Reasonable Doubt

Summary

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48 Hours: Reasonable Doubt

Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: CBS News
Episode Air Date: November 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of "48 Hours" investigates the enigmatic and controversial case of Judy Eftonoff’s death in Phoenix, 1999. It explores whether her husband, Brian Eftonoff, was wrongfully convicted of her murder or rightly brought to justice. Through detailed reporting, key interviews, and forensic analysis, the episode delves into the complexities, ambiguities, and reasonable doubt surrounding the case.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Incident & Initial Investigation

[02:21–05:28]

• Brian Eftonoff returns home in the early hours to find his wife, Judy, unresponsive and bruised on the bathroom floor.
• Emergency responders are called, and their two young children are taken to neighbors.
• Police are confronted with a lack of obvious fatal injuries but notable bruises; there’s no sign of a break-in.

“Please. My wife is bruised everywhere. I don’t know what’s going on. Like somebody beat her up, beat her bad or something.” – Brian Eftonoff ([02:21])

• Medical examiner Dr. Philip Keene finds injuries “not sufficient to cause death” and considers accidental causes like falling ([03:33–03:52]).

2. Evidence of Drug Use & The Shock of Toxicology

[06:07–07:32]

• Toxicology results show Judy died of a stroke caused by cocaine intoxication, shocking her friends and family, most of whom insist Judy did not use drugs.
• Close friend Tamara Colwell admits Judy began using cocaine after marrying Brian, who thought it improved their sex life.
• Brian tells police where Judy hid her drugs, acknowledging her use.

“The Judy I knew didn’t do cocaine. And that just threw me.” – Judy’s friend Liza ([06:22])

3. Theories of Murder & Detective’s Crusade

[07:32–11:20]

• Detective Joe Petrosino fixates on Brian as a suspect, citing past domestic violence and “inappropriate” post-death behavior (such as discussing remarriage with Judy’s mother just after her passing).
• Brian’s alibi places him at a casino, but Petrosino continues to gather stories of alleged abuse.

“I think the ultimate responsibility for Judy’s death resides in the hands of Brian Eptonoff.” – Det. Petrosino ([08:00], [11:20])

• Petrosino’s investigation hinges on finding an eyewitness to physical abuse, namely the couple’s five-year-old daughter, Ricky.

4. The Prosecution’s Unusual Theory

[14:41–16:17]

• Brian himself suggests only force could have led Judy to take as much cocaine as she did.
• Petrosino theorizes that Brian, after beating his wife, forced her to swallow cocaine to mask the abuse and create an alibi.
• Prosecutor Kurt Altman, initially skeptical, is eventually convinced by Petrosino to bring charges.

“If we’re talking about a gram of cocaine, somebody forced her. She’d never do that much cocaine.” – Brian Eftonoff ([15:05])

5. The Trial: Evidence, Witnesses, and Complications

[17:00–28:06]

• The prosecution alleges Brian forced Judy to ingest cocaine to cover up abuse, citing injuries and testimony from toxicologist Dr. Randall Basalt.
• Defense counters with conflicting testimony from other experts and notes Judy’s known drug use, including with friends.
• Star witness Ricky, the couple’s young daughter, cannot recall crucial details a year and a half later.
• Medical opinions are inconsistent—some experts say large doses were involved, others suggest smaller, voluntarily ingested amounts over time.

“[Judy] might have died of an accidental overdose. So he listed her death as undecided. Case closed. Or it might have been, if not for one detective.” – Host ([10:32])

• Brian chooses to testify, despite advice, giving a performance described as arrogant and unconvincing by observers.

“Shouldn’t I get the benefit of the doubt? Isn’t it the state’s burden of proof to show that I killed Judy? Not to come up with some theory that he shoved cocaine down her throat?” – Brian Eftonoff ([27:24])

6. The Verdict & Aftermath

[31:27–34:44]

• Jury takes only a day and a half to convict Brian of second-degree murder and cocaine transport.
• Brian is sentenced to 50 years.
• Jurors cite his own words (“foul play” if a gram was taken at once by Judy) and his unlikable demeanor as contributing factors.
• Some jurors later admit the evidence wasn’t clear, and personality played a role.

“Brian said that if she had that much cocaine in her, somebody forced it on her – must have been foul play, was his words. We did agree with that.” – Juror ([33:46])

• The episode raises questions about reasonable doubt, as jurors were forced to make a decision that experts themselves could not agree upon.

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Forensic Experts Challenge the Prosecution

[36:14–41:38]

• 48 Hours convenes four leading forensic experts who unanimously reject the prosecution’s theory—no forensic evidence supports forced cocaine ingestion.

“Does anyone in this room agree with that scenario? … No. No. No.” – Panel of Experts ([37:08])

• They highlight problems with using post-mortem toxicology to determine timing/dose and note the lack of cocaine found in Judy’s stomach.

“It’s highly improbable as far as I’m concerned. I would say it’s virtually impossible given the evidence that I’ve looked at.” – Dr. Lee Hearn ([37:11])

• Injuries are explained as consistent with accidental overdose and seizure, not assault.

“These are not indications of anybody who’s sustained any type of beating at all. These to me are very nonspecific.” – Dr. Charles Wetley ([40:31])

• The experts conclude reasonable doubt exists and that Brian may be innocent of murder.

“There is an innocent man in jail. I think it’s very possible that there is an innocent man in jail. Innocent of murder. Certainly.” – Dr. Don Ray ([41:38])

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Brian Eftonoff, on the stand: “It’s like a Lay’s potato chip. It’s hard to put down when you start. It’s hard to stop.” ([29:02])
• Jury forewoman: “My concern was that the evidence was not there. And I believe in the system.” ([34:09])
• Reporter Paul Rubin: “He thinks he can sell the jury. He thinks he could sell the judge. He can sell everybody under the sun.” ([27:56])
• Expert Panel: “I am not aware of a case in which death ensued within one hour in which there was not copious amounts of the insulting agent in the gastric contents. And this is simply not the case in this particular situation.” – Dr. Wetley ([39:23])

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Timestamps of Major Segments

• Initial Investigation/Emergency Call: [02:21–05:28]
• Toxicology and Friends' Testimony: [06:07–07:32]
• Detective’s Theory: [14:41–16:17]
• Trial Highlights: [17:00–28:06]
• Brian’s Testimony: [28:08–31:10]
• Verdict and Juror Reflections: [31:27–34:44]
• Forensic Expert Panel: [36:14–41:38]

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Conclusions & Lasting Questions

The episode concludes with judicial finality but persistent doubt. Despite Brian Eftonoff’s conviction and failed appeals (his defense centered on the lack of clear forensic proof and unreliable child testimony), the convergence of expert medical opinion raises the specter of wrongful conviction. The podcast leaves listeners questioning the limits of justice when science, testimony, and instinct collide and ultimately underscores the importance of reasonable doubt in American law.

Final Thought:

“If these medical experts and others are so convinced Judy Eftonoff was not murdered as the prosecution contends, isn’t that reasonable doubt that her husband killed her?” – Host ([41:13])

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This summary was produced to illuminate the complexities explored in "Reasonable Doubt," offering listeners and readers a way to understand the case’s questions, ambiguities, and controversies without hearing the full episode.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Did you kill your wife?

[A]

No one determined prosecutor is out to prove he did. This is a killer who thinks he can talk his way out of everything. Judy was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, and a friend. Brian says he found his wife on the floor of their home. I'm going to leave the father, but I got to get her mouth to mother or she's going to die. There was an eyewitness. His own daughter. Will she tell a different story? Is that a picture you drew? Yes. Aaron Moriarty investigates. What if there was no murder at all? I would say it's virtually impossible given the. The evidence that I've looked at. A 48 hours mystery, reasonable doubt. Please. My wife is bruised everywhere. I don't know what's going on. Like somebody beat her up, beat her bad or something.

[B]

Early one September morning in 1999, Brian Eftonoff arrived home after a long night out with his best friend and walked into a nightmare.

[A]

Is she awake and talking to you? No.

[B]

He discovered his wife on the bathroom floor of their Phoenix home.

[A]

I'm gonna leave this mother, but I gotta care about the mother. She's gonna die.

[B]

Eftonoff tried to give Judy cpr.

[A]

I couldn't get her jaw. But I wasn't gonna stop. I wasn't gonna stop. Baby, don't you do this to me. I can't raise those kids. Baby, stay with me. I'm begging her. Judy, don't leave me with those kids. You know, come back.

[B]

The police are there now, but Judy was dead. After the Eftonovs, two children, five year old Ricky and three year old Nicholas, were taken to neighbors. Police set about trying to figure out how this young mother died. Because of the bruises on Judy's body, police initially suspected an assault, but there were no signs of a break in. What's more, there were no obvious injuries to cause death.

[A]

She had some small lacerations of the lips. She had some very small bruising on the face.

[B]

Medical examiner Dr. Philip Keene was sure that these injuries even combined could not have killed her. But he couldn't determine what caused them. Could she have sustained that injury by hitting a counter or hitting the floor?

[A]

Yes, she could sustain that in a fall because all it is is, it's a blunt force impact.

[B]

Judy's husband Brian, the owner of an auto parts business, was taken to the Phoenix police station for questioning and interviewed by Detective Joe Petrosino.

[A]

As far as you know, she wasn't expecting anyone. Absolutely not, puppy. Everybody loved Judy. She was my better half. She was just a wonderful mother. Wonderful mother.

[B]

Fun, fun life of the party. And she was beautiful and warm and.

[A]

She was really loyal.

[B]

Yeah. Judy's mysterious death came as a shock to her best friends and to her parents back in North Dakota.

[A]

My son called us. He just said, I don't know how to tell you. Yeah, except just to tell you they found Judy dead this morning. No, I'm like, you can't be Judy. I watched the news. They showed her a house and they showed her in a body bag and they were taking her out of the house.

[B]

It was terrible.

[A]

Especially she has two little babies and sad.

[B]

Although Brian Eftonoff was the last person to see Judy, he had an airtight alibi. A surveillance tape from the casino where he had been gambling that night with his friend.

[A]

He had his time accounted for pretty well, she says. Well, I was at the casino with my friend Nick from 10 o' clock until I found her.

[B]

And Judy was fine. Brian says when he left her that night, he told police his wife was putting the kids to bed and acting normal. When he said goodbye, walked into the.

[A]

Bedroom where she was laying out the kids, said, I need the ATM card, gave her a kiss and I left.

[B]

It was just after he got home at about 5:15am that Brian discovered his wife's by then rigid body and called 911.

[A]

Hurry, hurry.

[B]

So how did Judy die? It took several weeks to finally solve the mystery and it came in this report. When the final medical examiner's report came.

[A]

Out.

[B]

What was your reaction?

[A]

Heartbreak. Heartbreak.

[B]

The answer was in the toxicology results. Judy Eftinoff died of a stroke caused by cocaine intoxication. The Judy I knew didn't do cocaine. And that just threw me. To Judy's friends Liza, Shannon and Lynette, this news seemed unbelievable. The entire time that we were friends, there was no drug use. None. But Tamara Colwell, Judy's best friend, look.

[A]

How happy she is. Her eyes are gleaming.

[B]

Admits Judy started using drugs after she got married. That Brian is the one who introduced her to cocaine. I asked her, you know, why are.

[A]

You doing coke now? She said that Brian seems to think.

[B]

That it makes their sex life better. In fact, Brian himself pointed out to police where his wife often hid her drugs.

[A]

Probably her jewelry box. Just a bio, you know, it kind of coke, coke.

[B]

But while the existence of cocaine in Judy's system certainly explained her mysterious death, it still didn't answer all of the medical examiner's questions.

[A]

We know that there are injuries that were not self inflicted.

[B]

How did Judy Eftonoff sustain those minor scrapes and bruises on her face and her head? Detective Petrosino has his own theory.

[A]

I think once that I was looking at a cocaine overdose. Well, why was she beat up?

[B]

Coming up, the unique theory that became this homicide detective's crusade.

[A]

I think the ultimate responsibility for Judy's death resides in the hands of Brian Epinox.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Love at first sight. And I mean, I've been. I've dated quite a few women over my life and the whole nine yards. And it was just when, you know, you know, she called one day and.

[B]

Said, mother, I think I've met the.

[A]

Man I'm going to marry.

[B]

Judy was 23. Brian, a handsome, fast talking charmer from Indiana, was 10 years her senior.

[A]

I was the gas pedal, she was the brakes. We used to always say that. I was the gas pedal, she was the brakes.

[B]

After a rough childhood in Indiana, his parents both died young. Brian grew up to be a natural salesman and Judy was sold. She was immediately attracted to him, immediately attracted to him. She was a small town girl from North North Dakota, as stunning as she was sweet. She was a cheerleader.

[A]

In the homecoming court, one of the first girls around here to play hockey. I think she did that just to bug the boys a little bit, you know.

[B]

After she and Brian married and had children, Judy continued to work in sales at Neiman Marcus. Once they got together, we didn't really see her that much anymore. None of Judy's family or friends had ever liked Brian. And when they heard she had suddenly.

[A]

Died, and I said, I know how.

[B]

It happened right away, you said that right then, they all thought the same thing. I thought it was Brian. The first thing that I thought, I thought that he killed her. There was only one problem with that theory. Despite Judy's cuts and bruises, the county medical examiner wasn't at all convinced that she was murdered, that she might have died of an accidental overdose. So he listed her death as undecided. Case closed. Or it might have been, if not for one detective. Detective Joe Petrosino. He not only believed that Judy was murdered, he thought he knew who killed her.

[A]

I think the ultimate responsibility for Judy's death resides in the hands of Brian Eppenoff.

[B]

At first, it was just the injuries that made the detectives suspect Judy's husband. But over time, Petrosino became convinced.

[A]

In.

[B]

Large part because of Brian himself.

[A]

I said it before and I'll say it again, Brian is his own worst enemy.

[B]

In the hours and days just after Judy's death, Brian's behavior just seemed inappropriate to those around him, especially to his mother in law.

[A]

And he said, you know, grandma, he said, I hate to ask this question right now, he said, but, you know, how soon can I get remarried after all this?

[B]

Judy hasn't even been buried.

[A]

No, we had just picked out her casket.

[B]

And Brian called a bizarre press conference the day after Judy died.

[A]

Judy was a wonderful wife, mother, daughter, and a friend. I just want to urge all husbands out there and fathers to take some of the pressure off their spouses. Spend more time sharing the load of parenthood because it has a toll.

[B]

And listen to what he told detective Petrosino when asked whether he ever fought with his wife.

[A]

Did you ever fight with your wife? Of course. I have a ton of respect for women, but if you're gonna act like a guy, yeah, you get treated like a guy. You hit me with something, throw something at me, smack me in the face, Good chance you're probably gonna get smacked back.

[B]

From there. Petrosino started to gather stories that Brian had beaten Judy in the past. She called me and she said, you.

[A]

Know, she goes, tam, she goes, can you pick me up?

[B]

She goes, I think my jaw's broken.

[A]

I said, I know he's just beaten you. She said, mom, who told you? I said, never mind. Pick up that baby and get out of that house.

[B]

But what he really needed was an eyewitness to domestic abuse. A few weeks later, he found one. Ricky Eftonoff, Judy and Brian's five year old daughter. Sometimes she just can fight. Like how dinosaurs fight. In a series of interviews with counselors, she gave disturbing but also conflicting stories of domestic abuse.

[A]

Ricky tells that mommy and daddy are fighting like dinosaurs, or words to that effect. Kicking and punching. And mommy, mommy hits her head.

[B]

Isn't it possible that Ricky may be confusing that night with other nights when she saw her parents fight?

[A]

Is it possible, sir? Anything's possible.

[B]

But petrosino still couldn't figure out how Brian could have killed Judy that night. So he was far from being able to charge Brian with murder.

[A]

My lieutenant said, well, we're not gonna count it as a homicide. He said, you can work it as long as you want, but I'm not counting it as a homicide.

[B]

Then Brian gave him an idea.

[A]

That's my tape recorder. That's Brian's downfall. Joe, Brian Etonoff. How are you, Brian? How you doing? He called me regularly. Joe, Brian, how are you? How was your vacation? It wasn't bad. And said, could you please find out who killed my wife? Are you tired of me bugging you?

[B]

In this phone call, Brian told Petrosino there was only one way his wife could have as much cocaine in her system as she did.

[A]

That's one gram of coke in her system at one time. That's impossible.

[B]

Some medical experts said Judy had taken as much as a gram of cocaine to me.

[A]

Then someone was, you know, like forcing her to do it or something. You know what I'm saying? Uh huh.

[B]

So he said that himself?

[A]

Yeah. It's in a phone conversation. If we're talking about a gram of cocaine, somebody forced her. She'd never do that much cocaine.

[B]

It was the clue Petrosina was looking for. What do you think caused those bruises on Judy's neck here?

[A]

I think he was getting her to swallow.

[B]

And with that, Detective Petrosino came up with his theory of how Brian killed his wife.

[A]

I think he beat her up, he hurt her. He knows he hurt her. She's going to call the cops this time and he needs an alibi because he doesn't want to go to jail. And if he puts a little cocaine in her, pours it down her and anybody comes and looks at her, she's going to be high on coke. He has a built in alibi. If she's got any marks on her, it's because she's bouncing off the walls or something. She fell down.

[B]

It's a highly unusual theory and so difficult to prove that initially the county attorney's office was reluctant to take the case.

[A]

I had other cases. But when I'd walk into my office and see Detective Petrosino sitting there. Morning. What are you working on? That helped drive me. What are you going to do? And once I got involved and heard about some of the things that were going on, I wanted the answers. I wanted to know what happened.

[B]

Eight months after Judy's death, prosecutor Kurt Altman and Detective Petrosina went before a grand jury and Brian Eftonoff was arrested for murder. His two children went to live with Brian's sister.

[A]

I'm sure he'll tell you that I'm just wrong. Maybe I am. And if I am, I'm sorry that, you know, Brian's life has been, you know, hell. But I didn't make his life. He did.

[B]

Brian Eftonoff stands trial for murder. That's next.

[A]

She's bruised everywhere. Her face is bloody. Somebody beat her up, beat her bad.

[B]

More than one year after 30 year old Judy Eftonoff was found dead in her home, Her husband is on trial for murder this time.

[A]

Mr. Altman, you may present your opening statement. Thank you, you, Honor.

[B]

Did you kill your wife?

[A]

No.

[B]

Did you fight with her that night? No. Did you grab her by the throat?

[A]

No.

[B]

Leave her to die?

[A]

No.

[B]

Did you stuff cocaine down her throat?

[A]

No.

[B]

Why did the police say he did?

[A]

It's the only Evolving theory that they could come up with. Ladies and gentlemen, count one is murder in the second degree.

[B]

But Brian Eftonoff is facing more than just a murder charge. He's also accused of illegally transporting cocaine. It was found mixed in with Judy's belongings in a box sent to her parents.

[A]

Trying to prove to us that Judy was a cocaine addict. Well, sending a box full of love, not hate.

[B]

Brian admits sending the box, but says he didn't know cocaine was inside. He says he was set up.

[A]

Here's what I think. Well, jeez, we can't get him for the murder. Maybe we should get him for the cocaine. I've got tapes from everywhere.

[B]

Aftonoff might not be on trial at all.

[A]

Phone calls, interviews.

[B]

If not for Detective Joe Petrosino. Brian firmly convinced that Brian is guilty of both crimes.

[A]

There's never been any doubt in my mind of that.

[B]

Even after medical tests clearly showed Judy died of a stroke caused by cocaine and the medical examiner refused to rule the death a murder, the 26 year veteran cop doggedly pursued a homicide investigation.

[A]

Okay, so she's throwing things at you. One of my old buddies said I'm just a burned out detective, so I'm somewhere between burned out and overzealous. I just figured I'm just doing.

[B]

Do you think that you got in your mind that Brian did this and you were just determined to bring him to trial?

[A]

No, I was determined if there was evidence to take him to trial, I was going to take him to trial. All the evidence you're going to hear are small pieces of a puzzle.

[B]

Petrosino convinced a reluctant prosecutor, Kurt Altman, that Eftonoff wasn't acting like an innocent man.

[A]

Weird things like some phone calls. I've got some other stuff going on with, you know, a book and a screenplay. And what? It's my responsibility to the public to do that.

[B]

Joe, have you ever had a case quite like this?

[A]

Oh, no. No way. Joe, we had sex with other girls. Can I say that it never would have been brought without him opening his mouth? I don't know that, but it sure would have been a lot more difficult.

[B]

Even so, it's not going to be easy.

[A]

Judy Eftonoff did not die by accident.

[B]

Before Altman can prove Brian Eftonoff killed his wife, she did not get that.

[A]

Amount of cocaine into her system by accident.

[B]

He has to convince a jury a murder occurred at all.

[A]

The defendant is the only person that could have done this.

[B]

You're convinced Judy was murdered?

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

That this was a homicide?

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

According To Altman, Eftonoff forced his wife to swallow cocaine to cover up injuries he had given her during a domestic argument. Where's the evidence? In part, in the testimony of his star medical witness.

[A]

Once you get beyond a gram of cocaine, it becomes rather improbable that anybody could even ingest that much.

[B]

Toxicologist Dr. Randall Basalt says his calculations show Judy had taken as much as a gram of cocaine an hour or two before her death.

[A]

That's correct.

[B]

Too much cocaine, he says, and taken too quickly for Judy to have taken it on her own. But his calculations are disputed by other experts.

[A]

That's not a permissible calculation. You're really kind of out on a limb when you try to take those numbers from an autopsy.

[B]

Even a witness from the county's own medical examiner's office says the amount of cocaine may have been smaller doses were taken. Judy could have taken it on her.

[A]

Own two hours prior to death.

[B]

That undermines the theory that a murder occurred at all. If the medical experts can't themselves say it was a homicide, how can you?

[A]

It doesn't have to be called a homicide by the medical examiner's office for the jury to find someone guilty of murder.

[B]

Altman believes the injuries on Judy will convince the jury she was murdered. So he turns to the one eyewitness he believes who can say how she got them. The problem is that witness is only seven years old.

[A]

Promised the dollar tree.

[B]

Yes, Ricky Eftonoff, Brian and Judy's daughter.

[A]

I did not want to put Ricky on the stand. What happened to your mom? She died. Unfortunately, in the position I was in, I had to.

[B]

She's one of several witnesses whose face the judge asked us not to show while on the stand.

[A]

Is that a picture you drew?

[B]

Yeah. Altman asks Ricky about a picture she drew that he believes accurately describes some of Judy's injuries.

[A]

And what does it show?

[B]

She was her knee, all swelling, but.

[A]

I didn't really see that.

[B]

In fact, after a year and a half, Ricky can't remember much of anything about that night.

[A]

She blood that was on your lungs?

[B]

Well, only a little bit.

[A]

They were fight type injuries. She had a bump on her head. She had a cut on her eye. She had a bloody nose.

[B]

The County Medical Examiner, Dr. Philip Kane, is particularly concerned with the bruise on Judy's scalp.

[A]

This is a large bruise and it's a full thickness bruise of the scalp. So that's a pretty good blow.

[B]

A blow, the prosecution argues that was delivered by Brian. But Dr. Keene didn't do the autopsy. And according to Dr. Archias Moseley, who did.

[A]

Okay, so there is a bruise on the back of her head. There's no skull fracture. There's no contusion on her brain.

[B]

The bruise on Judy's head was never serious.

[A]

If it had been up to me, I probably would have left that out entirely.

[B]

Testimony that's damaging for the prosecution. Because Dr. Moseley, a member of Keene's own staff, is testifying for the defense, he believes it's possible Judy took cocaine, had a seizure, and simply hit her head when she fell. And it certainly doesn't help the prosecution when friends and neighbors who knew Judy during her marriage admit they saw her use cocaine. Yes.

[A]

Once with Brian. Do you remember estimating you might have done cocaine once a week with Judy? Yes.

[B]

With evidence like that and with a confusing and conflicting medical testimony, Brian is beginning to feel confident they do not have a case.

[A]

They will never have a case.

[B]

Maybe two. Too confident.

[A]

I'm gonna get acquitted.

[B]

As he prepares to take the biggest gamble of his life. Are you worried at all what the jury will think of you?

[A]

Yeah. I can see why my lawyer doesn't want me to get on the stand. Yeah.

[B]

Brian Eftonoff takes the stand. That's next. We all love a legendary comeback.

[A]

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Head to your local Walmart or Target and grab degree Cool Rush, the fan favorite scent from the world's number one antiperspirant brand. Hey there. We're Corrine Vien and Sabrina Dianna Roga, here to introduce our newest podcast, Crimes of a crime house. Original Crimes of is a weekly series that explores a new theme each season from Crimes of the Paranormal, Unsolved murders, and more. Our first season is Crimes of Infamy, the true crime stories behind Hollywood's most iconic horror villains. Listen to and follow Crimes of Available now. Wherever you get your podcasts, We're here in cause number CR20008265, State of Ariz, Arizona versus Brian Thomas Eftonoff. If I'd have made it home earlier, Judy may be alive. Brian is one of a kind, maybe a vegetable, maybe an organ donor. Only he was just about the most unsympathetic character I have come across. I mean, intracerebral hemorrhage is more 50 or 60% of the time. Goodbye. We do not like smug people, especially whose wives die such horrific deaths. And they don't seem to act right about it.

[B]

Sitting in the courtroom every day is Paul Rubin, a reporter for a local Phoenix newspaper, the New Times, who has followed Brian Eftonoff's case since the beginning.

[A]

You had this guy who oozed arrogance, and he also thinks he's a little bit better in every aspect of life than you or I or anybody. The jurors are here. The attorneys are here. The defendant is here. They do not have a case. They will never have a case. Mr. Altman, you may proceed. You will see that over the next few days. They're grabbing at straws.

[B]

Actually, the trial drags on for more than a month, an eternity for Judy Eftonoff's parents. Did you ever expect the trial to last this long? No. They have to face the ugly details of her death.

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Her legs were very stiff and rigor mortis had already set in.

[B]

They also have to hear the embarrassing facts of her life.

[A]

Do you remember telling Detective Petrosino Judy might do five, 10 little lines during a social night? Yes.

[B]

Eftonoff also has difficulty sitting in court, but not because of what he's hearing about his wife.

[A]

He threatened me and my son. Did he threaten to hurt you physically? He said that I was effing going down. All they did was make me look like a big, evil, big intimidating man.

[B]

He's upset because he feels the case is focused not on Judy's death, but on his character.

[A]

Shouldn't I get the benefit of the doubt? Isn't it the state's burden of proof to show that I killed Judy? Not to come up with some theory that he shoved cocaine down her throat? This case is fraught with reasonable doubt. Just because Brian is weird doesn't mean he's a killer.

[B]

Reporter Paul Rubin doesn't believe. The evidence against Eftonoff is very convincing.

[A]

Usually it's a whodunit. It's a murder mystery. Well, this one was. Maybe it's a whodunit, but it was a. Was there a. Done it.

[B]

Still, Rubin believes Eftonoff's own ego could do him in.

[A]

Brian thinks he's smarter than everyone else. He was a salesman. He thinks he can sell the jury. He thinks he could sell the judge. He can sell everybody under the sun.

[B]

And sure enough. So you are going to testify?

[A]

I am going to testify. I want everybody to know what really happened. Here, Brian syndrome. The boy cannot help himself.

[B]

Against the advice of Jim Cleary, Eftonov's defense attorney, he takes the stand.

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What position was she in when you first saw her? Do you guys want a full demonstration?

[B]

Eftonoff begins with an unusual and rather strange demonstration.

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Like this, except for she was all the way down. I can't, I'm restrained right now.

[B]

It makes everyone in the courtroom uncomfortable.

[A]

His ego wouldn't allow him to miss that chance. On the stage up there, I had blood in my mouth, I had blood on my face.

[B]

Judy's mother Sharon says in explaining how he found his wife.

[A]

It was an eternity.

[B]

Brian gave the performance of a lifetime.

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I'm trying to cry on the stand and no tears, you know, I mean, there's my wife. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to bring her back to life. I don't think anybody killed my wife. I think she OD'd. I'm positive she OD'd. She couldn't put it down. It's like a Lay's potato chip. It's hard to put down when you start. It's hard to stop.

[B]

But then he contradicts himself. Eftonoff actually tells the jury that Judy may have been murdered.

[A]

And if it was anything like a one time dose of like a gram or more, then there's obviously foul play.

[B]

Taking the stand has given Brian Eftonoff a chance to tell his story.

[A]

Did you have any involvement in putting cocaine into her body the night before she died? No.

[B]

But Mr. Ethanoff. It also gives prosecutor Kurt Altman the opportunity to question it. And Eftonoff is suddenly in the hot seat.

[A]

You don't lie under oath, right? Is that a question? That is a question. No. To me it was obvious he was lying and I think everybody else thought so too. Camera hit you? No. You heard your brother in law testify, didn't you? Yes, I did. In fact, what you told him was that you never hit her with a closed fist, but you hit her, right? Absolutely not. We never had a discussion about closed fist, unclosed fists. That discussion never happened anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

[B]

And it gets even hotter.

[A]

You called your loving wife a cocor during your dependency hearing on November 12, didn't you? Absolutely not. True. He told me or year earlier that he told her she was a cold corps. And those two words were so repulsive and so vile it really, really turned the jury off. There are two copies of that transcript. What is yours? Dated. Here's how this works. When you take the witness stand In a criminal case, I ask the questions. Okay? Kurt Altman was smart enough to use those two words whenever he could. Never called your wife a coke whore. Never. I counted 14 times. Your loving wife a coke. Never. You gonna stop answering my questions now? I didn't hear a question. The jury can just convict him just because they don't like him more than on any scientific evidence.

[B]

Still, Eftonoff leaves the witness box convinced he helped his case.

[A]

I understand you've reached a verdict.

[B]

Yes, we have. The verdict coming up next on 48 Hours.

[A]

This is a killer. This is a killer who thinks he can talk his way out of everything. I didn't kill Judy. I did not kill Judy.

[B]

It took the jury five weeks to hear all the evidence. But only a day and a half. All right. To decide Brian Eftonoff's fate.

[A]

Three male jurors locked their eyes on me. I understand you've reached a verdict. They just locked onto me. Brian had lost the self important swagger, you know? Please hand the verdict forms to the bailiff. I think he realized that at the end of one day, if they were coming back, it wasn't going to be good.

[B]

It is an anxious moment for everyone.

[A]

I started to cry. I just thought you did it. My daughter would be here if you wouldn't have touched her. All right. The clerk will now read the verdicts. We the jurors do find the defendant guilty of count one, second degree murder.

[B]

Brian Eftonoff is found guilty of murdering Judy and also guilty of count two, guilty of sending cocaine to her parents by mail.

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Is this your true verdicts to say? And why not? Yes. Yes, he did it. Now everybody knows he did it. Not only us.

[B]

Why do you think they convicted you?

[A]

I don't have the slightest idea. Not based on the evidence, that's for sure. Based upon the verdict of guilty, count one, first degree murder, and count two.

[B]

His sentence, 50 years in prison. A lot of time for Brian Eftonoff, now 42, to wonder how much his own testimony put him there.

[A]

I know we were asked after the trial lots of times how much of a factor his personality was. And the answer is none.

[B]

But the jurors who met with 48 hours after the trial admit Eftonoff certainly didn't help his case.

[A]

It was clear that he was not a likable guy, that he was abrasive and obnoxious.

[B]

And in the end, they say he gave the most damning testimony at trial.

[A]

Brian said that if she had that much cocaine in her, somebody forced it on her must have been foul play was his words. We did agree with that. The bottom line was she died of a cocaine overdose and she was impossible to snort that much that she had her system.

[B]

Even so, it took a while for forewoman Anna Bowman to feel comfortable convicting Brian. I think I was pretty sure that.

[A]

He had done it. My concern was that the evidence was not there and I believe in the system.

[B]

But does that bother you that as jurors that you're asked to make a decision that even medical experts can't?

[A]

Of course.

[B]

But did they make the right decision? These well known experts say maybe not. The prosecution says that Judy Aftonoff was first knocked unconscious and then was murdered by stuffing cocaine down her throat. Does anyone in this room agree with that scenario?

[A]

No. No. No.

[B]

Was this man wrongly convicted of murder? That's.

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The trial is over, but has it really solved the mystery of Judy Aftonoff's death? As you saw during the hour, the county's own doctors and toxicologists couldn't determine if she was even murdered. And as it turns out, they're not the only ones who raised citizens serious questions about the case against Brian Eftonoff.

[A]

I was shocked, amazed. It appeared to me the evidence was not there.

[B]

48 Hours brought together these four well known forensic experts and asked them to study the medical testimony and evidence from the trial.

[A]

This is our death investigation class coming through here now.

[B]

This is Dr. Lee Hearn, the chief toxicologist for Miami Dade County, Florida. Dr. Edward Briglia is Chief Toxicologist for Suffolk County, New York. Dr. Charles Wetley is the Suffolk county chief medical examiner and Dr. Don Ray, now retired, spent nearly 24 years as chief medical examiner in Seattle. Among them, they have studied hundreds of deaths from cocaine. The prosecution says that Judy Eftonoff was first knocked unconscious and then was murdered by stuffing cocaine down her throat. Does anyone in this room agree with that scenario?

[A]

No. No, no.

[B]

Is it even a possibility?

[A]

It's highly improbable as far as I'm concerned. I would say it's virtually impossible given the evidence that I've looked at. Same thing here. I just don't see the evidence for it.

[B]

In fact, not one of them, not a single one, believes Judy Aftonoff was even murdered, as the prosecution claims.

[A]

I think she was a cocaine user. I think she was binging on cocaine on the night of her death and that she developed a cerebral bleed. Because cocaine raises your blood pressure, it happens fairly often, and that was the cause of her death.

[B]

What's most disturbing is that this doesn't seem to be just a difference of opinion among experts. We spoke to more than a dozen and couldn't find a single one who agreed with the prosecution's star medical witness. Remember Dr. Randall Basalt? He's the toxicologist who testified that Judy Eftonoff died shortly after taking a large dose of cocaine.

[A]

The lion's share of what we're looking at here occurred within one to two hours prior to death.

[B]

While that testimony greatly influenced the jury, the problem, say these Doctors, is that Dr. Basalt based his opinion on blood test results that are unreliable when taken after death.

[A]

The method that was used to arrive at that conclusion is totally unaccepted by the forensic toxicology community.

[B]

But what is more important, say these experts, is that Dr. Basalt's theory and the prosecutions is simply not supported by the evidence.

[A]

Where is the cocaine in the stomach? It is not there. And that renders a major problem in.

[B]

This case that had she been forced to take cocaine and then died, as the prosecution said, within that hour, there would be much more here.

[A]

Well, indeed, I believe that between 10 and 30% of the dose would still reside in the stomach.

[B]

Undisputed evidence shows that most of the cocaine in Judy Eftonoff's fault body had already broken down into by products called metabolites. Very little remained in her stomach.

[A]

This is quantity of cocaine, three and a half milligrams cocaine hydrochloride. That was a little bit more than was calculated as being the total amount in her stomach. We have literally seen thousands of cases of oral overdose. I am not aware of a case in which death ensued within One hour in which there was not copious amounts of the insulting agent in the gastric contents. And this is simply not the case in this particular situation.

[B]

What about the prosecution's witness argument that there was so much cocaine in her body that she simply couldn't have done that on her own?

[A]

I would characterize that as absurd. First of all, this is a gram of cocaine and it's not really that much cocaine. And that could be consumed pretty easily over a period of a couple of hours.

[B]

Dr. Basalt refused our repeated request for an interview about his report. But what about the injuries found on Judy's body that the prosecution argues is proof she was beaten and forced to take the cocaine?

[A]

These are not indications of anybody who's sustained any type of beating at all. These to me are very nonspecific. It might be indicative of some type of struggle or fight, but certainly not a beating.

[B]

But it is just as likely. They all say that the injuries occurred naturally as part of an accidental overdose.

[A]

People with seizures do a lot of flopping around sometimes and so there is a reasonable explanation for the presence of these types of injuries.

[B]

What about the blood? Blunt force trauma on the back of her head.

[A]

She didn't start out lying down on the ground, you know, she presumably lost consciousness and collapsed and she's bound to hit something.

[B]

And this raises perhaps the most important question of all. If these medical experts and others are so convinced Judy Eftonoff was not murdered as the prosecution contends, isn't that reasonable doubt that her husband killed her? Do you feel then based on what you've seen here, everything you've read, that there could be an innocent man in prison?

[A]

Well, of course there's no evidence that she was forced to swallow the cocaine and consequently there is an innocent man in jail. I think it's very possible that there is an innocent man in jail. Innocent of murder. Certainly.

[B]

Since we first broadcast this investigation, Brian Eftonoff took his case to the Arizona Court of Appeals. He argued that because the toxicology report could be interpreted in different ways, there was insufficient evidence to prove murder. And also that his 7 year old daughter was not a competent witness. His appeal was denied. The conviction stands.

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