Latest / U.S SECRET CRIMES / The Deadly Betrayal Of Steven
Transcript
- 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,480 The Golden Goose was killed, the murder of Stephen. 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,360 What happens when the person you once rescued from poverty becomes the person accused of helping to take your life? 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:15,360 And what happens when a mother refuses to accept that her son's murder will become just another unsolved case? 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:22,080 In July 2002, a British businessman was murdered in the Philippines, leaving behind two young children, 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:26,560 a devastated mother, and a wife who would eventually stand trial for his death. 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,760 What followed was a two and a half year search for the truth. 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,400 Driven by suspicion, family testimony, private investigation, 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,680 and a mother who refused to stop asking one question. 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:38,960 Who killed Stephen? 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,360 Stephen grew up in Nottingham, England, with two younger sisters. 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,080 His life changed when his father died in an accident while Stephen was only 14. 12 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:53,360 Still a teenager himself, he began taking on responsibilities far beyond his years. 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:59,120 His family remembered him as quiet, playful, intelligent, and deeply protective. 14 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,520 He was especially interested in computers, 15 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,840 and that interest eventually opened a door that would take him thousands of miles from home. 16 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:11,440 At 21, Stephen was offered a job abroad by a computer company that promised to triple his salary 17 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,520 if he moved from Nottingham to Hong Kong. 18 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:19,360 He accepted the opportunity, beginning a new chapter that would eventually take him to the Philippines. 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,280 His mother, Margaret, remembered him as intelligent but somewhat innocent, 20 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,720 a young man who had not spent much time away from the protection of home 21 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,000 and who did not naturally expect evil from the people around him. 22 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,560 On the other side of the world, Evelyn was growing up in a remote Philippine community 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:36,640 where life was dramatically different. 24 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:43,360 Her family was poor, and the transcript describes her leaving home at only 13 to seek work in Angela's city. 25 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:48,720 She eventually found herself working in bars frequented by foreign visitors and wealthy customers. 26 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,240 The environment exposed vulnerable young women to exploitation, 27 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,800 and Evelyn's family said she had been ashamed of the circumstances and struggled to cope with them, 28 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,240 then Stephen met her. 29 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,720 He was attracted to Evelyn almost immediately. 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,160 He took her out, and according to the transcript, 31 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,000 paid the bar owner 500 pounds so that she would not have to return. 32 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,560 To Stephen, it was more than a night out. 33 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,120 He believed he was helping someone escape a life he considered harsh and degrading. 34 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,920 His family was uncomfortable with the circumstances, 35 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:21,920 but Stephen believed he had found someone he loved and someone he could protect. 36 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:27,520 When Margaret first met Evelyn, Evelyn was only 17 and Stephen was about 10 years older. 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,520 She was quiet and polite, and Margaret initially accepted her. 38 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,400 Stephen was deeply committed to the relationship. 39 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:36,640 He bought her a beautiful suit for their wedding, 40 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:40,640 and there was one small detail that would later become an important reminder of the enormous 41 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:45,280 difference between their backgrounds. Evelyn could not read the wedding vows because she had never 42 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,880 attended school. Stephen believed he was building a family. 43 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,320 First came Jessica. Two years later came Joshua. 44 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,040 The family eventually moved to Angela City, 45 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,520 where Stephen was earning around 60,000 pounds a year as a computer technician. 46 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,600 Evelyn received a monthly allowance of approximately 1,000 pounds, 47 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,080 and the family employed help around the home. 48 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,320 Stephen called his wife his princess and wanted her to have a comfortable life. 49 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,120 But while Stephen believed he had rescued Evelyn, 50 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,920 the relationship was changing beneath the surface. 51 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:21,760 Margaret began noticing things that troubled her. Evelyn appeared increasingly focused on money. 52 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,040 She was frequently communicating with someone by text message, 53 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,040 sometimes laughing quietly when she believed other people could not hear her. 54 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,760 Her sister Gina eventually confronted her about rumors of another relationship. 55 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:35,360 According to the transcript, 56 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:40,560 Gina said Evelyn admitted that she had a lover and that her marriage to Stephen was experiencing problems. 57 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:44,240 The man identified as Evelyn's alleged lover was Arnold to do right. 58 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,680 A local security guard whose income was far below Stevens, 59 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,520 yet the difference between the two men was not simply financial. 60 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,280 Stephen had become the provider of Evelyn's entire lifestyle. 61 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:59,600 He had also become the source of financial support for people around her. 62 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:01,680 Then money began disappearing. 63 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,000 Stephen had given Evelyn money for their daughter Jessica's private nursery school. 64 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,880 But when he personally took Jessica to the school, 65 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,360 he discovered that she was not even enrolled. 66 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,760 The money had apparently gone elsewhere. 67 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,000 Margaret recalled Stephen telling her, 68 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,920 "She's really messed up this time. 69 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,000 Then came another discovery. Evelyn had pond her wedding ring." 70 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:27,760 The transcript also links money intended for household expenses to the purchase of a motorbike for Arnold. 71 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,720 These were no longer small marital disagreements. 72 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:36,240 Stephen was beginning to realize that the life he had built was being undermined from inside his own home. 73 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,960 Stephen still wanted the marriage to survive. 74 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,040 He gave Evelyn an ultimatum. 75 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,960 She had to return the missing money and either get a job or attend college. 76 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,520 When nothing changed, he threatened divorce. 77 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,480 That decision carried enormous consequences. 78 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,760 If Stephen left her and stopped supporting her financially, 79 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,800 Evelyn would lose the lifestyle she had come to depend on. 80 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,840 The transcript portrays her as facing the possibility of returning to the difficult circumstances 81 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:04,240 from which Stephen had once helped her escape. 82 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,760 And Stephen eventually took the most consequential step of all. 83 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,440 He stopped her allowance. 84 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:17,120 For years, Stephen had been the financial foundation not only of his immediate household but of a much larger network of relatives and friends. 85 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,240 Once the money stopped, that network was threatened too. 86 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,480 Someone warned Stephen to be careful. 87 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:27,680 But Stephen apparently believed that nobody would hurt him because he was the source of their wealth. 88 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,080 He called himself the Golden Goose. 89 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,040 It was a statement that would later haunt Margaret. 90 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,480 She remembered warning him that people could become dangerous. 91 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,880 Stephen laughed it off. The Golden Goose he believed would not be killed. 92 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:45,600 But on the night of July 18, 2002, the Golden Goose was dead. 93 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:50,400 Stephen and his business associate Mike were staying at a business apartment in Manila. 94 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,280 During the night, three men entered the apartment. 95 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:56,720 One of them held a gun to Mike and asked whether he was Stephen. 96 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:01,200 When the men realized they had the wrong person, they went into Stephen's room. 97 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,040 Mike heard Stephen react. 98 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,880 Then came gunshots. The attackers ran from the apartment. 99 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,440 Mike went into Stephen's room, found him unresponsive, checked for a pulse, 100 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,800 and then went downstairs to get help and contact the police. 101 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,360 Thousands of miles away, Margaret received the call every mother fears. 102 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:20,960 It was July 18. 103 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,600 She struggled to believe what she was hearing. 104 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,640 Her mind refused to accept that Stephen was dead. 105 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,480 But the nightmare was real. 106 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,280 Margaret immediately traveled to the Philippines. 107 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:37,040 And when she arrived at the funeral home, something happened that would shape the investigation in her mind. 108 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:38,400 She saw Evelyn. 109 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,600 Margaret believed Evelyn's behavior was suspicious. 110 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:46,000 She remembered Evelyn not approaching her, not appearing visibly distressed, 111 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,400 and instead asking questions about Mike and whether he had seen the attackers clearly. 112 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,160 Those observations became part of Margaret's growing suspicion. 113 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,320 But suspicion was not proof. 114 00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,640 At that stage, there was no evidence directly linking Evelyn to the murder. 115 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,560 Margaret herself acknowledged that her initial accusation was based on instinct 116 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,360 and what she already believed about Evelyn's behavior. 117 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,240 The police were following another possibility. 118 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,000 Investigators initially considered whether someone connected to Stephen's company 119 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:15,440 could have been responsible. 120 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,960 But employees described Stephen as a good employer and detective struggle 121 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,120 to find a clear motive within the company. 122 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,000 The investigation appeared to be moving slowly. 123 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,160 Margaret refused to accept that. 124 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,320 Instead of returning home to England, 125 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,480 she hired a private investigator. 126 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,480 A former police officer and began her own search for answers. 127 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,440 Surveillance was conducted around Evelyn's home. 128 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,320 And two men were observed visiting regularly. 129 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:42,160 One was Arnold Adurai. 130 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,680 The other was a friend of his who was also a security guard. 131 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,160 Margaret passed the information to police. 132 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:49,760 Mike was shown the men. 133 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,440 He identified them as two of the three men who had entered the apartment 134 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:55,120 on the night Stephen was killed. 135 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:59,920 Both were arrested, but Margaret's determination was becoming dangerous. 136 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,240 She was warned that people connected to the accused 137 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,320 could pose a threat to her and Alan. 138 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:08,560 Yet she continued, there was another reason she could not simply leave. 139 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,040 Stephen had left behind two children. 140 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,880 Margaret wanted Jessica and Joshua to come back to England with her. 141 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,120 She managed to persuade Evelyn to let Jessica stay with her temporarily. 142 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,720 Margaret then left the Philippines with her three-year-old granddaughter. 143 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:24,720 But Joshua remained behind. 144 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,840 For Margaret, leaving Stephen's young son was one of the hardest decisions of her life. 145 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:34,000 She left his passport behind because she could not take him with her at that moment. 146 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,240 But she did not abandon the search. 147 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:40,880 She sent her investigator to the island where Joshua was staying with Evelyn's parents. 148 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,800 Eventually, arrangements were made for the child to travel to England. 149 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,920 Two months after Margaret first fled the Philippines. 150 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,120 She was reunited with her grandson at Heathrow Airport. 151 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,360 The circumstances were heartbreaking. 152 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,960 Joshua arrived wearing clothes that did not properly fit him. 153 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,320 But Margaret finally had both of Stephen's children with her. 154 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,240 The murder had taken Stephen. 155 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,800 It had also divided a family forever. 156 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,120 And still, Margaret was not finished. 157 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,920 For two years, she worked day after day, 158 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,800 sometimes through the night, gathering information. 159 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,400 The investigation cost her approximately 55,000 pounds. 160 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,440 And the transcript says she even paid police petrol expenses 161 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,360 so that witnesses could be interviewed. 162 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,160 This was not simply a mother-seeking revenge. 163 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:30,320 At its deepest level, Margaret was trying to answer a question that families of murder victims everywhere understand. 164 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,640 Why? Why was Stephen killed? 165 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,160 Why did someone decide that his life was worth less than money? 166 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,560 And most importantly, who had planned it? 167 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,920 The breakthrough eventually came from Evelyn's own family. 168 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,760 Robin butters, Evelyn's brother-in-law and genus husband 169 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,240 had behaved suspiciously after the killing. 170 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,040 When police tried to question him, he disappeared. 171 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,320 Margaret persuaded Evelyn's aunts to help locate him. 172 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,400 Eventually, Robin came forward. 173 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,480 And his account changed the case. 174 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,960 Robin told investigators that he had been the third man involved in the murder. 175 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,760 According to his statement around 11 p.m., 176 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,080 Evelyn came and asked him to go with him. 177 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,120 He said he did not initially know where they were going. 178 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:12,560 He got into a car. 179 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:15,920 They headed toward the apartment where Stephen and Mike were staying. 180 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:17,760 Three men went upstairs. 181 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,600 According to Robin's account, Arnold was the one who fired the gun 182 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,080 while Evelyn remained in the car as a lookout. 183 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,160 Robin also told investigators that Evelyn had said Stephen was a millionaire 184 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,040 and that she would receive his money after Stephen was dead. 185 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,800 This was the evidence that transformed Margaret's suspicions into a case 186 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:36,480 that could be taken into court. 187 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:41,200 Arnold and his accomplice were convicted of murder and sentence to life imprisonment. 188 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,640 Robin was released in exchange for providing evidence. 189 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,400 But one question remained. 190 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:47,760 What about Evelyn? 191 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,880 In February 2004, Evelyn was arrested and charged with Stephen's murder. 192 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,120 She did not pull the trigger herself. 193 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,720 But the prosecution argued that she had helped plan the killing. 194 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:00,800 Evelyn denied the allegations. 195 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,040 The case rested on evidence, including the attacker's access to the apartment. 196 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,360 Testimony concerning Evelyn's movements, statements from people close to her, 197 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,760 and evidence from members of her own family. 198 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,200 The transcript says 14 people gave evidence against her. 199 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,160 While there was no witness supporting her version of events. 200 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,760 And then came the moment Margaret had spent years fighting to reach. 201 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,880 The courtroom, the judge found Evelyn guilty beyond 202 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:27,760 reasonable doubt of murder qualified by treachery. 203 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,920 She was sentenced to reclusion perpetua, the maximum life imprisonment penalty 204 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,880 described in the transcript, rather than death. 205 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:39,360 For Margaret, however, the verdict was not a victory in the ordinary sense. 206 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,000 Because no verdict could bring Stephen back. 207 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,000 No prison sentence could give Jessica and Joshua their father again. 208 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,320 No punishment could restore the years that their children would grow up without him. 209 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:54,080 And that is perhaps the most painful truth in this entire case. 210 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,640 Justice can hold someone accountable, but justice cannot reverse death. 211 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,240 After the verdict, Margaret had one final thing she wanted to do. 212 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,440 She wanted to face Evelyn, not through investigators, not through lawyers, 213 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,800 not through newspaper reports, face to face. 214 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,720 Margaret confronted her daughter-in-law and spoke about the children, Stephen, 215 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,720 and the family they had once shared. 216 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,800 Evelyn continued to deny killing Stephen and maintain that she loved her children 217 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:22,480 and had not committed the crime. 218 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:27,440 Margaret had hoped that after the conviction Evelyn might finally admit the truth. 219 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:28,640 She did not. 220 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,800 Instead, Margaret left with the knowledge that the court had reached its decision 221 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,160 even though Evelyn herself continued to deny responsibility. 222 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,840 But perhaps the most powerful part of the story is not the courtroom. 223 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:41,760 It is what happened afterward. 224 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:45,520 Jessica grew up knowing her father through memories, photographs, 225 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,120 stories, and the love of the family he left behind. 226 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,920 Joshua would grow up without the chance to know the father who had once been so proud of him. 227 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,200 Margaret could not give her grandchildren their father back. 228 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,360 So she tried to give them his memory. 229 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,360 She looked at the stars with them. 230 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:02,880 She told them stories. 231 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:04,400 She kept photographs. 232 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:08,160 She carried the memory of Stephen into the future because she understood something 233 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,440 that murder investigations sometimes make easy to forget. 234 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:13,600 A victim is not a case number. 235 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:15,440 A victim is somebody's son. 236 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:16,880 Somebody's father. 237 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,320 Somebody's brother. 238 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:19,680 Somebody's friend. 239 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:24,560 Stephen's death also exposes a wider issue that remains painfully relevant today. 240 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:29,280 Financial dependence can create complicated and sometimes dangerous relationships. 241 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,880 A person who controls another person's access to money may believe 242 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,360 that providing financially guarantees loyalty. 243 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,120 But money cannot create genuine love, trust, or safety. 244 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,520 At the same time, poverty can make vulnerable people susceptible to relationships 245 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,480 in which survival becomes tied to another person's wealth. 246 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:50,880 Evelyn's childhood circumstances, her early exposure to exploitation, 247 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:55,280 and her later dependence on Stephen's form an important part of the background to the story. 248 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,120 But difficult circumstances do not erase personal responsibility, 249 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,760 and they should never be used to excuse murder. 250 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,960 There is another lesson for our contemporary world. 251 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,200 Warning signs are often small before they become impossible to ignore. 252 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,840 Arguments about money, secret communications, broken trust, 253 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,560 financial deception, threats of separation, growing resentment, 254 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,320 people around the relationship noticing that something is wrong. 255 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:26,080 None of these things automatically mean that a violent crime is coming. 256 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,040 But when a relationship becomes increasingly hostile, 257 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,360 people should not dismiss serious warning signs simply because they seem uncomfortable 258 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,000 or because everyone hopes the problem will disappear. 259 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:41,120 Stephen believed that because he was financially valuable to the people around him, he was safe. 260 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,520 That belief became tragically wrong. 261 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,200 The story also reminds us of the importance of investigating facts 262 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,680 rather than relying only on suspicion. 263 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,120 Margaret's first reaction to Evelyn was based on instinct. 264 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:57,360 Her suspicions became meaningful only when investigators obtained evidence. 265 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,720 Witnesses came forward, suspects were identified, 266 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,600 and testimony connected the different pieces of the case. 267 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:08,960 And perhaps the greatest tragedy is that Stephen's children paid the price for decisions they never made. 268 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,600 They did not choose their parents' relationship. 269 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:13,600 They did not choose the conflict. 270 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,280 They did not choose the money. 271 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,120 They did not choose the murder. 272 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,600 Yet they inherited the consequences. 273 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,920 Years later, Margaret could still speak about Stephen with love and pain. 274 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,720 She could still remember his jokes, his smile, his love for his children, 275 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,320 and the ordinary moments that seemed insignificant before his death. 276 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,720 That is how murder changes a family. 277 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,560 The victim's final day becomes something the family replace forever. 278 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:40,880 The last goodbye becomes important. 279 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,440 The last conversation becomes precious. 280 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,480 The smallest details suddenly become permanent. 281 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,720 Margaret remembered one final goodbye before Stephen's death and believed. 282 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:54,560 Looking back, that Evelyn already knew something terrible was coming. 283 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,360 Whether every detail of that memory could ever be proven 284 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,880 was less important to Margaret than the feeling that remained with her. 285 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:07,040 She had lost her son, and she would spend the rest of her life making sure that his story was not lost with him. 286 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,240 Stephen left behind a mother who refused to stop searching, 287 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,800 two children who would grow up carrying his memory, 288 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,400 and a case that demonstrated how betrayal, money, secrecy, 289 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:21,280 and destructive choices can transform an ordinary family conflict into irreversible tragedy. 290 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,960 The lesson is not simply to distrust the people around us. 291 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:30,480 It is to recognize the value of human life before money, anger, jealousy, resentment, 292 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,240 or desperation becomes more important than the person standing in front of us. 293 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:39,200 Because once a life is taken, there is no apology powerful enough to restore it. 294 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:40,960 There is only the evidence. 295 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:42,400 There is the courtroom. 296 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,160 There are the consequences. 297 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,560 And there are the families left behind. 298 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,720 Forced to live with the question of what might have happened if someone had made a different choice. 299 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:54,400 For Stephen's family, that question will never have an answer. 300 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:56,320 His children will grow older. 301 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,080 His mother will grow older. 302 00:16:58,080 --> 00:16:59,840 The world will move forward. 303 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,720 But the night of July 18th, 2002, 304 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,200 will always remain the night when a husband, 305 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,360 father, son, and brother was taken from the people who loved him. 306 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:13,360 And perhaps the most haunting words in this entire story came before the murder. 307 00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:17,440 When Stephen believed he could not be harmed because he was the one providing everything. 308 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,600 He believed he was the golden goose. 309 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,840 But as Margaret would later remember, even the golden goose could be killed. 310 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,800 This is u.ssecretcrimespodcast. 311 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:32,160 Stick to us for more of information and stories of this nature see you on the next one.