Death After Midnight

Summary

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48 Hours: "Death After Midnight"

Host: CBS News
Episode Date: March 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this gripping installment of 48 Hours, award-winning correspondents delve into the mysterious death of Ashley Fallis in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2012. What was initially ruled a suicide by Evans, Colorado police comes under scrutiny as Ashley’s parents, Jenna Fox and Joel Raigundan, and journalist Justin Joseph, cast doubt on law enforcement’s handling of the case. The episode tracks the investigation, suspicions of a cover-up, the reopening of the case, and ultimately, the courtroom battle over whether Ashley’s death was a tragic suicide or murder at the hands of her husband, Tom Fallis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Night of Ashley's Death

• Context: New Year's Eve 2011 party at Ashley and Tom Fallis’s home. Family and friends were present.

• Tensions:

  • Tom reportedly became enraged over family disagreements and suspected marijuana use among guests.
  • Jenna noted Tom’s aggressive behavior:
    • “He was very, very angry with me.” (03:12, Jenna Fox)
  • Ashley was last seen by her parents as she bid them goodbye on the porch.

• Critical Event:

  • Roughly 10 minutes after the parents left, Tom called 911, reporting that Ashley had shot herself.
    • “I heard her gun cock and I looked out. I was like ‘What are you doing?’ … I just ran over to her and I just grabbed her head and I called 911. I told them our address and I told them that my wife shot herself.” (03:43, Tom Fallas)
  • First responders found Ashley with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

2. Immediate Aftermath and Initial Investigation

• Police Ruling: Evans police quickly ruled the death a suicide, closing the case within days:

  • “It had been closed as a suicide within 24 hours and it was never looked at as a homicide.” (04:09, Justin Joseph)

• Family’s Distrust:

  • Ashley’s parents did not believe she was suicidal:
    • “She would never do anything like this.” (06:34, Jenna Fox)
    • “From the minutes we last saw her alive, we’ve always known that Tom Vallis murdered her.” (13:11, Joel Raigundan)

• Signs of Potential Foul Play:

  • Physical evidence suggested a struggle: Pictures ripped from the wall, divorce papers present, Ashley had leg bruises.
  • Neighbors reportedly heard arguments and a female voice shouting, “Get off me.”
  • Tom exhibited scratches on his chest, explained away as a result of shaving.

• Tom’s Emotional State:

  • “You’re accusing me of killing my wife. I’m not supposed to get upset?” (15:22, Tom Fallas)

3. Reopening the Case – Media and New Evidence

• Investigative Reporting:

  • Journalist Justin Joseph’s reporting was key in reviving the case two years later:
    • “There was enough there to suggest that there wasn’t at least a thorough investigation. I owed it to the family to look at that.” (02:13, Justin Joseph)
    • “It’s not very often that you hear someone confess to murder and get away with it.” (17:58, Justin Joseph)

• Eyewitness Accounts:

  • Neighbor Nick Glover claimed to have overheard Tom confess, “I shot her.” (19:47, Tom Fallas quoting Glover’s recollection)
  • Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Graves corroborated hearing Tom say, “I can’t believe I shot her. And I can’t believe she’s dead.” (32:42, Narrator)
  • Discrepancies noted in police reports, potential omission or alteration of witness statements.

• Questions of a Cover-Up:

  • Family accused the Evans Police Department of intentionally classifying the death as a suicide.
    • “Evans Police Department decided to cover up her death as a suicide from the very beginning.” (22:17, Joel Raigundan)
  • Police Chief Rick Brandt admits errors:
    • “I would agree with that. … I don’t think you do close a case when there’s lab results pending.” (23:49, 23:52, Police Chief Rick Brandt)

4. The Trial – Conflicting Testimonies and Forensics

• Defense Argument:

  • Painted Ashley as mentally unstable, impulsive, and having a family history of suicide.

    • “Ashley Fallas committed suicide on January 1, 2012... she had a documented mental illness, was impulsive and self destructive, and shot herself in the instant of her crisis.” (28:25, Ira Z. Tan, Defense Attorney)

  • Used prosecution witnesses to highlight Ashley’s drinking and alleged miscarriage.

• Prosecution Case:

  • Focused on Tom’s aggression, Ashley’s devotion to her children, and eyewitness accounts of Tom’s alleged confession.
  • Premise: Tom was the last person with her, in proximity when her gun went off, that a struggle may have occurred.

• Conflicting Forensic Testimony:

  • Expert Dan Gillum: “The most probable result of Ashley Fallis shot to her head was as a result of it being self inflicted, correct? … I believe so.” (34:19, cross-examination)
  • Expert John Priest: “My ultimate opinion is that at the time the shot was fired, Tom and Ashley Fallis were in contact with each other or near each other.” (35:01, Priest)

5. The Verdict and Reactions

• Jury’s Decision:

  • After a three and a half hour deliberation, Tom Fallis was found not guilty on all charges.

    • “We, the jury, find the defendant, Thomas Fallas, not guilty of murder in the second degree and all lesser included offenses.” (37:33, Justin Joseph)

  • Jury cited reasonable doubt and lack of clear evidence.

    • “I looked at him, I studied him, and I just couldn’t see it… but I did want to find him guilty if he did it.” (38:28, Juror)
    • “Was this a case of reasonable doubt for you all?” “I think it was a perfect storm just waiting to happen.” (39:18, Juror)

• Family’s Grief and Frustration:

  • “Just got away with murder again.” (37:48, Jenna Fox)
  • “For them to make that decision that quickly is sickening to me. … It’s haunting.” (37:57, Joel Raigundan)

• Press and Police Reflection:

  • Reporter Justin Joseph: “The police department and the Weld County Sheriff did not do their jobs the night this happened. The jury didn’t have what they needed… the jury made the right decision.” (40:37, Justin Joseph)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On loss and lasting pain:

  • “How do you say goodbye?” (12:58, Jenna Fox)

• On the reopening of the case:

  • “It doesn’t bring Ashley back by any sense at all, but I think I just want the truth out there.” (25:03, Jenna Fox)

• On evidence omissions:

  • “The Glovers were never presented an opportunity to review their statements … they were as shocked as everyone was to learn that the statements were omitted and the statements were changed.” (20:58, Justin Joseph)

• On the aftermath:

  • “Every day. This is the battle we are having to live with what the jurors came up with. … But ... the truth is the truth, and it always will be in our mind, in our hearts.” (41:56, Joel Raigundan)

• Final Message to Grandchildren:

  • “She loved you guys wholeheartedly. … That’s why I know that my daughter would never take her own life.” (42:34, Joel Raigundan)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:52 – Family describes the immediate shock and suspicion (Jenna Fox, Tom Fallas)
• 04:09 – Case closed as a suicide in under 24 hours (Justin Joseph)
• 07:47 – Early red flags in Tom and Ashley’s relationship (Jenna Fox)
• 13:08 – Family disbelief that Ashley took her own life (Justin Joseph, Jenna Fox, Joel Raigundan)
• 19:47 – Neighbor recounts Tom’s alleged confession (Nick Glover via Justin Joseph)
• 23:49 – Police chief reluctantly admits investigation mistakes (Rick Brandt)
• 25:35 – Mysterious suicide notes surface years later (Narrator, Jenna Fox)
• 28:25 – Defense claims Ashley’s suicide (Ira Z. Tan)
• 35:01 – Forensic expert describes struggle as potential explanation (John Priest)
• 37:33 – Not guilty verdict delivered (Justin Joseph)
• 39:21 – Juror reflects: “I think that the argument that they had that night was probably a little bit more intense, but I don’t think that he did it.” (Juror)
• 42:34 – Joel’s message to grandchildren about Ashley’s love (Joel Raigundan)

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains a somber, investigative, and sometimes confrontational tone as it balances between competing narratives—a grieving family, a husband under suspicion, journalists seeking truth, and a police department under scrutiny. The reporting is thorough and sensitive to the emotional impact felt by all involved, especially Ashley’s family.

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Conclusion

Death After Midnight pulls listeners into the uncertainty and anguish of a case clouded by initial investigative failures and a family’s unrelenting quest for answers. The episode is a sobering reflection on justice, the reliability of evidence, and the emotional fractures caused when the truth remains elusive.

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Transcript

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[Jenna Fox]

She loves it hot, he loves it cold.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

However you sleep, the POD via sleep adapts to you. Get up to $350 off with code DEEP [e-mail].

[Jenna Fox]

It is incredibly unbelievable to see your kid laying in a bed with a bullet hole through them. He shot her. I know he shot her.

[Tom Fallas]

I did not shoot my wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What was that that made you decide this was a case worth investigating?

[Justin Joseph]

There was enough there to suggest that there wasn't at least a thorough investigation. And so I thought I owed it to the family to look at that. I received a tip about this last week and have been working on it since.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

It was brought to my attention by

[Justin Joseph]

a Fox31 report, the new investigation that began after our story. First, probably four days after New Year's Eve 2011, a family came to me and said someone killed our daughter and got away with it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Happy New Year

[Jenna Fox]

2011 New Year's Eve party We were invited up by Ashley, our daughter, and Tom Fallis is her husband.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's recording.

[Joel Raigundan]

Ashley had a zeal for life. She loved life.

[Jenna Fox]

She loved her kids more than anything. And Ashley and Tom had danced right prior to midnight. There was alcohol there. There was some drinking going on. There was a lot of laughter going on. They were having fun.

[Joel Raigundan]

The night started out as a normal night.

[Jenna Fox]

There was an eruption during part of the party. Tom had been cussing very loudly, so I asked him to stop after a period of time because it was quite loud and there were kids in the house. And he got very, very angry with me.

[Joel Raigundan]

Got out of control, Got out of control. We were the last ones to see Tom Fallis in a fit of rage, a fit of rage. Our daughter giving us hugs and goodbye kisses and her standing on the front porch waving goodbye. And that's the last we saw our daughter.

[Tom Fallas]

I heard her gun cock and I looked out. I was like. I was like, what are you doing? There was smoke. I just ran over to her and I just grabbed her head and I called 911. I told them our address and I told them that my wife shot herself.

[Joel Raigundan]

From the very beginning, for whatever reason, Devon's police department ruled Ashley's death as a suicide.

[Justin Joseph]

They said basically that it had been closed as a suicide within 24 hours and it was never looked at as a homicide. The central question that I had to look into as a reporter was whether or not on January 1st of 2012, whether Ashley Fallis, this mother, shot herself in the head or whether her husband, who was also a sheriff's corrections officer, shot her and then covered it up.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We hired a forensic animator who examined all the evidence at the death scene. And he reached two equally plausible explanations. One murder, one suicide. That's a difficult case. Then when the evidence could go either

[Justin Joseph]

way, it's a difficult case. It was different than anything I'd done before. I fielded phone calls in the middle of the night more times than I can count. I mean, I'd never had a case where I did become part of the story.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You start on this case and then all of a sudden what you uncover changes everything.

[Justin Joseph]

It did.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Did you ever expect what you would uncover would actually lead to an indictment?

[Justin Joseph]

No, I did not. I didn't. You know, I never expected there to be a trial.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

He watched the most dramatic and traumatic thing any human being could ever be forced to watch.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Go in the courtroom and you see Tom Fallas at the defense table. Isn't that what you always wanted?

[Joel Raigundan]

Absolutely. I desired to see justice served.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think everyone looks to a trial to resolve a case, to come to the truth. It doesn't always, does it?

[Justin Joseph]

It doesn't.

[Jenna Fox]

After she died, even the day after she died, in my mind, I couldn't comprehend that I would not speak to her every day.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The pain is always there for Jenna Fox and adoptive father Joel Raigundan over the death of their daughter, 28 year old Ashley Fallis, in the early hours of New Year's Day 2012. How would you describe your daughter?

[Jenna Fox]

Vivacious, full of life. Funny.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley, they say, would never leave her three kids, Madeline, Jolie, and Blake, all under 10 years old. It's unimaginable.

[Jenna Fox]

She just loved her family, and she loved life, and she would never do anything like this.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jenna and Ashley were extremely close.

[Joel Raigundan]

To be honest. They were like best friends.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley married her high school sweetheart soon after graduation, and they had two daughters. But that marriage quickly fell apart, and in April 2007, she met Tom Fallas. He seemed responsible and ready for a family.

[Joel Raigundan]

It seemed like their relationship progressed really quickly.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Just months into their relationship, Ashley became pregnant.

[Jenna Fox]

I think it was a way for them to feel more connected to each other in too short of a period of time.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They had a son, Blake. Two weeks after he was born, the couple married soon. Tom also adopted the girls after their birth father gave up his parental rights. Ashley's family felt it was all moving too fast.

[Joel Raigundan]

We were not happy about that when we had actually tried to talk Ashley out of it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley and Tom had only known each other a short time, and. And Jenna and Joel say they began to notice disturbing aspects of Tom's personality.

[Jenna Fox]

I didn't like his mentality of being right all the time and fighting all the time and the aggression.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tom and Ashley settled in the small town of Evans, about an hour north of Denver. Ashley worked as a respiratory therapist, and Tom took a job as a corrections officer with the Weld County Sheriff's Office, working at the local prison.

[Jenna Fox]

Joel and I were like, that's the perfect job for someone who has an ego that needs to tell people what to do. I think he was a very insecure person, and he wanted total control of her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Do you think you were a threat to Tom?

[Jenna Fox]

Absolutely. I was the one person that he could not isolate Ashley against.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley was caught in the middle, and the pressure on her only increased when Blake, still a toddler, was diagnosed with a chronic brain condition that required Ashley's constant attention. It all took a stressful toll on Ashley and their marriage. At any time during that, did you feel your daughter was depressed?

[Joel Raigundan]

No.

[Jenna Fox]

I think she was anxious and she was concerned, and she had a lot on her plate, and I think overwhelmed.

[Joel Raigundan]

I would say that they were definitely going through some hard times.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The stress was so great that they even considered divorce. But when talking to police after Ashley's death, Tom insisted that things were on the mend. As the holidays approached.

[Tom Fallas]

We were doing so good.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They were planning to host a New Year's Eve party, and Ashley even thought she had recently become pregnant.

[Tom Fallas]

When we found out when she had that positive test, it was like, all right. It's like we finally, like, got over everything.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She stopped taking anti anxiety medications out of precaution. And then on the day of the party, Tom says Ashley began to bleed and believed she had miscarried.

[Tom Fallas]

So she was kind of down today.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But Tom says they forged ahead with the party. And as the night went on, the friction between Jenna and Tom began to surface.

[Jenna Fox]

I always knew that Tom hated me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

As the party was winding down, Tom flew into a rage when he overheard one of the guests, Jenna's brother, offering Ashley marijuana.

[Tom Fallas]

I told Ashley, I was like, you don't need to get high. I was like, if whatever happened today with the miscarriage, I was like, it happened. I was like, you know what? Your mom, everybody let it go.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

As Jenna and Joel were leaving the party, they saw Tom, still upset, go into the bedroom and slam the door. Ashley followed them outside. It was around 12:40am when they said goodbye. And what was Ashley's demeanor like? Was she upset?

[Jenna Fox]

No, she's kind of like, whatever. Like, this is normal. This is Tom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley's autopsy shows that she didn't smoke marijuana that night. But Tom says that after she put the kids to bed, Ashley came into the bedroom and defiant.

[Tom Fallas]

And she's like, if I want to get high, I'll get high. I'm like, do whatever you want to.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

As Tom tells it, he was in their closet to change clothes when suddenly he heard the sound of a gun being loaded from across the room.

[Tom Fallas]

She has a 9 millimeter Taurus and she keeps it under her mattress. She was behind the side of the bed.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was low, so he says it all happened so quickly. He was on his way out of the closet, closing the door and asking Ashley what she was doing when he heard a pop.

[Tom Fallas]

I heard it, and there's just smoke. I just ran over to her and I just grabbed her head and I was holding her head, and I reached up and I grabbed her phone. I dealt 911. You got. You're not leaving me. You're not leaving me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That 911 call came into the dispatcher at 12:50am I opened her eyes and

[Tom Fallas]

I started talking to her. I was like, I'm right here. You're not leaving. You're not leaving me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was just 10 minutes after Ashley's family had left.

[Joel Raigundan]

Literally. There was two squad cars coming into the neighborhood. We were between the two when we did a U turn. It was. It was shocking, and everything was happening so fast.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jenna and Joel didn't see Ashley again until they got to the hospital. Ashley had severe brain trauma from that gunshot wound to the head. Did you get to say goodbye?

[Jenna Fox]

Yes. Yes. Yeah. I don't know. How do you say goodbye?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm just going to ask you point blank. Do you believe your daughter committed suicide?

[Justin Joseph]

No.

[Jenna Fox]

Not at all. No.

[Joel Raigundan]

From the minutes we last saw her alive, we've always known that Tom Vallis murdered her.

[Tom Fallas]

Ashley. Ashley. I'm right here, baby.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, 2012, officers from the Evans police Department responded quickly to the call from the Fallas home. This video was shot by first responders. Evans is a peaceful, low crime community, says Police Chief Rick Brandt.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I don't think we've had maybe one or two armed robberies since I've been here in almost eight years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Even though Tom Fallas had called in the shooting as a suicide, police brought him in for questioning early that morning while his parents watched the children. Investigators were suspicious right away.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

She'd have to go like this because

[Narrator/Interviewer]

the neighbors said they heard yelling. Tom was questioned by Detective Rita Wolf. She's telling you to get off of her.

[Tom Fallas]

I wasn't on her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Why do you think someone said that? They could hear her vividly on her. I was. Get off of me. Get off of me.

[Tom Fallas]

I wasn't on her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Somebody's just making that up, Tom.

[Tom Fallas]

My wife never told me to get off of her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And so when you went upstairs, you were arguing with her. That wound on the back of her head isn't where she could do it herself. Tom. It is not. Oh, bull. It is not.

[Tom Fallas]

Bull, bull, bull, bull. I didn't shoot my wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Investigators also searched his body and noticed scratches on his chest. Tom says he scratched himself because I

[Tom Fallas]

just shaved my chest. I just shaved it because I've never done it before. I'm sitting there going like this with my shirt because it itches, it scratches.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tom gets increasingly agitated as Wilf continues her questioning.

[Tom Fallas]

You're accusing me of killing my wife. I'm not supposed to get upset that you're supposed to.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You were upset before this.

[Tom Fallas]

Yeah. Cause I've been here the whole time and nobody's told me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You blow off the handle is what they're saying.

[Tom Fallas]

Nobody. I did not shoot Ashley. I didn't shoot my wife. I didn't shoot the mother of my kids.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Police found evidence that raises questions about Tom's version of events. Pictures seem to have been ripped off the wall, indicating a struggle. Divorce papers were found on the dresser. Ashley had bruises on her legs. And Tom had been angry at the end of the party. And how angry was he at that point?

[Jenna Fox]

He was very angry. Very angry. I mean, he said, I wish you would all effing die.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You were mad at the fact that she was listening to her mom.

[Tom Fallas]

I've already told you that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

After he was questioned that first morning, Tom was released without charges. Were you expecting Tom to be charged?

[Joel Raigundan]

Yes. Oh, yes. We were shocked. We were shocked that they let him go.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Despite their concerns and evidence pointing to possible homicide, the coroner ruled Ashley's death a suicide. On January 5, four days after it happened and before forensic testing was completed, the case was officially closed two months later.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

The fact is, if there was evidence to support probable cause finding on Tom, we would have arrested him.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley's parents could hardly believe it.

[Jenna Fox]

She would never do anything like this. She had a mission for Blake with Tom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Free of any charges. He moved with his children to Indiana to attend graduate school. Ashley's parents had lost their daughter, but they didn't want to also lose their grandchildren, so they maintained a relationship with Tom.

[Joel Raigundan]

He's in another state with my grandkids. It's crazy. We continue to do what we need to do because our love for our grandkids is much, much greater and more powerful than the hatred we have for Tom fallas.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But then, two years later, Tom.

[Justin Joseph]

Justin Joseph with Fox31 News.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

An unexpected twist. A local television news reporter began his own investigation. Fox31. Denver's Justin Joseph has been digging into

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

this case, discovering new clues.

[Justin Joseph]

It's not very often that you hear someone confess to murder and get away with it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

How would you describe the last two years?

[Jenna Fox]

It's definitely a roller coaster. It's hard to grieve.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In early 2014, Jenna Fox and Joel Ragundan were still convinced that their son in law, Tom Fallis, murdered their daughter Ashley after the New year's party in 2012. Why would he kill her?

[Jenna Fox]

I out of anger. I think it's a high possibility because of the divorce papers, because of everything that was going on.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But the Evans police department did rule Ashley's death a suicide and close the case. And it remained closed until reporter Justin Joseph got a call.

[Justin Joseph]

I had a source with law enforcement who called me and said something isn't right about this case.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Joseph, who is also a CBS News consultant, spent months investigating and interviewing neighbors who had initially spoken to police. And then in April 2014, he got a major break.

[Justin Joseph]

Jeremy, as you know, this is a complicated case with many layers.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

A young next door Neighbor Nick Glover told Joseph something about Tom Fallas that was not in the police reports.

[Tom Fallas]

I saw him walk out. So we all ducked underneath the windowsill

[Justin Joseph]

and his parents were standing outside.

[Tom Fallas]

And he's saying, oh my God, I

[Justin Joseph]

can't believe I did it three or four times.

[Tom Fallas]

And then his parents said, what? What are you saying? And I remember I heard him say, I shot her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Nick said he told that to Evans police officer Michael Yates.

[Justin Joseph]

And he said, detective Yates sat right where you're sitting and heard my story and wrote everything down.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And then Joseph reported corroboration of Nick's story. A sheriff's deputy at the scene came forward two years later to tell investigators that he also heard Tom say he shot Ashley.

[Justin Joseph]

Sources identify Chris Graves as the deputy who allegedly heard Phelis confession.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Nick's mother, Kathy also spoke to Joseph, telling him she had gotten a call that night from another neighbor, a teenager named Chelsea Arrigo.

[Justin Joseph]

She called me and said, tell me you called police. Your neighbor just shot his wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This case was a shock because in Yates report he writes that Kathy Glover told him that Chelsea said, quote, your neighbor just shot herself. A major discrepancy.

[Justin Joseph]

So the Glovers were never presented an opportunity to review their statements. They thought for two years that their statements were correctly recorded. And they thought that the Evans Police Department simply declined to prosecute. And so they were as shocked as everyone was to learn that the statements were omitted and the statements were changed.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I think it's a question of one individual's word against another.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

To this day, Officer Yates insists that Nick Glover never told him that he actually overheard Tom Fallas saying he shot his wife.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

That's correct.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What about Kathy Glover's claim? Who says that she got a call saying, I hope you've called the police. Your neighbor just shot his wife. Did in fact the witness say that to Officer Yates?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

Not according to Officer Yates.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Still, Chief Brandt can't explain why his officers failed to do a follow up interview with Chelsea Arrigo. They knew from the very first night she had heard Ashley yelling, get off me. But Chelsea Arrigo was an ear witness and you didn't go back and interview her? Why not?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I can't answer that, but I think

[Narrator/Interviewer]

that was an error, a serious error, wasn't it?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I would agree with that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley's parents believe the omissions are part of a cover up by Evans police.

[Joel Raigundan]

Evans Police Department decided to cover up her death as a suicide from the very beginning. Now the big question is why there's

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

this allegation that there was some kind of COVID up. Okay, if that happens, somebody's going to find it. To my knowledge, none of that happened.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Chief Brand insists there was no cover up, that his officers just made some mistakes. But he can't really explain why his department concluded so quickly just days after Ashley's death, that she committed suicide. Especially when there was so much circumstantial evidence pointing to foul play. The pictures, the divorce papers, numerous witnesses at the party reported that Tom was angry that night. Aren't those inconsistencies very troubling?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I'm not informed to that level of detail on cases. I get kind of overviews, briefings where we're at. So much of the detail that you're talking about now, in hindsight, after reviewing it, yes, those draw questions.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Chief Brand says his less experienced officers called in the cbi, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, for assistance and then later closed their own investigation. I mean, that's a really important question. Why would you close the case when you still have lab results pending?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I think that was a mistake. I don't think you do close a case when there's lab results pending.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

So why was it closed?

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

I can't answer that question.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But this is your department.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

It is my department, but I don't run investigations.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In fact, Chief Brand says he didn't know there were questions about the investigation until Justin Joseph's reports two years later.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

You know, the first time that I became aware of problems or issues with this case was when Fox31 called me for an interview. And that's frankly the first time I started even reviewing the report in any kind of detail.

[Justin Joseph]

For over a year we have been investigating the death of Ashley Fallows, first aired in April is gaining momentum Tonight we pended internal affairs investigation.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Justin Joseph's reporting got the case reopened and reinvestigated by a larger neighboring police department in Fort Collins, all with the full cooperation of Chief Brandt.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

This new information includes alleged eye and ear witness accounts that we were previously unaware of and are of a serious of nature to warrant further investigation of this case.

[Jenna Fox]

I feel like it's a relief. It's been a lot of work, but I'm really relieved by it. I mean, it doesn't bring Ashley back by any sense at all, but I think I just want the truth out there.

[Justin Joseph]

Wondering if we can talk to you about death of your wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What did Tom Fallas think of the developments? Joseph surprised him during a return trip to the area.

[Tom Fallas]

I'm not talking to you about this. The investigation was already done and the investigation was already ruled she committed suicide.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Curiously, more than two years after her death, Tom produced for police what he said were suicide notes that Ashley had written. One said, dear Tom, I'm sorry for your pain. I'm a failure at everything. I find myself not even liking my children. I do love them. I just can't take this life any longer.

[Jenna Fox]

I think the most curious thing about those letters is that when we were told it was a suicide, these letters never appeared. These letters just came recently. If there was an investigation that was going on for me and I had information, I would give it to the police. At that point.

[Joel Raigundan]

What I would like to see happen is truth and justice. I would like to see tomorrow charged with the murder of my daughter.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

In November 2014, a grand jury indicted Tom Fallas for the murder of his wife. The next day, he was arrested in Indiana after three years of freedom. Thinking this was all behind him, he suddenly found himself in jail and separated from his children, who were now being killed, cared for by his parents.

[Joel Raigundan]

It was like an answered prayer and weight just being lifted off and to just feel that a sense of justice has taken place.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And now, in March 2016, people may

[Justin Joseph]

make their opening statement.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The trial begins. Tom Valas is ready to put on a vigorous defense.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

It was determined to be a suit suicide in 2012, and it's still a suicide in 2016.

[Jenna Fox]

It is not hard to destroy a college.

[Juror]

Last season, the podcast Campus Files brought

[Narrator/Interviewer]

you stories of fraternity drug rings, stolen

[Juror]

body parts, campus cults, and more.

[Justin Joseph]

And now Campus Files Miles is back for another season. There's a guy screaming into his phone. He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

get assassinated right in front of me.

[Justin Joseph]

Every week is a new episode and a new story. It was so chaotic, it's almost like

[Narrator/Interviewer]

a university under siege.

[Juror]

Listen to and follow Campus Files available

[Narrator/Interviewer]

now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Emotional and powerful opening statements from both sides as they try to rehash what happened. Tom Fallas did not kill his wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

With her first words to the jury, Tom Fallas defense attorney Ira Z. Tan came out fighting for her client.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Ashley Fallas committed suicide on January 1, 2012. Ashley Fallis was a beautiful woman, but she had a terrible pain inside. She had a documented mental illness, was impulsive and self destructive, and shot herself in the instant of her crisis with her own handgun.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And surprisingly, the defense used the prosecution's own witnesses to make their case that Ashley, already a volatile personality, was drinking heavily the night of the party.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

She was intoxicated. She had just suffered a miscarriage. She was a pressure cooker.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley's uncle Cross, examined by another defense attorney, admitted there was a history of suicide in the family.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

And both your mother and your brother died from self inflicted gunshot wounds to the head.

[Tom Fallas]

That's correct.

[Justin Joseph]

Feel free, face me and raise your right hand.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

However, Ashley's therapist, Dr. Russell Johnson, told the jury that he did not consider her to be a danger to herself.

[Justin Joseph]

When you met with her In December of 2011, did she seem depressed to you? No, she did not. She seemed suicidal to you? No, she did not.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But when pushed by the defense.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

But you were prescribing her 50 milligrams.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Dr. Johnson acknowledges that he was unaware of all the medications Ashley was taking, including prescriptions she received from other doctors.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

You didn't actually know how many pills of Seroquel and how many milligrams she was taken in December 2011, do you?

[Justin Joseph]

No.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley had apparently withheld other crucial information from the doctor, including those alleged suicide notes she had written to Tom.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

And you didn't know that she had written a second suicide note dated to July 24, 2011, correct? She didn't tell you that, did she?

[Justin Joseph]

No.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Would all these things, Dr. Johnson, change your thinking about Ms. Valas state of mind?

[Justin Joseph]

Yes.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But when Jenna was questioned by prosecutor Ben Whitney, she repeated what she and Joel have said all along. That Ashley was fine throughout the party and that Tom was the one who erupted at the end of the night.

[Jenna Fox]

He came up the stairs and went right in front of me and told me he hated us all and he wished we would all die and went into their bedroom and slammed the door.

[Tom Fallas]

What was Ashley's demeanor like?

[Jenna Fox]

She seemed fine. She just seemed frustrated, maybe embarrassed.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And there are those key witnesses that Justin Joseph spoke to following Ashley's death. Nicholas Glover, the next door neighbor who said he heard Tom Fallas confess, tells the jury he remembers it all very clearly.

[Justin Joseph]

When I heard him saying, oh my God, what have I done? Oh my God, what have I done? And he proceeded to say, I shot my wife.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

How certain are you or are you not that the voice you're hearing is Tom Fallas voice that you're seeing standing in that quadrant of your driveway?

[Tom Fallas]

I'm 100%. I wouldn't forget or not hear something

[Justin Joseph]

like that and not remember it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But Tom's parents deny that conversation ever happened.

[Joel Raigundan]

Never.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And others who were right there with Nick that night say they also didn't hear it. Nick's mother, Kathy Glover, then tells the jury about a 1am phone call she got from neighbor Chelsea Arrigo When I

[Jenna Fox]

answered the phone, she said, please tell me you called the police because your

[Joel Raigundan]

neighbor just shot his wife.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But her story is undercut when Chelsea Arrigo herself takes the stand and says she doesn't even remember the call.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

All I remember was hearing some arguing, but that's it.

[Justin Joseph]

Do you recall any particular statements?

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

No.

[Tom Fallas]

Do you recall telling Kathy Glover in a phone conversation that same early morning,

[Justin Joseph]

I heard her screaming, get off me. Get off me.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I do not. She admits that she was intoxicated that night and fails to corroborate any of the significant statements that investigators say she gave after the shooting. Still, Weld County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Graves also says he overheard Tom confess to killing Ashley. I heard him screaming, I can't believe I shot her. And I can't believe she's dead. But his reliability as a witness is also put in doubt when he admits that he didn't notify his superiors until two years after the shooting, after the case was reopened.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Do you draft a report about what you've heard?

[Juror]

No, ma'.

[Jenna Fox]

Am.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was Evan's case.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Is that something you feel like you should have done?

[Joel Raigundan]

Absolutely.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The forensic testimony from the night of the shooting is crucial.

[Justin Joseph]

Tried to reproduce the entry and exit holes.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The state's expert, Dan Gillum, who spent 400 hours examining the case, explains to the jury where Ashley's head had to have been when the fatal shot went off. She has to be down in this

[Justin Joseph]

position somewhere like this. The rod going through my head has to line up with this rod.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But on cross examination, his conclusion seems to favor not the prosecution's case, but the defense.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

The most probable result of Ashley Fallis shot to her head was a result of it being self inflicted, correct?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I believe so.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

So suicide, correct?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes. To counter this, the prosecution calls a second nationally renowned forensic expert, John Priest. Now, the lower I get, who tells the jury that he concluded the opposite, that Tom had to be near Ashley when she was shot more. My ultimate opinion is that at the time the shot was fired, Tom and Ashley Fallis were in contact with each other or near each other. Preece suggests to the jury that the evidence shows the two of them could have been struggling as the gun went off. We could be struggling over this firearm

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

to where I've got it up against

[Narrator/Interviewer]

her head, threatening, yelling, whatever. I could have it here. She could be reaching up and grab it at the time of the discharge. Firearm goes off. I can drop the firearm, pull her into my head, turning to create the stain, and then come back down here onto the Floor. So was it murder or did Ashley Fallis take her own life? Faced with conflicting theories, the jury will have to weigh the often contradictory evidence. Prosecutor Anthea Carrasco.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Has she struggled at points in her past? Sure. Have a lot of people? Absolutely. Does that mean she committed suicide? No. He's in a rage. That's the man that was in that house. That's what's going on in his head. That's what's going on in his heart. And that is the person that was in that bedroom with Ashley Fallis. They have to prove that he had her gun beyond a reasonable doubt,

[Narrator/Interviewer]

held

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

the gun to her head beyond a reasonable doubt, and pulled the trigger beyond a reasonable doubt. You all must be convinced of that.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tom Fallis future hangs in the balance.

[Joel Raigundan]

To see him in the courtroom, I felt like I had. We had a shot of hope that justice would be served.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

As key witnesses for the prosecution, Ashley's parents were not allowed to view much of the trial outside of their own testimony. But from what they heard from those inside the courtroom, the case against Tom Fallas might not be the slam dunk they thought it would be.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

He was losing the love of his life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But Jenna and Joel remained hopeful. As the case went to the jury, however, they soon got a jolt. The jurors were out. How long?

[Jenna Fox]

Three and a half hours.

[Joel Raigundan]

Three and a half hours and an hour of that was their lunch.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Did that seem right? Three and a half hours?

[Joel Raigundan]

No.

[Jenna Fox]

No.

[Justin Joseph]

The jury has reached a verdict.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Four years after Ashley's death, the judge read the jury's decision.

[Justin Joseph]

We, the jury, find the defendant, Thomas Fallas, not guilty of murder in the second degree and all lesser included offenses.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tom Fallas was free. Tell me that moment when you heard the verdict.

[Joel Raigundan]

Shock.

[Jenna Fox]

I was just like Tom. Just got away with murder again.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

For Ashley's parents, the speed of the verdict made it even worse.

[Joel Raigundan]

They're talking about the life of my daughter and the well being of my grandchildren. And for them to make that decision that quickly is sickening to me. It really is. It's haunting.

[Jenna Fox]

It is a lot of information that you can spend three and a half hours not. I don't get it. I really don't get it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Two of the jurors, Dylan Pierce and Devon Amy Harris, were willing to explain their verdict.

[Juror]

I did realize immediately that there are lives at stake here. Not only Tom's life, but the children as well. If he was guilty, I was looking for that. I looked at him, I studied him, and I just couldn't see it. But I did want to Find him guilty if he did it. Because I wanted to be that voice for Ashley if he did it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But jurors say that in the isolation of the courtroom, the case seemed straightforward. They believed Ashley Fallis was in a dire mental state which led her to take her own life. Was this a case of reasonable doubt for you all? Is this just there wasn't enough evidence to go, or are you absolutely convinced you know what happened?

[Tom Fallas]

I'm convinced.

[Juror]

I think it was a perfect storm just waiting to happen.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Davanna believes, though, that the truth of what happened may not have been what either side presented in the courtroom.

[Juror]

I think that the argument that they had that night was probably a little bit more intense, but I don't think that he did it. I don't think that he actually pulled the trigger. There was nothing there that said Tom was holding the gun. I just. I just couldn't put it there.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And they question how the case even made it to trial.

[Juror]

I don't think there was enough evidence to reopen the case. I think the case was reopened just due to pressure from the media.

[Tom Fallas]

I feel that's what Jenna Fox and Joel Ragan and were out to do. They were out to get justice for Ashley and they needed some media attention to reopen the case.

[Justin Joseph]

I received a tip about this last week and have been working on it. For me, my job as a reporter were to get as many facts out there and to get those to the jury. And I certainly have no regrets about the integrity of our reporting. But in the end, the police department and the Weld County Sheriff did not do their jobs the night this happened. The jury didn't have what they needed to be able to decide whether or not Tom Fallas pulled the trigger. And from that standpoint, the jury made the right decision.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Tom Fallas declined to speak with 48 hours. The verdict changes nothing for Ashley's family. They still believe Ashley would never take her own life and leave her children behind. Is it at all possible that she just. After her husband got so angry with you, she just couldn't handle the stress and she took her life?

[Joel Raigundan]

No way.

[Jenna Fox]

I don't think so.

[Joel Raigundan]

Absolutely not.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

As they wrestled with their frustrations after the verdict.

[Jenna Fox]

Don't, don't, don't. I know you're pissed, but don't pissed.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ashley's parents could barely contain their emotions, especially because of how they believed their daughter was portrayed in court.

[Jenna Fox]

They made her look bad by calling her a spitfire, and this jury fell for it.

[Joel Raigundan]

They were up there calling her a

[Jenna Fox]

spitfire like it was this bad thing.

[Joel Raigundan]

That's what she used to call me. It's a person who loves life.

[Juror]

I think Jenna Fox is angry, understandably.

[Tom Fallas]

She doesn't have any power in the situation. She keeps looking for this, for a way to take back control of what's happening, and there's no power. And that. That sucks, you know?

[Jenna Fox]

And I'm going to say, I mean, we're not parents in denial. I mean, that's just not the case.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Every day.

[Joel Raigundan]

This is the battle we are having to live with what the jurors came up with. And it is not easy. But we are also. We, me and Jenna are both fighters. And the truth is the truth, and it always will be in our mind, in our hearts.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What lies ahead for their relationship with their three grandchildren now back in Tom's care remains unclear, but they are committed to preserving Ashley's memory in the children's minds.

[Joel Raigundan]

Madeline, Jolie, and Blake, I want to talk to you about your mother. She loved you guys wholeheartedly. Wholeheartedly. She lived life large because she loved life so much. That's why I know that my daughter would never take her own life.

[Justin Joseph]

After the trial, the three children remained

[Joel Raigundan]

in Tom Fallis custody.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Carvana is so easy.

[Tom Fallas]

Just a click, and we've got ourselves a car.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

See so many cars.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

That's a clicktastic inventory.

[Justin Joseph]

And check out the financing options, payments to fit our budget.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I mean, that's Clickonomics101.

[Justin Joseph]

Delivery to our door.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Just a hop, skip, and a click away.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And bot no better feeling than when everything just clicks.

[Defense Attorney Ira Z. Tan]

Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. I'm back. I'm really back.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

School Spirits returns. Why am I here?

[Joel Raigundan]

I'm not dead, right?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This place. Place is an absolute death trap.

[Joel Raigundan]

We need to get out of here now.

[Police Chief Rick Brandt]

School Spirits new season now streaming only on Paramount plus.