Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Sneaky Wife Sets Up Hubby's Murder With High School Flame, Cries On TV

Episode Date: October 29, 2021

An American Airlines executive was shot to death last year as he walked with his wife and their dog. Jennifer Faith told police that they were just outside their home when a masked man approached from behind, aimed at her husband’s head, and fired several times.Then, she said, he knocked her down and tried to wrap duct tape around her hands and steal her jewelry. Now arrest has been made.Police say 48-year-old Jennifer Faith conspired with her high school boyfriend to kill her husband, Jamie Faith. Darrin Ruben Lopez, 48, is charged with murder. According to affidavits, Jennifer Faith had been in an “emotional affair” with Lopez and used that connection to convince Lopez that she was an abused wife.Joining Nancy Grace Today: James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective, Swat officer, Lawyer, www.ShelnuttLawFirm.com Dr. Jorey Krawczyn - Police Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: Operation S.O.S. - Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide”, bw-institute.com Karen L. Smith - Forensic Expert, Lecturer at the University of Florida, Host of Shattered Souls Podcast, @KarensForensic, barebonesforensic.com Dr. Kendall Crowns – Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Travis County, Texas (Austin), Lecturer: The University of Texas and Texas A&M, Affiliated Faculty: University of Texas Medical Branch  Nicole Partin - CrimeOnline.com Investigative Reporter, Twitter: @nicolepartin (Naples, FL) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A loving husband and father gunned down out of the blue. What happened to Jamie Faith? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. First of all, take a listen to this. These are our friends at WFAA. Everything.

Everything. My partner. my best friend. I just, I'm not supposed to be widowed at 48. You know, my daughter's father, the only father she's ever known, they were two peas in a pod. he used to call her his partner in crime I just hope that at some point maybe this person can recognize the gravity of what they've done and feel some sort of guilt enough to come forward because this like I said I feel like I'm going through the motions every day. I just don't. It's just hard. Our life together was every day together, and we loved it that way.

You are hearing Jamie Faith's wife, Jennifer, speaking after a senseless and brutal murder of her husband right in front of her eyes. Take a listen to more of Jennifer. Just walked out the door like normal, right out our front door. I got about as far as those hedges behind you. And Jamie always walked behind me because I had the dog. The dog usually would go faster. And so he'd stay behind and close the door. And we walked out the door and we made it right to the house right behind you.

And I heard running behind me and I turned around. And then just shooting just started. Jamie wasn't doing anything. He actually saw the guy and started walking backwards like this with his hands out to his side. And the guy just kept shooting and shooting. And then he turned around and I yelled no because I knew he was coming after me and a neighbor said that they saw him attempt to shoot me but the gun was empty. I was running up this driveway and he tackled me and started beating on

me and taped my hands together and then I think he got spooked by neighbors and got in his truck and left. So it seems to me that the motive was trying to get Jennifer Faith and murdering the husband, Jamie Faith, to do it. We're getting a very detailed analysis of what happened at description. And that doesn't always happen in a court of law where you have an eyewitness that sees everything. Before we go to our all-star panel to make sense of it all,

take another listen to the widow speaking with WFAA about the man that murders her husband. It was a normal day. We walked the dog every day at the same morning. We got up, we did our normal good morning thing. And, you know, we, we, we like that time together because our daughter's been staying with us since COVID hit. And so it was, that's our quiet time before she gets up and we just talk in the mornings. And so, and then we got the dog ready and walked out the door. Like

we always do. We're actually standing where everything took place. I heard running behind me, and I turned around to see what was going on. And the next thing, I don't want to give away too many details to jeopardize the case, but next thing I knew, he was shooting at Jamie. And then turned around and came after me and tackled me. And we know that property was taken from Jamie, and he tried to take property from me as well. I think the neighbors, all of the neighbors at that point heard all of the gunshots and came out. And one neighbor had even witnessed part of what had happened and came out.

And I think it spooked him, And that's what made him leave. Again, you're hearing the widow who was there when her husband is mowed down in their suburban neighborhood. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. First of all, James Shelnut, former cop, 27 years Metro Major case and SWAT. Now lawyer at ShelnutLawFirm.com. Dr. Jory Cusen, police psychologist, faculty, St. Leo University. Joining us, Karen L. Smith, forensic expert, host of a hit series, Shattered Souls podcast, Dr. Kendall Crowns, deputy chief medical examiner, Travis County, that's Austin, lecturer, University of Texas and Texas A&M.

Nicole Parton joining us right now. First to you, Nicole, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Tell me about where this happened. Oak Cliff, Texas. What do we know? Sure, Nancy. North Oak Cliff, Texas. That's a little suburb area of Dallas, Texas.

A community known to be safe where the neighbors watch out for everyone. Mid-century, beautiful homes in the area. Things like this don't happen in this community. It's well-loved, like you often see people walking up and down the streets in the mornings, riding their bikes in the afternoons, walking their dogs. These type things don't happen, but it happened to Jennifer and Jamie Fee. You know what's interesting about that? It was very early in the morning, and Karen Smith, let me go to you, forensic expert, and James Shelnut. I'll start with you, James. Early in the morning is not typically, and I'm speaking of statistics, this is not just anecdotal from cases I've prosecuted or covered, but statistically,

crimes of this ilk, of this genre, do not occur at 7.30, 8 o'clock in the morning. I used to tell my investigator we would go out to be delivering subpoenas or taking pictures of a crime scene or whatever we'd be doing, if I was in a high crime area, I'd say there's no, let's go in the morning because all the dopers are going to be asleep. We'll get some great photos. We'll find everybody we're looking for because they're all asleep. The point is hard crime is not typically happening at 730 in the morning. Why is that, Shellnut? No, I mean, you're right. I mean, it sounds kind of funny, but you're right. I mean, they're in bed during those hours.

You know, 730 in the morning, think about it, Nancy. You've got people getting up at that time of the morning. They're going to stores, going to traffic, you know, taking kids to go do things. It's daylight. Lots of people up at that time of the morning, even people who are not at work drinking cups of coffee. This is the worst possible time to commit a crime in broad daylight on a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood. You're so right. I mean, at that point, people are taking their children to school. They're leaving for work. If you're out on a sidewalk,

people are going to see what's happening. Hey, Nicole Parton, what time of the day did this happen? Ballpark. You called it between 730, roughly between 7 and 8. Morning? So about the 730 mark. Early a.m., early in the morning. Hey, Karen Smith, joining me, forensics expert, host of Shattered Souls. Listen to how Oak Cliff, Texas is described. Leafy Oak Cliff is known for mid-20th century homes, street art, and indie

stores in the charming Bishop Arts District. Next to Five Mile Creek, Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, hiking, and biking. It goes on and on and on listing all the parks, all the beautiful homes, blah, blah, blah. My point is, who's going to drive up in leafy Oak Cliff, Texas, that's known for its arts culture, and start gunning people down on the sidewalk? That's very, very out of the norm. Absolutely. I mean, this sounds like a little slice of Americana, right? I mean, everybody, it sounds like everybody in the world would want to live in a place like this. So to have a crime happen at seven, seven 30 in the morning. Yeah. Very, very forensic person. This is, it makes me wonder, you know, a, what was the motivation?

Was, was, was someone lying in wait? Was it a crazy person? These are the things that I would start to think about as a forensic analyst at a crime scene. Well, you know what? I would go with you on the crazy person idea, except that they're driving a vehicle. Now, in court, an eyewitness identification is going to be shredded. That doesn't mean the eyewitness is wrong. That just means that defense attorneys have found a way to try and discredit eyewitnesses. So if there's anything to bolster your eyewitness, you better find it and you better find it quick. Now, what we have here is not just her eyewitness account of what the perp looked like, but we've got a vehicle, a vehicle. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Take a listen to our cut nine. This is the widow Jennifer Faith again speaking to WFAA Listen. Truck is absolutely critical. Somebody has got to know whose truck this is because it was a it's a black Nissan Titan extended cab. It had a Texas Ranger sticker in the back window and so it's it was very distinctive from that point. I don't want to give away too many other details, but if somebody knows somebody who has that truck, there's got to be somebody who knows somebody who has that truck. And even if the sticker is not there anymore, somebody who knows someone who used to have a sticker in their back window, I mean, if somebody could just come forward with that information alone, it would be so helpful.

Right there, it's making me think of Jackie. Do you remember the People's Court mom? Yes. A woman, a mother of twins and a third child, was dropping off her children early in the morning again like this. Actually, it may have been right after lunch, Jack. And she had on the back of her Hummer a big ad for her tanning. What did she do? Hair tanning? Michelle Parker. She had this big pink ad to cow and they were all over her Hummer. Very distinctive. And when they found her Hummer, all the decals had been taken off by someone who must have known her or must have known that would be a dead giveaway to finding her vehicle. It ended up being parked out in a sea

of cars in an apartment complex across the street from a huge mall. And it sat there for days unnoticed. Then we've got, let's see, the Molly Tibbetts case. Everybody remember that one? We talked about that a lot. Dr. Jory Crawson, police psychologist and faculty, St. Leo University. In that case, Molly Tibbetts, you remember the young college student that went jogging and just disappeared? Well, when neighbors and businesses took out their surveillance video, their ring cameras, you could see Molly jogging by.

And then you see a vehicle go back, reverse, go forward, reverse, and go back toward where she had been running. The vehicle itself didn't really stand out, couldn't really get a nameplate from a side view, but there were distinctive markings on the side of the vehicle. Maybe where the paint was scratched, maybe it was a fender bender, but something distinctive about the vehicle. And that is how they found her killer, Dr. Jory Crawson. So your car, people think that it's your identity that people go buy in Lamborghinis and BMWs and Mercedes. It tells a lot more than just who your identity is. Vehicles seem to be an extension of the personality of the individuals in a lot of cases where, you know, they dress them up, they pick either a sport style or a pickup, they mark it, they

dress it with wheels. So, you know, that's very solid evidence that they need to really follow up on. Yeah, people's whole identity can be, you know, wrapped up in their vehicle. Another issue out to you, James Shelnut, 27 years Metro major case, now lawyer. In this particular case, we've got a black Nissan Titan extended cab with a Texas Ranger sticker in the back window. Very, very distinctive. James Shelnut, isn't it true that there are entire groups and entire squads of car theft, car burglary, car experts within Metro Major Case Division? These guys know, they have volumes and volumes. I had to go in and wade through them before, like photo albums, like family albums of cars. And every other year or so, let's just pretend Nissan Titan will change some little aspect

of let's just say the taillight. They may make it four little lights instead of three little lights, or they may angle it or something different to the design. And these guys in cars and theft, they know all about that. And that's how they can narrow down the make, the model, and the year, right, by the details they see on the vehicle. Oh, absolutely. It's amazing. You're right.

Just the smallest of details can tell you one year to another. No two vehicles produced in consecutive years are completely identical. There's always some way to tell the difference between these vehicles, Nancy. Yeah, because, I mean, what are they going to sell us? Hey, buy this. It's just exactly the same as last year's. I mean, they've got to say something so i mean what are some of the differences shell nut make it real bring it home man all right well look so sometimes you have you know the the most common or tail light differences i already said that you can't copy me more back reels the grill can change um you know the uh the shape of the nose can slightly modify more or less curved um you know the wheels can change modify, more or less curved.

The wheels can change. A lot of people don't know this, but when you buy a new vehicle year to year, they add additional types of aftermarket wheels that you can purchase from the dealership on these vehicles. There are tons and tons of options that change from year to year. And you know what's interesting? Back to you, Jory Crawson. For instance, I like to talk about murder or my twins. And I like every facet of every story, every detail. Do you know, isn't this true, Dr. Jory, that just like every other way of making a living,

details of what you do are interesting to you. Nobody else cares. Like, you've got a whole squad of men and women memorizing how one make and model changes each year. They're the cops for a reason. But these are details most of us would never notice. Yeah, I see, again, the vehicles are such an extension of the personality and it's reflected in the behavior of what they do to the vehicle, like the markings, the aftermarket wheels, even the color and the tinting of the windows and stuff, all reflective of that personality. When you think of a vehicle, it's like in the road racing, it's like an extension of your personal bubble. That's the way we describe it in psychology.

You know, I never thought about that as it relates to road rage. That's a really good thought. Guys, we're talking about the brutal and senseless murder of a loving husband, a father who is gunned down right in front of his wife as they're walking the dog. How many of you guys do that? I do. And I love every second. Yeah, we all do. And it's early in the morning when you least expect it. I wouldn't be surprised if they had their coffee with them. Okay. So what kind of ID can she give us of the perp? Take a listen to our cut 11. This is the widow WFAA. We just really need some answers. Um, just there, there just isn't, there, there isn't a whole lot of information that we're getting. And, um, just for closure, just if somebody knows anybody who, you know, either matches the description, it was either a dark Hispanic or a light-skinned black male, short stature, about 5'8", heavy set, very dark eyes, you know, and then the truck, the Nissan Titan with the Texas Ranger sticker in the back.

If anybody knows anything, please contact the detective. And that's Detective Walton. Okay, let's talk about what we were just hearing. Nicole Parton joining me, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Give me a synopsis of the composite or the identification of the killer. So she describes him as a short, heavy-set, dark-skinned man wearing a dark ski mask, dark clothes. In one description, she says that she sees really dark, piercing eyes, and she continues to reiterate that he was of shorter stature, kind of heavy-set, all dressed in very dark clothing. And we also have

the neighbor's description, and the neighbor says the same thing. She sees this man fleeing in very dark clothing. And we also have the neighbor's description. And the neighbor says the same thing. She sees this man fleeing in very dark clothes, dark ski mask, short, heavy set gentleman. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. To Dr. Kendall Crowns joining me, the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Travis County, Texas. Dr. Crowns, you now know of the injury sustained by the husband, Jamie Faith. Husband and father, I might add. Would he have suffered?

Would he have known what was happening to him? Or was he killed immediately? So from reports, he was shot six times, twice in the head, twice in the chest, and once in the groin. So the gunshot wound to the head would more than likely end his life fairly immediately, depending on what they exactly hit. But usually gunshot wounds to the head take the person out quite quickly or at least render them unconscious until they bleed out. Dr. Kendall-Crowns, is there anything that makes us know that he was shot in the head first?

No, there is no way you can know which injury came first. It's just there's no test you can do or no evidence on the body that says, oh, this one definitively came first. So he could have been shot in the groin, but the chest and the head, you just wouldn't know. Guys, take a listen to Hour Cut 1. This is our friend Maria Guerrero, KXAS. This Oak Cliff neighborhood was startled awake by an all-too-familiar sound. I heard gunshots. Captured on home surveillance systems and heard by many.

Yeah, boom, boom, shot multiple times, was gunned down near his home along South Waverly Drive. I hear the woman screaming for her life. Hysterical. It's not like a movie. I see their dog running, big old pretty dog. So I got running, so I knew it was my neighbor. 49-year-old Faith and his wife, friendly neighbors by all accounts, walking their dog every morning, greeting others along the way. A motive is not known, but Dallas police aren't ruling out a possible robbery attempt. This is just a horrific crime that someone would come out here and just execute, you know, this victim here. For this to happen to them, it can't be because they were doing something wrong,

because they do no wrong. You're hearing the neighbors weigh in. Out to Karen Smith, forensic expert. You can find her at barebonesforensics.com. Karen, nine gunshots. What does that tell you? Going back to my forensic analysis, Nancy, this tells me it sounds like a hit. I mean, it literally sounds like somebody was lying in wait for them. Why, James Faith, why? You have to go back to the victims. What's their story? Do a little victimology.

Is there something going on that nobody knows about? Or why would somebody target these people? They're walking a dog. Like a double life. But could nine gunshots come from one weapon? That's a good question. It's a really good question. You know, are they the same casing?

If their casing's ejected, that means it's a semi-automatic. Nine rounds tells me it probably was because revolvers only hold a max of six or maybe seven if it's a 22. But you're dealing with a lot of forensic evidence left at the scene. And that is a whole lot of gunshots for one victim, Nancy. It doesn't make sense. So if there were nine gunshots fired from one gun, what kind of gun are we talking about? Or do you believe the perp had two guns double fisted like in the Alex Murnaug shooting of his wife and son? Right, right.

Two weapons used. So what kind of gun would use, would have nine bullets in one gun? That's my question. A semi-automatic. So we got a guy trolling a neighborhood with a semi. Take a listen to cut to this reporter Tiffany Liu at WFAA. On Friday morning in Oak Cliff, a husband and wife took their dog on a walk like they always do. That would be their last walk together.

Dallas police say the couple was approached by a man in a mask on Waverly. He shot and killed 49-year-old James Faith. His wife tells me he went by the nickname Jamie. Typically, that's not how robberies occur. Typically, they just want your property. No one goes to that extreme. Police say the suspect tried duct taping the woman's hands together to steal the jewelry off her fingers. And they say he may have been trying to abduct her. They believe he left in a black Nissan Titan with a Texas Ranger sticker on the back window. So I'm asking the public to help us out. So as you were Karen Smith, why him? Why her? Was the husband

leading some type of double life? What do we know about him? Take a listen to our cut three. This is Tiffany Liu again, WFAA. Police are desperate to find the killer who took the life of Jamie Faith. Homicides are horrible. It's one of the worst crimes that you can commit. And what it does to the family, you really just have no idea how it just tears a family up. Through GoFundMe, neighbors are raising money to support his family. He was a technology director at American Airlines. His wife is devastated. She tells me he was her best friend. He was the best husband and best father anyone could ask for. Man with an awesome job, technology director at American Airlines. He was pulling down some money.

She says amazing husband, amazing father, best friend. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth. Take a listen to her speaking to Alec Rozier, WFAA. Amazingly caring, very kind. 15 years together. He would give you the shirt off his back. Now nearly two months apart. He worked for American Airlines. He was an IT director.

Jennifer Faith told me about her husband, Jamie. It was a normal day. In the morning, he died October 9th. We got up. We did our normal good morning thing. At 7 30, they walked their dog outside their Oak Cliff home when they were ambushed 15 feet from their front door. And I heard running behind me and I turned around and then just shooting just started. I was running up this driveway and he tackled me and started beating on me and taped my hands together. Jamie died at the scene. Police have not made any arrests, but they released this

picture of the suspect's truck. It's a black Nissan Titan extended cab. It had a Texas Ranger sticker in the back window. As the weeks pass, the widow, Jennifer Faith, slowly becomes frustrated with lack of an arrest. Take a listen to Hour Cut 5. This is Alec Rozier, WFAA. Sadly, this is just one of many high-profile violent crimes in Dallas, a city with more than 200 homicides this year alone. I'm sure they're overextended and spread very thin, but it doesn't help me in terms of finding the answers that I really need. In an instant, Jennifer lost so much. My partner, my best friend. And now, she waits for closure. I just, I'm not supposed to be widowed at 48, you know. She hopes the suspect does the right thing. I just hope that at some point,

maybe this person can recognize the gravity of what they've done and feel some sort of guilt enough to come forward. Well, maybe they will. Speaking of a double life, take a listen to our cut 14 WFAA. Wait for it. Listen. After the murder, police shared an image of the suspect's truck with a distinct T in the back window. Somebody has got to know whose truck this is. But just one day after our interview, court documents show Jennifer texted her ex saying, I woke up in a little bit of a panic. Something is eating away at me, telling me you need to take this sticker out of the back window of the truck.

She texted him again the next day, writing, I really think you need to get that sticker off ASAP. At the time, detectives had already flown over Lopez's property in Tennessee and found a truck they were looking for with a distinct T in the back. Now Lopez is in jail on a murder charge and Jennifer Faith is charged with obstruction of justice. Ruh-roh. Okay. Wow. Nicole Parton, I want you to hear one more thing. In case you didn't get that. As the widow

crying and snotting on TV about I hope the killer realizes the gravity of what they've done, she's texting her sex partner, her lover. Hey, you better take that sticker off the back of the car.

It's just driving me crazy. And then writes back again. crime stories with nancy grace take a listen to our cut 15 wfaa jennifer faith stood right here and she cried to me she told me she had no idea who killed her husband now police say that she orchestrated the whole thing, and that's why she's charged with murder for hire. The guy just kept shooting and shooting. Two months after her husband's death, Jennifer Faith begged the killer to come forward. We just really need some answers.

If anybody knows anything, please contact the detective. But now she's facing a murder for hire charge. Police say she was having an affair with her ex-boyfriend Darren Lopez and she encouraged him to kill her husband Jamie Faye. Court documents say Jennifer created Gmail accounts under her husband and friend's names then sent emails to her ex posing as her husband and friend alleging Jamie was physically and sexually abusing her. Police say he was not. According to the documents,

Jennifer wrote an email to her ex posing as her friend saying, quote, I know I won't feel better about her situation until she is out of the house away from him or she lets me put a bullet in Jamie's head. Okay, let me understand because this is getting more and more complex. Okay, don't get mad,

but I've got to quote Shakespeare again. I can't hold it back. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. So is it not enough to murder your husband? Is it not enough to drag in your ex-boyfriend from wherever, high school or college. Start having sex with him again, then convince him to murder your husband for you. Set it up to make it look like you, of course, are the one with your hands being taped and you're being assaulted and robbed. Then let's just top it off with going on TV and crying and snotting and begging, actually getting angry at police because they haven't solved the case yet, trashing the cops. But then to pile on fake email accounts, do people still do that? They don't get that you can be caught. It's all coming from the same IP address. Okay. Every laptop, every iPad, every device,

let me call them, has an IP, internet provider address. And you can make as many fake names as you want to, as many secret accounts as you, they're not secret. Anybody can find them. Cops can find them with one simple subpoena ducus tecum, a subpoena for documents or items. A subpoena is for you to come testify. A subpoena ducus tecum is a Latin phrase for you bring this item in, whatever. It may be a journal, a laptop, a checkbook. So to top it all off, let me just understand this. Nicole Parton, she's making fake email accounts talking about how she is being sex abused and physically abused by her husband that she has killed. That's it, Nancy. Well, she's going to rot in hell.

Hell burning. The devil is laughing right now. He can't wait for her to come to dinner. Go ahead. Right. You always say it goes back to the phone, the electronics, the computer. So Faith had created and used two fake email accounts, writing her boyfriend, Darren Lopez, 48 years old, back in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. She's writing him posing as her husband as well as one of her best friends. She's trying to convince him that the husband is physically and sexually abusing her. She's sending him fake photos of fake injuries. Pretending to be the husband, taunting him, saying things like,

leave my family alone. Enjoy knowing that you can't do a blank, blank thing about this. Sending photos of abuse that is not happening. So she makes up fake emails, pretends she's a friend, and she dupes her lover, her boyfriend, Darren Lopez, into believing her husband is sex abusing her and physically abusing her. Do I understand that correctly? That's right. She pretends to be a best friend, and she pretends to be her very own husband, writing to the boyfriend.

So what do we know about how these two met to start with? Where was the boyfriend from? Where did they know each other before the murder? They met back in high school. They were high school sweethearts, college sweethearts. He's in Cumberland, Tennessee now, Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee. Apparently they were engaged at one point, but he decided to join the military. He went off to pursue his military career. Now, some 20 years later, he looks her up and finds her, and they begin a relationship once again. A relationship.

Were they having sex? That's unknown. We do know that they were corresponding daily, some 20,000 text messages. Nicole, Nicole, Nicole, my sweet Nicole Parton. You think she could string a guy along without having some kind of sex, even if it's phone sex? You know, go back to your sweet little world and you'll live there because I don't want you to know the true nature of people.

Of course they were doing something naughty. Why is this guy going to commit a murder where they got a woman he hasn't even kissed? No. And, you know, that's what I always say. What is it, Dr. Joy Cross? And when women say to me, should I get back with him? I'm like, you broke up for a reason. Remember, go back in time.

Remember why you broke up. Think about it. Why do people always go back to the high school sweetheart? You know, 20 years could pass and you go hit back on the high school sweetheart. What is that? There's just something about that history that's there and with the passage of time you kind of forget all the bad times and look at the Dr. Joy, I've got three women in here and one guy and they're all going.

You know, I'm not going to ask about you guys going back to your high schools. I don't even want to know because I think so much more of you than that. Yeah. So what is something familiar that you think you can trust? Is that it, Dr. Jory? That's kind of it. But, you know, sex is a great motivation. And I agree with you. There had to be some kind of sexual activity going on here. I mean something, even if it's just by phone. And James Shelnut is so, could you just surprise me one time?

It's just like our dog and every other dog on earth. It wants to lay down. What does it do? It walks around three times and then lays down. Do something different for Pete's sake. Come on. At 730 in the morning, you're walking your dog with your latte and some perv shows up in an all black car obscuring his face, we think. But somehow she managed to get a look at him and duct tapes the wife and

throws her down, but doesn't take anything, doesn't take her, doesn't rape her, just unloads nine bullets. Really? Yeah, it's very cliche. I mean, I hate to simplify it in those terms, but it really is. And when you look at this, you know, when I first looked at this case and looked at it, you know, step by step, you know, the initial transaction where this guy runs up behind this couple, and I looked at the whole situation, it just looks odd. You can tell right away something's just simply out of place. And, you know, you start connecting those dots. And as an investigator, you have to think, well, wait a minute, this doesn't fit the mold. This is odd. There has to be something more.

I need to dig a little deeper, and that's what they did. Well, hey, guess what, Shalnot? You're not going to have to dig too deeply. Let's hear cut 12. This is reporter Matt Howard, WFAA. Listen to this. You probably need to sit down for this one. Listen.

Police say a masked man shot Janie, tied up Faith, and then assaulted her before driving away in this truck, which was captured by a witness. Investigators now say that masked man was Darren Lopez from Tennessee. Who is he? According to this murder warrant, Lopez is Faith's ex-boyfriend from high school and college. Detectives were given permission to search Faith's phone and found she and her husband were having marital problems, the warrant reads. Text messages were also found where Faith described her relationship with Lopez as a full-blown emotional affair and that Lopez had a five-year plan of how they would be together. The warrant also says that Faith and Lopez texted or called each other 14,363 times between September 30th and October 30th.

That time frame is nine days before and 21 days after the murder. That truck also found on Lopez's property, police say. The warrant describes Faith only as a witness and isn't facing charges. Everybody keeps saying an emotional affair. So, okay, if they want to believe that, that's fine with me. Can we just talk about the 14,363 texts? 14,000 plus texts. Please let me try this case. Please, because I would take everyone the juiciest,

the top 1,000, and put them on a poster board and read them over and over and over. Nicole Parton, please tell me she's no longer just charged with obstruction. She has this whole plan. Absolutely. No longer just obstruction of justice. Now she is being charged with plotting to kill her husband. As those phone records and computer records begin to unfold, we can see that this entire plan was masterminded by her. And now she's facing a possible life in prison. Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait. This happened in Texas. Why are you saying life in prison? What happened to the DP? I suppose that's a possibility for her because that is on the table in Texas. Man, you're not kidding. Think about that before you send 14,000 texts

and have your husband capped. Let me ask you one last question, Nicole Parton. He is billed as a loving husband and father. What can you tell me about Jamie Faith's children? They had an adult daughter, a college-age daughter who was actually staying with them for the time being. And she was inside the home as her father was gunned down outside. they had a very close relationship. The daughter calling him her very best friend. He was loved by his co-workers, by his family, and especially by the daughter. Okay, you're telling me she was in college, but I know losing your dad at any time in your life is a blow you never get over. And like this, we wait as justice unfolds.

Nancy Grace Crime Story signing off. Goodbye, friend.