Nancy Latham (4:20)

Wendy Moore had her hair hanging down over her face. That was every day. We couldn't really see her face, probably the first two weeks.

Keith Morrison (4:30)

Their review of the evidence against Wendy was exhaustive. The drop phones, the moneygrams, the contract killers, the hit packet printouts from her computer, and of course, the fact that her ex husband was supposed to be the hitman looked bad for Wendy. So they voted guilty of conspiracy, guilty of solicitation, guilty of aiding and abetting, guilty of the gun charge. Later jurors told me they believed Aaron Wilkinson when he described the plot. In fact, some of them gave him points for being brutally honest.

Nancy Latham (5:10)

Well, he told the policeman, he said, I'm. I'm a piece of, but I'm no murderer. Yeah, that's exactly what he said. I mean, he just laid it all out right there for me.

Keith Morrison (5:24)

As for Chris Latham, that's where all the good natured camaraderie frayed a bit.

Nancy Latham (5:30)

I don't think that he orchestrated it. I always thought that she did.

Keith Morrison (5:34)

That's the voice of juror Christina Weatherby.

Nancy Latham (5:38)

I think he found out about it later on, what she was planning and I mean, but to actually say that he did it. No.

Keith Morrison (5:51)

So round and round they went, through the morning, into the afternoon. Christina was one of three holdouts who did not want to convict Chris Latham of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. The majority kept pressing. Now, I will say that I thought we might have had Krissy coming over a little bit at one time at one point and we kind of got a little too pushy with her and I think she finally got angry and stopped. That was sort of what I remember. Is that an accurate memory?

Nancy Latham (6:21)

Pretty much. Because I did get frustrated when some

Keith Morrison (6:24)

argue that Chris Latham, a rich banker, had surely provided the money that Wendy gave to Sam Yenawine. Christina had this response.

Nancy Latham (6:33)

I looked at it as she's living in a house, in a beach house. She's still working, she's still getting a paycheck, she's not paying for the beach house, he's paying for the beach house. So where is all her money going to? So she's not paying anything. So she has access to her own money to be able to pay for stuff. So that's how I looked at it.

Keith Morrison (6:52)

When the majority pointed out that maps in the hit packet had been printed from Chris computer, Christina offered a counter argument.

Nancy Latham (7:01)

My thing of that was she had all the passwords to his computers, so she had full access to anything. And even if it was her or him, you don't know who it was that was accessing those computers. It could have been her.

Keith Morrison (7:16)

As it all unfolded throughout that whole time, we realized that there were two charges for Chris Latham that we just were not going to agree on. Those two counts were conspiracy to commit murder for hire and a firearm charge related to the gun that was to be used in that murder. But on the third count, the charge of aiding and abetting, even the holdouts had to agree. Chris Latham had wanted his wife dead and he'd helped the plotters even if he'd not taken an active role. The evidence seemed clear about that. The photos in the hit packet that were traced back to Chris Phone, the recorded jail phone calls with Wendy, the fact he paid the legal fees of people who were conspiring to kill his wife, it was just too much that couldn't be explained away.

Nancy Latham (8:04)

Aiding and abetting. We were unanimous about count three is what we got him on. He just didn't get his hands dirty. Yeah, he was very smart, very intelligent.

Keith Morrison (8:16)

At about six o' clock that evening, the judge asked the jurors if they wanted to go home for the night or continue. The jurors decided to keep going, and two hours later, they notified the judge they'd reached a verdict. When they filed into the courtroom, no doubt some of the jurors saw Nancy seated just beyond the prosecution table with a tense and searching look in her eyes.

Nancy Latham (8:43)

My entire body was tense and I was holding hands and just looking down, just saying, please, God, let him be guilty. Because if it was not guilty, I was so fearful that it would give him the opportunity to do a better job. And the moment they said guilty, it just. I felt like I could breathe for the first time. So it was like all of a sudden, I was human again.

Keith Morrison (9:10)

Chris Latham, guilty of one count of aiding and abetting. Wendy Moore, guilty of all four counts against her. For the prosecutors, those verdicts were about what they'd expected, if not entirely what they'd hoped for. We didn't think there was any chance that they would acquit either. Either defendant. I mean, Wendy Moore, obviously, as we noted in our clothes, her goose was cooked. It was just overwhelming evidence. That's the voice of prosecutor Rhett DeHart. We were pleased with the result. I mean, if the defense would have offered us before trial that he would plead guilty to count three, which he was convicted of, we'd have taken that deal. I mean, we convicted him of the substantive count. I think any way you look at it, it was a victory for the Justice Department in spite of the fact that he didn't get the full count against him. He didn't get them all. He was convicted on a serious charge. So, I mean, we were pleased, and we're just happy to have it over. It was about nine when Chris Latham's defense attorney, Stephen Schmutz, stepped out of the courthouse and into the chilly night air. There was a light breeze, felt bracing after a long day spent waiting. As he walked to his car beneath the streetlights, his shadows skittered across the white sidewalk. What was he thinking? Hard to know. But one thing that surely crossed his mind that evening was the jury. He must have wondered what happened in the jury room. What caused those jurors to hang up on two counts against Chris Latham and yet find him guilty on the third? By the time he sat down with us, the answer seemed inescapable. Chris Latham was in love with Wendy Moore. He still is. And I don't think the jury could get past the fact that he continued to support her when the evidence, as they saw it apparently was overwhelming that she was involved in an attempt to kill his wife. Justworks helps small businesses support their teams with everything from HR to better benefits. Whether you're hiring, automating, payroll, expanding globally, or tackling compliance. JustWorks offers transparent pricing and 24. 7 human support. Hire and manage talent without juggling multiple platforms or hidden fees, and get your team access to premium benefits like health insurance, 401k and commuter perks. Learn more@justworks.com they do your human resources right so you can do right by your people. Justworks for your people. There's an SUV that turns the unthinkable into the unforgettable. The new Nissan Pathfinder. Built for big adventures and all that family chaos. It's powered by a strong V6 engine with a nine speed automatic transmission. Inside, it's rugged and capable, but still premium and tech forward with room for up to eight passengers. It's also available with seven passenger seating and second row captain's chairs with massive hauling capability. Now you can bring all the gear you and your family need for unforgettable Adventures. The new V6 Nissan Pathfinder. Power your adventure.

Nancy Latham (12:34)

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Keith Morrison (13:07)

It was a setup, of course. It was one of those contrived, made for television moments that one sees on reality TV shows. And yet the substance of it, the emotion, could not have been more genuine. It was late March 2014. It was about a month after the trial of Chris Latham and Wendy Moore had concluded. Aaron Wilkinson sat in the county jail waiting to do a TV interview with Dateline producer Carol Gable. Video from that day shows Aaron sitting with his back to the door and watching the TV crew set up their lights, tweak their cameras. He seems at ease in the company of these men, working men, who posed no threat to him and asked no questions. Then, behind him, he hears the unmistakable sound of a female's footsteps. In the video, Aaron turns to his left, expecting to see Carol, the Dateline producer. But instead, it's a face he has come to know well.

Nancy Latham (14:16)

Hey, I don't think we've met before. I'm Nancy.

Keith Morrison (14:22)

Surprise. That would be an understatement. Shocked, more like. Aaron at first offers a limp handshake. He seems unsure of prisoner protocol. In a moment like this, should he stand? Should he sit? He stays in his chair, looking up at Nancy. He is speechless. Then Nancy takes control.

Nancy Latham (14:47)

Stand up.

Keith Morrison (14:48)

And with that, Aaron Wilkinson rises to his full 6 foot 2 inch height and embraces Nancy, the woman he'd been told to kill.

Nancy Latham (14:59)

Thank you so much. How are you? You okay? Have a seat. I cannot possibly thank you enough. I think we all completely understand that the outcome would have been very different were it not for you.

Keith Morrison (15:24)

At first, the meeting is excruciatingly awkward. The TV cameras seem to demand some kind of performance or something. But as Nancy places her hand on Erin's knee and he fights back tears, something quite real emerges. Feelings of forgiveness, even affection become palpable.

Nancy Latham (15:49)

And before we get sidetracked, I heard you testify. You are so smart. You have so much potential. I'm going to expect great things from you. You okay?

Keith Morrison (16:11)

Aaron, quite overwhelmed, brushes a tear from his cheek and leans over for another hug.

Nancy Latham (16:20)

You are so welcome and I am so grateful for you. I think of all the people that Sammy could have pulled into his car to do this with him, and it would have been so different. So just like you had my back, tomorrow I'll have yours. Thank you. You're welcome.

Keith Morrison (16:40)

Oh, yes, tomorrow. That'll be the day. Aaron Wilkinson faces sentencing for his part in the plot.

Nancy Latham (16:46)

And.

Keith Morrison (16:46)

And Nancy assures him she will ask the judge to go easy. Thank you.

Nancy Latham (16:52)

You're welcome. You're welcome. I'm so happy I got to meet you.

Keith Morrison (16:59)

Me too.

Nancy Latham (17:00)

Like I said, you're so smart and obviously very chatty. You obviously talk way too much too. We need to stop that. And so hopefully we're going to get a reduced sentence.

Keith Morrison (17:19)

And with that, they hugged again. And then as Nancy turned to leave, Aaron smiled.

Nancy Latham (17:27)

It's unbelievable that you.

Keith Morrison (17:31)

I mean, the graciousness is overwhelming. What was it like to spend some time with him in the jail?

Nancy Latham (17:44)

He is surprisingly gentle, surprisingly meek.

Keith Morrison (17:51)

In fact. He couldn't stop thanking you.

Nancy Latham (17:52)

And I had to thank. I had to say, you have to stop thanking me because I owe you thanks.

Keith Morrison (17:56)

Is it important for you to speak at his sentencing? To say something?

Nancy Latham (18:02)

Absolutely.

Keith Morrison (18:02)

Recommend something?

Nancy Latham (18:04)

Absolutely.

Keith Morrison (18:05)

At Aaron Wilkinson sentencing, Nancy kept her word. She spoke movingly on his behalf. And perhaps because of that and the plea deal he'd made with prosecutors, the judge gave Aaron a reduced sentence. Four years in a maximum security prison. Later that summer, just before Chris Latham and Wendy Moore were to be sentenced, they agreed to speak with me separately at the county jail. Through it all, neither of them had spoken to investigators at trial, neither of them testified. But when they sat down with me, they said it was because they wanted the truth to be known. A truth they had been keeping to themselves for the past year. Wendy Moore was first.

Nancy Latham (18:54)

I think if Sam had not killed himself, I think he would have Been able to show that I had nothing to do with it and that it wasn't. There was never any murder for hire plot.

Keith Morrison (19:07)

According to Wendy, her ex husband, Sam Yenawine would have exonerated her. Would have convinced the court that she had no role at all in the conspiracy to kill Nancy Latham. That is, if he hadn't killed himself seven months before the trial began.

Nancy Latham (19:26)

I don't think Sam would have let me go to jail for something I didn't do. I just don't think that would have happened. I have to believe that he would have done the right thing.

Keith Morrison (19:36)

And you were waiting for him to do that?

Nancy Latham (19:39)

I figured he would, yeah.

Keith Morrison (19:43)

And Chris Latham, the once well respected banker.

Nancy Latham (19:48)

I'm telling you the truth. I have no incentive to harm Nancy.

Keith Morrison (19:53)

According to Chris, none of this murder plot business made any sense. All he'd ever wanted was an amicable divorce. Murder he knew nothing about. A hit for hire. He insisted on that.

Nancy Latham (20:08)

You dream about the outside and then you wake up inside and it pierces your heart. It makes you jump. You can't believe that you're here. And you know, you first go through shock at what has happened. Then you're angry and bitter at what's taken place and where you are.

Keith Morrison (20:29)

I've spoken to Wendy too. Your stories are contrary to the most obvious indications that you and she were involved in a plot to kill Nancy. And I think to myself, my God, if they're lying to me that skillfully, what does that say about them? Are you lying?

Nancy Latham (20:55)

No, I'm not lying.

Keith Morrison (20:57)

I mean, what are you going to say? Yeah, I'm lying.

Nancy Latham (21:00)

Think this thing through. I mean, you got to remove all emotion and look at it logically. Why would I do this?

Keith Morrison (21:08)

Why indeed? For money? For pride? For love. When I spoke to Wendy, her eyes lit up when she talked about Chris. You still soulmates?

Nancy Latham (21:20)

I've never met anyone better than him and I never will again. He is a good person and I love him. And he is. He's. He's an innocent man. There is no reason not to love him.

Keith Morrison (21:36)

All of this was what trumped up.

Nancy Latham (21:39)

All of this is a huge mess. Then neither one of us would have ever wanted Nancy harmed.

Keith Morrison (21:46)

The jury, of course, saw things differently. On the day Chris Latham was sentenced, the judge gave him the maximum for the single count of aiding and abetting. Ten years, a fifteen hundred dollar fine, plus three years of supervised release. At Wendy's sentencing, the judge handed down sentences on her four guilty verdicts that could be served concurrently. That meant Wendy would be behind bars for 15 years after that, three years of supervised release. When the gavel came down for the last time in August 2014, it had been almost exactly three years since that night on the lake when Chris Latham told Nancy he didn't want to be married anymore to her. For Nancy at least, that big and turbulent chapter of her life was over. Now the question was, what's next?

Nancy Latham (22:46)

It's sort of this liberating thing that has happened to me.

Keith Morrison (22:50)

Liberating, of course, is not exactly a word Wendy and Chris would have used in that moment to describe the their futures.

Nancy Latham (22:58)

It's like a horrible nightmare that you cannot wake up from.

Keith Morrison (23:04)

The love affair that entangled their lives was about to be put to the test in prison.

Nancy Latham (23:10)

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Keith Morrison (23:32)

If anything comes up or you simply

Nancy Latham (23:34)

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Keith Morrison (23:37)

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Nancy Latham (23:45)

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Keith Morrison (23:48)

And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either.

Nancy Latham (23:55)

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Keith Morrison (24:13)

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Nancy Latham (24:13)

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Keith Morrison (24:26)

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Nancy Latham (24:31)

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Keith Morrison (24:36)

Of course, if you enjoy overpaying.

Nancy Latham (24:37)

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Keith Morrison (24:38)

But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway.

Nancy Latham (24:43)

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Keith Morrison (24:58)

Picture this it's a dark winter day in February 2022. Valentine's Day perhaps. A middle aged woman sits alone at her computer, her slender fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard. She's typing her name into the search engine and like a time machine, that old booking photo of her comes up. Blond hair Blue eyes, attractive. Then she remembers she's nine years older now. She reminds herself that the time she spent in prison could have been worse. Much worse. She served much of her time in Florida in one of those low security, club fed kinds of places. Yoga classes. Softball outside when it wasn't too hot. Volleyball inside when it rained. Serious? Now imagine the woman at the computer typing another name into the search engine. L A T H A M. Latham. And there he is. It's that old picture of Chris Latham and his wife Nancy. Chris in a tuxedo, Nancy wearing an evening dress. Above the photo, a headline reads, nancy Latham's attempted murder. Where are Chris Latham and Wendy Moore now? Where are they indeed? Perhaps a look of reminiscent satisfaction flickers across her face as she reads on. The story says Wendy Moore got out of prison in October 2021. True. And Chris, according to the article, got out in January 2022. January 14th, to be exact. They had both been in prison for a little over seven years. Would he call her now if he had her number? She might have wondered. Maybe wish her a happy Valentine's Day. Would she answer if he did? Hard to say. They had been soulmates once before they were both sent to prison. What was it Chris had said to the TV guy? That is to me. She's gonna be away for a long, long time. You're not still thinking of getting married, right?

Nancy Latham (27:20)

She's a wonderful person. And I have. Obviously, I have feelings for her, but, you know, I don't feel comfortable discussing future plans. There are a lot of things up in the air.

Keith Morrison (27:31)

Up in the air, yes. But true love endures, right? At least that's what she told the nosy reporter back then when she'd sat for the interview. You've been listening to that?

Nancy Latham (27:44)

He accepts every little thing about me as okay. It makes me comfortable with myself, and that makes me love him more. And I think he feels the same way.

Keith Morrison (27:55)

Sweet memories. Yes. And those jail phone calls during the time when she was locked up and Chris was a free man. She'd been scared to death then. And Chris was so comforting.

Nancy Latham (28:11)

Well, it's so. It's so good to hear your voice. Oh, my God, it is so, so good. So good. Like you did not even know. My biggest fear is out of sight, out of mind. I know when you hang in there, you need to know that even at the most, lowest point that you have, don't give up. Because we are all right there beside you and we're there with you. And I hope that you feel that because you're on our mind every single second. And we will not give up until you're here with us in our home. Okay? I need to come home. I need to come home. I'm close tonight. I'm close to a middle breakdown. Well, don't. Just keep the faith, okay? And you know, we're doing everything we can, okay, to get you home as quickly as you can. Okay. Thank you.

Keith Morrison (29:13)

Well, that was then. Later on, their solidarity cracked a bit. In their appeals and other court filings, Wendy claimed she'd only been following orders, implying perhaps that her former lover had been the mastermind. Chris, in his filings, claimed the entire murder plot was a fiction, the work of a sociopath. Who was he talking about?

Nancy Latham (29:37)

Her.

Keith Morrison (29:38)

Sammy? Erin, maybe? Well, no matter. She was out now, her 15 year sentence nearly cut in half when a court decided it was too harsh. At least she had her kids to lean on. But Chris, his kids had seemed to want nothing more to do with him back then. At trial, the oldest one, Emily, refused to make eye contact. And at his sentencing, Madison had called her father a monster.

Nancy Latham (30:08)

I didn't want to have to think someone who I lived with for 15 years or so was a monster.

Keith Morrison (30:15)

That's Madison when I talked to her back then. Do you think the day would come when you can have a relationship with him?

Nancy Latham (30:23)

I don't think so.

Keith Morrison (30:25)

You never want to have a relationship with him?

Nancy Latham (30:28)

I don't see why Sartre now, considering all of his actions that he's done against me and my sister and my mom, I can't see any way that I would want to be with him.

Keith Morrison (30:44)

But it turns out Madison has had a change of heart since then. According to Nancy, Madison stays in touch with her father these days. As for Emily, well, Nancy says she still refuses to take her father's calls. Chris Latham's sister told us he had no interest in speaking with Dateline again. Our efforts to contact Wendy were unsuccessful. Which brings us to Nancy Latham. Now, Nancy Cannon. What did she do after the dust settled? First, she left South Carolina and hit a reset button, away from all the sadness and heartbreak.

Nancy Latham (31:29)

I felt like it was time just to make a fresh start. So I left South Carolina. I, for the first time in my life, have an actual job where I feel appreciated and valued. And I love it. But every day I laugh. And again, maybe it's an age issue, too, but the only person I have to make happy is me. And man, is that liberating.

Keith Morrison (31:56)

For a while, though, Nancy also tried her hand at making other people laugh on stage.

Nancy Latham (32:04)

Any Divorce people here.

Keith Morrison (32:07)

That's right. She did a bit of stand up comedy.

Nancy Latham (32:10)

Yeah, it was good for me too.

Keith Morrison (32:13)

Events that some people might find too painful to talk about became the raw material for Nancy's act.

Nancy Latham (32:19)

My divorce, like probably most of you, didn't go the way I'd hoped it would go. But I do.

Keith Morrison (32:25)

On stage, Nancy was in her element. She told me she loved performing. But late night sets in comedy clubs are not exactly compatible with having a day job.

Nancy Latham (32:36)

At my advanced age, I have discovered that going to work at 7:00 in the morning, which means I have to get up at 5:45 every morning to get there at 7, and then work a full day and then going to a comedy club at 10 o' clock at night to do a set, I. No, no, thank you.

Keith Morrison (32:59)

There was a time shortly after the trial ended when Nancy felt compelled to tell everybody she met about the time her husband and his girlfriend tried to have her killed. Partly to control the narrative, to tell it on her terms, partly to make herself feel safe.

Nancy Latham (33:19)

Now that time has passed, I don't feel the need to share like that. Occasionally I'll tell the story because it's a funny story. It's a crazy story. Not funny maybe, but it's an insane tale to tell. But I don't feel like I have to do it. Whereas before it was almost a compulsion.

Keith Morrison (33:43)

Do you feel safe now?

Nancy Latham (33:44)

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. She says, trying to convince you.

Keith Morrison (33:55)

Daughters Emily and Madison are grown women now with careers and lives of their own. And Nancy is happily resettled in a city far from Charleston, dwelling less on the past and more on what is to come. Can you ever see getting married again?

Nancy Latham (34:14)

I'd rather not talk about that. See myself getting married? Yes. Yes.

Keith Morrison (34:19)

Oh, how very interesting. Is there any gossip you want us to spread?

Nancy Latham (34:24)

No, if I wanted to spread the gossip, I'd want to do it myself. Are you kidding? Turn it over to you? No way.

Keith Morrison (34:31)

Wouldn't have expected otherwise. But anyway, that one crazy story was quite enough. Murder and Magnolias is a production of Dateline and NBC News. Tim Beacham is the producer, Brian Drew is the audio editor. Thomas Kemen is assistant audio editor. Keani Reed and Reese Washington are associate producers. Susan Nall is senior producer, Adam Gorfayne is co executive producer, Liz Cole is executive producer and David Corvo is senior executive producer from NBC News Audio. Bryson Barnes is technical director. Sound mixing by Bob Mallory. Nina Bisbano is associate producer. Olivia loves a challenge. It's why she lifts heavy weights and likes complicated recipes.

Nancy Latham (35:46)

But for booking her trip to Paris,

Keith Morrison (35:48)

Olivia chose the easy way. With Expedia, she bundled her flight with a hotel to save more. Of course, she still climbed all 674 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. You were made to take the easy route. We were made to easily package your trip. Expedia made to travel flight inclusive packages are atoll protected.