Dateline NBC - Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

In Utah, the murder trial of mom of three Kouri Richins enters its second week. Richins' former housekeeper testifies about buying drugs for Kouri before Eric Richins' death. She says Kouri asked for ...something "stronger". In South Carolina, Scott Spivey's shooting death comes under review by a judge. One of the men who shot Spivey testifies. In Dateline Round Up, the latest on the murder trials of Michigan farmer Dale Warner, and former Miami Hurricanes player, Rashaun Jones. Plus, a veteran police chief gives his tips on photo lineups.   Find out more about the cases covered each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:01 Let's go ahead and jump in. You're listening to the Dateline story meeting. What was she charged with? Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. She was like filing reports and reports and reports. The whole backdrop for the fire department is kind of interesting. She's starting to believe in her father's guilt. Welcome to Dateline, True Crime Weekly.
Starting point is 00:00:23 I'm Lester Holt. It's March 5th, and here's what's on our docket. In South Carolina, two and a half years after a man was shot dead, on a country road, a judge listens to witness testimony, body cam video, and 911 calls to figure out what happened. Hey, I've got a guy point of gun at me driving. In Dateline Roundup, closing arguments are set to begin at the murder trial of Michigan farmer Dale Warner.
Starting point is 00:00:49 And in Miami, the trial of the former college football player accused of gunning down his teammate 20 years ago comes to a surprising end. The Patta family, they've been very emotional throughout the person. They seemed like they were in disbelief. Plus, it's a tool we see investigators use a lot to zero in on a suspect, photo lineups. A retired police chief tells us how it's done. Even subtle cues, you're in breathing, posture, tone of voice can influence the witness's choice. Before all that, we're heading back to Utah, where Corey Richens, the mom of three accused of fatally poisoning her husband,
Starting point is 00:01:27 came face to face with the prosecution's star witness. Star Witness, her former housekeeper. It's week two at the murder trial of Corey Richens, the woman who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband Eric's mysterious death, only to be charged with his murder. Prosecutors say Corey poisoned Eric in March 22 so that she could cash in on his life insurance
Starting point is 00:01:52 and start life over with her lover. She says, that's not true and has pleaded not guilty. So far in the trial, heard from Eric's family members about the couple's relationship and the devastating impact of his death. Eric was one of the most likable people. I'm sorry, guys. This is the worst in my life.
Starting point is 00:02:13 I'm sorry. Now prosecutors are telling the jury how they think Corey went about poisoning him, calling to the stand Corey's 54-year-old former housekeeper, Carmen Lobber, the person they say purchased the fentanyl that killed Eric. Here to bring us the latest is Dateline producer Karen Israel. Thanks for coming back on the podcast, Karen. Thanks for having me. So let's get straight to this important testimony.
Starting point is 00:02:39 Remind us why Carmen Lobber is such a key prosecution witness. Sure. So Eric's cause of death, according to the medical examiner, was a fentanyl overdose. The defense doesn't dispute that Eric died from a fentanyl overdose. They argue that Eric could have gotten it himself or, accidentally ingested it. So the prosecutors need to be able to make the connection between Corey and the fentanyl. Carmen does that for them.
Starting point is 00:03:07 And it was a big moment when Carmen took the stand. What was your impression of her? Did she seem nervous? Did she look at Eric's family? Because she's basically testifying about procuring an illegal drug that may have resulted in his death. She stayed pretty calm and seemed confident. But she was also emotional at several points and clearly seemed to be. disturbed by the possibility that she may have played a role in Eric's death by purchasing the fentanyl.
Starting point is 00:03:35 The investigators told you that Eric had died. I already knew Eric had passed away. But when they had mentioned that it was from an overdose, that hit hard. Only for the fact that if that's what happened, I needed to step up and take accountability, of my part in this that happened. The prosecutor revealed right out of the gate that Carmen was testifying subject to an immunity agreement.
Starting point is 00:04:09 Why do you think he did that? This was a way to deal head on with the defense saying that Carmen's testimony might be less credible because she was working with prosecutors. The prosecutor made it clear Carmen had to testify truthfully to meet the terms of that agreement.
Starting point is 00:04:24 So what did you learn about who Carmen was when this all happened? So Carmen, told the jury about her long history of substance abuse on top of a criminal drug history. She testified that she's sober now and has been for some time. Corey Richon's aunt runs a housekeeping business, and Carmen used to work for her. She cleaned Corey's house about every other week for years, and she said she'd discussed her drug use with Corey. Then she said in early 2022, the nature of their conversations changed.
Starting point is 00:04:57 She had reached out and asked if I could do her favor and I said, yeah, probably what is it? And then she had called me and asked me if I could reach out to somebody for some pay meds for an investor that she knew. And I told her I could see what I could do. Carmen said she bought some opiates from a friend, but then Corey asked her for something stronger. What time did you do? I had texted Corey back and told her that I had a friend that could get them, but they were fed not pills. How did Corey Richens her spot? She said, okay, go ahead and get it.
Starting point is 00:05:39 She said she bought pills from a friend of a friend named Robert Crozier, who was a drug dealer. And Carmen testified that she got those pills to Corey a number of different ways. One time she handed her a bag of pills in person. Another time she hid them at a property. Corey was flipping. Did she tell you what she wanted to do with those? She responded back with, take him over to the Midway House, put him in a shed. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the shed out in the open. So I went to the fire pit and kind of dug a little hole and put the gravel back on top of it and then kind of turned a brick to the side to kind of
Starting point is 00:06:16 cover it up. And what do we know about the dates of these drug purchases? For context, Eric Richens was found dead almost four years ago, exactly. on March 4th, 2022. Carmen couldn't give exact dates for any of the purchases, but the prosecutor showed the jury a Facebook message Carmen sent to the person, she said, connected her to Robert Crozier, the drug dealer. That was in February of 2022.
Starting point is 00:06:43 And she testified about buying drugs for Corey a few days after Eric's death. So the drug buys are roughly the month around his death. All right, then it was time for the defense. How did they attack Carmen? credibility as a witness. They kind of had a two-pronged approach. They went after her memory
Starting point is 00:07:02 and her relationship with prosecutors. They said she'd regularly been using drugs at that time when she made these alleged purchases, so her memory couldn't be trusted. In fact, they pointed out that she told investigators herself when she was first talking to them that she couldn't remember stuff. They're trying to help you pin down a date,
Starting point is 00:07:21 but you just, you said, I really, you told them multiple times, I really don't know. There was snow on the ground. It really wasn't absolutely correct on the dates now. The defense read snippets of Carmen's various interview transcripts to the jury and pointed out that there were some inconsistencies between her testimony and what she initially told investigators. That's right.
Starting point is 00:07:41 Perhaps the biggest difference being that Carmen initially denied buying fentanyl for Corey, the defense suggested that the detectives were the ones to plant this idea that Carmen had bought fentanyl for Corey. The only person up to this point was put the word fentanyl in your head are these detectives, correct? Ms. Lover, you're on the stand. At that point, they are the ones that told you it was fentanyl. They're the ones that told me that Eric passed away from fentanyl. They're the ones that put the word fentanyl in your head. They're the ones that told me that that's why Eric passed away from.
Starting point is 00:08:19 Okay. The defense also challenged Carmen on her immunity agreement. And you are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself from getting kicked out of drug court and going to prison, correct? I'm going to go forward with the truth, yes. One of the next witnesses the prosecution called was Robert Crozier, the man she says she purchased the fentanyl from for Corey. Give us the rundown of his testimony. Something important to know about Crozier is that when he first spoke to investigators years ago, he corroborated Carmen's story that he sold her fentanyl and signed an affidavit.
Starting point is 00:08:55 But he has since recanted and said he didn't start selling fentanyl until late 2022, months after the alleged drug purchases. I'm curious how the prosecution handled that. They told the jury about his signed affidavit, and they said even if he didn't know he was selling fentanyl, other drugs can be laced with fentanyl without the user or dealer's knowledge. How were the pills that you sold the common law for package? You ever seen a bag?
Starting point is 00:09:28 And you got that bag from your plug, right? Correct. You did not get that bag from a pharmacy, correct? No. Thank you. Did any other witnesses get your attention this week? We heard more about the state of Eric and Corey's marriage from the wife of Eric's former business partner, Alison Wright.
Starting point is 00:09:47 She said that years before Eric's death, in 20, 2019, Corey told her they were having trouble, and she felt trapped because of their prenuptial agreement. We've also heard from a forensic accountant who was describing how deeply in debt Corey was in the months leading up to Eric's death. All right. Well, Karen, thanks for bringing us to these updates. It's great. Thanks, Lester. We have our own quick update for you about this trial on Wednesday afternoon after I tape my conversation with Karen. the prosecution called Robert Josh Grossman to the stand. The man prosecutors say was Corey Richon's lover at the time of Eric's murder.
Starting point is 00:10:27 And the man, they say, fueled her murder plot. We'll tell you all about his testimony next week. Coming up, after a man was shot dead on a country road, no criminal charges were filed. Now, the man's sister is fighting to change that. For our next story, we're headed to a stretch of country road, in South Carolina, two and a half years ago, a 33-year-old man by the name of Scott Spivey was shot dead there. Oh, my God, anything.
Starting point is 00:11:06 Then, ma'am, what happened? The men who shot him, Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Bradley Williams told police they were acting in self-defense, and the state's top prosecutor believe them. They have never faced criminal charges. But Spivey's sister, Jennifer Foley, refused to let it go. All my family has ever asked for was a fair and honest investigation. And after filing a wrongful death stute, she uncovered phone calls, 911 calls, and other material. She says prove spivey was killed in cold blood.
Starting point is 00:11:38 And local police officers may have helped cover it up. At a recent four-day hearing, a civil court judge got to take a look at all that material. Dateline producer Carol Gable was there. Carol, good to have you. Thanks for being with us. Thanks, Lester. It's good to be here. So first off, tell us a little bit about the man, Scott.
Starting point is 00:11:57 Spivey who was killed in all this? Well, he was 33 years old, an insurance adjuster, and apparently on September 9th, he was at a local bar watching football and drinking for several hours before getting behind the wheel of his Chevy Silverado. And witnesses saw him drive very erratically down U.S. Highway 9. Sometimes he would wave his gun out the window. sometimes, according to some witnesses, at them, but most times just waving it in the air.
Starting point is 00:12:33 I am on highway number nine. There is a god that is waving a gun in front of me. He's all over the road, and I have his license plate number. That's when he crossed paths with Weldon Boyd and his passenger, Bradley Williams. And where were they coming from? Well, they had been running errands all day. They were going up Highway 9 as well. Okay, so walk us through how this escalates.
Starting point is 00:13:02 The clearest sort of window into Weldon's thinking is the 911 call, because he calls 911 and it leaves them on speakerphone the whole time this is happening. Hey, I've got a guy point of gun at me driving. And he's describing how Scott Spivey continues to weave in and out. And, in fact, at one point, Scott Spivey drives Weldon Boyd off the road into the grass median. And he basically said several times on this 911 tape that if this guy does not slow down and stop, that he would put him down. Listen, this dude shoots at me, we're going to put him down. Sort of like you talk about putting a rabid dog down.
Starting point is 00:13:47 According to some witnesses, Weldon Boyd was behind Scott Spivey. And both of them were driving at rates of speed more than 100 miles an hour at times. Finally, they come to an intersection of Camp Swamp Road. So instead of moving forward to his destination, Weldon Boyd is still going after Scott Spivey. People were still calling 911, which is why we know what was happening. So Scott Spivey eventually comes to a stop at Camp Swamp Road in his black. truck. Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams are on a white truck behind him. Take us through what happens next. So by now, Scott's Bobby has jumped out of his truck, and he has a gun by several reports,
Starting point is 00:14:38 is down by his side, and he's yelling, stop following me. He told the guy, do not follow me anymore. The guy in the white truck had his gun drawn, pointed at him. And the guy in the black truck kind of like moved And as he turns to go back to his truck, he shot in the back. The guy in the white truck was unloaded a complete magazine at the guy. I shot to his back window, and I think he might have hit him. Now, there is also testimony that Scott Spivey fired a round that went into the dirt. But he climbs back into the cab of his car, and he's mortally wounded. So let me ask you about the attorney general who declined to prosecute
Starting point is 00:15:23 the men saying it was a clear-cut example of self-defense under the stand-your-ground law. Explain exactly what it allows you to do. What stand-your-ground in South Carolina is supposed to do is protect you and give you civil and criminal immunity if someone is attacking you or threatening you with deadly force in a place you have a right to be. Scott's family didn't accept the stand-your-ground explanation. They did not. and chief among those would be Scott's sister, Jennifer, very, very close siblings, you know, peas in a pod.
Starting point is 00:16:00 So she decides to file a wrongful death suit against these two guys. She finds, buried within the discovery, more than 90 phone calls that Weldon Boyd had made. How is it that all these recordings exist? Well, Weldon Boyd had a girlfriend, and she got pregnant, and they broke up. So he started trying to get custody. So he flipped a switch on his phone that meant all of his phone calls were recorded all the time because he thought he might catch her in some incriminating statement or something that would help in his case. What did they reveal those phone calls?
Starting point is 00:16:48 After the shooting that kills Scott Spivey, he says things like to his mother, I had a blast. To someone else. I had a good time. So it didn't necessarily paint the picture of someone who was fearing for their life at that particular moment. Some of these calls that raised eyebrows were ones that Boyd exchanged with local police officers. Oh, yes, the first one, when he calls his friend on the force, who's. You know, a high-up person and says, I just shot somebody. I had to shoot them and is told.
Starting point is 00:17:30 And then there's another moment in body camera tape when another officer walks up to Weldon with a piece of paper, a pad in his hand that says, act like a victim. After the calls became public, Boyd's friend on the police force resigned, although his attorney told us he denies any wrongdoing and had nothing to do with the investigation into the shooting, and the police officer who wrote the message, Act Like a Victim, was fired.
Starting point is 00:18:02 The way the shooting was investigated is now under review by a grand jury, and Carol, that's not all. This seemed to shake loose how prosecutors were thinking about the criminal side of things. After this happened, the Attorney General appointed a sort of special prosecutor to have another look at this case. So take us to the hearing that concluded just a few days ago. What was it about? It was significant because Jennifer's quest to sue Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams in civil court for wrongful death depended on the two of them being stripped of their stand-your-ground privilege. So this was a four-day hearing geared to a party of one because the judge was the one who had to make that decision.
Starting point is 00:18:53 This was the first time we heard Weldon Boyd tell his story under oath. Let's take a listen to some of it. Did you intend to hurt that man? No. Did you have fired him had he not fired him? No. I gave him every chance I ate. He just got back at the truck.
Starting point is 00:19:17 Wellden started his testimony sobbing and extraordinarily upset, but then he just stuck by his story that he didn't have a choice but to shoot Scott Spivey. So what did the judge decide? He said he was basically stunned and shocked at Weldon Boyd's behavior, that it didn't seem like stand your ground at all. It's not credible. It seems that driving over 100 miles an hour trying to keep up with the guy. of the gun is foolish. I find that Mr. Boyd's request for immunities denied. The net net was Weldon Boyd can be sued civilly,
Starting point is 00:19:59 and there's a possibility the AG's special prosecutor may, in fact, get charges levied against him criminally. So what did the judge decide about the other person who was in that vehicle, Mr. Williams? Well, the judge wanted to take a little more time to make that decision. and he has asked both sides, the defense, and the plaintiffs, to submit briefs for him to look at.
Starting point is 00:20:26 And I believe there's going to be due in the next week or so, and then he will come back and make that decision. After the judge gave his ruling, Jennifer spoke outside court. Let's take a listen. It's been a lot of nose in the last two and a half years, and this is the first yes. This is just a start on the road to trying to get justice for him. Okay, fascinating case, Carol.
Starting point is 00:20:46 it'll be interesting to see what happens. Coming up, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We'll bring you the latest from the murder trial of former college football player Rashan Jones and the one-time MLB pitcher Dan Serafini convicted of shooting his in-laws finally learns his fate. Plus, the do's and don'ts of photo lineups.
Starting point is 00:21:10 A retired police chief shares his tips. Welcome back. Joining us for this week's roundup is Dateline field producer Alex Lohray. Hi, Alex. Hey, Lester. First, we are going to head back to Miami, Florida with the latest in the murder trial of Roshan Jones. The University of Miami football player accused of killing his fellow teammate, Brian Pata. He's pleaded not guilty. And, Alex, you've been in Miami covering this one.
Starting point is 00:21:48 And on Monday, there was huge news from inside the courtroom. Before we get to that, remind us where we left off in this case. Yeah, sure. So we left off right as closing arguments for getting underway. The prosecutors told the jury that Roshan Jones killed Brian Pada out of envy and jealousy. They leaned hard on the videotape testimony of an eyewitness who identified Rishon from a photo lineup as the person that he saw at the scene that night. As for the defense, they said there just wasn't any evidence connecting Rishon to the crime. The eyewitness wasn't even 100% sure of his ID. deliberations began last Thursday. On Monday, the jurors sent a note to the judge. What did they say? Yeah, they said that they were deadlocked. The judge encouraged them to keep trying,
Starting point is 00:22:31 but after another hour of deliberations, the jurors again said that they would not be able to render a verdict, and so the judge declared a mistrial. But this time, I will declare a mistrial and a home jury. You were there in the courtroom for that moment. What was it like? Yeah, so, you know, obviously the Pada family, they've been there every single day.
Starting point is 00:22:50 They seemed like they were in discharging. belief outside of the courthouse after everything was over. Brian's brother Edwin spoke to the media and he said that he's convinced now more than ever that Jones is guilty. Let's listen to Edwin's interview with our affiliate NBC6 South Florida. Like there are some things that I heard throughout this trial that I've never even heard of and that gave us more confident that he's the guy he's actual killer. And we're confident with that and we're going to stay with that. He knows that he did that. Alex, you were able to speak with one of the jurors afterwards. What insight did the juror give you into deliberations?
Starting point is 00:23:26 Many of the jurors had questions about the eyewitness, and for this juror, the motive didn't really make sense. Did this juror share the breakdown of how the jurors were divided? They did. By the end of the first day of deliberations, which was last Thursday, it was 5 to 1 to acquit. They went away over the weekend and returned Monday, and the holdout juror wouldn't change their mind. And that's what led to the mistrial. And prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will retry the case against Rishon Jones. His retrial is scheduled to begin May 18th, and of course we'll be watching it closely.
Starting point is 00:24:03 Next up, we're turning to a Michigan courthouse where a trial we've been watching closely is winding down. Dale Warner is charged with murdering his wife, D, in 2021 and concealing her body inside a fertilizer tank on his Linaway County phone. He has pleaded not guilty. Alex, what's happening in court at this stage? A lot. The prosecution and the defense both had big moments. The prosecution took the jurors on a site visit, so they didn't just hear about the Warner Farm.
Starting point is 00:24:33 They walked it, giving jurors a firsthand look at the property where Dee's body was found. And Alex, the prosecution rested on Tuesday. So the jury also got to hear from some defense witnesses. What were the highlights there? The main witness the defense called was Dee's brother, Greg Hardy. The defense challenged Greg about a text that he'd sent. You indicated that you have potential liability if the prosecutor is not successful in getting a conviction against Mr. Warner, correct? That's what the text says.
Starting point is 00:25:02 And you wrote that text, right? I did. The defense was suggesting that this was suspicious behavior. And after that, the defense rested. We'll have an update next week. And finally, we're off to California, where former Major League Baseball pitcher, Dan Serafini learned his fate this week. He was found guilty back in July for the murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spore,
Starting point is 00:25:27 and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood. Alex, first remind listeners about this case. Sure, so prosecutors say back in 2021, Serafini ambushed his in-laws at their Lake Tahoe home, shooting both of them. Prosecutor said Serafini plotted to kill his in-laws over money so that he'd have access to a multimillion-dollar inheritance. Serafini made several attempts to win himself a new trial since he was convicted back in July.
Starting point is 00:25:54 That's right. All those attempts, however, were denied by a judge, and Serafini's sentencing moved forward last Friday. The court hereby sentenced you to life without the possibility of parole. Victim impact statements immediately followed. Adrian Spore, the victim's daughter, had this to say about Dan Serafini. He is a monster that knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself. She even asked the judge to put Serafini in solitary confinement because she's afraid he will conspire with fellow inmates to have her killed. Then Serafina himself got to say a few words. In this court, I was called errant manipulative and a liar.
Starting point is 00:26:34 I accept my failings, but I have no murderer. The judge wasn't too keen on what Serafini had to say about himself. But I heard from you was all about you and not enough about the victims that died in this case. Some of the jurors who convicted Serafini returned to court for his sentencing. They talked to our affiliate KCR outside the courthouse afterwards. I think it's a moment for closure for all of us. We really wanted to be here in support of the family. It was a tragedy, and these are real people in real lives.
Starting point is 00:27:07 And just to hear the devastation caused by these murders, it's awful. Well, Alex, so much from jurors this week. Thanks for bringing us these updates. Thanks for having me, Lester. For our final story this week, we're talking about something that got our attention while we've been covering the trial of Rishan Jones over the past few weeks. Photo lineups, as we just talked about in Roundup, the prosecution star witness was an eyewitness who picked Jones out of a photo lineup. But the defense had questions about his identification. It made us curious about how detectives conduct a photo lineup in the first place and the obstacles
Starting point is 00:27:50 that exist to getting a solid ID. My next guest, Ken Walentine, is a retired chief of the West Jordan, Utah Police Department with over four decades of experience in law enforcement. Welcome to the show, Ken. Great to have you with us. Thank you. Ken, we've all seen photo lineups done in movies, and we've heard about them certainly on dateline episodes.
Starting point is 00:28:11 But walk us through what the procedure is actually like in real life. You know, the first thing in a photo lineup is we want to start out right. Typically, you'll see a minimum of six photographs, sometimes a few more, I hope, never less. And typically that's one suspect, one person we believe might be the perpetrator, and at least five what we call fillers. In other words, people who are similar in appearance, not to the suspect, but similar in appearance to the description given by the witness. We want the witness to be told, you know, the perpetrator may or may not be present in the photo lineup. We assure the witness that the investigation will continue regardless of their identification or inability to make an identification. We caution them not to look to the detective or whoever's administering the photo lineup for any guidance.
Starting point is 00:29:02 And then one final thing in administering is that best practice today, I believe, is a blind administration. And what do I mean by that? It's a blind administration's where the photo ID lineup administrator doesn't know the suspect's identity. And the purpose of that is to eliminate either intentional or unconscious queuing because even subtle cues from the administrator in breathing, posture, tone of voice can influence the witness's memory and also the witness's choice. You've been in law enforcement for four decades, a police chief for two of them. How has the process of police lineups evolved over the years? Oh, my gosh. So we go back in my family to 1869 in law enforcement.
Starting point is 00:29:41 And when my grandfather was doing identification, they were still doing live lineups. We typically don't do those anymore. Photo lineups became fairly popular in the late 1950s, the late 1960s when we started really collecting photographs, mugshots, if you will, and making them available. In the 1960s, there was very limited training on how to administer an eyewitness identification procedure. The detective who was the investigator, took the photographs, put him in front of people, might have even pointed to photographs as sheer he moved along.
Starting point is 00:30:10 And then when I became a cop in the late 1970s, really about the beginning of the 1980s, 1980s, there was a scientific awakening. And so in the 80s and 90s, we move from assuming memory works like a video recording to understanding that it's reconstructive and vulnerable to suggestions. Finally, in the last, even less than decade, we have seen courts and legislatures drive best practices as they're embedded into evidentiary rules and evidentiary laws. What I'm hearing is that this is a useful technique, but one that has to be handled very carefully because of just human reaction and how we process information. So with that in mind, how common is it for police to use a photo lineup?
Starting point is 00:30:52 Well, you wouldn't see a photo lineup used, for example, in a shoplifting at a convenience store, typically. Certainly in serious felony cases, aggravated assault, sexual assaults, people who may witness a homicide, in those kind of cases, it's all stops are pulled, all hands on deck, and we'll do everything we can to identify the perpetrator. and very often, if we have an eyewitness, that will involve a photographic lineup procedure. All right, I was struck by this one figure, according to the National Institute of Justice, mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions. That's a pretty alarming high number.
Starting point is 00:31:30 Ken, what could make an eyewitness pick the wrong person? One thing is that they haven't been given proper instructions. They go into the procedure believing, and it's a little logical, I think, to believe. that one of those six people is the perpetrator. And they also feel like they have an obligation to identify someone. And Luster, we all inflate our confidence in our memories. And when you couple that with the pressure or the direction to identify a suspect, maybe you think it's your civic duty.
Starting point is 00:32:01 Maybe you're anxious to see justice done for a crime that was perpetrated against you. That's a dangerous combination. Once a witness or a victim has made an identification, How does that impact the investigation? Is there anything the police should or shouldn't do afterward? Really good detectives will consider that eyewitness identification, and then they will balance it with the other information that they have, and they will pursue any other leads they can.
Starting point is 00:32:29 We don't want officers. We don't want investigators to be overconfident. You know, eyewitness testimony can be powerful. It can also be vulnerable. So I would hope, Lester, that wants an identification, case has made, that's simply another brick in the wall, that's simply another step taken, but not conclusive and not a terminal point for the investigation. Well, Ken, you've been great on all this. Thanks so much for spending some time with us.
Starting point is 00:32:52 Thank you. That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Make sure to check out Josh's brand new original podcast series, Trace of Suspicion. After a Marine dies unexpectedly, investigators suspect his widow had something to do with it, setting off a criminal case that takes a stunning turn. This case started because of the breast implants. Think about it. If she had a nose jaw, would we even be talking about it? On March 10th, you can listen to the first two episodes completely free or subscribe to Dateline Premium to start listening now, add free, with early access to subsequent episodes. And if that's not enough, Josh, for you coming up this Friday.
Starting point is 00:33:38 on NBC, he has a brand new Dateline episode for you. After a beloved professor is found murdered at home, the prime suspect is just within investigators' reach, but not for long. He said to bring my Kevlar. Bring your Kevlar because Mexico's a dangerous place, or he's going to shoot you? Right, I'm not sure. Watch the professor and the poet Friday at 9-8 Central on NBC. Thanks for listening, everyone.
Starting point is 00:34:06 on Dateline True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Carolyn Casey, and Keani Reed. Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone Groh and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown Kuriloff. Production and fact-checking help by Audrey Abraham's. Veronica Mosaic is our digital producer. Rick Kwan is our sound designer.
Starting point is 00:34:31 Original music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer. and Liz Cole is Senior Executive Producer of Dateline. All right. Thanks. Bye-bye.

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