Walking Free

Summary

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Podcast Summary: 48 Hours – "Walking Free"

Host: Richard Schlesinger (CBS News)
Date: January 8, 2026
Episode Theme:
The episode "Walking Free" dives deep into the exoneration of David Cam, a former Indiana State Trooper accused of the 2000 murders of his wife and two young children. Through interviews with Cam, his family, prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, and the man ultimately linked to the crime scene, Charles Bonet, "48 Hours" reconstructs the harrowing 13-year journey through the justice system—three trials, two overturned convictions, a decades-long fight for the truth, and the profound costs of a wrongful conviction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. David Cam's Release and Emotional Aftermath

• Initial Freedom: The episode opens with David Cam reflecting on what freedom feels like after years behind bars.

  "It's amazing. It's hard not to find me with a smile on my face. It's just an overwhelming happiness that I can't and don't want to ever lose." – David Cam (00:41)

• Describing Return Home: Cam shares how, despite years lost, reuniting with loved ones is both joyous and bittersweet, longing for things that can never return.

  "I want my family back. I want my babies back. I want my wife back." – David Cam (01:58)

2. The Crime and Immediate Aftermath

• Recounting the Night: Cam vividly describes discovering his family's murder upon arriving home, emphasizing his shock and immediate search for his children.

  "I get down in her face and I'm yelling at her, Kim, Kim. In her eyes, I could tell she was gone. And it just hit me: where are the kids? Where are the kids?" – David Cam (02:38)

• Crime Scene Details: Schlesinger recounts the crime—a garage, Kim's body with her shoes set atop the SUV, and the two children shot execution-style in the car (04:53).

3. Prosecution vs. Defense: Theories, Evidence, and Motive

• Prosecution's Case: Built upon alleged motive (extramarital affairs, claims of child molestation), blood spatter evidence, and the idea that Cam slipped out of a basketball game to commit the crime.

  "This is from high velocity mist… the person that got this on him would be in close proximity within 4ft of the shots when they were fired." – Prosecution Blood Expert (07:39)

• Defense Response: Eleven basketball witnesses vouched for Cam’s presence, challenging the plausibility of his absence and questioning the blood evidence's interpretation.
• Motivation Claims: Prosecution introduced the possibility of molestation as a motive, though Cam was never charged, and this assertion was ultimately deemed prejudicial by appellate judges (09:17).

4. Family Perspectives and Judicial Frustration

• Victims’ Family Response: Kim's parents remain steadfast in believing Cam’s guilt, viewing his exoneration as legal maneuvering, not exculpation (06:21, 39:42).
• Cam's Family Support: Unwavering advocacy from his relatives, especially his uncle who was also a basketball witness (09:29).

5. Breakdown in the Investigation

• Early Investigation Errors: Only three days after the murders, police charged Cam, who’d recently left the force—showing potential bias and groupthink among investigators who knew him (05:30).
• Unanswered Evidence: A sweatshirt left at the scene, inscribed "Backbone," contained previously untested DNA that would become pivotal (10:52).

6. The Charles Bonet Factor

• Bonet’s Introduction: DNA and a palm print on the sweatshirt eventually identified Charles Bonet, an ex-con, as present at the scene. Prosecutors had overlooked or misrepresented this connection for years (11:28).
• Contradictory Testimonies: Bonet repeatedly lied in his initial interviews, later admitting deceit and shifting stories. The prosecution used him to support their narrative, creating controversy (12:27, 12:39).

7. Repeated Trials and Overturned Convictions

• Three Trials in 13 Years: Each trial brought new strategies, evidence, and legal teams. Two convictions were overturned: one based on inadmissible "bad character" evidence, the next for undue influence regarding molestation claims (23:31).
• DNA Breakthrough: Revolutionary touch DNA techniques uncovered Bonet’s DNA on all victims, under Kim’s fingernails, and throughout the crime scene. The defense argued this pointed to Bonet’s direct involvement (27:30–28:51).

8. Third Trial and Final Acquittal

• Jury Deliberation and Verdict: After 10 hours, the jury delivered a not guilty verdict (33:05).

  "That beginning of 'not' with the N, that was extraordinary. The truth is going to prevail. But I had to hear three 'nots…'" – David Cam (33:05)

• Juror Perspectives: Jurors focus more on Cam's alibi—his presence at basketball—than the contested forensic evidence (38:06).

  "The main reason that we all came together to acquit him was because of the ballplayers." – Juror (38:18)

9. Reflections on the Justice System

• Flawed Justice: Cam denounces the trial court system in Southern Indiana for systemic failure, bias, and incompetence (04:06).
• Investigator Critique: Jurors and attorneys suggest investigators sought evidence to prove Cam's guilt rather than following leads objectively (36:18, 36:40).

  "They're not searching for a murderer. They're searching for evidence that David did it." – Defense Attorney Stacy Uliana (36:43)

10. Aftermath and Lingering Pain

• Therapeutic Closure: Cam symbolically burns his prison uniform, expressing relief and gratitude (34:23–34:51).
• Unresolved Grief: Cam is protective of private memories of his wife and children, hinting at the emotional costs that justice cannot repair (40:04–40:32).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• David Cam, on Exoneration:

  "It's amazing. It's hard not to find me with a smile on my face." (00:41)

• Defense Attorney on Investigation Flaws:

  "They're not searching for a murderer. They're searching for evidence that David did it." – Stacy Uliana (36:43)

• Juror on Reason for Acquittal:

  "The main reason that we all came together to acquit him was because of the ballplayers." (38:18)

• Bonet’s Admission of Lying:

  "I lied about not knowing David Cam in the very beginning...I gave Pinocchio a run for the Oscar." – Charles Bonet (12:39)

• Cam on Grief and Privacy:

  "They've taken everything else from me. And I'm holding those [memories] for myself." (40:32)

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Timestamps for Critical Segments

• David Cam Describes Freedom: 00:41
• Cam Recounts Finding the Bodies: 02:38
• Introduction of Charles Bonet: 03:10, 11:28
• Crime Scene Details: 04:53
• Attacks on Police Investigation: 05:30, 09:49
• Jury Convicts Cam (First Trial): 10:10
• Shock Over Sweatshirt and Breakthrough DNA: 10:52, 27:30
• Bonet’s Contradictions and Background: 12:27, 16:24, 16:51
• New DNA Evidence, Touch DNA: 27:30–28:51
• Cam and Bonet Face Off in Court: 30:20–30:53
• Acquittal and Emotional Aftermath: 33:05, 34:23, 34:51
• Juror Explains Acquittal: 38:18
• David Cam Withholds Personal Memories: 40:20–40:32

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Conclusion

"Walking Free" methodically pieces together the David Cam case, using firsthand accounts, courtroom revelations, evolving forensic science, and critical re-examination of police work. The episode underscores how wrongful convictions are propelled by tunnel vision, flawed forensics, and prosecutorial overreach—and how relentless defense, persistent families, and new science can set the record straight, but not without irreversible loss. The justice system's triumph is laced with tragedy, as the episode closes on Cam's guarded grief and a community still divided on what, after all, counts as truth and closure.

Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What does freedom feel like?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

It's amazing. It's hard not to find me with a smile on my face. It's just an overwhelming happiness that I can't and don't want to ever lose.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

Eight weeks worth of testimony, dozens of witnesses. This jury deliberated roughly 10 hours. We can only imagine the emotion that must have been going on.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

David Camp immediately erupted into tears when that verdict came down. A verdict they have waited 13 years for.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Stay back.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

Stay back.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Please stay on the grass. David Camp now not guilty on all three counts of murder in this case.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

In some aspects, it's like I was never gone. Herbie. With the exception of the fact that nieces and nephews and cousins are all grown and you're taller than I thought you were. You were really tall. Seeing people I haven't seen in a long time, giving them hugs and kisses and, you know, it's just a real joy. I want my family back. I want my babies back. I want my wife back.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You saw a body on the floor of the garage?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Yeah. And I get down in her face and I'm yelling at her, kim, Kim. Kim. In her eyes, I could tell she was gone. And it just hit me, where are the kids? Where are the kids?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

We're not going to get David Cam to ever tell the truth. This guy is a murderer. He killed his wife. He killed his two beautiful children. My name is Charles Bonet, and I'm linked to David Cam because I'm the individual that sold him the weapon that he used to kill his family.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Did you know Charles Bonet? Had you ever met him?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

No.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Never laid eyes on him?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

No.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

So you think the prosecutor helped Charles Bonet come up with the story?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I know that the investigators helped Charles Bonet to create a story.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

The government hid evidence, lied to me about the evidence.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

The time of the crime was wrong. Elements of the crime scene were incorrectly portrayed, and David Cam gets arrested. How just was that?

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

Justice is a very hard thing to define. And justice is a very hard thing to do.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

It took three trials, two convictions overturned by the court of appeals before the truth finally Came out and established David as totally innocent of the murder of his family.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Charles Bonet is the person that killed my family.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

He thinks he's won by being free. But really, we have unfinished business.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

He's a psychopath. He's a liar. My assessment of the justice system, specifically in Southern Indiana, is that at the trial court level, it's a disaster. These people that represent the state are incapable of doing the right thing. Oh, no. I have earned the right to have that opinion, Richard. I've earned that right.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It's good to see you. Richard Schlesinger.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Safe.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Cam.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Nice to meet you, sir.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

For 12 years, David Cam has been talking to 48 Hours about the one night when his life was forever changed.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Get everybody out here to my house now. Okay.

[Juror/Witness]

All right.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

My wife and my kids are dead. The way David Cam tells it, on September 28, 2000, he returned home from playing basketball and discovered a scene that is still hard to imagine, let alone look at. His wife, Kim, was on the floor of the garage. Her pants had been removed. His five year old daughter Jill and his seven year old son Bradley were slumped inside the suv. They had been shot dead with one bullet each. Like an execution.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

It's Dave Cam. Let me talk to the post command right now.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Months earlier, Cam had quit the Indiana State Police to work at his family's business. But within three days of the murders, his former colleagues, his buddies, concluded he was the killer and charged him with three counts of homicide. And from our first interview in 2002, as he was in jail awaiting trial, he has insisted he is innocent.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

What about Kim and Brad and Jill? And what about the son of a bitch that's out there that did this? And what about the fact that I'm sitting in this jail? What about those questions? I want some answers.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But Frank and Janice Wren, Kim's parents, Brad and Jill's grandparents, have all the answers they need. They know who killed their family.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

There's no way he's going to bring the kids back and my daughter back, no matter what they do with David. But he'll have to suffer when he dies someday. If it's soon or it's 40 years from now, he's got to answer to God.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Except Cam has what could be an airtight alibi. At the time of the murders, he said he was here, a few minutes away in a church gymnasium, playing basketball with 11 other people. How sure are you that David Cam was here for the entire two hours and change that you were here?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I'm 100% sure because I Saw him walking on the side.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

I saw him sitting down. At his trial in 2002, prosecutors laid out their theory. The basketball players were focused on their game. Cam somehow slipped out of the gym, went home, killed his family, and came back unnoticed. To counter those 11 eyewitnesses, the prosecutors have these eight tiny specks of blood on Cam's T shirt. Well, what I'm going to do is to demonstrate. The prosecution's blood expert, Rod Englert called it high velocity impact spatter. This is blood that has been hit by something going very fast, like a bullet.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Right.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

This is so unique and so separate from other stains that one can say with confidence that this is from high velocity mist, that the person that got this on him would be in close proximity within 4ft of the shots when they were fired. Cam says those tiny bloodstains were transferred to his shirt when he reached inside the car to pull out his son. His lawyers say 11 eyewitnesses can't be wrong. The DA says eight blood spots can't be wrong. And say the prosecutors, besides the blood evidence, Cam had a strong motive to kill his family. Prosecutors found more than a dozen women who say they'd had affairs with Cam or at least had been propositioned.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

It's sheer stupidity on my part. I allowed myself to get caught in something that never should have happened, and I take full responsibility for that.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

It shows motive. Exactly.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Stan Faith was the lead prosecutor.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

From a legal standpoint, we're showing what was going on in this man's mind prior, considerably prior to the murders and how long it was developing and growing up into the hateful fruit that we saw on September 28, I think that's utterly ridiculous.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

When the medical examiner, Dr. Tracy Corey, thought she found signs that Jill had been molested within 24 hours of her death, prosecutors suggested that might have been a motive.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

The jury may believe that. Yeah.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I said, what are you talking about? So this is my 5 year old daughter, and I did not molest her and I did not kill her.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

David Cam had never been accused of molesting Jill, and he was never charged with it. In this case, he's doing fine. Cam's family, led by his uncle, Sam Lockhart, who was also one of those basketball players, never once doubted his innocence. He was arrested three days after the murders.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

How thorough of an investigation can you do in three days? I think once they got beyond the path of no turning back now, their egos become involved and their political aspirations become involved.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

And as a Cam Duray spends another night in the motel Deliberation room actually.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

In there because there's so much.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But the jury convicted Cam after deliberating for three days. They're wrong.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

You all know they're wrong.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You know they're wrong. Oh, God. Cam was sentenced to 195 years for the murder of his family. Eleven witnesses said he was at the basketball game. He's guilty.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Guilty.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But while this was the end of the trial, it was far from the end of this case.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

This is just a delay. We're not quitting. I want to find out who killed those kids and Kim.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

I want to find that out, Richard.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

And we're not going to quit until we do. Or we die.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

One key to this case was in front of everyone's eyes. Right there next to Bradley's body. A sweatshirt. Prosecutors knew in 2002 that there was some mystery DNA on it, along with a cryptic name inside the collar. Backbone. But they never investigated.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

The killer left the calling card there. That's the biggest clue in the case. We need to find out who was wearing that shirt.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What if it comes back? David Cam is wearing sweatshirts?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

It's not David Cam's sweatshirt.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It took five years to find out, but David Cam was right. The sweatshirt belonged to this man. Charles Bonet. An ex con with a nickname. Backbone.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

He is the person that killed my family. He's a psychopath. He's a liar. He is the guy that has hurt waves and waves and waves of people. People that I love and care about.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Who is that?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Charles Bonet.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Okay, so after Charles Bonet is the man who turned this case upside down. He is, to be charitable, a man whose honesty can honestly be questioned.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Never, ever encountered Mr. David Kam.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

That's what he said when he was first interviewed about this case. And this is what he said to us a few years later.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

I lied about not knowing David Cam in the very beginning. I lied about not being at the crime scene. I gave Pinocchio a run for the Oscar.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You told a lot of lies.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

I had to.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Nobody knew anything about Bonet until an appeals court threw out David Cam's convictions, saying the prosecutor should never have introduced all those women Cam had affairs with. It was 2004. There was a newly elected prosecutor, Keith Henderson, who defeated Stan Faith. The Court of Appeals didn't say he was innocent. Henderson decided to try Cam again, and he was forced by a court order to test that DNA on the sweatshirt. I did not know what we were going to find. They quickly found Charles Bonet. The DNA was entered into a database of known criminals and it was an easy match. They also matched a palm print found on the family's SUV to Bonet.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

My initial presumption was, we've got the guy.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It's over. It was five years after the murders, and now there was a new suspect and a new question. Why didn't Stan Faith, the first prosecutor, find Bonet? You did know that the unknown male DNA existed?

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

I knew that existed. The laboratory knew it existed. And I asked a state police officer, the lead investigator, to check that out, and he told me he checked it out, and there wasn't anything that they had.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But Bonet's DNA was in the database all along. Faith now says there must have been some misunderstanding on the part of the state police about what he wanted. You asked the state police to run it. How is that misunderstood?

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

I don't know.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In 2002, Faith told Cam's first defense attorney, Mike McDaniel, that there was no match. After all these years, McDaniel still thinks Faith never even tried to match the DNA.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

I think I was lied to. I mean, that's me.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

I did not tell him a lie. I certainly did not do that. I told him the truth as I was told the information by the state police, period.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It turns out there was plenty of evidence implicating Bonet from day one of the investigation. Not just the DNA and the palm print, but that nickname backbone that Bonet used when he was in prison. You had all of these signposts pointing you towards Bonet, kind of staring you in the face.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

20. 20 hindsight says that's not 20. That's not 20 hindsight.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It isn't. You know, here we've known each other a long time. I don't mean any disrespect by this, but we were asking questions about that sweatshirt 10 years ago.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

Eleven years ago, we asked questions about the sweatshirt, too. We looked at that, and I cannot tell you why the name Bonet did not come. I wish it had come up.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What must that have done to you when you learned all of this stuff that you could have had in your trial? In your case?

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

I spoke harshly to Mr. Faith.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Harshly?

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

Yes, sir.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What did you say to Mr. Faith?

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

I cursed him like a wet dog.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Bonet could have been the answer to the prayers of Cam's first attorney, Mike McDaniel. Bonet grew up around New Albany, and he soon started getting into trouble. His record includes armed robbery and a history of attacking women.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

He was just waving the gun at us, hollering.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

He terrorized Donna ennis and her two roommates in 1992. Do you think that Charles Bonnet was going to kill you that time?

[Juror/Witness]

Yes.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You thought you were going to die right there?

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

Well, yeah.

[Juror/Witness]

That night, yes.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

Yes.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And there is one other intriguing aspect of Bonet's criminal background.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

You know, quite honestly, for anyone who doesn't know the story, I have a foot fetish.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In fact, at one point, he was known to the police as the Shoe Bandit. He would make off with the shoes of his victims.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

There's thousands of men that have foot fetishes or whatever. There's nothing unusual about that.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But in this case, Kim Kam was barefoot and her shoes were placed neatly on top of her SUV in the midst of a messy crime scene. And that has always perplexed investigators. Is it logical to make a connection between someone with your interest in feet and shoes to this crime, where strange things happen to feet and shoes?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

That would be a logical conclusion or situation, yes. But it didn't happen that way.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

So what did happen? Bonet is now trying to sell the story that all he did was sell David Cam a gun. And Bonet swears that's the truth.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I've learned you don't let the highs get too high. Otherwise you're gonna fall off a cliff if you go too far in allowing yourself to presume that you're going to be victorious.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In 2005, things were looking up for David Cam. His convictions had been thrown out, he was out on bond, and Charles Bonet had been tracked down. And then came word all charges against Cam had been dropped. David, how does it feel to be.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Out from behind bars?

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Cam was technically a free man. It seemed too good to be true, and it was. I'm looking at the file as we speak. Prosecutor Keith Henderson had to drop the old charges to file new charges against Cam and Bonet. I didn't want David Cam to flee. I got a guy that's convicted and sentenced to 195 years, a natural life sentence. So a little more than an hour after the charges were dropped, the police showed up to rearrest David Cam.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

They informed me that I was being recharged with three counts of murder. Just sick in my stomach, sick in my gut, heartbroken.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In January 2006, Cam and Bonet went on trial separately and simultaneously, but on opposite sides of the state for murder and conspiracy after discovering Charles Bonet. My belief now is that this was planned well in advance. But one of Cam's lawyers, Kitty Lyle, believed Bonet would make all the difference in trial number two.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

We can answer the question to the jury if Dave Cam didn't do it. Who did? Although a defendant never has the burden of proof, never has to prove they're innocent, the fact of the matter is, jurors are human beings. They have natural questions, and they want that question answered.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Cam says he never heard of Bonet. But Bonet says the two met on a basketball court a few weeks before the murders.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

He asked me if I had access or knew of a way in order to gain access to specifically a handgun.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Bonet says he delivered a gun to Cam's house the night of the murders.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

I transported it inside of my sweatshirt, the infamous backbone sweatshirt.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And that's how that sweatshirt came to be in that garage.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

That's correct.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Bonet says when Cam came home a few minutes later, things started happening quickly.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

And then along comes this black suv.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

He says Kim drove into the garage, and Cam followed her.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

I heard him talking a little more loudly, and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I hear a pop. And then I hear another pop. And then the third pop. They were the gunshot deaths of his family.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And then, according to Bonet, Cam came.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

After him when he came out of the garage. He pointed that weapon at me, and he pulled it, and there was nothing, Nothing discharged.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

To hear Bonet tell it, he had a close brush with death. But he says right after the gun failed to fire, he chased Cam back into the garage. Who goes running after somebody who's just tried to kill him?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Why not run after him? There's no bullets in the weapon. I did go in after him, and if someone doesn't believe that, that's fine.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I'm sure it was his hope and belief that he could create a story that would enable him to continue to get away with killing my family.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

We have breaking news in the Charles.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Bonet triple murder trial.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

The jury just reached a verdict.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Guilty on all counts. With Bonet convicted, Cam was feeling better about his second trial, especially because the judge threw out the conspiracy charge. But he had to worry when he heard prosecutor Keith Henderson tell the jury about those unproven suspicions that Jill was molested. What's it like to hear those allegations now?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

That makes my blood boil. That's the one thing that really infuriates me more than a lot of things, because. Because it's not true and because it is so Inflammation.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It would have been Jill's 11th birthday. And now David Cam's fate is once again in the hands of 12 jurors.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Spent a lot of time on my knees, praying and believing.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

It didn't work. Cam was found guilty Again, This time, David Cam was sentenced to life in prison without parole. So how do you convince people now from this place that you're an innocent man? You've had two trials, two convictions.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Well, I mean, at this point, Richard, people have formulated an opinion, and they either believe in me or they don't. There's one group of individuals that I'm concerned, concerned with right now, and that is the Indiana Supreme Court.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Cam's lawyers filed an appeal to the Indiana supreme court, and in 2009, the justices overturned his second conviction. The court ruled, among other things, the jury was unfairly influenced by the unproven theory that Cam abused his daughter, saying, quote, missing from this record is any competent evidence of the premise that the defendant molested the child.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

And I turned on the TV and there it was. And tears. People yelling congratulations. Just an overwhelming happiness and the possibility of another shot.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And were you ready to go through this again?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Absolutely.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

He would have to wait three years in maximum security for trial number three.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Do you have a dark curiosity? Heart starts pounding Horrors, Hauntings and Mysteries is a weekly podcast hosted by me, Kailyn Moore. Each week, I'll take you on a dark journey through terrifying true urban legends, bizarre true crime cases, chilling tales of backwoods horror, and more. So if you're looking to join a passionate community of the darkly curious, check out Heart Starts Pounding on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And remember, stay curious.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

The third trial was based upon fact and evidence, and that's what trials are supposed to be about. That's what the courtroom is supposed to be about.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

For David Cam's third trial, he has a third new lawyer, Rick Cameron, who is convinced he's innocent. What kind of pressure does that put on you as a defense lawyer? Huge.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

Yeah.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Kammen is joining Stacy Uliana, who helped defend Cam in his second trial and argued his second appeal.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

I wanted to make sure I was the person who stayed on the case who got that opportunity to correct it.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

We're putting on the evidence as best we can.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

This time, the defense will be up against a special prosecutor, Stan Levko, who had to familiarize himself with a 13 year long investigation. How does this rate with the number of boxes I guess, that you have on a normal case?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Oh, this is.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

I personally never tried a case with this much. It was a familiar scene, but a different courthouse on August 22, 2013, this time just outside Indianapolis. Frank and Janice Wren, who lost their daughter and their grandchildren, have been in court for almost every day of every trial.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

Your mind's been A lot. And my stomach turn sometimes on certain things.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

I guess I just wonder, why is this happening, you know?

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

David Cam's sister Julie came with their uncle, Sam Lockhart. They've been at Cam's side since day one. Emotionally, financially, physically. All those things just taken a toll, not only on me, but on our. Once again, the jury would hear about the 11 basketball players and the eight drops of blood. But this time, David Cam's lawyers had a different strategy and different experts. What the defense hoped would be a major turning point in this case came from here, a most unlikely spot 10,000ft up in the Rocky Mountains at this DNA lab. So this is where you tested some of the evidence?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Yes.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Scientists Richard and Selma Eichlenboom are originally from the Netherlands.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

In Holland, we do truth finding.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

We work for the courts. As they showed us in this demonstration. Their specialty is locating what's called touch DNA using a very sensitive technique to find skin cells. And this time, they found DNA that would change everything. So you found Bonet's DNA on all the victims? Correct. All over that crime scene? Correct. What does that tell you?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

That he was active on this crime scene.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But Bonet says if his DNA is spread over the crime scene, David Cam put it there.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

David Cam and I shook hands.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

For example, your DNA ended up all over that scene because you shook hands with David Kam.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Well, once again, my DNA is not all over the scene.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But the Eichelin Booms say their tests show Bonet's DNA on Jill's shirt, Bradley's shirt, Kim's shirt, and her underwear. And they say they also found Bonet's DNA under Kim's fingernails. What's more, they insist the state police lab could have found it years ago if the technicians had looked more closely. And according to the Eichland Booms, that DNA is proof that Kim fought with Bonet.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

If I strangle you, for instance, like we do this one. But this is a very logical reaction. I do this, what do you do?

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

I go like this. Exactly. That's what you think happened? That's how the DNA got under her fingernails. There actually was DNA that they found of yours under her fingernails. And that really raises the question, how did that happen?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Well, I heard opposite. I heard that there was not any DNA under the fingernails.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

No, there was DNA under the fingernail. Why?

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

Heard that there was not.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

I'm telling you that there was. And so, I mean, that's. Doesn't that raise a question? If you were me, wouldn't you think that that was pretty damning Evidence.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

It does raise a question.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

The touch DNA could be devastating to the prosecution. But Levko argues the touch DNA tests are unreliable because some of the evidence was previously contaminated.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

We had a DNA expert that said.

[Prosecutor (Stan Faith/Keith Henderson/Stan Levko)]

That these are the most unreliable results.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

She'S seen in 25 years.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Your results were reviewed.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Yeah. And the interesting part was that they were not able to find one mistake or something wrong with the whole Cam case.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

This is the first time any jury in the Cam case will consider this kind of evidence. And there will be another first. Charles Bonet, who has already been convicted of these murders, will testify for the prosecution. This jury would hear and see Charles Boneh, and so would David Cam.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

We locked eyes, and he went. He started going, just looking at me, shaking his head like that. I took that to mean something very specific. I took that as him saying, that's right. I killed your wife. I killed your kids, and now I'm getting ready to take you down.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

I honestly don't remember all of my exact thoughts, but I can assure you they weren't good.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Sitting there in the courtroom, I want to hurt him.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Did you want to hurt him, or did you want to kill him?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Thirteen years ago, I'd have taken him out. I stayed seated. I was spinning inside, but I stayed seated.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Bonet was smooth, calm, and confident on the stand. As he told the jury, all he did was provide David Cam with the gun. But the jury was not allowed to hear details about Bonet's violent criminal past, about his foot fetish, or that he was known as the shoe bandit.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

It just blew my mind when we weren't able to show the other side, where he got to pick and choose what felonies he wanted to talk about.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

With his record of attacking women and his foot fetish. The defense has long argued that Bonet targeted Kim, followed her home, assaulted her, then murdered the family to conceal his crime.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

One of our goals from the very beginning was to try and explain to the jury how events unfolded in the garage.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But the prosecutors were fighting to focus the jury on the blood because they argue nothing else really matters, that the only way those stains could have ended up on Cam's shirt is if he was the shooter. Prosecution Detective Roger Drew. If you're standing where the shooter is now, Jill is in the backseat. The shooter fires, and how does the blood. This area right here would have been exposed. The defense brought in crime reconstructionist Eugene Lisio, who prepared a 3D demonstration to show how that is not possible. If Jill's here, what's stopping the blood? The actual Vehicle itself. I believe those blood stains came from transfer. It was a lot for the jury to consider. Eight weeks of experts battling experts and witnesses contradicting each other. They deliberated 10 hours, and then they delivered the words David cam had waited 13 years to hear. Not guilty.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

That beginning of not with the N, that was extraordinary. The truth is going to prevail. But I had to hear three knots. You know, the first knot wasn't in and of itself sufficient. I wailed, I cried, I bent over, I stood up. I may have praised God. I thanked the jury over and over and over again.

[Juror/Witness]

When I heard him.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

Not guilty, I. My gosh, did I hear that right. What went wrong? What made this juror believe he's not guilty?

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And that was the question everybody was asking.

[Juror/Witness]

I honestly believe that there wasn't one person that sat on that jury that won't remember this case for as long as we live.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You feel good about what you did?

[Juror/Witness]

Yes. Yeah, we all did.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In therapy.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

See, there's an Indiana doc handbook.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In the weeks after David Cam was finally acquitted of killing his family.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

David, you're a free man.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

He began exorcising remnants of his 13 year nightmare by burning them, including his old prison uniform. His family taped it with our camera. Did you watch them burn?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I did.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And you thought what?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Good riddance. It's over. It's gone. It was therapeutic.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You're smiling a lot. More than you ever have in the time that I've known you.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I told you, Richard, it's hard not to. To smile. It just really is. I'm just so thankful.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Oh, honey, I'm home. I can't believe it.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I'm here. I'm here.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

After three trials, 12 jurors finally saw things Cam's way. We spoke to one juror who asked that we not use her name.

[Juror/Witness]

I felt so badly for him. I mean, here's a man who has been persecuted for 13 years for a crime I don't believe he committed. And he was.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

So you said persecuted.

[Juror/Witness]

Persecuted.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You meant to say persecuted?

[Juror/Witness]

Yes, I meant to say persecuted.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In this juror's mind, the state's case fell apart almost as soon as it began.

[Juror/Witness]

I was put off by the third witness.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

She's talking about the state police crime scene investigator.

[Juror/Witness]

He stated that this looked like a Dave Cam crime scene before he ever stepped foot into the garage. We all felt that he definitely was looking for evidence to support the conclusion he'd already come to. And that's not the way you should investigate a case.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

That's just what Cam's lawyers argued. They said all the state's investigators ignored evidence that showed Cam is innocent, especially when Charles Bonet entered the picture. Defense attorney Stacy Uliana.

[Defense Attorney/Legal Expert]

When they got him in that interrogation room, they didn't say, you're a violent, convicted felon who attacks women. You did this. Tell us what happened. They said, well, it's better to be a witness than actually a defendant. Tell us what you saw. Give us David Cam. Tell us the connection. We don't think you shot anyone. They're not searching for a murderer. They're searching for evidence that David did it.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Of course, Bonet is now the only man convicted in these murders, and he defends the state's case against David Cam.

[Charles Bonet (Accused/Convicted)]

And here's the thing, Mr. Schlesinger, in all fairness, 24 jurors found him guilty. Mr. Cam. Guilty. They heard the same evidence, and they believed that it was possible.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

But the jurors in those other two cases never heard from Charles Bonet. In this case, the jury came face to face with him.

[Juror/Witness]

He's a really smart liar all the time. To get out of jail and be free and to put Dave Cam into jail in his place.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

In Indiana, jurors are allowed to ask questions of the witnesses.

[Juror/Witness]

One of the questions that I asked in court was, what was Dave Cam wearing the night that this happened? And he gave me the wrong answer.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What did he say?

[Juror/Witness]

Long pants and a T shirt. He didn't have long pants on. He had basketball shorts on.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

What did people say about Charles Bonet?

[Juror/Witness]

How scary he was? Very scary individual.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

These jurors heard the same arguments the other two juries did. Did the 12 of you discuss those eight spots of blood a lot?

[Juror/Witness]

No.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

She says the blood was not nearly as important as the basketball players. You saw him. Who would swear that you saw him during that warm up time?

[Juror/Witness]

The main reason that we all came together to acquit him was because of the ballplayers.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Couldn't he have slipped out undetected, gone and killed his family, and come back? It's not that far. It doesn't take that long.

[Juror/Witness]

Well, it was five minutes either way. And so there's 10 minutes right there. The thing that we all agreed on was that you can't be in two places at one time. And we believed he was playing basketball and did not leave.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Case closed.

[Juror/Witness]

Case closed.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

And that is precisely what three teams of defense lawyers have spent 13 years trying to get across. Very often have no idea if what.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

You'Re doing is right, wrong. And to have somebody say, yeah, you.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Guys actually got it right is really quite touching. You wiped away it here. Mm. This really means something to you. Throughout all three trials, the faces and the memories of three innocent victims. Kim, Brad and Jill Cam were on the minds of everyone. David Cam's family and Kim's parents, Frank and Janice Wren, who still believe to this day that David Cam is guilty.

[Kim's Parents/Family Member]

I can't imagine what they'd be like today if they was alive. Bradley B20 and Jill BE18. I just remember it as, you know, five and seven year old kids.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Tell me some of your favorite memories of Kim and of Brad and of Jill.

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

Kim was the best thing that ever happened to me. She had extraordinary love for me. And I know that Kim knew that I loved her.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You must replay scenes in your mind of how happy moments with these kids. Can you tell me some of those?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I respect your position and the fact that you would want to ask that question, but it's all I got left and I don't really want to share.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

You don't want to share the memories?

[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

They're mine. They've taken everything else from me. And I'm holding those for myself.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

Foreign.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

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[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

You're welcome, Pluto.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

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[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

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[David Cam (Accused/Defendant)]

I need you to trust me one last time.

[Richard Schlesinger (Host/Interviewer)]

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