All language subtitles for Fatal.Family.Feuds.S01E01.720p.WEBRip.x264-BAE_eng_sdh

[narrator] a young
father found lying dead

In the middle of a
desolate roadway.

- He was shot five times.

It appeared this
man was the target.

- He's executed right
there on the highway.

- A chill went through my body.

I knew instantly
that that was my son.

That chill still is with me.

- [narrator] several
possible suspects emerge,

Including members of
the victim's family.

- There was a lot of animosity
between the two families.

- There were people who hated
the victim, but who was it?

- [narrator] later a
tip leads investigators

To a drug dealer with an
unexpected connection.

- He told the story he was
hired to kill the victim.

- What you have at the centre
of it is this family feud.

There's a connection.

(dramatic music)

(tense music)

- March 10th, 7:00 p.M.

A couple was driving
down interstate 95,

And they get off the connector
to rocky neck state park.

As they're coming
around the corner,

They see a vehicle parked
and the doors open.

As they get closer,
they notice something

Lying in the middle of the road.

They realise it's a body.

They immediately call 911.

- I got a call for a man
down, probably hit by a car

On the rocky neck connector.

When I pulled up, I observed
a body on the ground

In the right-hand lane.

He was slightly to the
rear of a pontiac firebird

That was running with
the headlights on.

When I walked up to the body,
he was laying on his back.

He had blood in his mouth
and blood on the shirt,

Which I ripped open, and found
a couple of bullet holes,

One in his chest, and one
more up towards his armpit.

(tense music)

There was no doubt he was dead.

There was no doubt
that it was a murder.

(tense music)

- [narrator] officer
dunn calls for assistance

From the connecticut
state police,

And soon after makes a
disturbing realisation.

- I knew him, the victim.

It was his pontiac firebird
on the side of the road.

- Officer joe dunn tells
the major crimes unit,

"he's a local guy.

"he's a good guy,

"but I've arrested him
before for bar fights.

"I know this guy.

"his name is buzz clinton."

- [narrator] the
victim's driver's licence

Properly identifies
anson buzz clinton.

With that, police begin their
investigation of the scene.

- The investigators for
major crimes started

Searching the area thoroughly.

- They found a couple
of expended bullets.

- They found one bullet
that had missed buzz.

They found another one
that had passed through.

- From the bullets, it appeared
that the murder weapon was

A .38 calibre revolver.

- [narrator] police next
speak to potential witnesses.

They hope someone
can provide a clue.

- There was probably four,
or five people at the scene

When I got there.

One of the people said that
when they came up from the scene

From the highway,
they saw another car.

- They also stated that

They saw a tall, lanky person

Get into the other car.

The people who saw this believed

That the car was a blue sedan.

- It left the scene at
a high rate of speed.

They didn't have a
licence plate number,

Or anything like that.

- It was a very
non-descript description.

It didn't lend itself to
any further investigation,

Unless you came
up with a suspect.

- It appeared that he
had been shot by someone

Who had immediately taken off.

One possible theory was
somebody tried to carjack him,

And he got interrupted,

Because the car was
still sitting there.

Another one was somebody wanted
him dead and they shot him.

- [narrator] 28-year-old
buzz clinton lived

On his parents' property
with his wife, kim,

Their eight-month-old
daughter, brianna,

And kim's three-year-old
daughter, rebecca.

- I got a call from a
friend, and he said,

"somebody's been murdered
on the connector."

They had a firebird on
the side of the road.

(ominous music)

A chill went through my body.

It was like I knew instantly
that that was buzz.

That chill still is with me.

- I remember my brother
like shaking me, and saying,

"buzz is dead, buzz is dead,"

And I was like, "what?"

And that was a
really emotional day.

I said I wasn't gonna cry, dad.

(sombre music)

So that was a really
emotional day for our family.

(sombre music)

(graphics whirring)

- The clinton family
lived in east lyme,

And they had two other
children, suzanne and billy,

Who were both
considerably younger.

- I was turning 11
when my brother died.

My mother and my father,
they were older parents.

They had already had buzz,
who was 17 years older than I.

- Buzz was tickled
pink when he found out

That he had his sister coming.

Suzanne was his pride and joy.

- Buzz was definitely my idol.

I loved buzz.

Buzz was my everything.

- Buzz was happy-go-lucky,
enjoyed people,

Enjoyed laughing,
enjoyed fooling.

He did gymnastics,
and he did wrestling.

After high school, he was an
iron worker for five years.

He had worked in
boston for a while.

He worked up in washington.

- [narrator] in 1991, after
a slump in construction,

24-year-old buzz clinton
returns to east lyme,

And takes odd jobs
to make a living.

- He had side jobs towing cars,

And he put together a business,

Where he had a couple
people with him.

They would go to
small bars in the area

And put on a show, male dancing.

- He's a good looking
guy, in good shape.

He was having fun.

He's a guy in his 20s.

- And that's where he was
when he met his wife, kim.

Shortly after that, they
started a serious relationship.

- Kim was a attractive young
lady who had a small child,

Rebecca, who was about
two years old at the time.

- When I met kim, I
was just so excited.

She was kind, and
quiet, and sweet.

Rebecca was bubbly,
she was cute.

- Buzz had become very much
involved with kim and the child.

- He ended the male dancing,
decided to become a nurse.

- Buzz had been going
to school to become

A certified nursing assistant,

And was working part-time
in a nursing home.

- On January 17th, 1993,
buzz and kim marry.

Six months later, they welcomed
their daughter, brianna.

- Buzz was proud, 'cause
he had a daughter.

He was very happy at the time.

And all of a sudden,
few months later,

My son had been murdered.

- All of us were surprised.

Like, "how could
this happen to us?

"how could that have happened?"

(tense music)
(graphics whirring)

- [narrator] the day after
buzz clinton's murder,

The medical examiner
performs his autopsy.

- During the autopsy
of buzz clinton,

It was determined that
he was shot five times.

- Twice, which is what
I saw, in the chest,

Twice in the back, and once
in the back of the head.

- From the medical examiner,

We learned that based
on the trajectories,

It appeared there
was only one gunman,

And buzz was
initially approaching

The person who was
doing the shooting.

- It's likely what happened,
based on the wounds,

That someone must've
flagged him down in some way

To get him to pull over.

Buzz gets out, he starts
going towards the back

Of the vehicle, and that
person fires two rounds at him.

- After being shot twice, he
had turned to probably flee.

He got hit twice
more in the back,

And once in the
back of the head.

- [narrator] four
bullets are recovered

From buzz clinton's body.

Those, along with the two
bullets found at the scene,

Give police a vital clue.

- Clearly, it looked
like a six-shot revolver

Had been emptied into him.

- It appeared buzz
clinton was a target.

- He's executed right
there on the highway.

This person who
murdered buzz clinton

Wanted to make sure he was dead.

- [narrator] now that
the autopsy confirms

Buzz clinton's death
was a targeted attack,

Investigators interview
his family to learn

Who might have had
motive to kill him.

- They drive over to
the clinton household,

And they sit kim
down, buzz's wife.

- Kim was asked if she
might know who did this.

She had a couple of suspects.

There were people
who didn't like him,

Who hated him, but who was it?

(dramatic music)

A year prior to the murder,

They began a torrid love affair.

- He was not the
upstanding citizen

That he tried to portray.

- Their relationship was
centred around this family feud.

- She wanted him
out of the picture,

And he would do anything
for her, including murder.

- [narrator] less than
24 hours after the murder

Of buzz clinton,
investigators speak

With his devastated wife,
kim, hoping for a lead.

- Kim did share that buzz
had had issues over a loan

From a gentleman,
charlie snyder,

And who owned a
junkyard/car dealership.

- Buzz was into charlie snyder

For about 1,500 bucks,

And he hadn't been paying him.

- And in fact, kim says
buzz had recently received

A phone call from him
threatening physical harm to him

If he didn't get
his money back soon.

- Kim also said shawn
butterfield, one of
his best friends,

Who he'd had a rift
with, had accused him

Of stealing his wallet
with $100 in it.

- He was angry, thinking
buzz stole his wallet,

And I could see it leading to
a more serious confrontation.

- [narrator] kim clinton
gives investigators

Two potential leads, but buzz
clinton's parents suspect

Someone else might be involved.

- The police asked me,

"do you have any idea who
might have done this?"

I said I felt that there was
an involvement of kim's family.

I told the investigators
family feud started

Between buzz and the
in-laws over custody

And control of rebecca.

- The clintons tell
police this whole history

Behind this family feud between
the carpenters and clintons.

- The carpenters seemed like
a normal american family.

Richard, the father, had
retired from the navy

After 22 years of service,

And he started his own
successful landscaping business,

And his wife,
cynthia, was a nurse.

They had three children,
richard, beth, and kim.

- The carpenter children
were very different.

Kim was not terribly successful,

Whereas her sister beth
was practising law.

- Kim worked as a
clerk at a supermarket.

So in many ways, kim
was looked down upon.

Before kim met buzz,
she got pregnant,

And the father was really never
involved in rebecca's life.

- During that time, kim and her
daughter rebecca were living

With richard and
cynthia carpenter.

They were basically raising her.

- Kim would leave rebecca with
them for days, weeks on end,

And they didn't
know where she was,

So they think she's
an unfit mother.

- According to the
clintons, the feud began

When kim and buzz
became serious,

And wanted to create
a family with rebecca.

- My son and kim wanted
to take care of rebecca,

And take rebecca places.

- However, the carpenter
family believes

That kim is incapable of
taking care of rebecca.

- And they definitely
did not think

Buzz could be a
good father figure.

They did not like buzz.

- They mentioned the dancing.

They mentioned drinking,

And he doesn't bring
in a lot of money.

- It became very obvious
that they didn't want us

To have anything
to do with rebecca.

It was in the fall,
about 7:00 at night.

Rebecca was playing
with our children,

And the call came
from the mother.

The mother said, "if you
don't have rebecca home,

"we're gonna call the police."

I remember my wife asking, "who
has custody of this child?"

And kim said, "I do."

She said, "well, why does your
mother control the situation

"if you have custody?"

She said, "because my
mother is in control."

My son said to kim,
"it's your child.

"we're planning on
getting married,

"so let's move
forward as a family."

- [narrator] on
October 19th, 1992,

Having no way to stop kim
and buzz from taking rebecca,

The carpenters file for
emergency temporary custody,

Which a judge grants
based on their account

Of kim's history as a caregiver.

- The carpenters
initially did get

Guardianship of the child.

Then kim and buzz went to
court to get custody back.

- They go to family
court, they battle it out,

And kim and buzz win.

- My son's arguments
that rebecca belonged

With them was successful.

- The carpenters really didn't
have any kind of evidence

That was justified taking
rebecca away from her mother.

- After the courts
had issued custody

To kim and buzz of rebecca,

Mrs. Carpenter petitioned
the court with beth,

Kim's sister, for
shared custody.

- Kim's parents got
visitation rights,

So everybody
thought it would end

Once the custody issue was
settled, but it didn't end.

- The carpenters wanted
their granddaughter

Away from buzz clinton.

The sister, beth,
was an attorney,

And tried to help the
parents get custody,

But the court system
wasn't doing it,

And they were
becoming frustrated.

- Mrs. Carpenter
again petitioned the
court for custody,

And made several charges
which were not credible.

- They definitely implied

That my brother was
abusing rebecca.

It's really hard to hear the
accusations that were made,

Because that's not who he was.

(tense music)

- The carpenters were convinced

That he was abusing the child,

But there wasn't any
evidence of that.

- There was a lot of animosity
between the two families.

- One night, mr. Carpenter
dropped rebecca off

From visitation.

Buzz went over to talk to him,

And they got into
a verbal argument.

According to buzz, buzz
actually had been threatened

By mr. Carpenter that
he would kill him.

- I got a phone call a couple
months before buzz was killed.

Buzz felt very threatened
by kim's family.

He had just had an argument
with his father-in-law.

He said, "if something
happens to me, he killed me."

- The carpenters, it seemed
like they're just gonna continue

This grasping and
legal harassment.

So they researched it, buzz did,

And found that arizona did not
have grandparent right law.

- Buzz tells the carpenter
family, "I'm gonna take kim,

"I'm gonna take rebecca, and
we're gonna move to arizona."

- And the carpenters were afraid

They were never gonna see
their granddaughter again.

- What could be a better motive

Than a hatfields and
mccoys type of dispute

Going on between families
and someone gets murdered?

So immediately, richard
carpenter moves to the top

Of the suspect list.

- [narrator] after
investigators learn

Of a heated family feud
between buzz clinton

And his in-laws, they go to
the carpenters' residence

To question them
about his murder.

- We meet with richard
and cynthia carpenter.

Also present at that time
were beth, their daughter,

And her employer, haiman clein.

- Which at the time
seemed strange,

Because haiman clein
was a real estate lawyer

And banking lawyer.

- Beth and haiman said they
just wanted to be there

To be part of the interview.

- The carpenters verified
that there was a feud,

And that they were trying to get

Permanent custody of rebecca.

One of the things they
also mentioned was

That buzz had been talking
about going to arizona.

They really didn't
want that to happen.

Then they would
totally lose the child.

- Richard carpenter
and cynthia carpenter,

They agreed that they
didn't really like buzz,

But they really
downplayed the interaction

Between buzz and
richard carpenter.

They said they didn't think

That the granddaughter
should be with him,

But never that they
wanted him dead.

- The carpenters claim
that they had no idea

What might have happened to him.

- [narrator] after hearing
the carpenters' side

Of the story, investigators
push for proof

That richard carpenter
was not involved.

- Mr. Carpenter gave an
alibi that he was home

At the time of the murder,

And his wife backed
him up on that.

Richard carpenter showed
us the weapons that he had,

But none included a .38.

- It wasn't a strong alibi,

But between that
and the firearms,

They're pretty sure
that he's in the clear.

- A guy who looked
like a great suspect

Right away fizzles out.

But even with dick
carpenter eliminated,

There's other good
suspects all with motive.

- [narrator] investigators
move on from the feud

For the moment, and go
after their other leads.

First they look
into charlie snyder,

The man who kim claims
threatened to harm
buzz over money.

- Charlie snyder's business
was called blonders junkyard.

- Investigators go
to the junkyard to
visit charlie snyder,

And he's not there.

- They learned
through his employees

That in fact he was out of town,

But he had been around town
at the time of the murder.

- The timing was
a little strange.

That made him look
even more guilty.

- [narrator] a few days
later, police learn

That charlie snyder
is back in town.

They immediately go
to speak with him.

- Investigators sit down
with charlie snyder.

Charlie was distraught
when he heard

Buzz clinton was murdered.

- Charlie explained he was
out of town on a ski trip

When the police initially
tried to speak with him.

- And he's like, "look, I
said some things to him.

"I threatened him, sure,

"but I was more of
a mentor to buzz.

"I wanted buzz to
succeed in life."

- While he was
ticked off at buzz,

Charlie claimed that he
would never hurt him.

He considered him a
very close friend.

- Charlie had an alibi for
6:30 the evening of March 10th.

- He was at a
doctor's appointment

During the time that
buzz was murdered.

He didn't kill buzz
clinton, either.

- [narrator] investigators have
one more potential suspect,

Buzz clinton's former
friend, shawn butterfield.

- About a week, or two
prior to the murder,

Butterfield accused buzz
clinton of stealing his wallet

With $100 in it,
and buzz denied it.

- From the witness who
had discovered the body,

Police had a description
of a tall, lanky individual

Getting into the car.

- Charlie snyder, he's
not tall and lanky,

But buzz's friend
shawn butterfield

Does fit that description.

Detectives go over to
shawn butterfield's work.

He's working as a
clerk in a hotel,

And they say, "look, you
had a motive, you know?

"you alleged that buzz
stole your wallet."

- Shawn said, "yeah,
I was upset with buzz,

"because I thought
he stole my wallet,

"but I wouldn't
hurt him, though."

- Shawn said that his alibi
for the night of the murder was

That he was in fact
working at the hotel.

- And that was verified
that he was on the clock

At the time of the murder,

So he was eliminated
as a potential suspect.

- Once you run through
all your suspects,

You have to go
back to square one,

And try and dig out
another suspect.

- They interviewed everybody
within buzz and kim's circle.

- We're hoping to find
a lead that would put us

In the right direction of
who killed buzz clinton.

- The investigators, they
would call occasionally,

Keeping us informed that
things are happening,

Progress is being made.

I stuck to the theory that the
carpenters had been involved.

Kim was staying with us,

And it puts kim in a
very difficult situation.

As a daughter, of course,
you don't wanna believe

That your family
might be involved.

- The clintons
continued to insist

That the carpenters
were responsible,

And that the police
had to continue

To follow up with
that, and they did.

- Richard carpenter,
he consented

To have his bank
records examined

To see if there was
any unusual purchases,

Or payments to a gunman.

None was found.

Nothing substantial had come in

After a month and
a half, two months,

- We kind of hit a wall
with the investigation,

And then we got lucky.

We got a phone call.

(tense music)
(graphics whirring)

- [narrator] on may 25th, 1994,

More than two months after
buzz clinton's murder,

Police receive a tip from
a woman named cathy white.

- Cathy white says that she
wants to share some information

That she has regarding the
murder of buzz clinton.

She reveals that a friend of
her boyfriend, mark despres,

Was involved in a plan
to kill buzz clinton.

After speaking to cathy white,

Detectives did background
on mark despres.

- Mark despres has
a criminal history,

And is a registered informant

For the state police
narcotics squad.

- They know that mark
despres is a drug dealer.

He's not a low level guy,
he's not a high level guy,

But he's dealing
ounces of cocaine.

This guy's trouble.

He's been trouble
his whole life.

- He was a potential suspect,

But there wasn't a clear
connection between buzz clinton

And mark despres.

There just was none.

- [narrator] the next day,
police contact mark despres

And arrange a meeting.

- When mark despres came
in to talk to the police,

He was under the impression
that he was there

Just to talk about some
ci work regarding drugs.

- And then they asked him

What he knew about
buzz clinton's murder.

- Mark was kind of taken aback,

And says he wants
to call his lawyer.

- And then he says the
lawyer's name, haiman clein.

- Which was a name
that rang a big bell.

They recognised haiman clein

As the employer
of beth carpenter.

Clein was present during
the original interview

Of the carpenter
family at their home.

- [narrator] after being
unable to reach his lawyer,

Haiman clein, mark despres
agrees to speak with police

About their connection.

- Despres told the investigators

That he was clein's drug dealer,

That he would bring him
cocaine on a weekly basis.

- Haiman clein is a
real estate lawyer.

He's this guy in his 50s.

He's married, he's got four
kids, lives in a big house,

But according to mark despres,

He also is snorting
cocaine all day long.

- It became pretty apparent
that haiman clein was not

The upstanding citizen
that he tried to portray

In his law office.

- Haiman clein was
connected to the carpenters.

Bang, now, we got a connection.

- [narrator] two months
after buzz clinton's murder,

Police continue to
question mark despres.

- Cathy white calls
the police, and says,

"mark despres is involved
in buzz clinton's murder."

Mark despres comes in, and says,

"I wanna call my
lawyer, haiman clein."

Haiman clein was at
the carpenters' house

When they first
questioned dick carpenter

About buzz clinton's murder,

And what you have at the centre
of it is this family feud.

There's the connection.

- So it looked like the
murder was somehow related

To the feud between
buzz and the carpenters

Over custody of kim's
daughter, rebecca.

Maybe we cleared the
carpenters too quick.

- This is potentially
a murder for hire.

It's time to start a full
court press on despres

And see what's going on here.

We made it clear to him that

If he had been directly involved

That he was in serious trouble,

And that his best
deal was to cooperate.

The hope was that we
would be able to get him

To roll over and
to start talking.

- Hours go by, hours go by,

And finally, mark despres
says, "look, haiman clein,

"he's the one who hired me."

- And then eventually,
despres told the story

Of how he was hired by haiman
clein to kill buzz clinton.

- Several months
before the murder,

Haiman clein told despres he
had a potential job for him.

- He had met with haiman
clein at a christmas party

In haiman clein's office.

Haiman clein talked
to mark despres

About killing buzz clinton.

They negotiated a
price of $8,500,

And clein gave him
$1,500 as a down payment.

Between christmas
and March 10th,

Some planning was going on

As to how to best
accomplish this.

Despres said that he
scoped out buzz clinton,

And he followed him a few times,

But he could never get
him alone to kill him.

- [narrator] at about
6:30 p.M. On March 10th,

Mark despres sees an
opportunity to kill buzz clinton

On a desolate stretch of road.

- Mark despres told us he's
following on buzz clinton

On the highway at the
rocky neck connector.

Buzz didn't know who he was,

But mark flashes his headlights

To try and get the
attention of buzz

And have him pull
over, which he does,

At which point, buzz
clinton got out of the car.

- Buzz walked towards him.

Apparently, mark despres
got out of the car.

- As buzz was
walking toward him,

Mark took the gun out
and fired six times.

(suspenseful music)

- At that point, despres
says he saw lights coming

On the highway, and quickly
got back into the car,

And took off.

- He threw the
gun out of the car

Along the highway somewhere,

So it couldn't be identified.

- He went home, notified clein,

And for two months
there was nothing

Until cathy white
called the police

And told them she had
information about the murder.

- [narrator] mark despres
then gives detectives

A potentially crucial
piece of the conspiracy

To kill buzz clinton.

- Mark despres mentions
a meeting one night.

He's in haiman clein's office
and beth carpenter is there.

Haiman clien specifically
says to beth carpenter

That night before the murder,

"mark is gonna help
with that thing,"

And mark despres says,
"they were an item."

Haiman clein and beth carpenter,

They got an affair going on.

- It was possible that
beth was behind it,

And haiman was doing
what beth wanted.

- [narrator] with his
confession in hand,

Police arrest mark despres
for buzz clinton's murder

Investigators turned their
attention to haiman clein,

The man despres
claims hired him.

- Despres gave the
investigators information

That clein was
sending him checks.

Investigators got search
warrants to verify this.

- They subpoenaed his phone
records and his bank records.

The phone records definitely
tied clein into despres,

But more damning was
the bank records,

Because they matched the story

That the investigators
got from despres

Regarding money transfers.

- Now, they need
to go after haiman,

Sit him down, and question him.

- Through the records
that were obtained,

A warrant was issued
for haiman clein.

- But when the police
went to arrest him,

He was not at his office.

He was not at his home.

He was nowhere.

- Lo and behold,
haiman clein is gone.

- [narrator] with
haiman clein on the run,

Investigators
turned to his lover

And possible co-conspirator,

Buzz clinton's sister-in-law,
beth carpenter.

- They went to talk to beth,

And she was nowhere to be found.

- We became aware
shortly thereafter

That beth carpenter had
gone to great britain.

- Beth carpenter
left the country,

Went to work over in England
for a while as an attorney.

That made her look
even more guilty.

- They notified us that
mark despres was the one

Who did the shooting

And had been arrested,

And it's apparent
his co-conspirator

Haiman clein had
disappeared from the area,

And beth had
disappeared to England.

And so, we surmised,

But we didn't have
any information

That she was involved directly.

But that gave great
comfort to us,

Because we knew there
was headway being
made at this point.

- [narrator] police in
connecticut through her family

Are able to contact beth
carpenter in England.

- We had law enforcement
speak with her there,

And she's telling
us she doesn't have

Anything to do with this.

- Beth carpenter admits
that she had an affair

With haiman clein

, but otherwise she said,

"no, I had nothing
to do with this.

"if he did it, he
did it on his own."

- She says they broke up,

But haiman clein was
so obsessed with her,

He's still communicating with
her while he's on the run.

- He kept trying to call her,

So she offered to help us
apprehend haiman clein.

- [narrator] law
enforcement is sceptical

Of beth carpenter's claim
that she is not involved

In the plot to
kill buzz clinton,

But accept her offer to
help apprehend haiman clein.

- They had a
prearranged phone call.

He was gonna speak to her
from a payphone in california.

- They were able to get a
time and place in california,

Where haiman clein was gonna
be at a particular phone booth

To call beth.

The fugitive task
force in california

Was waiting at the phone booth.

- Beth makes that call,
and haiman picks up,

And he is arrested.

- [narrator] on
February 5th, 1996,

Nearly two years after
buzz clinton's murder,

Haiman clein is
apprehended in california,

And extradited
back to connecticut

On charges of
capital felony murder

And conspiracy to commit murder.

- They bring haiman in,

And they start to do
interviews with him.

- We made it clear to him that
we wanted his cooperation,

You know, we could
potentially take

The death penalty off the table.

We were convinced
that the carpenters,

Certainly beth
carpenter, were involved,

But he immediately shut up,

Wasn't gonna tell
anybody anything.

He wanted to go
forward with this case.

- [narrator] haiman
clein pleads not guilty,

But after a year and a
half of trial preparation

On June 12th, 1997,

He has a change of heart.

- We ended up starting a trial.

We spent almost a
month picking jurors.

- He learned that
despres had made a deal,

So he figured that
it would be best

For him to make a deal, too.

- He decides to
talk, and he says,

"beth carpenter was
the mastermind behind
this whole thing."

- He told of her involvement,

And how she had persuaded
him to hire someone

To kill her brother-in-law,
buzz clinton.

- The motive for haiman
was to keep beth happy.

- Haiman clein admits he was
infatuated with beth carpenter,

And would do anything for
her, including murder.

About a year prior
to the murder,

They began a torrid love affair.

- Their relationship was
centred around this family feud.

This whole plan to
murder buzz clinton

Is really hatched in bed.

- Clein said, "she said
that buzz was a bad guy."

"he was sexually
assaulting little rebecca."

- Buzz denied it,
and kim denied it.

- It's all secondhand stuff
that beth was telling him,

And we were not able to find
any signs of abuse of any kind.

- She wanted him
out of the picture.

The only way that she could
think of to get rid of him

Is to murder him.

She kept pleading and
pleading with haiman to help.

- When beth carpenter heard
buzz was moving to arizona,

That was the last straw.

- Ultimately, haiman,
he agreed to help.

- Haiman tried to justify
it in his own mind

By saying he was
protecting this child.

- When the investigators got
the confession from clein,

They were able to
take that information

Along with what they
got from despres,

And get a warrant
for beth carpenter.

- [narrator] on
August 26th, 1997,

A warrant is issued
for beth carpenter

On a capital felony conspiracy
to commit murder charge.

If convicted, she could
face the death penalty.

- Law enforcement in
connecticut is communicating

With scotland yard.

They know where beth is.

They're gonna bring her in.

- We thought she was
in great britain,

But they went to get
her in great britain,

And found out that she
had moved to ireland.

- Ireland was notified
by the united states

About the warrant.

The authorities
there picked her up.

- Beth carpenter is
in custody in ireland,

But there's a problem.

Ireland will not
extradite someone facing
the death penalty.

- [narrator] while in
custody in ireland,

Beth carpenter speaks
to authorities,

And continues to
claim her innocence.

- Beth carpenter is in ireland,

And ireland will not
extradite someone

Facing the death penalty.

So now they gotta cut a
deal with beth carpenter

To get her back.

- Her story was, "I had
nothing to do with this.

"clein was infatuated with me,

"and did it to prove
his love for me."

- If she thought that haiman
clein did this on his own,

Then when buzz
clinton was murdered

Why didn't she step forward?

She said nothing.

Beth never came forward.

- Beth was held in
a jail in ireland

Pending our attempted
extradition.

- They went back and
forth for a while,

And eventually the prosecutor
in connecticut agreed

To not go after
the death penalty.

That took a couple
of years, actually,

But ultimately, beth carpenter

Was brought back to
the united states.

- [narrator] in June of 1999,

More than five years after
buzz clinton's murder,

Beth carpenter is extradited
back to connecticut,

Where she pleads not
guilty to the charges.

- When beth was
finally extradited,

We were ecstatic over the fact

That she's coming
back to face charges.

The only question we had
was with the parents.

If they had knowledge
of the entire plot,

Then I feel they should
have been charged.

- There was never any
evidence that richard,

Or cynthia carpenter
knew about this,

Or were involved in the
plan to kill buzz clinton.

- The carpenter side of this,

They all of course
think beth is innocent,

And that haiman clein
did this on his own.

- It was a full eight years
after the murder in 2002

Before they started the
trial of beth carpenter.

- The prosecution believes
beth carpenter masterminded

This whole thing, and
they're gonna set up the feud

Between the families.

They're gonna bring in
mark despres' statements

That beth carpenter
was in the room

When we talked
about this murder,

And then they're gonna
finally bring in haiman clein.

- Haiman clein came across
as a strong witness.

- And then beth
carpenter decides

To testify in her own defence.

- We had been forewarned
by the prosecution

That this was a 50/50 type case.

- It was all based on
accusations by despres,

Drug dealer, and clein,
who both got a deal,

And the only reason
they got a deal was

Because they turned on beth.

It was he said, she said.

- She could walk, and
be found not guilty.

- [narrator] on
April 12th, 2002,

Beth carpenter's fate is put
into the hands of the jury.

- The jury saw all the evidence

And found beth carpenter guilty

Of first-degree murder,
capital felony murder.

- Having waived
the death penalty,

The only sentence available
for beth carpenter was

Life without the
possibility of parole.

That's the sentence
that she received.

Haiman clein, who
had taken a plea,

Was sentenced to
35 years in prison.

Mark despres was sentenced
to 45 years in prison.

- Once the jury had come to
the conclusion of guilty,

There was a relief,

I think a bit of joy,
maybe, within our family.

- We were so happy that
justice was served,

That she was going to
face a severe penalty

For my brother's murder.

- Every murder is
senseless, obviously,

But here we have a
case where buzz clinton

And kim clinton did
the right thing.

They took the case of rebecca
to court, and they won.

It should've ended there,
but it didn't end there.

Beth carpenter decided she
was gonna do whatever it took

To get that child,

And in this case
it meant murder.

- One of the great ironies
in this whole case is that

After all this
fighting and violence,

Kim and rebecca ended up

In the care of the
carpenter family.

- A few months after the
murder, kim decided to move out

With brianna and rebecca, and
not really be with our family,

And that was really hard.

But I still talk to rebecca.

You know, brianna,
we make sure that,

You know, we stay connected,
and we're one family.

(light piano music)

- I still hold an
awful lot of anger

Over why it was
committed, the murder,

The fact that I was unable
to be a protector of my son.

And so, that lives, you know,
in my heart as a father.

As the emotion right now
is, you relive, and...

- Buzz lived 28 long years.

I think he would want to
be remembered as someone

Who had a great heart
and a great soul,

And he would've done anything
for his family at the time.