Killer Cases: Man Savagely Murders His Whole Family For Webcam Model

how much of a mess is this when I go walk in here don't don't go that way okay all right it's a triple homicide in a relatively quiet area of the county things like this just don't happen in chilota when you enter a scene like that with with several bodies family members it's heartbreaking tell me what happened I don't know what happened he became infatuated with this lady from uh Bulgaria Sylvie would charge money through a social platform for her to do dances things whatever if you can please pretty please send me one of your videos I'm going to pray for you brother nobody loved you anymore or any less it's either a really incredible acting job or uh he didn't do it new trial out of Florida the people vers Grant aotto he faces the potential of the death penalty and when his parents found out about his quote relationship with Sylvie and the tremendous amounts of money that it was spending on her they contacted her and that effectively ended his relationship with Sylvie that's what this case is about the evidence will show that there is a complete lack of physical evidence linking Mr rato to these deaths I mean this case had everything it had sex drugs it was just missing the rock and roll oh poor baby I'm so sorry okay your wife is in a bar you said she's under this is what he's going to tell you how to get out of that situation and I grabbed the gun trying to find the first place to put a body no sir the only thing they could do was kill him you want to say anything we the jury and Define the defendant it's a part of Florida called Orlando North All County Backcountry Beauty small towns and worlds away from all the nearby theme parks really typifies Central Florida it's where Margaret and Chad a model settled and raised their three boys margato loved horses she fostered uh a former race horse that had been abused spent a lot of time helping other kids in the neighborhood introducing them to horses uh chatam was a really big foror football fan he loved to take his sons to the games his oldest son Jason married and moved out the two younger boys Cody and Grant were inseparable Cody was only a little bit older than Grant so they were on the same weightlifting team in high school they played paintball together they game together they watched anime together they really did everything together Grant was in awe of his older brother Cody and joined him studying to become licensed nursed anesthetists his life was centered around his family you know dreams of going to Japan which he and Cody actually did and they both lived at home with their parents and up until July of 2018 he he had the perfect American life then tragedy struck the Amato family we got to go around back this way how much of a mess is this when I go walk in here don't don't go that way okay all right give us 5 minutes deputies responding to a violent scene while doing a well-being check at a home in julota a triple homicide deputies have been surrounding this house for hours collecting evidence surrounding a murder investigation when you enter a scene like that with with several bodies um family members uh you know obviously it's heartbreaking the case was assigned to seol County homicide detective Eva Marie m and her partner Danny Anderson why do we have three uh family members deceased and who did this the mother uh I observed she was at her desk so you could tell that she was working um the father was in the kitchen it appeared he had just come home uh based on uh he had his lunch bag near him uh and then the brother was uh in the doorway coming in from the garage as if he was coming home from somewhere at first the crime made no sense to the detectives or to local reporters including Michael Williams who covered the case for the Orlando Sentinel it's a triple homicide in a relatively quiet area of the county things like this just don't happen in chilota and detectives found it strange that the scene almost appeared to have been staged a pistol next to the dead brother Cody a gun in a holster on the father's body that seemed to be backwards for a right-handed person there was no evidence of forced entury uh nothing appeared to be taken from from the home but one brother living at home was missing Grant a motto so then our investigation led us to find him and see what was going on detectives discovered him checked in at a nearby Motel our thought process was why is uh Grant not at the home and at a hotel you're being cooperative sir we appreciate that um some s County detectives want to talk to you so we're going to get the handcuffs off no weapons no evidence of blood and the handcuffs were taken off Grant we spoke with him and he was willing to come with us voluntarily to the seal County Sheriff's Office my partner Danny Anderson transported him there and that's when uh he and I began um interviewing him hi I'm Eva Hi how are you I'm here he seemed an unlikely suspect here's a person who's mom and dad had just been uh executed and his brother who he was couldn't have been close to anyone in the planet was executed but it soon emerged that Grant and his father Chad had argued the night of the murder he had threatened me that if I stepped foot back on his property not the house but if I stepped foot back on his property that he would kill me and like he had he said those specific words yeah so you're afraid of him oh yeah you you are actually afraid that he could kill you yeah and it's also because like in the past like two weeks before I got kicked out my dad was going through like a lot of episodes where he was losing his temper a lot yelling a lot especially when me and Cody weren't at the house and um who's he yelling at my mom so was he being violent to your mom yeah like I think physically or just emotionally both put his hands on her he had bruised her left arm by grabbing it um and then apparently she had said that on one of the nights that um they were in the kitchen together and then he was like throwing food at her and then banged her head against the wall a couple times Grant revealing that life was not so perfect in the Amato family had Grant tried to protect his mother otherwise detectives wondered why would he do anything to harm her or harm his brother Cody his soulmate your father wanted you out of the home you know did you guys get into a fight and an accident happened you know is this something that you know could have been prevented Now's the Time now now is the time so what do you think I think that there was something that obviously happened at the house tell me what happened I don't know what happened I know better listen to me I know better I can help you grant with honesty I can help you with honesty I was kind of like pulling teeth to get out of him what he really thought happened in the home we think something else happened before you left the home that you're either afraid of or embarrassed to talk about but we need to know exactly what happened cuz like Danny said we can place you there at certain time and so we need to know what happened before you left that house because you didn't leave with everything being okay I I honestly I don't I don't have anything else that I can really say I mean I don't I don't know he wasn't buying any of it he denied it all he said once he left the home he never came back I read people very well and I was not sitting comfortable with his answers this is the time to come to Jesus to be honest that you know more I'm looking in your eyes your eyes tell me exactly that you you are hurting inside I get it brother I get it you're hurting and this is the only time we can help you grant tomato was in fact hiding something and detectives were about to find out what that was the woman Grant tomaro was in love with my uh full name is Grant Tian Amato it did not take long for detectives to learn what Grant aot had been hiding from them the turning point in Grant's life was when he was accused of uh stealing medicine from the hospital job that he worked at ultimately he was terminated he lost his job and he started spending most of his time at home he got into gaming on the computer system he he was really like a computer Guru and then he got onto the internet and started watching pornography hello he became infatuated with this lady from Bulgaria her name was Sylvie and Sylvie uh would charge money through a social platform for her to do dances things whatever in the interrogation Grant was hesitant to admit it when detectives asked him what he had been doing since he lost his job well what I was doing is um over the past four months or something like that I've been I've been talking to this woman online who is she uh she's as embarrassing as it is she's a she's a cam she's a cam Model A what a cam model you guys know that no they soon found out he had become Hooked On A thriving internet sex site located in the eastern European country of Bulgaria operators there make big money catering to lonely americ ameran men with the lure of women like Sylvie I know you would like to pull me to you he sort of got deeper and deeper into this relationship so what he did was he started lavishing her with gifts uh sending her lingerie uh sending her sex toys and she would model uh the lingerie for him you know it wasn't really my intention to continue talking to this woman but it just kind of happened um and then because there was like that emotional contion I guess you could say between her and me like I I like you know it felt like like like a relationship you know yeah oh he was very talkative about her he loved her and um you know we tried to even explain to him that you know is this a real relationship you she lives in Bulgaria you're here and but he believed it he really did the longer you kept with this one person the more you could pay and the more sexually explicit it would get and it was getting to a point where he he was spending you know $1,000 to $2,000 a day just to watch her you know do certain things on on the video and he just he couldn't help himself all right syvia look at me I am I am outside going to check the mail and I'm asking you if you can please pretty please send me one of your videos I just I I love it so much when you just send them to me yeah I I don't like buying your stuff it makes me feel weird could you please send me one though okay so how much you think you spent this probably close [Music] to like $200,000 I'd say $200,000 yeah and where did the money come from money came from me uh my brother and then my dad he went through all of his money then eventually he started getting money from Cody and then he started stealing his parents' money he ran up huge bills on his family's credit cards forging their signatures and even took out a fake line of credit on his parents' Mortgage in fact his dad Chad remortgaged his house and just took it as a loss and he was getting close to retirement it just it all came to a crashing end there so after his father his mother and his brother discovered the theft they sort of gave Grant an ultimatum he either has to go to behavioral healthc care clinic uh he needs to stop speaking with Sylvie Grant's parents sent him to a private South Florida mental health clinic for what was supposed to be a two-month program to help deal with his obsession and diagnosed depression one thing that they never did do was they never reported the thefts to the police they they did everything they could to help him when it was discovered that Grant was also stealing money from his aunt his grandmother and some of his cousins his brother Cody actually offered to pay uh off the debts so they they really just wanted to protect him but when Grant abruptly left the clinic after fewer than two weeks his father and mother brought him to this restaurant and laid out a set of rules to follow if he wanted to live at home among the rules Grant was to get a job he was to stop spending all of his time online he was to never talk to Sylvia again and he was to apologize to his family but Grant's obsession with Sylvie was too much and he called her again after persuading his mother to let him use her phone to the fury of his father oh poor baby I'm so sorry you know I didn't want to just stop cold turkey on it um so he had apparently found out and then happy right and one of the stipulations was that he told after the dinner was if you speak to the woman again you're out of the house I'm kicking you out you can pack up your sh and then you're off my property MH and then because of the way that he used to be he had told me that basically if that happens that if I ever step back onto his property that he would kill me that was the day before the murders and he kicked them out of the house but Grant was sticking with a story that once he left the house he had no idea what had happened to his family other than seeing some something on the news he never asked us are my parents and my brother okay and to me that's just like that would be my first question are my is my family okay those words never left his mouth until we produced it to him but at one point Grant suggested that maybe his brother Cody had shot his father and then himself so if anything happened in the home to bring law enforcement there what would you think happened that there was a shooting between whom I don't know between Cody and and my dad and why would you think that to protect me or to help me or to do something with me detective malari had been playing the role of the good cup but it wasn't working what is it you to tell us that we're missing step over I mean the only thing that I know is just that I mean I I uh left the house later than what I had said I'm one to be the Rapport Builder and the Kinder gentler to trying you know I've got a lot of confessions that way so it bothered me that I couldn't get to him that way then me and Danny switched roles did you leave the house with your brother Cody looking like that that or did you leave the house with your father looking like that or your mother is that how you left your family no nobody nobody else went into that house who left your family like this if you were the one that's been depressed you were the one that owes money you were the one that got into a confrontation with your father who did this to your family if you were trying to defend yourself or something else happened we need to know now to help you so tell us what happened Grant if grantom killed his family he had done so without leaving behind any evidence there was just no physical evidence that actually matched Grant Amato to this crime scene they just didn't find anything when they arrested Grant at the hotel he uh was in his scrubs no blood they searched his car not nothing no no blood whatsoever and and if you look at the crime scene all the blood that was there is just incredible that someone could have done all this and not got any bit of evidence on them but that didn't stop the two detectives from telling aato falsely that they had all sorts of evidence against him the video is the video if you're sitting there saying no no no no no and video shows something else guess what big problem and then telling him they had fingerprints and bullet casings even though the murder weapon was never found we have cartridge cases we have projectiles and fingerprints so you just need to tell us what led up to this but Grant Amato was unmoved there was nothing else more than what I said then who do you think did this I don't know I don't I don't have the answer give you a few minutes to think about this the false claims about video and fingerprints the crime scene photos none of that was working he was very um pulled and withdrawn I did not see any emotion all the different techniques that law enforcements taught to try to get a confession and interrogation or utilized but it just didn't go anywhere so detectives had one last card to play they brought in Grant's older brother Jason who lived out of town with his own family and had been ruled out as a suspect we figured maybe Jason would be able to talk with them not something that that we do all the time but after 8 n hour interview and we knew we were not getting anywhere with him um we figured maybe Jason could come in and you know get to him being Brothers All right so uh I I think you know what happened yeah I just I'm going to ask you plan now you you are not part of it anyway no we just said go in and be yourself and and be his brother I want to believe you grant but you're the last person that I could put in that house and I've know what happened over the last 6 months I can understand the troubles that you've gone through but it's hard for me to think that you would break to this point M but I don't I who else can I blame who how are we going to find out who did this I don't know I don't have the answers well Jason was just incredibly upset understandably and he tried to talk to uh Grant and almost he tried to elicit a confession from him too I love you more than anything in this world just like I loved Cody Grant and Dad I know dad was in I know Cody was in but they were our family and they would have never done anything to hurt us MH the you did did you could have been in jail you would have been in jail for years and they covered it up for you I don't I don't believe you and I probably will have resentment for the rest of my life whether you did it or you didn't do it but I need closure I need to know what happened to my mother my father and my brother Cody because I wasn't there to help and that hurts me that hurts me a lot man Jason was heartbroken he lost his family but yet he his brother's sitting here who's being looked at for these crimes even if you didn't it's going to be so hard for me to figure out what to do with you you do not deserve jail but I can't come to have attorney press charges for you to be killed Grant I need you to be honest with me man I need to have closure and and Grant just said I don't know and he couldn't get him they he Jason tried to get him to admit that he did it but he didn't you already made the decision on whether or not they can live or not that's not your job all right I'm ready I do love you though just remember that just like Mom Cody and Dad loved you nobody loved you anymore or any less at the end of the uh meeting with his brother they hugged each other and said you know I love you and Grant said I love you too brother and he says you know we have to move on but it was just it was just very strange very strange I'm going pray for you brother cuz I can't pray for Mom Dad and Cody anymore but still no confession I just believe he was not going to break no matter what we did who went in there to speak with him he literally just had no affect whatsoever and believed his lies and detectives had no choice but to let Grant tomato walk out of the police Poli station a free man but over the next 24 hours as they looked into the story he had spun and where he had gone nothing added up right after the death of his parents and brother prosecutor said that he went to a supermarket parking lot and immediately got onto the phone uh immediately logged into this chat room and started spending money on Sylvie again if he had been cut off by his family where did he get the $599 he spent that night as he logged on to sylv's webcam site there that was around 3 3 to 4:00 in the morning he again just bizarre just bizarre behavior 2 Days Later detectives showed up at the hotel where he was being watched you under arrest three counts of first degree premeditated [Music] bir so opening statements are expected to begin today in a new trial out of Florida the people vers Grant Amato and he faces the potential of the death penalty I mean this case had everything it had sex drugs it was just missing the rock and roll state do you wish to make an opening statement at this time yes your honor you may proceed first of all let me wish everyone a good morning prosecutor Stuart Stone began with the graphic crime scene photos what the defendant did in this case is he stage a murder suicide SE the prosecutor told the jury Grant Amano not only killed his family but then took the time to make it appear that his beloved brother Cody was the one who did it what he did was he placed a handgun near Cody's body and four shell casings in the vicinity of each body to correspond to the number of wounds but the bullets that were recovered that that killed the victims were not fired from that gun and the prosecutor said a holster with a gun on it found on his father Chad's right hip was also clearly planted to make it appear that there was some kind of Confrontation between Cody and Chad that required Chad to arm himself the holstered gun was placed on Chad's hip backward for a right-and shooter and then another Grizzly piece of evidence that Grant Amato had used his dead father's finger to gain access to his father's phone and bank account through the fingerprint opening device on the father's phone his USA bank account app was accessed to add an account for funds transfer the account that was added for funds transfer was the defendant's PNC Bank checking account out and finally the jury was told about sfie the Bulgarian webcam sex pop and when his parents found out about his quote relationship with Sylvie and the tremendous amounts of money that he was spending on her they contacted her and that effectively ended his relationship with Sylvie and to Grant a motto that was the end of the world was nothing to live for and he was furious with his family for ending his world that's what what this case is about it's about as blind obsession with this woman the end of the world as he believed it to be because of his family and his absolute contempt for those that he held responsible that's what this case is about thank you for the defense Grant Amato's lawyers knew they were up against overwhelming circumstantial evidence was a hard fought trial throughout the whole thing so in his opening Jared Shapiro focused instead on what the prosecution did not have the evidence will show that there is a complete lack of physical evidence linking Mr rato to these deaths the fact that there was no physical evidence was a huge Plus for us no murder weapon was ever found and even though Grant with his brother and Friends often went to shooting ranges his lawyer said Grant had sold off all of his weapons the evidence will show that Mr Amato sold these firearms in order to continue being able to afford to remain in contact with Sylvie and finally the motive I mean there was tension with the dad that's for sure but with his brother and his mother he was very close with them I mean there really wasn't any motive to kill them therefore after all of the evidence is shown in this case we will request you all to return a verdict of not guilty thank you Central to the proc prosecution's case was the 8-hour interrogation of Grant tomato conducted by detectives Eva Marie motari and Denny Anderson investigator Anderson come forward raise your right hand be ready to be sworn please detective Anderson described the session including the part of the tape where Grant Amato has shown the photos of his dead family and appears to be crying is he crying no I believe it to be a Fain cry and the detective said that over the long hours of the interrogation Grant never once deny killing his family what the prosecution would call a tacid admission he's not denying he said there's nothing else he can say which to me is different than I did not do it but defense lawyer Jeff dowy was ready to bore down on cross-examination you know I was I really attacked some of the Witnesses in the trial challenging detective Anderson for lying to Grant Amato during the interrogation you can tell him that you know where he was because of his cell phone in some cases yes sir okay but that wasn't the truth was it not completely just a strategy because he didn't have a cell phone on you also told him that there was surveillance that shows no one else came to that house yes sir I told him that and of course we all know that's not true again attacked to elicit a response from you yes you're right and then a series of questions about the use of Grant's brother Jason in the interrogation and you're hoping that he might elicit something or say something that would incriminate him yes sir but why instead of zeroing in on Jason as a suspect was all the focus on Grant so we we did we did um narrow in on him his story makes no sense um his explanation is impossible and he just continues to lie about the most mundane things including Grant's version of going to the Public's grocery store right after the murder and how he got the money to contact Sylvie so everything that this whole case is around is this money in this Bulgarian uh cam girl so Dad gives you he's he's giving you the ultimatum you're out of the house and I'm going to kill you if you set foot on my on my property again but during the course of the search one of his room we find Dad's credit card why would in our our minds why would dad give him a credit card to use if he's kicking you out of the house for the rest of your life but Anderson wasn't through yet under Florida law jurors can pose questions themselves read by the judge and a number of them seem to think Jason could be the Killer you didn't find the conversation between Jason and Grant strange like Jason was setting him up has Jason's financials been gone through we've looked at everybody inv involved in this investigation um I didn't take it as Jason setting his brother up um we can account for Jason's time during the time of um the deaths of these family to go backwards and forward we could account for his times and another question from a juror again about the failure to pursue Jason uh question is why was Person of Interest Jason not brought in for a chat like Grant both would been would have been a person of interest we could verify his locations and none of them um were anywhere near the julota Salan circle area but the questions from the judge and the jury gave the defense team hoped they had raised reasonable doubts and now they had to decide whether to put grant tomato on the stand to testify as their last witness and what I told the judge I said at this point we intend to call Mr Romano to the [Music] stand he was very stoic throughout the entire trial with two exceptions the first was when the bodies of his family members were displayed in the courtroom uh he was crying and the second is when a picture of Sylvie was displayed on the court room but you could just see his head just transfixed on the pictures of Sylvia and throughout the trial Grant Amato had told his lawyers he wanted to testify as the Final witness so they had to talk him out of it well I I was afraid that he he would slip up say something wrong besides they told their client the jury had already seen him on the interrogation video with an emotional reaction when shown the crime scene photos who left your family like this it's either a really incredible acting job or um he didn't do it why subject yourself to cross-examination at that point when you've already told your story to the jury through a video ultimately I made the decision around midnight not not put him on the stand so the defense rested the attorneys will now present their final arguments State ready to proceed and for prosecutor Dominic Leo it was all all about syv good morning and so how do I show that his obsession with her was such that he'd be willing to murder his family I don't have to show that at all you know why because when I showed those pictures of Sylvie on the projector up there I know some of you looked at him and I know what you saw because I saw the same thing he was transfixed on those pictures tunnel on her but for his closing defense lawyer Jeff dowy made not one single mention of Sylvie instead his Focus was on the lack of any physical evidence how in the world was Grant Amato able to do all these things without getting a cintilla a cintilla of blood on himself nothing was found no DNA or anything the state has the burden of approving grants guilt Beyond A Reasonable Doubt I submit to you they did not meet that burden the jury was out for most of the day when you get to the 8 10 hour stage some somebody's talking I was cautiously optimistic I'm told that the jury has reached a verdict and everyone's present at this point if you could please stand Mr Amato verdict count one Margaret Amato we the jury find the defendant guilty of first-degree premeditated murder verdict count two Chad Amato guilty of first-degree premeditated murder verdict count three Cody Amato guilty of first-degree premeditated murder say we all signed four person dated July 31st 2019 now the stage was set for the state to seek the death penalty for Grant Amato every one of the findings that they needed to make to sentence him to death they found they found every one of those and a new team of defense lawyers took over with the odds stacked against them I think the cold calculated matter of the murder was definitely the biggest hurdle to overcome I just felt like that we were walking towards death I felt like that this jury was going to sentence him to death unless they were given something um significant and the defense hoped that would come from Grant's brother Jason who was in the courtroom throughout much of the trial the rest of the Amato family um were very very angry and they wouldn't talk to me they wouldn't meet with me and so you know Jason was the only game in town he was the only person from the Amato family that took the stand but he was was called by the prosecution good morning Mr M how are you good morning Mr St with the prosecutor using Jason's testimony to show the impact of the murders of his parents and brother there are so many memories stories and special times that I will never forget however I will never be able to make new ones one of the biggest things I miss is being able to talk to my mom it's been 208 days sorry I really miss her voice though they are gone I want everyone to know Chad Margaret and Cody were amazing people that will live on forever [Music] that's thank you you may step down the grant lawyer Jeffrey LC Sur rised the court saying he had a question for Jason hi Mr Jason I am going to need you just for one one thing yes sir I'm sorry I I all right I just need him to take the stand just briefly Mr Rano come back have a seat you're still under oath [Music] sir and for the defense now it all depended on what was about to happen I broke the golden rule you never ask a question that you don't know the answer to despite everything that's happened and all the loss that you've suffered and everything do you love your brother grato yes okay I have no other questions would that onew answer yes his brother still loved him would that be enough for the jury to spare Grant Amato's life there was an audible sire of relief as I was walking back to the table when he gave me that answer members of the jury attorneys will present their final arguments each side will have equal time the state will go first and then the defense Mr Stone you may proceed well thank you very much and prosecutor Stone wasted no time in reminding the jurors of what he said was a cold and calculated premeditated murder and when you're confronted with the reality that it is indeed hard to vote for for the death penalty please think of the overwhelming mindboggling enormity of what this defendant did just think about that I say this respectfully every single one of you said that you can vote for the death penalty in the appropriate case if there was ever appropriate case this is the one thank you now Jeffrey Luc in his closing argument to the jury needed to paint Grant as an ordinary guy who fell victim to an obsession Sylvie an addiction something that consumed him something that caused him to kill his family and he ended with a clip of the interrogation video again focusing on what Jason had to say about loving his brother Grant I do love you though just remember that just like Mom Cody and Dad loved you nobody loved you anymore or any [Music] less I ask you to consider the 98% of Grandad's life where he was a good person a good boy Bo a good son a good brother believe everything that's been presented here screams out for a life sentence I ask you to return one thank you under Florida law the jury had to find the arguments for the death penalty the aggravating factors outweighed those against the mitigating factors and bu a unanimous vote jury verdict as to death penalty having unanimously found that at least one aggravating Factor has been established Beyond A Reasonable Doubt section A and the aggravating factor or factors outweigh the mitigating circumstances section D it did not look good for Grant aato we the jury unanimously find that Grant Amato should be sentenced to death no sign for person dated August 12th 2018 in simal County Florida no no death penalty a surprise and a relief I considered it a huge Victory his life had been spared but Grant Amato showed only the slightest reaction I've never been around the defendant with such a lack of emotion when so much is on the line and it's your life I mean there was no breakdown crying there was no turning and hugging me because we saved his life or anything like that it was just standing there straight-faced no emotion nor was there any reaction from far away in Sophia Bulgaria and the woman who Grant was apparently willing to kill for Grant's lawyers had tried to get in touch with sfie if that was her real name but there was no response once the money from Grant stopped that was the end of the relationship poor baby I'm so sorry this guy had the all- American life everything was fine and in 12 months we're we're standing before a jury arguing to save his life it's just terrible the way it ended up he will die in [Music] prison shot fired request em immediately call came in just after 11:00 911 I need help my husband was shot his wife was there Kamaya Hassel was there kneeling down next to Sergeant Hassel hugging him covered in blood uh crying hey hey back up whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa very upset no no no no no he's at he's at the hospital right now and Tyrone everybody's up there uhhuh um I'm going to be honest it does not look good oh no he was the pride of his family he shot up the ranks and made Sergeant at an incredibly young age you wait and wait and wait for that time for that boy to grow up and become a man and become your friend as well as your son and it was all taken away from the evidence will clearly establish that Jeremy qu is a full-blown psychopath I could tell by the way you look man you want me to burn in hell sir and I understand that this guy got into you he got into your head you guys are working together he's playing you that drun was never in her hand but her fingerprints are all over this murder so yes the answer to the question you are also being a manipulator in this situation correct I guess that's a fair statement yes and without those statements the prosecution has no case against Kamaya Hassel okay your wife is in a bar and said she's responsive this is what he's going to tell you how to get out of that situation and I grabbed the gun trying to find the first place to put a body no sir the only thing they could do was kill it you want to say anything we the jury and Define the defendant shot fired request em immediately shot C the we're trying to get it's New Year's Eve the call came in just after 11:00 911 I need help my hus hello hello yes I need help I help my husband my husband was shot I need help and at that point it's a massive response by police agencies from all over the area responding to that call the victim was a 23-year-old US Army Sergeant Tyrone Hassel III shot while on holiday leave to visit his family in Benton Harbor his distraught wife Kamaya called 911 did you see anybody around ma'am okay when the officers got there Sergeant Hassel was laying on the ground slpt up against his truck obvious gunshot wounds to his head and neck area gunshot wound of the shoulder area his wife was there Kamaya Hassel was there kneeling down next to Sergeant Hassel hugging him covered in blood uh crying very upset hey hey hey back up whoa whoa who who no no no no no you any idea what happened here no he just brought us something to eat okay we sit on the couch eating and then I just heard gunshots and I ran up in my son in the room and I came outside and he was laying on the car okay how many gunshots did you hear I don't know I just heard a lot do you have any idea how this happened I'm not sure I mean this is serious okay I don't know what his condition is but it does not look good okay so if you know something I don't think he was beefing with anybody now now the time then Sergeant hassel's father Tyrone Jr arrived on the scene you know who my son this Tyrone Hass the third Tyrone Hass seeing what I saw I seen my son on the on the gurnie I can see the hole in the front and the back of his head I was just hoping that some way somehow they would can save his life but I knew he was dead because I was looking in his eyes and his it was no motion he's at he's at the hospital right now and Tyrone everybody's up there um I'm going to be honest it does not look good oh no at first the police were just trying to really you know contain the scene preserve all the evidence and try to figure out what's going on a couple options that they originally thought could have been a robbery I thought that somebody may have tried to take his truck he had a nice truck he wore a nice jurry uh people knew he was in the military and and Ben Harbor is kind of a um very lowincome City and I thought somebody was just trying to get a easy come up there's evidence on his body this may be a robbery dude we need to know if he had money we didn't know if go to the hospital but after some you know real quick digging into it that didn't seem to be the case because Sergeant Hassel still had his wallet with him with money uh his phone was with him keys to his truck were right there so nothing appeared appeared to be been stolen all right ma'am hey guys we need to we need to secure these people here know this up we got to get you guys out here so we got to I know what the hell you got to come out here with us okay with me you I'm not I'm not trying to say anything by saying this but I have to ask okay was there drugs out here like was he doing a drug deal or no nothing that he's told me I don't my son don't have no file anything he don't have a record he told me a long time ago dad if I go to jail somebody frame me my son walked the straight line his entire life so whatever happened happened right here huh the bullet casings telling a story there's one one two three and then number four is right there four maybe it was four uh two to the Head one of the neck one of the shoulder I whoever shot him was either laying in weight or walked to find him cuz they shot him right up to his truck right outside the door it was a point blank shot I'm sure somebody knows something the next route the police were looking into was possible mistaken identity maybe they thought the the victim Sergeant Hassel was somebody else uh when the shooting took place and police Su learn from his friends and family that the Sergeant's younger half brother Benny had been running with a bad crowd more than likely that was Pro Benny was probably the target he just had to step out at the wrong damn time if I had a guess that's what my theory on this whole thing is Sergeant Tyrone Hassel III was pronounced dead on New Year's Day a cruel ending for the life of a young man who had worked so hard to make it out in in the city of Ben Harbor there's trouble Everywhere You Go Trouble will find you but he just kept his focus on Sports oh sh and he stayed out of trouble cuz he stayed so busy he ran track played baseball got good grades and had lots of friends Sergeant Hassel everybody just described him as a guy that makes you a better person got an academic scholarship to go to Grand Valley State University he was doing what he needed to do to better his life while he was at Grand Valley he decided he wanted to serve the country and he enlisted in the Army and immediately when he was in the Army he shot up the ranks and made sergeant and incredibly young age I talked to some of the people in Army C and they said yeah you don't make Sergeant as fast as he did it was a good fit especially after falling in love with another Soldier Kamaya I thought she was great I mean I loved her like a daughter and then the young couple was deployed to Korea serving in separate units living in different Barracks standard policy for the US Army it seemed a happy marriage that got even better with the arrival of a son Tyrone ivth nicknamed chunk just loved his family he loved Kamaya treated her like a queen all he wanted to do was serve in the Army and take care of his family and did the best he could at it home for the holidays he told his father how happy he was happy with the Army happy with his family and always happy to know he would soon be having some of his father's home [Music] cooking he was dancing thinking about that deep fried turkey and macaroni and cheese and dressing I thought he was going to be uh a very successful young man a very successful father and family member I mean he did things that at that age that it took me years and years and years to do uh he was the pride of his family uh really just the pride of his friends in the community around here just a great great man but the murder investigation was about to reveal that not everything was happy in Tyrone hassel's life a family wants to find the person responsible for a New Year's Eve shooting that left a 23-year-old active military member dead you don't know why this would happen to him so we really really want to know why as detectives returned to the scene in daylight looking for more clues there was still no answer to that question of why Tyrone hassel's son was murdered we're still working it we don't have much right now police showed the heartbroken father surveillance photos of possible suspects pursuing the mistaken identity theory that the real Target had been the victim's half brother Benny I talked to Benny man Benny Benny's got something he's holding back hey well how are you hry as ever hry as ever down the block a neighbor came forward to report a suspicious man parking his car just before the shooting cuz he was here what two three days ago and parked there the same way there are a lot of tips coming into the police on this case and they fed up every single one and uh they did that for about 10 days tip after tip coming in they just kept following up on them but after talking with dozens of friends and family members all right all right good luck man thanks and even the half brother Benny nothing panned out and the mistaken identity theory was dismissed but I always kept saying man this this ain't right this is personal and when they said that they probably thought it was a case of mistaken identity I said no cuz whoever did that seen his face and and then the family's public pleas for help paid off there was an anonymous call that came in to the St Joe Township Police Department why you think this happened the way you do I'll help you with that and it was a woman uh calling saying you need to take a look at people within his own Battalion and platoon who may be responsible for this so they were in they were all in Korea and that's where started claiming Sergeant hassel's wife Kamaya was having an affair with another Soldier he and the girl had a relationship going on and that the guy that died had said something to him so they had words and then he had threatened him and what I think I heard you understand is this relationship started in Korea and there was a a words exchanged or a confrontation between the husband Tyrone and the killer there right I don't know there are here the only thing is that the funeral tomorrow you guys should look at the [Music] wife so now the investigation quickly shifted to Fort Stewart jorgia where Tyrone and Kamaya were based a place that held some dark secrets there were two Army Specialists that came forward in Fort Stewart to their criminal investigation divisions and began to give a statement about what took place one of them revealing that Sergeant Hassel had learned his wife Kamaya was indeed having an affair with another Soldier you said Hassel did know there was something going on between the two of them yeah her husband called her okay the other Soldier allegedly having the affair with the victim's wife was identified as specialist Jeremy quar known as Quay what Quay say about he ever talk about her while he was on leave anything like that he just can't wait to get back to the stat so he can divorce from his wife and then another Soldier revealed he had swed quar a Glock pistol just 2 weeks before the murder don't how to use it show how to unload it load it clean it take it apart dissemble it put it back together it was more than enough for Armory investigators at Fort Stewart to place Jeremy quar under arrest go and um now we brought you down here um for a reason okay um had they told you or informed you anything about why you were picked up last night okay but quar cut off any questions after being advised of his rights and at this point in time do you wish to have a lawyer no yeah but he apparently had already talked plenty with another soldier in his platoon and he said I did what I had to do I went up there and I took care of it uh he talked about the number of shots he fired what gun he had how it came about in the driveway of Sergeant hassel's family so the the next question was what about Sergeant hassel's wife Kamaya she had already been at the police station days earlier in tears offering to help find her husband's killer but she made no mention of the affair or her lover Jeremy did she know what he had done what what happened with something on Facebook they contacted Sergeant hassel's father Tyrone Hassel the second and said we need to talk to you can you bring Kamaya down with you to the station so when I walked up too her I said hey we got to go to the shf department she was like okay come on and we walked in we walked in he was like Caya you go right here Mr hassle you have a seat right here and they took her behind a secured door came right back to me and he said um Mr House go home it's going to be a long night I kind of like slowly walked away like what the heck just happened Kamaya was indeed in for a long night about to be questioned by state police detective first lieutenant Andrew luski we didn't know if we had a boyfriend who was maybe obsessed with her a little bit and acted on his own cuz he was saying that he had committed the homicide or if she was actually involved the detective began with questions about the affair with Jeremy what was going on did he just start working you was it did it start in Korea is that where everything started going cuz there's no doubt about it this whole relationship's going in Korea that's where it started like we weren't sexual or anything but we were really close but you are now are really close you guys were probably sexual somewhere throughout all that you have to be to have this kind of for him to get this hold on you he's had a breakthrough sexually to you I'm guessing first not even not even just sexually we it's just I just was feeling so bad like with Todd like nothing me not wanting to be with him but just just how I was being treated I was just feeling so bad and it's just like he was just there like listening and everything like he listen it he he listened to me and I and I felt like with high it was times where he couldn't he wouldn't listen to me and she was very well spoken she seemed to be very believable as far as she was sad that her husband was gone um told me that she wouldn't want to marry again because nobody treat her as good as her husband did and she denied knowing anything about the murder to detective longuski who had been chosen for this questioning because he was also the chief of the polygraph unit for the state police an expert with the LI detector test which she then agreed to take I think she wanted to prove that she wasn't involved back at the Hassel home her husband's family had no idea what was happening why it was taking so long well past midnight pH and I'm like this is exhausting I got to get up in a few hours to go bury my son and nobody's telling me anything and his wife is over at at the sheriff Department I'm concerned about why they have her over there but I'm still not convinced that she had anything to do with it because uh like I said I loved her like my daughter and I was worried he would know what was going on in just a few [Music] [Applause] hours on the surface she looks like a nice young lady you know milit person but the lie detector showed Kamaya Hassel was deceptive was not telling the truth about her role in the murder of her husband Sergeant Tyrone Hassel once I went back in the room to actually confront her it's probably within a half an hour that she's kind of changed her story 180° and he coaxed her along with words of sympathy and understanding and a false claim that Jeremy was blaming her you are not the one pulling trigger you need to get out front of this for your son because you have a future and I'm telling you when they come and talk to me I want to be able to say hey I gave her a test would she be involved with some is she's sorry that this occurred without a doubt you are but don't let him put you underneath the bus cuz that's where it's going right now because this isn't something you planned this guy got into you he got into your head you guys are working together he's playing you and I don't mean it in a bad way we all get played we've all been in that situation because we have problems she relatively quickly started to expose not only her you know conspiracy to do this but also she was kind of a major player as far as making it happen that night so um when we were in Korea I don't I can't really pinpoint exactly what it was but me and had this big argument and then you know I came back into to building and I was talking to Jeremy I'm like man I don't want to be with him no more like and he was like I can handle that and I was like you know what do you mean by that he was like I can handle it when I get that guy get a gun BL it turns out that Jeremy quar had come to Bon Harbor several nights before driving in from Chicago He staked out Sergeant Hassel at a local nightclub but there were too many people around to pull it off Jeremy getting cold feet I don't think he was getting cold feet because um every time that he would come out and wasn't able to do it it was something and on New Year's Eve Caya was sending Jeremy text and Snapchat messages about her husband's whereabouts and then he was he was out there and he was watching the house the whole time I told him that he was bring us back from and that's when it happened Kamaya that night playing the role of the distraught grieving wife no no no what what happen would you say this is a 50/50 you guys WR on this yeah CU I knew all about it and I like I said I I probably could have stopped it but the reason that I didn't because I felt like he would you know be mad at me or they not love you anymore yeah cuz I just feel like I wasn't getting that love at home like I wanted to but detectors believed there was another important reason Sergeant hassel's military life insurance policy that would have paid her $400,000 the money is part of the GI okay but main reason being is because I just felt like if I would have called it off like Jeremy probably would have like been upset at the fact that I called it off and I I didn't want him like mad okay but you understand though calling it off would have saved your husband's life you could divorced them was Ty a bad man not bad enough for this and honestly that's just like my remorse that's really how do I believe you do I don't believe you do it today but you know you put your needs and your wants above somebody's life I did $400,000 not wor highe as you felt it was a before would you say that's a fair yeah the night of the murder and for more than a week afterwards Kamaya Hassel had denied knowing anything about what happened now 10 days later at 3 in the morning detective lusi had achieved a full throated confession so as far as not are you sad that you you planned this out with him yeah um if that's why even though I wasn't being 100% truful in the beginning that's why I kept saying when you say he you weren't 100% truful that's a that's a kind of a major 100% you weren't because of 25% would you he that I mean that's that's huge I mean I almost think with these guys you but that's why I was when I kept saying that if with what I know now if I could I would go back and not do it I wouldn't even talk to Jeremy at all knowing that everything would have gone like this but Jeremy was going to go and you called him back you know what I'm saying and I get why you called him back I mean do now what do you what do you think should happen to you right now I don't know because myself I feel just as guilty as [Music] him detectives came to the hassle home to break the news in person he said we we solved us son's case I was like who was it he said it was Kamaya and my family just went through an outrage and I was still I I think I was still in denial I didn't I didn't want to believe it I couldn't believe it it was like in no way no way possible but then when he told me that it was her lover that did it I was like completely blown away Kamaya Hassel and her lover Jeremy quar were both charged with first-degree murder and the death of Sergeant Tyron Hassel I lived with this person for 11 days after my son was killed my entire family comforted this person we took her in like one of our own she was the person that you know that was behind my son's murder do you have any idea what happened here no he just brought us something to eat angry wasn't even the word I would have killed her instead he would be the first witness against Kamaya Hassel when she went on trial for murder we are in the case of Michigan versus Kamaya Hassel who was charged with plotting with her lover to kill her husband Tyrone Hassel III prosecutors decided to put Kamaya on trial first her lover Jeremy's trial would follow I thought we had the stronger case against her uh with the statements made to the detective but there was concern about the objects she was a very sympathetic defendant in her appearances she looked incredibly young she dressed for court did her hair in a way that made her look almost like a teenager thank you may begin with your opening the woman responsible for that killing is seated right there the defendant you'll find she had murder on her mind and betrayal in her heart ladies and gentlemen we're here today as the defendant Kamaya Hassel wasn't happy with her life and with her husband and she devised a plan with her lover Jeremy quar the heaven murder in the annual you'll see from the evidence it was all about her and what she wanted it was kind of a case where you put everything out there right away from opening statement and really just keep the foot on the gas the whole time and not let up the evidence is never going to put the gun in her hand it was Jeremy quar that pulled that trigger but it was at her direction that gun was never in her hand but her fingerprints are all over this murder Kamaya hassel's lawyer Chris kessle sought to portray his client as a victim too of a craz lover and unfair police tactics in gaining her confession ladies and gentlemen there is no question that Sergeant hassel's death is not just sad but is a tragedy convicting someone who's not responsible of murder that is a tragedy too Jeremy quar is directly no question about it responsible for Tyrone hassel's death I think the evidence will clearly establish that Jeremy qu is a full-blown psychopath but it was Kamaya hassel's videotaped confession to detective longuski myself I feel just as guilty as him that was the biggest challenge for her defense lawyer after first trying to keep it from the jury they did their best to try and prevent it but it's admissible evidence so there wasn't much that he could really do to prevent that from coming in so Kamaya hassel's lawyer told the jury he would prove the detective manipulated her and wore her down to get a false confession in the middle of the night it's only then after she's been poked and prodded not literally but it's only at that point after hours and hours of denying that Kamaya Hassel makes this statement and that's important ladies and gentlemen because the essence of this case is that statement thank you ladies and gentlemen thank you the prosecution began by taking the jury back to the crime scene that New Year's Eve as seen Through The Eyes of its first witness Mr Hassel your son murdered at your home in the driveway new year 2018 yes it was the first time he had seen his daughter-in-law Kamaya since the day she was arrested she never made eye contact with me never not once actually looked at me in the eye uh so I was just thinking I don't know she was heartless for him time had Stood Still since that night when I arrived there was the paramedics was already there and when they lift them up I saw my son back of his head explode out and his eyes were open I looked at him to see where all he was shot at and I saw a hole right here judge I have no questions for Mr H thank you sir you may stick [Music] down Mr pel you may call your next witness thank you we will call detective Andrew lusi probably the best evidence to come forward is really detective lusi with his confession and so we're going to play that video um but essentially can you tell the jury the basics of what she told you sir she told me that she did uh plan it with Jeremy and that they had tried on several occasions uh to make it happen uh we admitted the confession essentially just played a 45 minute straight through video of her giving all the details she never once told you she said no don't do that did she no she did not and then in writing Kamaya initialing the key statement yes the first question I asked was did did you plan with Jeremy to kill Tyrone her statement was yes so I put it in quotes then we came back later and we ever initial it and then I asked her how I treat her and I had to write a 10 out to the side one to 10 on how I treated her and then we both signed and dated at the bottom nothing additional thank you sir now the moment defense lawyer Chris kessle had been waiting for as he tried to show his client had been tricked by the detective with this false statement don't let him put you underneath the bus cuz that's where it's going right now because this isn't something you planned you said you got to get out in front of it because Jeremy is going to throw you under the bus do you remember saying that I believe I did yes you actually said that Jeremy was in custody at one point and that he was talking do you remember saying that yes I did you have no idea if he was making any statements about her yes I had no idea Jeremy in fact never made a statement refused to answer any questions and at this point in time do you wish to have a lawyer no yeah and had never implicated Kamaya you said Jer was a manipulator correct I made that was a theme that I used yes and you said it repeatedly is that right yes it did all right but it's fair to say that you're doing your own version of manipulating during this interview too is that right well I'm trying to make her feel comfortable and give her an option or a way to explain something that she may have been involved in yes so yes is the answer to the question you are also being a manipulator in this situation correct I guess that's a fair statement yes but the prosecution had another card to play to show the confession had not been the result of the detective's tricks or manipulation hello this is a call from an inmate at the Baran County Jail hey momy a phone call Kamaya made to her mother right after she was arrested the prosecution's last piece of evidence what's going on K I'm in the jail why are you in jail because I I I knew what was going on what you what you knew you knew what was going on I knew what was going on with tone you what I knew what was happening come on are you serious you got to be kidding I'm serious Mom I just knew that you would be disappointed I I just feel like uhuh uh uh uhuh you 22 years old and these people talking about you was living a double life and you done had your husband killed the father of your child and you talking about I be disappointed no I'm disappointed in this come on is somebody coring you to say this Stu cuz that this sound like a TV show a dream no they're not Mommy I can't hear you no they're not but but did y think y'all away with that thought that we could the prosecution rested and all that remained for the defense was to decide whether Kamaya Hassel would [Music] testify members of the Hassel family had packed the courtroom waiting now to hear if Caya would take the stand and try to explain herself first thing I want to know is why I didn't see any anger within their marriage but I didn't even see any problems I would just want to know why after everything that we've been through all together why would you do that to my family Miss Hassel is it your decision today to testify or do you wish to remain silent I wish to remain silent okay and basically you can have a seat man that's to this day she still hasn't show any remorse and with that ladies and gentlemen we're going to go directly interposing arguments first we will hear from the people and Mr thank you aing in a betting she is just as responsible as Jeremy quer she needs to be held accountable same as Jeremy quer because she is just as responsible she assisted in this crime she gave Aid she gave counsel she procured it she Abed it to encourage it all the evidence shows that and she conspired with him to do it and then prosecutor Steve pangel again played the key parts of caya's interrogation tape her confession myself I feel just as guilty as him what else shows that this was planned out ahead of time her own statements to mother what all this come together it was it was PL in carea surely she was not giving a false confession to her mother when she said we planned it after that point I don't think there was very much else the jury needed hold her accountable agree with her that she is just as guilty Mr mqu thank you thank you Mr for the defense the task was to somehow undercut the power of the interrogation with Detective longuski he is by far the best that I've ever seen no question about it he is as skilled an interviewer as I have ever seen and that is the whole case ladies and gentlemen the whole issue is do you believe that Kamaya Hassel made those statements because she had been manipulated by a pro she had been denying all of this stuff for days weeks hours and it was only after detective longuski went to work that she changed her story the statement that she made implicating herself was the result of a long stay in police custody followed by repeated denials followed by manipulation again detective longuski agreed upon word and without those statements the prosecution has no case against Comm Hassel and I hope you return a fair and just verdict in this case thank you thank you judge the jury returned with its verdict first thing the next morning please be seated and the record will reflect that the jury is back appropriately seated in the jury box ladies and gentlemen I'm going to ask if he would open that envelope for us please that I'm going to ask her if you would please read in count one your verdict guilty of first degree premeditated murder as AER or better thank you and as to count two guilty of conspiracy to commit ver agreed G meditated and murder right thank you she was very stoic emotionless real no reaction from her even as she realized what was ahead life without parole is the mandatory sentence for first-degree [Music] murder but the case was far from over prosecutors knew there would be no justice without a conviction for Jeremy quar accused of actually pulling the trigger so Jeremy's case was set another month down the road and we are ready to go with that case uh again I felt the evidence was very strong including the testimony of his fow soldiers about buying a gun just before the murder how his phone tracked his travels on the interstate to Benton Harbor and that a new piece of police equipment actually spotted his car's license plate and it was picked up the night of the murder just a couple hours before the murder which put him in the area around the time of the murder which was very important plus a judge ruled that caya's own statements about her one-time lover could be used against him his lawyer asked for a plea deal believe that he deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison and we came to a term of years of 65 and he agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder so he'll be eligible for parole when he's 90 years old after Mr qu pled guilty he was walking out of the courtroom he looked back to Tyrone Hassel thei Sergeant hassel's father and said some words about I need to talk to you a few days later Tyrone Hassel agreed to meet with the man who killed his son how you doing sir I'm all right um you know under the circumstances and I just wanted to know what was going on um in his head if you got something that you want to say I'm I'm that's what I came here to listen to we do have an hour I might as well just tell you how everything went I mean are you okay are you comfortable with that I'm okay with it no it definitely wasn't easy yeah I mean he he he told me way more than what I wanted to hear quar blamed it all on Kamaya and her plan to get her husband's $400,000 in life insurance money man she want she wanted me to do it man like and I ain't going to lie I wanted her you know what I'm saying and she man she she knew what she was doing she wanted the money so I don't know what she that's crazy that's crazy honestly I was blind like I was blinded you know I thought that was love you know what I'm saying no and what about caya's tears when she saw her husband shot dead in the driveway I was just wondering if she talked to you about that afterwards I mean yeah she did matter of fact she did she was like yeah like you know he got on my arms and she was saying she was sad about it and I'm like then why' you have me do it then like you know what I'm saying but she was just like you know it's cool like she knew what she was doing man she a good actor man she actor she know what she was doing and I was too stupid if see it you know what I'm saying honestly the father struggled to hold his emotions in check I mean you murdered my son and then you like you you actually touched my grandson I could tell by the way you look man you want me to burn in hell sir and I I understand that I understand that you know what I'm saying I really hope you can forgive me know I'm saying I know it's going to take forever or you might not but I really hope you can true enough you killed my son but I don't I don't think I I know I'm looking at somebody that had a twisted mind at one point you know you seem like a good cat and um I hate the situation had to happen especially I hate it had to happen to my son I'm never going the only thing I can do is visit him in the grave after about 50 minutes the father's meeting with his son's killer was over Tyrone has a warning quar about what was to come for him well man I appreciate you talking I appreciate your remorse you know what I mean but I don't know how much um how much you know about me or how much you know about my son but um you going to meet a lot of friends in there bro it's we if they from Ben Harbor 90% of them know us and um we very popular I don't know if Kamaya told you about you know about us or whatever but you got to meet a lot of friends how should I take that I mean I'm just I'm just telling you he's going to have it hard in prison got sentenced to 65 years you're going to do 365 days for 65 years it was Justice because I don't think he'll make it out it's still in me like it was yesterday I'm far from over but I'm working on myself you wait and wait and wait for that time for that boy to grow up and become a man and become your friend as well as your son and that was my friend you know I I waited so long for that day and it was all taken away from me I had just got what I waited for for so long

Channel: Law&Crime Network

Views: 60,124

Keywords: law and crime, law and crime network, true crime, truecrime, true crime videos, court, trials, law&crime

Id: Lgro7SSe5l0

Length: 85min 23sec (5123 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 13 2024