Latest / The Mind of a Man / The Brutal Murder of James Barry _ True Crime Documentary

Transcript

The Brutal Murder of James Barry _ True Crime Documentary · The Mind of a Man

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: At 1 a.m. on a November night in 2016, a
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: family in Loxahatchee, Florida, awoke to a real-life nightmare. A
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: horrific scene, screams to call 911, and a young man
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: dying in his bedroom. From the house emerged three survivors,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: a distraught mother, her boyfriend, and the best friend. But
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: it was a fourth person, they claimed. who had made
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: their way inside the locked house in the middle of
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the night, committed the murder, and escaped. Hi there, I'm Kevin,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: and welcome to Just Thought Lounge. Today's case takes some
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: unexpected turns. It's full of disputed evidence, shocking statements, and
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: false allegations. In the end, the truth is unsettling, but undeniable.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Let's take a look. At just before 1 a.m. on
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: November 16, 2016, an emergency call was placed from a
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: home on Glasgow Drive in Loxahatchee, Florida. The caller, 56-year-old
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Nicola Berry, was frantic. She had awoken to a chaotic
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: scene and found her son, 21-year-old James, injured in his bedroom.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: When deputies arrived, they found three adults in the home
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: with James. His mother, Nicola, who had placed the call
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: to 911, her live-in boyfriend, Guy Hand, as well as
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: James' best friend, Jeff Jarzbikowski, who was just staying the night.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Inside the house, responders found James on his bed. Guy
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: was diligently performing CPR when EMTs rushed in. They transferred
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: him to the floor and continued life-saving efforts. Unfortunately, it
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: was too late. 21-year-old James Berry was declared dead at
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the scene. He had suffered multiple stab wounds, including fatal
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: injuries to his chest. Nicola, Guy, and Jeff were escorted
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: from the house to the roadside where a neighbor met
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: them to provide comfort. Both Guy and Jeff carried signs
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: of the brutal attack, stains on their hands, arms, and elsewhere.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Both had been attempting to perform life-saving measures on James
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: before EMTs arrived. In the house, responders found a carving
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: knife with a white handle and a 10-inch curved blade.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: It was bloodied and sitting on the kitchen counter. Moving
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: through the kitchen and down the hallway towards the bedrooms,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: a trail led where James was found by emergency responders.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: As they waited for detectives to arrive on scene, the
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: group outside began to speculate and piece together what they
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: believed happened only moments earlier. In spite of the shock
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: and confusion of the night's events, a consensus began to
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: emerge almost immediately. Someone else must have entered the house
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: while they slept. and that someone had to have been
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: James' 19-year-old girlfriend, Melanie Eam. James had been messaging with
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Melanie earlier that night, Jeff said, and there had been
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: an argument. According to Jeff, James had been trying to
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: break things off. Sometime around 8 or 8.30, Melanie had
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: turned up at the house, uninvited. Though she left at
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: that time, she must have returned.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: And then you saw her out there and you texted
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: her calling her to go away. She saw your car.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: And she pulled in here and backed up and she
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: went that way. She didn't get out of the car
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: unless someone was driving her. How does she know how
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: to get through the unlocked door when there is no key?
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Two nights ago, she came in over here again, and
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: then James heard and thought someone was trying to break in,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: and then he saw her when he looked out the window,
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: and then he texted her saying, go away.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: Or we're done, we're over, go away.
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: This is disrespectful.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: So why didn't he tell me that? He just told
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: me today, like right before I fell asleep.
• 4:33
  Speaker 5: He didn't tell me that.
• 4:35
  Speaker 6: Jesus. I have a psycho living in this place.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: She's always been fucking psycho, always.
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: She killed him.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Do y'all want our address? We have detectives coming out.
• 4:53
  Speaker 7: They'll talk to you when they get here, okay?
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Guy reported that he locked all of the doors to
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: the house every night. If James had already told Melanie
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: to leave once, it's unlikely he let her in later. So,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: how did Melanie get inside? There was no sign of
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: forced entry to the home. The front door was locked.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: So was a side door connecting to the patio. A
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: back door, however, sat open. No one could deduce how
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Melanie would have been able to unlock that door initially
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: to enter the house. Guy speculated that perhaps she had
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: stolen a key. Or, alternatively, she had broken in through
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: the garage.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: And if she stole a key, she would know if
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: she took the key off the key ring. She wouldn't
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: have time to put that key back on the key ring,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: would she? Is she that fucking short? It appeared that
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: the attack began in the kitchen and led into the bedroom.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: The presumed murder weapon, the carving knife, likely carried back
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: into the kitchen and left behind.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Investigators rapidly determined that the knife had been taken from
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: inside the house. It was one from Guy's collection. A
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: butcher by trade, he owned several larger blades that were
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: kept in the home. Indeed, Guy had used this very
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: knife only hours earlier to carve their roast for dinner.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Its usual place was the second drawer down in the
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: kitchen next to the stove counter.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Outside, near to the open back door on the patio table,
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: investigators spotted a cell phone in a pink case. Near
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: to the phone, there were drops of a blood-like substance.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Later, tests would confirm these small stains were blood, and
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: that cell phone was Melanie Eam's. James Berry and Melanie
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Eam had been high school sweethearts. They had started their
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: relationship as friends, belonging to the same social circle at school.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: They shared a love of gaming and spent many hours
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: playing together. After some time, James eventually worked up the
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: confidence to ask Melanie on a date. From there, their
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: romance moved quickly. The two were inseparable. James's older sister, Alexandra,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: reported that the family was initially thrilled for James and
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: embraced Melanie. A shy and generally quiet young girl, she
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: enjoyed baking at their house and cooking special meals for
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: James and the family to share. Following his parents' divorce
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: when he was a child, James lived with his mother
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: and eventually her boyfriend, Guy, as well. In the years
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: before his death, Melanie would spend major holidays with James'
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: family at the house in Loxahatchee. When he graduated from
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: high school, James went on to study at Palm Beach College.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: This move reportedly prompted Melanie to do the same. Though
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: she was younger than him, she was able to leave school,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: obtain her GED, and then follow her boyfriend into the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: same program. After two years together, the couple were as
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: close as ever. Perhaps too close. Their relationship had descended
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: into an on-again, off-again rollercoaster of highs and lows. Always together,
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: and then breaking up. Messages exchanged between them in the
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: hours before the murder showed James trying to distance himself
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: once again. In fact, he wanted to break up. This time,
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: it seems, he meant to stick to it. While he
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: played games with Jeff at home, he was also active
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: on a gaming app where he wrote to Melanie. It
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: might be better for us to split and just focus
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: on ourselves rather than worrying about each other constantly. Melanie
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: had been reportedly unreasonably jealous over one of James' ex-girlfriends.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: That night, he wrote, But honestly, are you and me
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: really happy? I'm not going back to my ex. Don't
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: worry about that at all. It's something we need to
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: look at and accept. We're not happy. James's honest reflection
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: on the state of their relationship was met with denial
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: from Melanie. I thought you are happy with me before
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: the past few days, she wrote. Her confusion may have
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: stemmed from a previous conversation. they had in person because
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: James responded, Melanie, I type my feelings better than explaining
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: them in real life. I'm not happy at all anymore.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Thanks for leaving me through a league chat, she wrote.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: Though the messages carried a sense of finality, Investigators believed
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: that Melanie was not willing to accept the breakup and
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: leave things as they stood. James may not have wanted
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: to discuss his feelings in person, but his ex-girlfriend certainly did.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Three hours after she sent that last message, past midnight
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: on the 16th, her car was spotted parked in front
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: of James' house on Glasgow Drive. While law enforcement assessed
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the scene, they also sought out Melanie Iam. She was
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: not located at the home she shared with her parents.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: They expressed surprise that the police were looking for her
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: at all. There was no way she could have been involved,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: they said. Also, they expressed concern because they had no
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: idea where she was.
• 11:08
  Speaker 8: I froze, you know, my body just numb. And I,
• 11:14
  Speaker 8: we couldn't sleep, we cannot eat. We just like a dream.
• 11:19
  Speaker 8: I mean, like you wake up and say, it cannot happen.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Declaring her only a person of interest in her ex-boyfriend's murder,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: law enforcement issued a public plea for assistance in locating Melanie. Meanwhile,
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: they checked traffic cameras for captures of her license plate,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: and they received a few hits. It seems that Melanie
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: had driven through the night to Maryland, Learning that Melanie
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: had an uncle and cousins in the state, officers there
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: were dispatched to check for her vehicle near to her
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: relative's address. They found it.
• 11:56
  Speaker 9: Oh, shit, it's here.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: I see it.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: Is it?
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: Hold on.
• 12:02
  Speaker 6: Yes, it's here. Come here.
• 12:03
  Speaker 10: Hold on, call Sarge now.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Let me call her.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Maryland officers were not involved in the homicide investigation. Their
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: instructions were to locate, verify, and take possession of the
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: Toyota Corolla, ostensibly due to unpaid tolls. Their next step
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: was to confirm that Melanie Eam was inside the house
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: and not at risk of harm or of leaving.
• 12:28
  Speaker 10: We're just concerned about her.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: We've got to call someone.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: I've said this year we're concerned about her.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: I really agree. Fortunately, I have to tell the vehicle
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: this evening. I'm supposed to break off. I can serve
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: as a backup.
• 12:38
  Speaker 6: They have to take the package or something like that,
• 12:40
  Speaker 6: so we're.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: Going to tell the vehicle.
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: It's cold.
• 12:43
  Speaker 10: I guess you're curious about what's going on. What is the...
• 12:46
  Speaker 10: I mean, what is... No, so right now, all it
• 12:49
  Speaker 10: is is, like I said, we got a call to
• 12:50
  Speaker 10: check the welfare of guests of... Is Melanie? Melanie's here?
• 12:54
  Speaker 10: So they just said, hey, you know, some stuff happened.
• 12:57
  Speaker 10: Pretty much family got concerned. They just wanted us to
• 12:59
  Speaker 10: come and make sure she's fine. Like, in the right
• 13:01
  Speaker 10: state of mind and everything like that. So is it
• 13:04
  Speaker 10: cool if she comes out and talks to us real briefly?
• 13:06
  Speaker 10: Like I said, we just need to make sure everything
• 13:07
  Speaker 10: is fine with her emotionally.
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: Hey, I don't know if we're going to talk, but
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: maybe you can see her.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: I'll just let her come out here.
• 13:16
  Speaker 10: I mean, is it cool if we go in? Like
• 13:17
  Speaker 10: I said, it's just to make sure physically she's fine
• 13:20
  Speaker 10: is all.
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: That's it.
• 13:21
  Speaker 10: Or if she doesn't want us to come in, if
• 13:23
  Speaker 10: she comes to come out. Okay, that works. Hey, do
• 13:27
  Speaker 10: what you got to do, Monk. I appreciate it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Melanie did not appear surprised to exit the house and
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: encounter the officers. She seemed to know why they were there.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: The officers, however, were clearly not as well informed.
• 13:42
  Speaker 6: Hi, Melanie.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: So, we'll come back and knock on your door, Monk,
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: and give you all the information.
• 13:46
  Speaker 10: Do you have any questions for us, Melanie?
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: Yeah, we didn't get....
• 14:07
  Speaker 10: We haven't been told anything. Like I said, they just
• 14:09
  Speaker 10: wanted us to talk to you about make sure physically
• 14:11
  Speaker 10: and emotionally you were fine is all.
• 14:13
  Speaker 6: Okay?
• 14:14
  Speaker 10: You have any other questions for us? What's going on, Melanie?
• 14:18
  Speaker 11: I don't know.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: I'm just scared.
• 14:25
  Speaker 9: Okay.
• 14:27
  Speaker 10: What are you scared about?
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: I don't know.
• 14:32
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 14:34
  Speaker 9: All right.
• 14:35
  Speaker 10: Well, like I said, we'll be right back. If you
• 14:36
  Speaker 10: have any further questions for us, like I said, we'll
• 14:39
  Speaker 10: be back to knock on the door. If anything comes
• 14:41
  Speaker 10: up in between that time, please don't hesitate to ask
• 14:43
  Speaker 10: us or let us know what's going on, okay?
• 14:45
  Speaker 12: Thank you.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Detective Oliver of Palm Beach County traveled to Maryland to
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: meet with Melanie. Her cousin allowed him and a colleague
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: into the home. At that time, he pressed record on
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: his cell phone. The detective's stated intention was not to
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: arrest the teenager, only to take her statement. For this reason,
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: she was not read her Miranda rights.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: Detective Oliver offered.
• 15:13
  Speaker 9: To speak with Melanie at the kitchen table in her
• 15:16
  Speaker 9: uncle's home. Two of her cousins were present. Everything shows
• 15:30
  Speaker 9: that you just drove over there with the intention of
• 15:33
  Speaker 9: killing James, which is really bad. But if it's something
• 15:36
  Speaker 9: like even that moment of passion, you're trying to defend yourself,
• 15:40
  Speaker 9: this is your opportunity because you're not going to get
• 15:42
  Speaker 9: another opportunity, most likely.
• 15:44
  Speaker 5: This is your opportunity right now.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: With the family dog whimpering in the background, Melanie explained
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: that she went over to James's house that night just
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: to speak with him. He was breaking up with her,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: But she didn't believe that he no longer loved her.
• 16:01
  Speaker 6: When you used the knife on him, was your intention
• 16:04
  Speaker 6: just to kind of scare him? Or you didn't want
• 16:07
  Speaker 6: to kill.
• 16:07
  Speaker 11: Him, did you?
• 16:09
  Speaker 9: Just tell me that you didn't want to kill him.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: She told Detective Oliver that she had taken the knife
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: from the drawer in the kitchen. She knew where all
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: the cutlery and other cooking utensils were kept. Before she
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: ran from the house, she tossed the knife away somewhere
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: in the room. More than once, Melanie indicated that she
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: had not realized how severely James had been injured. She
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: thought he'd be okay and... didn't think it was that much.
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Though she knew enough to run, she drove to Maryland,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: stopping only at a Walmart on the way to purchase
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: a new cell phone. She also knew not to return
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: to the scene to collect the one she had left there.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Melanie was eventually extradited to Florida, where she was held
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: without bond, awaiting trial. She faced charges of manslaughter and
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: second-degree murder. She pleaded not guilty. It was a.
• 17:27
  Speaker 7: Horrific crime, but right now we're going forward in terms
• 17:32
  Speaker 7: of the justice part of the equation. And I'm glad
• 17:35
  Speaker 7: that Melanie is in jail without bond at this stage
• 17:39
  Speaker 7: of the game so we can move forward.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: Melanie's attorney, Bruce Lear, promptly filed a motion to have
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: her recorded confession removed from the evidence at trial. Lear
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: argued that common sense proved that the confession offered by
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Melanie to Detective Oliver was based upon his words and
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: not hers. She had been guided to confess by the
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: predetermined conclusions the detective had made about the case, that
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: she was a rejected girlfriend who stabbed James to death
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: in an angry rage.
• 18:12
  Speaker 13: I'm saying that my client gave an alleged confession that
• 18:17
  Speaker 13: in violation of her constitutional rights, and therefore should be suppressed.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: The state countered that no rights were read because Melanie
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: was not under arrest. She was told multiple times that
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: this was the case, and at no time did anyone
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: in the house ask the detectives to leave. At the
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: end of the interview, Detective Oliver asked if Melanie had
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: been comfortable with the conversation. She responded positively.
• 18:46
  Speaker 9: Did you feel like Attempts to have the.
• 18:49
  Speaker 6: Confession suppressed failed. Melanie Eom stood trial in the autumn
• 18:54
  Speaker 6: of 2018.
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: Her defense team.
• 18:56
  Speaker 9: Came out swinging with a new theory of the crime.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: From the moment responders arrived on scene, the defense said
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: the finger was pointed at Melanie. This was an unusual
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: and flawed approach to the investigation, considering three adults were
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: found with the victim in a house where all the
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: doors had been locked before 10 p.m. Lear accused Nicola
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: Berry's boyfriend, Guy Hand, of committing the murder, then staging
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: the cell phone to frame his client and otherwise covering
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: up evidence. He argued that Melanie had been in the
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: house at the time of the murder. The shirt she
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: had been wearing that night tested positive for James' blood
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: on the cuff of the right sleeve. Blood was similarly
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: found on the gear shift of her Corolla, a car
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: that was spotted parked out front of the house that night.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: This evidence was explained by her presence there as a witness. Indeed,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: they argued that she had been in the room and
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: watched as Guy attacked James. Then she ran from the
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: scene in fear of what she had just witnessed.
• 20:21
  Speaker 6: The evidence will show that Guy Hand, for some reason,
• 20:26
  Speaker 6: took a valium that night before he went to bed.
• 20:34
  Speaker 6: It will show that that he picked up.
• 20:36
  Speaker 11: The bloody knife, well aware, he'll admit he was aware
• 20:40
  Speaker 11: that that knife had been used to kill this young man.
• 20:43
  Speaker 11: He picks it up, and he takes it to the
• 20:49
  Speaker 11: kitchen and leaves it next to the sink. That's as
• 20:50
  Speaker 11: far as he got at that.
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: Point with it. Destroyed the evidence.
• 20:56
  Speaker 12: His background?
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: He was a butcher.
• 21:03
  Speaker 6: And of everyone who was in the house at that time,
• 21:08
  Speaker 6: the mother of the deceased, the best friend of the deceased.
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: And Guy Hand.
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: Guy Hand is the one who's saying, she did it,
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: she did it, she did it. Right from the start.
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: Your common sense will tell you who inflicted those mortal wounds.
• 21:29
  Speaker 6: Melanie Eam said, Guy Hand was a key witness for
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: the prosecution.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: He testified that he took half a Valium that night
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: at roughly 9.30pm before going to bed because he had
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: napped earlier in the day and was concerned that he
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: would not sleep. The drug had been prescribed to him.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Nikola wore earplugs to bed. These circumstances likely impacted how
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: quickly they awoke following the chaos and noise of the attack.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: When they did awake, it was to screams from Jeff,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: calling out frantically for someone to call 911.
• 22:27
  Speaker 6: 911, something, something.
• 22:30
  Speaker 7: It was startling.
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: And at that point, um, is it loud enough that
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: you wake up?
• 22:37
  Speaker 6: Oh, yes.
• 22:38
  Speaker 5: At that point in time, um, are you still in
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: bed when.
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: You hear the noise?
• 22:46
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 22:47
  Speaker 5: Is Nicholas still in bed at the time that you're
• 22:50
  Speaker 5: hearing the noise?
• 22:52
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: What do you do once you.
• 22:53
  Speaker 12: Hear the noise?
• 22:55
  Speaker 6: Jump out of bed.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: Uh, I see Jeff. He's screaming, dial 911 or help
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: or something.
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: And I see James sitting on the floor kind of.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: Up against the bed.
• 23:12
  Speaker 6: And you say sitting.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: Is he in a proper seated position?
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: He's kind of slumped.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: With the help of Jeff, James was lifted onto the
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: bed and laid flat to receive CPR. Guy teared up
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: in court, telling the jury about the moment that he realized,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: while trying to render aid, that it was too late.
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: Now, at this point, so, even though it wasn't happening,
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: did you continue to try to help James?
• 23:41
  Speaker 13: Yes.
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: Was there a point where you could see that James,
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: that you lost him? I watched the light come out
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: of his eyes.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Guy spotted the knife at the end of the bed. Admittedly,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: without thinking, as responders rushed into the room, he picked
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: up the knife and carried it into the kitchen.
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Upon cross-examination, Guy was pressured by attorney Lear.
• 24:11
  Speaker 6: Was it not.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: His knife.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: That was used to kill James. Why would he have
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: picked it up and moved it from the scene? When
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: law enforcement documented the scene, they photographed a kitchen towel
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: sitting next to the weapon. Had Guy used that towel
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: to wipe it clean?
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: You left the murder scene at the request of the police.
• 24:43
  Speaker 6: Carrying a butcher knife.
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: Were you carrying it?
• 24:50
  Speaker 11: Yes.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: Guy was also questioned about his choice to partially wash
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: one of his hands at the scene before being photographed
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: by police. Handed water by an officer to drink, he
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: had used it to wash his left hand.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: So you were outside, about to be questioned by the police,
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: you had already moved the murder weapon, and you now
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: decided to wash.
• 25:13
  Speaker 8: Your hand, correct?
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Guy Hand also testified that throughout his life, he had
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: received CPR training an estimated 10 to 15 times. For
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: this reason, he took over from Jeff when he came
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: upon the scene that night. During his cross-examination, Guy was
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: asked why he had failed at the most basic principles
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: of CPR. Crucially, the necessity of laying the patient flat
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: on a hard surface. According to his own testimony, James
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: was already collapsed on the floor. Why choose to lift
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: him onto the plush bed? Guy's response was as one
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: would expect. He was in shock. He was traumatized. He
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: did the best he could.
• 25:55
  Speaker 5: Did you have any reason to harm Mr.
• 26:00
  Speaker 9: Gansberry?
• 26:02
  Speaker 11: No, I love you.
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: Did you, on the morning of November 17, 2015.
• 26:07
  Speaker 6: Did you stab him?
• 26:08
  Speaker 7: No, I did not.
• 26:09
  Speaker 5: I do not. Any further questions?
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: Nicola Berry and Jeff Jarzbikowski's accounts of the evening aligned
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: with Guy Hand's testimony. Jeff did not see Melanie attack
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: his friend. He heard James calling to him. He was
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: warning his friend to run from the danger. Jeff testified
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: that as James collapsed on the floor, he witnessed Guy
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: rushing from the other bedroom and pushing his way in
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: to help.
• 26:38
  Speaker 6: At the time that.
• 26:39
  Speaker 12: You saw Guy Hand coming out of the bedroom, did
• 26:42
  Speaker 12: he have blood all over him? Yes.
• 26:44
  Speaker 5: Did he appear as if he had.
• 26:47
  Speaker 6: Just opened up?
• 26:48
  Speaker 11: Yes.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Nicola told the jury that Guy was in the bed
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: alongside her when she awoke that night to Jeff's calls
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: for help. Although she was not in the room as
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: Guy performed CPR, she did leave the house alongside him
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: when responders entered. At that time, she watched Guy grab
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: the knife from the room. She witnessed him drop it
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: on the counter. At no point did she see him
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: try to wipe it down or otherwise try to clean it.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: Melanie Eam chose not to take the stand in her defense.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: The state closed their case by emphasizing the hurt and
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: anger that Melanie had expressed over her breakup with James,
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: admitting to Detective Oliver that she was heartbroken. Her pain
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: was so bad that it felt as though her heart
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: would stop. So she decided to stop his as well.
• 27:44
  Speaker 12: November 16th of 2016, James Berry.
• 27:51
  Speaker 6: Broke Melanie's heart.
• 27:54
  Speaker 12: And so she, two hours later, came to his home
• 27:59
  Speaker 12: and stabbed him right above.
• 28:01
  Speaker 7: His heart, in his chest.
• 28:03
  Speaker 6: Stabbed him.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: And she did it.
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: And then immediately.
• 28:08
  Speaker 12: After she did it, she fled. So she tells Detective
• 28:13
  Speaker 12: Oliver in that statement, of her own details, where she
• 28:16
  Speaker 12: got the knife, the fact that it was from the drawer,
• 28:19
  Speaker 12: that James ran off. She didn't chase him, but James
• 28:22
  Speaker 12: ran off, trying to save his own life, ran.
• 28:26
  Speaker 6: Off for help.
• 28:27
  Speaker 12: And that's when he started screaming to Jeff, and that's
• 28:29
  Speaker 12: when she hustled out.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: The defense continued to argue that Guy Hand flagrantly committed
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: a twisted, bloody murder, and then successfully pinned the blame
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: on the innocent and traumatized Melanie Eam.
• 28:46
  Speaker 6: CPR train does it on the bed. Nicola Berry wearing earplugs.
• 28:55
  Speaker 6: And he locked all the doors before he went to sleep.
• 29:03
  Speaker 6: These are facts you cannot just ignore.
• 29:07
  Speaker 12: You can't just.
• 29:08
  Speaker 6: Ignore That was, what did the M.A. medical examiner say?
• 29:12
  Speaker 11: Eight slices?
• 29:13
  Speaker 6: Ten slices? Double blood vessels? Where's the blood of the
• 29:18
  Speaker 6: occupant of the sweater is the one who did it?
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: The jury deliberated for a total of ten hours before
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: returning to the judge and insisting that they were deadlocked.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: It was not a matter of guilty versus not guilty, however,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: but a disagreement over the application of the charges. Of
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: the six-person jury, four jurors voted to convict her of
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: second degree murder with a weapon, while two thought she
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: committed the lesser offense of manslaughter. In Florida, a conviction
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: of second degree murder requires intent, while manslaughter is the
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: result of recklessness or negligence. The judge declared a mistrial,
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: and a new jury would be selected and tasked with
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: again trying to make this distinction. When the retrial commenced
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: in January 2019, the defense's tactics in theory had not changed,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: nor had the foundation of the prosecution's case. Included in
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: the defense's argument was the assertion that through the course
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of the attack, the knife had been jammed so hard
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: that the blade had been bent. was it not more
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: likely that this pointed to an adult male killer and
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: not a 90-pound female? The state, conversely, leaned into the confession. Why,
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: if you have just witnessed a murder in which you
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: took no part, would you not mention who the real
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: killer is to police when questioned, or even hint that
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: you were a witness, not the killer? Instead, Melanie offered
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: details of committing the murder. When asked how many times
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: she stabbed James, she had replied, it's not like I
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: was counting.
• 31:03
  Speaker 12: More than once, she says yes. That's what she says
• 31:07
  Speaker 12: on the tape. And ladies and gentlemen, because she's not
• 31:11
  Speaker 12: counting how many times she stabs him, does not negate
• 31:14
  Speaker 12: her guilt, doesn't negate her intent. If you actually listen
• 31:20
  Speaker 12: to what she said, it's not like I was Counting
• 31:22
  Speaker 12: how many times it actually hit. She is just continuously
• 31:25
  Speaker 12: trying to stab him. Not even paying attention and it hits,
• 31:29
  Speaker 12: just going.
• 31:30
  Speaker 5: At it again and again.
• 31:31
  Speaker 12: And ladies and gentlemen, that is the act of second
• 31:33
  Speaker 12: degree murder. Because at that time she has so much
• 31:36
  Speaker 12: hatred for him.
• 31:38
  Speaker 9: She has so.
• 31:39
  Speaker 6: Much hatred for him.
• 31:44
  Speaker 12: And a depraved mind at the time that she's acting
• 31:47
  Speaker 12: like that.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Melanie stood emotionless while the verdict was read. At Melanie's
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: sentencing hearing, a clinical and forensic psychologist testified that she
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: believed Melanie was a victim of long-term physical and sexual
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: abuse at the hands of her mother. This was the
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: first that such evidence was being presented in court. The
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: prosecutor pointed out that the abuse was self-reported by Melanie
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: and a cousin, but there have never been any social
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: services or police reports to verify it. Judge Glenn Kelly
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: said he considered a sentence of life in prison, though
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: he had to also weigh other factors, her age, her
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: lack of criminal history, and that the charge was in
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: the second degree. Judge Glenn sentenced Melanie Eham to 50
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: years in prison. She will be over 70 years old
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: when she is released.
• 32:58
  Speaker 7: We didn't think that we would really get life in
• 33:01
  Speaker 7: this case, you know, our gut feeling, but we are
• 33:04
  Speaker 7: so pleased in terms of the 50 years that Judge
• 33:07
  Speaker 7: Kelly handed down to Melanie Eham because that is a lifetime.
• 33:13
  Speaker 7: And she gets to think of what she did every
• 33:16
  Speaker 7: single day. When she wakes up, inside those walls of
• 33:20
  Speaker 7: the jail. You miss every single piece of him every
• 33:24
  Speaker 7: single day. There's not a second that goes by that
• 33:27
  Speaker 7: you're not thinking about his future, what he had, his potential,
• 33:32
  Speaker 7: going to college, working, him having children down the road,
• 33:36
  Speaker 7: and just everything in life is gone, has been taken away.
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: That's the hardest part.
• 33:43
  Speaker 13: Do you want to say anything, Mom?
• 33:44
  Speaker 6: He was a good soul.
• 33:46
  Speaker 8: He didn't have a mean bone in his body.
• 33:48
  Speaker 7: He loved life.
• 33:49
  Speaker 6: He loved his family.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: He loved his friends.
• 33:53
  Speaker 4: He was very loyal.
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: He loved animals.
• 33:56
  Speaker 5: He was just an all-perfect kid.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: A perfect son. And that was the tragic case of
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: James Berry. Thank you for joining me, and a special
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: thanks this week to Darren Wilson, Megan Borns, Mary S.,
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: and Diva by Nature for becoming Sherlock Holmes members and
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: joining our lounge. We really appreciate your extra support. I'm Kevin,
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: this is Just Thought Lounge, and I'll see you in
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: the next one.
• 34:33
  Speaker 6: We'll be right back.
• 35:02
  Speaker 11: Thank you.