Workshop Jim News Today

You seen one, you seen both of them. they went everywhere together. >> and jean had no financial motive. jims life insurance amounted to less than $40,000. but local prosecutors were convinced this was an open-and-shut case. >> the theory was she saw the opportunity to get rid of him and poured him and lit it, and then made it seem or tried to tell everyone that it was an accident. the defense asked john lentini, a nationally known fire investigator, for his opinion. >> with respect to the quali...

The year. but in january of 2003, there was an unusual cold snap with temperatures below freezing. . citrus growers used kerosene heaters to save their orange crop. and jean and jim long used a kerosene heater in the workshop of their home so the pipes wouldnt freeze. but something went terribly wrong. when firemen arrived, the house was totally ablaze. jean long had escaped the fire, but her husband, jim, was trapped inside. >> my father-in-law came to the door to wake us. he said that -- he sa...

Around jims body, the type of patterns which result from the use of an accelerant. >> to him, it suggested that james long had been lying on the floor and gasoline or an accelerant had been poured over him intentionally, and he had been set afire. >> and jims autopsy revealed even more evidence. that he was unconscious before the fire started.

Circumstantial case. felt like we had eliminated any other reasonable hypothesis for this death. >> the day after her husbands funeral, jean long was charged with arson and murder. jean told her lawyers there was an explosion in that workshop and that there must be evidence in the ashes to prove it. where you also find her. ♪ a romantic fumble at this romantic chateau ... leads to these fine humans. who you take to this eco-lodge ... to get seriously close to nature. then you check in with her...

In this situation, a suspect will often say something incriminating. [ sobbing ] >> in this case, she said something else. [ sobbing ] >> oh, god, help me. help me to explain to him. you know i didnt do it. >> what major overbey had hoped to happen, i think, worked against him. i think he was in hopes that she was going to say something to hurt herself -- incriminate herself. and what she did, she reached out to god and started begging for help to give her the strength to endure that hostile int...

>> in a panic, jean said she ran from the workshop into their home to call the fire department. at the fire scene, investigators found the remnants of the kerosene heater. but the plastic fuel can was found outside the workshop door in perfect condition, inconsistent with jeans story. and major mike overbey believed that the position of jims body was inconsistent with most fire victims. >> it appeared his legs were outstretched and his arms were above his head. it appeared to me the way someone ...

Kerosene heater with gasoline, causing the explosion. jean frantically tried to put it out, and when she couldnt, she ran to call for help. at some point, jim struck his head on the workbench, which fractured his skull and caused his death. the defense offered no explanation for why jean locked the door on her way out of the house, except that it was force of habit, something she did every time she left the house. jean long, herself, took the stand in her own defense. >> she came across as compl...

Jim was angry with his wife for spending so much time in kansas each year visiting relatives. there were also rumors that jim may have been planning to leave jean. major overbey believes on the night of the fire, the couple may have been discussing a divorce, which prompted an argument. >> its our theory that theres a domestic situation between mr. long and his wife. i believe that the abrasion on her chin came from him possibly slapping her. and his skull fractures, i believe, was a result of h...

Jean longs family hired defense attorneys wade crumbly and barbara moon for what they feared would be a long, difficult trial. barbara moon met with jean in the county jail. >> she was a very broken woman. sort of, just, twiddling her hands and shaking unbelievably. i thought she was very genuine, and i believed in her. its just that simple. >> a week later, jeans church managed to raise the money for her bail. jeans family insisted that her marriage to jim was a happy one. jims daughter from a ...

Was laying on his back with his arms stretched over his head and his legs straight out, that he had been placed there. >> but jean had always contended that while her husband was on fire, he was flailing about. was it possible that jim struck his head on the metal table nearby causing the fractured skull and knocking him unconscious? lentini believes the charge of arson and murder had been a rush to judgment and that the kerosene heater was to blame. >> basically, what you do is you fill this up...