Okay, fine. I want him brought down.. Its difficult to go out in public without thinking someone is saying, Theres the girl who killed her boyfriend., Right at that moment, a waiter walked up, clearly taken with her, and asked if she was ready to order. Edit. He says he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that he got the goods on Lordand she not only avoided prosecution, she made a lot of money. When she flew back to Dallas, she went straight to Shearins office. When Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. Thompson and Lundberg started talking. Something is not right.. She said Burnside had been drinking heavily, and at some point, in the midst of the fight, he had walked into the kitchen and shot himself. When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home four years ago, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend, Olivia Lord, had pulled the trigger. As for Burnsides relationship with Lord, Jaffe said, It was one of those old-school-type things. Lord spent the next four days at her mothers home in the Dallas suburbs, lying in bed, taking sleeping pills. The trial finally began in a federal courtroom in downtown Dallas this past Januarynearly four years after the shooting. Were missing something, he said to her. Her fight for justice here began around 3 years ago and ended with last weeks jury verdict. Play Trailer 0:21. Do I feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt because I may have provoked something? Lord spent 9 days in jail before a Dallas Grand Jury refused to indict her for the crime. When Shearin called Lord with the news, she thanked him for all he had done for her, but then she said something else. And now that he had a witness who was going to provide bombshell testimony about what had really happened that night, he was ready to go to trial. Or maybe, as Thompson theorized, Lord had missed some of the residue on her hand and her shirt when she cleaned herself up after pulling the trigger. He was so compelling in front of the cameracajoling witnesses to open up and then lashing out at a suspectthat he looked like a television actor playing a detective. In his opinion, it was perfectly plausible that in the heat of the argument with Burnside, she had taken his pistol, slipped up behind him, and pulled the trigger. A couple of clerks grinned at him. At the least, she said, she wanted to make sure his actions were publicly documented so that he could never do to someone else what he had done to her. Dressed in one of his dark suits, Thompson strode toward his seat. Chasing a trail of clues, Thompson and the Dallas homicide team are always one step behind their suspect. I had the impression that she told me that [Burnside] had nothing to do with it and she did it. But he refused to say, like he had said on his porch, that he had definitely heard Lord confess to the shooting. The lawsuit claimed that Thompson had violated Lords civil rights by engaging in malicious prosecutionin particular, that he had intentionally misrepresented the facts about Burnsides shooting and omitted significant exculpatory information that would have proved Lord innocent of any wrongdoing. You [expletive] shot him! But, Jaffe added, Burnside didnt wave the gun around. Or maybe the two had struggled for the gun before it went off, leaving residue on both of them. I know verbally from him that he owes the government a lot of taxes, Lord replied. Maybe, Jaffe speculated, when Burnside and Lord had started arguing, he had declared that he was never going to marry her, which sent Lord into a tailspin and led her to grab the gun. No, said Lord. Thompson wanted to find out if Lord, under such heated questioning, would crack. He was confident and charming, she said. The case was then sent to the Internal Affairs division for an administrative review. If the review, which is ongoing as of press time, finds that Thompson violated departmental policies, he could be fired, suspended, or demoted. Or, asked Shearin, did Thompson say that Burnside was stressed about owing money to the IRS? A uniformed officer walked over and told Thompson that the house belonged to a man named Michael Burnside, age thirty. Shearin called a friend in the homicide unit to ask about Thompson, whom he had never met. A retired Dallas police officer acting as an expert witness for Lord told the jury there was no evidence that Lord shot Burnside. He often said that victimology was the most overlooked part of a homicide investigation even though it could help explain whether a suspect was guilty or innocent. After the service, she told Burnsides friends that she hadnt returned any of their calls because she had been overwhelmed with grief. He was simply doing his job, he tells his friends, hunting for answers about a mysterious death. In this trial, Lord was definitely the underdog. He was the life of the party.. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. All prosecutors know that almost every murder case contains inconsistent and sometimes contradictory evidence. Her father, who lived in Californiahe and Lords mother had divorced when she was a childflew in to be with her. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Lord claimed that Burnside, who was intoxicated, shot himself.Thompson rejected the theory that Burnside committed suicide and investigated the death as murder. Between sobs, Lord begged to be taken to Parkland to be with her boyfriend. She added a detail about their relationship that she hadnt told Thompson, saying that she had been disappointed that Burnside hadnt proposed to her the previous Christmas. Had she touched her boyfriends gun? Facebook gives people the power. After going through perfunctory questions about what happened that night, Thompsons voice boomed without warning. Maybe he got dramatic and put the gun to his own head and said to Olivia, To hell with all this, Im just going to end it now. And then, accidentally, he pulled the trigger. There hasnt been one bit of evidence in this case that has caused you to pause in your opinion that she murdered Michael?. Believe me, she adored Michael with all of her heart. Thompson has still destroyed my life and hes still out there working cases. These laws are especially important when those being questioned are already emotionally reeling from the events themselves like Ms. Lord who first dealt with the discovery of her boyfriends body, calling 911 for help, and that loss then to face questioning by police while vulnerable and upset like Lords being questioned by Thompson as if she had committed a crime for several hours. According to Lord, he became obnoxious and sarcastic, which often happened when he drank. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? On May 11, 2011, in the case of Texas v. Lord, the grand jury returned a no bill. Thompson asked if there was any chance that Jaffe had been carrying on a secret relationship with Lord. He allowed a few seconds to pass. He is a Democrat representing District 96 in the Tennessee House of Representatives . Dwayne Thompson Associate (Antitrust, Competition and Trade) at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Dwayne Thompson and Kim Sanders are both grizzled veterans of the Dallas police homicide unit. Lundberg then brought up the trajectory of the bullet through Burnsides brain. Lord shook her head. He eventually learned about my arrest, and he was so bothered by what he read that he never called me again. Based on what we see, it looks like you got upset and shot him. As Tatia Wilson, one of the City of Dallas attorneys representing Thompson, explained to the jury in her opening statement, Sometimes homicide detectives may make mistakes in their evaluation of the evidence. Thompson just happened to be standing at the detectives desk, and he was more than happy to talk to Shearin. I wasnt going to leave him., She then told me something she had not mentioned before. Tittle next called to the stand a retired Dallas homicide detective named Kim Sanders, who said that Thompsons interrogation of Lord was outlandish and that he left out key evidence in his arrest warrant. Im a person who just lost her boyfriend, Lord wailed. Thompson thanked John and told him he would be back in touch. Olivia kept saying, I wasnt going to leave him. Tittle then asked about Rastegar. He also had the medical examiner testify about what Thompson supposedly told him about the blood spatter on Lords clothes. Thats what you did! he told a stunned and confused Lord, who protested her innocence. Jaffe and Lord were taken to the station, and Thompson headed inside Burnsides home. Then Tittle fired back. Shearin made his own presentation, about 25 minutes in length, laying out the case for his clients innocence. Thompson told Rastegar to go to the station and make an official recorded statement, which Thompson later used to obtain an arrest warrant charging Lord with murder. Or maybe in the midst of the argument, Burnside had pulled the Beretta out of the kitchen drawer for a second time, handed it to Lord, and said, in an effort to be dramatic, If you hate me so much, then just shoot me. And she did. He walked into the kitchen and nodded at Dale Lundberg, a detective who was on call that night to work as Thompsons backup. And on this morning, Thompson was especially interested in the victimology of Burnside. But I dont know how to do it. In a typical suicide, he said, when someone shoots himself in the temple, he points the gun straight at his head and the bullet travels through the brain and exits in a line roughly parallel to the floor. However, Lord wasnt done with the situation and after she was released, she filed her civil lawsuit for damages. Burnsides parents say that they still cannot believe that their son took his own life. The towels had been on the floor to soak up the water that had spilled when the dishwasher valve broke. "The goal is to arrive at the truth." But Lord wanted her arrest to be permanently removed from her record, which would require her to be no-billed by a grand jury, a finding in which the jurors refuse to indict a suspect, primarily for a lack of evidence. According to news reports and witness testimony of what happened in that interrogation room, Thompson suddenly became aggressive in his questioning, yelling accusations at a weeping Lord, things like You shot him! She wanted to know why they were there. Im willing to accept that it might have been an accident. Although Thompson would not consent to my request for an interview, people who have talked to him say he feels that he has done nothing wrong. She wanted to not only vindicate herself but also make sure the public knew just what Thompson had done to her. Thompson said he had heard that Burnside was making money. Tittle then had the jurors watch Thompsons interview with Lord and Lundbergs interview with Rastegar. Lord told her friends and family that Burnside definitely liked to have a good time. In truth, she had called 911 seconds after she had tried to reach Jaffe. Hephzibah Olivia Lord, distraught and sobbing, sat across from Detective Dwayne A. Thompson in the Dallas Police Departments interview room several hours after her boyfriend had died from a gunshot wound to the head. I cant say unequivocally whether the young woman did or didnt do the shooting because I wasnt there., At the same time, Mitchell and other prosecutors in the DAs office were not convinced Thompson had committed any serious wrongdoing. On the floor was a pool of blood along with bloody towels. After telling Lord and Jaffe that he was sorry for their loss, Thompson asked them to sign releases agreeing to gunshot residue testsroutine procedure, he assured them. The way Lord had described it, she and Burnside were deeply in love, and they had been talking about marriage. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a settlement of more than $1 million to a . I hope you die in jail and burn in hell!. The lawyer was reluctant to open the door. The jury determined Friday that Dallas homicide Detective Dwayne Thompson showed a reckless disregard for the civil rights of 36-year-old Hephzibah Olivia Lord. Who do you think you are? Whats more, she didnt want him to go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. But those mistakes do not amount to malice., Tittle, however, wasted no time going on the attack, telling the jury in his opening statement, There is not and was not a shred of credible evidence to suggest that Olivia Lord had anything to do with Michaels death. "It was a good experience," Thompson says, "It kind of launched me into police work." I cant say any more, but its insane.. If he had wanted to go after that girl, he could have made stuff up, trumped up reports, and hidden the Rastegar tape. The Dallas Police Department is featured in a national reality TV show on the A&E network called The First 48, (maybe youve seen it if not, watch episodes here) and the detective who interrogated Hephzibah Olivia Lord in a manner that justified Lords civil suit for damages was Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson, who has been seen frequently on this A&E show. DALLAS Veteran Dallas police homicide detective Dwayne Thompson is on desk duty pending an internal investigation.Source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/W. And Im a person who thinks your behavior tonight doesnt add up. He pointed his finger at her. If the detectives thought they had noticed the smell of chemicals on her, it must have come from the paint thinner and the floor stripper that she and Burnside had been using that day. But she maintained her innocence, claiming that he committed suicide. When he finished, he left a packet of evidence that hed compiled for the grand jurors to peruse, including the results of two polygraphs that concluded that Lord had not shown deception when she said she had not shot Burnside. Then she looked at Thompson. She works at a clothing shop, making $14 an hour, far less than what she was earning when she was in the mortgage business. Look at it! Although she had her own apartment, she was planning to move in with him as soon as he finished remodeling the house. Ive never seen anything like it, Sanders said. Thompson stormed out of the room and asked Lundberg to see what he could get out of Lord. Your email address will not be published. The idea that she would put a gun to his head and pull the trigger is just unfathomable.. As the interview continued, however, Rastegar said that he wasnt certain what he had heard. Testimony continues Friday, during which Lord may take the witness stand. I went into the kitchen and he was on the floor and there was blood. Thompson, a 21-year veteran of the Police Department, has been a homicide detective since 2006. Detective Dwayne Thompson quietly retired from Dallas PD. Yes, the video of him interviewing her is pretty rough, and it looks like he comes across as a bully. Toward the end of the year, he finally saw the video recording of Rastegars interview at police headquarters. Will detectives be able to catch the killers before they strike again? Kim Sanders, a more than 30-year veteran of the department who served as a homicide detective, said the interview amounted to intimidation. Thompson studied Lord and Jaffe for a moment, then walked over to them. She claimed that Thompson show a reckless disregard for her rights in having Plaintiff arrested in 2010 for the shooting death of her boyfriend, Mcihael Brunside. On May 14, five days after the shooting, Lord finally left her mothers house to attend Burnsides funeral with her family and friends. Why did you let my son bleed to death on his own kitchen floor? I had to cover my mouth I was so appalled, Judy Durbin, an accountant who was the foreman of the jury, would later recall. At the end of the interrogation, he had discarded her like trash.. You realize, dont you, that if I didnt have money from my family to fight back, I could have been wrongfully convicted, fighting this from prison. Who cares? She also said that when he got angry, he could be a little scary and that he threw stuff in the house. She would usually ignore him when he got into one of his moods, but this time it had only made him angrier. By the first of June, hed put aside Lords file to work on his other cases. We loved our life together.. Seriously, does anyone believe this story that Olivia tells about being in the bathroom and hearing something that sounded like glass breaking in the kitchen? There were too many unanswered questions, he said. Burnside had been involved in a couple of accidents. She had always insisted that she had not fled from the police. But Detective Dwayne Thompson testified Tuesday that nothing he has heard since his civil trial began last week has changed his opinion that Lord intentionally killed Burnside. Physical evidence can be more baffling than conclusive. Case Style: Hephzibah Olivia Lord v. Dwayne Thompson, Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas County), Defendant's Attorney: James Carroll Butt, J.G. Thompson left the room, walked down the hall, and opened the door to another interview room. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. Basically she said, I know the kind of stuff that goes on in Vegas, Jaffe told Thompson. Nor did Burnsides parents invite her to the reception. You shot him!, Olivia, youre not telling me the truth., Youre arguing about a goddamn birthday party, and he says, Im so upset about the goddamn birthday party that Im going to kill myself? Thompson said, his voice growing louder. 4. Prosecutors are also aware that detectives can develop a kind of tunnel vision about a case. Thompson misrepresented any facts or falsified any government documents. They also declared that there was no evidence that Det. John, who had already been informed by Jaffe about the incident, could barely maintain his composure. The only thing I can tell you that might make any sense to anybody is that when hes drunk, hes very irrational, she said. Individuals have a right to counsel when they are being questioned, this is part of the Miranda warning. But Lord insisted he had a good heart. Thompson and Lundberg drove to Rastegars house. Then U.S. district judge Barbara Lynn gaveled the court to order. Thompson stared at a copy of Burnsides drivers license. Alternative . Dwayne Thompson (born October 6, 1950) is an American politician. Police questioned Lord at the police station and then released her. Thompson also had not told the Burnsides that he had misread a crucial piece of evidence. Scattered around the floor were a few bottles of household cleaning products. Will detectives be able to catch the killers before they strike again? By the end of the interview, Thompson had returned from his lecture and walked into the room. He told Lundberg that he wasnt sure this was a suicide. She explained that after she had found Burnside, her calls to 911 kept getting dropped due to a weak signal on her cellphone. Trailer 0:21. 1983 claiming that she was wrongfully arrested for a killing that she did not commit, which landed her in jail for nine days. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. Burnside died from a gun shot wound from a 9 mm Beretta handgun. Shearin was outraged. Its so ridiculous. I wondered about the story Jaffe had told Thompson about finding her in the front yard, desperately saying, I wasnt going to leave him. But, he added, his friend wasnt the type to get married at any point.. And then she burst into tears. Lord could hardly look at him. But Love also acknowledges that he is bewildered at the idea of Burnside shooting himself. Of course not, she said. I mean, she got no-billed. Stars Heaven Bellinger Linda Carden Sheila Cooks See production, box office & company info Watch on A&E Why the bottles of cleaning products and the bloody towels? In his lectures, he often told other officers that to find out why a killing had taken place, it was as important to study the life of the victimvictimology, he called itas it was to study the behavior of the criminal. 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