48 Hours - Two Wigs and A Gun Pt 2

Episode Date: January 9, 2025

Part two of the investigation into the murder of Fred Jablin. In 2004, Fred Jablin was murdered in the driveway of his Virginia home. Details of a nasty divorce and purchases including airline tickets, a gun, and two wigs would lead police to arrest Fred's ex-wife, Piper. But as Piper was about to stand trial, her defense team tried to steer suspicion away from her and on to her big sister, Tina. “48 Hours" correspondent Harold Dow reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 8/25/2007. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Music Music It was about 6.35 in the morning. A quiet street in Richmond, Virginia. As I was getting dressed, my husband and I heard three loud bangs. Not a street where you'd expect a murder. When I arrived on the scene, I could see at the top of the driveway my friend and neighbor, Fred Jablone.

He put both hands on my shoulders and he said, Megan, Fred Jablone is lying in his driveway. He's dead. And Fred Jablone wasn't your average murder victim. You've got a university professor killed in a neighborhood that that's really not the norm. Fred Jablin was a totally involved father, a super, super single parent. So who killed Fred Jablin? People said said I have no idea who would want to do

this to Fred but have you talked to his ex-wife? I was married to Fred Jablin. We have three children. Had a pretty nasty divorce. Certainly she was a suspect. But a suspect with a seemingly rock-solid alibi. Bartender called me and said, do you remember her? And I said, yeah, I remember seeing her. It's an XC haircut. I know she didn't kill Fred J. Applin. She was devastated because of his death. There are definitely two peas out of the same pod, Tina and Piper. Police also suspected Tina. It's not what did I think about Fred Javlin's, did I kill Fred Javlin?

And now police are about to unravel the clues that will lead to an arrest. We've got cell phone records, latex gloves, makeup, two wigs. A lot of twists and turns in this one. It's definitely not your normal standard murder. Two wigs, a gun and a murder. I was looking for this guy, Jerry Waltersters whose name this card was in. We hadn't spoken to him at this point so one of our goals was to try to locate him. A couple of days after Fred Jablin's murder, Detective Coby Kelly learned more about the round trip airline ticket booked under the name Tina Roundtree. The person who paid for the ticket was a guy named Jerry Walters.

We knew that a bank card in his name was used and was instrumental in making this homicide happen but we really didn't know what his role was in it if any. And so we're trying to figure out who's Jerry Walters. It didn't take them long to learn that Jerry Walters knew Piper. Piper Roundtree and I at one time were girlfriend boyfriend. Piper started dating Jerry Walters in 2003, shortly after moving to Houston. We exchanged phone numbers and started talking on the telephone, went out to supper a time or two and it just went from there.

She was very sweet, great off-the-wall sense of humor, which I appreciate it. Cute, obviously. Pretty much a normal person. Even though Walters was living four hours from Houston in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they made it work. I was in Houston quite often on business, so it was not difficult.

I was there probably two days minimum a week. Their long-distance relationship lasted for about a year. Then that evolved into a continuing close relationship, close friendship. So close that Walters was one of the first people Piper called the night of Fred Jablons murder. I came home from an LSU football game about 10, 30ish, 11ish, and my cell phone rang and it was Piper and she said,

she was asking me to come to Houston and she said, it's important Fred's dead. And I said, what happened? She says, well, I'm not certain Fred's dead. And she was not screaming, but she was not far from hysteria, I would think. And she was crying. Walters wasn't able to go to Houston,

but he did his best to comfort Piper by phone. She was very concerned with the kids. But in my whole relationship with Piper, she was very concerned. But more so, obviously, this was to the extreme. Four days after the murder, Detective Kelly tracked down Jerry Walters to find out why his bank card seemed to be connected to a murder. I think he asked me how well did I know Fred, and I didn't know Fred at all.

I never had any conversation with him in my life. Walters told Detective Kelly he had no idea who could have used his bank card during the weekend of the murder because he says it had been stolen before then. I don't think anyone on the face of the earth was more shocked than myself to find out my card was in Richmond, Virginia.

I did not have a clue. Walter says he first found out something was wrong with his card when he tried to withdraw cash from the account. I said, well, Mr. Walter's account's overdrawn. And I said, why? And they said, well, you've got pending ATM charges in Richmond, Virginia. And I said, why? And they said, well, you've got pending ATM charges in Richmond, Virginia.

And I said, really? And they said, uh-huh. I said, OK, get back to you. Ha ha ha. That's when I started getting a little concerned that Jerry Walter's card was floating around a murder scene in Richmond, Virginia. Jerry Walters called Piper immediately

because if anyone was going to know about his card, it was her. You see, the card wasn't really his. Although he had access to the bank account, Walters had opened it at Piper's request under his name so that she could hide assets from her ex-husband. I asked her, what's the deal on the card? How come my card was in Richmond and not with you?

And that's when she said, well, the last time I saw the card was when I went to the tennis club and apparently someone stole it there. And I said, well, why didn't you tell me? And she says, well, I just hadn't missed it. She said, if you don't go to use it, you don't know it's gone. It kind of made sense.

What didn't make sense to both Walters and Detective Kelly were some of the other charges found on the card. We also were able to determine that wigs were purchased during this time with that card from wigs.com. I personally don't wear wigs. Before the murder someone had purchased two wigs, one blonde, one auburn. We knew that they were sent to a location in Kingwood, Texas, and we had an address. There was a box there, rented in the name of Piper Roundtree, which also had Jerry Walters' name on that box, and that's where the wigs had been delivered to. He asked me, did I think she did it? And I said, I just can't fathom that she did this. It's not something that I ever recognized in her, no.

But it was all starting to add up for Detective Kelly. He was convinced that Piper Roundtree had flown to Richmond, Virginia, using her sister's name to kill her husband. As things came to light, it was apparent she did have a plan and attempted to disguise who she was and thought she could get away with it. Do you think there's any connection between the murder and this very difficult divorce

that she and her husband, Fred Jamblin, went through? No, I think she was crushed when she didn't get custody of her children. We knew that several weeks before this murder, she had come up and taken the children camping. I think that they probably had a really good time and I think that that caused her to just think, this is what I'm missing. I'm missing the great time watching my children grow up, experiencing them as they become

you know teenagers, adults and so forth. I think it's probably around that time she started hatching a plan in her mind of how she could change custody. And the way to do that, she had been through the court system. That had not worked in her favor and I think she was looking for alternate plans which ultimately left to her decision to kill Fred. With Fred Jablon dead, Piper Roundtree wanted to win back her three kids, who were staying with Fred's brother Michael and his family. She asked for a custody hearing in Virginia Family Court. She had asked whether I would go up there and testify at her custody hearing,

and I said, I wasn't sure if I was going to be up there at that time, but I told her, I said, I will be happy to. And what she was working on is trying to establish that I had eliminated her as a suspect, and I certainly had not at that point. Detective Kelly was all for Piper attending the hearing, scheduled nine days after Fred Jablon's murder, but not for reasons Piper thought. She's thinking about trying to go to Richmond and have this custody here. In the back of your mind you're saying, well, if she's in Richmond it would be easier for you guys to make an arrest, right?

Definitely. It was not a deal breaker that she was not in Richmond, but it saves extradition, that sort of thing. Nine days after the murder, in a Richmond, Virginia courtroom, a judge made her decision. Knowing that Piper was under suspicion for murder, the judge granted custody of Piper's three children, Callie, age 10, Paxton, age 12, and Jocelyn, age 15, to Michael Jablin. My client has a constitutional right to have her children and she's been denied that right. Piper left the custody hearing shaken and little did she know that just minutes later

she would be arrested for murder. They could have taken this from a scene from a gangster movie that the police just jumped out with it seemed like machine guns and dragged me off to tell me that they had they were arresting me for the murder of my ex-husband. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame, fortune, and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood Walk Cafe, Sean Diddy Combs. Diddy built an empire and lived a life most people only

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Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announce they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger along with six other astronauts.

But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondry Plus. You can join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today. After her arrest for murder four months ago, former prosecutor Piper Roundtree is having a tough time adjusting to life behind bars. It's my mom, my sisters.

But she's anxious for her day in court and ready to stand trial for the murder of her ex-husband, Fred Jablone. I don't think I would be intelligent if I weren't worried or concerned, but I have an incredible amount of faith. All rise. And I trust God. God's put me here for a reason. Ladies and gentlemen, the jury. Good afternoon. In opening arguments, prosecutor Wade Kaiser launches right in

with what he says is Piper's chilling motive. It all came down to money. You'll hear evidence ladies and gentlemen that Piper Roundtree had been ordered to pay child support to the victim Fred Javelin who had custody of the children. Kaiser says Piper Roundtree was tired of struggling to pay child support to her ex-husband, so she killed him. She was over $9,700 in arrearages in making that child support. She blamed Fred and held him accountable for everything that had happened to her. But listen to all the evidence over the next several days.

When Piper's defense attorney, Murray Janis, has his turn, he tells jurors the state's explanation of a motive just doesn't add up. But you'll hear evidence that she made a support payment in October of 2004. Hardly something somebody's going to do to send money if they in fact had planned to kill that person. And more importantly, Janice says, there isn't anyone who can put Piper at the crime scene. And see if one single person says, we saw that defendant, Piper Roundtree, take a gun out and shoot Fred Javelin.

We saw her running away. Although Janice does admit there is a lot of evidence showing someone committed this murder. You're gonna find that somebody was in Virginia, somebody flew on the Southwest Airlines. He insists the wrong Roundtree sister is on trial. There's one name you're gonna hear over and over and over again and that's the name of Tina Roundtree. And Janice says all the evidence will point to her. I think you'll hear evidence that Tina had, certainly at one time, a gun herself, a.38 caliber.

You won't hear any evidence that Piper Roundtree owned a gun. Piper is obviously aware of her attorney's defense strategy, but when she spoke with us before trial she wouldn't flat out accuse her sister of murder. Did your sister, Tina, did she do this? I couldn't say. I don't know. Is she capable of something like this?

I'm not going to answer that. All rise. No matter now before the court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and I take the truth as help you God. How you doing? Have a seat please. With the trial underway, prosecutors called Jerry Walters to the stand to help show that Piper hatched an elaborate plan to get away with murder.

Using the bank account Walters had opened for her, Piper purchased that blonde wig and prosecutors say Piper wore it the weekend of the murder so it would look like her sister Tina committed the crime. Prosecutors say Piper also used Walters' card to buy that No sir. Judge, our next witness is Kathy Molly. Prosecutors say Piper also used Walter's card to buy that airline ticket, booked in her sister's name, to fly to and from the murder. How is this ticket paid for? By credit card, right here.

Kathy Molly, the agent, remembers selling a ticket to a woman using the name Roundtree. And for the first time in court... Miss Molly, would you look around the courtroom and see if you can identify the person to whom you sold that ticket on October 28th? That lady right there looks familiar. A witness is able to identify Piper. In fact, Molly says the brunette checked in as a blonde. But the hair's not like that at all. It's much shorter and the color's a lot darker.

That's not all. Molly's biggest surprise? She says Piper was carrying a gun. What do you recall unusual about checking bags and anything? Nothing. She just told me right away that she needed to check a firearm. She just commented that it was her father's gun and she was taking it to him. But that gun wasn't the state's smoking gun. They say Piper not only got on that plane to Richmond,

they can prove she spent the weekend there within miles of the crime scene. It was Piper's own cell phone that would do her in. We started looking through the cell phone records and recognized the number to Papa John's Pizza. Henrico County Detective Chuck Hanna was given the job of tracking the cell phone calls to see if anyone could place Piper in Richmond. So we called Papa John's Pizza and asked if an individual with the last name around

tree had ordered a pizza. They stated that a person with the name of Roundtree did, and that person had it delivered to room 171 in the homestead suites. That led Detective Hannah to the manager of this hotel, who remembers the guest in room 171. She said she had a reservation name. Her name was Tina Roundtree.

And it's that witness, Tomiko James, who was able to place Piper Roundtree in Richmond, at a hotel located just miles from the crime scene. Would you point here and identify that individual? Well, he was defending him. And then a second eyewitness takes the stand. Raymond Seward says he saw Piper on Saturday morning, just a few hours after Fred Jablons' murder. A medium bill, medium height, and blonde hair. Where is she?

That lady right there. Seward remembers Piper returning a car to his rental agency near the airport, the same airport where that flight, carrying a passenger named Tina Roundtree would later take off. She was just in a hurry to get to the airport. And if eyewitness testimony wasn't enough to put Piper in Richmond, prosecutors say they have Piper caught on tape.

They say the woman seen walking into a Richmond, Virginia gas station is the defendant, Piper Roundtree, in disguise. The tape will show a white female enter the door. It's a mountain of evidence that they hope will knock down any suggestion that it was Tina Roundtree in Richmond the weekend of the murder. You have to concede it doesn't look good, right? No, it doesn't look good. I certainly concede that.

You know, my mouth fell open when I saw these things. Like, oh my God. Now prosecutors take their case one step further. They set out to show how Piper made sure that when she shot Fred Jablon, she wouldn't miss. Mack McClanahan knows both sisters. He dated Tina, and he worked with Piper. When you went with Piper to work early in the week of October 25th to Galveston, did you ride together there?

We did. And back? Yes. Okay. On one of their rides home together, Mack told Piper he was going to stop at a shooting range. Tell the members of the jury what Piper said when you brought that up. She said she wanted to go with me. Had you taken Piper to the gun range prior to that day?

No. Piper shot a few rounds, then decided she wanted to rent another type of gun, so she went to the front desk and made an exchange. She returned with a.38 caliber revolver. It was the same type of weapon used to gun down Fred Jablone days later. Did she fire the.38? She did. Saturday morning around 630. And when Matt ran into Piper a few days after the murder, he found out just how nervous Piper was

about their trip to the gun range. I told her I was sorry to hear what had happened, and she hugged me and said, I love you, and she said, please don't say anything about the gun range. It'll just complicate things. With one of their last witnesses, prosecutors deal a final blow to Piper. It turns out the alibi Piper thought she had for the night before the murder had fallen through. After you had a chance to think about it, you have checked all of your records.

Kevin O'Keefe, who thought he'd seen Piper at the volcano bar on Friday night, now tells jurors he was mistaken. Were you in the volcano at all on that Friday, October 29th? No. You sure about that? Positive. Thank you. Thank you.

After being battered by dozens of witnesses against her, Piper Roundtree, a former prosecutor, knows she's in real trouble. And now she has to make one of the most important decisions of her life. Should she take the stand? MUSIC All rise. All rise. After listening to the 49 witnesses testifying against her,

That lady right there looks familiar. Yes, sir. She's right there. With the state's case finished, Piper Roundtree is looking like a goner. If you could look those jurors in the eyes, how would you do it? What would you say? I would tell them I didn't do it because of all the things that I stand for. I believe in truth. I believe in God. Piper I believe in God. Piper realizes she has only one option. All right, next witness.

Take the stand. Call Piper Rountree. Come on, Ramos Rountree, if you would. But you know it's risky to do that, to take the stand and testify. You know that, right? Yeah. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the evidence...

So, on the fourth day of trial... The whole truth and nothing but the truth, tell me that. I do. So, on the fourth day of trial... Only four months after Fred Jablons was shot dead in his driveway... You are Piper and Roundtree, is that correct? I am. Fred Jablons ex-wife Piper Roundtree tries to answer to a jury. Her defense lawyer Murray Janis cuts straight to the jury. Her defense lawyer, Murray Janis, cuts straight to the chase. Is Roundtree, did you shoot and kill Fred Javelin on Saturday morning, October 30th, 2004?

I did not. When did you first learn that Fred Javelin had been shot and killed? That evening. What was your emotional condition at that time? Well, I don't remember a whole lot of the rest of the evening. Did you ever learn that evening where your children were? No. In a soft, shaky voice, Piper Roundtree testifies it was impossible for her to shoot Fred Jablin in Virginia

because at the time of the murder, she was in Texas. But it isn't just Piper's whereabouts she and her defense team will use as an alibi. Their strategy is based on showing the jury what kind of person Piper Roundtree really is. Do you love your children? Yes, very much. Where are they as far as priorities in your life? Second only to God. Piper tells jurors the last thing she'd do is hurt her kids.

Yes, it was not an easy divorce, but I had no right to take away the children's father. The children need both parents. How were you getting along with Fred Javelin compared to during the divorce itself? It was an answer to my prayers. We were doing very good. And when it comes to her alibi about being at the volcano bar, she insists she was there that Friday before the murder. Even though Kevin O'Keefe had told prosecutors, he wasn't even there that Friday night.

Do you know when it was that you saw the defendant in the volcano? Saturday. October 30th? Right. But Piper stands by her story and says she even remembers floating and drinking with a stranger. What was the gentleman's name that you met up with? He said Steve initially and then he said call him Jerry. Have you ever seen him again since then? No.

seen him again since then? No. Alright, let's go. Ms. Rowntree, I believe you testified. The prosecutors go on the attack. Piper's motive for murder is simple. A vengeful woman who had lost her children. You had lost custody of your three children completely? Not completely. Doesn't the order state that you lost

physical and legal custody of your children? Yes. To your husband? Yes. Wasn't that devastating to you? Yes. Wouldn't you do anything for your children? I wouldn't kill for them, no.

Piper, however, is unable to explain away the physical evidence at the heart of the case, starting with her Jeep parked at the Houston airport the very weekend Fred Jablin was murdered. Can you explain why the records from the Houston Hobby Airport show that your vehicle was in their parking lot on Thursday and Friday and Saturday? No. I have no explanation. Then, prosecutors questioned Piper about her visit to the gun range, where she practiced shooting just days before the murder with the same type of weapon used to kill Fred Jablone. You shot two different pistols that day, didn't you?

One was a.22 caliber revolver, and the other was a.38 caliber revolver. That's what they say. Well, you had it in your possession for a period of time, didn't you? I don't know what it was. It was a gun. And what about that blonde wig? Prosecutors say Piper needed it desperately

for the weekend of the murder, to disguise herself as Tina. You wanted the blonde wig so bad that when you got the box with the paprika wig in it with the note saying that they didn't have it in stock and that you would have to pay an additional charge, you said send it anyway. I want it, correct? Tina had wanted the blonde wig.

No, I'm not asking you what Tina said. I'm asking you, you told them... Yes, I did. I'll pay the extra money. Isn't that right? Yes, sir. And you had the blonde wig? Yes, sir.

Where is it at? Last time I saw it, Tina had it. If Tina had the wig and Tina was on the plane, then... You want this jury to think that Tina committed the murder, don't you? I have no idea what happened. You have none? I don't.

The evidence pinpoints Piper in Richmond, near the scene of Fred Jablin's murder. Hotel records and receipts show Piper used the bank card she said was stolen. I didn't know what had happened to the card. There's one more staggering piece of evidence. Those damning cell phone records. Calls made from Piper's cell phone from Richmond to Texas just after the murder. What happened to the cell phone? I don't know.

While the crime's being committed, you don't know where it is. That's what you're telling these people. I'm telling them that I didn't have the phone from probably, I remember last time I remember it was Tuesday before that. You lost the telephone on Tuesday where did you find it on Saturday? It was at Tina's house. Because you want to you want this jury to think that Tina committed a murder you're willing to put it on her aren't't you? No, sir. Thank you, ma'am. You can have a seat next to me, counsel. Piper steps down. She has done all she can.

Now it's up to this man, Marty McVeigh, the lone witness who can physically put her a thousand miles away from the murder. And where is your office at the present time? In Houston, Texas. Now, sir, tell us if you will, jumping up to Saturday, October 30th, 2004. Did you ever see Piper Roundtree on that date? I did.

And where was that, sir? In my office. And could you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what time you saw her? Approximately 430 that afternoon, give or take five minutes. Are you sure of that time, sir? Yes, sir. McVeigh is Piper's very best witness because it's impossible for Piper to have been in two places at once. McVeigh says she was in his Houston office at the exact same time police say she was on an airplane returning from murdering Fred Jablone. How many people have you talked to about the time Piper police say she was on an airplane returning from murdering Fred Javlin.

How many people have you talked to about the time Piper Roundtree was in your office on Saturday, October 30th? Since then? Yes, sir. Oh gosh. I've talked to the prosecutors here. I've talked to the detectives again in Houston, in the Houston Police Department.

I've talked to Paige Aiken from the Times Dispatch. Local newspaper reporter Paige Aiken ends up becoming part of the very story she was covering. Come on up Ms. Aiken if you would. She takes the stand to testify about what Marty McVeigh told her. And how are you employed Ms. Aiken? I'm a reporter at the Richmond Times Dispatch. Have you been assigned and have you in fact been covering covering the case involving Miss Piper Roundtree? I have.

Paige Aiken swears that McVeigh had told her that Piper had stopped by his office the day after the murder, not the afternoon of the murder. Did you ask him when prior to Sunday, October 31st, he had last seen Piper Roundtree? Yes, he said it had been quite a while, about a year, I believe. Marty McVeigh is put back on the stand and sticks to his story and dates. Had you seen Piper Roundtree before Sunday, October 31st? Yes. And when was that? On October 30th.

All right we'll be at recess until tomorrow. All rise. When it's all over Piper Roundtree seems dazed and exhausted. Do you think you conveyed to the jury what you wanted to get across? I don't know, I hope so. That's all I can say is I hope so. Are you afraid? Yeah. Yes, yes, I'm afraid.

Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America. But when a social media-fueled fight over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime and there's much more to come. This is The Harvard Plan, a special series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's On The Media. To listen, subscribe to On The Media wherever you get your podcasts. You don't believe in ghosts? I get it.

Lots of people don't. I didn't either until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows,

uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness, and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. I was amazed about the evidence that police collected, the documentation they did, the witnesses. Throughout Piper Roundtree's murder trial, the brother of the victim, Michael Jablin,

has watched closely, focused on the woman who was once part of his family. Any doubt in your mind that Piper Roundtree is guilty? There's no doubt, and I was very sad about the whole thing, hearing it, how somebody with such a high level of education could have plotted such an event. Piper's mother, Betty Roundtree, sat in the courtroom every day. She can't believe her youngest daughter is a killer. Do I think she's guilty? No, I do not. She's had so much love in her life and she's such a gentle kind person. I honestly cannot believe that she did this.

The jury deliberates for less than an hour. Ladies and gentlemen, have you been able to reach a verdict in these matters? Yes, ma'am. Would you hand it to the sheriff, please? Will the jury find the defendant guilty of first degree murder? Frederick Jablon is charged in the indictment. Joanne Lawson, is this your verdict? Yes. Beverly Owens, is this your verdict? Yes.anne Lawson, is this your verdict? Yes.

Beverly Owens, is this your verdict? Yes. Holly Pace, is this your verdict? Yes. No one seems surprised. Not even Piper. All rise. Within an hour, the jury hears more testimony

and then will recommend her sentence anywhere from 20 years to life They were extremely extremely close Betty roundtree pleads for leniency So the children who'd already lost their father won't lose their mother to her whole life was just with those children taking them different places reading to them Have a seat, please Michael Jablin is not vindictive just sad and searching for answers How do I explain to young children that their mother killed their father? They've lost both parents basically now

How do I explain that to these children? How does anybody explain something like that? In less than an hour, the jury decides to recommend the harshest penalty. We the jury, having found the defendant guilty of first degree murder, Frederick JoAbelin, fix her punishment at life imprisonment. prison. The five-day trial included nearly 60 witnesses and 80 pieces of evidence who has now been sentenced to life in prison. It's over how do you feel right now? I think they feel good. We got the result that we anticipated having in the long run but it's nice to see the jury validate our investigation and bring a little bit of justice.

As close as we're gonna get here anyway. ["The Last Supper"] Within minutes of the verdict, we talked with Piper in a holding cell. Piper, a jury has spoken. Guilty, life in prison. Yeah. What's your reaction to that sentence?

I think I'm still in shock. It hasn't hit you yet, has it? No, not somewhat. I don't know. In spite of all the evidence and the jury's swift verdict, Piper Roundtree still insists she's innocent. For the record, you're still saying that you did not kill your ex-husband? I didn't. I didn't. I mean, obviously it looked like I didn't. You didn't do it? No, I didn't.

Will you get an opportunity at all while you're serving your time to see your children? Do you know anything about that? I hope so. I'd be happy to talk to them. Anything you want to say to them? I just love them and miss them and would want to talk to them. What kind of mother would do this? I think that's a very good question. I don't know what kind of mother would leave him without a father and without a mother.

I don't know. It's very hard to understand that. It's very sad when you have to think about that. I really think she is so sick that she thought she could do this and then just walk into the sunset with her three kids. I think that's how she thought this was going to play out. Megan McCreary, Fred's neighbor and friend, has no sympathy for Piper Roundtree. And what was she thinking?

Did she not understand the impact this was going to have on her children's lives? I mean, she extinguished four lives that day. She murders her ex-husband and basically destroys the childhood of her three children. I just, I don't understand what she was thinking. The verdict may be in, but what was the jury thinking as they watched the halting testimony of Piper Roundtree? Wouldn't you do anything for your children? I wouldn't kill for them, no. I think that was one of the most serious moments of the trial for me, because it was the nail in the coffin.

It was the nail in the coffin when she took the stand? Yeah, for me. That was going from 90% to hundred percent guilty. Bruce Ledd, Joel Howell, and Timothy James spoke to us about the impression Piper made. The four or five words that we got out of her weren't a whole lot and they were not convincing. When she took the stand, I mean, you know, it almost seemed like, you know, she could kind of, you know, turn her tears on and off. Do you love your children? Yes, very much.

And of all the evidence against her, what was it that sealed Piper's fate? The cell phone records. You could very easily track exactly where she was and what she did. Cell phone tracked her all the way? Yes. Yeah, the whole time.

And what if Tina Roundtree, the sister Piper pretended to be, the sister many people say was Piper's best friend? It's impossible to know whether or not Tina knew that Piper was going on a trip to murder her ex-husband. But based on how close they were, it's hard to imagine that Tina was not knowledgeable in some sense that something very serious was going to take place. She would stick up for her sister and I think she would do anything short of murder for her sister. Your name came up a lot during the trial. It was almost as if the defense was to blame Tina Roundtree for the murder.

What's your reaction to that? They're just trying to set a possibility of doubt in the jurors mind. But you didn't mind? Oh I don't. Your name being used? I don't care. In that fashion? Doesn't matter.

I don't care. I think it's a stupid defense. But the jury is certain. The right round tree was convicted. However, months after the trial, Tina Roundtree herself would be convicted of tampering with evidence after the murder of Fred Jablin. She would be sentenced to nine months probation, but this jury would sentence Piper to a term... We the jury fix her punishment at life in prison.

...far more severe. Why life in prison? We didn't ever want her to come back into her children's lives because it would have been reliving the murder. Piper Roundtree became eligible for parole in 2020. Her first parole petition was denied. Tina Rountree died in 2020.