48 Hours - The Girl Next Door

Episode Date: July 19, 2015

An ex-wife guns down her former husband -- did she break after being abused or was it cold-blooded murder? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates.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. Real people. Real crimes. Real life drama.

We went to Gatlinburg and got married. There was a creek, it was really pretty, but it was just us. We were in casual clothes. It was definitely a happy day. We had a friendship. Just your normal honeymoon phase marriage. How would you describe Hunter Grissom? He was fun, and he was attractive.

We had some really good times. Until I started noticing different things that were changing, he started becoming more aggressive. Ever hit you? Not to begin with. In September 2010, that's the first time that he physically hit me. It got progressively worse. He had made the comments that if I told anybody, he would hit me. It got progressively worse. He had made the comments

that if I told anybody, he would kill me. I believed him. What's your first thought when you look back on May 15, 2012? Turn around! Put your phone down!

I wish I had kept driving. Keep driving! Kristen stated that she shot her ex-husband until the gun was empty and then called 9-1-1. He's walking towards you. I pulled up and I shot him. I can't take it no more. I can't stand it no more. He's walking towards you. Yes. Where were his arms? What was he doing? He had his arm like he was going to bust through the window.

I mean, it happened so fast. He just stared at me and he flipped me over. And I just pulled up there and shot him. I just shot him. I shot him. and shot him. I just shot him. I shot him. I shot him. You don't regret pulling the trigger? No, because if I had not done that, I'd be dead.

And I believe that 100%. We all knew she was capable of doing this. She hunted him down. She hunted him down. She hunted him down. My son died running, running for his life. I know that there's no telling what went through his mind. But I hear him say, Mama. Mama.

People who think that I murdered him in cold blood either don't know the whole story or don't know everything that's happened. She has a way of making everything that she has done look right. I'm not somebody that's mean and who would maliciously kill somebody intentionally. And that's what a murderer is. And that's not me.

I'm Erin Moriarty. Tonight on 48 Hours, The Girl Next Door. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror. 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. how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. 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 reached the age of 10 that

would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. 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. What went through your mind when you saw him on the ground? That I was in trouble. You'd never been in trouble before in your life. No. Tracy Grissom says that when she shot her ex-husband Hunter at the Binion Creek boat landing in North Port, Alabama,

she feared for her life, a fear, she says, she'd felt many times before. I never thought I'd kill him. I always thought he'd kill me. I thought he'd kill me. I thought he'd kill me. He had hurt me. He had done a lot of things to me. I didn't want him dead.

I still don't want him dead. Tracy, a 32-year-old mother of two, says it was self-defense. The state says it was murder. She met Hunter Grissom back in 2003. Tracy was just 21, a young mother to son James Michael, and going through a divorce. He absolutely loved my son. That, to me, made all the difference in the world. Melanie Garner, Hunter's mom, remembers it as love at first sight.

He was sucked in immediately. But Hunter was two years younger than Tracy, and when the couple eloped in 2004, Melanie felt it was too soon. He was young. He had just turned 20. Certainly nowhere near ready. Eight months later, the marriage was in trouble. I had caught him smoking marijuana. Doing illegal things could cause a problem, and I couldn't risk losing my son over.

After threatening him with divorce, Tracy says Hunter promised to stop using marijuana, and their relationship improved so much that Tracy leveraged everything she owned so they could start a business together. I took out an equity line to start a company, which was Grissom Construction. It was all in my name. And they had a child of their own, Anna Grace. Do you want to jump? We tried to have a child for quite some time. We actually had five miscarriages before we had her. She was premature. Her heart and lungs were not developed.

A stressful time. Very stressful time. What's more, she says, Hunter appeared to be acting strangely. So Tracy, a registered nurse, says she gave him an over-the-counter drug test. It showed marijuana, Oxycontin, opiates, methamphetamines. I then realized that his addiction obviously was way

past what I'd ever dreamed that it was. Tracy filed for divorce in the summer of 2010. And over time, she says, Hunter became abusive. He knocked me on the floor and hit me all over my body. I ended up with a black eye. I had bruised shoulders. Even after Hunter moved out, their divorce agreement allowed him access to the house, so Tracy says the beatings continued, although no one witnessed them, and Tracy never reported them. You could have gone to the police. This man's hitting me. I was told if I went to the police, he would kill me.

And so that, to me, wasn't even an option. I started to notice some things that I would question her about, bruising and things like that. Tracy's friend, Lauren Lauren Richards was concerned when she saw that Tracy had a black eye and confronted her. I said now Tracy you may have some bad luck but nobody is that unlucky. Do not give me a lame excuse what happened you have not fallen on a baseball in your eye socket. And then on the night of November 22nd 2010 when Hunter arrived to take care of the children, Tracy says he flew into a rage when she told him she had spent the night with a new boyfriend.

He told me that he was going to kill me. Tracy says that at around 10 o'clock that night, Hunter took her to the bedroom, bound her legs, raped her, and then threw her against the bathtub. I was knocked unconscious. Tracy says she regained consciousness around 4 a.m. The kids were asleep downstairs, and Hunter was gone. I called Hunter. The kids were asleep downstairs, and Hunter was gone.

I called Hunter. I told him that I was bleeding and that I was hurt and that I needed help. And he told me, f*** you, I hope you die. When Tracy went to the hospital, police were notified, and Hunter was later arrested for rape, sodomy, kidnapping, and domestic violence. And at that point, I feared for my life, and I feared for my children's life. Hunter was allowed out on bail, so Tracy got a restraining order against him, purchased a handgun, and carried it with her everywhere. It was only a matter of time until he came after us.

Tracy took these photos the night of the alleged attack and texted them to Lauren Richards. Later, both she and Tracy took more. At the same time, Tracy says Hunter stopped paying spousal support and his daughter's expenses. I lost everything. And my world just fell apart. Tracy says she was told that Hunter wasn't working, but she didn't believe it. And that's what led to the fateful morning of May 15, 2012.

This is about the same time you were on the road it is Tracy got behind the wheel again and took us for the drive that changed her life so you're coming down here this is the way you would go yes and what do you see Tracy says she was on her way to an interview for a nursing job when she became distracted there's a break in the trees and to the right side was a large tool boat that had a billboard sign on the side that said Grissom Construction. And I immediately, within about a 30-second period, made probably the stupidest mistake of my life. And that was to pull in the parking lot to take a picture.

A photo to show that Grissom Construction was indeed up and running. I was getting ready to take the picture and when I looked up, he was standing almost directly towards the front of the boat trailer. He was looking back directly at me. He had this face that's like this mean, just, I don't even know how to describe it, but I mean, I see it over and over like it's right here all the time. He flipped me a bird, which to me was kind of like, yeah, I'm working, you know, screw you. And at that point I panicked. He's walking towards you? Yes. He's now within five foot of my car, coming out of my car, going to bust my window out. In her lap was the gun she bought 18 months earlier. I mean, I just opened the door.

Tracy stepped out of the car and began shooting. The next thing I remember is a click. Tracy had emptied her entire gun, six shots. Four of the shots hit Hunter and brought him face down on the pavement. Your name is Tracy? Yeah. Okay, and you killed your husband? Ex-husband, yes.

Ex-husband. How did you kill him? I shot him. Do you have the gun? I got the gun. What kind of gun do you have? I couldn't touch it no more. Okay, calm down. I didn't touch it no more.

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, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans. Discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. 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. 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 defense 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. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true Crime shows early and ad-free right now. Tracy Grissom was not the first person to call 911 the morning Hunter Grissom was killed.

My boss just got shot. Somebody just pulled up and shot my boss. She's in a gold, a little gold Chevrolet. I don't know if she's reloading or what. As it turns out, there were witnesses to what happened on the dock that day. What is your name? William Dockery. William Dockery and his brother Dale both worked for Hunter, building docks on Lake Tuscaloosa.

He was a good friend, the best boss anybody could ever ask for. It's the only job I've had in my life that I enjoyed going to work every day. Enjoyed the man I was working for. The three men were getting a boat out of the water onto a trailer when Dale first noticed that gold Chevrolet and then saw it move directly behind Hunter's truck.

The car obviously wasn't in park because they had to hit the brakes again. Will didn't realize the driver was Hunter's ex-wife, but he saw the look on his boss's face. There was some fear in his eyes. He knew there was fixing to be some kind of confrontation. He looked directly at me and told me to call the police. Just as Will was pulling his phone out of his pocket. He looked at me with an even more serious face

and said, call the effing law. And that's when I went ahead and started dialing. And by that time, she was getting out and starting to shoot. Hunter started running. Him and my brother took off running. Dale ran toward the water, hiding in a boat. When he looked back, Hunter was on the ground.

Moments later, Will finally managed to hit send on his 911 call. She's still sitting in the car with a gun. I don't want to go around. Okay, you stay where you are, and we're getting help on the way for him, okay? I don't want him to die. He's got a little girl and all. You do see the cops coming? I hear some sirens now.

You hear sirens? I don't see anybody yet, but I hear some sirens. Finally, in a poignant moment caught on a police car dash cam, the brothers were reunited, just feet away from Hunter's lifeless body. Tracy was yards away on her own 911 call. I pulled up, I saw him, and I pulled up and I shot him. I just pulled up and I shot him. If you remember, Tracy told me Hunter made an obscene gesture and was moving toward her car. Hunter was coming towards my vehicle in an aggressive manner and was within three to five foot of me. But Tracy doesn't tell the 911 operator Hunter was coming toward her,

and she never says it to investigators hours later. I don't. I didn't. And I don't know what happened. I don't know why I did it. He never made a single motion towards her, never raised his hand, any of that. The only motion he was making was getting away from her. Hunter's mom believes the Dockery brothers' version of events and says the crime scene report proves it. Twelve feet. Twelve feet from the first shot to where Hunter stood

and there was blood at that first point. 12 feet. Is it possible that he was coming after her, that he was going to hit her? Is that at all possible? I don't see how he could hit her at 12 feet. What's more, if Tracy was trying to get a photograph of the Grissom construction sign,

why would she pull behind it? Shortly after Hunter was trying to get a photograph of the Grissom construction sign, why would she pull behind it? Shortly after Hunter was shot to death, the Sheriff's Department came to Melanie Garner's office to inform her in person. I immediately started saying, I said, the bitch did it. The bitch did it. The bitch did it. That's shocking. But Hunter's mother believes her former daughter-in-law is dangerous. Borderline demonic. I mean, I absolutely believe that she is that troubled.

And Hunter's aunt, Gina Prisak, says Tracy had a motive. She wanted to kill him before the rape case went to court. Hunter had moved on. There was some court dates coming up that would prove that Hunter was innocent. There was court dates coming up that he would get visitation to his daughter. She had a lot to lose. I know that's a hard question to ask of a mom. Is it at all possible that your son abused Tracy? Oh, I don't believe so. I don't believe so for a minute. He did not have an abusive and angry bone in his body. In fact, we kind of laughed at him because he was too laid back.

In 2011, Hunter was arrested for marijuana possession, a misdemeanor. But there is no evidence he ever did harder drugs. a misdemeanor, but there is no evidence he ever did harder drugs. What's more, his mother says if anyone was abused, it was Hunter. And I fully believe that Hunter was abused by her. Just weeks before the alleged rape, Tracy turned up at one of Hunter's job sites. She's screaming, jumping on him, said something about him having another girlfriend, and used the expression about, you are mine, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, you are mine. Melanie believes Tracy's rape accusation is completely false. But then, what about those graphic pictures of Tracy

with deep bruises and that head wound? Hunter told his mother the cut on Tracy's head was a result of an accidental fall. You're saying your son didn't do any of that? I don't think he did. But that would mean she would have had to do that to herself. Absolutely. Why would she do that damage to herself? To try to prove the lies, to try to prove the accusations that she made against Hunter were true. So was Tracy Grissom a liar who killed in cold blood? Or a domestic abuse victim and loving mother? It will be 12 strangers, a jury, who will decide. It was early August 2014 just over two years since Hunter Grissom

had been gunned down by his ex-wife Tracy and her trial was finally about to begin a moment that Hunter's mother Melanie had been dreading I knew that it was going to be hard a moment that Hunter's mother, Melanie, had been dreading. I knew that it was going to be hard. You know, I even referenced to some people, some friends, that I thought the trial would be worse than death. And to some degree, it was. Walking into the courtroom was tough.

Tracy's brother, Travis, flew in from L.A. to sit on the defendant's side of the courtroom. To sit down and see a court divided, a family divided, a family that had spent time together, share grandkids. These photos taken by the Tuscaloosa News are all we have at the trial. TV cameras were not allowed inside. Going to trial, it's an honor to represent her. Even as the trial began, Tracy's defense attorney, Warren Freeman, was hoping the prosecutor or judge would reduce the murder charge to manslaughter. In my mind, this was a manslaughter case. Why? Because there's no intent.

I could easily, easily see this being at the worst manslaughter. At its best, it was self-defense. But the charge would stand, and the jury would have to decide whether Tracy was guilty of murder or whether she was just defending herself. Warren Freeman hoped to support her defense case by showing the jury those dramatic photos. And I explained then, I'm not trying to try a rape case, Judge. I simply need to demonstrate to a jury what my client's state of mind was at the time of the offense. But the judge would not allow it. But the judge would not allow it.

Covering the trial for the Tuscaloosa News, Stephanie Taylor says the state argued the motive was money. The prosecutors claimed that Tracy shot Hunter to collect a $103,000 insurance policy that she had on him. Thank you for calling MetLife. This is Pam. May I please have your name? Tracy Grissom. The evidence? This recording of Tracy's call to the life insurance company, a call she made on May 14, 2012, the day before she shot Hunter.

They said that she was angry that he had stopped making payments that they had agreed to in their divorce. It's Hunter Grissom. Thank you so much. And can you please verify his date of birth? A representative from the insurance company testified during the trial that Tracy called the day before Hunter was killed to verify that they had her correct address. Is there anything else I can do for you today?

That's gonna be it. On May 14th, you called that insurance company. Why? Well, May 14th was just like any other day. However, I had moved four different times. Me and my children were running. We were running from Hunter. So I had called the company to let them know

that they had my old address and to make an address change. She also called a few weeks afterward to inform them that he had died. And how can I help you today? Well, I was actually calling because I didn't know what I needed to do. Hunter passed away May 15th, and I actually am going through a court case right now because it was due to self-defense. Even through the times when she's screaming that she's destitute and has no money, she continued to pay life insurance premiums. I really thought that that was just the prosecution pulling at straws to have a motive.

And my sister's smart, but I don't think my sister concocted a story just so she could get insurance money. But that's all they had. But that wasn't all they had. Prosecutors also called a pathologist who testified that Hunter's wounds indicated that when Tracy shot him, he was not coming at her. He was running away. Tracy, I have to ask you this. Is it possible that you misread that situation and you shot and killed a man who just intended to get away from you? He was coming towards me. So no, I do not feel like he was trying to get away. I feel like he was, he was fixing to kill me.

If in fact he was coming at you and you were in fear for your life, why didn't you tell the police that? You had an opportunity when you called 911. Tell me what happened. I didn't pull up. I saw him and I shot him. You had an opportunity when you left the scene and went to the police. I don't know why I did it. Why didn't you tell them?

He was coming after me. I had no choice. I know I was an absolute wreck at that point. I don't remember so much. I remember the initial shot, and then I remember a click, which undoubtedly was the emptying of the gun. Still, Warren did get the pathologist to admit that it was also possible Hunter was coming towards Tracy when she started shooting. Think about this just a moment. You had a shot here, and then you had another shot here, and then two that were in the back. and then two that were in the back. But what made sense to me, and he said this would line up with his findings, was that somebody could have been coming forward,

then turned after the first shot was fired. If it was not her intentions to murder Hunter and the first bullet hit his arm, couldn't she have stopped then? What about the second bullet that entered his back. Couldn't she have stopped then? What about the second bullet that entered his back? Couldn't she have stopped then? Six were fired. Four hit Hunter.

How many times did you shoot? I didn't tell it what to shoot no more. She unloaded the gun. In interrogation, she said she fired till it wouldn't fire anymore Freeman claims that Tracy shot hunter because she was suffering from post-traumatic stress from earlier abuse but he couldn't find an expert who would say that in court so now there was really only one way to get jurors to understand why Tracy pulled the trigger Tracy had to take the stand and tell them herself.

That was the only way to let them know that I was defending myself. And the only way that I felt that they would understand what I was going through that day. Tracy was allowed to tell the jury about the alleged rape and that she lived in fear of Hunter, but she could not show those graphic photos. How did you feel about that? Devastated. I don't think anybody could understand what I was going through without knowing what I had already been through. Tracy's trial lasted only two days, and then, just before the case went to the jury,

the judge made a stunning reversal. The judge said that he believed that this was a manslaughter case. Out of the blue? Out of the blue. If both sides could agree, the judge would let the jury consider a charge of manslaughter. When the prosecution agreed, it was then up to Tracy. It was my decision, and I felt good about what had been said and what had been told in court. And I still didn't feel like I had done anything wrong,

and I still didn't feel like I would be convicted of murder. She said, do you think they'll convict me of manslaughter if we do that? I said, yes. And she said, I don't want to do it. And so I chose not to take it. And I understood her reasons. That's a big gamble though, Warren. Big gamble.

It's a huge gamble. As Tracy Grissom waited to hear her fate, she remained optimistic that the jury would see it her way and would not convict her of murdering Hunter Grissom. I did think the jury would understand the fear that I had that day and the fear that I had that he was going to hurt or kill me. had that day and the fear that I had that he was going to hurt or kill me. I feel like they know that there was more to the story, but it wasn't allowed in court. You thinking there's going to be a hung jury in this case?

Yes, at least. I think that's what Tracy felt, that the worst that's going to happen here is a hung jury. But just 90 minutes later, they get word. The jury had reached a verdict. I was standing between my brother, Hunter's dad, and my nephew, and we were holding hands. I remember that they didn't look at us. Not a good sign. It's not a good sign. Who read the verdict? The judge did.

He said, guilty, guilty of murder. And I immediately was devastated. Tracy's gamble to not give the jurors the lesser option of manslaughter I immediately was devastated. Tracy's gamble to not give the jurors the lesser option of manslaughter had failed. She just hung her head. She was picturing that little five-year-old girl of hers. Well, it would look at her and grab her face, she said, and say, Mama, when are you coming home? Another mother, Hunter Grissoms, forced herself to stay calm. We were told that we had to maintain our composure even through that. So that was kind of hard to suppress those feelings.

But just moments later, the judge threw a curveball that took everyone in the court by surprise. The judge did not revoke my bond. In fact, he didn't even raise my bond. And I was able to walk out of court that day, get my truck and go home. Tracy, now a convicted killer, would be allowed out until she was sentenced. And the surprises didn't end there. The day after the trial, a juror calls me, and she's very upset. After the trial, one of the jurors, Janice Kelly, read newspaper accounts of the rape allegations Tracy made

against Hunter. She told Warren she never would have convicted Tracy had she seen those graphic photos. It's two sides of every story. We didn't know why she was so scared of this man. You made a mistake. Yeah, I feel I made a mistake. And if I had to do it over again, it'd be a whole jury. But it's sentencing with no jury in the room. The judge will allow Tracy's attorney to introduce those graphic pictures of her injuries. Warren hopes it will convince the judge to be lenient. He knows that she was raped. He knows the brutality that

she went through. And I'll be asking him to take that in consideration. This isn't just a normal murder sentencing. The judge properly kept out these photos from the trial because they're evidence of the rape allegation. And Hunter Grissom never lived long enough to defend himself against that accusation. If he had, his family and friends say, we would have heard a very different story. Do you believe that Tracy Grissom has told the truth of what happened? I do not. Shelly Standridge was Hunter Grissom's lawyer. She says Hunter denied ever raping or assaulting Tracy,

but he did admit that on the night of the rape, he and his ex-wife had consensual, rough sex. Do you believe if Hunter Grissom had gone on trial for rape that he would have been convicted? Absolutely not. Do you think Tracy knew that? Probably. Do you think Tracy knew that? Probably. This is what Hunter said happened the night of the alleged rape. So that night, Hunter says that she was depressed and claiming she was going to kill herself. She was saying she wanted their relationship to work. Tracy was taking the anti-anxiety drug Klonopin,

and according to Hunter, on the night of November 22nd, he watched Tracy take more than her prescribed dose. It's similar to alcohol, where your balance is impaired, your speech is impaired. And that's the reason, Hunter said, that Tracy fell and cut her head. It was an accident, and the injury seemed minor. Somewhere around 10.30 p.m., Hunter said he left and went to his father's house.

He confirms that Tracy called him much later, at 3.20 a.m. But this is how Hunter described that call. He said that she threatened him. If you don't want the responsibility of these children, I'll make it to where you don't ever get to see them again. Then why would she cry rape if it didn't occur? I don't know what her motive is, but I will tell you that she told me under oath that she was upset that he had a girlfriend. Hunter said he heard nothing about an assault or rape until he was arrested almost 12 hours later.

So it kind of comes down to he said, she said. But what she says is not true. I never found anything independently that verified any of her claims. Start with Tracy's claim to police that she was thrown against the bathtub around 10 p.m. and was unconscious until about 4 a.m. the next morning. But her phone records show she was on the phone all night, so she was never unconscious. She was using her data at 1042 p.m. that night. She was using it again at 1050 that night.

She sends a text to her boyfriend at 1.49 a.m. She sends a text to her friend at 2.07 a.m. She sends another text to her boyfriend at 2.07 a.m. How does Tracy explain it? She blames the calls on Hunter. I do know I was not the only person that was using my phone that night. Tracy insists she was unconscious, but Shelly quotes from medical records that describe Tracy's head wound as purely superficial.

That required how many sutures to close? One suture. Those same records also seem to contradict Tracy's claim that the rape left her with internal tears. And while Tracy did have bruises on her ankle and legs, the photos taken by police at the emergency room looked nothing like the photos that Tracy and her friend Lauren Richards took days later. Something doesn't add up. This picture is an area of her body that investigators photographed on November 23rd, which would have

been some hours after the alleged rape. And then she provides this. I mean, this shows discoloration here that you see nothing there. Warren says that Tracy was on blood thinners, which caused her to bruise more easily. But he says it doesn't explain the severity of her injuries. But then what about this? A deep bruise on Tracy's inner thigh that isn't seen either in police photos or those taken by Lauren Richards. It shows up in a photo that, according to digital records, was taken on December 9th, more than two weeks later. But if Hunter Grissom didn't cause these injuries, then either someone else did or she did it to herself. She was a nurse. One of her listed specialties is wound care.

Shelley says Tracy isn't just lying about the alleged rape. She says that Tracy knew Hunter was working. Two months before the murder, Shelly says, Tracy's own lawyer had submitted a list of 18 jobs that Hunter had been doing. I don't know what her attorney's time frame was on that, but she, I'm telling you, she had not seen that document. time frame was on that. But she, I'm telling you, she had not seen that document. Which story will the judge believe it's sentencing? Tracy Grissom's future depends on it. So how are you trying to spend these last few days? I'm trying to prepare for the worst, but hoping for the best. When you say prepare for the worst, what's the worst?

Life in prison. This is the day when Tracy Grissom finds out her future. If and when she'll see her children again. She bids a tearful farewell to friends and makes a last call to her brother, Travis. One month after being found guilty of murdering her ex-husband, Hunter, Tracy heads back to court for sentencing. The prosecution is asking for 40 years. Tracy is hoping for 20, served mostly on probation. It's all riding on whether the judge believes

that she suffered abuse at the hands of her husband and then shot him dead believing he would do it again. I hope that he will take the mitigating things that have happened to me and the things that happened to me prior to May 2012 into consideration, even though they weren't allowed into court, as why that happened that day and to allow me to go home to my babies.

Attorney Warren Freeman argues the battered woman defense, calling social worker Miriam Waters, Tracy's rape counselor, to the stand. Cameras were allowed to shoot through the window, but without sound. I wanted the court to know that she had been through a very, very brutal beating and sexual assault, because that's how I feel. That's what I think happened. Also on the stand is that juror

who had a change of heart after hearing about the alleged rape. She tells the judge she wishes she had instead hung the jury. As you heard from one of the jurors that was here, they wanted to hear more about the rape. They felt like they were not allowed to see enough of the evidence. They wanted to hear more about the rape. They felt like they were not allowed to see enough of the evidence. Tracy's friend Lauren Richard says she has seen enough. I believe that he raped and sodomized her.

And I believe that she felt like he was going to hurt her, abuse her, rape her, assault her, kill her that day. And she believes that even when confronted for the first time with those contrasting photos taken by investigators. Did that concern you at all that the pictures taken right afterwards of Tracy's injuries don't seem as severe as the injuries that she shows up with at your house two days later. It didn't concern me and it didn't surprise me because bruises progress. You know, I watched that exact same bruise continue to progress. Then Tracy gets another chance to tell her story. She describes the gruesome details of the alleged rape and the terrible fear that she says haunted her life.

I feel 100% that if I had not done what I did, I'd be dead, and the situation would be totally different. For five hours, the judge listened, then made his decision that made nobody happy. Tracy Grissom got 25 years. Not the maximum, but not the minimum either. So much pain. It. So not fair. So not fair. But Melanie Garner believes Tracy is where she should be.

I feel like Tracy's a very, very troubled young woman. Tracy, is there anything else you'd like to say? I just have somebody on fire for domestic violence. And I just feel like that she is exactly what she was convicted of and that she is a murderer. One, two, three.

Hunter's mom will now raise that little five-year-old girl who will grow up with only a distant memory of the father who loved her. She wants to hear her father's voice. She knows what he looks like because we have so many photos of him. But she said, I want to hear my daddy's voice. Oh, good girl. Good girl. It's great sadness that he is not there for her. Despite the murder conviction, despite the evidence against her, despite the 25-year sentence,

Tracy Grissom still maintains she's a victim, not a cold-blooded killer, a story she's sticking to, even behind bars. TRACY GRISSOM, It's no longer about me anymore. Domestic violence is such an epidemic in this country. Know that it does happen to the girl next door. On July 2nd, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously upheld Tracy Grissom's murder conviction. Her defense has filed for another hearing. Tracy will be eligible for parole in 2029. She'll be 47. Her daughter will be 20 years old.

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.