO RETRIEVE THE GUN,
AND IF SHE DID, THEY'D BE READY FOR HER.
THE IDEA THAT WE FINALLY CAME UP WITH WAS THAT,
"WE'LL SIT THERE AND WATCH THE POND,
BUT LET'S GET A VIDEO CAMERA AND SET IT UP."
Zahn: FOSTER WAITED IN HIS CAR UP ON THE ROADWAY
WHILE HIS PARTNER HID A VIDEO CAMERA IN THE WOODS.
THE TRAP WAS SET, AND THE WAITING BEGAN.
WE SAT OUT THERE OVERNIGHT IN THE DARK,
THINKING THAT SHE WOULD COME DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,
AND SHE DIDN'T.
Zahn: NIGHT TURNED TO DAY.
NO DARLENE.
PAVELKA MADE ANOTHER CALL AND TOLD DARLENE
HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DRAIN THE POND
UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY.
THE VIGIL CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL HOURS, AND THEN THERE IT WAS.
FOSTER SPOTTED DARLENE'S S.U.V.
I'M WATCHING HER PULL UP IN HER S.U.V.
SHE GETS OUT, AND I SEE HER
WALK OFF INTO THE WOODS TOWARD THE POND.
I COULDN'T GET ON THE TELEPHONE FAST ENOUGH.
I SAID, "START THE CAMERA AND GET OUT OF THERE."
Zahn: FOSTER'S PARTNER SCRAMBLED TO ACTION AND WAS ABLE
TO CLEAR OUT JUST BEFORE DARLENE ARRIVED.
THE STING WAS PLAYING OUT EXACTLY AS PLANNED.
HERE WAS DARLENE GENTRY, CAUGHT ON CAMERA, WEARING BOOTS,
WADING INTO THE WATER.
Foster: SHE WALKS AROUND, WALKS INTO THE POND,
HAS A PROBE OF SOME SORT, AND BEGINS STICKING,
LOOKING FOR THE GUN.
O'Connor: IT WAS CLEARLY HER IN THE WATER,
LOOKING FOR THAT WEAPON IN THE EXACT SPOT
WHERE THOSE DIVERS HAD FOUND IT.
Zahn: DARLENE SPENT ALMOST
20 MINUTES AT THE POND BEFORE LEAVING.
Foster: UNBEKNOWNST TO HER, WE HAD ALREADY FOUND THE GUN,
AND IT WAS ALREADY IN DPS AUSTIN,
BEING ANALYZED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS THE MURDER WEAPON.
YOU ALMOST WISH YOU WERE IN THE WOOD WITH THE GUN,
WALKING OUT AND SAY, "HEY, YOU LOOKING FOR THIS?"
Zahn: POLICE WERE SATISFIED.
THEY FELT THEY HAD CARRIED OUT THE STING OPERATION
TO PERFECTION, AND IT WAS ALL CAPTURED ON TAPE.
Foster: IT WAS EXCITEMENT.
THIS WAS THE PIECE THAT WAS GONNA PUT HER IN JAIL,
AND WE KNEW THAT.
Zahn: THE VIDEO LOOKED PROMISING,
BUT IF IT WAS DARLENE, DID IT REALLY PROVE
SHE HAD THROWN THE MURDER WEAPON INTO THE POND?
SINCE POLICE HAD ALREADY RETRIEVED THE GUN,
WHERE WAS THE MOMENT WHEN DARLENE WAS CAUGHT
RED-HANDED WITH THE MURDER WEAPON?
HAD POLICE ACTUALLY SABOTAGED THE OPERATION
BY REMOVING THE GUN THEMSELVES?
DARLENE SAID SHE WANTED THE POND DRAINED
SO HER BOYS WOULD BE SAFE.
COULDN'T SHE NOW ARGUE THAT SHE WAS JUST CHECKING IT OUT
ONE MORE TIME BEFORE THE WORK WAS DONE?
AFTER ALL, SHE DIDN'T COME OUT TO THE POND AFTER DARK.
SHE DROVE HER OWN CAR IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
WAS THIS VIDEO REALLY THE SMOKING GUN?
IT WOULD BE UP TO A JURY TO DECIDE.
COMING UP, THE DRAMATIC TRIAL
AND SHOCKING DEFENSE OF DARLENE GENTRY.
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS IN HIS MIND,
WHERE HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING WITH ALL THIS.
Zahn: WANT MORE "ON THE CASE"? GO TO
InvestigationDiscovery.com/ PaulaZahn
AND VIEW MORE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO.
INVESTIGATORS BELIEVED THE CASE AGAINST DARLENE GENTRY
WAS COMING TOGETHER.
THEY HAD JUST CAPTURED DARLENE ON CAMERA, WADING INTO THE POND
IN THE SAME SPOT WHERE THEY HAD DISCOVERED A GUN.
WOULD THE TAPE SEAL DARLENE'S FATE,
OR HAD THE POLICE BLOWN THEIR OWN STING OPERATION?
WHEN PROSECUTORS SAW THE STING-OPERATION VIDEO,
THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD THE LAST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE,
BUT THEY WERE ALSO CONCERNED
THAT IDENTIFYING DARLENE ON CAMERA
MIGHT BE A PROBLEM.
THE FIRST QUESTION THAT WAS BROUGHT OUT WAS,
"ARE WE SURE THAT'S DARLENE GENTRY?"
I SAID, "IT'S DARLENE GENTRY. I CHECKED THE VEHICLE.
IT'S DARLENE."
I MEAN, THERE'S NOT VERY MANY LONG BLONDES
GONNA BE OUT IN THE WOODS WALKING AROUND IN A POND,
PROBING FOR A PISTOL.
Zahn: THAT WAS ENOUGH TO SATISFY PROSECUTORS.
THEY WERE READY TO GO TO TRIAL.
WHEN WE HAD THAT EVIDENCE, THAT REALLY TIED THE KNOT ON IT.
AND WHAT WAS A CIRCUMSTANTIAL CASE,
WHERE THE DEFENSE COULD PERHAPS MAKE SOME CERTAIN ARGUMENTS
BECAME MUCH LESS SO.
Zahn: AND THERE WAS ANOTHER PIECE OF IMPORTANT EVIDENCE
ALSO SECURED.
THE CRIME LAB REPORTED THAT THE SHELL CASING
FOUND INSIDE THE LATEX GLOVE WAS FIRED FROM THE WEAPON
FOUND IN THE POND.
ARMED WITH THE NEW EVIDENCE, PROSECUTORS WERE ABLE
TO INDICT DARLENE FOR THE MURDER OF HER HUSBAND, KEITH.
THE TRIAL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 6, 2007.
THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CASE IS GOING TO SHOW TO YOU
THAT THE DEFENDANT, DARLENE GENTRY,
YOU SEE HERE IN THIS COURTROOM NEXT TO HER ATTORNEYS,
IS GUILTY OF THE OFFENSE OF MURDER.
Zahn: PROSECUTORS TOLD JURORS THAT DARLENE KILLED HER HUSBAND
AND THEN TRIED TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN INTRUDER HAD DONE IT.
THEY SAID EVEN THE 911 CALL WAS PART OF AN EFFORT
TO THROW INVESTIGATORS OFF HER TRAIL.
THEY PLAYED IT IN COURT.
Long: THERE'S NOBODY THAT COMES IN AND FINDS THEIR HUSBAND SHOT
AND CALLS 911 AND GOES INTO A LONG, LABORED ACCOUNT
ABOUT HOW THE HOUSE HAS BEEN BROKEN INTO
AND WHAT'S MISSING AND THEN GETS TO KIND OF
AN, "OH, BY THE WAY, MY HUSBAND'S HERE
WITH A GUNSHOT IN HIS HEAD."
THAT'S JUST NOT THE WAY PEOPLE ACT.
Zahn: PROSECUTORS PRESENTED
THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AGAINST DARLENE.
THE SHELL CASING, THE GLOVE, THE DNA,
THE FACT THAT THE GUNS WERE PILED OUT IN THE YARD,
STACKED THERE, THE FACT THAT HER FINGERPRINTS
WERE ON ONE OF THEM.
Zahn: THEN, JURORS GOT TO SEE THE PROSECUTION'S SMOKING GUN --
THE VIDEO SHOWING DARLENE ALLEGEDLY LOOKING FOR
THE MURDER WEAPON IN THE EXACT SPOT
WHERE POLICE HAD FOUND IT.
I KNOW THE JURY WATCHED THE VIDEO VERY INTENTLY,
AND YOU COULD SEE IT MADE A BIG IMPRESSION ON THEM.
Zahn: WITH THE VIDEO FRESH IN THE JURORS' MINDS,
THE PROSECUTION RESTED.
DARLENE HAD ALWAYS DENIED KILLING HER HUSBAND,
AND NOW SHE WAS PREPARED TO GIVE HERSIDE OF THINGS.
HOW DID THE MURDER WEAPON END UP IN ROBERT PAVELKA'S POND?
WELL, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD QUESTION.
NEED TO ASK THE PERSON THAT ACTUALLY PUT IT THERE,
SO DON'T KNOW --
POLICE SAY YOUPUT IT THERE.
WELL, GOOD FOR THEM, BUT THERE WE GO AGAIN.
PROVE THAT.
I KNOW I DIDN'T PUT IT THERE.
THEYDON'T KNOW WHO PUT IT THERE.
Zahn: ACCORDING TO DARLENE, SHE WENT TO THE POND THAT DAY
BECAUSE SHE HEARD RUMORS THAT POLICE BELIEVED
THE GUN MIGHT BE THERE.
SHE SAID ROBERT PAVELKA TOLD HER HE WOULD MEET HER THERE.
IN MY MIND, I'M THINKING, "OKAY, WELL, MAYBE IF I GO OUT HERE
AND MEET HIM AND WE FIND THIS, THEN I'LL HAVE SOMEBODY
THAT'S THERE WITH ME THAT CAN SEE, 'LOOK, HERE IS THIS,
AND WE CAN GET IT TO SOMEBODY.'"
Zahn: BUT WHEN SHE GOT THERE, PAVELKA WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.
DARLENE WAS ALONE, YET CONTINUED LOOKING FOR THE GUN.
SHE NOW ADMITS THAT WAS PRETTY STUPID.
IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AS I'M EVEN DOING THIS,
I THOUGHT, "WHAT AM I DOING? WHY AM I EVEN HERE?"
Zahn: BUT PAVELKA DENIES EVER TELLING DARLENE
HE WAS GOING TO MEET HER AT THE POND.
HE SAYS ALL DID HE WAS CALL AND TELL HER
THE POND WOULD BE DRAINED, AND EVERYTHING ELSE
SHE DID ON HER OWN.
DARLENE BELIEVES POLICE USED ROBERT PAVELKA TO ILLEGALLY
SET HER UP AND THAT THE ENTIRE CASE AGAINST HER
WAS BUILT ON POLICE AND PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT.
YOU MAKE SOME VERY STRONG ACCUSATIONS.
YOU SAY THAT FALSE EVIDENCE WAS PRESENTED TO THE JURY
AND THERE WAS PERJURED TESTIMONY.
YOU HAVE PAVELKA SITTING UP ON THE STAND,
SAYING THAT THE PHONE CONVERSATIONS
BETWEEN HIM AND I WERE RECORDED.
THE TEXAS RANGER GETS UP THERE AND SAYS
THERE WAS NO RECORDING EVER MADE.
SO YOU HAVE THESE PEOPLE UP ON THE STAND,
ONE SAYING ONE, ONE SAYING THE OTHER,
AND THE JUDGE IS ALLOWING IT.
Zahn: AS FOR FALSE EVIDENCE, DARLENE SAYS,
"LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE TESTIMONY OF DETECTIVE NOEL
ABOUT THE .22-CALIBER SHELL CASING
FOUND INSIDE THE LATEX GLOVE.
NOEL SAYS EVERYTHING ELSE WAS CHECKED.
HERE, CONVENIENTLY, IS THIS TRASH CAN
THAT NOBODY WANTED TO GO INTO,
BUT HE DID, AND HE FINDS THIS GLOVE.
HE SAYS HE FINDS THE GLOVE, HANDS IT TO ONE OF THE EXPERTS
THAT'S THERE ON THE SCENE.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT FIND THE CASING.
WELL, THERE'S NO PICTURE OF IT ACTUALLY BEING IN THE TRASH.
NOBODY WAS AROUND WHEN HE FOUND THIS.
Zahn: IN FACT, THERE WERE CRIME-SCENE PHOTOS TAKEN
OF ALL THE EVIDENCE FOUND AT DARLENE'S HOUSE
EXCEPT THE GLOVE AND SHELL CASING.
BUT WHY WOULD POLICE AND PROSECUTORS
WANT TO FRAME HER?
DARLENE SAYS IT'S SIMPLE.
THEY WANTED A CONVICTION
AND MADE UP THEIR MINDS EARLY THAT SHE WAS THE KILLER.
YOU REALLY WANT ME TO BELIEVE, FROM THE EARLY MOMENT
THAT THE POLICE OFFICERS ARRIVED AT YOUR HOUSE,
THEY WERE ALREADY CONVINCED OF YOUR GUILT?
REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY HAD FOUND AND WHAT THEY SAW,
THEY WERE DEAD SET THAT I WAS GUILTY,
THAT I DID IT, AND THAT WAS THE END OF SUBJECT.
Zahn: DARLENE SAYS THE PROOF IS IN THE DASHBOARD-CAMERA VIDEO
TAKEN LESS THAN SEVEN MINUTES
AFTER POLICE ARRIVE AT HER HOUSE.
Darlene: I WOULD HOPE, WHOEVER WAS WATCHING THIS,
THAT THEY WOULD LOOK DEEP INTO THE WHOLE SITUATION
OF EVERYTHING AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND ABOUT THINGS
AND JUST TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY.
Zahn: AND NOW THE TIME HAD COME FOR DARLENE TO MAKE HER CASE.
THE COURTROOM WAS FILLED WITH TENSION IN ANTICIPATION
OF A VIGOROUS DEFENSE,
BUT NO ONE WOULD GET A CHANCE TO HEAR IT.
I HAD ASKED SEVERAL TIMES, "LET ME JUST GET UP THERE."
AND HE KEPT, "NO, I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO DO THAT,
BECAUSE REGARDLESS, IF YOU GET UP THERE,
THEY'RE JUST GONNA TWIST EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY."
Zahn: TO THE SURPRISE OF THE JURY AND EVEN DARLENE,
THE DEFENSE RESTED ITS CASE
WITHOUT CALLING ONE SINGLE WITNESS.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE JUST SAYS, "WE REST."
SO THAT WAS, LIKE, A TOTAL, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
WHY DIDN'T YOUR DEFENSE ATTORNEY
PUT ANY WITNESSES ON THE STAND ON YOUR BEHALF?
WHY HE DIDN'T PUT ANYBODY UP, I HAVE NO IDEA.
IT WAS LIKE, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
BECAUSE THE WAY HE WAS SPEAKING, I WAS LIKE,
"THIS IS NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING."
HE WOULD STUTTER AND JUST -- IT WAS A JOKE.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WAS IN HIS MIND,
WHERE HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING WITH ALL THIS,
AND WHY HE CHOSE TO DO THIS.
Zahn: IT TOOK THE JURY ONLY FIVE HOURS
TO COME BACK WITH A VERDICT.
Man: WE, THE JURY, FIND THE DEFENDANT,
DARLENE GENTRY, GUILTY OF THE OFFENSE OF MURDER
AS ALLEGED IN THE INDICTMENT.
Zahn: DARLENE GENTRY WAS SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS IN PRISON
FOR MURDERING HER HUSBAND.
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION, DARLENE,
WHEN THE GUILTY VERDICT CAME DOWN?
HONESTLY, I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU.
I WAS IN SUCH A SHOCK THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE THING.
IT WAS A CIRCUS, THE WHOLE THING.
Zahn: AFTER HER TRIAL,
DARLENE IMMEDIATELY FILED AN APPEAL.
SHE CLAIMED, THE KEY EVIDENCE, THE VIDEO OF HER AT THE POND,
SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SEEN BY THE JURY,
BECAUSE THE ENTIRE STING OPERATION
WAS A CASE OF ILLEGAL ENTRAPMENT.
A JUDGE RULED AGAINST HER.
THE CONVICTION WOULD STAND.
THEN, IN FEBRUARY 2010, DARLENE CHALLENGED HER CONVICTION,
CITING 15 GROUNDS OF OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT.
POLICE AND PROSECUTORS FORCEFULLY DENY
ALL OF DARLENE'S ACCUSATIONS.
Long: WE BELIEVE THAT THINGS LIKE THE EVIDENCE BEING PLANTED
ARE ABSOLUTELY BOGUS.
IF THERE'S A HEARING REQUIRED,
WE'LL BE CERTAINLY GLAD TO PARTICIPATE IN IT.
I DIDN'T KILL MY HUSBAND.
I LOVE MY CHILDREN, AND I LOVE MY FAMILY.
WHILE DARLENE SERVES HER SENTENCE,
HER IN-LAWS ARE RAISING HER THREE SONS.
THE BOYS HAVE NO DIRECT CONTACT WITH THEIR MOTHER.
I'M PAULA ZAHN.
JOIN US NEXT TIME WHEN WE'RE BACK ON THE CASE.