Transcripts For WRC Dateline NBC 20160523

Wife, who on earth would want them dead . It doesnt make sense. They were loved by everyone. Everyone maybe but their own daughter who admitted to a bitter simmering dispute. Its been a lifelong family feud. She wanted her property back. Evidence pointed to her boyfriend as an accomplice. He had blood on his shoe. He was there. Or was he . No hair or fingerprint or dna . A family now gripped by suspicion. I had a lot of people in my ear saying she did it. Would the terrible truth rip them apart. This could not be happening. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Here is dennis murphy. The old barn is a shambles and productive, gone to seed. The farmhouse, empty. Time was the farmland in the county was some of South Carolinas finest. Bambi bennetts granddad owned a big spread and created a legacy for the generations to come. That barn used to be tobacco barn and my granddaddy built that. Is tobacco property . Uhhuh. He did farming and tobacco. Bambis roots here are as deep as the old oak tree draped in spanish moss that still stands tall in the front yard. They say land is worth dying for because its the only thing that la lasts. Truer words might never have been spoken. In this case, a beautiful piece of land turned out to be nothing but trouble. This family was ripped apart w parpa act of cruel unspeakable violence. Bambi, her given name, was a fun, feisty good old girl, country through and through. I was at my grandparents a lot growing up. We gardened, we had a big yard, huge yard. Youre a country girl . Uhhuh. But shed endured her share of heartache at a tender age. Her parents divorced when she was just 6. Mom remarried and a few years later came that terrible day shell never forget. My daddy and my granddaddy passed away on the same day. I was 12 years old. All of a sudden you lost the two important men in your life . Uhhuh. It was a bewildering and tragic day. There was so much sudden loss to absorb, young bambi not yet a teenager, paid no mind to her grandfather and it turned outside shed been left the entire homestead, all 240 acres of it, to be held in trust until she turned 18. Not long after bambi inherited the farm, her stepfather, charlie, moved the family onto the property, her property. Most everybody called him big charlie. Bambi called him daddy. Daddy loved hunting and fishing. He always had fish fries and oyster roeast, always people at the barn. You called your stepfather daddy . Uhhuh. Easily do that . I always called him daddy. Big charlie was a decon at chaurch and started a Small Business selling grass class, t converting the barn into a shop and her mom worked as a secretary at the schools. They were a happy respected couple, salt of the earth. She was the bambis cousins jessica and amy loved diane. If your car literally stopped in front of their house or brkek down, she would make sure you had a meal and while she was doing that, big charlie was f fixing the car. Good mom . Fabulous mom. Outstanding. Her biggest thing was she wanted to make sure her kids were protected and their hearts were protected. And her daughter, bambi, would need a lot of protecting. The girl was growing up in a rush, married to her High School Sweetheart and divorced after a few months. By the time she was just 24 years old she had another failed marriage and was struggling as a single mom, trying to raise two boy, cody and nathanathan. That had to be tough to keep your household going . Yes. Things went from bad to worse. Bambi started popping painkillers. The old story, huh . Yes. Gobbled them down when you could get them. Feel. Bambi was a single mom, ho hooked on pills and sitting on a piece of land worth a small fortune. Diane decided it was time to intervene before another whirlwind husband got half the property. Momma said if you put it in my name it will be protected. So she signed this deed to her property over to her mom and then bambi signed over her heart, sending cody and nathan to be raised by their grandparents. She calls it her lowest point. I didnt want to do it but i knew it was the right thing. She wanted to take care of them. She loved those children. It was a crushing loss, no question. But bambi agreed at the time the boys were better off. They loved diane and charlie. They were very loving, a lot of outdoor stuff. They spoiled us to death. Nathan, how about you . Theyre the most loving individuals ive ever met in my life. My grandma is the woman and everybody says so. With the boys living at their grandparents, bambi tried to get her own life back on track. Thats when she met rick, a new hire at charlies Glass Company. There was an instant attraction. Ive always liked the bad boy image, i guess. He had the go tee and shaved head. I dont know, we had a good time together. Was it a serious relationship . Yes, it was. Rick was serious, too, he confronted bambi about her demons. I told her if she wanted to be in a relationship, she had to do something about the pills. By the spring of 2005, bambi felt she had turned the corner. She and rick found a home of their own in myrtle beach. After a long struggle, she was ready to be a mom to her boys again. I was getting on my feet and i wanted cody and nathan there with us. Grandparents let the boys move in with bambi and rick. No sooner had they moved, diane was making the case to get them back. Mama was concerned. Did she want to hold onto the bo boys . She said she would like for them to continue to stay with her. Boyfriend, rick, thought bambi couldnt catch a break with her family. Everybody pretty much treated bambi like crap. It stemmed from issues that diane, charlie and bambi had. Those issues were simmering into an angry family drama. Then, just a few weeks after the boys were turned over, it happened. It was april 12th, a tuesday morning, bambi called her mom, no answer. Big charlie was late for work. One of his barn employees went up to the house to look for him. Moments later, he called 911. 911. Shes laying on the floor and theres blood everywhere. Blood everywhere . Yes, maam. Inside, an appalling sight. Big charlie and diane were dead. The Old Farmhouse they loved so well was now a crime scene. Charlie and diane parker lying dead in their own home, when we come back, the investigation begins. At a grizzly crime scene, some small stray drops of blood might just provide a huge clue. It appeared someone involved in the crime was a bleeder. So thats great evidence. It is if you can match it up. Ugh, this pimples gonna last forever. Oh come on. Clearasil ultra works fast to begin visibly clearing up skin in as little as 12 hours. And acne wont last forever. Just like your mom, wont walk in on you forever. Stephen Stephen Stephen Stephen Stephen you see what im saying. Acne wont last. But for now, lets be clear. Clearasil works fast. And discover clearasil 5in1. And every day you promise toor protect them. Love. Off is here to help with proven protection against mosquitoes. Trust our family to protect yours. Sc johnson, a Family Company p. That, you haveit, wait yoto rinse it first like. Thats baked on alfredo. Bakedon . Its never gonna work. Dish issues . Cascade platinum. Powers. Through. Your toughest stuckon food. So let your dishwasher be the dishwasher. See . Told you it would work. Cascade. Sir, this alien life form at an alarming rate. Growing fast, you say . We cant contain it any long. Oh you know, that reminds me of how geicos been the fastestgrowing auto insurer for over 10 years straight. Over ten years . Mhm, geicos the company your friends and neighbors trust. And deservedly so. Expect great savings and a whole lot more. New pantene expert gives you the most beautiful hair ever, you wanna see something intense . With our strongest prov formula ever. Sc johnson hey spray n wash is back. Ws . And even better. Its powerful formula removes everyday stains the first time. Which is bad news for stains, and good news for you. Spray n wash. Back n better. Hurry up hurry up give me a minute. The horror described inside the farmhouse confused the caller and 911 operator. What happened to charlie and diane was all too clear. She was found lying next to her bed, big charlie sprawled on the bathroom floor. Each had been shot multiple times, both by then dead for hours. The county she, firiff phonel was ringing and he rushed to the scene to investigate. Charlie and diane were his best friends. They werent just mine, they were everybodys friends. What we remember is how good they were, how kind they were and what good people they were. Down at her house in myrtle scene, bambi was getting ready to go antiquing with her mom. She called her cell. One of charlies Glass Company employees answered. Said, can i speak to my mama, please. He said, bambi, your momma and daddy is dead. Just like that. Yes. I said, what . He said, somebody broke in here and killed them and shot them. I just dropped the phone. And started crying. When bambi arrived at the house, yellow caution tape blocked her way. Police were everywhere. My mom was like freaking out. Rick tried to comfort bambi. Young cody turned to him, too. And then i remember rick, he was near me, i was crying on his shoulder. And everybody was kind of it was a madhouse. Those moments it seemed the whole county had gone mad. The murders of diane and charlie came hard on the suspect, a man all over the news named steven stanco was at large. They were looking for steven s stanco when charlie and diane were discovered. Vivian was their neighbor and runs a flower shop nearby. Tell me about the fear, was this something you could feel in the air . You could feel it in the air. I was at the flower shop. Probably not too thrilled to get in your car. I didnt want to go home. It was pretty bad that day. I was looking for an opportunity to get oriented to the crime scene. The man responsible for making sense of the crime scene was prosecutor fran humphries, then deputy chief solicitor for the county. Had the house been tossed, rifled . It had. This appeared to be a Home Invasion burglary. First take . Home invasion. It was a gruesome crime charlies blood. There was blood spatter in the bedroom where diane laid. Several feet from diane there were notably a few small dropl t droplets. It appeared someone involved in this crime, not the criticism, was a bleeder. Why couldnt that be from one of your two victims . It was apparent big charlie never left the area of the bathroom and it was apparent diane died where she lay. So it looks like your shooter, your intruder is bleeding. Is bleeding. Thats great evidence. It is if you can match it up. While crime scene techs processed the house, investigators started taking stateme statements. Big charlie and diane had a large family and knew a lot of people. We talked with everybody. The list of people that we talked to is exhaustive. A parade of friends, employees and family was brought down to headquarters for interviews including bambi and her boyfriend, rick. They did gunshot residue t t tests on all of uhhuh. They had me remove my shirt with my pant legs up. They took my shoe, took pictures of my shoes, tops, bottoms. Both bambi and rick told police they had spent the night at home, never left. With the interviews complete, police drove rick and bambi back to the farmhouse. Everyone was gone. Bambi says she realized she had left her purse with her phone and car keys in the detectives cruiser. She decided shed take her mothers vehicle to get home. We didnt have any way to get in touch with nobody, didnt have anything. I told rick, see if you can find mamas purse or cell phone. So he went in the house. Police had released the crime scene but it still looked like one. Detectives told the family they would have to clean it up. So when rick says he went in to fetch dianes car key, he found himself tiptoei ining through a bloody mess. What were you seeing. All the horrible things i had ever seen. Rick approached the bathroom where charlie had been killed. He says he noticed bambi through the window pacing in the backyard. She was calling out mama, mama, cry, screaming. I stepped into the bathroom around the most beess as best i and i closed the blind. You closed them because you didnt want bambi to see the blood and gore . Yes. I think i said to bambi i stepped in some blood in this bathroom and wiping my shoe off on the sand. She was telling me to wash my shoe so i didnt get blood in her moms truck. That must have been erie being in that house that night . Extremely. It was an erie moment. One that would haunt bambi and rick for years to come. Coming up, bambi makes a stunning admission. Morning noon or night theres always a moment to discover visit annapolis and create your moment the coldblooded killing of big charlie and diane parker had a great many people in and around conway, South Carolina, bolting their doors and locking their windows. Had you had any trouble in that neighborhood out in the countryside with breakins . Not that i know of. Its always been a wonderful place. It just doesnt make any sense. Was this more of the murderous rampage of the notorious steven stanco all over the news . No, said prosecutor, fran humphries, who knew he had been cite in georgia at the entitlement of the murders 200 miles away. This awful thing at the farmhouse, you werent associ e associating that with stanco. I was not. Even though in the public mind they made that connection . Yes. Even though at that time law physically in augusta. Rather, he was focused on the evidence coming from the parker crime scene. He quickly came to believe this was more than a bungled Home Invasion. It was apparent nothing had been taken or nothing you would suspect to be taken in a burglary. Humphries thought back to some curious statements bambi had made in her interview with police which she said she had given willingly. You sure youre okay to sit down and do this interview . I want to help you. Soon after the interview, he said bambi began describing a feud within her family. At issue was he land bambi ow ed and her family were living on. There was a family feud. Over the land . According to humphries, bambi and diane argued over who should control that property. Diane wanted to make sure that that propert the kids. I think she had become convinced that bambi was not going to be in a position to manage that property. I love this girl, my daughter, but shes beyond hope, is that the feeling . She cant be trusted with it. Bambi didnt agree. She wanted the property back. I didnt want to anger her about that. Humphries learned the land wasnt the only hot button between bambi and stepdad. They also argued over the rai raising of bambis boys, nathan and cody. Were there any issues where your parents didnt want the kids to go back do you guys or anything like that . Yeah. I understand that. That was hard for her to give them back. Diane wasnt comfortable with bambi having custody of those children. In fact, just f before the murders a motherdaughter shouting match over care for the boys got so out of hand diane called 911. The responding officer arrived with his dashcam rolling just moments after bambi had stormed away. No, youre not bothering me at all. Diane explained the argument to the officer. She usually does what she wants to do. She doesnt decide anything for them. Diane went on to say she felt threaten by her daughter. She scares me. She got in my face and took the phone out of my hand. Then came this chilling pronoun pronouncement. If anything happens to me, youll know shes the responsible person. How telling is that . She was in fear, in grave fear. Humphries by now suspected bambi was involved in her parents murdered but she was skeptical she could commit a double homicide on her own so the prosecutor turned attention to her boyfriend. Shes faithful to bambi. According to humphries, willing to do anything for her. You have the daughter and boyfriend who seem to be in some kind of conspiracy, the theory goes . Agreement to accomplish a goal. The alibi rick and bambi gave detective this is a were at home in the hours leading up to the murders was difficult to prove. Each gave the other as a witness. We were at home. Rick was there, i was there, my boys were in the other room. The prosecutor began to wonder, could those mysterious blood droplet at the crime scene be linked to rick and bambi. You didnt know who it was. We didnt know. It could have been richard. While humphries waited for the results, he obtained a software and took another look at rim and bambis belongings include his shoes. There was blood on his shoe. What did the lab analysis say about that the prosecutor didnt buy the story of looking for bambis car keys and they found what nay thought was blood on one of bambis boots. Now you have two persons of int, fair to say . No question. 10 days after the murders, humphries asked rick and bambi to take polygraph tests. Both agreed and both showed deception. Rick in particular showed deception. Police sat rick and bambi down in separate rooms for another round of questioning. This time the gloves were off. Are you going to charge me with something . I didnt do anything. They hoped for a confession or at the very least shed give up rick. She didnt do either. You dont want to be charged. No, im not going to be charged because i didnt do anything. Lock her up. If youre not going to say anything, lock her up. Take her to jail and charge her with two counts of murder. He yesterday trying to break bambi. On the way to her booking bambi said the hammer came down hard one more time. They surrounded me like a pack of wolves. They said, go get those crime scene photo es of her mama and daddy. And i said, no, no, no. I was trying to cover my face. He was prying my hands off of my face. And he said you did this, you chedetectives said the same thing to rick. They arrested me and that was pretty much it. If bambi did it then i had to be a part of it. So there it was, a daughter and her boyfriend partners in love and suspected of murder. The alleged motive was basic, get the deed to the land and resolve the custody issue of the boys in one bloody rampage. The night with case closed. But was it case solved . Coming up, a new family feud breaks out between bambi and her sons. I had a lot of people in my ear saying she did it. I resented her, i hated her. H. But shes a dentist so. I kind of have to listen. She said jen, go pro with crest prohealth advanced. Advance to healthier gums. And stronger teeth from day one. Using crest toothpaste and mouthwash makes my. Whole mouth feel awesome. And my teeth are stronger too. Crestpro health advanced. Is superior to colgate total. In these 5 areas dentists check. This check up . So good. Go pro with crest prohealth advanced. Moms right. Again and i cant wait to startlanta telling people how switching to geico could save them hundreds of dollars on car insurance. But first, my luggage. Ahh, there it is. Uh, excuse me, sir . I think youve got the wrong bag. Sorry, they all look alike, you know . No worries. Well, cars here, i cant save people money chatting at the baggage claim all day. Geico®. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Were in the middle most nights, this is the potty. So we added tide rescue to the wash. It cleans super deep down where detergent just doesnt. Daddy, ive got to go potty progress introducing tide rescue. Eliminates tough odors at the source. Find it in the stain remover aisle. And every day you promise toor protect them. Love. Off is here to help with proven protection against mosquitoes. Trust our family to protect yours. Sc johnson, a Family Company narrator breakfast. Dishes. Dinner. Dishes. Marriage. Dishes. Divorce. Dishes. Sleeping. snoring sputtering dishes. Not sleeping. Dishes. Life. Dishes. Death. Dishes. Existence. Dishes. Dishes, dishes, dishes. Every dish, every time. Only finish has the power ball to take on anything. Bambi bennett sat in an Horry County Jail cell stunned. She had just been charged with two counts of murder. I thought, im just having a bad dream. This cannot be happening. Not only were my parents just murdered, now im being accused of being the one that killed them. I said, yall have lost your mind. I said, this doesnt make any sense, didnt do anything wrong. But to prosecor humphries, it made perfect sense. The motive is unavoidable in this case. Bambi needed her stepfather and mother dead to get her property back. Property valued at north off a million dollars. The classic question in your line of work poses, who benefitted zbloonkts bambi. As for bambis boyfriend, rick, humphries believed bambi persuaded him to carry out the murderous deed. Gagnon is her puppet carrying out her orders . I think hes been her puppet from the beginning. What did you think . I dont know. Scared to death. In cahoots with your girlfriend, bambi, thats the theory, correct . I guess so. Both rick and bambi said the prosecutor had it all wrong. They insisted they would never do anything to harm diane or charlie and bambi downplayed the feud over the land. She wants the land. That this is most to begin with, even if it was in mamas name, if i wanted the land back all i had to do was tell mama that. Also absurd, she said, was the allegation shed killed her parents over disagreements about how to raise her boys. Who does not have disagreements ever with their mother or their father . Me and mama didnt always agree on the upbringing of cody and na. But that doesnt mean i will kill my mama because we dont agree. That is ridiculous but by now, even some of bambis family believed she was responsible for her parents murders, including bambis own sons, nathan and cody. You lost your grandparents in the most awful fashion and then your mom is swept away from your life within minutes. Its crazy, like you dont know how to turn to. When did you come to the idea maybe she was the one that did this . It was a mixture of things. I had a lot of people in my ear saying she did i came to the conclusion she basically put it in ricks head for rick to do it. I only thought she had something to do with it from what i had been told. I resented her and hated her and didnt want to see her face ever again. It seemed bambi supporters were few and far between. One who did believe in her innocence was her attorney. Everybody rushed to judgment in this case. The way jim saw it, the prosecutions case against bambi was a weak circumstantial one that hinged on a bunch of theories as to motive. The wh what always bothderd me about this case, when you looked at the gunpowder residue, there was none on bambi. He said one bit of hard evidence they had against bambi what they thought was blood on her boot turned out to be nothing. The detective said, we got her. The blood dna on this boot willg to one of two people. They couldnt even s i failed they said the results were suspicious. The last question, have you told me everything you know about this case. If i asked a detective that same question he couldnt pass it either. Its too broad a question. Bambi sat in jail six months. They were hoping she would flip and tell them the story. Thats exactly what they were ho hoping. Finally the judge said enough is enough. The prosecutor had to let bambi go. It became apparent there evidence was not sufficient to bring her case to trial. Didnt have the goods. Wasnt there. Yet shes the foundation of your theory. Nono question about it. For the time being, mamby was able to put Horry County Jail in her rear view mirror. Wit it, rick. By now, bambi had cut ties with her old boyfriend. Sounds like she had your back and then she didnt. Yeah. Jail changed people. Rick was hoping it would be a matter of time before he would be released. The frisk they hadorensics t against you, no hair or dna . Nothing. But he did have charlies blood on his shoe. That evidence was part of a bloody trail from the crime scene that was about to lead the prosecutor and rick gagnon into a courtroom showdown. Coming up, one of rick gagnons fellow inmates comes forward with a damning story. Hes been giving a fairly detailed account what occurred that evening or what the crime scene looked like. Stuff that hadnt been in the newspapers . Not at all. When dateline continues. Break the cycle by starting with the superior clean of lysol power toilet bowl cleaner. Flush, after flush, after flush. For a toilet that gets clean, then actually stays that way. Lysol that. But pantene is making my hair hairpractically unbreakable. Ff. The new prov formula makes every inch stronger. So i can love my hair longer. Strong is beautiful. Pantene. Sc johnson. One hair color wants to to help you keep on being you. Nicen easy. Naturallooking color. That even in sunlight, doesnt look like hair color. It just looks like you. Nicen easy color as real as you are. One day a rider made a decision. The decision to ride on and save money. He decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. Theres no shame in saving money. Geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. Jill and kate use the same dishwasher. Same detergent. But only jill ends up with wet, spotty glasses. Kate adds finish jetdry with five power actions that dry dishes and prevent spots and film, so all thats left is the shine. For better results, use finish jetdry. Meta appetite control. You and temptation with. Clinically proven to help reduce hunger between meals. New, from metamucil, the 1 doctor recommended brand. Sc Johnson Rick Gagnon was in a world of pain. Locked up in the county jail facing two murder charges. He shared his woes with another guy in a jumpsuit, two inmates power walking together around the yard. We would walk around the pod, do laps. The jail yard buddy was named robert mullin, a petty crook who seemed strangely interested in ricks troubles. Did he want to talk to you about the case . Was he grilling you . Yeah. All the time. All the time. Then, it seemed everyone in this part of South Carolina w t wanted to know more about this case and its two beloved the state was ready to try rick gagnon for the murders of charlie and diane parker. A camera was rolling as prosecutor, fran humphries, began his case. This is purely mode of evidence which establishes a motive for Richard Gagnon to end the lives of these two people . As humphries recalls, the case against rick was always motivation strong, evidence weak. Not much more than a drop of Charlie Parkers blood on shoe, when you came right down to it. Even so, humphries told the court the blood put rick at the murder scene. But he had story for it, didnt he . He did. It didnt hold water but he had a story about it. Humphries recited ricks version how blood got on his shoe, how he had gone into the parker house to get a set of car keys sometime after crime scene techs finished up. He went to his right in the nd where big charlie died and noticed the blood. Rick said he worried bambi pacing outside might look in the window and freak out all over again. He went in and stepped through the bathroom and closed the blind. And whoops, i stepped in the blood. Thats the story, right . Yep. It didnt hold up . No. Because they were already closed. That was the gotcha. This crime scene photo was taken hours before rick stepped inside that house. Notice the bathroom blinds were already drawn. They argued rick could not have closed the blinds because they were already shot. The prosecutor said rick was lying although he believed rick had told the truth about the murders to at least one other person. State star witness, robert mullins. The witness i call the jailhouse snitch and you call jailhouse informant. Hes a snitch, no question about that. The end of the day what hes been given a fairly detailed account by gagnon of what occurred that evening and what the crime scene looked like. In fact, he said mullins was the first to tell police this piece of bombshell news. Gagnon had mentioned an accomplice in this killings. The only way he can have that information is someone who had known the crime scene, participated in the crime. Then the prosecutor tried to spin an inconvenient fact in his favor, the mystery blood drops at the murder scene had been te tested. The khdna was not a match to ri but unidentified male. That said the prosecutor supported what mullins said, that rick had an accomplice. Humphries believed the evidence was enough to put the kedefenda away. He only wished he could make the same case against ricks old girlfriend. How about bambi . She wasnt being tried in that courtroom. A her fingerprints are on this . Figuratively. He said this was a story about a spoiled woman, bambi bennett, who manipulated her boyfriend, rick gagnon, into doing her murderous dirty work, get back the deed and get her mother off her back. He had heard from bambi how her parents were not fair to her, they have her land. My parents are horrible people and theyre taking advantage of me. To make things right argued the prosecutor, the dutiful boyfriend and his right handman entered the house and hunted down bambis parents in their night clothes. The jury heard a drama of southern gothic proportions dripping with greed. Now time for a different story. None of the puzzle pieces fit. Reporter ricks defense team said the case was heavy on fiction, light on facts. They had a little pieces but the pieces werent exactly right. The state was so desperate to prove its case, she said, it clung to the word of a jailhouse snitch and career criminal. A fellow there to cut himself a deal and get himself some assistance, i guess, in his own case, is not likely to be credible. Not only was the snitch not to be believed, the defense told the jurors but the state was also trying to confuse them about the mystery blood found at the crime scene. The bottom line said pratt, the dna cleared their client from the murders. The dna did not match and we knew it would not match rick. They knew that because rick had an alibi the night of the murders. He had been asleep in myrtle beach with bambi. The way pratt saw it the most challenging part of the case was the blood on ricks shoe. To explain how it got there, rick took the stand. He pointed out the morning the bodies were discovered police examined found nothing. If there had been blood on my shoes that morning i would have been arrested right then and there. There was no blood on my shoes that morning. That came later, he said, when he stepped into the blood soaked bathroom. Despite the police photo, he said the blinds were open and worried bambi might see the horror that was inside. I shut the blinds and didnt think she needed to see that. He testified she blood got on his shoe that moment. Did you go in the house and kill big charlie and diane . Were you in a conspiracy to kill those people . No, sir. So who did kill the couple. We dont know, said the defense but it wasnt rick gagnon. With that, the jurors filed out to deliberate. Rick waited with his attorneys and the woman many felt to be at the heart of it all, held her breath. Coming up. The jury rebounders its verdict. I didnt k i didnt know what to think anymo anymore. This isnt the end of a case, final finally, investigatorers learned who left their blood drops at the crime scene. He said they identified the killer. Jurors in rick gagnons murder case deliberated for only a few hours. When they filed back into the courtroom, he read their faces and knew. Theyd found him guilty. Two counts of murder, received two life sentences. Thats called a pine box sentence. Pretty much. Youll be in a pine box when youre dead. Bambi bennett said she didnt want to be in court for the verdict. Her attorney called her with the news. Here i am thinking, oh, my and then im going in the back of my head, theres no way he could have did this. Rick felt as though hed been sandb sandbagged. I believed if god saw fit to have me go home i would go home. And that was about all he had left, faith in god and a good appellate lawyer. In this case, rob. In my 22 or 23 years of being an Appellate Defense attorney, rick gagnon was only one of about two or possibly three people that i genuinely believed was innocent. That certainty would mean exactly nothing to an Appeals Court unless bob and rick could come up with new evidence. Then, in 2009, a year after his verdict, rick had an encounter in prison with yet another inmate. And excited about something. Ut prisoner told rick, had just arrested someone for a Home Invasion there. He told me, said they identified the killer. That mans name was bruce hill. When tennessee authorities ran his dna through the database, they had a match to the mystery blood found at the parker crime scene. In 2011, a jury convicted hill of the murders of big charlie and diane. His motive for the crime was never firmly established. Whos bruce hill . Do you know that name . No. Ever see him at the farm property, on job sites . No, never. But ricks lawyer needed proof there was no connection between the two man so he paid hill a visit. Bruce hill shown was picture of rick gagnon and his words were, ive never seen that cracker [ bleep ] before. Bruce hill had been not know rick gagnon. All hill had to do now was admit that in open court and gagnon might go free. Hill flatly refused. Once again, rick was out of luck but not hope. It was the first piece of good news i had had in a long time. I was excited to see what god was getting ready to do. There were developments . Yes, sir. Mainly the arrival of a new inmate. I was in the chapel at the time, my job assignment. He was brought into the chapel. One day the man opened up and stunned rick. He said he had known a guy in jail names, wait for it. Robert mullins, the very same who testified against rick. The man then said mullins shared a secret. He had lied about ricks involvement in the murders. I already knew it but to hear somebody else say it that mullins had lied. Yes. Kind of proud what he was able to now, this snitch on snitch story had the appeals judges attention. The judge had to make a determination that the result of the trial would probably have been different because mullins story was that important in getting the conviction . Right. The judge vacated ricks conviction saying the 23450u county solicitor could refile charges if he wanted. The solicitor said he did not. In 2013, after eight years inside, rick gagnon walked out of prison. Hes settled on the carolina coast now married with children. Just the smell of the ocean, its like freedom. Its a terrible thing i went to prison for something i didnt do. Its changed my life. His old girlfriend believes her life was up ended, too. Bambis said shes cut ties with most of the people she grew up with, the tobacco field she still owns are i didnt want to be there anymore. That was my home, but my home that i had known just falsely accused me and destroyed destroyed me. But there is something shed like from the people of horry county, South Carolina. Do you want an apology . Would that go anywhere for you . I do want an apology. No, it doesnt change what they did and not going to fix what they took away. Shed like nothing more than apology from you for the heartache youve caused her. Shes not getting that. She aes entitled to something m me but an apology is not it. What would you expect . I would have liked to her receive justice in this case. Meaning he would have liked her charged, tried and convicted. I would like to have been an agent of that justice. All but forgotten from the cody and nathan, from hating their mom to being completely innocent. I dont believe she had anything to do with it. And to show a change of heart they joined their mom in florida and finally feel like family. It took a while to trust your feelings and hug her and mean it. You can be her sons again . Definitely. For that at least bambi is grateful. For the future, she is hopeful even if every once in a while she looks back in anger. I lost my mom and dad and my children lost their grandparents. My children have no answers still saying the case isnt completely solved. Maybe if they took their time in the beginning we wouldnt be in this predicament today. Maybe there are no more answer, no reason to keep d digging up the past. Just leave it rooted right where it is and let the spanishs thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. This sunday, now, its the democrats who are fighting in public. We will have the opportunity to defeat donald trump, were going to have to defeat secretary clinton. This morning, my sitdown with Hillary Clinton. On Bernie Sanders. Het me shea i dont think he has had a single negative ald against him. Donald trump. No evidence he has ideas s about making america great. If you listen closely, it appears she has a new slogan. Were stronger together. Were stronger together. Plus, the new findings from our new poll just out this morning. How much is Bernie Sanders damaging Hillary Clintons chances . Also, donald trump claims hes bringing in countless new voters into the republican millions. Are they really new voters . We have the answer. And also, a brash billionaire turned reality tv star with an eye on politics. Sound familiar . My interview with Dallas Mavericks owner mark cuban. What would it take to convince you to run in a 2020 or 2024 . And joining me for insight and analysis are alex castellanos, Helene Cooper of the New York Times, joyann reid, host on msnbc, and Robert Draper of the New York Times magazine. Welcome to sunday. Its meet the press. Good sunday morning. We have a lot to get to today. New poll, the infighting, now on the democratic side. My interviews with Hillary Clinton and mark cuban. Lets start with the numbers. Our new nbc news wall street journal poll, and what appears to be a dramatic the general election contest. Hillary clinton led donald trump by just three points in the new poll, 46 43, but look where we were a month ago. Clinton had a double digit lead over trump. Bernie sanders, by the way, does a lot better when matched up against trump. He clobbers him 54 39. A 15point stred. I asked Hillary Clinton why in light of these numbers she thinks shes a stronger candidate than sanders against trump. Well get to that in the interview in a moment. But these results also show that donald trump is gaining ground as republicans unite behind their candidate while democrats remain deeply divided. Hillary clinton is delivering a blunt message to Bernie Sanders supporters. I will be the nominee for my party, chris. That is already done in effect. Theres no way that i wont be. Barring defection by superdelegates, clinton needs just 85 more delegates to become the