48 Hours - Reality Kills

Episode Date: November 12, 2017

Was an Atlanta detective's investigation into an alleged rape and shooting death case influenced by cameras following her for a TV reality show?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. September 13th, 2013. I received the call at 3 o'clock in the morning. I was told that we had a female who had stated she had been raped.

And she had shot and killed her rapist. I of course think this is going to probably be a self-defense case. She's got a rapist off the street. All I thought was, I'm gonna shake her hand. I'm Summer R Benton and I am the lead homicide detective on the Victoria case. Who was the victim? The victim was Will Carter Jr. They had been in a relationship. It was off and on for a number of years. He owned his own business. It was doing very, very well. He had his own home. She went through some horrible things. This man abused her emotionally, physically, and sexually. Heartbreaking. She's like the other half of me.

Goofy, funny. She's a great mom. Just a great friend to be around. As soon as I stepped foot in that back bedroom, I knew we had a problem. There didn't appear to be any signs of disarray or a fight. Nothing looked like what it should have looked like. And then when the medical examiner turned him, he had three gunshot wounds to the back. And then a reality TV show came out. Yes.

And shocked everybody. No one knew that this was being filmed. And how would you describe this show? Just filled with lies. She's claiming that she was raped. She's claiming rape when you haven't even got on the scene yet to know. You haven't even spoke with her. You don't even know what's happened yet.

4130, show me 26 on Clifton. There were so many things that were completely false. For some reason, this girl, she did a tactical reload. The fact that she reloaded the gun, that wasn't true. If you guys can get me every rape case she has ever filed. The fact that she had claimed, you know, that she had been raped by so many men so many times, it's too big to email. That wasn't true. It looks like she was training to kill. Wow. Please give me a break. It just came across as what's

gonna make a good TV episode. My name is Amanda Clark Palmer. I represent Victoria Rickman. You knew this was going to happen? We're dealing with an investigation that, wow, was done quickly, wasn't done thoroughly. She has no scratches, no bruising. It certainly seems and looks like the TV cameras affected what happened. There was no real investigation. I think she made a lot of things up on camera. If she had been raped that night, then this would have been a justified shooting.

And I would have written it up as one. But this was not a justified shooting. This was cold-blooded murder. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario,

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So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10

that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely, Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Atlanta police detective Summer Benton has a name, a job, and some would say an attitude made for television. Tell me about the hat squad. The hat squad.

We're very proud of our hats. We have summer fedoras, we have winter fedoras, but you're not allowed to wear a fedora until you've solved your first homicide case. In her 16 years on the job, Detective Benton has been the lead detective on 65 homicide cases. But it was the shooting death of Will Carter Jr. in the early morning hours of September 13, 2013 that put the detective in the spotlight. As Benton investigated, This just isn't adding up. video cameras from that reality show, Inside Homicide, were rolling.

The TV crews were embedded with the Atlanta Police Department and were following the action that night. The shooter was Victoria Rickman, a 30-year-old divorced mother. She and Will Carter, also 30, met through mutual friends and dated for three years. They bonded over their kids. Will had a daughter and Victoria a son who were about the same age. He was good around his daughter and she admired that about him. They had a lot of things in common.

Victoria's friend, Brittany Morgan, says that at one point, Victoria, a marketing consultant, and Will, a local businessman, moved in together and got engaged. She wanted to have a family, be married again, and have that for her and her son. But the relationship went off the rails. The couple had a lot of arguments and began living apart. It was just back and forth, back and forth, just very toxic. And then, just after midnight on September 13, 2013, Will arrived at the house where she was staying,

and Victoria told first responders he raped her. Victoria admitted shooting Carter with a.40 caliber semi-automatic that was in her bedroom. She said she shot him to protect herself. She fired nine times, hitting Will every time. At first, Benton says she was giving Victoria the benefit of the doubt. But then she called Will's father. Hi, is this Mr. Carter? My name is Investigator Benton. I'm with the City of Atlanta Police Department.

I've got some really bad news. It's 5.30 in the morning and the phone rings twice, so you know it's not good. I'm so sorry, sir. It was Detective Benton, and she explained to me that our son had been killed by Victoria Rickman. She did say, right now this is a self-defense case, and can you help me with some details? But when she said this was a self-defense case, what was your reaction? I mean, I about puked. I mean, it's like, no, it's not, either.

Will's father told Benton that a year earlier the couple was fighting and his son showed up bleeding. She hit him in the head with a hammer and she bit him in the back. In fact, I told Will after that incident, I said if she'd have had a gun, she'd have killed you. But Victoria called police and told them Will had tried to force her to have sex and that she used a hammer to fight him off. Will was arrested for sexual battery and simple assault. Two weeks later, she's standing in our driveway with Will. So I said, you can't ever come over here again. She just snapped.

She got furious with me. And she said, you can't tell me what to do. She said, I have a gun. I know how to use it. It was like, whoa. Eventually, Victoria declined to press charges, and the case against Will was dismissed. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Eventually, Victoria declined to press charges, and the case against Will was dismissed. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No, you are not coming in my house. And then, in May 2013, four months before Victoria shot Will... Tori, I didn't tell you to be here. Get the f*** out of here, dude. I'm scared of you. There was this incident, captured by Victoria on her cell phone, as she tried to enter Will's house.

All you are is a toxic web of lies. Stop it. I'm going to call the police. This time, Victoria was the one arrested and charged with battery. Those charges were pending at the time of Will's death. Benton took into account what Mr. Carter had told her. death. Benton took into account what Mr. Carter had told her, and then the medical examiner discovered that Will had three bullets to his back. After that, Benton no longer believed this was self-defense. What we truly believe happened is that he was standing and he was not facing her at the time. This animation shows what police suspect may have happened. We believe he was standing next to the bed facing the window when he was

shot in the back three times, which then one of those shots filled his lungs with blood, which caused him to cough, causing the blood spray pattern on the wall next to the window. And then we believe he fell back onto the bed. As he's lying on the bed, she is then finishing him off, firing more shots into his chest and his head. To Benton, this was straight-up murder. There were no signs that she had tried to scratch him. Her nails were pristine.

He had no scratches on his body. I do not believe she was raped. Victoria was given a rape exam. It showed she had intercourse, but there were no signs of internal injuries. Hospital records noted bruising on Victoria's arm and leg, but that's not what Benton told a prosecutor on that TV reality show. Any indication from the hospital of any injury to her at all? There's nothing. She has no scratches, no bruising. Bye.

By midday on September 13, 2013, only hours after the shooting, Benton arrested Victoria Rickman. I advised her that she's being arrested for murder, and she simply says, OK. That was it. No screaming up and down. I'm innocent. I didn't do this. While Victoria appeared stoic, back at the Carter home in Marietta, Georgia, William Carter Sr. and his wife Kara were shattered. They consoled each other and wondered, as they had many times before, about Will's fatal attraction to Victoria. It's as if nobody could have done anything.

He wouldn't listen to anybody about this. His biggest flaw was that he couldn't see the evil in her. But if Victoria had personal demons, so did Will. Years earlier, Will had been arrested several times for property damage and drug use. Will Carter admits his son had been a drug addict back then. Like what kind of drugs? I don't know. You name it. The doctor said it was more than

something like marijuana. It was dangerous. After 10 years of drug use, Will went into a rehab facility. He actually overcame his addiction and started his own business. I was extremely proud of Will. And he never gave up. He didn't give up on anything. Or anyone. What drew Will to someone like Victoria? My sister, who's a psychologist, said that Victoria was his last addiction. I don't think he realized how dangerous she was. But Victorian says Will was still the dangerous one. And only four months before the shooting, Victoria reported to police that Will had beaten her,

and she had documented it with these photographs. I think the constant abuse that she was going through, she just could not take it anymore. Victoria went to court for a restraining order, but the office was closed. A deputy sheriff working there spotted her bruises. Later, for her own protection, he gave her a gun. He encouraged her to use that gun when it came to Will Carter. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch.

It was called Candyman. The scary cult classic was set in the Chicago housing project. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. Candyman. Candyman? Now, we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. Candyman. Candyman? Now, we all know chanting a name won't make a killer magically appear. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder?

I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. We're going to talk to the people who were there. And we're also going to uncover the larger story. My architect was shocked when he saw how this was created, literally shocked. And we'll look at what the story tells us about injustice in America. If you really believed in tough on crime, then you wouldn't make it easy to crawl into medicine cabinets and kill our women. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty.

Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defence attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created.

She just didn't know how to stop. Prime shows early and ad-free right now. After Victoria Rickman's 2013 arrest for the murder of Will Carter Jr., she was denied bail and held at the DeKalb County Jail in Decatur, Georgia. Do you think you should be on trial at all for anything? To be honest, no. I don't really think I've done anything illegal. for anything? Jail officials would not let us interview Victoria face-to-face. But we spoke to her via an inmate video calling system. Victoria stuck to the story she told police, that she was fighting off Will, who had raped and beaten her. Unfortunately, I've been humiliated, dehumanized by the system publicly without my consent.

Did you think your life was at risk? Of course. No doubt in my mind. Victoria says that night, Will was behaving erratically. But no one will ever know if that's true, because Detective Benton never requested a toxicology report. She says she didn't know it was her responsibility because this was her first homicide case in DeKalb County which had a different set of procedures. I had no idea that you have to specially request a victim's tox and blood alcohol so So even though they had taken his blood and held on to it, at some point they then disposed of it.

So it was destroyed? The blood was destroyed? From my understanding, it was. But Victoria does not believe that was a casual oversight. She thinks it was something far more sinister. I think it's huge that she did not do an autopsy, knowing she was getting rid of evidence far more sinister. She's extremely good at trying to play the victim. Benton may not have believed Victoria, but there was that one

law enforcement officer, Cobb County Deputy Sheriff Rick Price, who did. Months earlier, Price had spotted a black eye and bruises on Victoria that time he met her at the courthouse. Rick Price gave Victoria a gun. It was one of Price's personal guns, and the deputy even brought Victoria to a gun range to practice, says Atlanta police detective Kevin Leonpacker. And lo and behold, she's used that very gun to shoot and kill Will Carter. And right after the shooting, Rick Price was the first one she called. He told her to call 911.

When the phone records came back, we found out that just before she called 911, Victoria called Rick and it was about a two-minute phone call. Benton believes Price was just one more mail caught in Victoria's web. She was extremely good at getting the men to give her whatever she wanted. Victoria Rickman was a very skilled manipulator. So this is your house? Yes. And who is this down here? This is Spencer. It's actually Victoria's dog. Andrew Scar is a lifelong friend of Victoria. This is the back bedroom. And this was where Victoria stayed? Yes. He owns the house where the shooting occurred. Early that evening, Victoria told Andrew she wanted to be alone

and asked him to stay at his mother's house. After he left, Victoria spoke on the phone with Will. Police don't know what was said, but sometime after midnight, Will showed up. When you're in here, you know that something happened between 12, 20, and about 2, 15 in the morning. What do you believe happened in here? Oh, I believe her story 100%. Did Victoria Rickman shoot Will in cold blood?

Did she plan to kill him that night? Did she invite him over to kill him? She didn't invite him over. She didn't want him over there. She didn't plan to kill him, and she didn't murder him. I 100% believe she shot him in self-defense. Defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer says Victoria killed Will Carter after he raped her because he was still close enough to be a threat. You think there's about this amount

distance? For those shots, they would have been somewhere within six inches to two feet of each other. Clark Palmer demonstrated what she believes happened in this king-size four-poster bed that is similar to Victoria's. And the gun's over here. Right. She insists the first shots were to Will's chest, not his back, as the police believe. So he gets the two shots to his chest and then turns. He stands up and he coughs and gets the blood spatter on the wall and then gets the shots in the back and then kind of sits down and falls back.

And as he's falling back, she's still shooting. And so she shoots him two more times in the head, correct? He gets the shot through the nose that goes through the nose, chin, shoulder, arm, and then the shot to the head is the last shot probably. It was a stressful, highly traumatic situation. The shots happened, I mean, within a matter of seconds. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, right after. It was let me shoot until I think the threat is over. While Clark Palmer was trying to make sense of the murder scene, investigators were taking a second look at all the evidence.

No one had been able to crack the secret code on Victoria's cell phone, but a few months before the trial, investigators made a crucial discovery. I came across a piece of paper that said, code and it had a four digit code on it. And the investigator punched it into the phone and poof, it opened right up. The phone spit out more than 66,000 texts, some 4,000 pages worth, sent and received by Victoria. So this was like a motherload of information. Absolutely, it was a motherload.

To hear more of Victoria's Daughter, There's three years and ten months have passed, and we have had no trial. JUDY WOODRUFF, Paul Rickman, Victoria's father, has patiently stood by his daughter for nearly four years, waiting for this day, August 22, 2017, the day her trial for murder begins. I'm hoping that we get through with this and have it over and have her home. Victoria Rickman faces life in prison for shooting her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Will Carter Jr. We miss him every single day. It's a big hole in our heart.

Will Carter's parents attend the trial to stand witness for the type of person Will was. Everything we've done is to get his reputation back and to be able to tell his story. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good afternoon.

Sheila Ross, who has a reputation as one of the toughest prosecutors in Georgia, lays out the case against Victoria. The evidence will show that she did not shoot William Carter Jr. out of fear, but rather anger. He and this defendant were involved in what could only be described as an on-again, off-again, toxic relationship. Very Jerry Springbridge. Why are you naked? Why are you taking pictures of me?

Ross plays for the jury that cell phone video made by Victoria during the contentious visit to Will's house in May 2013. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, you are not coming in my house. Four months before the couple's fatal encounter. Tori, I didn't tell you to be here. Get the out of here, dude. I'm scared of you. All you are is a toxic web of lies. Stop it. You'll hear a lot out of her mouth

that she's an abused woman, that she has PTSD, that she has been raped. You'll hear the tears and you'll see the tears. So just be ready for it. But we're going to ask that you look past that and we're going to ask that you render a verdict that speaks the truth of what happened to William Carter Jr. that night, which is nothing short of murder.

Thank you. May I proceed? Victoria's defense attorney, Amanda Clark Palmer, paints a very different view of the case. This case is about domestic violence. He abused her physically, verbally, and emotionally. She felt like he was going to do something terrible to her based on the way he was acting and based on the fact that he said, I'm going to kill you. The defense attorney never shows the footage from Inside Homicide to the jury, fearing it will give them the wrong idea about Victoria. Detective Benton didn't come alone. But she tells them all about it in her opening.

Detective Benton was the star, and she's kind of like narrating what she's doing to the cameras. I just did the initial walkthrough. No one asks Victoria, who's just been raped, who's just shot and killed William Carter defending herself, if she's OK being on TV. They just come over and start filming everything that's going on.

From the looks of things, it doesn't appear there was a struggle. And what happens next was a rush to judgment in this case. We got a lot of shell casings. The police show up. They collect evidence. They're not as meticulous as I think they should have been. It looks like she was training to kill. Wow.

She was justified in defending herself. She was in fear for her life, and she's not guilty. She was justified in defending herself. She was in fear for her life, and she's not guilty. On the second day of testimony, Prosecutor Ross calls Detective Benton to the stand. Did you observe any forced entry into the home? No, I did not. Were there any injuries to her face? No, there were not.

Was her bra torn in any way? No, it was not. Did you look for signs of a struggle? I did. I was unable to find that there were any signs of a struggle. But the defense challenges that assertion. We can see the lamp on top of the nightstand, right? Yes, ma'am. Fair to say this lamp has been knocked over, right?

Yes. It definitely looks like a struggle occurred there. And we also see the sound machine hanging down between the nightstand and the bed, right? Correct. It's not a neat and orderly room. Did you find a firearm there? We did. Detective Benton is questioned closely about the gun used by Victoria. What type of firearm was it? It was a.40 caliber semi-automatic. Detective Benton believed the gun could hold only 12 bullets. At the scene, she found nine shell casings, four bullets left in the gun.

That adds up to 13. So Benton concluded that Victoria had to have reloaded and shared her thoughts with the cameras. The gun doesn't hold 13. For some reason, this girl, she did a tactical reload. Wrong. The capacity of the gun is 13. Could not be clearer to anybody who knows anything about firearms. I'm extremely proficient with a firearm. The issue is crucial because Benton says if Victoria reloaded, she could not claim self-defense.

Detective Benton thought that that was indicative of premeditation murder. You recognize now that the maximum capacity of this weapon is 13, right? No, I realize that. You didn't write that in your report. No, I did not. Weren't you wrong about the reloading? No, I was not. At this moment, you have no evidence she reloaded.

No. You just can't say that you made a mistake. I don't believe I did. Did it ever occur to you that you might be putting wrong information and affecting potential jurors who see this show? No. That means she had to have switched magazines. This was a brand spanking new show.

Four, five, six, seven, eight. I didn't know if that part was going to air or what was going to air. I didn't see it until it aired the same day everybody else saw it. And did you then say, I wish I hadn't done that? No. What's your reaction to that? It was incredibly unfair to Victoria. As unfair as parading a rape victim before television cameras, says Victoria's lawyer.

And then there's the information Benton says she got from the Cobb County District Attorney's Office that aired on Inside Homicide. They stated that she has got such a long list of rape claims against so many men that it's too big to email. They'll have to physically bring it to me. Well, that wasn't true. You know, everybody makes mistakes. I'm not saying we didn't make any mistakes. I'm not saying Cobb County didn't make any mistakes. You know, we're all human.

Still, Detective Benton does not believe the misinformation from the show will affect the trial. I think we have smart people out there and smart jurors out there. It doesn't matter what they may or may not have seen on television or on a television show. Following Benton to the stand is her colleague, Detective Kevin Leonpacker. I've developed another type of expertise that involves the analysis of cell phone records. Leonpacker performed the forensic examination of Victoria's cell phone. The detective zeroes in on the night of September 12, 2013,

just a few hours before the alleged murder. There were several threads of communication, call records and text messages, between Ms. Rickman's phone and other individuals. Leon Packer says Will's text to Victoria revealed he was furious because she had called the mother of his child. Will texts Victoria that he's breaking up with her. Leon Packer reads the text in court. You are too dangerous to be around. Never contact me or

the mother of my child again. Why are you taking pictures of me? And in the text, Will also says he's going to follow up on criminal charges against Victoria in that incident captured on this cell phone video. I'm going to need you to get out of here. Victoria may have feared an assault conviction would affect custody of her son. She begins sending texts to her friend,

Deputy Sheriff Rick Price, sounding more and more desperate about Will. He wants me put away now. My only hope is to change his mind. I think that what the evidence has shown, what the text messages have shown, is that she made a decision when she called Will Carter that night to kill him. But the texts are not the only surprise Detective Leon Packer finds inside Victoria's phone. I was dumbfounded.

I was like, wow, she will go to any lengths to prove her story. She's just the best person I really know, the best friend I've ever had. And it's hard to see me, to see her go through this. Brittany Morgan has always believed Victoria Rickman's claim of self-defense. As her closest friend, she had seen the bruises and hoped to be in court every day to support Victoria. I need her to be able to know that I'm there.

I'm there for her. Hi, Brittany. How are you? Fine. How are you doing? But she and Victoria's father, Paul. It's a sad situation. There's no way you can put it in words. And Victoria's lifelong friend, Andrew Scar.

It's devastating. It's devastating. Are barred from sitting in at her trial until after they testify. She's not a cold-blooded killer. Before court begins, Victoria's attorney wants to ensure Victoria puts her best face forward in every possible way. She doesn't deserve to be in jail. Back on the stand, Detective Leon Packer details his forensic analysis of Victoria's cell phone. Remember that photo of bruises to Victoria's right arm the morning of the shooting? It turns out Detective

Leon Packer found these selfies in her phone. I looked at the metadata on the photos to see when were these photos taken, and that's when I found they were 24 hours before the murder ever occurred. This is her whole defense. This is her whole assertion of self-defense, of justification for shooting and killing Will. And those bruises existed before he ever showed up at her house that night. There was some evidence indicate that maybe the injuries she had, she actually had 24 hours before. Isn't that really damaging for your case?

Not at all. Not really damaging. She had other bruises that were notated, you know, on her body in the medical records. State calls Wick Price. The Cobb County Deputy Sheriff who gave Victoria the gun she used to kill Will Carter is now an instructor at Dobbins Air Force Base. He testifies he met Victoria at the courthouse where he worked four months before the shooting. She told me that her ex had beaten her and she needed a protective order. I could see the bruises on her arms. I could also see that she had the outline of black eyes.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross suggests Price had romantic feelings for Victoria. I was interested in Victoria. But we never developed past just good friends. Did you ever have sexual relations with her then? No. Did you ever tell anyone that you did? Did you ever tell anyone that you did? I've told people all sorts of things that had nothing to do with reality.

Price was fired five days after the shooting for not cooperating with the investigation. We're going to call Dr. John Loffridge. Halfway through the second week of trial, the defense begins its case. Victoria's lawyer calls to the stand Will Carter's psychiatrist, Dr. John Lockridge. When is the last time you saw Will Carter, Jr.? Who makes a startling revelation. He says that on September 10, 2013, just three days before Will's death, Will reported having delusions. He said he thought he was famous. He was on TV. He was talking to and through the TV. Lockridge testifies that Will had been taking an anti-psychotic drug to help him sleep better.

But because Detective Benton never ordered a toxicology report, no one will ever know what drugs Will had in his system when he was shot. Victoria claims that Will had stopped taking his prescribed medications and had gone back to illegal drugs. drugs. Also testifying for the defense, a former chief medical examiner for the state of Georgia. Dr. Chris Lee Sperry bolsters the defense theory that Victoria fired the first shots into Will's chest, not his back, as the prosecution contends. He is turned somewhat towards the lady with the gun, the person with the weapon. He could be twisted towards her, you know, leaned over. So he gets the two shots to his chest.

Brittany Morgan. And now it's time for Victoria's friends who have been waiting to tell the jury what they saw in the year and the months before the shooting. The bruising was it was kind of like fingerprints on the side. I've seen bruises on her arm. I've seen a black eye. I have seen a mark above her eye right about here. And where did she have the bruises on her body? On her wrists and her arms and the second occasion on her throat. Cobb County Police Lieutenant Robbie Ray says he too saw bruises on Victoria a year earlier. She had some bruising on her left upper forearm and on her left bicep. She said her ribs were sore.

Victoria Rickman decides not to take the stand. I'm sorry. But in her closing argument, Clark Palmer makes sure jurors hear what Victoria's voice sounded like the day of the shooting. I don't know how to help her. That is not the voice of the shooting. I don't know how to help her. That is not the voice of a killer. Imagine how powerless she felt

when William Carter, who was taller than her, heavier than her, and stronger than her, was raping her. She finished him off with a shot to the head. That is cold-blooded murder. No more. After two weeks of testimony, prosecutor Sheila Ross is ready for closing arguments, and she holds nothing back. And if he in fact was raping her and she shot him, good riddance. The world could use one less rapist, but that's not what happened.

Victoria Rickman is not guilty. Defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer argues there is no way Victoria could have planned to kill Will because she had no idea he was coming over that night. There is zero proof that Victoria Rickman invited Will Carter to her house. And once more, Clark Palmer slams the behavior of Detective Summer Benton. She wanted to know what's the capacity of the gun, and she got it wrong. She says that Benton's investigative work was shoddy and biased from the start against Victoria. She was trying to make good TV, and she didn't want to do anything or take any steps in her investigation that would

contradict her theory that Victoria Rickman was guilty. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are considering the case of the state of Georgia... Closing arguments end late on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, but Judge J.P. Boulay orders jurors to begin deliberating. You may now retire. The jury room cannot begin deliberations until... And everybody was sort of standing around thinking, you know, we're going to be here for hours. And they said, we've got a verdict. Sir, have you reached your verdict?

We have, Your Honor. The jury returns with a verdict in less than an hour. The judge has the lawyers look at the jury form to make sure it's proper, and the lawyers clearly see the verdict. It was a very simple verdict form. It just had the four counts. It said she was guilty on each and every count. It just had the four counts. It said she was guilty on each and every count.

Death to you, your hands. We saw you whisper something to Victoria. I just said to her, I'm sorry. Yeah. Was that hard? It was extremely hard. The next moments make it official. Count one, Malice Merker.

We, the jury, find the defendant, Victoria Rinker, guilty. I think that their verdict, the swiftness in which they rendered their verdict, speaks for itself. Was that your verdict in the jury? Yes, sir. When the verdict was read, there was a huge rainbow that came over Atlanta. To me, that was Will. He was finally at peace.

For Detective Benton, the verdict is gratifying. The gun doesn't hold 13. For some reason, this girl, she's in a tactical reload. All along, she has stuck to her conviction that Victoria reloaded the gun. But after speaking to her superiors, she's reconsidered. I probably wouldn't have made that grand of a statement. But you know, it doesn't matter. This case is not about me. This case is about William Carter Jr.

and the fact that what happened in that bedroom. All rise. Superior Court of the Cab everyone is back in court for sentencing. There's no doubt Victoria will get life in prison. The most she can hope for is the possibility of parole. Your Honor, thank you for the time to speak and clarify the facts of this case. Your Honor, thank you for the time to speak and clarify the facts of this case. Victoria Rickman, who did not testify on her own behalf, addresses the court.

I'm a mother who has been stolen from her son's life. I'm a battered woman. I'm a victim who continues to suffer the nightmares and symptoms of PTSD caused from being forced to defend myself in years of abuse. So I ask you, Your Honor, for turning to my son in my life, giving back my voice and my dignity. Victoria offers no apology. Ms. Rickman, please stand.

And the judge offers no mercy. This court sentences you to life without the possibility of parole. Two days after the sentencing hearing, Will would have turned 35 years old. Will's mother says her son's death is a loss for everyone, but especially for his young daughter. She's a good student. She's got a beautiful heart. Never see her graduate and never be at her wedding.

But his memories is what's important and that's what I want to be able to carry on and be grateful that I had this young man in my life. Come on, old man. Come on, Loki, let's go. And the memories of Will are everywhere. Loki is a connection with Will, in a way. Will loved his dog.

He's almost 13, way beyond his normal lifespan. There's Loki. See, he's swimming. Loki gives me a lot of comfort because I know how close Will was to Loki, and we still have that connection with our son of something here on Earth. We're going to be okay. We're going to make it through this. Will Carter's daughter is being raised by the child's mother.

Victoria Rickman's son is being raised by her ex-husband. Rickman's lawyer has filed a motion for a new trial. To hear more about how Will Carter helped himself by helping others, go to 48hours.com. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.