All language subtitles for The Backyard - 3x05_track1_eng

Narrator: A private investigator
vanishes in florida.

Casandra: These people,
they know how to disappear

if they have to.

Chad: She had removed
a hundred thousand dollars

from her account.

Richard: Perhaps she was
alive and well and just hiding.

Narrator: But when
a horrific discovery is made.

Danielle: Nobody ever expects
to find a body buried

in their own backyard.

Bridgette: There was an obvious
bullet hole in the skull.

Narrator: Homicide investigators
chase a trail

of secrets and lies.

Chad: I'd found
a six-shot revolver

but there were only five bullets
inside the revolver.

Narrator: To catch a killer
just out of reach.

Richard: A murderer
just walked out of our building.

[♪♪]

narrator:
In the panhandle of florida

tucked away
like a hidden treasure

is the sun-soaked town
of pensacola.

Danielle: Pensacola,
it's a beautiful place.

The white sands,
the blue waters.

Well, it's a bigger city.

It kind of has
a small town vibe.

Living in pensacola,
you'll find all different

diverse landscapes
in your backyard.

The beach is vibrant,
beautiful.

And then coming inland,

you'll find the vast
more wooded areas.

Narrator: On a lovely fall day
in October of 2017,

the typical tranquility
in one local backyard

is suddenly interrupted
by a most chaotic scene.

Bridgette: The morning
that the search warrant

was executed, there were
a number of agencies.

The pensacola police department
was out there,

the florida department of
law enforcement was out there.

We strongly believe
based on the evidence

that a search team
was going to find her body

at that property.

I was on the phone with one
of the supervisors on scene,

asking if they had anything.

I mean, I was blowing
their phones up.

Bridgette: After hours and hours
of searching the property,

a gentleman
from fish and wildlife

just kind of looked over
to an area in the backyard

where it looked like
the ground had maybe been

a little bit disturbed.

Chad: When he went over
to investigate, you know,

moving around
some yard debris.

Bridgette: He picked up one
of the pieces of the concrete

and there was hair attached.

Richard: And so I'm yelling
on the phone,

"what do you got?
Tell me something.

Tell me something."

and he said,
"I think we got the body."

bridgette:
Very slowly and painstakingly

they went layer by layer.

As they uncovered more,

there was a hammock

that was kind of
wrapped around something.

And as the hammock
was removed,

they were able to see
a human skull.

Narrator: Investigators must
answer a terrifying question.

How did a skull end up buried
in this florida backyard?

Sugar white sands frame
florida's emerald coast.

Casandra: The beach is why
many people come to pensacola

and it's primarily the reason
why I ended up staying here.

It's just beautiful.

Narrator:
And casandra waller's world

just became
more beautiful still.

Casandra:
My girlfriend, taylor and I,

we had always had
just a great relationship

but I was so excited about
taylor moving into my house.

On September 7th,

she literally
was in the initial

two or three days
of moving into my house.

And my phone
was just blowing up

because we had
a hurricane coming

and I think it was like
hurricane irma.

And we got this call out
from my job

saying school district is closed
on Friday and on Monday.

That night, we both went
to sleep probably around 8:30.

Narrator: The storm is still
days away from pensacola

when the sun rises
the following morning.

Casandra: September 8th,
the morning of,

seemed like a--
a normal morning.

We woke up,
taylor cooked breakfast.

Narrator: Recently divorced,
taylor is eager

to begin a new chapter
with casandra.

Kathleen: Taylor was loyal,
loving, kind.

She could walk in a room
and the first thing you got

from taylor was a big smile
and a huge hug.

All that mattered
was taylor's happiness.

Narrator: But starting over
isn't going to be easy.

Danielle: Taylor wright was
going through a lot of changes

in her life.

She was moving
in with a girlfriend.

She was a mother
of a young son.

Casandra:
The following Tuesday,

taylor had a court appointment
dealing with the divorce.

I've seen taylor stressed
a little bit before

but nothing like this.

Narrator: Casandra is hoping
taylor's plans

with her dear friend
ashley mcarthur

will help raise her spirits.

Casandra:
Ashley was one of taylor's,

like, number one friends.

Taylor was
a private investigator

and they both
were in law enforcement before.

Because of that,
they were close friends.

I told taylor she's got me,

she's got some close friends,

everything is gonna be fine.

About 20 minutes later,
ashley showed up.

Taylor gave me a hug
and a kiss.

And I said, "well,
you guys have a good day."

that was the last time
that I ever saw taylor.

Narrator:
Casandra's morning is crazed

but she takes a second
to check in with taylor,

hoping her stress level
has lowered a little.

Casandra:
And I was texting taylor.

I asked her
how things were going.

And she goes,
"I'll tell you later."

and I told her, "we'll talk
about it, it'll be okay."

I had sent her some text
a little bit later in the day,

just casual text talk.

I tried to call her
and got nothing.

Nothing, crickets,

and that's not like taylor.

Danielle: All of a sudden,
casandra wasn't receiving

text messages from taylor.

That line of communication
stopped,

which is when she reached out
to ashley and asked,

"where is taylor?
Are you guys okay?"

casandra:
Ashley called me and she goes,

"taylor, she's just been
really stressed out today

like she's cried
a couple of times.

She's just dealing with a lot
with the divorce

and just really emotional."

and I said, "well, tell her
everything's gonna be all right

but tell taylor to call me."

[♪♪]

casandra:
So, it was probably about 5:00,

I'm starting to get
a little frustrated

because we had dinner plans.

I text taylor
and I get nothing,

and call taylor
and I-- I get nothing.

I text ashley,

I said, "where are you guys?"

this was probably 6:00
maybe 7:00 at night.

She goes, "what do you mean
she's not home?"

she left my house
around quarter after 5:00

and she said, "taylor took an
uber downtown to have a drink.

She was stressed out

and she just needed
to chill for a minute."

[crickets chirping]

casandra:
So about 7:40, 7:50,

I get a text from taylor
saying,

"hey, I'm not upset.

I just-- I need some time
to get my head clear,

like I need a few days."

at that point, I'm,
"what? You need a few days.

Like things have been great.

You're moving into my house.

What is going on?"

kathleen:
For taylor, it was hard.

She had been married to jeff
10 years.

She was trying to find
her way through that

and make a new life.

Bridgette: So even though
all things seem to indicate

that this was simply taylor

taking a few days
to herself,

something did not sit right
with casandra.

Narrator:
It seems out of character

until casandra recalls
an odd conversation

taylor had recently.

Casandra: Taylor was
a private investigator.

It was just kind of a joke

within the people
that she worked with

like they're just
so smart and savvy

that if somebody
ever had to get away,

yeah, that they know
how to get away.

They can disappear off
the face of this earth.

I don't have any clue
what's going on.

I just know that
something is not right.

I was scared.

[♪♪]

richard: We have a large amount
of money that's missing

and we have the owner
of that money missing.

I told our surveillance team,
"don't lose sight of her."

casandra:
She can be very dangerous.

I never saw it coming.

And that's what's scary.

♪]

narrator: In the hours since
33-year-old taylor wright

seemingly disappeared,

those who love her
are haunted by one question.

[♪♪]

narrator:
"where could she possibly be?"

kathleen: When I heard
taylor was missing,

I knew she wouldn't
leave her son.

I was concerned
at that point.

Danielle: Taylor had made
a comment to a friend

that she could disappear
if she wanted to.

So that kind of fed
into the idea

that maybe she did take off.

Casandra:
So Sunday, I wake up,

I still had heard nothing
from taylor.

Ashley had contacted
several of her friends

and nobody heard anything.

So I go with my gut instinct.

I text ashley and I said,
"I'm gonna call the police."

so I called
the police department.

I just laid everything
on the line with them.

I said,
"look, she's just got divorced.

There's a child involved,

the child is up
in north carolina right now."

I did mention that taylor
and a couple of her friends,

they know how to disappear
if they have to.

So the officer, he said that
maybe she's just doing this

on her own accord.

She could be going
and trying to kidnap the son

because
she doesn't have custody,

and they could disappear
off the face of this earth

but you should probably
call the ex-husband.

So Sunday evening,
I called jeff

and I told jeff
what was going on.

Bridgette:
Casandra learned from jeff that

taylor and jeff's son
had been trying

to reach out to taylor

and had not gotten
any responses back.

Casandra: It was during
that phone conversation,

jeff had told me how
she had gone through

all those police training,

and she can be
very dangerous.

And he said, "taylor's gonna
be very upset with you

because you contacting
the police department,

if she had any desire
to be on the police force again,

that's not gonna look good."

and he told me, he said,

"you have kicked
the hornet's nest."

his exact words.

Then he goes,
"you need to protect yourself."

like, "what in the world
are you talking about

that I need to be scared
of taylor?"

and I'm like,
"like, this doesn't add up."

so I started
calling hospitals,

I called hospitals probably

everywhere from baton rouge,

all the way down
towards orlando.

Bridgette: When taylor
didn't end up coming around,

casandra went back
to the police department

and filed a report
just under a week

since taylor
had gone missing

and at that point,

that started
the investigation.

Narrator: The case lands
on the desk of detectives

richard ghigliotty
and chad willhite.

Chad: Any missing
person investigation,

I always look
at the inner circle people.

So it would make sense
to check out casandra

and confirm her whereabouts
and what she was telling us.

Casandra explained
that taylor wright

was a private investigator.

She used to work
for a law enforcement agency.

I asked casandra waller
about her last day with taylor.

She explained that
they woke up that morning

on September 8th, 2017,

everything was fine.

Casandra had planned to go
to this nonprofit organization

and taylor was gonna go meet up
with her friend,

ashley mcarthur.

Bridgette: Casandra said
that was the last time

that she saw taylor.

Richard:
And we wanna start gathering

as much information we could
about taylor wright

and what kind of history
she had.

Casandra:
Taylor had a rough upbringing

but taylor was charismatic,

taylor was energetic,

she was hilarious,

she was always filled
with humor.

Kathleen:
Taylor was a great friend

and when I found out taylor
was having a baby,

I thought taylor
would be a great mom.

I met taylor's son drake
here in pensacola

when they moved up here.

She adored him.

Casandra:
Taylor was a fun mom

and with everything
that was going on,

taylor was so excited
about moving into my house.

We decided that we were
in a monogamous relationship.

It was like,
"yeah, this is-- this is it."

richard: As we were interviewing
casandra waller,

she was very forthcoming
and honest

about the circumstances,
good or bad.

After I had finished speaking
with casandra,

we were able to corroborate
her statements pretty quickly.

I-- naturally, I wanted
to speak with ashley next

because taylor spent a day
with her.

So I called ashley mcarthur.

I asked her her relationship
with taylor,

ashley explained that
they were friends,

that they met through
ashley's husband,

zach mcarthur

and taylor were private
investigators together.

Bridgette:
Ashley mcarthur,

she used to work
as a crime scene technician

but at the time,
she was actually running

her family's business.

Richard: Ashley explained
that taylor was stressed out

and wanted to go out
to east milton,

at ashley's family farm

and look at the animals.

She explained that
once back at her house,

taylor told her that
she was still stressed out

and wanted to go get
a couple of drinks.

Chad: She said taylor
had left in a uber

and that was the last time
she saw her.

Narrator:
Detective ghigliotty knows

girlfriends share everything

and senses there may be more
to ashley's story.

Chad: She said taylor
had removed some money

from jeff's and her account.

Casandra: Taylor gave ashley
$34,000 to hold on to.

Four or five weeks before,

she didn't want
jeff's attorneys to be able

to subpoena bank records
and find that money,

and then they could freeze
the account.

She didn't want me involved.

So she gave the money
to ashley.

Richard:
And ashley told us that day

they went to her house
on raintree

to get the money.

Taylor was upset,

she was concerned about
this court hearing

that was coming up.

Ashley explained that
taylor got a duffel bag

and put the money in it
and left.

Ashley was very forthcoming

and she explained
the circumstances

surrounding,
um, the money.

So that led us
to taylor wright's ex-husband.

Chad: Jeff was obviously
in taylor's inner circle.

Taylor had removed
all this money

from jeff's and her account,

and there was also this
child custody issue going on.

So we needed
to check out jeff.

S

since former pi taylor wright

vanished without a trace.

And investigators are unsure

whether taylor has taken off
with a pile of money

or is possibly
the victim of foul play.

Richard: On September 18th,

I had called
taylor's ex-husband,

jeff wright, who was living
in north carolina.

I asked him if he was familiar
with what was going on

and if he had heard
from taylor.

He explained how taylor
was very close with their son,

and they spoke
on a regular basis,

and that the last time
he had heard from taylor

was by a text message
from her phone

on September 9th,
the day after she disappeared.

This is the first time

that we heard taylor
reaching out to anyone

after September 8th.

Jeff explained that
the child wanted to--

to speak to his mom,

and that taylor
wouldn't answer the phone,

that he has not talked
to her since.

He also said that
she did have odd behavior

when it came to custody
of the child.

Casandra: Taylor was 110%
absolutely bothered

by the fact that she didn't
have custody of her son.

She was fighting that.

Narrator: With the missing money
and the bitter custody battle,

investigators questioned jeff
about his whereabouts

around the time
of taylor's disappearance.

Richard:
He'd explained that he was--

he was out of state
at the time.

We knew that
it wouldn't be difficult

to inquire to his whereabouts
given that he was--

he was in the military
at the time.

Law enforcement had to look
into jeff wright's background.

He was, you know, upstanding
citizen in the community,

was remarried, had a child,

um, with his new wife

that he was not even
in pensacola

at the time
that taylor went missing.

There was really nothing
to link him to,

um, her disappearance.

Richard: He explained that
he would never harm taylor,

that they had
a rocky divorce

but that she's still
the mother of his child,

and his behavior was odd,

and we still have
a large amount of money

that's missing,

and we have the owner
of that money missing.

Perhaps taylor was alive
and well and just hiding.

Chad: I've told
detective ghigliotty,

"if taylor wright's phone
is still active,

we should need--
I wanna corroborate

tracking those phone calls,
see where she's at,"

but the search warrant
for phone records takes time.

Narrator: If taylor is hiding,

investigators suspect
the most logical place

to look for her
is the last place she was seen.

Richard:
Detective willhite and I drove

to ashley and zach mcarthur's
residence.

We arrived and detective
willhite started to speak

to ashley's husband,
zach mcarthur.

Chad: But he said
he didn't know where she was at.

Richard: I asked ashley mcarthur
if she would mind,

uh, showing me
around her house,

in the property.

I'm looking for any signs
if taylor was there recently,

if she is there,
if she has any belongings.

We started out by walking
into the backyard,

I opened the access
for one of the house

and just looked under.

Nothing seemed
out of the ordinary.

Narrator: Just when detectives
are convinced

ashley and zach
don't know where taylor is.

Ashley drops
some revealing news.

Richard: She was very hesitant
to tell us

but ashley revealed that

taylor had cheated
on casandra.

Danielle: Taylor was having
a relationship

with a woman in biloxi
while she was seeing casandra.

Bridgette:
Casandra confronted taylor

about that whole situation.

There was a big blowup
between the two of them.

There were some text messages
that casandra sent

after taylor went missing
that were kind of,

you know, kind of angry,
maybe hostile in nature.

Richard: At that time,
we have some concerns

with casandra
because casandra waller

had been cheated on.

We then thought, "could she be
capable of harming taylor?"

we went to casandra's residence

and she allowed us
in the house.

We began searching the house.

We started in the bedrooms,

specifically the bedroom
that taylor was to have kept

property in.

During the search,

we found taylor's passport,

her id, small amounts of cash,

and a $19,000
uncashed cashier's check

in the name of taylor wright.

Bridgette: If she was taking
a few days off

to gather her thoughts
or get herself together,

these were personal items
that she probably

would have taken with her.

Narrator: But it's what
investigators discover next

that could change the course
of this investigation.

Chad: During that search,
I'd found a revolver.

It was a six-shot revolver.

When I opened the gun,

there were only five bullets
inside the revolver.

That piqued my curiosity
really fast.

[♪♪]

[gunfire]

[♪♪]

narrator: Investigators looking
into the missing persons case

of 33-year-old taylor wright

now wonder if the savvy pi
could have fallen prey

to a jealous lover.

[gunfire]

richard: During the search
of casandra's residence,

we located a revolver.

We asked why it was
that she felt

she needed a gun.

Casandra explained that
she had talked to jeff wright,

taylor's ex-husband
and that jeff told casandra

about taylor previously
having been violent

with him before.

So casandra, she became scared.

Casandra:
They were interrogating me.

"do you know
where taylor wright is?"

"no?"
"do you know

if somebody's harmed
taylor wright?"

"no, I don't."
I mean, it's like rapid fire.

They're like going really quick.

"did you kill taylor wright?"

you know, they asked--
and I lost it.

At that point,
I broke down and I cried.

I maintained my innocence
in this entire thing.

Chad: Detective ghigliotty
and I eliminated casandra

based on her story
and the text messages

on her phone.

Casandra: It's one thing
to worry about

where your love one is,

but then when you're looked at,
it's scary.

[♪♪]

bridgette:
Later that same night,

ashley actually went over
to casandra's house

trying to reassure casandra
that, you know,

everything was okay,
and that taylor would be fine,

that she just needed
a little bit of time to herself.

Casandra: Ashley helped
reaffirm and calm me down

a little bit.

She was there for me.

Narrator: Two weeks
into the investigation,

detectives are no closer
to solving this mystery

and start casting a wider net.

Richard:
As this investigation develop,

we wanted the public's
help in finding her.

So we reached out to the media.

There was a press release
and taylor was entered

into a national database
for missing persons.

Chad: We started getting tips
in reference

to possible sightings
of taylor.

Richard: We were hopeful
that she was alive

and well and still missing.

Kathleen: While taylor
was missing,

I was very, very concerned.

Casandra, ashley,
and I would text back and forth

a daily update so we were
all communicating like that.

Narrator: Detectives
are frustrated landing

on nothing but dead end leads.

Then 18 days
into their investigation,

they finally hit
on some pivotal information.

Richard: We eventually got
phone records,

cell tower records
from taylor wright.

We looked at the route
that ashley told us

that she drove with taylor
and her timeline.

Started looking
at the cell towers

and mapping them.

The tower showed taylor wright
on the north end

of the county.

But ashley mcarthur told us
that they were

in east milton
45 minutes away.

Bridgette: The cell tower record
showed ashley was lying

to law enforcement.

Richard: We determined
that we were gonna need

bank records and
cell phone records

for not only ashley but her
husband zach mcarthur as well,

because we knew zach
to have been in law enforcement

previously with taylor.

Narrator:
With suspicion growing,

detectives obtain subpoenas
for phone and bank records.

And when they come back,
they discover

an incriminating series
of calls on ashley's phone.

Chad: We kept seeing
that ashley's cell phone

was communicating
with a cell phone tower up

in the beulah,
cantonment area of town

and it was constant
for several hours on the 8th,

the day that taylor
was last seen alive.

I'm going back
to her original interview.

Ashley said she
and taylor were in milton.

So we got to figure
what's going on up there.

Who she's visiting.

Richard: We located a family
property of ashley's

on the north end
of the county on britt road.

Chad:
With the two cell phones

communicating
with the same tower

near the britt road property,
it led us to believe that

taylor and ashley's phones
were up together.

Narrator:
The evidence is damning.

But it's only the beginning
of a trail of deceit.

Richard: At that time,
we were getting bank records

where ashley mcarthur
was depositing

taylor wright's checks
in her own account.

There was one check
that was deposited

by ashley mcarthur
for $34,000

in taylor wright's name.

Chad: We knew
that ashley mcarthur

was holding the $34,000 check
for taylor wright.

Richard: There's a large amount
of money

belonging to
a missing person.

So now, there's motive.

Detective willhite and I
both agree that more

than likely that taylor
had been killed.

Chad: Detective ghigliotty and I
really began to focus

in on ashley.

She was the last person
to see her alive.

[♪♪]

richard: We learned that ashley
and zach mcarthur

weren't your average
married couple.

Chad: So detective ghigliotty
and I come up with a ruse.

We didn't wanna take a chance
of them being at home

when we went to execute
the search warrants.

Narrator: In the days leading up
to the disappearance

of taylor wright, investigators
have found evidence

suggesting ashley was siphoning
taylor's money

into her own accounts.

Richard: Based on recently
received surveillance records

and deposit slips,
we were able to trace

the money to numerous accounts
and the money

was gone in 24 hours.

Narrator:
But is ashley acting alone?

Richard: We learned
that ashley and zach

weren't your average
married couple.

They weren't close.

Chad: And we looked
into the various purchases

that zach had made
on the days leading up

to and around the 8th.

We determined zach
wouldn't have been in the area

of the britt road address
whenever taylor went missing.

Richard: So the records were
able to alibi zach mcarthur.

He was no longer a suspect.

Even more concerning,
ashley was depositing

taylor's money
into her bank account

even after
taylor's disappearance.

So the evidence
was just piling up on ashley.

Chad: We were pretty confident
that we had enough information

to apply for a search warrant
and the judge signed

the search warrant
for three different addresses

of ashley's family property.

Knowing that ashley
and her husband

had law enforcement experience,

we didn't want to take a chance
of them being at home

when we went to execute
the search warrants.

So detective ghigliotty and I

come up with a ruse

to get ashley to come
to the police department.

Richard: I asked her
if she would come down

on October 19th
because we wanted to conduct

an interview.

[♪♪]

chad: I think it was 8:00
in the morning.

And as soon as she got
to the police department,

we gave the go ahead to execute
the search warrants.

Narrator:
While the team descends

on the 22-acre backyard,

miles away,

investigators question ashley.

Chad: We confront her about
this britt road address.

You could tell her demeanor
was starting to change

and she was getting
a little bit more nervous.

Richard: At some point,
I exited the interview room

and contacted our team leads

at the britt road property.

And they relayed that there was
no evidence found.

The cadaver dogs were out
and there were probably

two dozen people
at this property.

Chad: Ashley began
crossing her arms and her legs.

And I know that is a defense
when you're being interviewed.

I slid my chair up,
uncrossed her arms and her legs.

I didn't want her
feeling comfortable.

I wanted her to know
that she wasn't in charge.

Ashley ended up asking
for an attorney

shortly thereafter.

Chad: Because we still
hadn't found the body.

We ultimately had to let her
leave the police department

that morning.

Woman: All right.
Come on now.

Richard:
I told our surveillance team,

"don't lose sight of her."

[♪♪]

narrator: More than a month
after private investigator

taylor wright disappeared,
a search warrant

leads detectives
to a huge break in the case.

Richard: I was on the phone
with one of the supervisors

on scene,
asking if they had anything.

Then he puts the phone down
and he yells to someone else,

"what do you have?"

bridgette: They were able to see
a human skull.

One of the things
that was observed

was an obvious, uh, bullet hole
in the back of the skull.

[camera clicks]

bridgette: As they uncovered,
uh, layer by layer,

there was some
skeletonized bones.

There was a necklace
that was entangled in hair

and in the concrete.

It had a symbol of a bullet.

And that we noticed
from a picture of taylor wright.

[♪♪]

bridgette: My gut told me
at that point that it was--

it was going to be taylor.

Richard: We got a call back
a short time later

and the team out there said,
"we do have the body."

never thought
I'd be so happy to hear

that a body was found.

But then on the flip side,
it's sad.

With all the evidence,
we could conclude

that taylor wright was murdered
by ashley mcarthur

and buried in the backyard
of the britt road property.

[♪♪]

richard: I told my supervisor
at the time

we needed to start looking
at the arrest

because here we have
more than likely a murderer

just walked out
of our building.

[♪♪]

richard: Our surveillance team
had indicated

that ashley mcarthur
was at her house.

Just by coincidence,
she happened to be walking out

of her house at that time
and they arrested her.

[police sirens wailing]

richard: Ashley sat down
in the interview room.

I looked in her eyes
and told her that

she is being charged
with first-degree

premeditated murder.

And she's going to prison.

[♪♪]

narrator: Forty-year-old
ashley mcarthur

has just been arrested

for the murder
of taylor wright,

one of her dearest friends.

[♪♪]

richard: She looked back at me
with no emotion

and asked, "why?

Because I didn't do
anything."

but I knew
that ashley mcarthur

was guilty.

[camera clicks]

bridgette: The remains
were ultimately

identified
through dental records

and they were identified,
um, as being taylor wright.

Chad: We knew we were fixed
and have to go tell

family members,
loved ones

that we have found
taylor's remains.

And she's no longer alive.

Not the easiest thing
in the world to do.

Especially now
there's a small child involved,

who's not gonna see
his mom no more.

Casandra: And I get a phone call
from detective ghigliotty

and he's like,
"we found taylor's body."

they had told me
that they had arrested ashley.

I couldn't believe it
because ashley was somebody

who throughout the entire time
that taylor was missing,

ashley was like,
"I'm your friend."

coming into my house
and hugging me.

I just--
I lost it.

Um, it was hard,
it was emotional.

Narrator: Nearly two years
after taylor's

senseless death...

Her best friend ashley mcarthur
stands trial for murder.

[♪♪]

danielle: This trial was huge.

There was definitely
more interest

in this case
because you had two women

in law enforcement

involved in this
heinous crime.

This case became known
as a former crime scene tech

killing a private investigator.

Narrator:
Through a trail of evidence,

prosecutors describe
how the murder played out.

[♪♪]

bridgette: The morning
of September 8th,

taylor had been adamant
that she needed

that $34,000 cashier's check
back from ashley.

So ashley picked taylor up
that morning,

knowing that they are never
gonna go to a bank

because the money's gone.

She paid credit cards,
her car payments,

she purchased a motorcycle.

Ashley kind of gave taylor
the runaround that day,

stalling, making this trip
to the bank.

And then ashley gave taylor
some excuse

as to why she needed
to run out to this property.

Ashley mcarthur
took taylor wright way out

in the middle of cantonment
on 23 acres of property.

Of course
there's no eyewitness.

Chad: We believe they went out
to the britt road farm,

probably inside of a barn.

Bridgette: Ashley shot taylor
in the back of the head.

In such a manner that taylor
would not have seen it coming.

Richard: Ashley mcarthur
attempted burying

taylor wright's remains

under concrete
and potting soil.

Danielle: Ashley then took
taylor's phone

and was using
that to send off messages

in the hopes of making people
think everything was fine

and dandy.

Casandra: During the trial,

that was my first time
seeing ashley.

And it was the most
uncomfortable feeling.

Bridgette: Mr. [indistinct]
says there's no dna,

there's no fingerprints.
Of course there's not.

She's a former
crime scene technician.

You think she doesn't know
what they look for?

[♪♪]

narrator:
After a four-day trial,

it takes the jury
just two hours to come back

with a verdict.

Man: Let's bring the jury.

Judge: Ashley mcarthur,
having been found guilty

beyond a reasonable doubt
by jury of your peers

of first-degree premeditated
murder with a firearm.

I am going to adjudicate
you guilty.

I'm gonna sentence you to life
with a mandatory

minimum 25 years state prison.

Casandra: We got the verdict
that we had been waiting for

for two years.
We finally got the justice

that taylor deserved.

I never saw it coming.

And that's what's scary.

She knew what she did.

And the whole entire time,

she was pretending
to be my friend.

Ashley took somebody
that I loved.

[♪♪]

kathleen:
I am heartbroken.

Heartbroken for drake,

heartbroken that her life
was taken,

and just heartbroken

that she's not here anymore.

I miss taylor.

I do.

Um, but I just have to keep

moving on, you know?

You keep taking,
uh, a foot in front

and, um, I try
to literally live

every day as if today
is my last day

because you never know.

I hope that everybody
remembers taylor...

As, um, funny.

She was hilarious.

She adore her son.

She was full of life.

Taylor will never
be forgotten.

Never.

Woman: For more information
about buried in the backyard,

go to oxygen.Com.

[♪♪]