Sword and Scale - Episode 140

Episode Date: July 4, 2019

During the early morning hours of May 5th, 2012, Mark Duenas was awoken by what sounded like a catfight outside of his family home. He got up from his recliner and began checking the outside of the home. Walking down the hallway, he noticed the light on in his wife’s bedroom. When he opened up the door, he found her crumpled on the ground, covered in blood. No one knew who could have done such a thing. But in trying times such as these, it’s important for families to stick close.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sort and scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences Listener discretion is advised Tell me what happened You have no idea what happened. You see a white chandelier, but she's still. I need someone to be right now. Move. Okay. You don't know where she's bleeding from?

No, I know. I just can blood everywhere. Hello, once again, and welcome to season 6, episode 140 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals Hey, welcome back. I know that a lot of you have got to be excited because in just a few short days, we'll be heading into summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, a time synonymous with outdoor fun, the warmth, sunshine, and hopefully good weather naturally leads to lots of outdoor activities and get-togethers. Backyard cookouts, lounging by the pool, going to the beach, or even having a picnic in the park while we try to forget the long cold, dreary winter. And of course,

we do a lot of these activities with our family. Summer is the time for family vacations to reconnect with those closest to us. Those who would stick with us throughout thick and thin, good times, and bad. Not all of us have that in our lives, and those that do, sadly, often take it for granted. When trouble comes, it's your family that is there to support you, and be the backbone that holds you upright. In a family, there's a strength that all of the power in the world couldn't get rid of, a strength like that of an army and a certain type of loyalty, all in its own.

But when the most heinous of crimes occur, would they still be there for you? Where will you stand in their eyes? After all, a family doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be united. In the northern valley of California lies the rural community of Cottonwood. In the 1840s, the town was a stopover for those traveling the Oregon Trail, those that didn't die of dysentery along the way that is. Travelers would pick up supplies, rest, and grab a bite to eat before continuing their travels north.

Most of the current population in this small, old western town are hardworking blue-collared folk. It's a tight-knit area full of people who are active in not only their community, but the educational system and their children's after school extracurricular activities. Unfortunately, no community is exempt from the depravity of man. Even though the town of Cottonwood itself is small,

the chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime is one in 145. Compare that to the statistic that says that the chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 145. Compare that to the statistic that says that the chances of becoming a victim of violent crime in California as a whole are 1 in 225, and you start to see the dark cloud hanging over this place. This town has a population of roughly 3,300 people, so while the odds may seem scary, it isn't as bad as the numbers portray. Cottonwood is also home to serial killer Darryl Rich, also known as the Hilltop Rapist,

who had terrorized the town in the summer of 1978. It was a violent crime that led us here to this story, and one that shocked its own community. But before we jump into this story, we want to give you an opportunity to listen to a clip taken from the 911 call that Shasta County Sheriff's Dispatch received on the evening of May 5th, 2012. I'm so my wife's sick. I'm blood everywhere. I need an ambulance. Okay, I'm going to get better. It's a medical dispatcher. Hold on, sir. What did you hear? Did you hear?

I got a... I killed my wife, shit, blood everywhere. Or did you hear? I got a... I found my wife sick, blood everywhere. We'll play it one more time

and let you ponder what you just heard. In 2012, after 33 years of marriage, Mark and Karen Dwaynes seemed to have it all. A beautiful home in a nice subdivision. Five sons, three of which were married and had grandchildren on the way. Like most families that appear squeaky clean from the outside perspective, the Dwaynes family had their fair share of dirty little secrets. Their second oldest child, Jacob, had a serious run-in with the law in 2008. Jacob had been working as a California highway patrolman when he was arrested and charged with

sexually assaulting a 13 and a 14-year-old victim. He pled no contest to the charges, and subsequently was released from his job. Regardless of the trouble Jacob may have caused, both parents were staples in the community, often seen at their son's sporting events. You might have often seen Karen working the scoreboard at baseball and basketball games, while Mark would be coaching Little League. Mark worked early and long hours for UPS, and Karen was juggling a teaching position as well as going back to school for nursing at Shasta College in Reading. On the evening of May 4th, 2012, everything had seemed pretty normal at home.

The family had a long and exhausting day. I got off at about 12-15. I was up around there and I got a lot straight home, one in, my wife pulled in right after we did. My son had a double header, high school baseball game. We, she made some cookies, we jumped in the car, I jumped over to holiday, got some sandwiches, went back and picked her up, went to the high school, she took the book, I said,

right next to her. For the baseball game. Yeah. Watch the first game. What time did that game start? Started at two o'clock. Okay. So you guys were there, she went with you to the baseball game, so what time are you there until? The game, second game got over about seven. So, because it, yeah, it's a double header. And so, then we just came home. Did you guys come straight home from the day? I came home, came in the house. Troy was there, my four son, because he was on Pirates Little League,

he lives in writing. So we visited with him, and she, you know, just visited with him, and then, I turned the giant game on, and he's watching it, and she, you know, just been with him and then I turned the giant game on and was watching and she, I had a movie and he said, let's watch it, we need to watch it, nothing like that. She was on her computer and she said, okay, I'm just, she won't. So he started watching, maybe he was, we were both too tired, cut-flown, sleep and she's just- There's a family room there?

Right, yeah, right there. I don't big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big me, good night, went into her room, I stayed in there like a dummy like I always do, and I tried to fast forward through the rest of the giant game, because I'm going to be a giant fan. And then, and Casey had much of the show with his buddy. While Casey had gone out to the movies with a friend, Mark fell asleep in his recliner chair in the living room while watching a recorded game of the San Francisco Giants. At some point around 12.30 a.m. Casey had returned home and gone to bed. Roughly 30 minutes later, Mark heard a noise that woke him. He got

up from his recliner and began walking around the house to see if he could locate where the noise had come from. Then, all of a sudden, I heard this, were you asleep at this time, were you still awake? I was asleep, okay. And I heard this weird noise. I mean, crazy noise. It was like, I thought it was animal spiting because we get that a lot out there. Cats, we have two cats at a bite and sometimes raccoons come in and whatever.

And I instantly jumped out of it. And I went to the door where the TV is. The family room. The kitchen's here. The door goes outside. Right. And I opened it up and turned the light on or it, and I didn't see anything. So I shut it, walked down the hallway, I saw my wife, the light was on.

The light was on the car room? Yeah, I opened it up. Both Mark and Karen slept in separate rooms due to the fact that his job began early in the morning, and he was allowed snorer. So to explain why you guys see the separate rooms there? Because of my hour, she's a very light sleeper. Okay. And I'm a snorer too. And I just you know got tired of getting hit and I don't want to wake her up. Right. Because I'm like you know getting up at 230 and it's just you start off you know a little bit

and then just work into it. Once another kid moved out, you know, we had an extra room and then it just easier for me just to sleep in there. But it's not a good idea, don't ever do that with your eye, if you're, it's just harder. Nonetheless, as he made his way down the hallway, he noticed the light still on in Karen's room. He opened the French doors. Crumpled on the ground next to the bed was his wife, Karen. I walked down the hallway, I saw my wife, the light was on.

The light was on with her room? Yeah, I opened it up and there she was spaced down in a pile of blood. So it could only be a matter of a minute, a minute that for the time I heard the noise, the check the door and I came down the hallway and went in there and I rolled her over and cheered. Well, I looked and I saw all this red stuff on the carpet. And I rolled her over, and I saw on her chest, and then I looked, and she looked her real, and she was those awful. Those awful, I saw them.

I was she, and I looked down at the shed, this big old... God, God, right here, and it was kind of fluttering. And I was she still breathing all the time? I could not, I was trying to fill her and see Karen Karen and she had blood and I called and I tried to get it and I got into a wash rag and I tried and I didn't want to blow over her face and I was wiping it off her. He rolled her over and heard a fluttering or gurgling sound coming from the wound in her

chest. Frantically, Mark called 911. need an ambulance. I need a TZ. There's someone around somewhere and drive. I don't know what's on the phone. What's the nearest cop she's there? It's Ron and Ron. Ron? Okay. Tell me exactly what happened. She's, I just came in the room.

I heard her. She's got blood everywhere. I don't know. I don't know. I have no idea what happened. She's away. She's away. She's away.

She's away. I need somebody right now. I don't know, I have no idea. You have no idea what happened? Is she awake? She's awake, but she's still. I need somebody to be right now. Who? OK. You don't know where she's bleeding from? No, I know. I can blood everywhere.

OK, how old is she coming from? Are you with her now? Yes. I want you to trust. How old is she? She's 20. I'm 50. 50. I want you to wait old is she? She's 50. I'm 50. 50 years old. Is she awake?

I want to know. She's up. But I'm going to get it. Is she awake? I understand. Is she awake? I don't know. No.

You don't know? She's up. She's up. Is she? She's up. She's not. She's so late. Oh no.

You don't know. Okay, I'm calling to see for you Dean. I need to give you instructions. I need to know that. I can call next door. My friend who works for the pilot, I want to know who to help her. Okay, is she breathing, sir?

I don't know, she's not there. Okay, stay on the phone with me, okay? I need to hang up and get my son next door. After getting off the phone with dispatchers, Mark O'Woke, KC, urging him to go next door to get his brother Jason, who was a firefighter, not understanding what was going on in half a sleep. KC went into the room to see what the commotion was about. I rolled her over, like the phone was right there,

I grabbed it, called it, and then I hung up on after I get the information, ran to the other room, got Casey at, and I wish I would never tell him to come in, but he was half asleep. And then he ran over to his brothers because he's a fireman. Then I'm sitting there, I didn't know what to do, I'm trying to, you know, whatever. Eventually Jason arrived to the house, finding his mother lying in a pool of her own blood. He knew right away that his mother was gone. He tried to calm his father while he dialed in to call 911. When police and emergency services arrived,

Karen was pronounced dead at the scene. Now it was up to Shastok County Sheriff's detectives to find out what had happened to Karen. Karen Dwaynes was stabbed five times, twice in the upper back area, and three times in the chest. The violence of this crime stunned the close knit community. It left neighbors scared, wondering who could have done such a thing and if anyone else might be attacked.

While Mark was outside, he called his son Jacob to let him know about Karen. A nearby deputy overheard, Mark was outside, he called his son Jacob to let him know about Karen. A nearby deputy overheard, Your mom is dead. A slight pause followed. No, I didn't kill her. Mark was taken to the sheriff's station for an interview. Obviously before we get started with anything,

how do you want to read to your rights? You're not under arrest, but I do have to read to this stuff. You have the rights to revenge out. You understand that? Yes. Anything you say maybe is against your court. Do you understand that? Okay.

You have the right to the presence of an attorney before and during any question. Do you understand that? Yes. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge before any questioning. If you want, do you understand that? Yes. Okay. Before the detective even gets a chance to really dive into any questioning, Mark reveals

a shocking confession. It's not mine, you need to tell you. Now, one reason I haven't tell you earlier is because my son provides me not to. And this is what was going on in our life and it's it's scary when I think about it but about a year ago a girl at work told me she's talking about Facebook and says how it works and stuff and I don't do that and she goes, is there anything you want to do to contact? And I said, oh there's just girl I knew when I was 17, you know, because I would just grieve an awful lot. And I said, I think her name's Annette Green, who lives in Idaho. And she's not alone.

She can't. She went. And the next day she says, oh, I found her. And I said, oh, that's interesting. And I said, she was a strong-headed, centered message. I said, yeah, tell her, give her my stuff. Then we're asking. She wants to say hi.

I just want to say hi, because we were close. We were never boyfriend or girlfriend, but we hung out a little bit for a few months, because her dad moved. They moved. I had a... So, anyway, she said, sure, I'll talk to you in about a month, but I, she wanted to talk, and so I finally got the nerve to call her, because you know, I have Mary, you know, the stuff that, you know, I thought it would be fun to talk to her. I always talked to me, visited, and we had a good conversation. You know, we kind of carried away with a little texting here and there, but it was, we knew where we stood. She has five kids, I have five kids. I don't have any Mary, she was, I, she told me she was. So anyway, that went on and off and on, and we wouldn't talk for a month or so or whatever

text. And my wife found out my phone or in fact she did look at the bills or the 18-tier whatever we have overrides and she saw these texts and she says, what is this? And I told her, oh, I'm sorry, Karen, it's this girl. I know. She was upset, you know.'m sorry, Karen, it's just girl. I know, she was upset, you know. I said, yeah, we're just friends, we're just really pointing each other out. That's how we work.

Mark wasn't big on social media, but a work friend had let him know about the benefits of using Facebook and was able to put him in touch with an old friend, a net. It was clear that Karen was upset about the two connecting. Mark was her husband, and a net had her own family. Mark told her that he would cease communication with a net, and he did, but only for a short while. According to a net, Mark had a phone that he kept secret from Karen, a so-called burner phone,

which he used solely to communicate with a net. And then a few months went by and I did it. For some reason I texted again and we started talking again and we had it like in January, last December, November, we were visiting quite often and talking and you know, you know, got kind of, we had feelings, but we knew where we stood and that's how, and whatever. And we just, you know, it's nice to talk to you and she we would just visit you know and say and we had feelings for each other but it was we all it was nothing you know and she was you know I'm telling guilty about this so she told her husband and I can Jan Jan or middle January and that's up this year this year and I year. And I said, you know, okay, that's good. It's been nice knowing you.

It's real fun. It's worth hitting the chest and how you can. And it was over. Both Mark and Annette decided to mutually part ways in their conversations. Mark had upset his wife months earlier, and Annette's husband was not pleased the two had been talking.

But yet again, Mark couldn't help but to text a net one last time on her birthday. His text was not met with great timing or a great response. And so her birthday was in February and I was like an idiot, a texture happy birthday, happy 50th birthday Just just that was it because you know, it's a big birthday for and her husband I mean I'm working I could this right after I sent it because I hadn't talked to her four weeks three weeks Her text except for that little message and said call me So I called it and her husband answered

I thought great And I said you know, I just want, you know, he goes, you know, you're, it was very brief, not even a few words. And because you want to talk to her, she doesn't want me to call her anymore. I said, yeah, I'll talk to her real quick. And he keeps kind of, you can take, it wasn't that. You could tell you wasn't happy. And I said, I told she got on the phone and I said, I'm so sorry you were going to birthday. And she was, don't call me, don't text me anymore Mark. And she sounded kind of scared. And I said, you know, that was it. Have it talked to her at all. But like a week later or within that week, I come home from work.

I thought it was all over. And my wife was like in bed. Because I, you know, in the afternoon, we're asking for a second after her work or whatever. I went in there and she was weird. I mean, she was, tell me about what's going on. I said, what? And she was, tell me, oh, I knew.

I said, well, I've been in touch with Annette again. And I'm sorry, and the she was upset. And that was in her birthday, it was very early 23rd, so it happened that week of that. And so we've been just getting through it for the last two plus months, you know, and we're fine. You know, she's been sick because I heard her feelings, you know. And so that was it. A net's husband took it upon himself to let Karen know that Mark had continued reaching

out to his wife. Imagine how she must have felt, but nonetheless, Mark put his focus back into his own marriage, ceasing all contact with a net. The reason he brought this information up right from the start is because he theorized that maybe a net's husband came after him, attacking Karen as a form of payback, so to speak. I have a Fisher and Hunter and he's a banker, I'm an investment broker, banker. Lives in Idaho. I haven't seen this girl in 35 years. We just talked on the phone.

You know, I'm embarrassed about that. Because my wife and I were close, we never fight. I was just kind of lonely because she was so busy. And it was this girl that I really cared about years ago when I was at that age, you know, when you start liking girls and she liked me and, well, we didn't really, you know, as we talked, she told me she liked me,

she was afraid to tell me, you know, that's silly stuff. So, when this happened, I'm thinking, it's something going on back there in Idaho, is she all right, you Idaho, is she all right? You know, because she actually sounded scared when I talked her that time. I just got stuck there or something, or is she all right? Did she do something? That's the only thing in my head that I can think of.

It's a plausible theory, isn't it? Imagine getting into the middle of someone else's marriage. Do you think another person wouldn't be capable of getting back at you in such a way? Or think about roles reversed. What if someone came between you and your spouse? You'd be angry, wouldn't you? But it wasn't just the situation itself

that made Mark worry. It was the way that a net had sounded on their last phone call and that her husband was so easily able to reach Karen. The only thing that scares me is when I heard her voice the last time when she said, Mark, don't call me anymore. It just sounded like she was scared. And I was worried about that. I just instantly had a worried about hope she's all right. But I always thought he's a good man. I guess he called my wife, but I forgot. We had corresponded through a few letters and stuff. I sent her a Christmas

card and I think that she found that because she can't, my wife told me, oh, what'd you give her for Christmas? And she knew, you know, and then I think he told her... How did he contact you? I never asked. That's even the phone. I don't know because I didn did he contact you? I never asked. That's even the phone. I don't know. Because I didn't want to probe. I swear I said, it's not going to be good to sit there.

What do you tell you? What do you tell you? I just said, I just based up to it. And I think she told me like, he said, you... centers them without something. We grew up in the 70s. I'd send her some CDs I made, because she said, oh, I love she loves this. She's an inquire music artist.

Some music that we used to listen to when we were growing up. I did that. I burned some CDs and center to her, center to her. And he, she told me, my wife briefly, like, said that you sent some love songs to her. And how long ago was this Christmas time? No, well, when I sent those, it had to be between November to early January. Somewhere in that time frame. And so I'm thinking he must have found her whatever I

had sent her. I sent her probably a couple of CDs, just music, strictly music CDs. And I centered a CD of my 25th Anniversary party. You should want to see it. Let's just see my wife and I and all my family. That's why I've earned it just so you can see. You know, what, now it's just all in, this is what I've been doing for 25 years, type thing. In today's modern age, it's easy for us to put together a playlist on Spotify to share with

friends, family, or that special someone. Prior to these advances in technology, we would burn mixed CDs for summer adventures, or a mix of love songs as Mark put it. Embarrassingly, I'm old enough to remember mixed tapes. Thankfully, not mixed eight track tapes, though. You youngins will have to Wikipedia that. While those compact discs filled with love songs may have been well received by a net for a bit, the behavior itself in sending them to another woman that wasn't his wife was highly inappropriate.

Especially for how much Mark claimed to have loved his wife. He even went as far as sending a copy of his 25th wedding anniversary, something that was supposed to be a special moment in time shared between a doting husband and a loving wife. For Detective Stonehouse, this just didn't seem right. No person married for 33 years would simply be okay with their spouse talking with another person, even if it was just simply talking. Not only that, but Karen would likely want to talk further about it. If you've gone through an affair, you know how quickly talking can lead to physical acts and the only way to survive an affair

Is to talk through it But Mark claimed it wasn't something he felt needed to happen Now you said you and your wife didn't talk about the relationship when I say relationship I mean the texting stuff that went on with you Not really And I find that a little bit hard to believe, because I know, I mean, you're married for 33 years. Or I find out about it.

We talked about it. When that first, she first told me that I'm right to a Jedi kind of mom, and she'd tell me. Right. And we talked about it. And then it was sort of meaner than I mean, was she pretty upset about it. I thought that's it.

It was that's that. It's not screaming at that. Just crying at that. As anybody. Right that. Screening that's that, just crying that's that. As anybody, right, because, you know, I, it's like, it's just you when the guy tells her that I'm writing love letters or whatever. This lady's husband called Karen and told her about the love letter or whatever it is. Yeah. Okay, did Karen tell you that he called?

He never, she never said. She called. She goes, I just have, she said, basically, I have, what is it? I have evidence or the proof or whatever. I know, she knew because he had to tell her details because for Christmas I had given Dandet a certain thing and she knew exactly what it was. Mark believed it had been a net's husband Dale that had reached out to Karen to tell her everything.

But the truth was that Annette had also reached out, writing an apology letter that she had sent to Karen. While Mark was sitting in an interrogation room with detectives, deputies, members from search and rescue as well as a fishing game warden were busy searching the surrounding areas. The Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal runs beneath many of the homes within the neighborhood, as well as many nearby empty fields. They searched for any possible item that could have caused those mortal wounds

on Karen. Unfortunately, they were unable to find anything that could be linked to the crime. Investigators were only able to find very few clues on the exterior of the home. The screen to Karen's bedroom window was ripped. The door leading to the patio was unlocked. Back in the interrogation room, Mark sat alone, deprived of sleep. He began muttering words of confusion, his body language telling of a man who was uncomfortable. Am I supposed to live now? How? What the fuck? I can't. So fucking crazy.

Why did I have to walk in? On Monday, May 7, classes were back in session at West Valley High School, where all the Dwayneus boys had attended. Students who lived in the neighborhood, as well as their friends who had been on the street hanging out, were pulled into a room and question. We spoke to Jason Warren, a student who had been just a few houses down with some friends on the evening Karen Dwayneus was murdered. Full disclosure, Jason also works

as a freelance audio engineer for Sword and Scale. It's a typical Friday night or so we thought. We got out of school, Friday, headed to our buddy's house. Like we did every weekend, hanging out, what normal 18 year olds would be doing, trying to find a party, just messing around. And we'd always stay at our buddy's house

I lived in this neighborhood, just right down the street from where this all happened. And it was just a weird night. You know, nothing really going on. It was super quiet, quieter than usual. And we thought we'd leave, you know, go to the store, get some red bowls or something, I don't know. And then we saw the lights flashing at the end of the street.

And we're like, what's going on, you know, like, that's really weird. It's nothing like that. Major happens. And if it's something major does happen, it's usually we would know about it already. It's such a tight community. It's a tight neighborhood. We had no clue what was going on. Yeah, I saw the fire trucks and ambulance and stuff like that. I was like, oh, you know, maybe somebody over there had a heart attack or something like that. And I hope it's not, not you know Either of our friends that live down at that coldest sack or something like that Monday morning we get to school and we start here in the rumors

fly around about What could have happened over at the duanis house and people started? Talking about it and we're like no, that's that's fucked up. There's no way that could have happened. Like that can't be what happened. It had to have been something else. We thought it was just a sick life. Some kids were spreading around. And, you know, because we knew them, like it's like I said,

it's a small community. I played baseball with, you know, one of the kids and their dad would help coach, you know, all the fathers and all the moms and all the families were just involved, you know, this is a small little league and, you know, I knew them for years and it's like, no, that's, that's not what happened. That kind of thing doesn't happen here, not in this neighborhood, not in this community. That's like, that's, that's shit you see on TV, you know, that's just nothing like that can happen here. A couple hours later, in class, the teacher says, hey, you need to go to the office, you know, they need to, you need to take care of something up there, something along the lines of that. So, there wasn't really out of the ordinary, didn't think much of it. As they're walking in the office, I pull me into a room and setting there is the school sheriff and a couple of other cops and you know guys in uniform stuff like that. They sent me down and I really

ask you a couple of questions and I'm like oh shit okay yeah. What do I need to answer and I like did you hear about what happened this weekend at the Dwaynes' and I was like, yeah, heard some rumors, you know, flying around school. I'm like, well, what do you know about it? It's like, I don't know. When you think about it, just, you know, what I've heard coming around from school. And I'm like, well, we know you were four houses down that night. I was like, yeah, I was.

And we're, you know, I mean mean a bunch of guys are like yeah we know who's there and we know you were there and we know your car was out front and did you just do you have anything you can tell us any information did you hear anything did you see anything did you see somebody down the street you know we know you guys like to hang out out front and smoke and do your thing and just like wow these these fucking guys already know a lot You know, I told him anything I could tell him and walked out of the office just thinking oh my god like This shit is fucking real

Something did happen less than a week after Karen's death Shasta County Sheriff Detective Tom Bessenko held a press conference for the media to update them on new developments. Good afternoon. My name is Tom Bessikel-Shaston County Sheriff. This is the press conference for the Duanous Homicide on May 5, 2012 Saturday at about 1 a.m. in the morning. Deputies from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office responded to 2-0, 481 Robinson Blend Drive in Cogwood.

For a female identified as Karen Dwaynes, was bleeding from a chest wound. Mark Dwaynes reported he found his wife Karen inside her home with chest wounds. On arrival, deputies and EMS personnel located care and awareness inside the residence and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies on scene believed Miss Duanis was a victim of a homicide. Deputies secured the scene and detectives from the Chascade Sheriff's Office recalled and contacted and then contacted and responded. Throughout the early morning hours of Saturday and well-edged Saturday evening, detectives from the major crimes unit and crime scene investigators

from the Shes County Sheriff's Office crime lab, process the scene and collect it evidence. Detectives canvassed the immediate area and surrounding neighborhood for any information. Family members of the Jointness Family were also interviewed by the detectives. However, the details of these interviews will not be released due to the ongoing investigation. Members from the Shastka County Sheriff's Office and search and rescue team assisted with the investigation and searched nearby fields, neighboring yards,

and streets for any evidence. No information from the search is being provided through the ongoing investigation. The techies have continued their neighborhood canvas and evidence search efforts utilizing a canine from the Department of Fish and Game that was from Brian Warden Boyd and his canine Phoebe. And that canine is what we call a article search canine and she has been successful in passing discovering articles from prime scenes. Members from the search and rescue team and the Sheriff's Office Dive team assisted with search efforts focusing on the area of the ACID Canal.

That is the Amishan Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal in the area of Ronda Road. The search is part of a routine investigation and sometimes property or evidence have been disposed in strains and bodies of water. When it was all said and done, Mark was back home with his children, grieving for his lost wife. Sheriff Basenco stated they did have their eyes on someone as a person of interest. While they wouldn't officially name Mark as a person of interest right away, eventually the Sheriff's department did. Mark's attorney, Ron Powell, spoke to the media.

They've listed him as a person of interest. It seems to me that when the next day you're telling the public, there's nothing to worry about. This is an isolated instance, which is my understanding of what they did. You've kind of narrowed down what you're looking for. I heard nothing of dog tracking. I heard nothing of any helicopter that night looking for any perpetrators. During this time, the Sheriff's Department released the 911 call that Mark had made.

When it was released to the media, they claimed he said, I got to, I killed my wife, shit, blood everywhere. Classmates of Karen, family, and friends alike stood outside the school, which she had been attending for her nursing program to speak of what they remembered about Karen. Close to 100 people honored the life of 51-year-old Karen Dwayneus outside the Shasta College Health and Sciences building tonight. She was found murdered in her conwood home last Saturday. Now this is Karen's brother, who's a fire captain in Davis, California. He told mourners that Karen's husband, Mark, wanted to show up tonight, but he was there in his

place. Karen's friends and fellow nursing students release those balloons into the sky afterwards. I caught up with one student who shared a special bond with Karen. She said she'll always remember her smile. Well, Karen's smile, I mean, it's unmistakable. She was gonna be a wonderful nurse because she liked to do things the way that she was taught and the right way. And like I said, she was the hard worker. She did whatever she had to do to get it done.

I'm really scared about doing the nursing thing, especially, you know, 51. She's already had her family and all those great things she'd done. And we encouraged her to support her. And it's take you listen to possibly OCD as she might have been. I think she did it.

I think she did it. She just felt like that last week, just got over the hump with that visit to the ER. It's one of the last conversations I had with her. X-E. I asked how I was going. And she talked, she was telling me how wonderful. MeekTel, like you said, her count has changed. She loved the fact she got to eat art and started doing something with everything that she'd learned. And in pediatric school, she was really afraid of all kids staying, helping them and she had a little bit to do something with that in the last few weeks.

Some exposure to that and she loved it. She was really on her mind. She was going to do great. It wouldn't be until months later that an arrest would come. On October 5, six months to the day when Karen Dwayneus was murdered, investigators from the Shasta County Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit arrived at the Dwayneus home on Robinson Glen Drive. Mark was inside the home, watching a baseball game with a sun casey when he was arrested

and charged with first-degree murder relating to his wife's death. Friends, family, and the community as a whole were shocked, unable to come to terms with the news they had heard. Even Karen's side of the family stood behind Mark, not believing for a second that he was responsible for her death. Mike nearly 20 of Mark supporters gathered at the Shasta County Courthouse this afternoon. They included his family, friends and his co-workers. Mark appeared before the judge for less than two minutes. The purpose of his appearance was to make sure everything was on track

for his expected trial in May. A trial his family is anxious to get underway as both the Duaneis family as well as Karen's family continue to maintain his innocence. The Tinney family would like to say that they continue to give love and support to Mark Duaneis and his five boys in their families. Tinney was Karen's maiden name and on this windy Tuesday afternoon her older sister Jennifer Reglin painfully remembered her sister

standing by her brother in law side. A separate statement was also released by Mark's family and sons, speaking out against how their father has been portrayed, saying the belief the couple's marriage was crumbling because of an

out-of-state phone relationship Mark had is false. Mark's attorney spoke on the family's behalf. Family members were aware of this relationship, including our mother. While she was not thrilled about it, our parents were still very much in love with one another and were in no way in a marital crisis. They also said their father has been unfairly portrayed by his infamous 911 call, where law enforcement claims he admitted to killing Karen. They say that's not true either.

I look to 911 call has been made public is obvious that our father said no such thing. However, we are fearful that the damage had already been done. And finally, the Duaneis family said little attention has been given to the fact that Mark passed a polygraph test administered by a former FBI polygraph expert. That is a caring loving man who is deeply in love with our mother and misses her every day, just as we all do. Regland says the hurt will never go away. Unless a person has experienced this type of loss, it is impossible for one to fully understand

how devastating the effects are. The family stated how they were all well aware of the messages exchanged between Mark and a net. When Mark was arrested, he sat in the cruiser explaining to detectives that he believed the phone call they had released to the public was manufactured to make him sound as if he was saying something he wasn't. There's no evidence that would say I killed my wife. It's not one drop. There's no evidence that would say I killed my wife.

It's not one drop. Not real evidence. I was in the house. You guys, you know, fabricating evidence like a stony 901. Okay, that's the stony as it gets. Logan, on that 901, that recording. You know, I watch news all the time. I research it on that manufacturing evidence stuff and I've seen stuff where they say, you know, you've got to be careful because law enforcement manufacturers have to use to try to make people go, you know, sway their, they want to see the reaction and all this stuff

I mean, I think it's a moral back, you know, it's our wrong to put somebody through that because that tape that now When it's the biggest joke I ever heard and then you guys say it was already Analyzed You guys know that wasn't me That's crazy thing where you got this creepy voice in I killed my wife. There's blood everywhere. Oh shit While in custody, at the Shasta County jail, Mark's attorney Ron Powell criticized him for not keeping his mouth shut. While visiting with a family member, Mark market made comments regarding the 911 call. He claimed that was the only smoking gun the prosecution had and was quoted as saying, I said what they said I said.

This conversation was recorded. His trial was slated for May of 2013. Ultimately, his trial was pushed back until July. Mark's trial was swift, but the prosecution was unable to completely sway the jury and prove that he was guilty. When the jury began deliberations in July, the vote came out 9-3. Nine of those jurors were in favor of acquittal, while three jurors believing Mark was guilty. A juror from the trial, a former cop and probation officer was quoted as saying, the dissenting vote was from an alternate juror who stated to others,

this guy is guilty. He has to prove otherwise, and I'm not changing my vote. I'm going to hang this jury. While the jury deadlocked, the trial ended in a mistrial. This situation showed that either an unknown monster was walking the streets free and had gotten away with murdering Karen, or the actual perpetrator was closer than ever to leaving the justice system of free man. Mark and Karen's family lobbied for charges to be dropped. Karen's brother Joe spoke with the media

outside of the courtroom. One of the statements that we made a long time ago, and this is obviously incredibly difficult. The statement is that unless you've had an opportunity to experience this yourself, there's no way you can understand what a family goes through. Even though the family has been not necessarily very vocal through this whole process, the family, both sides have been very patient, and we want to be clear that we've been very

supportive of Mark. We're obviously very disappointed with what has happened today, with the 9-3 vote, that the DA wants to immediately go to a retrial. I think the disappointment comes in the fact that during this whole time we've been cooperative, but the DA and the Sheriff's Department has never had the courtesy to keep contact with the family over the last several months since the event. The state, however, decided to try the case again.

This time with Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridget. For the family, it was a major blow. They felt let down by how the situation was being handled. The DA supposed to be supporting the victim which is my sister, my brother, the youngest brother, that I was close to they're supposed to be there for her and provide that information and to be close with the family. And unfortunately, on the other side, we have several members of the family on Mark's side. This family is close. Both sides always have been. And we're in support. We haven't seen any reason not to be. And the majority of not nearly all that

sure this jury also saw the same thing. Just want the public to know that through this incredible difficult time that the family has stuck together. And it's not over. We're going to continue to fight through this. We'll stay together and try to get to where this needs to be. There's nothing further. I'm just trying to have a good time. I just wanna make a simple point. You see these people? This is love. This is belief in this human being.

This is a snuck question in our hearts. Please listen to us and know we love this man and he's a good man. That's all thank you. The youngest of the brothers of the forecarned and we have a close family. My wife is actually a dozen two more and the part of the Duane is family and that's how we met. We know all of them very well. Been with them since the very beginning,

you know, as a child. And they were going out this high school teenagers, know very well. And we also were marked completely. We don't think that he was capable of this. And we're clear to be alive and supporting them. The retrial of Mark Dwayneus was set for October 2013. Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridget came prepared.

The prosecution alleged Mark's 911 call was where he admitted to killing Karen. Remember the call we played for you in the beginning of this episode. Listen to it again and question what it is you hear. Even more damning was that Mark had eventually found the letter a net had sent to Karen. Instead of turning it over to investigators immediately, he held on to it. This was brought up when he was arrested.

I didn't have a life from telling him to keep any secrets. The only thing I didn't do is when I found that letter not even that long ago, you know, I read it, it was no big deal. I even know that letter existed until that long ago. You know I read it, it was no big deal, it was I didn't even know that letter existed till after the fact. And then I heard I didn't even know you guys, I thought you found it when you were investigating. I didn't even know that my daughter, unless it's him, they didn't even find that letter. I said oh really? And so one day I was thinking about it and I

tried to find it, couldn't find it. A week later I thought about find it, I couldn't find it. A week later, I thought about it again, I sat in my mind, told me to open up one book, I opened it up and there it was. I read it, I read it to my daughter-in-law, I read it to her, I read it to my niece. And I still can feel all it was, it's a apologetic letter. You can say what kind of people that she was. A sweet The biggest question in what the prosecution offered as a murder weapon was a misplaced butcher knife. Although it contained no blood or DNA evidence, it was suspected that this was the possible murder weapon. It was a stretch by far.

Their belief was that while Casey had gone to see a movie with his friend, Mark had murdered Karen. What came next was information that likely was the nail in the coffin. A net green appeared on the witness stand. The second time she had seen Mark since the 1970s. She read her apology letter out loud for the courtroom, weeping while doing so. I address the letter to both of you in hopes that you will both be able to read it. I feel it is important for me to express my feelings and ask for forgiveness. These past few weeks, I have been going through the fire and it felt extremely remorseful

for my actions. What I did was very wrong, and I need to say I am sorry, especially to you, Karen. I'm sorry for intruding into your life and marriage and for disregarding your feelings. I also asked forgiveness from Mark for being a weak person and allowing this all to take place when I was wrong. I should have never put either one of our marriages in jeopardy or treated them so lightly. Dale and I are trying to move on in strength.

I have a deep resolve to be a more righteous, honest, and upstanding loyal wife and daughter of God. I love my husband and my family, and will never in any way jeopardize that again. I am truly sorry for the hurt and pain I have caused. I don't expect you to reply. I just need to do this. Thank you for reading this sincerely, Annette.

Annette testified that Mark had said something bad would have to happen for the two of them to end up together. Evidence showed that testing had been done on Mark's clothing from the evening of the murder and appeared as if blood had been washed from his clothes, while another investigator claimed he appeared to be freshly-shoured. The injuries Karen had suffered were horrific. One of the three stab wounds to her chest had penetrated her sternum, tearing her windpipe, severing her aorta, and ultimately, the weapon used struck her vertebrae.

When Mark heard a fluttering or gurgling noise coming from her chest, it's likely because of how much blood it filled her lungs and trapped the air inside. Rolling her over would have released the air fluttering the wound, making a noise similar to a death rattle. Sergeant Brian Jackson testified that the blood around Karen's body had well soaked into the carpet, which he noted didn't seem fresh. This possibly indicated she was killed much earlier than when Mark had said. Another serious question that had been raised was why there had been an unplugged heating

pad under Karen's body. Was it possible she was using it when she was sleeping? But it became entangled with her body when she was attacked, or did Mark place it under her as a misguided attempt to keep her body warm for a longer period of time and throw off the forensic pathologist? If so, it clearly didn't work. The defense, however, alleged that a possible intruder or intruders were responsible for the murder of Karen. They had even brought in multiple friends, family, and neighbors to testify. One of the neighbors recalled a conversation they had with Karen in the week leading up

to her death. The neighbor explained that Karen had been excited about a bucket list her and Mark shared together and couldn't wait to accomplish all those things when their children were finally out on their own. On November 1, 2013, a jury found Mark Duaneis guilty of first degree murder. A month later, on December 5, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridget spoke with the media after sentencing.

But really at the end of the day, I feel sorry and sad, but they feel that way because it's simply not the truth. The case was investigated to the fullest and prosecuted ethically, and he is guilty of the crime and deserves the sentence that he received today. Over the years, the Dwaynes and Tinney family have continued to stand behind Mark and maintain his innocence. In late 2018, both Mark and Jacob were back in the news. Mark had filed an appeal in hopes for a new trial. His claim was based on testimony that his wife was upset the day before he was killed,

in effect of assistance of council, and that the trial court prejudicially erred in instructing the jury on the consciousness of guilt. He was denied a new trial. Then Jacob, the son, was arrested into coma, Washington, and charged with the rape of a child. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Not all of us are lucky enough to have the strong and unwavering support of a loving family. Mark was lucky not only to have his own family, but Karen's family as well, sticking by his side, even when the court of public opinion strongly believed he perpetrated this horrible crime. A family doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be united.

And the Dwayna's family, despite a brutal murder, is just that. That's going to do it for another episode of Sword and Scale. Thank you for continuing to support us on Patreon. The new platform is coming very soon. Watch out for the announcement. And if you're still a member on Patreon when we announce, there will be a special offer available just for you. This is an exclusive deal just for those of you still supporting us on Patreon while we work to migrate off of it. And it will not be available anywhere else. So if you're a member now, please stick with us until we announce this new platform. you won't want to miss out.

Hey my, this is Julian here. I'm going to keep going up with all this stuff. It's your posting. Anyway, I just want to know. I don't know what's going on. I don't know. I just want to know who would have caused this about it. So we can keep you on the air. And do what I need to call. And just continue my patreon contributions if you're at the end I'm going to help you what I don't want to help them out so I just want to hear more of you and I hope you just keep it coming somehow or another if I got to pay you the money directly I'll do that too I'm just really upset with people that just can't let you do what you do best. It pisses me off.

It really does. So who do I need to bitch about it? Because I will make noise. I'm a noise maker. I'm from Connecticut and I'm just a bitch. Anyhow, please just let me know and we'd love to. I love you. Bye. And good luck to you. I love you, bye.