48 Hours - Wounded by Love

Episode Date: June 14, 2015

A lover is shot dead -- will a cell phone video recorded in the aftermath be enough to clear or convict? "48 Hours" correspondent Troy Roberts reports.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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The paramedics are on their way. Oh my God, what a nightmare. What's your name? Karen. I'm in mass hysteria here, in shock. I had never seen anything like this before. It was 4.45. I heard the three chimes in my door,

that one of my four doors was being opened. All of a sudden, I wake up in the middle of the night, and somebody said, my house! That put me in a panic mode. I jumped up out of bed, grabbed the gun, and heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward my bedroom. The gun was cocked because I didn't know who it was because I felt like it was an intruder. I heard somebody coming in my house.

I didn't know who was coming in. I saw it was Phillip in the doorway. I said to him, what are you doing here? Oh, my God, you scared me to death. What's his name? Philip. My boyfriend. He's your boyfriend?

The love of my life. At that point in time, I had had the gun up over my head, and he had come across the room and said, let me do it. I'll do it. Threw me an arm, and I said, no, don't do this. He put the gun to his head and I shouted, screaming at him, stop, don't do it, don't do it, it's loaded.

And he told me twice, I'm not going to live my life without you. And he shot himself. There's no way that he would ever have killed himself. He wouldn't leave his children. He loved those girls. Loved them. Like I've not probably ever seen any father.

I'm Karen Kelly, and back in July 27, 2011, I was accused of shooting and killing my boyfriend. I just know that Philip Petros would not have been shot. I was accused of shooting and killing my boyfriend. I just know that Philip Petras would not have been shot, but for what Philip Petras did. When that six foot two construction worker body guy took a hold of that hundred pound realtor, she was no longer in control of that gun and whatever happened was just not her fault.

If you point a loaded gun at somebody or bring a loaded gun out into the argument, and that gun goes off and kills somebody, that's not an accident. That's a homicide. I'm Troy Roberts. Tonight on 48 Hours. Wounded by love. 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.

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Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free, with a 48-hour plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. Orlando, Florida has built its reputation as a major tourist destination. But to locals like Tamara Lawton, it doesn't always feel that way. Orlando's a pretty small town. A small town where Tamara sometimes ran into her ex-boyfriend, Philip Petras.

He saw me twice when we were out in public. And once I was with some other people and the other time I was on a date, and he just walked up and he said, hey, how are you doing? And that was it. Philip Petras always had a woman by his side.

For more than 25 years, that woman was his wife, Sandra. After they broke up, he dated Tamara for four years until she left him. And now his latest love was local realtor Karen Kelly. What were some of the fun things that you and Phillip liked to do together? We loved to do just about anything. It was fun to go visit friends around Florida. We loved to go on the boat, travel, concerts, jazz festivals.

We just did everything what normal people do. What were your impressions of him? Thought he was a great guy. A great guy with movie star looks. He's very good looking. Very good looking. Great smile. Gentle demeanor.

Great sense of humor. Great sense of humor. Philip Zalor went beyond his appearance. He was a well-grounded and caring father who doted on his four daughters, two of them adopted. One of the very first things that he said is, I have children. And I thought, well, so? But I didn't understand how important they were to him. His oldest daughter, he loved her intellect. Really smart girl and loved

to talk to her. And his second daughter, he said she had a heart of gold. Just a sweet, sweet girl. And his third daughter, he loved her spunk. And his youngest daughter was almost a part of his body. She was, they were so close. But Philip clearly did not feel that way about his estranged wife, Sandra, who had extramarital affairs while they were together. I asked him how he got along with his ex-wife, and he said, well, we really don't speak to each other. We do everything by text.

Including throwing barbs at each other over Sandra's infidelity. You manipulated me for the last time. How was I so stupid that you chose a married man, in fact, over me? He got burned. Yes, pretty bad. I don't think he ever recovered. In Karen, Philip seems to have found a new love he hoped he could count on. Phillip was a very kind, gentle man. He was actually a gentleman, opening car doors and just always wanting to show his girls how they should be treated by a man. Phillip treated me like a princess. I mean, just amazing every day. But then came the night of July 27th, 2011. After a night of drinking, Karen says she and Philip began arguing about her new job.

He was afraid she'd meet a lot of men who might find Karen a bit too attractive. We stayed up and talked from 10 to about midnight shortly after. And I wanted to go to bed. And he simply did not want to stop talking. Karen says Philip finally decided to leave. And I had yelled to him, don't leave, don't drive drunk, that would be stupid. But Philip insisted on leaving. So Karen says she warned him that she kept a handgun under her bed. So that's when I said, fine, go then, just go. Don't come back unannounced. And when he left, he was angry.

Yes, evidently. Hours later at 4.45 a.m., Karen says she awoke from a deep sleep to hear someone in her house. She was afraid it was someone she had a real estate dispute with, the man who lived nearby. So she grabbed her.38 caliber revolver and cocked the hammer.

She was ready to take aim and fire. Did you say, who is this? Did you shout? Yeah, basically I said, don't come near me, whoever it was, before I could see him in the doorway. But it was Phillip. Karen could see him from the glowing light coming off her television. He started pounding. I was like, what are you going to do, Shoot me? And I'm like, no, I'm not going to shoot you. This cell phone video recorded by an Orlando police officer minutes after the shooting captures Karen's raw emotions. She appears to be intoxicated as she explains what happened. I was like, hey, don't come here with me. And he

was like, no, you're not. And he put it to him. He said, you're going to shoot me? You're going to shoot me? He had come across the room and said, let me do it. I'll do it. And grabbed my arm and took the gun from me. Karen says Philip had control of the gun when it went off. A single bullet striking him in the right cheek. Did he die instantly? I was hoping and praying that I'd be able to revive him. I asked him on 911, what can I do? Come quick!

Come, we can help him! Baby, baby! Oh my God, I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do to help him! Quickly! Okay, they are on their way to you. Philip died at the scene before paramedics arrived. What did you think when you began to learn more about the circumstances

surrounding the shooting? Well, the number one thing that most anyone does, which I did, is denial. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be true. It was very non-aggressive. Non-aggressive? Non-aggressive. No one that ever met him would ever have said he was anything but very sweet, quiet, and polite. Police believe Karen was the aggressor that night and fired that fatal shot but did the prosecutor have enough evidence to charge karen with murder 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.

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to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 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.

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And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. The Orlando police were skeptical of Karen Kelly's story almost from the moment she opened her mouth back in the early morning hours of July 27, 2011. All of a sudden, I wake up in the middle of the night, and someone's in my house. In the cell phone video taken by police shortly after the shooting, listen to the way one officer reacts to Karen's story. I have a weapon, and you know I'm going to use it. If you're coming in my house, I don't know what it is.

You know I have a weapon, so don't do this. What did you make of the initial phases of the police investigation? I understand law enforcement needs to make some assessments quickly. Diana Tennis was Karen's lawyer. investigation. I understand law enforcement needs to make some assessments quickly. Diana Tennis was Karen's lawyer. I don't like that they treated her as if she had been tried and convicted. Tennis says the officers even joked around, provoking Karen who called them on it. You think that's funny? No. Nothing's funny.

I'm not talking about you. You think this is funny? I'm in the job. And you think this is funny? Nobody's laughing. You just shot somebody. That's funny. Nobody's laughing.

You just shot somebody in the head. How are we going to be laughing? I don't like that they said to her face when she's trying to explain to them tearfully what happened when they basically told her, you just shot somebody in the head. I think that is horrible. In the hours after the shooting,

police put Karen, still wearing her nightgown, in an interrogation room. I'm Detective Sprank. I'm her boyfriend. Where for the first time, she learns of Phillip's fate. Is my boyfriend okay? Um, no. where for the first time, she learns of Phillip's fate. Is my boyfriend okay? Um, no.

He's not okay, hon. And I apologize it took us so long to get here. What do you mean he's not okay? Like, is he at the hospital? Um, your boyfriend has passed away. No! I'm really sorry, Karen. Can you tell me about him?

Oh, my God! That's the love of my life! Despite Karen's obvious distress, the detectives press her to tell them what happened. Earlier in the evening, she seems to tell them what happened. Earlier in the evening, she seems to tell the officers outside her house that Phillip may have committed suicide. He took my arm. He took the handle and he put it to his head. But now, she tells officers, Phillip's shooting was an accident. And he fought me with a gun. And he pointed it somewhere and it went off.

And I didn't want to shoot him and he didn't want to shoot himself, but it went off. And I was like, oh my God, I can't believe that even happened. But a minute later, police believe that Karen contradicts herself yet again. Her story goes from her knowing to not knowing that the intruder was Phyllis. He came in on me in the dark. I didn't know who it was. At that point, after hearing multiple versions of Karen's story, detectives give her the Miranda warning, and it only then dawns on Karen that she may need a lawyer. Here's the thing. I don't have an attorney present now, right?

I shouldn't even answer these questions. And I'm the only one living. So I look like I did something bad. So how did Philip Petros die? No fingerprints could be lifted off the gun, which contained DNA from both Karen and Philip. So investigators had to tackle three possibilities. Either Karen shot him intentionally,

Philip committed suicide, or there was a struggle and the gun went off accidentally. When Karen first contacted me, she was still in jail on no bond. She was extremely upset. She was extremely frightened, and she really needed a lawyer. When I started practicing law in Orlando... Diana Tennis is well known in

Orlando, often appearing on television to give her legal opinions on high-profile cases like the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Casey Anthony case. After interviewing Karen, Tennis was convinced that Karen had stuck to one basic fact, that Philip was responsible for his own death. But Karen's raw emotions made it difficult for the police to make sense of her story. So do you believe that your own words hurt you? Yes, I believe so.

But I also believe they were misconstrued. Law enforcement wants to say that I had changed my story, which in fact I did not. I would have never taken the gun out from under my bed had I known it was him. Had he given me a phone call, had he called my home phone, my cell phone, or if he knocked on the door, if he rang a doorbell, I wouldn't have been startled. I wouldn't have thought an intruder was in my house to do me harm. But neighbors told police they heard Karen and Phillip arguing earlier that night, and there was the issue of alcohol. Phillip's blood alcohol level was.11, over the legal limit and roughly the equivalent of four drinks.

He left, though. Wasn't he drunk? Yes. And were you intoxicated as well? I had been drinking earlier with him and my neighbor and so I had a few drinks before 12 o'clock. Yes. Tamara Lawton heard from friends that Karen sometimes had more than a few drinks. The only thing that they ever told me was that she used prescription drugs to an excess and drank too much. Did Philip ever talk to you about her? When I asked him, where's your girlfriend, he said she was passed out. Police believe Karen was drunk.

No, I put this on my sheet and I was like, it's coming out. But they never performed a blood alcohol test. Investigators did notice that Karen literally had Phillips' blood on her hands and took these photographs. Investigators did not find Karen believable. I didn't shoot him! She was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Karen was shocked but was released on bond after spending 16 days in jail. I certainly didn't think I'd be arrested.

I absolutely, 100% believed in my heart and knew that they would see how there's no way that anybody else could have shot him except himself. But Tennis says the shock of being charged turned to outrage when she learned Philip had kept a secret. charged turned to outrage when she learned Philip had kept a secret. One of the things that was the most upsetting to her and probably the most emotional that I saw her during the entire couple of years is the day that she found out that Philip Petras was still married to Sandra. Philip had lied. He was not divorced from his wife, Sandra. Had he told me that he was married, I mean, I would have paid for him to get divorced. Why did Philip lie? Probably because of his experience with Tamara, who wound up leaving him because of this very issue.

That teaches Philip Petras that when you love a woman, she better not know you're married because at some point you're going to lose her over that fact. And I think that was a big part of that lie he had to tell Karen. Phillips' lie consumed Karen so much that Tennis sat her down for a heart-to-heart talk. Listen, this is bad, but really in the big scheme of things, there's just other things that we need to worry about right now. And I need your emotional energy. I mean, we can't be wasting it on this issue that we can't do anything about and that is in the past.

About a month later, after interviewing Phillip's family and friends, police believed they had found Karen's motive for killing Phillip. The police learned that Phillip was planning to leave Karen before his daughter's upcoming wedding because she didn't get along with his children. The police theorized Phillip had told Karen he was breaking up with her, and that led to an argument the night of the shooting. The dead don't speak. We have to look at what the circumstances are

and see if we can help put the pieces of the puzzle together. Can forensics reveal what really happened the night of Phillip's shooting? I go, don't do this. It's loaded, don't do this, it's loaded. What did you get to do? Her story changed so many times. I'm there to try to help truly figure out what happened. Then Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia did the autopsy on Philip Petras.

When some person dies from something you did, introduce a loaded gun to a domestic argument, and one person's dead, that needs to be looked at very carefully. Dr. Garavaglia has conducted over 6,000 autopsies, including the highly publicized Kaylee Anthony case. She also had her own TV series, Dr. G, Medical Examiner. Describe Phillip's injuries for me. He had a single gunshot wound to the right side of his cheek, which is very unusual.

It's an odd angle. Circumstances that don't suggest suicide. Also, she clearly stated when she called 911 that when they asked her if he had the gun, she said, no, I did. With so many versions of her story, it would be up to the medical examiner to determine what really happened.

He told me twice, I'm not going to live my life without you. And he shot himself. So he committed suicide? I can't say that 100% because I didn't really think that he intentionally did that. I think it was an accident. The gun was cocked because I didn't know who it was, because I felt like it was an intruder. It was an accident. It was an accident. Did you have the gun? I did, but it was an accident.

Okay. Karen's story seesaws between Philip's death being a suicide and an accident, but forensically, Dr. G says, suicide doesn't make sense. Suicides are almost completely contact wounds. Where a gun is actually pressed against the flesh. Yes. Almost universallyicides are almost completely contact wounds. Where a gun is actually pressed against the flesh. Yes, almost universally, suicides are contact wounds. But then the other problem with suicide is suicides are very consistent on their location, and it's in an odd spot. You know, people kill themselves here, under the chin, in the mouth, in the forehead,

but not in the cheek. Dr. G needs to know the distance the gun barrel was from Phillip's face. Put simply, the closer to the cheek would indicate a suicide. The further away would be considered homicide. Dr. G looks closely at the wound on Phillip's cheek. It is surrounded by powder tattooing. It's the powder that comes out, the gunpowder that's unburnt. It's being propelled out the end of the barrel and has enough velocity to hit the skin and make marks. We use that on how far away the end of the barrel is to the skin. She pegs the distance of the gun barrel at three to six inches away from Philip's face. Three inches is somewhere around here and six inches would be somewhere around here.

Somewhere in that distance was the end of the barrel. To prove her theory that this was not a suicide, Dr. G enlisted forensic scientist Matt Conway of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. We asked them to demonstrate a similar test for 48 hours. Now, what will this test demonstrate? When a cartridge is fired, you have the projectile that is exiting the muzzle of the firearm. Along with that, you have various gunshot residues. They can actually strike the skin of a victim and cause an abrasion. And this is what's known as gunpowder tattooing.

We're going to fire another test six inches from the muzzle to the surface. Yeah, there you go. Right there. In this demonstration, Conway fires a.38 caliber revolver, similar to Karen's, in a series of tests meant to show the distance from the gun barrel to Philip's cheek. That's better. Conway fires into targets made of twill cotton that represent a close approximation of a person's skin.

Several shots are fired at distances from 1 to 18 inches. Dr. G and Conway then compared the marks on the twill to the marks on Phillip's cheek. In the actual test done to support the autopsy, Dr. G found that the results matched her original estimate. The distance of the end of the barrel from the skin was somewhere between three and six inches. That's inconsistent with a suicide. But while preparing for trial, defense attorney Diana

Tennis discovers that at one point, Philip did have suicidal thoughts. He was involuntarily committed as being a potential danger to himself because of his level of being distraught over the loss of his family and being separated from his wife. Back in 2006, Phillip's estranged wife, Sandra, said he showed up at her house with suspicious cuts on his arms.

Then, a few weeks later, she says, a drunken Phillip called with suicidal threats. Sandra was concerned and phoned police. Phillip was what the state of Florida calls Baker-acted and against his will, was sent to a hospital for psychiatric testing. It certainly showed that he had the ability to be very distraught, drink a lot, and have a lot of drama around his perceptions that he was losing the woman he loved.

Despite evidence of possible suicidal thoughts, Dr. G says that incident, five years in the past, has no bearing on this case. He has not been backer acted since. He's not seeing anybody for depression. He's enjoying life. His friends said he's in a good place in life. He was excited about his daughter's upcoming wedding. She firmly believes Philip's death was a homicide and says she has a strong forensic case to prove it. But Diana Tena says it may come down to whether the jury believes

Karen's story. Thank you. You may be seated. I feel the jury's going to want to hear from her. This is such a hard decision. And we've worked on Karen's testimony for a long time because she's so emotional and because it's so difficult for her to go back and relive this. And I'm nervous. I'm worried about emotionally whether she'll be able to get through it and tell the story to the jury. But I think she probably will have to testify. The people that know me, the people that support me,

are the ones that know that I would never be capable of doing anything to hurt anybody. Karen Kelly insists she did not kill her boyfriend. I would never want to hurt Philip ever at all. I had absolutely no reason to want him to be dead. And I miss him more than anything in the world. Out on bail with her criminal trial approaching, Karen learns that the state's attorney has lowered her first-degree murder charge to second-degree, and then all the way down to manslaughter. Under second-degree murder, it would have to be shooting somebody because you're mad at them, essentially. Manslaughter involves what we call culpable negligence. Defense attorney Diana Tennis says the reduced charge is not necessarily a good thing

because the state doesn't have to prove intent. I think the state could argue. We're not saying she shot him or didn't shoot him. We're just saying she should have, could have, and did know it was him in the house. She had a gun out. They'd both been drinking. She set the wheels in motion. And no matter whose hand was on the gun, it's kind of her fault.

He may be seated. And because Karen whose hand was on the gun, it's kind of her fault. And because Karen no longer faces a life sentence, manslaughter brings with it one other significant change. It took us from 12 jurors to six, and that means only six people have to be convinced of your guilt versus 12. In May 2013, the trial begins and prosecutor Kendra Moore wastes no time in using Karen's own words against her. Did he shoot himself? Yes or no? No, no. It was like self-defense and then an accident. Those are the words that Karen Kelly told the 911 operator within moments of Philip Petros being shot in the face. Moore asked the jurors, three men and three women, to look closely at Karen's behavior on the police-recorded cell phone video. You're going to see her give this brief reenactment on the video while she's flailing around in this nightie in her driveway, saying how, I told him not to come back because if he came back to my house and I didn't know who it was, I have a weapon and I will use it.

This is supposed to be the love of her life. But that video embraced by the prosecution cuts both ways. As Karen's defense lawyer, I loved the video from the front yard. You think that's funny? No, nothing's funny. This is funny? They treated her disrespectfully. They treated her rudely.

She's trying to show them what happened, and they couldn't care less. She tells jurors that Philip Petras should have been more careful when he saw Karen with the gun. Now, Mr. Petras does not jump back around the corner and say, hey, Karen, it's me. Mr. Petras crosses her bedroom. He crossed the room and he decides to take that gun away from her. And you'll see the big old finger print mark on her arm. The defense produces photographs of a bruise on Karen's forearm that seems to back up the story she's been telling from the beginning. on Karen's forearm that seems to back up the story she's been telling from the beginning. She threw me an arm and I said, no, don't do that.

In her opening statement, Tennis promises jurors that Karen will indeed testify. At the end of this case, I am very, very confident that you are not going to think that Ms. Kelly purposely hurt anyone, wanted anybody hurt. I don't believe you're going to believe that. I think you're going to find her not guilty. Thank you. All right, Ms. Moore, you may call your next witness. Prosecutor Moore, meanwhile, paints a picture of Karen as someone who liked to party a lot, including the night of the fatal shooting. fatal shooting. Two people is what I heard sounded like either an argument or a party or it was just loud, loud conversation. And what do you hear her saying? Go, just go. Neighbor Alan Oppel lives two houses away from Karen. And what did you do about the noise? Were you able to go to sleep? Was your wife able to go to sleep? My wife said, here we go again. She grabbed her earplugs off the nightstand, put her earplugs in, and I rolled over and pulled the pillow over my head, and I went to sleep shortly thereafter.

Another state witness is Randy Mixon, a friend and co-worker of Phillip's. He says Phillip agonized about telling Karen he was still married. Yes, ma'am. You know, every other day I go, you know, you're going to tell her today? You're going to tell her today? It was like a joke, ongoing joke, you know what I mean? A more serious concern for Phillip was the way Karen behaved around his children. Philip had told Randy that Karen drank to excess and didn't connect to his four daughters. He wanted somebody that, you know, that cared about his kids and, you know, we're going to be able to interact with them right, you know what I mean? When he was with Tamara, the kids got along with her great. Everything was great there.

Philip's wife and ex-girlfriend listen intently as Randy sheds light on why Philip never got a divorce. He wouldn't divorce his wife because he still loves Sandy. He told me that over and over, over and over. Sandy, Philip's wife, had warned Philip to keep Karen away from their children. He wasn't allowed to take the kids around her at all anymore. At that point, I don't believe. I could be wrong, but I don't believe the kids were allowed to be around her at that point at all. anymore at that point, I don't believe. I could be wrong, but I don't believe the kids were allowed to be around her at that point at all. The situation was further complicated because one of Phillip's daughters had an upcoming wedding. Did he also indicate to you whether Miss Kelly was invited to the wedding? Yes, ma'am. She was not invited to the wedding. Did he say to you

whether that was going to cause any type of problem or whether he had a plan for that problem. He knew it was going to be a problem, but he didn't say he had a plan. He said he had to do something about it. He had to do something about the problem. The state argues that Philip intended to leave Karen, but Tennis insists there is no evidence to substantiate that. Mr. Petros never said to you, I'm going to break up with Karen, correct? He never come out and said no more to no man. Thank you. You may be seated. The trial moves into the forensics portion of this state's case. My name is Dr. Jan Garavaglia. I'm the chief

medical examiner for Orange and Osceola counties. Karen's gun yielded no fingerprints to prove whose finger was on the trigger, so the jury must rely on expert opinion. I could tell that there is a single gunshot wound to the face. It's somewhere between, in my opinion, three to six inches. It is either consistent with a struggle or consistent with being shot outright. But the defense counters with its own forensic expert, Dr. William Anderson. He says the gun was much closer to Philip's cheek than the medical examiner suggests. The critical thing is the fact that there is a large amount of soot present. That's not going to come from a gun being back any significant distance. Anderson says the gun was between one and three inches from Philip's

cheek, raising the possibility that this was indeed a suicide. It wasn't in contact with the skin, but it was close. That would be consistent with two individuals struggling or one individual attempting to inflict the wound themselves. Following Dr. Anderson's testimony, a surprise. The defense rests. In a stunning decision, the defense rests without calling Karen to the stand. Ms. Kelly, did you have the opportunity to discuss with your attorney whether or not you wanted to testify in this matter? I did. What was your decision?

I've decided not to testify because I'm too emotional about this situation. Everyone was expecting you to testify. Why didn't you? Did you see me, how emotional I was? I wouldn't be able to, I think, be able to sit up there and be able to get two words out. I was just that upset. In her closing statement, Diana Tennis apologizes to the jury for not keeping her promise. I gave you the impression in my opening statements that she would testify

and she did not. If you hold it against her that I told you something would happen that didn't, that would not be justice. If you are unhappy with me in any way, it would also not be justice for you to hold that against her. One of the worst things that a lawyer can do is promising the jury things in opening statement and then not delivering. And so I couldn't believe that I found myself in that same position. It was pretty nerve-wracking. Prosecutor Moore, meanwhile, reminds the jury of Karen's actions that she says led to Philip's death. She's the one who put the gun in the picture. She's the one that was intoxicated and held out the gun. She removed it from the holster. She pointed the gun. She didn't

put the gun away. And she is the one that had either her hands on the trigger or set the ball in motion of all the acts to occur that caused him to be shot and killed. Tennis and Karen had to wait it out knowing that even with the reduced manslaughter charge Karen still faced up to 18 years in prison. Going into deliberations, are you confident? You know, you have to be confident. On the other hand, as confident as I am that we did what we needed to do to show what really happened, I'm scared too. It's scary business, those hours that you wait. Karen says no one should have any doubt about what happened in her bedroom that night.

I just think that any person with common sense would be able to put those facts together and know that I did not shoot my boyfriend. With the jury out, Diana Tennis hopes her arguments were convincing enough to keep Karen out of prison. If you lose, if you didn't do enough, if you weren't good enough, you go back in the courtroom and she gets handcuffed and taken away. For Tamara Lawton, Cameron's mistake was taking out a loaded gun on a night when she admits she had been drinking. If there was some way that people that are drinking or, you know, under any influence could stay away from guns. That would be a good idea. This is still fresh for you? It's just sad. It's just sad. As it would be for anyone who was a truly wonderful person that,

you know, went through something really horrible. person that, you know, went through something really horrible. Less than two hours into deliberations, as all the women in Phillip's life are assembled in the courthouse. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it's my understanding that you have a verdict. Word comes down that the jury has reached a verdict. Madam Clerk, please read the verdict. With the jury, front of defendant, not guilty. Not guilty. Karen holds her emotions in check as the judge has instructed.

Phillip's family reacts stoically to the jury's decision. Tell me about the wave of relief when you're heard not guilty. I was very relieved just to be able to go on to the next phase of my life. Just being acquitted and proven innocent of something you didn't do is huge, but it doesn't bring Philip back. He's still not with me.

So it's very depressing. I'm going to sleep very well tonight. Thank you. Outside the courtroom, Karen catches up with her family. And the reporters catch up with her. What are you going to do next? Go to Dixon. So you're a free woman.

You leave the courthouse, surrounded by a gaggle of reporters. And you made a flip comment when someone asked you what you're going to do next. Yeah. I mean, it's just so ridiculous. I thought a stupid question deserves a stupid answer. And I certainly meant no disrespect to Philip or his family in any way, shape or form. In the end, this juror who asked not to be named says the prosecution's case simply lacked evidence. I think we still had many questions, but we definitely didn't have any proof that, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she committed this crime or that it wasn't anything other than an accident. As Diana Tennis had predicted, that cell phone video worked in Karen's favor.

He's just trying to get answers, and you have someone from law enforcement laughing at her, who she perceives he's laughing at her, but he's actually reading a joke on his telephone. That really stuck with me. Didn't sit well with you. Didn't sit well with me at all. The jury's decision is upsetting to Tamara Lawton. This was a miscarriage of justice in my opinion.

I'm not saying that she had any reason to hurt him. I don't know what happened. My best guess is that it was probably an accident. I think she was temporarily out of her mind. I don't think that anyone that knew Philip would ever intentionally hurt him. What do you miss the most? His hugs. When he would hug you, he would go... He just always loved that contact. He loved it.

His daughter said that at his funeral, and I had forgotten that. He was just a slice of cake, just a sweetheart. This made the difference. With Karen's trial behind her, Diana Tennis focused on the future, running for and winning a judgeship. And Karen, now a free woman, believes it may be time to leave Orlando's small-town atmosphere and move on. Philip has always been a very special part of my life, and every day that goes goes by I think of him and remember all the wonderful times we had together and that will never change. He'll still always be in my memory. Karen Kelly's gun was legal in Florida. The state does not require gun owners to register firearms.