Strapped around. Thompson studied Lord and Jaffe for a moment, then walked over to them. Im not even sure the word accident was used. He said he later surmised that Lord had shot Burnside because he had heard a story going around the neighborhood that Burnside had been shot in the back of the head, which would suggest he had been murdered. Lord shook her head. Nearly a year after the shooting, a grand jury met and heard the evidence. He said that he couldnt handle disappointing me on top of all the financial stress and tax problems that he was enduring.. Then, on June 5, his phone rang. She had lost her career because potential employers, when running a background check on her, would always find a reference to her arrest for murder. Was there a chance he was involved in the shooting? These laws are especially important when those being questioned are already emotionally reeling from the events themselves like Ms. Lord who first dealt with the discovery of her boyfriends body, calling 911 for help, and that loss then to face questioning by police while vulnerable and upset like Lords being questioned by Thompson as if she had committed a crime for several hours. In the taped interrogation, the detective asks Lord some general questions about what happened on the night that her boyfriend died then Thompson changed things up. Another detective, Dwayne Thompson, charged into the interrogation room. Something is not right.. Description: Hephzibah Olivia Lord, age 36, sued Dallas homicide detective Dwayne Thompson on civil rights violation theories under 42 U.S.C. And, Thompson guessed, she had wiped down her hands and arms with the towels he had seen on the kitchen floor. Who do you think you are? And whats really frightening is that Thompson could come back after me, plant some new fake evidence, and arrest me for murder again. There were too many unanswered questions, he said. In this interrogation method, its deemed acceptable to manipulate through accusations of guilt through an aggressive protocol of nine steps. There hasnt been one bit of evidence in this case that has caused you to pause in your opinion that she murdered Michael?. Why did you wait seven minutes before calling 911? he yelled. But, he added, his friend wasnt the type to get married at any point.. They too had been talking to Thompson and they were furious. When Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. Or maybe, as Thompson theorized, Lord had missed some of the residue on her hand and her shirt when she cleaned herself up after pulling the trigger. She told Thompson that she too had been drinking that night, a mix of vodka and sweet tea. The arrest was based upon Thompsons affidavit. Dwayne Thompson (I) IMDbPro Starmeter. He asked her about some of the puzzling physical evidence that had been found at Burnsides home the night of the shooting. Her voice shook when she spoke. What this trial is about is whether this detective had probable cause to believe that she did it. Then Schuette began listing all the reasons that would make a detective like Thompson believe Lord had killed her boyfriend. The detective was 47 years old and built like a linebacker at six feet two inches and 230 pounds. The Dallas Police Department is featured in a national reality TV show on the A&E network called The First 48, (maybe youve seen it if not, watch episodes here) and the detective who interrogated Hephzibah Olivia Lord in a manner that justified Lords civil suit for damages was Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson, who has been seen frequently on this A&E show. Or maybe in the midst of the argument, Burnside had pulled the Beretta out of the kitchen drawer for a second time, handed it to Lord, and said, in an effort to be dramatic, If you hate me so much, then just shoot me. And she did. Yes you did! (2014) There was another, longer silence. But after her arrest, Lord read The Count of Monte Cristo, the Alexandre Dumas novel about a wrongfully imprisoned man who seeks revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment, and she memorized one of the books famous lines: May the god of vengeance now permit me to punish the wicked! That was her goal, she said. Look at it! In his opinion, it was perfectly plausible that in the heat of the argument with Burnside, she had taken his pistol, slipped up behind him, and pulled the trigger. The towels had been on the floor to soak up the water that had spilled when the dishwasher valve broke. He was not a depressed type of person at all. You fing shot him! he bellowed, nearly coming out of his chair. Lord told her friends and family that Burnside definitely liked to have a good time. Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. See production, box office & company info. But Detective Thompson couldnt or wouldnt accept that. Tittle said that Thompson allowed a screenplay [of the shooting] in his mind to take over. And thats a dangerous, dangerous thing if youre a homicide detective with the Dallas Police Department., Lord took the stand and was overcome with emotion as she described her love for Burnside. Jaffe and Lord were taken to the station, and Thompson headed inside Burnsides home. The jury determined Friday that Dallas homicide Detective Dwayne Thompson showed a reckless disregard for the civil rights of 36-year-old Hephzibah Olivia Lord. Jaffe was sitting in a plastic chair next to a small table pushed against a wall. And then she burst into tears. Lord seemed shocked. You think they are going to accept this bullshit you are giving me?, For the next hour, Thompson continued to berate Lord, trying to get her to crack. I had the impression that she told me that [Burnside] had nothing to do with it and she did it. But he refused to say, like he had said on his porch, that he had definitely heard Lord confess to the shooting. Shearin was outraged. Basing an opinion on over 30 years with the Dallas Police Department, Kim Sanders explained that the Lord interrogation was intimidation, not questioning, and as Thompson handled the questioning it was a textbook example of how police can get false confessions. And now hes dead, he said. Home But Love also acknowledges that he is bewildered at the idea of Burnside shooting himself. He also had the medical examiner testify about what Thompson supposedly told him about the blood spatter on Lords clothes. It found that two particles characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Burnsides right hand and that one particle characteristic of primer gunshot residue had been discovered on the back of Lords left hand. Olivia kept saying, I wasnt going to leave him. 4. Im just as baffled as you are, she said. She was arrested in 2010 for the . These actions are allowed constitutionally under their police powers; however, what can happen during a police interrogation is supposed to follow certain legal requirements and more often than not, they are undertaken while being recorded via video or audio. It was so hard for us to believe that she was doing this, said Jaffe. But Tittle said the evidence simply did not point to that conclusion. Thompson returned to headquarters and took the elevator to the homicide offices on the fifth floor. Lord was accused of murder countless times, and she always denied it. Thompson did his best to defend himself. Shearin then asked if she was included in Burnsides will or his life insurance policy. The detectives in charge of the investigation had concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate that Det. Still, Thompson had only a theory. Required fields are marked *. Dwayne Thompson has spent over 18 years with the Dallas Police Department. Chasing a trail of clues, Thompson and the Dallas homicide team are always one step behind their suspect. He had been a good-looking young man, with a magnificent, wide grin. They returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Lord, and ultimately the city had to pay her $1.2 million, which reportedly was the largest judgement of its kind in Dallas. On May 9, 2010, plaintiff Hephzibah Olivia Lord, 36, who works in mortgaging, was alone with her boyfriend at his home, in Dallas. And in Cleveland, an argument among friends spins out of control when one of them makes a deadly decision. I mean, she got no-billed. In August, three months after the shooting, Shearin requested an examining trial, a legal procedure in which a police officer must appear in a magistrates court to lay out the probable cause for the arrest of a suspect in a felony case. She said that she had phoned Jaffe because she initially thought Burnside had fallen and was hurt. See rank. And Im a person who thinks your behavior tonight doesnt add up. He pointed his finger at her. But there was one more turn in the story to come. Although she had her own apartment, she was planning to move in with him as soon as he finished remodeling the house. | Editor Believe me, she adored Michael with all of her heart. Several months later, when he called Lord to refinance his home, their other relationships had ended. She was wearing a blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants, her knees stained with blood. Thats what you did! Then Tittle fired back. Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson and the homicide team investigate the brutal double murders of two friends shot and burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a car. Shearin got Lord out of jail on bail. Its so ridiculous. The jurors, however, werent buying any of it. The detective told him that he was doing what he could. Then his own cellphone rang. Join Facebook to connect with Dwayne Thompson and others you may know. (As he said in one interview for The First 48, Bringing stuff back to life is whats up, Jack.) He taught classes at the Dallas Police Academy, and a private training agency hired him to lead seminars on detective work around the country. Chasing a trail of clues, Thompson and the Dallas homicide Read allWhen Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. | Sign In, Verdict Corrections She had loved dogs and painting. When the paramedics arrived, Burnside had faint vital signs, but he died shortly after reaching the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital. When Quinton studied the gunshot residue report, he concluded that the trace amounts of residue on Lord did not necessarily indicate handling or firing the weapon. But he couldnt say for sure that she didnt fire the Beretta. She claimed that Thompson show a reckless disregard for her rights in having Plaintiff arrested in 2010 for the shooting death of her boyfriend, Mcihael Brunside. Why are you doing this to me right now? Lord asked Thompson at one stage during the questioning. A citizen filing a lawsuit for false arrest must prove that the officer acted with malice, which is difficult to do. Merritt had an uncanny knack for catching killers. He actually turned to Lord and said, I know you didnt do it. He turned back to the jury and continued, But thats not the issue in this trial. She was so in love with him that she was always able to forgive him when he screwed uplike the night of her birthday, when he got rip-roaring drunk, staggered around the restaurant, and didnt even pay for dinner. Lets solve some murders, my brothers, he would cheerfully bellow as he barreled into the office at the beginning of his shifts. What other results could you have with the police policing themselves? she said. In Lords case, while she was arrested by Dallas police it was soon shown that there was no murder; her boyfriend had committed suicide. Burnsides father showed up to let her in, and when Lord tried to tell him she had not murdered his son, he cut her off. By the first of June, hed put aside Lords file to work on his other cases. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. That was one of the most-watched episodes in The First 48s run, drawing 2.3 million viewers, and the producers told Thompson that they wanted to do more shows with him. They make honest, reasonable mistakes. According to Jaffe, Lord overheard the conversation and started to get upset. She told Burnside she was hurt that he would go to the trouble of organizing a friends birthday party when he had done next to nothing for her own birthday a few months earlier. I know that he could get dramatic and a little crazy when he drank. Finally, after Thompson barked at him, he stepped onto the front porch and told a flabbergasting story. In fact, when Tittle asked Thompson, Is it still your belief that Olivia Lord murdered Michael Burnside? the detective didnt hesitate. Reddit - Dive into anything. Toward the end of the year, he finally saw the video recording of Rastegars interview at police headquarters. | Recent Lawyer Listings And thats hurtful. Thompson stormed out of the room and asked Lundberg to see what he could get out of Lord. And now that he had a witness who was going to provide bombshell testimony about what had really happened that night, he was ready to go to trial. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. He studied the call histories on the phones and took some notes. Whats more, he said, Thompson had left out of the affidavit the fact that Burnside, who was right-handed, had been shot at point-blank range in his right temple, which would give a judge another reason to believe he had committed suicide. It was a very overwhelming issue., Thompson leaned back in his chair and stared at Lord. Individuals have a right to counsel when they are being questioned, this is part of the Miranda warning. The First 48 (2004- ) In Dallas, when a good Samaritan is gunned down trying . Veteran Dallas police homicide detective Dwayne Thompson is on desk duty pending an internal investigation. The lawsuit also claimed that Thompson had permanently damaged Lords reputation in Dallas and caused her to suffer extreme emotional and mental anguish, including depression, insomnia, nightmares, and constant anxiety of the most extreme nature. Lord was asking for monetary damages, and according to courthouse gossip, Tittle was not willing to settle for less than seven figures. He said that Lundberg had told him that Rastegar had wavered a little bit in his statement but that Lundberg had also let him know that the gist was the same and nothing substantively had changed from what he had already written in his affidavit. Thompson and Lundberg drove to Rastegars house. Lord is a striking green-eyed woman, with wavy auburn hair that sweeps down past her shoulders. You [expletive] shot him! According to Thompson, Rastegar said he had been in bed during the early morning hours of May 9 when he heard screaming in Burnsides front yard. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. Jaffe called Thompson back the next day and said that he had reached Lord. Thompson formed his hand into the shape of a gun and pointed at his jawline, aiming upward at a 70-degree angle, which infuriated Shearin, who accused Thompson of wildly exaggerating the location and angle of the shot. And on this morning, Thompson was especially interested in the victimology of Burnside. Will detectives be able to catch the killers before they strike again? . Physical evidence can be more baffling than conclusive. For someone to say Dwayne maliciously would go after Miss Lord and try to set her up, I would say, You have the wrong guy, said Andrea Handley, one of the offices senior prosecutors. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Self - Detective; 2009-2014 2 eps; Credits. Lundberg conducted the interview because Thompson had a prior commitment to teach a class at the police academy. Yes, the video of him interviewing her is pretty rough, and it looks like he comes across as a bully. It was Lundberg, who had gone to Parkland to examine Burnsides body. "When I work my cases, I don't have a dog in the fight," said Thompson, a homicide detective since 2006. Im innocent, Lord kept saying. There was no way a person with an IQ above 65 could have concluded that Olivia had shot Michael.. You did! Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said he brought thousands of offenders to justice, bringing closure to victims and their families. Filing in behind him were at least a dozen of his fellow homicide detectives, there to show support. During her twenties, she always seemed to be out and about, a regular at trendy nightspots and concerts. Hed been as tall as Thompson, with a lean, athletic build. Based on what we see, it looks like you got upset and shot him. Also acknowledges that he could lets solve some murders, my brothers, would. Initially thought Burnside had faint vital signs, but he refused to say, like he comes across as bully... 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