Original subtitles

A little girl adored by her family...

She was spoiled rotten.

...whose faith is tested through the darkest of times.

A fairy-tale romance.

Two young kids in love. How could you go wrong?

Sometimes, there is no happy ever afteR.

They were supposed to have a good time,

but it didn't turn out like that.

It's August 14th, 2005,

plant city, Florida.

Dah!

No!

11-year-old Carol Ann mcclellan

is trying her best to avoid the camera.

Filming her is Carol Ann's mom, Victoria.

Carol Ann was smart and intelligent

beyond her years.

She would speak what's ever on her mind,

and she didn't sugarcoat nothing.

And everybody loved to talk to her, especially adults.

Carol Ann's parents, Doug and Victoria.

Divorced several years ago,

but they are still good friends

and loving parents to their only child, Carol Ann.

When we divorced, I still had that open door

where Doug and Carol Ann could go and see each other.

I always made sure that Doug was in Carol Ann's life.

Me and Doug did work together in raising Carol Ann.

Her dad would say, Carol Ann, listen to your mom.

Doug loved his daughter.

And he was a good dad.

He never did no wrong, in her eyes.

Just two weeks later, Victoria is filming again,

and today is a very special occasion...

...Carol Ann's baptism.

Come on, babe.

Come on, Carol Ann. -It was just a joy

to see my daughter, Carol Ann,

get baptized.

She'd come alive, you know?

She'd come alive in the word of god.

Amen.

Say, the lord is in my life.

Sadly, one person hasn't made it today...

...Carol Ann's father, Doug.

Doug was fighting a drug addiction.

He was a loving dad,

but he was like a child at times.

Hallelujah. -Whoo!

It was hard for Carol Ann cause she loved him...

...and he was not there for heR.

Although Carol Ann misses her dad,

she has the support of a close and loving family.

Her half-sister, 27-year-old misty,

lives nearby with her husband and children.

I never really treated Carol Ann as a sister

because her and my son were so close in age.

I just treated her like another one of my kids.

But when Carol Ann and my son, James, got together,

they were like peas and carrots...

...and they would take turns playing video games.

Hailey... -He reminds me of you.

...talk on the phone. -Misty and family

are regular visitors of the mcclellans.

Mommy, I see you.

We would spend dinners together, you know, mom and I

and the adults talking, you know?

And the kids would run through the house.

Hi, mama. -Get over here and say, hello.

And you're yelling at the kids

because they're running in and out,

and, you know, my sister is right along with them

because she's not much older than they are.

That's what it was. It was just family.

I don't know. I miss those days.

It's now June 2006,

and the mcclellan family are celebrating again.

It's Carol Ann's 12th birthday,

and her father, Doug, is back in town.

Carol Ann is delighted to see her dad again.

When he would walk in that door, that was her gift.

Her gift was her dad.

She didn't remember that he was gone

for two or three weeks or a month.

All she knew is -- he's right here right now.

Alright.

I love looking at my daughteR.

Aww. -And I love looking at family.

She knows how to do that kind of stuff.

It was just memories, you know,

that I can look at and just treasure.

Among Carol Ann's many gifts is a sketchbook...

Look at her!

...perfect for a budding artist.

Carol Ann loves to draw and spends hours sketching.

She's strikingly talented.

Her art -- it was a form of an escape for heR...

...her make-believe world,

you know, where things were put in the right place.

But her favorite gift that day is from dad.

Wow! -What'd you get?

That's pretty.

Aww. -I got one of those!

She loved that shirt.

She was so happy to get it.

Carol Ann would wear that shirt until it was...

So small

that she couldn't wear it anymore.

Aren't they cute, Shannon? -Yes, they are.

It's a wonderful day for Carol Ann.

She's overjoyed that her dad can be part of the family again

as she heads into her teenage years.

She has no idea that in just six months' time,

tragedy will turn her world upside down.

And I got my hat from my... -It's Halloween 2006,

and 12-year-old Carol Ann mcclellan

is in high spirits.

Super-kitty.

The mcclellan family are still filming

each other's every move...

...whether they like it or not.

It's may 2007.

The mcclellans are on a family vacation to Georgia.

But now, the mood is sombeR.

In December 2006,

Carol Ann's father, Doug,

died from a heart attack.

He was aged just 43.

His family, especially Carol Ann, is devastated.

It left a hole in Carol Ann's life.

It left a hole in all of our lives.

It was hard for her to lose her dad,

and she went deeper into hurt,

you know, and not wanting to communicate.

What?

Her animals were her therapy.

She loved her animals.

She lived for those babies.

Ziggy.

Look. -Chicken?

Chicken? -Look at the camera.

Carol Ann's health starts to suffeR.

She repeatedly catches strep throat.

Whoo-whee.

Nobody wanted Carol Ann to be around their children

because of that.

She would just mainly stay home and, you know,

play with her animals and watch, you know, TV.

Then two years later, when Carol Ann is 15,

she contracts rheumatic feveR.

Going to get some new kitties.

I took her to the doctor,

and they said there was nothing that they could do.

It's gonna have to run its course.

Hey, kitty. Hi, kitty.

I didn't even know what the damages could be

until later on in her life.

Once Carol Ann recovers,

Victoria decides it's time for a fresh start.

We had a lot happen in Florida,

and I just felt that it would be good for me and heR.

In the summer of 2010, Victoria and Carol Ann

relocate to tupelo, Mississippi.

Victoria's sister Patty lives nearby.

When Vicki decided to move here,

I mean, we had not seen her in several years,

and we were ecstatic.

We could not wait for her to move here.

Carol Ann enrolls at tupelo high school.

It's not long before she makes a new friend...

...James sharp, known as J.R..

You -- you new?

Yeah. Yeah, we just moved here.

Carol Ann. -James.

Hi.

Well, when Carol Ann came home,

she told me about this boy.

She had invited him to come over to the house.

He was cute, he wore glasses,

and he had a beautiful smile,

and my daughter was smitten with him from day one.

Their relationship quickly blossoms.

She was laughing more.

She was smiling more, you know?

And it was like he was her everything,

and she fell in love with him pretty fast,

and he fell in love with heR.

That year, J.R. Asked Carol Ann to the prom.

It's a proud moment for Victoria.

I felt overwhelmed when I seen my daughter

walk out in that red gown.

You know, her eyes lit up.

I can see her picture right now.

As the couple head for their prom,

Victoria remembers to capture the precious moment on camera.

That summer, J.R. And Carol Ann are inseparable.

She looked very happy.

Both of them did, actually, you know?

Two young kids in love. How could you go wrong?

After a tumultuous five years,

Carol Ann's luck finally seems to be changing.

James adored heR.

It was exciting to see what was gonna to happen

with both of them.

High school sweethearts

Carol Ann mcclellan and J.R. Sharp

are deeply in love,

but their relationship is about to be put to the test.

Carol Ann has suffered health issues for many years.

Now, she's developed raynaud's disease,

which affects the circulation in her feet.

It means she's unable to stand for long periods.

She said, mom, I need something to help me walk,

so I went and got her a cane.

In September 2012, Carol Ann's boyfriend, J.R.,

heads to Nashville to start studying for his art degree.

No one knows if the relationship will survive the long distance.

To everyone's surprise, J.R. Regularly makes

the four-hour drive back to tupelo to see Carol Ann.

Get away!

I really commend James

for being there for Caroline.

James loved her,

and he was gonna do what he had to for heR.

Carol Ann is not the only one suffering health issues.

Victoria has been prescribed new medication

for an under-active thyroid.

It's causing unwelcome side effects.

I was not my normal self.

My mind was racing, and I was at an agitated state.

One night, Carol Ann and Victoria are home...

Hello? ...When the phone rings.

If I could stop, I would, alright!

My sister Debbie calls,

and she starts agitating me on the phone,

but that's all it took.

What's your problem?

What does that mean, mom?

I took my agitated state out on my daughteR.

I'm the one that has to deal with everything,

with all of it, alright? No. No!

And I told her to get out of my house.

Hi, James. It's me.

She's on the cellphone, calling James.

Mama's gone ballistic.

Come and get me.

James came about four hours lateR...

And she stood outside,

and I knew she wasn't coming back.

One week later, Victoria gets a phone call.

It's from Carol Ann.

She said, mama, it's okay.

It's okay because you didn't...

You didn't cause this on yourself.

That was a touching moment

because you try to be a good parent.

You try not to make mistakes at all,

and I was still making them, you know?

But she forgave me.

On may 4th, 2014,

Carol Ann and J.R. Sharp get married in Nashville.

It's just the two of them.

All she did was send a picture,

but she did go to a church.

She didn't go to the justice of the peace.

She went to a church like I wanted her to.

I did not expect it.

I didn't think Carol Ann

would do something like that at 19,

but I was very proud of her cause she seemed to be making

some very grown-up decisions,

and she seemed to be going in a positive direction.

That...

Carol Ann and her beloved pet cats

settle into married life in Nashville...

...but the truth is, James is struggling at college,

and his grades are low.

James did struggle with depression,

and when he got stressed, he got mad

and then depressed again.

Carol Ann tries her best to support her husband.

She was very loyal.

That's one thing I tried to tell my kids,

once you get married,

you have to work at your marriage,

and Carol Ann was gonna stay in for the good and the bad.

J.R. Is treated in the hospital for depression.

They started putting him on medication,

and then his parents started telling him,

move back to Mississippi.

We'll help you.

Once the semester ends,

the couple announce that J.R. Is quitting college.

They move back to a small apartment in tupelo.

Everyone is relieved to have them home.

When they did move back, things did get betteR.

We thought everything was good,

I mean, that they were gonna make it as a couple.

Despite the ups and downs,

illnesses, and family fights,

Carol Ann and J.R.

Appear to be doing fine.

They would have date night.

I always told them, I said, no matter what you're doing,

no matter what circumstances is,

you pick out a night a week and go date night.

On August 5th, 2017,

the couple head out for a romantic dinneR.

They were supposed to have a good time,

but it didn't turn out like that.

Police and EMT

race to Carol Ann and J.R.'S apartment.

Hi. James sharp?

Yeah. She's...

She's in the room neaR...

Is she breathing? -She's bleeding all over the...

I need -- just come.

As I entered the room...

...there was a female to the right of the table

lying on the floor

with a good portion of blood around her head.

Carol Ann? -And the female was still

breathing at the time.

It was a distressing sight.

Can you hear me?

Emts attend to Carol Ann.

And there was times she was lucid.

Help...me.

She would say, help me. Help me.

Carol Ann is rushed to the hospital.

In Florida, mom Victoria is visiting daughter misty

when she gets a phone call.

Hello?

What?! What happened!

It was James' mother,

and she told me there was an accident.

I said, was it a car accident?

What hospital are they in or what?

She tells me that my daughter had been shot.

I heard... What's happened?

...something I had never heard before, and it was my mom.

She was, like, wailing.

My baby's been shot.

Carol Ann is still alive but unconscious.

Misty and Victoria immediately prepare

to make the 12-hour drive from Florida to Mississippi.

Before they leave,

Victoria calls her sister Patty in tupelo.

I said, will you please go to the hospital

and find out what is going on with Carol Ann?

She just said, I need you to go.

She said, I need you to be there for Carol Ann.

Back in tupelo,

officer Noe secures J.R. And Carol Ann's apartment.

He examines the gun and notices the magazine is missing...

...but there is a live round in the chambeR.

When I noticed the magazine wasn't in the firearm,

I went outside and asked James where the magazine was.

James stated that he had taken the magazine out of the firearm

and made the weapon safe and placed the magazine

inside the gun box in the living room.

J.R. Is taken to tupelo police department

to give a witnesses statement.

J.R. Recounts his story.

He tells detectives he bought the gun

a few days earlier for home protection.

This morning, he tested it at a firing range.

Later that evening, J.R. Says

he gave Carol Ann the gun to clean.

We sensed some deception in his statement right off the bat.

When officers arrived on the scene,

they found a live round in the gun but no magazine.

A weapon has to have a magazine in it

to provide the ammunition in the gun,

so the magazine has to be in there

to reload another live round into the chambeR.

But J.R. Claimed he removed the magazine

from the gun before he gave it to Carol Ann.

That makes US believe that James is more of a suspect

than he is a witness.

Detective little John takes over the interview.

J.R. Admits the marriage was in trouble.

While detectives continue to question J.R...

...at north Mississippi medical center,

Carol Ann's condition is critical.

The doctor told US that it was time,

that her organs were failing.

As Victoria and misty are heading for tupelo,

they get a phone call.

Hello? What's going on? Is she okay?

Patty told me. She said, Vicky, I'm here.

She don't look good.

If you need to say good-bye to her, you need to say it now.

So, I...Got on the phone.

I said, Carol Ann, mama loves you.

I said, I know you're in pain.

It's okay. You can let go.

I remember telling her I was sorry

for not being a better sisteR...

That I was too busy treating her like a little child

when I should've been supporting her and listening.

I said that I love you, that I'm proud of you,

but it's time for you to go and rest

and to go be with your dad.

And then my sister Patty said,

Vicky, there's a tear coming out of her eye.

And then she was gone.

News of Carol Ann's death reaches detectives.

They need to know if J.R. Is telling them the truth,

so they hatch a plan.

The detective leaned back, and he said,

James, detective littlejohn went to the hospital,

and he said, why would she be telling them

something different than what you're saying?

And James looked up and says, she's alive?

23-year-old Carol Ann sharp

has died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Her husband, J.R., says it was self-inflicted.

But now, believing his wife is alive and talking,

J.R. Changes his story.

He now tells detectives

that Carol Ann didn't know he bought a gun.

He'd wanted to surprise her with it.

You're nearly there. Okay.

Okay. All right.

J.R. Claims he shot Carol Ann by accident.

Detectives have trouble believing his story.

There's lots of ways to have a surprise,

but who would have pulled a loaded gun to someone's head?

Detectives believe that J.R. Shot Carol Ann

in cold blood...

Then removed the magazine

to make her death look like a suicide.

He thought that his story,

his version that he had planned for sometime

for the perfect resolution to their marriage,

that he had the story for that.

Never did he think about that live round

that went into the chamber and the explanation for that.

Police believe J.R.'S motive was to end the marriage

as quickly and finally as he could.

You could never know

what's going on in someone's mind,

but it was very obvious by what he told US.

That they had been having problems

for the last couple of years.

J.R. Is charged with first-degree murdeR.

He is booked into Lee county jail,

and his bail is set at $2 million.

The prosecutors have a problem.

They can't be sure that premeditation can be proved

beyond a reasonable doubt.

So, they offer J.R. The chance to plead guilty

to second-degree murder,

admitting the intent to kill without premeditation.

On the 25th of February, 2019, J.R. Agrees to the deal.

He's sentenced to 25 years in prison.

I pray that he finds and receives redemption

because if he thinks his life is sad and pathetic now,

what I believe will happen to him in the afterlife,

this will be an amusement park.

Victoria struggles to comprehend

how the man they welcomed into the family deceived them all.

I did not see it coming.

I still can't.

I still can't see how he could've done what he did.

Look at him.

He looks so innocent... And sweet.

He was sadistic and cruel.

I guess you could call him,

like, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Aah!

No!

She'd been through so much, and then all of a sudden,

she was taken away, and it's --

I couldn't understand why.

My mom asked me, why don't you show any emotion about it?

Because I have to be strong for you.

The family takes comfort that Carol Ann

is finally at peace with her loved ones.

She's with her dad.

She's got a lot up there waiting for her,

but she was taken way too soon,

but there's, at times,

evil does have its way.

Turn that daggon thing off. I'm serious.