Justice By Any Means | Melvin Weathers

tonight on justice by any means a child's life is forever changed when she discovers her cousin has been brutally murdered I couldn't believe what I saw I could clearly see the tip of the knife handle in his chest Melissa seeing a lot of thing certain little girls shouldn't had seen when it came to filing with an all-out manhunt fails to unearth the killer the young girl vows to track it down herself no matter how long it takes I can remember Melissa saying to me the song as I get grown imma get her well make sure he pay for the chili Melvin nothing was being done about it It was as if our lives didn't matter we deserve better but we'll hurt three decade-long quest for justice put her own life in jeopardy Melissa would go through a brick wall to get justice that's just what she did it's everyone's worst nightmare someone you love is brutally murdered and the killer is never apprehended this monster to justice these are the true stories of mothers and fathers sons and daughters every day people who would stop at nothing to avenge the horrific acts committed against their loved ones heroes who risked everything fighting for justice by any means [Music] imagine being a child and witnessing the murder of one of your loved ones with your own eyes for most of the pain the confusion would be unbearable but this is the story of one little girl who overcame that grief and grew into an amazing woman a woman who would spend nearly three decades hunting down a killer her name is Melissa Kountz and she knows exactly what it takes to get justice by any means December 28 1983 it's around 4:20 a.m. in Highland Park Michigan a historically african-american suburb of Detroit 13-year old Melissa Coons and her 16 year old sister Yvonne are sound asleep in their mother Louise's bed that is until a series of loud noises jolts all three of them awake it was like a sound of a struggle like someone's fight inside the house but you couldn't see anything because you couldn't turn on a light from the darkness a familiar but agonized voice rings out it's Melissa's 28 year old cousin Melvin weathers I heard Melvin called my mom's name and you can hear him calling for help and I thought that I was dreaming her sleep until my mom said hit the floor I knew something was god-awful wrong the three women huddled on the floor trying to make sense of what's happening in the next room it was so intense that you could feel something was wrong but you couldn't think my mom told my sister and I to go call the police Melissa tries to dial nine-one-one but the light is dead her mom orders she and her sister to make a mad dash for the neighbor's house when I get to the second landing of the stairs that's when I could see the shadow in front of me it smelled of still cigarettes and the body odor my sister trying to push me to tell me you know come on let's get out of here and I'm saying wait all I know is that it seemed like forever to get out that front door once outside we went to our neighbor's house next door melissa gets her neighbor to call the police once police arrive on the scene Melissa and Yvonne walk back across the street toward their home where they hear another familiar voice my mom let out a blood-curdling scream the type they killed you right down to your bone like something that you hear actually in a horror movie that's how intense the scream was so I went back inside the house and I snuck up the stairs there was two officers upstairs talking and they had a flashlight and I look to my left and I saw my cousin Melvin I couldn't believe what I saw [Music] this is the room in which Melbourne was killed in Melbourne got up out the bed and over here was his dresser and you can hear Melvin knocking things over before he finally came in the hallway at this threshold and this is where he finally collapsed on December 28th at approximately 4:20 a.m. my life ever changed there was absolutely no way that I would let this go until I saw justice served Melissa Kunz was born in 1970 in what was once a thriving suburb in the automotive boom town of Detroit unfortunately it peaked and the decline of the area was really exemplified there with high crime middle class flight and a very struggling community as the local economy collapsed Melissa's parents divorced her mother Louise did everything she could to provide a stable loving environment for her two daughters my mom worked at Michigan Belle growing up we had everything that we needed first and then my mother provided us what we wanted Melissa and her sister Yvonne were very disciplined very well taught good neighbors in 1978 Louise fell hard for a fellow Highland Park resident a handsome 27 year old military man who'd recently returned home from the service his name is William Lyles jr. he was more commonly known as bicycle in the neighborhood my mom thought that bicycle was a family loving man that he was a good person she thought that she really has something special in him Melissa and her sister were slow to adjust to Bosco's presence in their lives but around that same time Melissa's older cousin Melvin weathers moved in with the family Melvin immediately helped smooth out the situation the ways she was a very nice person she always had like a open-door policy when most people is out of a home or food or something she always made sure that you had a place to stay all my mother's siblings children all stayed with us at one point in time she will always do whatever she could to help him provide for her family my mother worked the third shift so Melvin was in a house to make sure this as an adult presence we felt comfortable with Melvin Melvin was very non-confrontational he always loved peace and he always wanted to bring a smile and happiness to you but any happiness that once filled the Coons house was snuffed out on December 28 1983 it was so horrible that Melvin passed away the way he did as the police began to process the scene they initially consider Melvin's murder as a random act of violence and all too frequent occurrence in this increasingly crime riddled community the city it had a lot of problems crime was high but a search of the house yields no signs of robbery there was physical evidence looked for and taken photographs taken they did everything at the time that they could do but it appeared that nothing came up missing they found a pair of men's shoes from the basement by a window that had been forced open on the soles of the shoe or sponges taped and attached apparently to further cushion to silence the shoes are the only evidence the killer left behind the police found about four knives that he dropped behind as he was running out the house we think he planned to stab each occupant at some point before leaving the home this crime took meticulous planning its disconnecting the electricity it's putting sponges on your shoes it'll just soften your tread so they can't hear you coming and it's coming with a set of knives to kill it seems there was only one thing that stopped the intruder from finishing his plan inside the house you can hear struggling going on that was Melvin struggling he was knocking stuff over but now then he actually I believe saved Louise Yvonne and Melissa's life though Melvin's killer left behind plenty of physical evidence his current whereabouts are unknown which fills Melissa with a sense of drag I was fearful for my life I didn't know what to think didn't know what to do I thought that at any given time any of us could be next I felt that he still was out to get my mom my sister and I while police continue to scour the house for evidence 13 year old Melissa Coons decides then in their what she has to do remember Melissa and to me this song as I get grown imma get her wanna make sure he pay for killing Melvin I knew that it was up to me to make sure that I got this case I saw it through it's the morning after the horrific stabbing death of 28 year old Melvin weathers his 13 year old cousin Melissa Koons along with the rest of her family are anxious for the police to apprehend the killer but as Melissa will soon find out the path to justice would be a rocky one I'm standing here in front of the house where my cousin Melvin was killed 31 years ago being here brings back all the painful memories of the horror and terror that we had to face while we was living in the house following the stabbing the Highland Park Police officers did all of the steps that they could do at the time as far as interviews as far as what had happened in the home there was also physical evidence look for and taken photographs taken they did everything at the time that they could do and police examined the scene they found evidence of incredible planning the electricity had been cut off the fuses unscrewed so the lights wouldn't people couldn't see what was going on with the attack I heard a police officer asked my mom where the fuse box was so I followed them and I was holding onto the back of my mom's shirt as we went in the basement as soon as you got inside you hear this rustling sound like of the wind and a police officer immediately flashed his light to the left and he said but that's how he got in right there it was the broken window upstairs a bloody pillow riddled with stab marks reveals even more about the nature of the attack he put a pillow over Melton's face and then stabbed him so he couldn't holla but somehow I figured that the good Lord made melt and fall real hard and Louise and her children they got up this was a crime of savagery with knives and you have to get really personal clothes to kill somebody with a knife but this wasn't the heat of passion give us a crime of cold calculation the meticulous planning is made even more evident when Melissa's mother notices one thing that is seemingly missing from the home she was like what happened to the puppy so the police officer at first they went to the shoot we had to shoot a close shoot where you could throw clothes from upstairs downstairs so he looked in there first the dog wasn't in there then he looked in a washing machine the dog wasn't an air and he looked in the dryer the dog wasn't an air so he went to the deep freezer a family dog had been captured and placed in the freezer apparently to silence it so it couldn't bark a warning fortunately the dog was able to be rescued they opened the freezer in time and saved the dog police doubled back to Melissa and her mother to obtain their official statements about the attack it is young Melissa who offers the most detailed account melissa is a child asleep his awakened by screams she flees the house but she had passed the killer on her way he smelled the cigarette smoke as she knew the smell the stench of the killer though Melissa's description of the smoking man is vague she makes it clear to police who she thinks it is I knew who did it I could smell him right before me and I saw his shadow image there was no doubt in my mind that Bosco did this as Melissa explains to police Bosco had moved in with the family once his relationship with Luiz got serious when things quickly took a turn for the worse they had a very bad relationship Bosco would be Don Luiz he would take her vehicle and make her and her children walk he will wait for her on pay day and he would take her money from her the police came to the house numerous times before this before the domestic violence loss was out there as I remember is distinctively this one police officer when he came in I was very young and I was shaken and I had tears of my eyes like please don't leave us here and after the police love that was a very very violent episode that's when he starts physically abusing my mom in front of us he didn't have no care in the world and he felt that he was untouchable according to Melissa in the months prior to the murder Moscoe had been more violent than ever but thankfully once cousin Melvin moved in he acted as a buffer between Bosco and Melissa's mother during his time Melvin was like the babysitter he was supposed to be there to watch us because Melvin he just always wanted peace and my mom didn't feel safe with possible but according to Melissa the situation came to a head in the most frightening way imaginable I was with my mom watching TV and he asked her to come upstairs and she told him no and he physically picked her up and tried to carry up the stairs when that happened I ran upstairs and you can hear him downstairs hitting her because she didn't want to come upstairs and have sex but oh by the time we came downstairs I saw my mom underwear down around her ankles and he was in between her legs my mom had her hands over her face and she was crying I went around to grab something to hit paschal with and I took the fireplace poker and I hit him across the back and he turned around and I swore I saw Satan himself but before Bosco could turn his rage toward Melissa cousin Melvin was on the side of the house that time I just broke down I couldn't take it anymore I remember seeing a look on my mom's face I remember hearing the sound of her cry and the fact that he did this to her according to Melissa after the sexual assault on her mother Bosco moved out but his reign of terror was far from over he'll made threatening calls we started getting bricks through the window like every other night brick that was thrown through my sister's window my mom's window as fast as she will replace it then another brick would come true it's amazing that nobody ever got hurt it was terrifying you know because you never know which window the brick would come through or if you will actually get hit so we was we was actually scared you never knew gossip spread in the small community about Bosco's fits of rage and destruction still no action was taken as others don't feel it's their place to get involved and I'll come home and tell my daddy my daddy's be like behind I know business they are they beating us grown folks I'll just be like it ain't right when he starts throwing things around and he was physically abusing my mom in front of us I didn't feel safe my mom didn't feel safe after listening to Melissa's gut-wrenching account of the pain and suffering Bosco inflicted on her family police named him the prime suspect in Melvin's murder surely after the homicide happened the police enlisted the aid of a tracking dog within hours the canine officer enables police to make an arrest when the police dogs traced the scent of the shoe they went down the alley of Louie Street and Tabasco mother's home police arrived at the address of a family member of Bosco's which is where Bosco and his relatives were living at the time even though the canine officer made his way to the house where Bosco was staying Melissa and her family a shots to learn the suspect identified was in Moscow we found out the police dogs picked up the scent on the brother night on Bosco with the apprehension of Bosco's brother Bobby Lyles is it possible police have arrested the wrong man for Melvin's murder Alisa certainly thinks so we knew that the brother didn't have a reason to commit the crime so as law enforcement brings Bastas brother Bobby Lyles in for questioning and prepares to hand the case over to prosecutors young Melissa Koontz embarks on an investigation of her own the kind of person that risk is all to gain justice is a very determined very motivated first she just wouldn't rest she didn't care what she had to do it was absolutely no way that I would let this go until I saw justice served it's been 24 hours since the murder of Melissa Coons beloved cousin Melvin weathers and police already have a suspect in custody but it's not the man Melissa suspects is behind the crime that would be her mother's abusive boyfriend possible lives instead they've arrested Roscoe's brother Bobby spokesman for the Highland Park Police insist they've got the right man but young Melissa isn't so sure we knew that the brother didn't have enough information about the crime scene or a reason to commit the crime hours after his arrest Bobby Lyle's is interviewed at police headquarters not only does Bobby deny having anything to do with Melvin's murder he claims he's been set up he told the police man I was sleep I was sleep and I minded my own business and next thing you know I feel something tugging on my feet and next thing you know my feet is wet according to Bobby when he woke up he was wearing different socks than when he went to bed his brother said Bosco took his socks off and exchanged it with his brother so the police dogs picked up the scent on the brother not on him with the least to a search of the Lyle's home they stir up more evidence that seems to point the finger at Bosco on that night the police searched Bosco's home and in his home they found his loose-leaf diary journal that he wrote he wrote 24 times Louise I'm going to kill you seven times Louise you are dead I'm gonna kill Louise comma melbourne comma and whoever else was in the house [Music] less than 24 hours after arresting him and less than 48 hours after the murder Bobbie Lyles is released Bosco had the literal throne police off the scent by switching clothes it would smell and lead to somebody else wrong Bosco himself was gone Bosco dropped out of sight as a protective measure police put Melissa and her family under round-the-clock surveillance but it does little to assuage their fears I recall my grandmother looking out the window just to make sure that the police was still there and they would be there I recall going to school having a police detailed outside of the school because Bosco knew was school we went to and it was just this fear that you didn't know what would happen we were always looking over our shoulder we were always fearful wondering would there be any type of retaliation or will he try to repeat the crime if word on the streets of Highland Park is true Melissa's fears are not unfounded after the killing Bosco dropped out of sight but he wasn't totally vanished there were reports of him being seen around the area one day my son was going to school in Highland Park and I drove up right behind Bosco he got out of the car and he looked in my face and he said damn like how the police can't find you and I'm looking in your face less than 20 minutes the police said we went over there and looked where you said but we didn't see no one so we were sort of angry cuz it seemed like the police wasn't really trying to find this guy he would torture us the same life that's I felt because he would ride past or we will be on a porch playing he was just slowly read past we could see his face and then speed off I always tell my parents I did go buy stuff as the frequency of Pasco sightings increases Melissa begins to lose faith in the police I thought that nobody cared and my life my sister's life my mother's life and Melvin's life we all were worthy we deserve better it was very frustrating for me to see that Bosco got away with murder this is what happens when there are not the resources to put the police on the street it was non-stop the crime kept building up what it comes down to is people don't have justice times got so tough in Highland Park that eventually the entire police department was forced to shut down the law enforcement effort was taken over by the County Sheriff and the State Police but the police station itself was abandoned it's all due to the poor economic state of the city the lack of money and resources it was as if he left home and then closed your doors or windows and that allowed trespassers to enter urban explorers homeless people and items were left guns evidence reports and this information could be accessed by anyone so a lot of things from the police station itself were missing though what's left of law enforcement in Highland Park has quickly forgotten about Melvin weathers murder Melissa Koons certainly hasn't I talked to Melissa every day and she would tell you that I'm not gonna stop till I get him so I was you know glad for her she wasn't gonna quit after Melvin was killed I always thought that we would get that phone call to say that they caught Bosco that he was locked up behind bars and that we would have to go to trial and testify but that call never came as the years pass Melissa graduates from Highland Park High School and for a while the search for Melvin's killer is put on hold after I graduated from Highland Park I went to Detroit College of Business where I got my bachelor's in office and Health Administration after college Melissa much like her mother finds herself a single mom even as she fights to provide her children with a better life Melissa never gives up the search for her cousin's killer it was like her cousin never left her mind daily with Highland Park sliding further and further into despair melissa is forced to make the most difficult choice of her life at my cousin's encouragement she advised me that Delaware is a beautiful state to raise children my cousin's murder has always been in my memory it's something that I would never forget but I tried to move on with my life and continue my life so I moved to get away from the violence once I moved I was able to live a productive life but in 2007 a devastating phone call will reignite Melissa's drive to bring Nova's killer to justice when I saw that article in my mom's purse that was a very pivotal moment for me I knew in order for it to move forward that someone had to do something and I knew that someone would be big ten years after the murder of her cousin Melissa Coombs made the difficult decision to put the search for his killer on home she moves to Delaware to live a better life for her and her children and although melissa is now 600 miles away the nightmare of what happened is never far from her mind I try to move on forward with my life try and live a normal life as possible but you can never forget that part of your life that happened Melissa isn't the only one still adversely affected by Melvin's murder any years after the murder the crime was never forgotten because you could tell it affected her but then in July of 2007 Melissa receives a call that changes her life forever my girls was visiting Michigan for the summer as they often did my oldest daughter at the time was 15 and my youngest daughter was 10 my mom was watching her favorite TV show and she had a massive heart attack she passed away I was devastated Melissa hops the next plane to Detroit and begins the process of getting her mother's estate in order while doing so she stumbles upon something that stops her in her tracks we found the old copy of the original article about Melvin's murder in her purse that she kept in the house I knew that they had punted my mother until the day she died when I saw that article in my mom's purse that was a very pivotal moment for me I made a commitment and a vow that I would see justice served Melissa's first move is to visit the new police station in Highland Park I went there and talked to a detective this police detective um he wouldn't help me I wanted to see what information did they ever have that was going on with the case this detective basically told me poop I'll be gone if you can't tell me where to find him at then you're wasting my time that the men in blue who took the oath to serve and protect didn't do anything to help us who could I turn to Melissa decides that since the police in Highland Park can't bring Bosco to justice she'd have to become the cases lead investing I obtained my master's degree in criminal justice with the concentration in criminal behavior I think Melissa's degree gave her the ability to just have knowledge of what resource tools were available to her and the previous detective told me if you can't tell me exactly where he is then you're wasting my time so that forever stuck in my mind so I created the list of potential addresses for Bosco unfortunately the list of potential addresses numbers in the dozens Melissa methodically looks into each address it was always for me a frightful time because again I didn't know what to expect many of the addresses are in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Metro Detroit once upon a time this was a very safe neighborhood at any given time you could see the kids on the street plan with each other the neighbors talking to each other it was like a community the darkest part was Bosco despite checking off every address on her list Melissa's no closer to finding Bosco he did not seem to be in the area no one knew where he was for sure it was a mystery no one could find it that's not the only setback Melissa's investigation has suffered when the police department was disbanded witness statements the initial police reports the autopsy all the evidence disappeared all of the warrants prior to 1985 has been deleted from the city of Holland Park and the lien system database when I found that out that pushed me forward I was furious after everything that has happened with them losing all the physical evidence that was very frustrating for me and the most his missing piece of the puzzle is bosco Lyle's this case was on nowhere so I knew in order for it to move forward that someone had to do something and I knew that someone would be made melissa speaks with people from the neighborhood collecting information adding it to a self-made database of past witnesses and potential weeds at moments when I felt that the case was going nowhere I always pick myself up of knowing that you have to get to justice serve for your mom sister Melvin and myself and that if you don't do anything Bosco will get away with murder in early 2012 Melissa's luck and that of her hotel takes a turn for the better the city is on the boom again and Highland Park pre-established its police department for Melissa perhaps the biggest stroke of good luck is the hiring of investigator Paul Thomas I retired from the Detroit Police Department in 1999 I was a homicide investigator at that time and I had the opportunity to come to Highland Park and Hill was like a rebirth to me there maybe help a different set of people from her home in Delaware Melissa decides to reach out to the Detective Division of Highland Park's recently reopened Police Department Paul Thomas is working as a detective there in Highland Park phone rings it's a woman calling from the east coast talking about murder 28 years ago at first detective Thomas is reluctant to get involved in such a cold case until Melissa Koontz starts sharing her story what convinced me to take this case seriously was the impassioned plea that Melissa made to me that she had really been through some sort of trauma and there's something needed to be when I spoke with detective Thomas and we started getting more into the case the whole entire experience was a defining moment for me over the phone Melisa and detective Thomas come up with a simple strategy I did a lot of the computer work and detective Thomas the legwork to go after the evidence I began checking the neighborhood just to see if there was anyone still around that remembered what happened I will call him at the wee hours of the morning if I had questions for him and tell him well I need for you to look this up for me or to research this or this is what I found I need you to follow up on this she had the tendency to tell me what to do but I almost welcome that kind of attitude because that tells me that you are really motivated then you don't want to stop until this is resolved and seeing her determination made me determined with the original case file missing the duo creates a new one from scratch by revisiting witnesses rebuilding the evidence list and collecting additional information about Bosco's potential whereabouts but Melissa makes a crucial discovery buried deep in the records of a long since retired judge I spoke with a clerk there and I asked her about the warrant so she went in she placed me a hold and she told me yes I found the actual warrant and I asked her so you actually had the warrant she said yes that warrant had just been sitting there for 28 years strong as ever with the arrest warrant the list of evidence and the witness statements into the only thing Melissa is missing is her prime suspect Bosco Lyle's after the killing Bosco dropped out of sight there's some thought that he left the state to stay with relatives elsewhere there was no reason to expect that this case could ever be solved or when anybody would ever find the guy but Melissa Kountz has never let the word impossible stand in her way and soon her decades-long search for her cousin's killer is about to come to fruition all I could do was cry oh my god oh my god oh my god July 2012 is now been 28 years since Melissa Kountz witnessed the murder for cousin Melvin weathers but with the help of Detective Paul Thomas Melissa has rebuilt the entire case file from scratch the only piece of the puzzle that remains missing is the alleged perpetrator Bosco files we've pushed me forward to finding justice for my mom in Melbourne was the fact that everything went wrong in this case no one thought that this could actually come alive you saw there were many false leads that I encountered there were people that told me things that they thought possibly Bosco had done people told me Bosco had been seen in years people told me Bosco was not in here Bosco's family tries to say someone else did it and it never panned out to mean anything so I always thought that was them protecting him redoubling her effort to pinpoint Bosco's whereabouts melissa launches into an exhaustive search of area real estate transactions hoping to find proof Bosco is still living in Michigan I did the research to find out that the house belonged to his mother and I had the county he pull up a copy of the deed now provided for detective Thomas another possible address for Bosco July 26th 2012 detective Paul Thomas pulls in the driveway of the most recent address Melissa had given him when I first approached his relative's home I saw man sitting on the porch when I looked in that man's eyes it was Bosco it was almost and so he was saying okay this is it this day has come when the man gives him a different name and there's no probable cause to search him detective Thomas thinks fast if I could get a photo of him that photo could be sent to Melissa who had lived in the same house with him back in the 80s even though a significant amount of time had passed she might still be able to identify it he is able to convince Bosco to let his photo be taken believe it or not and it's emailed to Martha so he sent me over the picture it sent chills down my spine [Music] she came back almost immediately instead that's him as I looked at Bosco he's in a somewhat frail condition I told him if you want to run I still run every day we're two old guys he's as old as me I said you're not gonna outrun me he put his hands up as though he didn't want any part of what I had just said i handcuffed him we put him in the car and we brought him to the Highland Park Police Station all I could do was cry oh my god oh my god oh my god when I heard that Bosco was arrested there was like hallelujah because now my sister could be at peace and Melvin is at peace I'm sure they glad that Melissa kept working on it to get justice this is the house where Bosco was arrested and being here I actually feel outraged because he had a chance to live his life on the run while he shattered two families it's just so surreal for me to actually be here where he actually was arrested it's discussed with Bosco's arrest Melissa Koontz accomplishes what an entire police force couldn't for 28 years without her research and her diligence I couldn't have done it I think it's amazing that she put as much work into it as she did and that I was able to get results from following Network it was overwhelming for me I was so proud of detective Thomas at that moment it's so humble I just was at a loss of words but tracking down Bosco Lyles and convicting him of murder are two different things then that's when the real work began in order to finish her amazing journey Melissa will be forced to come face-to-face with Bosco for the first time since the night of the murder when she was just 13 years old and she'll have to do it in open court they came to a point that I had to tell my story and if I didn't get them to believe that there was enough evidence to move forward the case will be gone and as the case has to trial Melissa's demons I did fear for my safety knowing that he had his family members out there this is the court where bicycles trial took place where I had to testify I was very nervous I was very scared not knowing what the outcome of the case would be and I did not want him to get away with murder I wanted justice to be served but when the trial begins and Bosco Lyles is escorted into the courtroom Melissa and her supporters can hardly believe their eyes he looked older than my mother so it was just like yeah life took you in a direction that you didn't want to go in because you look horrible he looked worn out I was happy very happy he looked like he didn't sleep well at night for me in a courtroom that was the first time that I actually saw his face since I was 13 years old and it was so emotional and overwhelming for me to be sitting in the same room face to face with this man who caused terror upon my family and knowing that I could have been next that could have been me that night prosecutors opened by painting a picture not only of the crime itself but of the months and years leading up to it during which time Bosco terrorized Melissa and her family each witness was telling the jury the same story how bad the sky was and what they see that he did to Louise and Melvin so the jury they were listening and I was just looking at their faces are like they almost could cry because they were just saying like wow how did they put up with this but when it's their turn Bosco's defense team seizes on the lack of physical evidence connecting their client to the crime in Melissa's eyes it's an effective strategy I need to know that the man who did this to him who ended his life is now behind bars and will pushed me forward to finding justice for my mom in Melbourne what's the fact that no one would ever be able to fathom the things that we had to go through as kids so oh my gosh to know that it went from the cold case to this with the fate of the case in her hands Melissa Koons takes the stand under oath she recounts each and every act of violence Paschal Isles inflicted on her family Melissa testifying as to every aspect of what happened that night and it was very gripping testimony very detailed she was very explicit as to what happened I remembered what was going through my mind is that this is now the fight of my life this is the final fight for my mom Melvin my sister and I and that I had to tell my story and get this man to serve time for what he has done if this man actually got away with murder it would have been the ultimate slap in the face for us as kids having to go through to domestic violence everything that we had to go through melissa's turn on the witness stand proves to be the deciding factor it takes the jury just four hours to return with a verdict Bosco Lyles is found guilty of the murder of Melvin weathers the judge sentences him to life in prison without parole this is where he was sentenced and convicted for the murder of Melvin being here makes me feel excited to know that this is where it all ended where the jurors had that opportunity to listen with their heart and find him guilty of first-degree murder you've seen people who have been like consumed and embittered by their experience in their a.m. they're never gonna let it go she didn't let it go but it didn't crush her it didn't ruin her Melvin's murder haunted me for years from the time that he was murdered up until this day everything that has happened in this case has changed my life in some shape form or fashion I think that if Melvin and Louise were here that they would be extremely proud of Melissa and I think they would not be able to say enough about the job that she did no matter what she had to do or who she had to go through to have someone determined to take care of business the way she did I don't know if I could have done it she is an example for those that want to get something done she done it for real I just couldn't take it anymore and I knew that's the only way to see justice for my sister my mom and I as well as Melvin was to take an act of hand and getting this case solved [Music] as a child Melissa Koons watched her cousin's killer get away with murder today she's living proof that with patience and determination justice is possible by any means [Music]

Channel: Dark Crimes

Views: 127,671

Rating: 4.7258062 out of 5

Keywords: Episodes, Deadly, William, Crime, justice by any means, Watch, Melvin Weathers, female killers, UK, Latest, Series, Dark, Download, documentary, M., Kelly, Free, us justice system, TV, Discovery, ID, John, Phelps, true crime, african americans, Full, Season, real crime, Online, Minds, Women, documentaries

Id: psesWls27nU

Length: 43min 31sec (2611 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 22 2019