Original subtitles

My god!

Woman: I am being accused of killing someone

when I was 13 years old.

I don't wanna grow old in prison

'cause I... I've never done anything,

so, that's what's scary.

Female newscaster: Channel 3 was there on scene

when police found 68-year-old Franklin bonner's body.

His home was ransacked

and bonner had duct tape over his mouth and nose,

which caused him to suffocate.

It was chattanooga's first homicide in 2009.

Andrea hayduk: So what we know is that

Franklin bonner was duct-taped to a chair,

his legs bound by duct tape

and he had tape around his mouth.

And he suffocated to death.

There were a couple of people

whose prints were run

against the prints taken from the scene.

No arrests were made.

The case went cold.

In 2017, angel bumpass was arrested

for failure to appear on a speeding ticket.

She was fingerprinted.

And her fingerprints matched some prints

that were taken from the duct tape from the crime scene.

She was arrested for felony murder.

Garth best: Felony murder means that

someone died as a result

of doing a violent or dangerous felony act.

Generally that could be robbery,

aggravated assault,

anything where you were doing something bad

that you weren't supposed to be doing,

and someone died as a result.

Best: She was only 13 years old when this happened, right?

Right. Crazy.

There's no way she could have

overpowered a grown man.

Hayduk: She has a co-defendant,

who I don't know much about.

I'm told she doesn't have any idea who he is.

His name is Mallory Vaughn.

Male newsreader: Mallory Vaughn was indicted by a grand jury

in the 2009 death of Franklin bonner.

Vaughn is now charged with murder.

Hayduk: The only evidence against Mallory Vaughn

is a jailhouse snitch.

His cousin Nicholas,

who claims that Mallory confessed to the crime.

From what I think the state's theory is on what happened

was that Mallory Vaughn and angel

went to Rob the deceased in this case

and he died during the process.

Hayduk: The state has elected

to try them together in one trial.

I can't get over the fact that

she was a little girl

at the time this happened.

If she was there, I believe with all my heart

she was coerced,

and if, in fact, she was coerced

to pull off a piece of duct tape

and hand it to someone

who then taped someone's mouth and someone dies,

does she belong in jail for 60 years?

Bumpass: Get ready for school.

I live morally correct.

I don't hurt anybody.

I don't steal from anybody.

I don't try to make anybody feel bad,

so I feel like I'm a good person,

so I don't feel like I've done anything

to be punished for.

You're done.

Where's it at?

Bumpass: I still have to be strong for my kids.

I didn't want to keep being

depressed about it, or upset,

because I wasn't certain of what was going to happen to me,

so I just tried

to continue with my life.

Bye!

Bumpass: They don't need to see me upset,

or angry or anything like that.

So... sorry.

I'm on the road for five hours,

and it's a five-hour drive back,

so it kind of takes time away from my life.

I had to take off work to come and do this.

To be accused of a crime has cost me jobs.

I lost my apartment.

It makes your life harder.

I can't just stop and act like it's not going on

because I have to do something about it.

I feel like I'm fighting for my life.

Hayduk: I'm gonna get you up to speed,

and then we can go from there.

Did you look at the crime scene photos,

of him taped up?

Bumpass: No. All right.

You ready? Brace yourself.

Bumpass: He suffocated, right?

Hayduk: Yeah.

His arms were taped to this chair...

...and his feet were bound.

A hell of a job, isn't it!? Yeah.

My question is, if you're looking at this picture,

can you swear under oath

that this is not anything that you witnessed?

I can. I've never seen that place before.

Were you there? No.

That house is nothing I could remember.

Hayduk: So not only

do you know you weren't there

when the crime was committed,

but you can say you've never been

in this house before. Yeah, I've never.

Did you know Mallory?

No. Okay. Um...

Had you heard of him?

No. Not until his name was mentioned.

Hayduk: When this case came up? Bumpass: Yep.

Hayduk: When I watch her react to the crime scene pictures,

I don't see a little girl that was there.

She can't confess to something she didn't do.

She can't turn on someone she doesn't know.

She can't give me information she doesn't have.

Bumpass: Well, this was the first time

that I saw what the victim looked like.

It was unsettling

to see a dead person.

I do feel bad for his wife

having to come in and find him like that.

If I came home from work,

and that was my kids right there,

I would be so devastated.

I would want the person

or people who did it

to be in jail.

You don't do that to somebody.

There were two exhibits,

14 and 18,

that they recovered angel's prints from.

14 was taken off the chair leg. Yep.

Best: Okay.

And 18 appears to be underneath the duct tape

that was on his face.

Hayduk: The sticky side, right?

Best: Yes.

Hayduk: The biggest problem I have with this

is that it was on the sticky side.

Fingerprints landed on that duct tape somehow.

There's only one way to get fingerprints on duct tape,

and that's to touch it.

This finger touches it.

It's hard to tear.

A fingerprint is compelling evidence.

I wish I understood it,

and I've pushed her really hard,

um, to see if she knows anything,

because if she would tell US anything

that helps them solve this crime,

they are gonna let her go,

and she claims she knows nothing.

I'm trying to think of how we can explain this to a jury,

how the fingerprints are on the sticky side

without her having been there at the time

and touching it.

It's gonna be a bit of a challenge.

Bumpass: The only evidence that they have against me

is a piece of duct tape,

which is, I guess, is the murder weapon.

It doesn't make me a murderer.

It doesn't mean that I was there,

it doesn't mean that I know who did it.

It just means that,

at one point, I touched some duct tape.

Bumpass: I am being accused of

killing someone when I was 13 years old.

It's gonna be a scar on my life forever,

and I just don't wanna have to live

like I'm a murderer when I'm not.

One of the questions I wanted to ask

was what your defense was gonna be?

So, we're not putting on an affirmative defense.

So, for example, an affirmative defense

would be self-defense. Right?

"Yes, she did it, but it was in self-defense."

I'm saying, "she wasn't there."

So... and the one piece of evidence

that I have to negate

is that fingerprint evidence.

And so, the fact that your fingerprint is on the duct tape

does not mean that you were there.

Bumpass: So out of all the tape,

they didn't find any other fingerprints?

There were nine other prints found on the tape

that are not identified.

Your fingerprints aren't on anything in that home

that was already there.

Furniture, doorknobs, the safe...

Nothing of that nature.

In my mind, that's very, very powerful evidence.

Best: On the date that this happened,

it was a school day.

They theorized that the crime happened

between 2:00 and 4:00 P.M. on the date in question.

We confirmed that angel's school bus

dropped off no later than 2:45,

so that would have left an hour and 15 minutes

for her to go two-and-a-half miles down the road,

arguably Rob someone and him die as a result.

We're just gonna try to get a feel for the scene

and where angel used to live

and we're gonna time how long it takes US

to get from her house

over to Mr. Bonner's house.

This is Trey aycock.

He helps US co-ordinate for trial.

We've taken several turns

and it doesn't look like there's any sidewalk

that a kid could be walking on

to get from one place to the other.

And they're gonna have to

somehow figure out

how angel was able to,

one, get over here on foot that quickly

and, two, how she even knew where she was going.

The house is right on the corner.

So this is Franklin bonner's house,

where the robbery took place.

If there was no car involved,

angel would have to had to have walked here.

And iPhone's saying to walk it, 44 minutes.

That leaves a very narrow timeline,

15 minutes to get this done.

I don't think they went over there

and went right to business either.

It doesn't leave much time for this to happen.

Bumpass: At 13, I was very shy, very reserved.

I didn't even hang out with friends outside of school.

I went to school, came home.

My mom had me at a young age,

but then she was incarcerated when I was six years old.

She's still incarcerated to this day.

And my father,

he, pretty much, was barely in the picture.

Hayduk: I mean, in my mind, angel's the success story,

that comes out of

less than ideal childhood circumstances.

What's her name?

Tamika bumpass.

Hayduk: "Tamika bumpass plead guilty before judge William Fleming

"to all 30 charges against her

"stemming from her attack on Columbia county deputy,

"and attempted escape.

"The woman took the deputy's handgun and shot her

"in the left side of the chest, then turned the gun on a passerby

"and stole his pickup." Wow.

Looks like her daughter, doesn't she?

Bumpass: I was raised by my grandparents and it was a very weird childhood.

They never said, "I love you," or tucked US in at night.

It's just not feeling loved.

So when I got older, I just wanted to leave.

Best: Her family name is pretty notorious here in chattanooga.

Everything from aggravated assault

to weapons to drugs.

Hayduk: I believe she has an uncle who had been to jail.

She has an uncle who was murdered.

She has brothers who I believe ended up in jail.

And her grandmother has a little bit of a rap sheet, from what I can tell.

So, the state has put on testimony that Shirley was the last person to talk

to the victim while he was alive.

And that they believed that it was for the purpose of buying marijuana.

I think that that's what they say that she admitted to

when they originally interviewed her, nine years ago.

It leaves US with a decision about what we want to do.

Whether we want to have Shirley explain that,

because I don't want it to look like she's lying.

And some people on the jury may think that she's covering for angel.

We can't have her look like a liar.

Voice: Continue on Tennessee 153 north for three miles.

Hayduk: We're going to the home of Shirley bumpass,

where angel grew up.

I need to go run through some questions with her.

Take her temperature on testifying.

Make my own decisions as to whether I think

that her testimony would be beneficial.

Hey, guys. I know you're not super excited about chatting

but can we go through some of these questions?

Baylis, are you willing to chat with US too, a little bit?

Yeah. That's why I'm still here.

Do you remember calling Mr. Bonner that day?

No. And I can't even remember too much about

10 years ago. Sure.

I mean, I could say something that I don't...

It won't be... I got you. Accurate.

I don't know who called him, who don't, but I just know what I did.

And... No, I didn't call him.

Hayduk: Okay.

The state have evidence that you were the last phone call.

If they call you to testify,

and show you the caller ID with your phone number,

would that change your mind?

What would you say to them?

I wouldn't even know what phone number that could be.

I mean... Gotcha.

I don't even know what it was. You may or may not recognize

the phone number. Okay.

Is there anything you know that we're holding back on?

Nothing. Nobody's holding back on... You'd have told me.

You'd have told me, right? Exactly. It's nothing

that's me holding back on.

Because they know doggone well

I had nothing to do with cookie being murdered.

Hayduk: So baylis, what kinds of things were you doing back then?

Repair on houses. Plumbing.

Gotcha. I got plumbing tools, paint.

I saw cookie about once or twice a week.

I was thinking that tape might have came from here,

because I used to pick stuff up like that.

Hayduk: So in your mind, there's a possibility

that duct tape ultimately got to cookie's house

that would have come from here? Baylis: Yeah.

Hayduk: That was the first time that I got a story that I really liked.

He told me that angel often spent time in the garage.

So it's plausible that angel had touched duct tape

at their workshop.

My only job is to show reasonable doubt.

Reasonable doubt as to angel's involvement

in this crime at all.

Automated voice: This call will be recorded and subject to monitoring at any time.

Hayduk: The new evidence about these brothers having talked about it

makes me think someone in her family

had something to do with it.

I don't know. The more I hear,

the more confused I get about what I think happened.

The problem that I have is that angel has consistently

told me she doesn't know anything. She didn't give any information.

She has nothing to offer. And she's been unwavering and consistent about that

since day one.

And if a jury believes that that fingerprint

is enough to put her at the crime scene,

they can find her guilty of felony murder

just for having been there.

That's it. That's all they need.

Bumpass: Hi. How are you?

Hayduk: I have pressed angel as hard as I think I can press.

I don't think she can wrap her brain around the magnitude

of what's happening to her.

And I think I can end this completely

if she could just give US some information.

This is the only guarantee I can give her

that she gets her life back.

I know this is a sensitive subject,

but just one more time, if there's anything you know

or anyone that you're protecting,

this is your chance to save yourself. Okay?

Best: It's always been my feeling that your grandmother

could have been a suspect in this.

And that was how they were gonna try to come at you.

Hayduk: I think they think you know something that involves her.

That's just how I know that they don't know US, 'cause...

Like I've already said,

me and my grandma were never close.

It would never be a, "hey, angel, let's go do this."

I wasn't the one to go off and do things with her.

We weren't... we didn't have that type of relationship.

We need to, just over and over again, make sure that you understand

what's at stake, so that if there is something

you're hold back, you tell US.

Look, we do a hard job.

We always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

By preparing for the worst, you've made arrangements

for what happens if you don't get to go home.

Somebody's gonna take care of your babies.

Um, we can do a power of attorney for you.

If we get you a power of attorney to the person that you trust, we're preparing.

We have to put everything in place. That's the responsible thing to do.

Bumpass: Right. -Okay.

Bumpass: There's just so much as stake.

My kids are everything.

I want to be the one to see them grow up

and go to school and...

Graduate.

Just to think that I may not ever see them again...

That's the hardest thing for me, really.

Hayduk: I think that a jury wants to hear from the defendant.

I think they want to know their story.

I think they want to hear them say, "I didn't do it."

But if she wasn't there,

what story can she tell?

So today, we put to use our mock trial room,

to practice testimony, see how she holds up under pressure.

Hayduk: Did you know who Mr. Franklin bonner was,

prior to being arrested for this crime? No, ma'am.

Did you help Mallory Vaughn Rob and kill Mr. Bonner?

Bumpass: No, ma'am.

Did you kill Mr. Bonner? No, ma'am.

If I were to play for you a jail recording we intercepted

of your brothers talking about this...

Best: What do you think that they're talking about?

I couldn't tell you exactly what they were talking about.

You can or can't?

I couldn't. Okay.

Were you aware that your grandmother is accused of

purchasing marijuana from him earlier that day?

Yes, sir.

Are you sure you never went there with her to purchase marijuana?

Yes, sir.

Hayduk: Think your grandmother had something to do with this, angel?

No.

Best: You never know how your client's gonna hold up.

The da's really gonna try to get under their skin

and turn their story around.

And that can really influence how the jury decides.

Bumpass: I feel like it's weird that I'm really going to trial.

I'm really angry about it.

It feels like you're guilty until you're proven innocent.

I've thought about not testifying, because I'm not 13.

They're gonna be looking at a grown woman.

The jury's not gonna be looking at a kid.

But at the same time, I just wanna be heard.

I want to be able to say, "I didn't do this."

Hayduk: Hi. Good. Woman: How you doing?

Hayduk: This is where it all begins.

And remember, they're watching every move you make.

Every facial expression you make.

Every reaction.

So you need to look...

I guess whatever you feel, except anger, or defensiveness

or frustration. And I'm sure all of these things

are existing at the forefront of your mind. But they need to see

pitiful, almost.

Hayduk: The evidence against each co-defendant

is separate.

Angel's fingerprint doesn't implicate Mallory in any way.

And the testimony against Mallory from the jailhouse snitch doesn't implicate

angel in any way.

The medical examiner would perform an autopsy on Franklin,

and determine he died because the person that put the tape over his head

put it over his mouth and his nose.

And he couldn't breathe.

That evidence was sent to the tbi, where it was examined by

a fingerprint expert, and she developed

two prints and she matched those fingerprints to angel bumpass.

Nine other fingerprints were found at the scene

that didn't belong to Mr. Vaughn,

didn't belong to miss bumpass,

didn't belong to the victim or his wife.

They're unknown.

The truth is that no one in this room can tell you

what happened to Mr. Bonner.

The state has to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that angel

went with Mallory to Rob Mr. Bonner and he died as a result.

It's a burden that they're not gonna be able to meet,

and we're gonna ask you, at the end of this, to find our client not guilty.

Hayduk: To me, this is about right and wrong.

And it means so much to me to be able to persuade this jury

to believe that angel did not commit this crime.

Judge greenholtz: All rise.

Bumpass: I do feel bad for the victim and the victim's family,

but at the same time, I feel even more bad for myself,

because I don't want to be in this situation.

Hayduk: I think this is the biggest day.

The state is going to give the jury the evidence

that they are going to ask them to convict on.

Elizabeth Reid: My name is Elizabeth Reid.

I'm employed by the Tennessee bureau of investigation

as a forensic scientist.

What is the jury looking at in this photograph?

That is a piece of the duct tape

from exhibit 14a

where I developed an identifiable latent print.

And who was that a match to?

Reid: That was a match to angel bumpass.

And you said that both these latent prints

were on the adhesive side of the tape, is that correct?

Yes, that's correct.

Best: I was able to hear a little bit of a moan in the room,

when the jury heard that it was the sticky side of the duct tape,

because I think it kind of registered in their heads

that, hey, she might have had to be there

for her print to be on the sticky side.

Bumpass: You have to think what is the jury gonna think,

because they're the only thing that matters right now.

Hayduk: In fingerprint testing,

you don't have the ability to tell

when in time a print was made

on any particular piece of evidence, correct?

That's correct,

you cannot determine when that item was touched.

Hayduk: And in this case,

the only prints that you matched to angel's prints

came from duct tape, correct? That's correct.

You didn't have any prints of hers from furniture,

or any other fixtures from the bonner home, correct?

That's correct.

Hayduk: And there were nine fingerprints left in this case unidentified.

Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. Okay.

Hayduk: What we're trying to bring out

is that there are a lot of loose ends in this case

that the state never wrapped up or never investigated.

As of right now, I feel okay.

Things are playing out

slightly better than I had expected at this moment.

Karl fields.

Do you swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth and nothing but the truth,

so help you god?

Court clerk: Shirley bumpass.

Hayduk: If the state is able to get in

that Shirley was likely the last person that spoke with him

before he died,

she's the only connection between angel and the deceased.

Hayduk: Basically she's denying

that she was the last person to speak to

or see the deceased alive.

I think her negating that original statement

draws more attention to it

and makes it look like she's got something to hide.

Bumpass: I'm really frustrated with them.

I asked for Andrea and garth to object it,

object it, and they never did.

I don't want them to be nice,

I want them to be mean, because this is my life.

I want them to fight like it's their life,

and I don't feel like they are doing that.

So I don't feel like it's going well.

Hayduk: The witness is testifying

with the hopes of having his time cut.

The evidence against Mallory is sparse at best.

I don't think that angel could have done this by herself,

so if Mallory is found not guilty,

I think angel has to be found not guilty by default.

I feel pretty good. Best: I do, too.

I need a couple of minutes

to speak with her one more time.

Thank you, your honor.

Bumpass: I want to testify.

I feel like the jury's waiting for me to say something.

Hayduk: I'm going to strongly advise against it.

You can't explain

the only thing they're going to want to hear,

which is how the hell did it happen?

Fingerprint on the sticky side of the tape.

You cannot explain that to them.

We're not losing.

Okay.

Give me a few minutes to breathe

and you take a few minutes to breathe.

Court clerk: The defense calls baylis Smith.

Raise your right hand, please.

Best: No further questions.

Hayduk: The only potential evidence

that you've heard against angel bumpass in this case

are two fingerprints on a piece of duct tape.

A mobile object

that could have come from anywhere

and could have gone anywhere.

You're at home, you're using the duct tape,

you pull too much out, it's kind of hard to mess with.

My fingerprints are all over this duct tape.

This duct tape ends up somewhere

and is used in the perpetuation of a crime.

Am I considered to have been at that crime scene?

You have nine unidentified fingerprints today,

still outstanding.

The state is asking you

to find beyond a reasonable doubt

that this 13-year-old little girl

walked two and a half miles to a home

of a man whom she'd never met,

to go meet a 26-year-old man,

whom she'd never met,

to commit a robbery.

That's what's ridiculous.

Please return a verdict of "not guilty" as to angel bumpass.

Williams: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

The last call with Shirley bumpass,

is that just a coincidence?

No, ladies and gentlemen.

She knows that is bad,

bad evidence for her granddaughter.

That's why she came in here and she told you lies.

She didn't get her fingerprint on the tape

by playing with it.

She was helping her buddy, Mallory Vaughn, commit a robbery.

Convict both these individuals of these crimes,

first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery.

Judge greenholtz: All rise.

Hayduk: It's over.

We've done the best we can, it's in their hands.

My girl is either walking out this door with me,

or she's being locked up tonight.

I mean, it's almost too much to process.

This has been the worst week of my life.

This has been the worst year of my life.

Like, I have to sit in court with people

who I've never met,

about victims that I've never met...

Like, how?

Hayduk: Okay, yeah, let's do it.

I just want to go. Have a seat.

I don't want to stay here anymore.

I just want to go.

I'm never going to see my kids again.

I just want to go.

Just let me go.

I don't know how to walk out of here and go home to my kids,

when she's locked in a cell for the next 60 years.

We should all be very afraid.

I don't understand how the system put a child away

for the rest of her life and let the adult walk

on so little evidence.

I've been convinced she should never be charged.

They just took her from my arms,

where she'll never see her babies again,

and locked her up for 60 years

because she touched some duct tape.

I don't understand it.