Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups.

Summary

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Dateline NBC: "Housekeeper testifies at Utah mom murder trial. Sister seeks answers in shootout. Plus, photo lineups."

Date: March 5, 2026
Host: Lester Holt & NBC News Team

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Episode Overview

This episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly delivers three gripping stories from across the nation:

1. Utah Mom Murder Trial: The emotional testimony of a housekeeper in the ongoing trial of Kouri Richins, a Utah mother accused of poisoning her husband.
2. South Carolina Wrongful Death Case: A sister’s persistent quest for answers after her brother's fatal roadside shooting leads to new scrutiny of the police investigation and the state's stand your ground laws.
3. Photo Lineups Insight: An illuminating discussion on the best practices, pitfalls, and evolution of police photo lineups with retired Chief Ken Wallentine.

The team also covers major updates in ongoing true crime cases, including the deadlocked Miami football murder trial, the Michigan farm murder, and the sentencing of an ex-MLB pitcher.

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Key Segments & In-Depth Discussion

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1. Utah Mom Murder Trial: Housekeeper Takes the Stand

[02:03–10:52]

Main theme

The latest developments in the murder trial of Kouri Richins, accused of fatally poisoning her husband, Eric, to collect life insurance.

Key Points

• Star Witness Testifies:
  • Carmen Lauber, Kouri's former housekeeper, testified under immunity about procuring fentanyl for Kouri.
  • "She stayed pretty calm and seemed confident, but she was also emotional at several points and clearly seemed disturbed by the possibility that she may have played a role in Eric's death." — Karen Israel (03:42)
• How the Fentanyl Was Procured:
  • Kouri allegedly approached Carmen to obtain stronger pain medication, ultimately asking for fentanyl.
  • "She had reached out and asked if I could do her a favor... if I could reach out to somebody for some pain meds for an investor that she knew." — Carmen Lauber (05:42)
  • Carmen describes different drug drop-off methods, including hiding drugs on a property Kouri was flipping.
• Defense Challenges:
  • Carmen’s drug history and memory were attacked, citing her own inability to recall dates and prior denial of buying fentanyl.
    • "You told them multiple times... I really don't know. There was snow on the ground." — Carmen Lauber (08:06)
    • "The only person up to this point who was put word fentanyl in your head. Are these detectives correct?" — Defense via Carol Gable (08:38)
• Corroboration and Contradiction:
  • The accused drug dealer, Robert Crozier, first corroborated Carmen’s story, then recanted, claiming he didn’t sell fentanyl that early.
• Additional Testimony:
  • A forensic accountant discussed Kouri’s deep financial debt prior to Eric’s death, and testimony from a business partner’s wife shed light on the troubled marriage.

Notable Quotes:

• Carmen Lauber on guilt:
  "If that's what happened, I needed to step up and take accountability of my part in this." (04:22)
• Defense presses on immunity deal:
  "You are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself from getting kicked out of drug court and going to prison, correct?"
  "I'm willing to go forward with the truth, yes." — Carmen Lauber (09:08)

Memorable Moment:

• Prosecution’s next witness will be Kouri’s alleged lover, hinting at further dramatic revelations.
  • "The man prosecutors say was Cory Richin's lover at the time of Eric's murder and the man they say fueled her murder plot. We'll tell you all about his testimony next week." — Lester Holt (10:55)

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2. South Carolina Roadside Shooting: A Sister Seeks Justice

[13:04–22:44]

Main theme

A wrongful death suit and mounting evidence breathe new scrutiny into the 2021 shooting of Scott Spivey, allegedly justified under stand your ground laws.

Key Points

• Incident Recap:
  • Scott Spivey, 33, was shot on a South Carolina country road by Weldon Boyd and passenger Kenneth Bradley Williams. Boyd claimed self-defense under stand your ground.
• Scott’s Last Moments:
  • Scott, reportedly intoxicated, brandished a gun and drove erratically before being confronted and ultimately shot as he turned away.
  • "He shot in the back... climbs back into the cab of his car and he's mortally wounded." — Carol Gable (17:00)
• Questionable Investigation:
  • Phone and 911 recordings obtained by Scott’s sister Jennifer surfaced in a wrongful death suit, showing Boyd saying, "I had a blast." after the shooting (19:00).
  • Evidence that a police officer told Boyd to "act like a victim" was revealed, leading to officer resignations and firings.
• Legal Turning Point:
  • Judge denied Boyd immunity from civil suit, criticizing his pursuit of Scott: "Driving over 100 miles an hour trying to keep up with the guy with a gun is foolish." — Judge via Lester Holt (21:47)
  • Investigation is ongoing; special prosecutor may bring criminal charges.
• Family's Reaction:
  • Jennifer Foley: "It's been a lot of no's in the last two and a half years and this is the first yes. This is just a start on the road to trying to get justice for him." (22:38)

Notable Quotes:

• "All my family has ever asked for was a fair and honest investigation." — Jennifer Foley (13:24)
• "He just got back in the truck... The guy in the white truck just unloaded a complete magazine at the guy, shot through his back window." — eyewitness via Ken Wallentine (17:01)

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3. Dateline Roundup: Noteworthy Case Updates

[24:46–30:32]

a. Miami Football Murder Trial (Rashawn Jones & Brian Pata)

• Deadlocked jury; judge declared a mistrial.
• Family remains convinced of Jones' guilt.
  • "There are some things that I heard throughout this trial that... gave us more confidence that he’s the actual killer." — Edwin Pata (26:16)
• Breakdown: 5-1 to acquit; retrial scheduled for May 18.

b. Michigan Farmer Murder Trial (Dale Warner & Wife Dee)

• Jurors toured farm site.
• Defense called Dee’s brother, highlighting his potentially self-incriminating text.

c. Dan Serafini Sentencing (Ex-MLB pitcher)

• Sentenced to life without parole for the murder of his father-in-law, attempted murder of his mother-in-law.
• Impact statement:
  • "He is a monster that knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself." — Adrian Spore (29:26)
• Jurors return for sentencing:
  • "We really wanted to be here in support of the family." — Juror (30:14)

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4. How Police Use Photo Lineups: Expert Breakdown

[30:38–36:07]

Interview with Ken Wallentine, Retired Police Chief

Key Points

• Photo Lineup Procedure:
  • Minimum of six photos; one suspect, rest are fillers.
  • Witnesses instructed the perpetrator may not be present.
  • "Blind administration" is best practice—administrator doesn’t know suspect's identity to avoid subtle cues.
    • "Even subtle cues, you know, breathing, posture, tone of voice can influence the witness's choice." — Ken Wallentine (01:58 & 32:00)
• Evolution Over Time:
  • Shift from live to photo lineups; more controlled, scientific, and rules-based.
  • Awareness of memory's limits and risks of misidentification have driven change.
• Risks of Wrong Identification:
  • "Mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions." — Lester Holt (34:32)
  • Risk factors: poor instructions, witness pressure, inherent confidence biases.
• Best Practices:
  • Eyewitness ID is just "another brick in the wall," not sole or conclusive evidence.
  • "Eyewitness testimony can be powerful. It can also be vulnerable." — Ken Wallentine (35:32)

Notable Quotes

• "We all inflate our confidence in our memories." — Ken Wallentine (34:07)
• "Once an identification is made, that's simply another step taken but not a terminal point for the investigation." — Ken Wallentine (35:32)

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Selected Timestamps for Important Segments

• Kouri Richins Trial: Housekeeper Testifies — 02:03–10:52
• South Carolina Shooting Case — 13:04–22:44
• Miami Football Mistrial — 24:46–27:06
• Michigan/Major League Updates — 27:07–30:32
• Photo Lineup Procedures/Interview — 30:38–36:07

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• "If that's what happened, I needed to step up and take accountability of my part in this."
  — Carmen Lauber (04:22)
• "It's been a lot of no's in the last two and a half years and this is the first yes."
  — Jennifer Foley (22:38)
• "Mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions."
  — Lester Holt (34:32)

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Tone & Style

The Dateline team maintain their hallmark blend of clear-eyed, empathetic, and meticulous investigative reporting, letting witnesses, victims’ families, and experts tell their stories in their own voices, and explaining legal nuances with clarity and respect for the affected individuals.

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This episode underscores the complexity of modern criminal justice—how small personal actions (like buying drugs for a client or recording a phone call) can have massive consequences, and how technological and procedural advances in policing continue to evolve in the ongoing pursuit of truth and justice.

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Transcript

[Lester Holt]

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[Alex Lowray]

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[Carol Gable]

Let's go ahead and jump in.

[Lester Holt]

You're listening to the DATELINE story meeting

[Ken Wallentine]

what was she charged with?

[Lester Holt]

Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news.

[Carol Gable]

She was like filing reports and reports and reports.

[Lester Holt]

The whole backdrop for the fire department's kind of interesting. She's starting to believe in her her father's guilt. Welcome to DATELINE True Crime Weekly. I'm LESTER HOLT. It's March 5th, and here's what's on our docket. In South Carolina, two and a half years after a man was shot dead on a country road, a judge listens to witness testimony, body cam video and 911 calls to figure out what happened. Hey, I've got a guy pointing a

[Ken Wallentine]

gun at me driving.

[Lester Holt]

In DATELINE roundup, closing arguments are set to begin at the murder trial of Michigan farmer Dale Warner. And in Miami, the trial of the former college football player accused of gunning down his teammate 20 years ago comes to a surprising end.

[Alex Lowray]

The Pata family, they've been very emotional throughout the proceedings. They seemed like they were in disbelief.

[Lester Holt]

Plus, it's a tool we see investigators use a lot to zero in on a suspect. Photo lineups, a retired police chief tells us how it's done.

[Ken Wallentine]

Even subtle cues, you know, breathing, posture, tone of voice can influence the witness's choice.

[Lester Holt]

Before all that, we're heading back to Utah, where Corey Richards, the mom of three accused of fatally poisoning her husband, came face to face with the prosecution star witness, her former housekeeper. It's week two at the murder trial of Corey Richins, the woman who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband Eric's mysterious death, only to be charged with his murder. Prosecutors say Kouri poisoned Eric in March 2022 so that she could cash in on his life insurance and start life over with her lover. She says that's not true and has pleaded not guilty. So far in the trial, we've heard from Eric's family members about the couple's relationship and the devastating impact of his death.

[Alex Lowray]

Eric was one of the most likable people. I'm sorry, guys.

[Carol Gable]

This was the worst day of my life.

[Alex Lowray]

I'm sorry.

[Lester Holt]

Now prosecutors are telling the jury how they think Corey went about poisoning him. Calling to the stand Corey's 54 year old former housekeeper, Carmen Lauber, the person they say purchased the fentanyl that killed Eric. Here to bring us the latest is Dateline producer Karen Israel. Thanks for coming back on the podcast, Karen.

[Karen Israel]

Thanks for having me.

[Lester Holt]

So let's get straight to this important testimony. Remind us why Carmen Lauber is such a key prosecution witness.

[Karen Israel]

Sure. So Eric's cause of death, according to the medical examiner, was a fentanyl overdose. The defense doesn't dispute that Eric died from a fentanyl overdose. They argue that Eric could have gotten it himself or accidentally ingested it. So the prosecutors need to be able to make the connection between Corey and the fentanyl. Carmen does that for them.

[Lester Holt]

And it was a big moment when Carmen took the stand. What was your impression of her? Did she seem nervous? Did she look at Eric's family? Because she's basically testifying about procuring an illegal drug that may have resulted in his death.

[Karen Israel]

She stayed pretty calm and seemed confident, but she was also emotional at several points and clearly seemed disturbed by the possibility that she may have played a role in Eric's death. By purchasing the fentanyl, the investigators told

[Lester Holt]

you that Eric had died?

[Carol Gable]

I already knew Eric had passed away. But when they told, when they had mentioned that it was from an overdose, that hit hard only for the fact that if that's what happened, I needed to step up and take accountability of my part in this. That happened.

[Lester Holt]

The prosecutor revealed right out of the gate that Carmen was testifying subject to an immunity agreement. Why do you think he did that?

[Karen Israel]

This was a way to deal head on with the defense, saying that Carmen's testimony might be less credible because she was working with prosecutors. The prosecutor made it clear Carmen had to testify truthfully to meet the terms of that agreement.

[Lester Holt]

So what did you learn about who Carmen was when this all happened?

[Karen Israel]

So Carmen told the jury about her long history of substance abuse on top of a criminal drug history. She testified that she's sober now and has been for some time. Corey Richen's aunt runs a housekeeping business and Carmen used to work for Her. She cleaned Corey's house about every other week for years. And she said she discussed her drug use with Corey. Then she said in early 2022, the nature of their conversations changed.

[Carol Gable]

She had reached out and asked if I could do her a favor. And I said, yeah, probably. What is it? And then she had called me and asked me if I could reach out to somebody for some pay meds for an investor that she knew. And I told her I could see what I could do.

[Karen Israel]

Carmen said she bought some opiates from a friend, but then Corey asked her for something stronger.

[Lester Holt]

What then did you do?

[Carol Gable]

I had text Corey back and told her that I had a friend that could get them, but they were fentanyl pills.

[Ken Wallentine]

How did Corey Richards respond?

[Carol Gable]

She said, okay, go ahead and get them.

[Karen Israel]

She said she bought pills from a friend of a friend named Robert Crozier, who was a drug dealer.

[Lester Holt]

And Carmen testified that she got those pills to Corey a number of different ways. One time, she handed her a bag of pills in person. Another time, she hid them at a property Corey was flipping. Did she tell you what she wanted

[Carol Gable]

you to do with those? She responded back with, take him over to the midway house, put him in a shed. I didn't feel comfortable leaving him in the shed out in the open. So I went to the fire pit and kind of dug a little hole and put the gravel back on top of it, and then kind of turned a brick to the side to kind of COVID it up.

[Lester Holt]

And what do we know about the dates of these drug purchases? For context, Eric Richins was found dead almost four years ago, exactly on March 4, 2022.

[Karen Israel]

Carmen couldn't give exact dates for any of the purchases. But the prosecutor showed the jury a Facebook message Carmen sent to the person she said connected her to Robert Crozier, the drug dealer. That was in February of 2022. And she testified about buying drugs for Corey a few days after Eric's death. So the drug buys are roughly the month around his death.

[Lester Holt]

All right, then it was time for the defense. How did they attack Carmen's credibility as a witness?

[Karen Israel]

They kind of had a two pronged approach. They went after her memory and her relationship with prosecutors. They said she'd regularly been using drugs at that time when she made these alleged purchases, so her memory couldn't be trusted. In fact, they pointed out that she told investigators herself when she was first talking to them that she couldn't remember stuff.

[Carol Gable]

They're trying to help you pin down a date, but you just. You say, I really.

[Karen Israel]

You told Them multiple times.

[Carol Gable]

I really don't know. There was snow on the ground.

[Lester Holt]

Really?

[Carol Gable]

Wasn't absolutely correct on the dates, no.

[Lester Holt]

The defense read snippets of Carmen's various interview transcripts to the jury and pointed out that there were some inconsistencies between her testimony and what she initially told investigators.

[Karen Israel]

That's right. Perhaps the biggest difference being that Carmen initially denied buying fentanyl for Corey. The defense suggested that the detectives were the ones to plant this idea that Carmen had bought fentanyl for Corey.

[Carol Gable]

The only person up to this point who was put word fentanyl in your head. Are these detectives correct? Ms. Lauberg, you're on the stand at that point. They are the ones that told you it was fentanyl. They're the ones that told me that Eric passed away from fentanyl. They're the ones that put the word fentanyl in your head. They're the ones that told me that that's where Eric passed away from. Okay.

[Karen Israel]

The defense also challenged Carmen on her immunity agreement.

[Carol Gable]

And you are willing to do whatever it takes to save yourself from getting kicked out of drug court and going to prison, correct? I'm willing to go forward with the truth, yes.

[Lester Holt]

One of the next witnesses the prosecution called was Robert Crozier, the man she says she purchased the fentanyl from for Corey. Give us the rundown of his testimony.

[Karen Israel]

Something important to know about Crozier is that when he first spoke to investigators years ago, he corroborated Carmen's story that he sold her fentanyl and signed an affidavit. But he has since recanted and said he didn't start selling fentanyl until late 2020, two months after the alleged drug purchases.

[Lester Holt]

I'm curious how the prosecution handled that.

[Karen Israel]

They told the jury about his signed affidavit, and they said even if he didn't know he was selling fentanyl, other drugs can be laced with fentanyl without the user or dealer's knowledge.

[Lester Holt]

How was the.

[Ken Wallentine]

How were the pills that you sold?

[Lester Holt]

The Carmen Lauber package? There was in a bag. And you got that bag from your plug, right? Correct. You did not get that bag from a pharmacy, correct? No. Thank you. Did any other witnesses get your attention?

[Karen Israel]

This week, we heard more about the state of Eric and Corey's marriage from the wife of Eric's former business partner, Alison Wright. She said that years before Eric's death in 2019, Corey told her they were having trouble and. And she felt trapped because of their prenuptial agreement. We've also heard from a forensic accountant who was describing how deeply in debt Corey was in the months leading up to Eric's death.

[Lester Holt]

All right, well, Karen, thanks for bringing us these updates. It's great.

[Karen Israel]

Thanks, Lester.

[Lester Holt]

We have our own quick update for you about this trial. On Wednesday afternoon, after I taped my conversation with Karen, the prosecution called Robert Josh Grossman to the stand, the man prosecutors say was Cory Richin's lover at the time of Eric's murder and the man they say fueled her murder plot. We'll tell you all about his testimony next week. Coming up, after a man was shot dead on a country road, no criminal charges were filed. Now the man's sister is fighting to change that.

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[Lester Holt]

Why have I asked my electrician I found on Angie.com to bury my pet hamster? I was so moved by how carefully he buried my electrical wires, I knew I could trust him to bury my sweet nibbles after his untimely end. This is very strange, Angie. The one you trust. Define the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home [e-mail]. For our next story, we're headed to a stretch of country road In South Carolina. Two and a half years ago, a 33 year old man by the name of Scott Spivey was shot dead there.

[Carol Gable]

Oh, my God. What happened? Ma', am, what happened?

[Lester Holt]

The man who shot him, Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Bradley Williams, told police they were acting in self defense. And the state top prosecutor believed them. They have never faced criminal charges. But Spivey's sister, Jennifer Foley, refused to let it go.

[Alex Lowray]

All my family has ever asked for was a fair and honest investigation.

[Lester Holt]

And after filing a wrongful death suit, she uncovered phone calls, 911 calls, and other material she says proves Spivey was killed in cold blood. And local police officers may have helped cover it up. At a recent four day hearing, a civil court judge got to take a look at all that material. Dateline producer Carol Gable was there. Carol, good to have you. Thanks for being with us.

[Carol Gable]

Thanks, Lester. It's good to be here.

[Lester Holt]

So first off, tell us a little bit about the man, Scott Spivey, who was killed in all this.

[Carol Gable]

Well, he was 33 years old, an insurance adjuster, and apparently on September 9, he was at a local bar watching football and drinking for several hours before getting back behind the wheel of his Chevy Silverado. And witnesses saw him drive very erratically down U.S. highway 9. Sometimes he would wave his gun out the window, sometimes, according to some witnesses, at them, but most times just waving it in the air. I am on Highway Number 9. There is a guy that is waving

[Lester Holt]

a gun in front of me. He's all over the road, and I

[Carol Gable]

have his license plate number. That's when he crossed paths with Weldon Boyd and his passenger, Bradley Williams.

[Lester Holt]

Where were they coming from?

[Carol Gable]

Well, they had been running errands all day. They were going up Highway 9 as well.

[Lester Holt]

Okay, so walk us through how this escalates.

[Carol Gable]

The clearest sort of window into Weldon's thinking is the 911 call, because he calls 911 and then leaves them on speakerphone the whole time. This hey, I've got a guy pointing

[Ken Wallentine]

a gun at me driving.

[Carol Gable]

And he's describing how Scott Spivey continues to weave in and out. And in fact, at one point, Scott Spivey drives Weldon Boyd off the road into the grass median. And he basically said several times on this 911 tape that if this guy does not slow down and stop, that he would put him down.

[Lester Holt]

Listen, this dude shoots at me, we're going to put him down.

[Carol Gable]

Sort of like you talk about putting a rabid dog down. According to some witnesses, Weldon Boyd was behind Scott Spivey. And both of them were driving at rates of speed more than 100 miles an hour at times. Finally, they come to an intersection of Camp Swamp Road. So instead of moving forward to his destination, Weldon Boyd is still going after Scott Spivey.

[Lester Holt]

People were still calling 911, which is why we know what was happening. So Scott Spivey eventually comes to a stop at Camp Swamp Road in his black truck. Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams are on a white truck behind him. Take us through what happens next.

[Carol Gable]

So by now, Scott Spivey has jumped out of his truck and he has a gun, by several reports, is down by his side and he's yelling, stop following me.

[Lester Holt]

He told the guy, do not follow me anymore. The guy in the white truck had his gun drawn, pointed at him, and

[Ken Wallentine]

the guy in the black truck kind

[Carol Gable]

of like moved his pistol, and as he turns to go back to his truck, he shot in the back.

[Lester Holt]

So when the guy in the white

[Ken Wallentine]

truck just unloaded a complete magazine at

[Lester Holt]

the guy, shot through his back window. And I think he might have hit him.

[Carol Gable]

Now, there is also testimony that Scott Spivey fired a round that went into the dirt. But he climbs back into the cab of his car and he's mortally wounded.

[Lester Holt]

So let me ask you about the attorney general who declined to prosecute the men, saying it was a clear cut example of self defense under the stand your ground law. Explain exactly what it allows you to do.

[Carol Gable]

What stand your ground in South Carolina is supposed to do is protect you and give you civil and criminal immunity if someone is attacking you or threatening you with deadly force in a place you have a right to be.

[Lester Holt]

Scott's family didn't accept the stand your ground explanation.

[Carol Gable]

They did not. And chief among those would be Scott's sister, Jennifer. Very, very close siblings, you know, peas in a pod. So she decides to file a wrongful death suit against these two guys. She finds buried within the discovery, more than 90 phone calls that Weldon Boyd had made.

[Lester Holt]

How is it that all these recordings exist?

[Carol Gable]

Well, Weldon Boyd had a girlfriend and she got pregnant and they broke up. So he started trying to get custody. So he flipped a switch on his phone that meant all of his phone calls were recorded all the time because he thought he might catch her in some incriminating statement or something that would help in his case.

[Lester Holt]

What did they reveal?

[Carol Gable]

Those phone calls after the shooting that kills Scott Spivey, he says things like, to his mother, I had a blast. To someone else, I had a good time.

[Lester Holt]

So it didn't necessarily paint the picture of someone who was fearing for their life at that particular moment. Some of these calls that raised eyebrows were ones that Boyd exchanged with local police officers.

[Carol Gable]

Oh, yes. The first one, when he calls his friend on the force who's, you know, a High up person and says, I just shot somebody. I had to shoot them. And is told, look, I got a lot of people.

[Ken Wallentine]

I got the people coming that need to come.

[Carol Gable]

And then there's another moment in body camera tape when another officer walks up to Weldon with a piece of paper, a pad in his hand that says act like a victim.

[Lester Holt]

After the calls became public, Boyd's friend on the police force resigned, although his attorney told us he denies any wrongdoing and had nothing to do with the investigation into the shooting. And the police officer who wrote the message act like a victim was fired. The way the shooting was investigated is now under review by a grand jury. And Carol, that's not all. This seemed to shake loose how prosecutors were thinking about the criminal side of things.

[Carol Gable]

After this happened, the Attorney General appointed a sort of special prosecutor to have another look at this case.

[Lester Holt]

So take us to the hearing that concluded just a few days ago. What was it about?

[Carol Gable]

It was significant because Jennifer's quest to sue Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams in civil court for wrongful death depended on the two of them being stripped of their stand your ground privilege. So this was a four day hearing geared to a party of one because the judge was the one who had to make that decision.

[Lester Holt]

This was the first time we heard Weldon Boyd tell his story under oath. Let's take a listen to some of it.

[Ken Wallentine]

Did you intend to hurt that man?

[Lester Holt]

No.

[Carol Gable]

Would you have fired at him had he not fired at you?

[Lester Holt]

No, I gave him every chance.

[Ken Wallentine]

I

[Lester Holt]

mean, he just got back in the truck.

[Carol Gable]

Weldon started his testimony sobbing and extraordinarily upset, but then he just stuck by a story that he didn't have a choice but to shoot Scott Spivey.

[Lester Holt]

So what did the judge decide?

[Carol Gable]

He said he was basically stunned and shocked at Weldon Boyd's behavior, that it didn't seem like stand your ground at all.

[Lester Holt]

It's not credible. It seems that driving over 100 miles an hour trying to keep up with

[Ken Wallentine]

the guy with a gun is foolish.

[Lester Holt]

I find that Mr. Boyd's request for immunity is denied.

[Carol Gable]

The net net was Weldon Boyd can be sued civilly. And there's a possibility the AG's special prosecutor may in fact get charges levied against him criminally.

[Lester Holt]

So what did the judge decide about the other person who was in that vehicle, Mr. Williams?

[Carol Gable]

Well, the judge wanted to take a little more time to make that decision. And he has asked both sides, the defense and the plaintiffs submit briefs for him to look at. And I believe there's going to be due in the next week or so and then he will come back and make that decision.

[Lester Holt]

After the judge gave his ruling, Jennifer spoke outside court. Let's take a listen.

[Carol Gable]

It's been a lot of no's in the last two and a half years and this is the first yes.

[Alex Lowray]

This is just a start on the road to trying to get justice for him.

[Lester Holt]

Okay. Fascinating case, Carol. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Coming up, it's time for DATELINE roundup. We'll bring you the latest from the murder trial of former college football player Rashawn Jones. And the one time MLB pitcher Dan Serafini, convicted of shooting his in laws, finally learns his fate. Plus, the dos and don'ts of photo lineups. A retired police chief shares his tips. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto

[Ken Wallentine]

and home and save up to 10%.

[Lester Holt]

Tap the banner to learn more and get a'@usaa.com bundle restrictions apply. Tonight's meal, Tilapia Surprise with boiled cabbage. Begin cooking steps 1 through 50 now.

[Alex Lowray]

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[Lester Holt]

Make a quick young man.

[Alex Lowray]

Aw, see, Pop Pop trusts you.

[Ken Wallentine]

I think we should call a doctor.

[Lester Holt]

Connecting homeowners with skilled Pros for over 30 years, Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home [e-mail]. Welcome back. Joining us for this week's roundup is DATELINE field producer Alex Lowray. Hi, Alex.

[Alex Lowray]

Hey, Lester.

[Lester Holt]

First, we are going to head back to Miami, Florida with the latest in the murder trial of Rashawn Jones, the University of Miami football player accused of killing his fellow teammate Brian Pata. He's pleaded not guilty. And Alex, you've been in Miami covering this one. And on Monday, there was huge news from inside the courtroom. Before we get to that, remind us where we left off in this case.

[Alex Lowray]

Yeah, sure. So we left off. Right. As closing arguments were getting underway, the prosecutors told the jury that Rashawn Jones killed Brian Pata. Out of envy and jealousy, they leaned hard on the videotape testimony of an eyewitness who identified Rashawn from a photo lineup as the person that he saw at the scene that night. As for the defense, they said there just wasn't any evidence connecting Rashawn to the crime. The eyewitness wasn't even 100% sure of his ID.

[Lester Holt]

Deliberations began last Thursday. On Monday, the juror sent a note to the judge. What did they say?

[Alex Lowray]

Yeah, they said that they were deadlocked. The judge encouraged them to keep trying. But after another hour of deliberations, the jurors again said that they would not be able to render a verdict. And so the judge declared a mistrial.

[Karen Israel]

At this time, I will declare a

[Carol Gable]

mistrial in a hung jury.

[Lester Holt]

You were there in the courtroom for that moment. What was it like?

[Alex Lowray]

Yeah. So, you know, obviously, the Pata family, they've been there every single day. They seemed like they were in disbelief outside of the courthouse. After everything was over, Brian's brother Edwin spoke to the media, and he said that he's convinced now more than ever that Jones is guilty.

[Lester Holt]

Let's listen to Edwin's interview with our affiliate NBC 6 South Florida. Like, there are some things that I heard throughout this trial that I've never even heard of, and that gave us more confidence that he's the guy, he's the actual killer, and we're confident with that, and we're going to stay with that. He knows that he did that. Alex, you were able to speak with one of the jurors afterwards. What insight did the juror give you into deliberations?

[Alex Lowray]

Many of the jurors had questions about the eyewitness. And for this juror, the motive didn't really make sense.

[Lester Holt]

Did this juror share the breakdown of how the jurors were divided?

[Alex Lowray]

They did. By the end of the day, first day of deliberations, which was last Thursday, it was five to one to acquit. They went away over the weekend and returned Monday. And the holdout juror wouldn't change their mind. And that's what led to the mistrial.

[Lester Holt]

And prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will retry the case against Rashawn Jones. His retrial is scheduled to begin May 18th. And, of course, we'll be watching it closely. Next up, we're Turning to a Michigan courthouse where a trial we've been watching closely is winding down. Dale Warner is charged with murdering his wife Dee in 2021 and concealing her body inside a fertilizer tank on his Lenaway county farm. He has pleaded not guilty. Alex, what's happening in court at this stage?

[Alex Lowray]

A lot. The prosecution and the defense both had big moments. The prosecution took the jurors on a site visit, so they didn't just hear about the Warner farm. They walked it. Giving jurors a firsthand look at the property where Dee's body was found.

[Lester Holt]

And Alex, the prosecution rested on Tuesday, so the jury also got to hear from some defense witnesses. What were the highlights there?

[Alex Lowray]

The main witness the defense called was Dee's brother, Greg Hardy. The defense challenged Greg about a text that he'd sent.

[Carol Gable]

You indicated that you have potential liability

[Alex Lowray]

if the prosecutor is not successful in getting a conviction against Mr. Warner.

[Karen Israel]

Correct?

[Ken Wallentine]

That's what the text says.

[Alex Lowray]

And you wrote that text, right?

[Ken Wallentine]

I did.

[Alex Lowray]

The defense was suggesting that this was suspicious behavior. And after that, the defense rested.

[Lester Holt]

We'll have an update next week. And finally, we're off to California where former major league baseball pitcher Dan Serafini learned his fate this week. He was found guilty back in July for the murder of his father in law, Gary Spore, and the attempted murder of his mother in law, Wendy Wood. Alex, first remind listeners about this case.

[Alex Lowray]

Sure. So prosecutors say back in 2021, Serafini ambushed his in laws at their Lake Tahoe home, shooting both of them. Prosecutors said Serafini plotted to kill his in laws over money so that he'd have access to a multi million dollar inheritance.

[Lester Holt]

Sarafini made several attempts to win himself a new trial since he was convicted back in July.

[Alex Lowray]

That's right. All those attempts, however, were denied by a judge and Serafini's sentencing moved forward last Friday.

[Ken Wallentine]

The court hereby sent you to life

[Lester Holt]

without the possibility of parole. Victim impact statements immediately followed. Adrian Spore, the victim's daughter, had this to say about Dan Serafini.

[Alex Lowray]

He is a monster that knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself. She even asked the judge to put Sarafini in solitary confinement because she's afraid he will conspire with fellow inmates to have her killed. Then Seraphina himself got to say a few words to.

[Ken Wallentine]

In this court, I was called arrogant, manipulative, and a liar. I accept my failings, but I have never heard.

[Alex Lowray]

The judge wasn't too keen on what Serafini had to say about himself.

[Lester Holt]

What I heard from you is all about you and not enough about the

[Ken Wallentine]

victims that died in this case.

[Lester Holt]

Some of the jurors who convicted Serafini returned to court for his sentencing. They talked to our affiliate KCRA outside the courthouse afterwards.

[Alex Lowray]

I think it's a moment for closure

[Carol Gable]

for all of us.

[Alex Lowray]

We really wanted to be here in

[Carol Gable]

support of the family.

[Alex Lowray]

It was a tragedy. And, you know, these are real people in real lives. And just to hear the devastation caused by these murders, it's awful.

[Lester Holt]

Well, Alex, so much from jurors this week. Thanks for bringing us these updates.

[Alex Lowray]

Thanks for having me. Lester.

[Lester Holt]

For our final story this week, we're talking about something that got our attention while we've been covering the trial of Russia Rashawn Jones over the past few weeks, photo lineups. As we just talked about in Roundup, the prosecution star witness was an eyewitness who picked Jones out of a photo lineup, but the defense had questions about his identification. It made us curious about how detectives conduct a photo lineup in the first place and the obstacles that exist to getting a solid id. My next guest, Ken Wallentine, is a retired chief of the West Jordan, Utah, Police Department with over four decades of experience in law enforcement. Welcome to the show, Ken. Great to have you with us.

[Ken Wallentine]

Thank you.

[Lester Holt]

Ken. We've all seen photo lineups done in movies, and we've heard about them on certainly on DATELINE episodes. But walk us through what the procedure is actually like in real life.

[Ken Wallentine]

You know, the first thing in a photo lineup is we want to start out right. Typically, you'll see a minimum of six photographs, sometimes a few more, I hope, never less. And typically that's one suspect, one person we believe might be the perpetrator, and at least five, what we call fillers, in other words, people who are similar in appearance not to the suspect, but similar in appearance to the description given by the witness. We want the witness to be told, you know, the perpetrator may or may not be present in the photo lineup. We assure the witness that the investigation will continue regardless of their identification or inability to make an identification. We caution them not to look to the detective or whoever's administering the photo lineup for any guidance. And then one final thing in administering is that best practice today, I believe, is a blind administration. What do I mean by that? It's a blind administration where the photo ID lineup administrator doesn't know the suspect's identity. And the purpose of that is to eliminate either intentional or unconscious cueing, because even subtle cues from the administrator and breathing, posture, tone of voice can influence the witness's memory and also the witness's choice.

[Lester Holt]

You've been in law enforcement for four decades, a police chief for two of them. How is the process of police lineups evolved over the years?

[Ken Wallentine]

Oh, my gosh. So we go back in my family to 1869 in law enforcement, and when my grandfather was doing identification, they were still doing live lineups. We typically don't do those anymore. Photo lineups became fairly popular in the late 1950s, the late 1960s, when we started really collecting photographs, mug shots, if you will, and making them available. In the 1960s, there was very limited training on how to administer an eyewitness identification procedure. The detective who was the investigator took the photographs, put them in front of people, might have even pointed to photographs as she or he moved along. And then when I became a cop in the late 1970s, really about the beginning of the 1980s, there was a scientific awakening. And so in the 80s and 90s, we move from assuming memory works like a video recording to understanding that it's reconstructive and vulnerable to suggestions. Finally, in the last even less than decade, we have seen courts and legislatures drive best practices as they're embedded into evidentiary rules and evidentiary law.

[Lester Holt]

What I'm hearing is that this is a useful technique, but one that has to be handled very carefully because of just human reaction and how we process information. So with that in mind, how common is it for police to use a photo lineup?

[Ken Wallentine]

Well, you wouldn't see a photo lineup used, for example, in a shoplifting at a convenience store, typically, certainly in serious felony cases, Aggravated assault, sexual assaults, people who may witness a homicide. In those kind of cases, it's all stops are pulled, all hands on deck, and we'll do everything we can to identify the perpetrator. And very often, if we have an eyewitness, that will involve a photographic lineup procedure.

[Lester Holt]

All right, I was struck by this one figure. According to the National Institute of Justice, mistaken eyewitness identifications have played a role in 75% of wrongful convictions. That's a pretty alarming high number, Ken. What could make an eyewitness pick the wrong person?

[Ken Wallentine]

One thing is that they haven't been given proper instructions. They go into the procedure believing. And it's a little logical, I think, to believe that one of those six people is the perpetrator. And they also feel like they have an obligation to identify someone. And, Lester, we all inflate our confidence in our memories. And when you couple that with the pressure or the direction to identify a suspect. Maybe you think it's your civic duty. Maybe you're anxious to see justice done for a crime that was perpetrated against you. That's a dangerous combination.

[Lester Holt]

Once a witness or victim has made an identification, how does that impact the investigation? Is there anything that police should or shouldn't do afterward?

[Ken Wallentine]

Really good detectives will consider that eyewitness identification and then they will balance it with the other information that they have and they will pursue any other leads they can. We don't want officers, we don't want investigators to be overconfident. You know, eyewitness testimony can be powerful. It can also be vulnerable. So I would hope, Lester, that once an identification is made, that's simply another brick in the wall. That's simply another step taken but conclusive and not a terminal point for the investigation.

[Lester Holt]

Well, Ken, you've been great on all this. Thanks so much for spending some time with us.

[Ken Wallentine]

Thank you.

[Lester Holt]

That's it for this episode of Dateline True Crime Weekly. Make sure to check out Josh's brand new original podcast series, Trace of Suspicion. After a Marine dies unexpectedly, investigators suspect his widow had something to do with it. Setting off a criminal case that takes a stunning trip.

[Carol Gable]

This case started because of the breast implants.

[Lester Holt]

Think about it.

[Karen Israel]

If she had a nose job, would

[Lester Holt]

we even be talking about it on March 10th? You can listen to the first two episodes completely free or subscribe to DATELINE Premium to start listening now ad free with early access to subsequent episodes. And if that's not enough, Josh for you, coming up this Friday on NBC, he has a brand new DATELINE episode for you. After a beloved professor is found murdered at home, the prime suspect is just within investigators reach, but not for long.

[Alex Lowray]

He said to bring my Kevlar.

[Lester Holt]

Bring your Kevlar because Mexico's a dangerous place or he's gonna shoot you, right?

[Alex Lowray]

I'm not sure.

[Lester Holt]

Watch the professor and the poet Friday at 9, 8 Central on NBC. Thanks for listening, everyone. DATELINE True Crime Weekly is produced by Carson Cummins, Carolyn Casey and Keani Reed. Our associate producers are Ellery Gladstone Groth and Aria Young. Our senior producer is Liz Brown. Kuriloff production and fact checking help by Audrey Abrahams. Veronica Mazeka is our digital producer. Rick Kwan is our sound designer. Original Music by Jesse McGinty. Paul Ryan is executive producer producer and Liz Cole is senior executive producer of dateline.

[Ken Wallentine]

All right, thanks. Bye bye.

[Alex Lowray]

Why have we asked our contractor we found on Angie.com to be our kids legal guardian? Because he took such good care when redoing our basement. That we knew we could trust him to care for our kids, all eight of them, should something happen to us. Are you my dad now?

[Lester Holt]

No. Sorry. I do basements. Connecting homeowners with skilled pros for over 30 years. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home projects at Angie combination.