True Crime Vault: Family Secrets

Summary

Podcast Summary: 20/20 - True Crime Vault: Family Secrets

Introduction

In the February 19, 2025 episode of 20/20 True Crime Vault titled "Family Secrets," ABC News delves into the mysterious and tragic murder of April Kaufman, a beloved South Jersey radio host, and the ensuing investigation that unearthed dark family dynamics and criminal underworld connections. Hosted by David Muir and featuring in-depth interviews with key individuals, the episode unravels a complex web of deceit, betrayal, and relentless pursuit of justice by April's stepdaughter, Kim Pak.

Background: April Kaufman and Her Life

April Kaufman was a vibrant and influential radio host on WIBG FM in Lynwood, New Jersey, known for her provocative and passionate advocacy for veterans. Her husband, Dr. Jim Kaufman, was a prominent endocrinologist and a respected figure in the community. Together, they were considered a power couple, actively involved in various business ventures and charitable activities.

Kim Pak, April's stepdaughter, grew up witnessing the seemingly perfect yet ultimately strained relationship between her mother and stepfather. April's charisma and dedication to the community masked deep-seated familial tensions, particularly her tumultuous marriage to Jim Kaufman.

The Day of the Murder

On Thursday, May 10, 2012, April Kaufman's life was brutally cut short. Her husband, Dr. Jim Kaufman, attempted to contact her multiple times without success. Concerned, he sent their handyman to check on April, only to discover her lifeless body in the bedroom.

• Detective James Scopa ([04:16] 04:16): "She was found laying right here, face down."

As news of April's murder spread, the community was thrown into chaos. Kim Pak, devastated by her mother's death, became determined to uncover the truth behind the tragedy.

Investigation Begins: Unraveling Family Secrets

The initial investigation by Lynwood Police revealed that April Kaufman was shot multiple times, leading authorities to consider the murder a potential homicide. Kim Pak, grappling with grief, began her own quest for answers, suspecting foul play in her mother's death.

• Kim Pak ([05:25] 05:25): "Matt's shot my mom."

Friends and family described April as a loving and dynamic individual who overcame a troubled childhood to become a pillar of the community. However, behind the scenes, April's marriage to Jim Kaufman was fraught with tension and control issues.

• Kim Pak ([12:35] 12:35): "They had a very unhealthy relationship... indiscretions on both sides."

Legal Maneuvers: The Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Believing that her stepfather was responsible for her mother's murder, Kim Pak filed a wrongful death lawsuit to prevent Jim Kaufman from accessing April's $600,000 life insurance policy.

• Kim Pak ([18:33] 18:33): "I have no choice to respond and to begin to fight for what I know is right."

Breakthrough in the Case: Revelations and Deceptions

As the legal battle intensified, investigators uncovered shocking truths about Dr. Jim Kaufman. During a four-and-a-half-hour deposition, Jim confessed that he had fabricated his military record, falsely claiming to be a decorated Green Beret. This revelation cast serious doubt on his credibility and motives.

• Dr. Jim Kaufman ([24:28] 24:28): "No."
• Damon Tyner ([24:12] 24:12): "Do you have tissues, by the way?"

Further investigation revealed Jim's clandestine activities with the Pagan motorcycle gang, involved in an opioid distribution scheme. It emerged that April had discovered Jim's illegal operations, prompting him to orchestrate her murder to protect his secret life.

• Detective James Scopa ([32:10] 32:10): "They were flooding the market with opioids and selling them at a marked-up price."

Standoff and Jim Kaufman's Death

In a dramatic turn of events, Jim Kaufman became the target of a police search warrant for unrelated insurance fraud charges. Instead of surrendering peacefully, he engaged in a 45-minute standoff, brandishing a firearm and threatening suicide.

• Dr. Jim Kaufman ([26:28] 26:28): "I'm not going to jail for this."

The standoff ended with Kaufman being taken into custody. However, before he could stand trial for April's murder, Jim tragically took his own life in custody, leaving many questions unanswered and denying closure for Kim Pak.

• Detective James Scopa ([35:54] 35:54): "He realized it had all caught up with him."

Conclusion: Lingering Questions and Unresolved Pain

Despite the legal actions and uncovering of critical evidence, the murder of April Kaufman remains tinged with unresolved emotions and unanswered questions. Kim Pak continues to seek justice and closure, haunted by the loss of her mother and the brutality of her stepfather's actions.

• Kim Pak ([39:39] 39:39): "I still don't have the answer to that. For what?"

The episode concludes with reflections on the devastating impact of April's murder on her family and community, highlighting the complexities of familial relationships and the elusive nature of justice in the face of betrayal and crime.

Notable Quotes

• Kim Pak ([05:25] 05:25): "I pushed his hands away and I go, where's my mom? What is happening here? I need to see my mother."
• Dr. Jim Kaufman ([24:28] 24:28): "No."
• Damon Tyner ([24:12] 24:12): "Do you have tissues, by the way?"
• Detective James Scopa ([32:10] 32:10): "They were flooding the market with opioids and selling them at a marked-up price."
• Kim Pak ([39:16] 39:16): "I was blessed and granted the ability to have peace in my life for the first time in six years by a man with determination and that believed in my story, and that is Damon Tyner."

Final Thoughts

"Family Secrets" offers a gripping exploration of the Kaufman family's tragedy, showcasing the relentless pursuit of truth by a grieving daughter and the uncovering of deeply buried secrets. Through compelling storytelling and insightful interviews, 20/20 provides listeners with a thorough understanding of the case, emphasizing the profound personal and societal ramifications of unresolved crimes.

Transcript

[April Kaufman]

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[David Muir]

Welcome to the 2020 True Crime Vault, where heart stopping headlines come to life.

[Kim Pak]

I begged her for an ounce of her strength so that I could put one foot in front of the other.

[Deborah Roberts]

Tonight on an all new 2020, an.

[David Muir]

Unbreakable bond between mother and daughter. But someone came between them.

[Kim Pak]

He's like, mom's dead. And he just kept repeating, mom's dead, Mom's dead.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Ran downstairs, it must have started vomiting.

[Detective James Scopa]

She was found laying right here.

[Kim Pak]

And I said, well, you can go right over there because that's the person that killed my mom.

[Deborah Roberts]

But just who was she pointing at?

[David Muir]

This is a delicate question. Whether somebody that she was having an affair with could have been killed.

[Detective James Scopa]

He started thinking about ways to engage his exit strategy to get rid of her, to get rid of him.

[David Muir]

Hold on, he's coming out.

[Kim Pak]

Tonight, a daughter's discovery of family secrets.

[David Muir]

And scandals leading to a dramatic showdown.

[Deborah Roberts]

Drop the gun.

[David Muir]

Drop the gun.

[Damon Tyner]

Behind the scenes, Kim was nonstop digging, digging for answers, getting proof.

[David Muir]

Now we're taking you inside her obsessed.

[Kim Pak]

Six year crusade to catch the killer.

[David Muir]

What kind of crimes? We're talking murder 2020.

[Deborah Roberts]

Tonight, going into a dangerous underworld no one could have imagined.

[Detective James Scopa]

Drugs and a lot of money. Inevitably, a murder of April Kaufman.

[David Muir]

Before this hour is over, there will.

[Kim Pak]

Be another shocking death.

[David Muir]

But is that the end of the story?

[Kim Pak]

This is my life and I feel like this is the worst made for TV movie on the planet.

[David Muir]

Good evening, I'm Amy Robach. And I'm David Muir. And this is 20 20. And here tonight, Deborah Roberts.

[Deborah Roberts]

WIBG. It's the Talk of South Jersey.

[David Muir]

Driving the corridor between Atlantic City and Philadelphia, weekdays between the hours of 2 and 4. You may have heard this voice on WIBG FM.

[April Kaufman]

If you don't vote, I will find out. I'm going to your house. I'm dragging you outside.

[David Muir]

That's the no nonsense. April Kaufman, a peppery, provocative radio host.

[April Kaufman]

I love being here to bring you the truth as unvarnished as unpretty, unbuttered.

[David Muir]

On the biscuit it is tackling topics from politics, caring for us vets.

[April Kaufman]

Homelessness is a big, a big issue in our country right now for our veterans.

[David Muir]

Listeners couldn't get enough of the Jersey girl with the platinum hair, big smile and high wattage personality. She was like a whirlwind.

[Damon Tyner]

Like she would come in and she.

[David Muir]

Would make a lasting impression on everyone. In her upscale town of Lynwood, New Jersey, not far from the boardwalk. April and husband Dr. Jim Kaufman, a prominent endocrinologist, are the community's consummate power couple.

[Kim Pak]

The two of them were well known individually as well as together. They really wanted to be involved in the community. They also like to have some fun.

[David Muir]

Every day. The doctor and Mrs. Kaufman had a familiar routine. Jim heading to his medical practice before sunrise. And then a standing phone call with April at 8:30am but on Thursday, May 10, 2012, that call to April goes unanswered. And after several failed attempts, Dr. Kaufman sends over his handyman to their home on Woodstock Drive where he discovers a horror. 9, 1 1, where's your emergency? Yes, I have my bosses down. She's lying on the floor in her bedroom and not Anthony.

[Deborah Roberts]

Okay, where are you, sir?

[David Muir]

2 Woodstock Drive, Linwood. Okay, hold on, I'm transferring. 47 year old April Kaufman found dead on the floor of her bedroom with the family Handyman. On with 911. Jim calls Lynwood Police.

[April Kaufman]

This is Dr. Kaufman.

[David Muir]

I just got called by my house person that my wife is face down on the floor. My partner's sending out the emails as we speak. Okay, okay, yeah, I'm getting there as fast as I can. Detective James Scopa took me inside the home where the wealthy socialite who once lived larger than life was discovered dead. Shot multiple times.

[Detective James Scopa]

She was found laying right here, face down, face down.

[Kim Pak]

As the media got there and they started to realize who it was, that's when they knew, okay, this is really a story. It was chaos.

[David Muir]

As the steady whir of helicopter blades begin swarming the sky, Jim Kaufman makes another phone call, this one to stepdaughter Kim Pak.

[Kim Pak]

I answer the phone and I say, hello. And he's like, Kimberly. And I said, yes. He's like, mom's dead. And he just kept repeating, mom's dead, mom's dead, over and over. As I got to the front door, there was a police officer that put his hands out and I pushed his hands away and I go, where's my mom? Where's my mom? What is happening here? I need to see my mother. He Said, we think this is a potential homicide.

[Lee Darby]

No one could imagine who would have shot April Kaufman. Beautiful, blonde, glamorous, and she was fun. No one had any idea what was going on behind those closed doors.

[April Kaufman]

She made everybody feel like they were her best friend. Didn't matter who they were. The checkout, the parking lot, cart guy, you know. Hey, beautiful. Hey, handsome. How you doing today?

[David Muir]

Friends Peg O'Boyle and Lee Darby knew April since she was a teenager and knew her well enough to know that her outward glow masked an inner pain.

[April Kaufman]

She had a really rough childhood. When April was 11, her mother gave her brothers and sister up for adoption, and April was raised by her grandmother, and her brothers and sister were put into foster care. You know, I think she had her thirst for being, you know, feeling loved. She just wanted to be loved.

[David Muir]

She would discover unconditional love at 17 when she gave birth to Kim with her first husband.

[April Kaufman]

She was an incredible mom. She seemed to just instinctively know what to do. She always spoke to Kimberly like a little adult, and we used to call her Agnes, Agnes Beeswax because she was this little old soul. April just wanted the best for her and gave her the best that she possibly could. You know, she worked hard.

[Lee Darby]

April dropped out of school when she became pregnant, but she got her ged. She clawed her way back. She opened a salon, a catering business, a cafe, a charity worker.

[David Muir]

But while April worked hard, she played hard, too. She liked motorcycles and fast cars.

[Kim Pak]

She did. She did. When she got her first motorcycle, she said, I'll give you $300 to get on the back of my motorcycle. And I was like, no way. My feet are on the ground. And she would be like, all right, $500. And I'm like, no, I'm not getting on the back of your motorcycle. Just the need for speed and wasn't afraid.

[David Muir]

After two failed marriages, she meets Dr. Jim Kaufman. Friends and family say the wild child finally had found her match.

[Kim Pak]

He drives a Harley. He's smoking cigars. He's a Green Beret in the military, a doctor.

[David Muir]

In fact, this caricature, sketched for Jim's 60th birthday, seems to sum up the couple's life. There's April, the buxom Jersey girl, overshadowed by her larger than life new husband, who's prominently depicted with a gun, big cigar, and something else. Military tattoos.

[Kim Pak]

He had Purple hearts. He had medals, sharpshooter medals that he had gotten from being in the war.

[David Muir]

The Vietnam War, back when protest songs permeated the radio airwaves in the U.S. jim Kaufman makes Clear. He distinguished himself on the battlefield. Kim was so impressed, she asked her stepdad to be the subject of a college project. He agreed to be interviewed with some conditions.

[Kim Pak]

There were two rules to this interview. One, you can never ask my mother about this, anything pertaining to this interview. And two, you have to destroy the tape when you're finished.

[David Muir]

That's a little mysterious.

[Kim Pak]

Yeah. But, you know, I just thought out of respect, this is what he's asking. He talks about how the Viet Cong had ambushed his camp, stabbed him, but also stabbed and left all of his comrades and left them for dead. And his sole mission, he had said, was to grab these dog tags and bring these dog tags to these people's families so that they know what happened to their boys.

[David Muir]

That's an amazing story.

[Kim Pak]

Yes.

[David Muir]

It's no wonder April was motivated to mount a campaign using her radio voice to demand quality health care for veterans.

[April Kaufman]

This was such a big issue that affected our veterans and our state, our country. So I will thank my husband for a lot of the things that I've learned over the years. April felt that veterans should be treated like rock stars.

[David Muir]

So how did this fierce and loved advocate for casualties of war become a casualty herself? Kim has an idea and approaches investigators with a shocking declaration.

[Kim Pak]

As I made my way out into the cul de sac, I look up in the air and there's all these news choppers flying up above. And I said, well, you can go right over there because that's the person that killed my mom.

[David Muir]

Stay with us. Have you ever spotted McDonald's hot crispy.

[Kim Pak]

Fries right as they're being scooped into the carton?

[Detective James Scopa]

And time just stands still.

[David Muir]

This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Upgrade your business with Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet. Shop pay boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning fewer carts going abandoned and more sales going cha ching. So if you're into growing your business, get a commerce platform that's ready to sell wherever your customers are. Visit shopify.com to upgrade your selling today. Many attended today's funeral services at Beth El Synagogue in Margate. For 47 year old April Kaufman. Mother's Day 2012. The town of Lynwood, New Jersey turns out for one of its own, Complete with a cortege of veterans leading their champion, April Kaufman to her final resting place. The well known local radio host who was shot multiple times and discovered dead in her Linwood home last Thursday.

[Lee Darby]

It was like a state procession for April Kaufman. No one could believe what had happened.

[David Muir]

She just was so Caring, so compassionate. She just was an inspiration to everybody. The loss, heaviest for April's daughter, Kim.

[Kim Pak]

I miss her calling me non stop all the time. I miss her laugh, I miss her smile. I miss her, her infinite wisdom, because she really was my rock.

[David Muir]

After the mourning came the murmuring. Sometimes talk is cheap even in wealthy towns. This is a delicate question, but there were questions about whether your mom was having affairs.

[Kim Pak]

You know, they had a very unhealthy relationship, the both of them. And I will just say that there were indiscretions on both sides of the fence, and I'll leave it at that.

[David Muir]

Did it concern you that maybe somebody that she had been involved with could have killed her?

[Kim Pak]

No, but I certainly provided those people's names to the police and I allowed them to do their due diligence while.

[David Muir]

The community's in shock and awashin rumor and innuendo. Listen to this, April's final radio broadcast where she sounds like a woman who thinks her days are numbered.

[April Kaufman]

And my bottom line is, if, if nothing else, of my legacy of leaving a really beautiful daughter and two grandchildren on this planet, I really hope to God that people, hey, I could get a flyover at my funeral.

[David Muir]

Now you listen back to that and you think, did she have a premonition? It's kind of like she was trying to tell us something. I believe in those early days after her mom's death, there's one thing gnawing at Kim, one person. She's curiously not getting consolation from her stepdad, Dr. Jim Kaufman.

[Deborah Roberts]

Dr. James Kaufman was a very well respected and well regarded member of this community. But to Kim, stepfather Jim was a very different person.

[Kim Pak]

He was very cold to me, always kept me at an arm's length.

[David Muir]

Literally. Just look at the pained body language in this video taken on Kim's wedding day. One, two and three. Here we go.

[Lee Darby]

Take a close look. He steps into the scene. He smiles one time for the camera to flash. Then he goes back to a very taciturn demeanor and steps out. No hugging, no kissing, no warmth, nothing.

[Kim Pak]

You would be in the dining room, I would be talking to my mom, and he would come, turn the lights off and just walk out of the room.

[David Muir]

He controlled her cash flow and how much money she could spend.

[Kim Pak]

Oh, yes, and sometimes even calling her, who are you with? Where are you?

[David Muir]

And just two months before April's murder, it seems the bloom was officially off the rose of her nearly 10 year marriage. Kim recalling a lunch where her mother confides she's had enough.

[Kim Pak]

She talked about that she really needed to start aligning herself and getting herself in a good spot to be able to leave. I think that he had made it clear to her that she wasn't going to divorce him and take half of his empire. That was his famous words.

[David Muir]

Did you get any feeling that your mom might have been in any kind of danger?

[Kim Pak]

She had made it clear over the years that he had threatened to kill her several times, but would always follow up with, he doesn't have the guts to do it.

[David Muir]

Though. Jim is not named a suspect, some might say he begins acting like one.

[Deborah Roberts]

Within days of April's body being found, Jim hires a lawyer.

[Lee Darby]

Not only a lawyer, but the lawyer, a mob lawyer.

[David Muir]

Ed Jacobs, one of the biggest legal names in Atlantic County. He's even defended Bill Cosby in one of his sex assault accusations.

[Lee Darby]

He loves defending high profile criminal cases. His walls in his office are. Are covered with news clips of himself.

[David Muir]

One possible reason he's not named a suspect, he's got an airtight alibi. That's him entering a local convenience store around the same time his wife is being gunned down. Authorities are not releasing details, but it appears that Kaufman's shooting death was not random.

[Kim Pak]

I meet him in a restaurant and he says to me, let me tell you something. I have a very good attorney. And I'd been advised to not speak to anybody about this. He's like, you might need to really start to realize that this is never going to be solved. And I said, well, I'm not going to realize that. I said, because I will never stop finding out. And I walked away and I never spoke to him ever again.

[David Muir]

As the months drag on, Kim says the only cold shoulder icier than Jim's is the one she's getting from then Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McLean.

[Kim Pak]

I had several meetings with him and he would just say it was active and open and not really say much more.

[David Muir]

Did you get the impression that he was determined to get to the bottom of this?

[Kim Pak]

No.

[David Muir]

Then, on the one year anniversary of April's murder, many turn out for a candlelight vigil, including so many bets she'd made her cause noticeably absent. Dr. Jim Kaufman, he marks the milestone.

[April Kaufman]

Another way we discussed that he was getting ready to auction off all of April's belongings and hadn't given anything to Kim.

[David Muir]

How crushing was that for you?

[Kim Pak]

Beyond. Because the things that I asked for that belonged to my mother were family heirlooms or possibly Disney coffee mugs.

[David Muir]

With her mother and all those mementos lost, Kim tries to adjust to a new normal while Raising her two young sons and holding down her job as a pharmaceutical.

[Kim Pak]

Marching through every single day, waking up with another day of hopelessness while trying to keep that glimmer of hope alive is a very tricky thing to do.

[David Muir]

Yet while life for Kim seems hopelessly on pause, for Jim Kaufman, it's full speed ahead. Just 15 months after his wife's murder, he ties the knot again.

[Lee Darby]

He remarries Carol Weintraub. When did that start? Now, the version we've gotten is that they started dating after April was found murdered. Now, that's some romance.

[Kim Pak]

April's friends and family were devastated, and they felt like it was a slap in the face. But the people who support Jim Kaufman say, you know, he's a widow and he's moving on with his life.

[David Muir]

But Dr. Kaufman's next move sets off a chain of events that pushes Kim out of limbo.

[Kim Pak]

He went after my mom's life insurance policy.

[David Muir]

And your reaction?

[Kim Pak]

No way. Because you know what? This is my only attempt to and maybe be able to get some answers. And the truth maybe would start to come out.

[David Muir]

Now it's Kim's turn to lawyer up. Believing Jim is the killer, she files a wrongful death suit against her stepdad to keep him from getting her mom's $600,000 life insurance policy.

[Kim Pak]

I have no choice to respond and to begin to fight for what I know is right.

[Deborah Roberts]

The most significant kind of civil lawsuit you can have is a wrongful death case.

[David Muir]

Coming up. A daughter undaunted, and the dynamic duo attorneys she hires begin digging into the case. And what they say they uncover is shocking.

[Damon Tyner]

We were talking to people that were critical witnesses to us that had not spoken to the prosecutor's office.

[David Muir]

And their chance to grill the grieving good doctor.

[Lee Darby]

He was under oath in a civil deposition. They could ask him anything.

[David Muir]

Next. Atlantic City, legendary for its slots, signature shows, and, of course, this moment, Miss America. But the boom and the bust of the casino industry has made America's favorite playground a hotbed for crime, corruption, and a startling number of unsolved cases. Cases like April Kaufman's. But Kim Pak and her dogged attorneys, Patrick and Andrew Darcy, drill down, determined to get answers behind the scenes.

[Damon Tyner]

Kim with us was nonstop digging, digging for answers, getting proof. We were on an island all on our own.

[David Muir]

But the tide may be turning.

[Detective James Scopa]

I grew up on the beaches and the boardwalk of Atlantic City, and I always say I have sand in my shoes.

[David Muir]

Meet Damon Tyner, son of one of Atlantic City's fabled firefighters and a longtime cop. Your dad was A bit of a legend.

[Deborah Roberts]

Yeah.

[Detective James Scopa]

He was very well known throughout the community.

[David Muir]

But the younger Tyner made a name for himself as a Superior Court judge.

[Detective James Scopa]

Good to see you. How you making out? So they named a pizza for me.

[David Muir]

I think right here.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yep.

[Detective James Scopa]

That would be May.

[David Muir]

And then last year, I, Damon G. Tyner, became the first black prosecutor in the county's history, so help me God. Many seeing him as the city's much needed savior.

[Kim Pak]

You're doing a good job, man.

[Detective James Scopa]

Appreciate it.

[David Muir]

Great job.

[Detective James Scopa]

Thanks a lot.

[April Kaufman]

Thank you.

[Detective James Scopa]

You doing you all right?

[David Muir]

I know. Not judge anymore. Good to see you.

[Detective James Scopa]

That man's cleaning up.

[David Muir]

A.C. there you go. You took a pledge when you took the office. Tell me about the pledge.

[Detective James Scopa]

Dating back to 1970, there are about 140 unsolved homicides. I urged my executive staff to tell me which cases were most solvable unanimously. They all came back to me and said, the murder of April Kaufman.

[David Muir]

But Tyner is sworn in almost five years after April Kaufman's murder. Five long years.

[Lee Darby]

A lot of people wondered why five years passed and no recognizable work had been done.

[Detective James Scopa]

It wasn't that there were glaring mistakes. It was just an omission of effort, you might say.

[David Muir]

We wondered about that and tried asking former prosecutor Jim McLean about the investigation. It a spokesperson tells 20 20. McLean has no comment.

[Damon Tyner]

Fortunately, Damon Tyner became prosecutor and his team came to the conclusion that this case should be prosecuted for the first time.

[David Muir]

Someone's.

[Damon Tyner]

Someone's listening here.

[David Muir]

Tyner agreed to meet Kim Pak and her lawyers within that first month. What did that mean to you?

[Kim Pak]

The fact that I was lucky enough for him to say, I'm going to take a second look at this. Me, my case. Thank you. Like this is all. All I've been asking for this entire time is for someone to care.

[David Muir]

It took three hours for Kim's lawyers to unpack all they had uncovered.

[Damon Tyner]

You should take a look at these records.

[David Muir]

But no evidence as compelling or illuminating as this.

[Damon Tyner]

Today is July 11, 2014.

[David Muir]

A four and a half hour long video deposition of Dr. Jim Kaufman himself, finally talking for that wrongful death lawsuit Kim has filed.

[Damon Tyner]

Basically, I ask the questions, you give the answers. Understood?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Deborah Roberts]

Four and a half hours under oath is a lot of time. It's a lot of questions.

[Damon Tyner]

We may proceed.

[Lee Darby]

That was the first time he could be compelled to talk.

[David Muir]

There he is in the hot seat for the very first time, getting grilled on everything from his love of guns.

[Damon Tyner]

To how many guns do you own?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Approximately 18.

[David Muir]

To the moment he first saw his wife. Lying lifeless on the floor.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I ran upstairs, I looked inside and unfortunately saw April lying there. And she wasn't moving. And she had a pallor, which I've known after 30 years is obviously someone has passed away. And I ran downstairs stairs and went out on the lawn and was hysterical and started vomiting.

[David Muir]

Okay.

[Damon Tyner]

Do you have tissues, by the way?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I go.

[Damon Tyner]

Do you need to break. When I look at a deposition, I sometimes turn the sound down. I don't want to hear what they're saying. I want to see what they look like and what their facial expression expressions are. He struck me as a manipulative guy.

[David Muir]

But there's a barrel sized bombshell about to drop. The doctor's casual and stunning admission about a secret he's been keeping for years. Seems that time he spent in the Special Forces wasn't so special.

[Damon Tyner]

Have you ever served in any branch of the military?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

No.

[David Muir]

That's right. Dr. Kaufman forced to come clean about his so called stellar military record. Those Purple Hearts, those sharpshooter medals, all lies.

[Damon Tyner]

Did you ever tell Kim Pak you were in the military?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Damon Tyner]

Okay. Did you ever. Did she ever do a project for college and part of the project was you being in the military?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Damon Tyner]

And what you went through?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Damon Tyner]

And that you carried bodies?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Damon Tyner]

And the torture that you had gone through. Did you ever tell anyone that you were a Green Beret?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Yes.

[Damon Tyner]

Who'd you tell?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I don't recall how many people I told.

[David Muir]

So he created this background that didn't even really exist?

[Detective James Scopa]

That is correct. Once you start examining someone who is bold enough to engage in stolen valor, you start realizing that there are other aspects to this man's life that would require us to investigate.

[David Muir]

But in that deposition, Dr. Kaufman posits his own theories about who may have killed his wife.

[Damon Tyner]

Who do you think did it?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I thought it could be someone who was one of the veterans. The last choice was that it was someone in a motorcycle gang.

[Damon Tyner]

What motorcycle gang?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

The Pagans.

[David Muir]

The Pagan motorcycle gang. Remember, April had a penchant for motorcycles. Could that mean she was in deep with the kind of people known for violent behavior?

[Lee Darby]

The Pagan outlaws are the equivalent of the Hell's Angels. They are felons of the most dangerous sort.

[David Muir]

Coming up, a stunning turn in the Kaufman case.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

No, I'm killing myself.

[David Muir]

Leading to a standoff in the Garden State. Drop the gun. No.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I'm not going to jail for this.

[Detective James Scopa]

Put the weapon down.

[David Muir]

Stay with us.

[April Kaufman]

Now.

[David Muir]

Streaming on Hulu. It's a serial killer case. He's the Dahmer. You've never heard of.

[Kim Pak]

I definitely felt the presence of evil.

[April Kaufman]

Did he act alone?

[David Muir]

Now, finally, not many people live to tell about their involvement with the serial killer.

[April Kaufman]

The one man who helped break the case.

[Detective James Scopa]

Never before a face to face interview with the camera. Why now?

[David Muir]

Let me ask you, what do you think? Am I the evil culprit?

[April Kaufman]

The accomplice?

[Detective James Scopa]

I'd like to know how the audience views me.

[April Kaufman]

The Fox Hollow Murders. Playground of a serial killer. Now streaming on Hulu.

[David Muir]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. It's Brad Milkey, host of ABC's Daily News podcast.

[Deborah Roberts]

Start here.

[David Muir]

Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. We're on the beat with James Scopa, lead detective determined to crack a big case for Atlantic City's new prosecutor.

[Detective James Scopa]

Was happy when prosecutor Tonner came in and he allowed us to work on the case and investigate it like we believed it should be.

[David Muir]

Meanwhile, Kim and her lawyers keep their eye on what they believe is the prize. Jim Kaufman. Using his pictures on social media as incentive.

[Damon Tyner]

I would get a picture of Jim Kaufman and Carol at the Final Four and, you know, smiling and I put it on my brother's screen so that when he came in in the morning, that would be the first thing he'd see is a picture of Jim Kaufman saying, yeah, so what? I killed her. What are you gonna do about it?

[David Muir]

But there's an unexpected canary in Kaufman's coal mine. It's coming in the form of a tip from the FBI. The feds believe Coffman may be involved in another unrelated crime.

[Deborah Roberts]

Lo and behold, another investigation related to insurance fraud. His role as a doctor comes up.

[David Muir]

Investigators get a warrant to search his office.

[Lee Darby]

So they show up at Kaufman's clinic just to look at his records.

[Detective James Scopa]

On June 13, 2017, we attempted to serve a search warrant at Dr. Kaufman's office here.

[David Muir]

Within minutes, it's clear that this will not be a routine visit.

[Lee Darby]

What does he do? Instead of ushering them in as most of us would with the feds? No. He grabs a 9 millimeter Ruger.

[David Muir]

A police body cam captures it all. You can see and hear him refusing to let authorities inside.

[April Kaufman]

I have one at gunpoint.

[David Muir]

Dr. James Coffin.

[Detective James Scopa]

He has a weapon.

[David Muir]

Drop the gun. Drop the gun. For 45 minutes, there's a heart pounding standoff. Drop the gun. At one point, Dr. Kaufman threatening to take his life.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I'm gonna kill myself.

[Deborah Roberts]

It sure seems like Jim thinks they're there in connection with April's murder. Listen, let's talk.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

I'm not going to jail for this.

[David Muir]

All right, we got news in. Finally, a hostage negotiator gets the disgraced doctor to surrender. Dr. Carpenter, please step after the curb. Now slowly reach down and pull your shirt up. Keep walking backwards.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

Just watch the building to make sure.

[Detective James Scopa]

There'S no one else still inside.

[Deborah Roberts]

This video changes everything.

[David Muir]

The husband of a murdered South Jersey radio host and advocate is behind bars following an early morning standoff.

[Kim Pak]

Investigators say that they seized more weapons from Kaufman and at least $100,000 in cash. That was a game changer.

[Lee Darby]

After the standoff with Jim Kaufman, he goes to jail, not for murder, but for weapons charges. He fights to try to get out. The judge would not let him out based on his conduct. And that gives the new prosecutor, Tyner, a chance to really dig into the.

[David Muir]

Murder case, starting with the crime scene.

[Detective James Scopa]

So this is the house here. The bedroom that April was found was upstairs.

[David Muir]

But the biggest break in the case doesn't come from inside this house at all.

[Detective James Scopa]

We knew Dr. Kaufman, that there was a point in time that he was inquiring about having her killed.

[David Muir]

And how'd you find that out?

[Detective James Scopa]

We were able to get a witness to cooperate with us this past November that broke the.

[David Muir]

And who was that witness? A former member of the Pagans motorcycle club. Remember them? They're the ones Dr. Kaufman had pointed the finger at in his deposition.

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

The last choice was that it was someone in a motorcycle gang.

[Damon Tyner]

What motorcycle gang?

[Dr. Jim Kaufman]

The Pagans.

[David Muir]

But now the tables have turned. One of those Pagans ratting out Kaufman. And not just for murder. Prosecutor Tyner on January 9, 2018.

[Detective James Scopa]

Hey, Sergeant. Good morning, sir. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Damon G. Tyner.

[David Muir]

At a press conference, Tyner lays out the case of an elaborate and secret double life that Dr. Jim Kaufman was leading. Treating patients by day, writing fraudulent opioid prescriptions for those Pagans by night.

[Detective James Scopa]

They would come in and be patients, and all of a sudden you had a prominent endocrinologist that was prescribing opioids and all kinds of other painkillers when that wasn't quite his practice.

[David Muir]

So he's got the power of the prescription, and then they've got the gang activity.

[Detective James Scopa]

Essentially, they were flooding the market with opioids and selling them at a marked up price.

[Lee Darby]

What a bombshell. This straight laced doctor that everyone had respected was part of A pill mill, A drug ring. Not only that, with the Pagan outlaw motorcycle gang. And April. Kaufman found out.

[David Muir]

Found out, and according to Tyner, threatened to expose his secret seedy double life.

[Detective James Scopa]

He started thinking about ways to engage his exit strategy to get rid of her. To get rid of her. For the past five and a half years, since April Kaufman was found shot to death, there's been little movement on this case. And no arrests had been made in connection with the murder. That is, until today, an explosive breakthrough in the murder of radio host April Kaufman.

[David Muir]

Murder charges just filed against Dr. James Kaufman in a plot that police say involved members of a motorcycle gang. But wait a minute. Didn't the doctor have an airtight alibi? Remember that early morning stop at a convenience store? Tyner says Kaufman wasn't the shooter. That he paid one of those pagans roughly $20,000 to do his dirty work and kill his wife.

[Detective James Scopa]

He went inside and he shot April Kaufman twice.

[David Muir]

And ironically, that alleged hitman died a year and a half after April's murder of an opiate overdose. His pills prescribed by, you guessed it, Dr. Jim Kaufman.

[Kim Pak]

When I heard the details of everything, it really, really was unbelievable. I feel like this is the worst made for TV movie on the planet.

[David Muir]

The prosecutor worries Dr. Kaufman could be targeted by Pagan members in jail. So they move him upstate to the Hudson County Correctional Facility. As they begin gearing up for their first. First major trial. Finally a chance to close one of those Atlantic county cold cases. But then another shocking turn.

[Kim Pak]

Dr. James Kaufman, dead. Officials with the Hudson County Correctional Facility confirmed that he died at 9:20 this morning.

[David Muir]

What was your reaction when you heard this?

[Detective James Scopa]

I was stunned.

[Kim Pak]

The story started off terrible and is ending terrible.

[David Muir]

Dr. Jim Kaufman, dead. But how were you worried that he could be hurt?

[Detective James Scopa]

In prison, that's always a concern.

[David Muir]

Will justice ever be served? Stay with us. It's been a long, strange trip for Dr. Jim Kaufman from a plush suburban cul de sac to. To the Hudson County Jail, his new home. A six by nine foot cell like this.

[Damon Tyner]

This is Charlie 500 east maximum security.

[David Muir]

The inmates, many considered violent and dangerous, were Dr. Kaufman's new neighbors as he awaited his trial in a facility just across the river from New York City. What kind of crimes? We're talking murder. It's rare to get a look inside these tight quarters unless you're an inmate. But corrections officers agreed to take us in, recalling that fateful morning. Just after serving Dr. Kaufman breakfast, they made a grim discovery. The doctor was dead, hanging himself with a laundry cord.

[Detective James Scopa]

I was stunned but that's in retrospect. That's what convinces me now more than ever that he understood that the end was near.

[David Muir]

He realized it had all caught up with him.

[Detective James Scopa]

Yes, I think so.

[Lee Darby]

Bottom line, he had his wife murdered and the only way out for him was suicide.

[David Muir]

Kaufman did leave something behind in that jail cell. This note obtained by 2020.

[Lee Darby]

Even in that jail cell, when he killed himself, he had to write this very lengthy suicide note to be in control at the very and to get the last word.

[David Muir]

Kaufman adamant that he didn't kill April. I cannot live like this. I, no matter what anybody says, did not do anything to my wife.

[Deborah Roberts]

This six page suicide note is bizarre.

[Lee Darby]

Throughout the note, he quotes Latin, including phrases that Roman gladiators would say to the emperor before they fought in the Coliseum.

[David Muir]

Really, his final words do add a surprisingly new angle to the sordid saga.

[Detective James Scopa]

April came to me and said, would.

[David Muir]

I like to go to a motorcycle rally to meet some of her friends? I was slightly shocked, to say the least, that they had the colors of Pagans.

[Deborah Roberts]

The most important thing that Jim Kaufman wants people to take away from this note is I didn't kill April. She introduced me to this outlaw gang. I was prescribing pills. They then got aggressive with me. They then started threatening me. And they're the ones who killed April.

[David Muir]

Were you able to determine whether April had any involvement with either the gang or the pill mill?

[Detective James Scopa]

Our investigation at the time did not lead us to believe that she had any involvement. I believe that at some point she became aware of it. I think ultimately that's the reason why she was killed.

[David Muir]

But dead men tell no tales, at least not in court. And with both that alleged hitman and Jim Kaufman deceased, Tyner's last call for justice rests with the case he's building against the accused Pagan ringleader, who he believes conspired with Kaufman to kill April. He's pled not guilty.

[Detective James Scopa]

There is an aspect of the investigation that's continuing with a defendant who is still pending trial. So I won't disclose too much about that part of the investigation, but suffice it to say that we were convinced that Jim Coffman's involvement in this matter was enough to charge him with conspiracy to complain.

[David Muir]

Is there any doubt in your mind that her husband wanted her dead?

[Detective James Scopa]

There's no doubt in my mind.

[David Muir]

A painful conclusion for a grieving daughter, yet a measure of solace. Kim Pak may finally find the justice she's been seeking for years. Why do you think this case wasn't solved? Six years ago?

[Kim Pak]

I don't know. That's the million dollar question. But what I do know is that I was blessed and granted the ability to have peace in my life for the first time in six years by a man with determination and that believed in my story, and that is Damon Tyner. And I am forever grateful to that man.

[David Muir]

Although in a tale as twisted and tragic as this, there's hardly any true closure.

[Damon Tyner]

And that's the saddest part of this entire story. Her mom's still not coming back. And when everything's quiet and it's just Kim and she's alone and she's thinking, her best friend's gone.

[Kim Pak]

We were robbed. And for what? I still don't have the answer to that. For what?

[David Muir]

When we come back, one of those precious family heirlooms sold at auction has been recovered. The secret message from beyond the grave found inside. Next. Kim Pat doesn't just resemble her mom. She's inherited the same passion that made April Kaufman so beloved.

[April Kaufman]

She's like a pit bull. She is.

[Kim Pak]

She.

[April Kaufman]

She latches on and. And she's not letting go until she gets what she. She's looking for. She's mini April.

[Kim Pak]

There's been dark days, very dark days, where I just didn't know how I was going to do this. But I knew that I needed to stand up. This story needed to be told.

[David Muir]

But in that darkness, something special. Remember when Jim sold off all of April's belongings? Turns out Lee Darby and Peg O'Boyle, dubbing themselves April's angels, swooped in.

[Kim Pak]

These women got together, and they were on the phone calling people, raising money to be able to buy back things that belonged to my mother.

[David Muir]

So that's how you got the last remnants of your mom's things?

[Kim Pak]

Yes. And my mom collected these Limoges, little Limoges things. And this was the first item that I touched from the auction. And inside this note, it says, to Kimberly from Mom. Whenever you look at this, you know you're always loved. You're so special. Best wishes for the rest of your life.

[David Muir]

And you had no idea that note was there? No.

[Kim Pak]

And I feel like this was meant to be. I feel like I was meant to have this. I keep this by my bed. It reminds me that my mom is.

[David Muir]

With me all the time out in the community. Other reminders, my husband and my boys.

[Kim Pak]

Got this bench dedicated for her. It's special because it's a spot that we stop and my kids will bring up a memory or they will talk about her.

[David Muir]

And if mom could say just one more thing to her daughter, I think.

[Kim Pak]

She would say to me, now you can breathe. You can go on and live. You don't have to be sad anymore. And thank you for fighting.

[David Muir]

A fighter to the finish.

[Kim Pak]

Remember Kim Pak's civil case to get her mother's life insurance.

[David Muir]

But we can report tonight that her.

[Deborah Roberts]

Attorney now says that's been amicably settled with Kaufman's widow.

[David Muir]

And that is 2020 for tonight. I'm David Muir. And I'm Amy Robach.

[Kim Pak]

From all of us here at ABC News in 2020, good night.

[David Muir]

You've been listening to the 2020 True Crime Vault Friday nights at 9 on ABC. You can also find all new broadcast episodes of 2020. Thanks for listening.