Two Wigs and A Gun a Pt 1

Summary

Summary of "48 Hours" Episode: "Two Wigs and A Gun a Pt 1"

Introduction

The "48 Hours" episode titled "Two Wigs and A Gun a Pt 1," released on January 8, 2025, delves into the mysterious and tragic murder of Fred Jablin, a respected college professor from Richmond, Virginia. Hosted by CBS News and featuring in-depth reporting by correspondent Coby Kelly, the episode explores the intricate details of the case, the suspects involved, and the unfolding investigation that captivated the community.

Overview of the Case

On the morning of October 30, 2004, Fred Jablin was brutally gunned down in his driveway under seemingly ordinary circumstances. At 6:30 AM, Fred, a meticulous individual and university professor, stepped outside in his slippers to retrieve his newspaper, a daily routine that tragically ended in his death.

“He was a very, very involved father.”
— Piper Rountree, Fred's ex-wife [01:57]

Detective Coby Kelly recounts the initial chaos following the murder:

"We saw the person had come out here wearing a robe, wearing slippers."
— Coby Kelly, Homicide Detective [09:00]

Key Suspects

The investigation swiftly pointed towards Fred's ex-wife, Piper Rountree, and her sister, Tina Roundtree, as primary suspects. Their strained relationship post-divorce and unusual behaviors following Fred's death raised significant red flags.

Background of Fred and Piper's Marriage

Fred Jablin and Piper Rountree were married for 19 years, with Piper being a dedicated mother and Fred a devoted father. Their marriage, however, was marred by growing tensions leading to their eventual divorce in July 2002. Fred's relentless fight for full custody and allegations against Piper—such as claims of domestic instability and unfaithfulness—left deep scars on both Piper and her sister Tina.

“He was a very nasty, mean, egotistical person.”
— Tina Roundtree, Piper's Sister [02:55]

Following the divorce, Piper faced significant financial strain, being ordered to pay nearly $900 monthly in child support—a reversal of typical arrangements—which further fueled familial discord.

Investigation Developments

Detective Kelly's investigation unveiled critical information about Piper and Tina's movements on the day of Fred's murder. Airport records indicated that Tina Roundtree had flown from Houston to Virginia just before the murder and was en route back to Texas during the investigation. Simultaneously, Piper was confirmed to be in Texas, providing her with a verifiable alibi.

“I think that neither one of them acted in the manner which we would expect family members would normally act when they've learned that a former loved one has been murdered.”
— Coby Kelly [34:53]

As the investigation progressed, Detective Kelly observed that both sisters exhibited suspicious behavior inconsistent with typical responses to such a traumatic event. Their reactions suggested a deeper involvement or hidden motives that extended beyond familial disputes.

Alibi and Further Evidence

Piper's alibi was corroborated by multiple witnesses, including her attorney friend, who saw her at her Houston office during the time of the murder. Additionally, Tina was seen at her workplace, eliminating her presence at the crime scene.

“It was just incredible, the total lack of interest that anybody had.”
— Piper Rountree [31:40]

Despite the alibis, Detective Kelly remained skeptical, noting that the sisters' unusual behaviors warranted further scrutiny. Piper's desperate efforts to solidify her alibi and Tina's evasive actions only deepened the mystery surrounding Fred's death.

Conclusion of Part 1

The episode concludes with the investigation intensifying as Detective Kelly focuses on uncovering the true motives behind Fred Jablin's murder. The intricate web of relationships, financial pressures, and personal vendettas hinted at by the Roundtree sisters sets the stage for a compelling continuation in Part 2.

“But the truth was about to catch up with Piper Roundtree.”
— Piper Rountree [44:42]

Notable Quotes

• “He was a very nasty, mean, egotistical person.”
  — Tina Roundtree [02:55]

• “I think that neither one of them acted in the manner which we would expect family members would normally act when they've learned that a former loved one has been murdered.”
  — Coby Kelly [34:53]

• “It was just incredible, the total lack of interest that anybody had.”
  — Piper Rountree [31:40]

• “But the truth was about to catch up with Piper Roundtree.”
  — Piper Rountree [44:42]

Conclusion

"Two Wigs and A Gun a Pt 1" masterfully sets up a gripping narrative of murder, betrayal, and the relentless pursuit of truth. With compelling interviews, meticulous examination of evidence, and a focus on the human elements behind the crime, the episode promises an enthralling continuation in its sequel.

Transcript

[Lindsey Graham]

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[Coby Kelly]

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[Lindsey Graham]

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[Piper Rountree]

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[Lindsey Graham]

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[Coby Kelly]

Now a special two part edition of 48 Hours.

[Lindsey Graham]

People are involved here. Parents who work to stay home. It's the type of neighborhood when the kids go to the bus stop in the morning, you know the parents are there. And Fred was there every morning. Fred was just a wonderful man. He enjoyed life like we all do here. I think his ultimate goal was to be a great dad, to have a solid family. He was very, very involved with his children. The morning of the 30th started out like any other morning.

[Coby Kelly]

He was a fairly precise individual. He taught at the University of Richmond. It was his regular pattern to get up, make some coffee, come outside, retrieve the newspaper. At 6:30, Fred Jablum went outside in his slippers to go get his newspaper and he was gunned down in his driveway. My name's Coby Kelly. I'm a homicide detective with the Henrico County Police.

[Lindsey Graham]

I've lost my best friend. I lost my brother. Who goes through life expecting to know someone who gets murdered. You don't ever expect to have a friend murdered. I was in Texas. I was about ready to go out to a Halloween party with my sister and I got a call from a good friend of mine. She was just very, very upset. And she said, first, Fred's been killed. And I was just stunned. My name's Piper Rountree. Fred Chaplin and I were married for 19 years. She was devastated because of his death. He's the father of her children.

[Coby Kelly]

I met Piper and thought she was odd until I met her sister and realized that Piper was the least of the two.

[Piper Rountree]

They were very close. Tina was an interesting character in her own right.

[Coby Kelly]

Am I going to call them both nutty? Okay, they're both nutty.

[Lindsey Graham]

From day one, I was always disappointed that she married Fred. He was a very nasty, mean, egotistical person.

[Coby Kelly]

I think that neither one of them acted in the manner which we would expect family members would normally act when they've learned that a former loved one has been murdered.

[Lindsey Graham]

My sister loves me. We're very, very close. She will go out to save people and do things for People that no other person would ever do.

[Coby Kelly]

Well, it's definitely not your run of the mill case. You have a suspect flying in from out of state carrying the weapon with them. You have someone using a different identification. You have wigs and makeup and that sort of thing.

[Piper Rountree]

I never would have dreamed that any of that family would have done anything like this. I would have bet money. Absolutely not.

[Lindsey Graham]

It's not what did I think about Fred Javelin. It's did I kill Fred Javelin?

[Piper Rountree]

Yes. Two wigs, a gun and a murder. In the fall of 2004, this sleepy suburb of Richmond, Virginia was all dressed up for Halloween, ready for its annual visit from pint sized ghosts and goblins. But for this close knit neighborhood, the spookiest day of the year arrived.

[Lindsey Graham]

Early on the morning of the 30th, I got up planning on going to the gym to work out. I was putting on my running shoes when all of a sudden my husband and I heard three loud sound. Bang, bang, bang. We kind of looked at one another like what could that possibly be? I said, well maybe people are hunting, duck hunting down around Tuckahoe Creek.

[Piper Rountree]

Megan McCreary shrugged it off and went to the gym for her morning workout. But just down the road the windows.

[Lindsey Graham]

Were open and all of a sudden I heard three gunshots go off. Bang, bang, bang.

[Piper Rountree]

Neighbor Bob McCartel saw something and he couldn't ignore.

[Lindsey Graham]

I saw someone running down the street in front of my house. It was so dark out, couldn't tell if it was man or woman. I couldn't tell.

[Piper Rountree]

Marcartel called 911 and within minutes the police were searching the neighborhood.

[Lindsey Graham]

There were three police officers here with cars. First they started driving with their searchlights and then they were out on foot with their flashlights. They came back to my house about 15 minutes later.

[Piper Rountree]

Police told McCartel they hadn't been able to find any sign of a shooter or a victim.

[Lindsey Graham]

So I said, all right, well when the sun comes up, I'll take a walk out and I'll see if I can find anything. And if I do, I'll give you a call back. About 45 minutes later my wife and I took a walk and we just walked down towards Fred's house and Doreen actually looked up and saw something up on the driveway. It was kind of strange because it was Halloween time and they had their house done up where they had like old things kind of sticking out. So there was just like a pile.

[Piper Rountree]

Almost a lump lying in his driveway was Fred Jablin, a well respected 52 year old college professor, a devoted father to three young children.

[Lindsey Graham]

I yelled to Doreen, I said, call the police back.

[Piper Rountree]

I said, it's Fred and he's dead.

[Lindsey Graham]

My pager went off at about 7:30am.

[Piper Rountree]

There was a man down at Hearth.

[Coby Kelly]

Glow Lane, which is about three blocks from my home.

[Piper Rountree]

Around that time, an unsuspecting Megan McCrary returned home from working out at the gym.

[Lindsey Graham]

I came in through the door. I was all set to cook everybody breakfast. Tim came into the kitchen and said, megan, you need to come outside immediately. He held onto me. He said, megan, Fred Javelin is dead. I said, what? Things like that, it just doesn't happen, you know, that's not this neighborhood. He said, fred Javelin is lying in his driveway. He is dead. All I could think of right then were those three children that were still in the house.

[Piper Rountree]

I was concerned about the children. I made inquiry.

[Coby Kelly]

I said, well, has anyone checked on the children?

[Piper Rountree]

Officer Harry Boyd's children were close friends with the Jablin children and no one.

[Lindsey Graham]

Here at that point knew about any children. So I told them immediately that there.

[Piper Rountree]

Were three children somewhere. Police entered the home and found Fred Jablin's children, his 12 year old son and his two daughters, ages 10 and 15.

[Lindsey Graham]

All three children were asleep in their rooms. We got them out as quickly as.

[Piper Rountree]

Possible through another door so they wouldn't.

[Lindsey Graham]

Come out into this area of the home, of course, and see Fred in the driveway.

[Piper Rountree]

Officer Boyd took Fred's children to his home nearby. Did you have an opportunity to sit them down and explain at some point what happened?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes, we did.

[Piper Rountree]

That's tough to do the best of circumstances.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was tough for all of us. It was just a nightmare to have to do that.

[Coby Kelly]

They were of course, very upset. We explained to them that their father had been shot and that we were trying to find out who may have done that and that they were going.

[Piper Rountree]

To be staying with me and my family until we could make arrangements to.

[Lindsey Graham]

Get their uncle and the rest of their family here.

[Piper Rountree]

Their uncle Fred's older brother Michael lived about two hours away in Northern Virginia.

[Lindsey Graham]

My first reaction was disbelief. I called my brother's home, left a.

[Piper Rountree]

Message, called his cell phone and no response.

[Lindsey Graham]

And then one of the Harico county officers told me the situation and I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe what happened.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred's ex wife, Piper Rountree, says she too was stunned when she learned of his murder.

[Lindsey Graham]

I got a phone call from a friend of mine who had heard about it and nobody knew what had happened.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper was living in Houston, Texas, where she'd moved after their divorce.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was very sad. He's the children's father. The children need two parents. They need a mother, they need a father.

[Piper Rountree]

Back in Richmond, homicide Detective Coby Kelly was put in charge of the investigation.

[Coby Kelly]

We saw the person had come out here wearing a robe, wearing slippers.

[Piper Rountree]

Detective Kelly's theory was that Fred Jablin was on his way to pick up his morning newspaper.

[Coby Kelly]

I suspect that someone or something drew his attention back this direction as he was walking down to get the paper, and that whatever confrontation took place probably happened right here in this area.

[Piper Rountree]

So are you speculating that perhaps Fred Javelin actually talked to this person?

[Coby Kelly]

I think in my mind, I think so. We'll never be able to prove that. There was no one out here to hear anything like that, but I believe so.

[Piper Rountree]

It made sense to Detective Kelly that Fred Jablin may have known his killer. So he talked to him, walked away, and was shot in the back.

[Coby Kelly]

And that would explain, yeah, the bullets entering through the back of the arm and not the forearm, and the other one entering his back and lodging inside his body.

[Piper Rountree]

After analyzing the crime scene, Kelly went to work on suspects.

[Coby Kelly]

We were trying to find out a little bit about the victim, talking to neighbors, talking to friends and family, and just trying to find out if he had any enemies or anyone that would think to do something like this.

[Piper Rountree]

Now, Fred Jablin is a professor at the university here.

[Coby Kelly]

Yes.

[Piper Rountree]

As you look for suspects or thinking about possible suspects, what thoughts went through your mind?

[Coby Kelly]

Well, I think initially maybe a student that hadn't done well in one of his classes. That comes to mind.

[Piper Rountree]

Police went to the University of Richmond to check out that angle.

[Coby Kelly]

We were trying to get to his office and see if there's anything there that would give us a direction to.

[Piper Rountree]

Go to, like bad grades or Fs and stuff like that. You'd be looking for things.

[Coby Kelly]

Absolutely.

[Piper Rountree]

But Colby Kelly knew what all homicide deals detectives know when looking for suspects start close to home.

[Coby Kelly]

I learned pretty early on that people said, I have no idea who would want to do this to Fred, but have you talked to his ex wife?

[Piper Rountree]

Detective Colby Kelly reached Piper Roundtree in.

[Lindsey Graham]

Houston, and he said all the immediate family was under suspicion. Michael Javelin and me.

[Piper Rountree]

At the time of the murder, Piper and her ex husband had been apart for almost four years, and she had started a whole new life in Houston. Not only that, but police would soon learn that Piper had an alibi for the day of the murder.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was the Saturday before Halloween.

[Piper Rountree]

A family friend and attorney, Marty McVeigh remembers Piper stopping by his Houston office on the very day her ex husband was murdered more than 1,000 miles away.

[Lindsey Graham]

I was in my office, had my doors open for let the breeze come through and about 4:30 in the afternoon Piper Roundtree just walked in my office and sat down. Just a casual conversation, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Piper Rountree]

28281 280. While detectives continued to check out Piper's story, another name surfaced.

[Lindsey Graham]

I know she didn't kill Fred Jablin.

[Piper Rountree]

And unlike Piper Roundtree, this woman had nothing nice to say about Fred Javelin.

[Lindsey Graham]

He was a very nasty, mean, egotistical person.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper's sister, Tina.

[Lindsey Graham]

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham.

[Piper Rountree]

The host of Wondry show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the space shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Christa McAuliffe into space aboard the space shuttle Challenger along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery. You can join Wondery in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today.

[Lindsey Graham]

You don't believe in ghosts. I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada as we journey through terrifying and bone chilling stories of the unexplained search for haunted Canada on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

[Coby Kelly]

In our conversations with some of the neighbors and people in the area, we knew that Piper did have a sister named Tina Roundtree.

[Piper Rountree]

On the afternoon of Fred Jablin's murder, Detective Kobe Kelly got a major lead from airport officials in Virginia.

[Coby Kelly]

We found that Southwest Airlines had a passenger on their manifest with the last name Roundtree. And in fact, the name on the ticket was Tina Roundtree.

[Piper Rountree]

So you determined that there was a Tina Roundtree with a flight booked, a purchase ticket to Houston?

[Coby Kelly]

Yes.

[Piper Rountree]

Airline records showed that two days before the murder, Piper's sister, Tina Roundtree, had flown from her home in Houston, Texas to Virginia, where Fred Jablin was killed. And now on the afternoon of the murder, records show Tina is booked on a return flight back home to Houston, a flight that is already in the air. So did you make any contact with Houston PD at this point?

[Coby Kelly]

We did, and they got their people together and it's getting closer to the point where the plane is going to land down there. So we were trying to explain to them a little bit about our situation and also get them to get to the airport where this plane was going to land to try to identify the person traveling under the ticket, Tina Roundtree.

[Piper Rountree]

So what happened in Houston?

[Coby Kelly]

Well, the detectives arrived down there and they had a couple of detectives, a lieutenant that was down there and several officers. And as they were approaching the gate, my understanding is that the plane was unloading.

[Piper Rountree]

At that time, around 4:30 on the afternoon of the murder. Detective Colby Kelly didn't know what he and we at 48 hours would soon discover. The Roundtree sisters have a remarkably fierce devotion to one another. And learning more about the extent of that devotion would become one of the stranger twists in this already twisted tail.

[Coby Kelly]

They're definitely two peas out of the same pod. Tina and Piper both the same type of person.

[Lindsey Graham]

Piper and I are. I mean, we're soul sisters. We're incomplete without each other. She's someone that I need very, very much, and I get a lot from. We call each other two or three times a day. We're very, very tight.

[Piper Rountree]

How would you describe her?

[Lindsey Graham]

Amazonian. That's usually the first word.

[Piper Rountree]

Amazonian, yes.

[Lindsey Graham]

There's no one out there like Tina. She is able to do anything that she sets her mind to doing.

[Piper Rountree]

Tina Roundtree is eight years older than her sister Piper. An age difference that mattered when they were younger.

[Lindsey Graham]

Mother used to always make me sleep with her, and I didn't like her crawling in my bed and having to sleep with her. And she wouldn't be snuggled. She was a child. She was wanting attention. But the family environment was very, very close because my father was a physician in the Air Force, and we traveled every two years. And so just as we made ties, we would have to break them. And so there was A lot of dependency on each other.

[Piper Rountree]

Today, Tina and Piper are best friends.

[Lindsey Graham]

Over the last 20 years, we've become very, very close. In fact, we sleep together frequently, even as adults when we go to each other's houses. She's just incredible. You walk around the village where the area where she lives in Houston, and most people have a story about Tina, one thing or another.

[Piper Rountree]

By the time Piper was in high school, the Roundtree family was living in a small town in Texas near the Mexican border. But Piper had bigger plans.

[Lindsey Graham]

I always admired her because she was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper headed off to the prestigious University of Texas at Austin with dreams of becoming a lawyer.

[Lindsey Graham]

She could do anything and she achieved everything from theater to spelling bees to boyfriends to having lots of friends. And I always, I didn't have all that. I mean, it's things, you know, you admire in other people, especially that you don't have or that you want.

[Piper Rountree]

While away at college, Piper caught the eye of another admirer, her communications professor, Fred Jablin.

[Lindsey Graham]

I suppose it was the classical case of a student falling for their professor.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred jablin was 29 and very driven. Piper was a free spirit and eight years younger.

[Lindsey Graham]

He is very witty and very different. He is very, very bright. This is as far as I can go, one of the brightest men I think I've ever met. I've always looked up to him. He was exceptional. He was one of the best teachers. He also had a very quirky side to him, as I've been described as having myself. I think those two qualities between us meshed a lot.

[Piper Rountree]

They married two years later in the fall of 1983.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was a really nice, warm relationship. We worked really well together. That's probably our strength.

[Piper Rountree]

Professor John Daley knew Fred and Piper as newlyweds and was one of Fred's best friends. We used to have lots of fun.

[Lindsey Graham]

We went out to get a drink after work at 10:30, 11:00 at night.

[Piper Rountree]

If I remember correctly, Fred is the one who started this.

[Coby Kelly]

One night we were just sitting there and working away on our typewriters.

[Lindsey Graham]

In those days, computers didn't exist and.

[Piper Rountree]

He just started barking just for fun.

[Lindsey Graham]

I really didn't know that he was barking at school as well.

[Piper Rountree]

Oh, you did it in Olmet?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yeah, yeah. He used to get the dogs barking in the neighborhood. It was one of those things that he particularly was proud about.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred was also proud of his wife Piper, and her plans to become a lawyer.

[Coby Kelly]

Piper wanted to go to law school.

[Lindsey Graham]

So Fred said, fine, try to get.

[Piper Rountree]

Us into law school. After graduating from law school, Piper landed a big job in Austin as an assistant district attorney.

[Lindsey Graham]

I was a prosecutor for a little over a year, and then from there I went and worked for the school districts in Texas. She can do anything. It's amazing the knowledge that she has.

[Piper Rountree]

Her sister Tina settled in Houston and became a nurse practitioner. A few years later, Fred and Piper started a family. Fred's brother Michael says the marriage was solid. They had two lovely children who were.

[Lindsey Graham]

Born in Texas, Jocelyn and Paxton, and they enjoyed themselves.

[Piper Rountree]

But for Piper, a working mom, life was hectic.

[Lindsey Graham]

I'd be in the courtroom and I'd be looking at my watch thinking, I've got to go pick up my child at daycare. There were times when the kids were sick and I'd take the kids into the court with me and the judge would be bouncing them on his lap in the middle of a hearing. I was the main support person. In the first 15 years of her marriage or so, when she lived in Texas, I would go visit them all the time. I'd babysit for them all the time. I was the primary other person.

[Piper Rountree]

Then in the summer of 1994, life for the Jablin family changed. Fred accepted an offer to teach at the University of Richmond and uprooted the Jablin family to Virginia.

[Lindsey Graham]

Piper did not want to leave Texas. That was her home base. Her family was there. Right after we moved up here, within two weeks, I had a ruptured etopic pregnancy and almost died. And so had a completely revised outlook on really what was important. And after that, the doctor told me that I would never have children again. It was just not going to be possible. And within about six months, I became pregnant with my third child, Callie, and she was a gift from God.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper decided to change the focus of her life and become a full time mom to Callie, Paxton and Jocelyn.

[Lindsey Graham]

She cooked for them, she played with them, she, you know, they made cookies, they went rock hunting together, she took them fishing and she did all the things that typically a father would do. Piper was like, she was like a little Pied Piper. All the little kids would just come up and circle around her.

[Piper Rountree]

Annie Williams was Piper's friend.

[Lindsey Graham]

Piper is wonderful about taking them outside and doing things and has more patience probably than I did. And she frequently would come pick up my son with rollerblades or his bike and take him out to the park for a day, just being outside all day.

[Piper Rountree]

But Piper missed the rest of her family back in Texas and her marriage started to suffer. You started to Drift apart.

[Lindsey Graham]

Yeah. And we had pretty much two separate lives once we came to Richmond.

[Piper Rountree]

Tina Roundtree never forgave Fred for moving her sister so far away.

[Lindsey Graham]

One of the main reasons that they moved to Richmond was so that Fred could get Piper away from her family because she's a very strong family person.

[Piper Rountree]

Eventually, Piper told Fred she was leaving him.

[Lindsey Graham]

She wanted to escape and she wanted to get away from him.

[Piper Rountree]

And that's when the real trouble began. Fred Jablon decided to fight for sole custody of the couple's three children.

[Lindsey Graham]

She was devastated. She was shocked and we all were, because, I mean, you don't take children away from a mother who is a. She was a primary caregiver.

[Piper Rountree]

While the idea of losing her children was devastating to Piper, it was inexcusable to her sister Tina.

[Lindsey Graham]

I mean, how many hours I spent with her crying. I mean, she was crying. It was horrible.

[Piper Rountree]

And she had a very close relationship with them, didn't she?

[Lindsey Graham]

It was to see this precious 3 year old screaming to be with her mother.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper's sister Tina doesn't try to hide her hostility towards Fred Jablin, even after his brutal murder.

[Lindsey Graham]

From day one, I was always disappointed that she married Fred. He was ugly. I thought he was a very controlling man. He built himself up by putting her down.

[Piper Rountree]

But did Tina Rountree hate Fred Jablin enough to kill him? On the afternoon of the murder, Detective Kelly was hoping for answers. Police officers were at Houston's Hobby Airport, primed and ready to greet the plane carrying a passenger named Tina Roundtree. But what happened next surprised everyone. The afternoon of Fred Jablin's murder, police were working their first big lead. A tip that a Tina Roundtree was en route to Houston after spending the past two days in Virginia.

[Coby Kelly]

It was Saturday, October 30, 2004.

[Piper Rountree]

Detective Brett McDaniel had raced to the airport hoping to meet the plane before it landed.

[Lindsey Graham]

I knew I was looking for a.

[Coby Kelly]

40 something white female.

[Lindsey Graham]

We had some driver license photos of both Tina, the sister, as well as Piper Roundtree.

[Piper Rountree]

Although the ticket was booked in Tina's name. Houston police were also on the lookout for another Roundtree, the dead man's ex wife, Piper, who may have had more of a motive than her sister.

[Lindsey Graham]

We were looking for females.

[Coby Kelly]

We were looking for females and I.

[Piper Rountree]

Was putting my money on blondes. Piper had brown hair, Tina had blonde.

[Lindsey Graham]

I stationed a uniform officer at the.

[Coby Kelly]

End of the terminal with a set of pictures and asked him as well.

[Lindsey Graham]

To stop anyone he thought might be.

[Coby Kelly]

Either of the individuals.

[Piper Rountree]

The Plane landed and the passengers. Passengers filed off.

[Lindsey Graham]

We stopped probably at least a dozen women.

[Piper Rountree]

After the last of the stragglers, the officers realized their target had slipped through their fingers.

[Lindsey Graham]

She just got past us. There was too many people, too few of us, not enough people to stop.

[Coby Kelly]

Every possible female that could have been this person. Everyone had come off the plane and they had not located Piper, Tina, whoever would have been traveling under that name.

[Piper Rountree]

In fact, that mysterious passenger had managed to to pick up her luggage at baggage claim without being noticed and then vanished. She was gone the next day. With the investigation now focused in the city where both sisters lived, Detective Kelly hopped a plane to Houston from Virginia.

[Coby Kelly]

Got up around 4:30 the next morning.

[Piper Rountree]

Didn't get much sleep that night.

[Coby Kelly]

No, not at all.

[Piper Rountree]

48 Hours Wanted Detective Kelly to show us what happened next. So we flew him back to Houston to retrace his steps.

[Coby Kelly]

We were interested in talking to Piper now, certainly we were not ignoring anything that would lead us in a different direction. But at that point, it was a pretty good place to begin.

[Piper Rountree]

Detective Kelly met up with the Houston team working the case.

[Lindsey Graham]

Thank you.

[Piper Rountree]

And together they headed over to Piper Roundtree's house.

[Coby Kelly]

Knocked on the door, rung the doorbell. Look in the garage. We can see the Jeep Liberty sitting in there. We're probably outside her house for a good 10 to 15 minutes, milling about, peeking in windows and knocking on the door, trying to get someone to come to the door. Never did.

[Piper Rountree]

With no answer, they decided to pay a visit to her sister Tina.

[Coby Kelly]

We drove the whole half hour plus down to Tina's house.

[Piper Rountree]

But just in case, one of the officers stayed behind at Piper's. Did Piper ever come out of the house?

[Coby Kelly]

She did. We got a call from Sergeant Ferguson who was sitting outside her house. He saw her vehicle leaving the driveway.

[Piper Rountree]

A vehicle like this one.

[Coby Kelly]

And he followed her.

[Piper Rountree]

Sergeant Ferguson stayed on Piper's tail and relayed the route she was taking to the rest of the team so they could turn around and join the pursuit.

[Coby Kelly]

And what turned out was she began to head south on the interstate. We were heading north on the interstate. At some point we turned around and got in behind her.

[Piper Rountree]

And the chase was on.

[Coby Kelly]

We were certainly following her vehicle, hoping to be able to talk to her one on one when she stopped.

[Piper Rountree]

No. She had to look in the rear view mirror and saw this police parade behind her, right?

[Coby Kelly]

Absolutely. At one point she made kind of a last minute diversion from a one off ramp. Well, back onto the interstate. And of course we were doing the same little serpentine move. And yeah, I think she definitely knew.

[Piper Rountree]

The pursuit ended on a residential street in central Houston.

[Coby Kelly]

She pulled into a parking spot. I got out of the car, approached hers and introduced myself and introduced the other people around me. She said, come on inside. And we walked into the open door.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper had driven to the law office of trial attorney and friend Marty McVeigh. As it turned out, McVeigh wasn't alone.

[Coby Kelly]

There was also a female there. Tina Roundtree.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper's sister Tina Roundtree, also a friend of McVeigh's, had arrived a few minutes before Piper.

[Lindsey Graham]

Tina Roundtree walks in my office. That's the first time I heard that Fred had been killed. She came in and said, did you know? Have you heard Fred was killed yesterday morning? I said, no, I haven't.

[Piper Rountree]

But McVeigh was in for another surprise.

[Coby Kelly]

He was hip hop's biggest mogul. The man who redefined fame, fortune, and the music industry.

[Lindsey Graham]

The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sean Diddy Combs.

[Coby Kelly]

Diddy built an empire and lived a life most people only dream about.

[Piper Rountree]

Everybody know ain't no party like a Diddy party. So, yeah, that's what's up.

[Coby Kelly]

But just as quickly as his empire rose, it came crashing down.

[Piper Rountree]

Today I'm announcing the unsealing of a.

[Lindsey Graham]

Three count indictment charging Sean Combs with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution. I was up and I hit rock bottom.

[Piper Rountree]

But I made no excuses. I'm disgusted. I'm so sorry.

[Lindsey Graham]

Until you're wearing an orange jumpsuit, it's not real.

[Piper Rountree]

Now it's real.

[Coby Kelly]

From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace from law and crime, this is the rise and fall of Diddy.

[Lindsey Graham]

Listen to the rise and fall of.

[Coby Kelly]

Diddy exclusively with wonder. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America.

[Lindsey Graham]

But when a social media fueled fight.

[Coby Kelly]

Over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime and there's much more to come.

[Lindsey Graham]

This is the Harvard Plan, a special.

[Coby Kelly]

Series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's on the Media to listen, subscribe to onthemedia wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lindsey Graham]

Piper comes walking in my office door with four detectives, two from the Houston Police Department and two from the Henrico county wanting to talk to her. I took Piper in my office, talked to her for a minute. She wanted to talk to them. They sat right here in this reception area and had a conversation.

[Coby Kelly]

I wanted to ask her, who do you think would have done something like this, and that was a good entree into getting her to talk to us.

[Piper Rountree]

But piper says she had only one thing on her mind. Who was taking care of her three children.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was just incredible, the total lack of interest that anybody had.

[Piper Rountree]

Until that meeting. Almost 36 hours after Fred's murder, Piper hadn't been told her children were safe with fred's brother michael.

[Coby Kelly]

And certainly anyone could understand that a mother concerned about her kids and the police were not putting her in touch with the kids. Anybody could understand that that would be an explanation for some of her behavior.

[Piper Rountree]

At any point, did you sense that piper was being accused of this murder?

[Lindsey Graham]

To the opposite. They told her she was not a suspect. The majority of piper's conversation with them Was concerning her children.

[Piper Rountree]

The meeting was cut short because mcveigh had to leave to pick up his son. Later, detective kelly decided to try another tactic. He and a few other officers drove to tina's house, Hoping to speak with her alone.

[Coby Kelly]

We had a conversation with her. It was. She was fairly on target with where the kids. Kids need to be with their mother, those sort of questions. And she said, you bring the kids here or something to that effect, and then we'll talk again. We ended up getting pretty much ejected from her house.

[Piper Rountree]

Meanwhile, piper was doing her own detective work. She needed to firm up her alibi, Putting her in houston, not virginia. The night before fred's murder, she asked.

[Coby Kelly]

The bartender if she remembered seeing her.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper returned to this bar, the volcano, where she claimed she'd been on Friday night, To see if anyone remembered seeing her there.

[Coby Kelly]

Bartender called to me and said, do you remember her? And I said, yeah, I remember seeing her.

[Lindsey Graham]

She wanted our phone number so that she could give them to the police to substantiate that she was here.

[Piper Rountree]

All right, you said you did remember seeing her here, right? What made you remember What?

[Lindsey Graham]

Distinctive features and petite and pixie haircut. You know, she's cute.

[Piper Rountree]

Caught your eye?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yeah.

[Piper Rountree]

It was the alibi piper was looking for. And she passed it on to detective Kelly.

[Coby Kelly]

She left a message for me saying that there were two people. A guy named Kevin o'keefe and a lady named Cheryl kreider, who was a bartender at this volcano. That could put her in the volcano on that Friday night, which would be pretty good, because she obviously couldn't be in richmond at the same time she was there.

[Piper Rountree]

So now piper had witnesses who saw her in Houston the night before the murder to go along with her lawyer friend who saw her on the afternoon of the murder at the same time the airplane from Virginia was landing. If what you say is true, it would be difficult for her to get in your office at 4:30 in the afternoon.

[Lindsey Graham]

That's correct. And if she was on that flight, it would have been impossible for her to get to my office at 4:30, because I understand the flight didn't come in until 4:40. It was 10 minutes late, and it's at least a 30 or 45 minute drive from Hobby Airport to my office.

[Piper Rountree]

But Tina Roundtree says she couldn't have been on the plane either because she was seeing patients all day.

[Lindsey Graham]

Can you come here just a second, please?

[Piper Rountree]

At her women's health clinic, Detective Coby Kelly didn't know what to think. But he was sure of one thing about the Roundtree sisters.

[Coby Kelly]

I think that neither one of them acted in a manner which we would expect family members would normally act when they've learned that a former loved one has been murdered. Both of them acted oddly as far as I'm concerned.

[Piper Rountree]

And it wasn't long before the investigation would zero in on just one of them. Did you kill Fred Javelin?

[Lindsey Graham]

It's not what did I think about Fred Javelin? Did I kill Fred Javelin?

[Piper Rountree]

Yes.

[Lindsey Graham]

That's impossible, too.

[Piper Rountree]

The answer is no.

[Lindsey Graham]

The answer is no.

[Piper Rountree]

As Detective Kelly learned more about the Javelin's nasty divorce.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was very, very, very bitter.

[Piper Rountree]

He started to see the scars it left with Piper and her sister Tina.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was very, very painful for me because I love her so much. We're a part of each other. Fred never understood what the problem was in the marriage or why we need to go through divorce, even though we'd been through counseling three times before and it, you know, just, it wasn't working.

[Piper Rountree]

They've been married for nearly 19 years and it hadn't been working for quite some time. A year and a half before the divorce, Piper got a warrant charging Fred with domestic violence and filed for protective order against him. And you've witnessed some of this abuse, either physically or emotionally?

[Lindsey Graham]

Well, physically, no.

[Piper Rountree]

Tina Rountree only knows and believes what her sister told her.

[Lindsey Graham]

She had told me the next day that he had hit her. The only other instance I remember, as far as physical abuse goes, mental abuse, definitely, it was sick.

[Piper Rountree]

According to Tina, Fred's abuse was also directed at their three children.

[Lindsey Graham]

I saw him frequently lose his temper with the kids because, you know, you get into a mode when you're a professor and they all say, yes, sir, and they do what you. And he brought that attitude home with him.

[Piper Rountree]

In almost all cases.

[Lindsey Graham]

We never Use just one sequencing of questions and expected that Piper or the children especially, do exactly what he said when he says it.

[Piper Rountree]

In February of 2001, Piper finally moved out of the house and later filed for divorce.

[Lindsey Graham]

She finally had the courage to escape and become her own person again.

[Piper Rountree]

In July of 2002, the divorce went through.

[Lindsey Graham]

When they first got divorced, there was like a joint custody arrangement. Piper lived down the road from my brother's home, and they tried to arrange joint custody.

[Piper Rountree]

According to Tina, that's when Fred really tightened the screws.

[Lindsey Graham]

Once he had to face the fact that he was going to, you know, have lose face in the community, he was going to be a divorced man. He all of a sudden switched gears.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred decided to fight for full custody of their three children. And according to Tina, Fred Jablin was a trained expert.

[Lindsey Graham]

Questions are something you don't think about.

[Piper Rountree]

Until you at winning arguments.

[Lindsey Graham]

He was like a PhD professor in persuasive communications. So she. That was a tough one to go against from the beginning.

[Piper Rountree]

At the custody trial, Fred pulled out all the stops. He wants to win and everything.

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes, that was Fred. He can't take losing. He can't lose face.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred painted Piper as an unstable mother.

[Lindsey Graham]

Fred would say, you know, she'd gotten.

[Piper Rountree]

Into this drug stuff.

[Lindsey Graham]

She apparently had an affair at one point.

[Coby Kelly]

She apparently became unpredictable with the kids.

[Piper Rountree]

And he told the judge that Piper had racked up more than $50,000 in debt without his knowing.

[Lindsey Graham]

He had to make her look like the bad guy.

[Piper Rountree]

Fred also accused Piper of being unfaithful.

[Lindsey Graham]

She did not have an affair. It was when they were separated. They were physically separated, and she was out of the house when she started seeing him.

[Piper Rountree]

Michael Jablin wouldn't go into details with us, but he believes his brother's accusations, and he wasn't alone.

[Lindsey Graham]

Some of Piper's behaviors were questionable. In some of the things she was doing for the sake of the children. Piper seemed to have just gone off the deep edge over a period of time. I think the judge in the case reviewed the facts and realized that Fred would make a better parent.

[Piper Rountree]

In July of 2002, Fred Jablin won full custody of their three children.

[Lindsey Graham]

Piper could have visitation. And I think it took a lot of decisions on the judge's part to come up with that, because normally mothers get custody. In this case, it was very unique. The judge saw that Piper had some problems and Fred would provide more stability in the home life.

[Piper Rountree]

Did it upset you that he got custody of the children?

[Lindsey Graham]

Well, yeah, naturally it did. I Was very, very upset.

[Piper Rountree]

Did your children what was happening, as.

[Lindsey Graham]

Much as they were able to. The little was, you know, it's just very difficult.

[Piper Rountree]

Remarkably, Piper Rountree not only lost her children, but she was ordered to pay Fred Jablin almost $900 a month in child support, in part to pay back some of the thousands of dollars in debt she owed her ex husband. Now, you were paying child support to your husband.

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes.

[Piper Rountree]

Which is the reverse of the way it's normally done.

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes, yes, right. Yes, I was.

[Piper Rountree]

Was that difficult for you?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes, it very was.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper had failed the bar exam in Virginia. So after the divorce, she struggled to find a job.

[Lindsey Graham]

It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. She couldn't get a job. She's a licensed attorney in the state of Texas. She was a prosecutor. She'd get a job at Walmart, but that's not going to pay her $900 child support payment, nor put food on the table, nor provide for the children, which is her responsibility.

[Piper Rountree]

So Piper moved back to Texas to find work.

[Lindsey Graham]

She didn't have a choice.

[Piper Rountree]

She had to leave Virginia.

[Lindsey Graham]

Of course, they claimed she was abandoning her children. No, she had to survive because Fred gave her nothing. Fred took everything. It was very difficult to begin with, just starting out as sort of a new attorney, because I couldn't really step back into the field that I was in after 10 years of being out of the field. So I started back into working, just doing any type of case that walked in. I had three kids to support.

[Piper Rountree]

Her three children stayed behind in Richmond, Virginia with their father.

[Lindsey Graham]

My brother was wearing two hats, a.

[Piper Rountree]

Mom hat and a dad hat.

[Lindsey Graham]

He would attend soccer games, Cub Scout meetings, tennis tournaments, dance classes. He'd go to school, he'd be there all the time. He would be a school parent many.

[Piper Rountree]

Times and a classroom parent.

[Lindsey Graham]

He was very, very involved with his children. You know, you go up to the school and he had signed up for all the parties to bring napkins, drinks.

[Piper Rountree]

How often was she allowed?

[Lindsey Graham]

Well, she had to ask for permission every single time. So actually, Piper saw them six days out of an entire month. And that was it.

[Piper Rountree]

She had a bitter divorce with her ex husband. Her ex husband actually got custody of the children. Piper Roundtree ended up paying child support. Marty McVeigh shared a law office with Piper in Texas.

[Lindsey Graham]

That's correct.

[Piper Rountree]

Was she bitter about that? That bothered her?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yeah, she was bitter.

[Piper Rountree]

And she talked to you about it?

[Lindsey Graham]

Oh, yeah.

[Piper Rountree]

What'd she say?

[Lindsey Graham]

She didn't understand why she was being treated like she was by the court. And the judicial system in Virginia. And that was where most of her animosity was directed to. It was not directed at her ex husband, but it was the way she was being treated.

[Piper Rountree]

In her divorce case, she was not very happy when she was having to pay alimony, when she was struggling and not having much money. Jerry Walters became close to Piper shortly after she moved to Texas. And he, too, says Piper never voiced any hostility towards Fred. She was not enamored with Fred by no means any longer, but she did not walk around the house muttering under her breath, I hate Fred. I hate Fred. She didn't like the situation she was in, and she didn't like not having her kids. But she never alluded to doing away with Fred. No. If Piper was bitter towards her ex husband, she hid it well. Her sister Tina, on the other hand.

[Lindsey Graham]

And to see what the courts did then and kind of understanding it, seeing some blatant. Some blatant misjustices and.

[Piper Rountree]

Did you ever see the children once Fred got custody of them?

[Lindsey Graham]

I wasn't allowed to go over there. I mean, how can you stop someone from seeing their aunt who comes all the way? And they did. They went to court and said, nope, can't do it.

[Piper Rountree]

So you were not allowed to see them?

[Lindsey Graham]

No.

[Piper Rountree]

Piper says she'd come to terms with her situation long before Fred was murdered and so had no reason to kill him.

[Lindsey Graham]

The money that I was making in Texas, I was fine. You know, I was comfortable. It was. I was able to make enough to pay the child support to have a very nice lifestyle and see my kids and be with my kids. I didn't have any wants except seeing my kids a little more, maybe.

[Piper Rountree]

And although she's not naming names, Piper says she's pretty sure she knows who did have a motive to kill three Fred Jap. Is it someone that might hate your husband, have a grudge against your husband?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yes.

[Piper Rountree]

So much so that they'd be willing to murder him?

[Lindsey Graham]

Yeah, I think so.

[Piper Rountree]

But the truth was about to catch up with Piper Roundtree. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.

[Lindsey Graham]

If you like this podcast, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app.

[Coby Kelly]

Before you go, tell us about yourself.

[Lindsey Graham]

By filling out a quick [e-mail] survey.