She tells them,
the man had a gun.
He came in and wanted my jewelry
and our money.
He attacked me.
[Steven] In the walk-through
of the crime scene,
it was very indicative of some
sort of struggle.
[Narrator] When the homicide
investigation begins,
a loving wife leads the charge.
[Narrator] But behind this
picture-perfect marriage
were dark secrets.
He thought she was
having an affair.
He confronted her about it.
[Narrator] Was this a rivalry
fueled by jealousy?
Her narcissism
was very evident.
She kind of played
the damsel in distress.
[Narrator] Or had a selfish
desire to protect one's
reputation led to
the ultimate betrayal?
She loaded him
and pulled the trigger.
[music]
[Narrator] With a population
of less than 20,000 people,
Elizabeth City,
North Carolina
is about as quiet
as a city can be.
But just before 2:00 AM
on August 2, 2018,
a homeowner is awakened by the
sound of a panicked woman.
She knocked on the door
until he came.
When he went out there, he saw
her. She's crying. She's upset.
[Narrator]
The woman is clearly injured
and the man
instantly recognizes her
as his neighbor,
45-year-old Angel Sawyer.
She had a wound to the top
right of her forehead.
It was not very big.
She did have some blood
on her forehead.
She tells him, a man has
broken into the house
and killed my husband.
[Narrator] Angel is too
distraught to call for help,
so her neighbor alerts
dispatchers
at the Pasquotank County 911.
He repeats her answers
to the 911 operator,
and she tells them,
the man had a gun.
He came in and wanted
my jewelry and our money.
He attacked me.
[Steven] He did his best to,
to calm her.
You could kind of hear her
in the background
and she was kind of frantic.
[Narrator] While Angel remains
at her neighbor's,
deputies arrive
at the Sawyer home.
[Kimberly]
The front door is locked.
There are two entrances
in the home on the backside.
The door was unlocked.
[Aaron] They announced
themselves, you know,
sheriff's office,
sheriff's office.
Is anybody inside?
They go to the
master bedroom.
They walk in, and you can tell
there's been a struggle.
[Steven] A lot of the
drawers were dumped out.
There was just mass amounts
of just assorted jewelry,
either costume or silver,
gold, uh, just kind of all
over the floor.
It was very ransacked.
[Narrator] Deputies find
Angel's husband,
55-year-old Milton Sawyer, lyin
in the adjoining master bedroom
Milton Sawyer was lying face
down in the bathroom,
both his hands taped up
behind his back.
There was a little bit of blood
on the floor.
He's a big guy,
and it's a fairly small room,
so he took up a lot of space.
They see him face down.
They check on Milton.
He's deceased.
He had some
superficial injuries,
but nothing that would
cause his death.
[Narrator] Deputies rush Angel
to the hospital for evaluation
and secure the scene while they
await homicide investigators.
News of the unfolding tragedy
reaches Milton's sister,
Lisa Loucks.
It was about 3:00 in the morning
when I got the phone call
that Milton had been killed.
I was in shock.
And it took me a while to
really get myself together
before I started making phone
calls to all the brothers.
[Bill] I see these missed
calls from Lisa.
I call Lisa.
And I'll never forget.
She goes, hey bro,
are you sitting down?
I'm like, yeah, Lisa.
What's going on?
And she goes, I don't know
how to tell you this,
but Milton has been murdered.
And I remember like hearing it,
but my brain is just
not processing it.
[David] I was devastated.
I couldn't hardly...
pull my thoughts together.
When I started getting the,
the details of what transpired,
there were just
so many questions.
[Narrator] Milton Sawyer was
born in 1963 in the small town
of Elizabeth City,
North Carolina.
My mom married his dad.
Milton and Lisa's father.
And we grew up together, and,
uh, we bonded rather quickly.
And you know, typical childhood.
We played outside in the woods.
We built forts.
We did all those kind of things.
[Narrator] Even at a young age,
Milton cherished rare items
and was drawn to collectibles.
[David] He got that
from his father.
He was exposed
to collecting things
and being aware
of the value of things.
And so, I think that was always
in his blood, so to speak.
[Lisa] Collecting items was
definitely his passion,
so when he got older,
my brother started an antique
shop in Elizabeth City,
and it was called
The Treasure Hunter,
where he would buy
and sell gold as well.
[Narrator] However, Milton
wasn't as lucky with love
as with business.
In 2000, his first marriage
ended in divorce,
but Milton prioritized
spending time
with his three young children.
[David] He was a good father.
He took the kids with him
whenever he could.
If he was working
in the store,
he would take the kids
to the store with him.
They loved being with Milton.
[Narrator] It seemed the only
thing missing from Milton's lif
was a partner to share it with.
But in 2011, while picking up
his kids from school,
he met just the woman...
38-year-old Angel Kessinger.
Milton's children
and a couple of Angel's children
were similar in age, and both
went to the same school.
And they ran into
each other and talked.
[Narrator] Milton learned
Angel was born in New York,
and that she and her husband
bounced around
before landing
in Elizabeth City.
[David] She was married
and had four children,
but according to Milton,
what she told him was that
they were in the process
of separating.
[Narrator] Despite their
10-year age difference,
Milton and Angel bonded over
the challenges of parenting
and sharing custody
of their children.
He was very smitten with her
when he first met her.
[Narrator] When Angel's
divorce was finalized
shortly after they met,
Milton seized the opportunity
and asked her out.
[David] They became physically
involved fairly early on,
and as time progressed,
he became more and more
committed to her.
[Narrator] When the couple
wed in 2012,
they became partners
in life and business.
At The Treasure Hunter,
Angel was a constant presence.
Milton was
going out buying.
He would just a lot
of times bring stuff
and put it in the shop
with no organization.
And when she came on the scene,
she started to spend time
organizing,
staging the items
so that the shop
looked a little better.
Milton appreciated that.
[Narrator]
Over the next five years,
the couple worked to nurture
their blended family
of seven children.
Life seemed good for the Sawyer
until the night
of August 2, 2018.
A home invasion has left Milton
dead and Angel in the hospital.
[Kimberly] We had drawers
dumped out of dressers
where she kept jewelry.
They were emptied out.
There was stuff
all over the floor.
So, I mean, it seemed
consistent with a robbery.
[Steven] In the walk-through
of the crime scene,
obviously discovering
Milton in his position.
It was very indicative
of some sort of a struggle.
[Kimberly] They call
in the medical examiner.
At this point they just start
preserving the scene.
They're going to look for DNA.
They're looking
for fingerprints.
[Narrator] The medical
examiner's preliminary finding
is that Milton may have died
by positional asphyxiation.
There was no head trauma.
There were no bullet casings.
[Aaron] His hands were
taped behind his back
and he was laying on his belly
on a hard surface
and could've been unconscious.
That would've made it
hard to breathe.
[Narrator] Authorities
hope a full autopsy will
reveal more details.
Outside, deputies fan out
to speak to neighbors.
[Aaron] The only thing that
came out that night was
somebody said they heard
like a loud banging noise
and, uh, that's really kind of
the only information we got.
[Narrator] A further search
of the home reveals the
assailant's point of entry.
[Aaron] There was no sign
of forced entry.
The back door was open
and there was a key
on the table on the back porch.
That is of a particular note,
how unusual that was.
In other crimes that I've
investigated personally,
I don't think I've ever
seen a key that was just
openly available.
We submitted that key for
fingerprint testing along
the train of thought that if the
burglar used the key to get in,
he would have had
to put the key back
either before he walked
into the door or after
he walked out of the door.
[Narrator] Could this key hidin
in plain sight
lead them to the assailant?
Coming up...
Angel Sawyer recounts the last
moments of her husband's life.
[Narrator] And investigators
find a person of interest
who's no strangerto law
enforcement.
[Kimberly] The person was
a frequent flyer,
so when the name was said,
everybody knew who it was.
[Narrator] August 2, 2018.
Popular antique store owner
Milton Sawyer has been found
murdered inside his home.
His wife, Angel, is undergoing
treatment at an area hospital
after suffering a head wound
in the late-night attack.
[Aaron] So we arrive.
She's in a hospital room
in the ER.
She had a wound to the
top right of her forehead.
She did have some blood
on her forehead, but not,
it wasn't a gaping wound
or anything like that.
[Narrator] Angel explains that
since her two teenage daughters
were sleeping over
at a friend's house,
she and Milton were home
alone that evening.
[Steven] There were only
two children
that still lived in the house.
So it was just Milton and Angel
alone in the house that night,
which was relatively out
of the norm.
[Narrator] Angel describes the
events leading up to the attack
which she says took place
around 12:00 AM.
[Aaron] She says she gets up
to go to the kitchen
to get a snack,
or whatever,
and when she opens
the master bedroom door,
that there's a person standing
in her hallway
dressed in all black.
[Narrator] According to Angel,
this was most definitely
a targeted attack.
He says, I know Milton,
you're the biggest gold buyer
in Elizabeth City.
I know you guys got nice
jewelry, nice things, and money.
You know, give me all that.
I want the keys
for the business.
[Narrator] Angel explains they
leave a key on the table outsid
for their kids in case
they need to get in late.
She suggests the intruder
must have found it
and that's how he got in.
[Aaron] The key always stayed
on the table by the back door.
[Kimberly] She talked about
him assaulting her husband.
Um, and the entire time,
she has no idea who this man is.
And she was terrified.
At some point in time,
he actually pistol-whips her
in the head.
[Narrator] Angel says after
the strike to the head,
she was disoriented and wasn't
sure what was happening.
[Steven] She was very afraid.
She had no idea how long
she had been taped.
She said it felt like hours.
After the burglar left,
Milton didn't move,
and she didn't
see him breathing.
[Narrator] Angel says she was
eventually able to loosen
the tape enough to stand up.
[Narrator]
Though she's distraught,
Angel is able to provide
investigators
with a potential lead.
[Aaron] Angel actually told us
in the interview at the hospital
that uh, they deal with a lot of
sketchy people in the business
at The Treasure Hunter.
They had people that would
come in who had stole items,
people on drugs.
[Narrator] In fact,
earlier that evening,
Milton had received a call from
a man Angel believes
could be Milton's killer.
Around 8:00 PM,
7:00 PM, Angel and Milton
had met with a young man
who wanted to sell a TV.
The TV, in her opinion,
looked like it had just
been ripped off a wall.
She thought it was a stolen TV.
[Narrator] Angel says the man
showed up with his girlfriend
and admits she and Milton
had done business
with the couple before.
[Kimberly] We knew the person.
He was a frequent flyer,
so when the name was said,
everybody knew who it was.
Like, this is not somebody
unknown to law enforcement.
[Aaron] We've had prior cases
with this individual.
It wasn't a big stretch to think
this gentleman wasn't capable
of doing a home invasion.
Because they weren't
but a mile or two down the road
from where they
would've sold him the TV,
so they could've followed him.
Knowing this gentleman's
particular history
and uh, the timeframe of meeting
and them selling the TV,
to the home invasion,
it didn't seem like a bad lead.
[Narrator] Investigators
leave Angel to rest
and work to track down
the couple she mentioned.
And another unit is en route to
see if the killer had in fact
used the keys to the
Sawyers' antique shop.
[Steven] We had deputies there
within a couple minutes,
and there was no forced entry.
And then in review of the,
of the cameras and looking
through the inventory,
nothing was missing.
[Aaron] There was no signs
that anybody was ever there.
[Narrator] But investigators
catch a break
when the same couple Angel
suggested may be involved
are already in custody,
albeit for a totally
unrelated crime.
During the course of
a separate drug investigation,
they were arrested
for drug offenses.
And during their
arrest procedures,
we informed them
that we wanted to talk
to them about the murder.
And they were both
forthcoming on the murder
and provided statements.
And they both gave
alibi information that yes,
they did sell him a television,
but that after that
they went their separate ways.
[Kimberly] He was like,
yeah, I sold him a TV.
Let the officers look
at his phone.
Was completely cooperative.
Girlfriend backed up the story.
[Narrator] The couple claims
they weren't together
at the time of the murder,
but that they spoke to
each other on the phone
at approximately 12:00 AM,
the same time Angel
says the attack occurred.
[Steven] We were able to
gather phone records that
confirmed that they were
talking to each other.
[Aaron] When we did phone
records, we always do location
histories as well to see
if their phone was pinging
in the area
of Milton's house,
you know, when the incident
would've took place.
And it wasn't.
So we completely rule them out.
[Narrator] While the identity
of Milton Sawyer's killer
remains a mystery,
the next day,
investigators learn the
medical examiner has revised
their preliminary finding
of positional asphyxiation
to something far more personal.
The autopsy was completed
and the cause of death
was manual strangulation.
[Narrator] Coming up,
allegations surface that sugges
the Sawyers' marriage
wasn't so perfect after all.
Milton started
calling me pretty regularly
and telling me that he thought
she was having an affair.
[Narrator] And a new
suspect is revealed.
[Steven] That's a really
opportune time to go literally
across the country in the middle
of a homicide investigation
in which you're at least
a person of interest.
[Narrator] August 3, 2018, near
Elizabeth City, North Carolina,
a medical examiner has
determined that 55-year-old
Milton Sawyer was
strangled to death.
The sinister cause of death
leads investigators to believe
that the killer was
someone Milton knew.
[Steven] The autopsy confirmed
there was a fractured hyoid bone
and some petechial hemorrhaging,
which is strongly indicative
of strangulation.
I don't recall many manual
strangulations that I've seen
where the assailant and
the victim were strangers.
[Narrator] Authorities turn
their focus to Milton's
inner circle for answers.
They speak to his siblings
first, who have been grieving
since learning of their
brother's death.
[Lisa] They talked
to several of us,
just going over questions
about different things.
[Steven] His family says Angel
and Milton have been married
for quite a few years.
Um, and there's just no
indication or motive that
anyone in their past would
have anything to gain
by him being murdered.
[Narrator] The family
also shares details
of the Sawyer marriage.
Not all of it is flattering,
especially when the conversatio
turns to their sister-in-law.
[David] Angel thought
a lot of herself, um...
seemed to be
somewhat self-centered.
I think she had a
high opinion of herself.
And, you know,
she always thought she was the
hottest chick in the room.
[David] Angel's narcissism
was very evident.
If high-dollar jewelry
came through the store,
he would set it aside
and give it to her.
He bought her a convertible.
Then he bought her a Hummer.
He was doing his best to try
to provide her with all the
accessories that she wanted.
[Narrator] Milton's brother,
David says that after five year
of marriage,
that wasn't enough
Probably...
two months before
the crime happened,
Milton started calling me
pretty regularly
and telling me that he thought
she was having an affair.
[Narrator] Milton's suspicions
began in late 2017
after Angel got into
a fender bender.
[Kimberly] She had some
shoulder and hip pain,
so she went to a local
physical therapy office.
And someone referred her
specifically to Isaac Melcher
because he did a particular
procedure called dry needling.
At first, she would
just get up out of bed,
put no makeup on,
put on some sweatpants
and a t-shirt and go.
[Narrator] But Milton's brother
says it wasn't long before
there were tell-tale
signs of infidelity.
[Bill] Milton started
noticing she was taking
these long showers,
dressing all up,
putting on makeup,
just to go to
the physical therapist.
[Narrator] Milton was
convinced that Angel was using
the physical therapy sessions
to cover up an affair
with the therapist himself,
38-year-old Isaac Melcher.
[David] He was concerned
about it.
And he said that every time
he confronted her about it,
she would deny it and say that
she was not involved with him,
and that he was just putting
thoughts in his head.
[Kimberly] Milton was
suspicious.
He had actually went down
and tried to confront Isaac
at the physical therapy office.
Made some angry phone calls.
Isaac denied the affair
to Milton.
[Narrator] Armed with these
blistering allegations
against Angel, authorities
run a background check on Isaac
[Kimberly] He was married,
had three little kids,
very religious,
went to church every Sunday.
[Steven] Isaac was a...
from outward appearances,
he was a very
professional, family man.
He just seemed
like a normal guy.
[Kimberly] He was very nice.
I mean, well respected.
All his patients
really liked him.
Very good at his job,
liked in his church.
By all appearances,
he appeared to be a good dad.
[Narrator] When detectives
arrive at Isaac's home
and explain the reason
for the visit,
Isaac denies the allegations
of infidelity.
He does admit that there had
been some problems
with her husband
being overly jealous,
but he straight denies having
any kind of, you know,
sexual relationship,
any affair with her,
and was no longer seeing
her as a patient.
It was noted that he said that
he was going through
a separation with his wife.
[Narrator] Investigators
ask Isaac for permission
to search his phone.
[Steven] And he says,
well, I don't have it anymore.
So, um, we ask him why
he didn't have his phone.
He had awoken in the night
to use the restroom
and kicked over a jug of water
that he had for drinking
beside his bed and that the
water had destroyed the phone.
[Narrator] What's more, Isaac
claims he had just purchased
the phone from Walmart
around midnight on August 2nd,
the exact time
of Milton's murder.
[Steven] Any time that you,
kind of miraculously don't
have your phone 12 hours
after a murder is committed in
which you are alleged to have an
affair with the surviving person
that's just a super red flag.
And after that,
he didn't have a lot to say.
[Narrator] Detectives
believe that whatever was
on Isaac's phone could connect
him to Milton's murder.
When they circle back to Angel,
they confront her
with the allegations.
And like Isaac,
she maintains their relationshi
was professional.
She talked a lot about
how attractive she was
and how she frequently had to
deal with male attention,
unwanted male attention.
She talked a good deal
about her marriage
and how her husband
was extremely jealous,
for no real reason.
That it was basically all
in her husband's head.
That, you know,
she was completely faithful.
[Narrator]
Over the next few days,
Angel remains
a cooperative witness,
offering up several fresh leads
to aid in the investigation.
She would say, you know,
I saw some jewelry
on this Facebook site.
It looks like some
of my jewelry that's stolen.
She gave them some specific
customer names that she thought
perhaps potentially could have
been one of the robbers.
They're following up on leads
that she's generating.
[Aaron] We were at the point
in the investigation where all
these leads didn't
pan out at all.
[Narrator] One person
that remains firmly at top
of the suspect list
is Isaac Melcher.
[Aaron] We went to Walmart
and looked at security
and footage and all that
to see if he bought a phone.
He was never at Walmart
that night
that the incident took place.
[Narrator] With Isaac's
alibi in shambles,
authorities have enough probabl
cause to search his home.
On August 8th,
when police arrive
with a warrant in hand,
they learn from Isaac's wife
that he has conveniently
left the state.
Isaac's wife claims she did not
know about his connection
to Angel and that she cannot
confirm Isaac's whereabouts
the night of Milton's murder.
She's very cooperative
and says he took a trip
to his home state of Oregon
to visit his mother.
[Steven] That's a really
opportune time to go,
to leave the state to go
literally across the country
in the middle
of a homicide investigation,
in which you're at least
a person of interest.
[Narrator] Coming up,
a once-cooperative witness
starts to shut down.
She literally
deletes the message
right in front of us.
[Kimberly] If you weren't
under suspicion before,
now you definitely are.
[Narrator] And a jaw-dropping
story comes to light,
but is it true?
Her story was,
I'm so scared of this man.
He's crazy.
He's obsessive.
He's obsessed with me.
[Narrator] After debunking
38-year-old Isaac Melcher's
alibi for the night
Milton Sawyer was killed,
police have just learned
Isaac left town.
Isaac had flown
to Oregon, um,
and was no longer in the area.
[Narrator]
Despite Isaac's departure,
authorities proceed with the
search of his home and vehicle,
but they come up empty-handed.
Things heat up when Angel
alerts detectives
that Isaac has contacted her.
She was contacted
by Isaac via Facebook,
and he was just checking on her
and wanted to, um, you know,
see how she was doing.
And she wanted to
make us aware of that.
[Narrator] However,
Angel begins to exhibit some
suspicious behavior.
[Steven] So I asked to see
her cell phone, um,
which she provided to me.
And in looking through the
Facebook Messenger thread,
I saw a different thread
from Isaac Dustin.
And I had already known
at that point that Dustin
was Isaac's middle name,
Isaac Dustin Melcher.
He addressed her as Love
and talked about having
bought her something.
And the thread was very,
kind of like lovey-dovey.
[Narrator] It appears
to detectives
that the cat is out of the bag.
[Aaron] He hands the phone
back to Angel and he's like,
hey, can you tell me
what this message is?
And uh, she literally
deletes the message
right in front of us.
[Kimberly] I thought that was
very bold and just crazy.
Like if you weren't
under suspicion before,
now you definitely are.
[Narrator] Investigators now
wonder what other secrets
Angel may be keeping.
That 100% convinced me
that she was complicit in,
in whatever Isaac had done.
But we needed some more
substantial proof
than suspicion.
[Narrator]
After securing a warrant,
detectives delve deeper
into Angel's cell phone records
for clues.
But then,
10 days into the investigation,
detectives receive a call
that proves explosive.
[Steven] The call came to the
Pasquotank County
Public Safety Center.
A man was calling from Oregon.
And he said that he wanted
to talk to an investigator
about the Milton Sawyer case.
So one of our investigative
team members called him.
And he said that he had just
had a visit from Isaac Melcher.
[Narrator] The caller's name is
Louie, a friend of Isaac's.
[Aaron] He had mentored
Isaac as a young man.
And he said Isaac called him
while he was visiting
and asked if he could stop by.
And of course, Louie said,
yes, he'd love to see him.
[Narrator] According to Louie,
Isaac had visited him
for one reason,
to confess.
[Steven] Isaac had told him
this, this kind of bizarre
story of killing a man.
He talked about
how Isaac told him that
he had strangled Milton,
and that Isaac told him
about being in an affair.
And none of those things
were publicly available.
The decision was made
for some members of the team
to fly out there and physically
interview him in person.
[Narrator] The next day,
police arrive at Louie's home.
Louie describes a very differen
version of Isaac Melcher
from the one he remembered.
[Aaron] He said he looked beat.
He looked worn down.
You could tell he was drained,
and it wasn't the Isaac that,
that he would
typically recognize.
[Narrator] And that was when
Louie learned Isaac
had been carrying
a heavy burden.
[Aaron] Isaac said that
he met this lady,
identified as Angel Sawyer.
They met through his work.
[Kimberly] He said
from the very beginning,
he thought she was attractive,
but he was married,
had three little kids,
but she got very, you know,
flirtatious with him.
But he didn't discourage it.
[Narrator]
Isaac resisted Angel's advances
until one day it
proved too much.
[Kimberly] At one point,
she's in a treatment room,
so he walked in.
She's got no shirt on,
no bra, nothing.
And so, he's like,
oh, I'm sorry.
And she's like,
no, you can come in.
And they had
their first encounter.
And from that point on,
they just started meeting,
and it became this
ongoing thing.
[Narrator]
The affair intensified
over the next few months.
[Kimberly] Initially,
it was just physical,
but he started getting
feelings for her.
And she told him all this stuff
about her husband,
none of it flattering.
And that he was controlling
and jealous.
[Narrator] Louie explains
that Isaac felt the need
to save Angel...
from Milton.
[Kimberly] She told him,
he will never let me leave,
like I will not be free of him
unless he's dead.
And she was serious about it.
So it was at this point
he was so ready to be with her
that he's like,
I'll kill him for you.
[Aaron] They start discussing
ways to, uh, get rid of Milton.
And uh, after that is when
they came to the,
the plan of making it
a home invasion.
[Narrator] According to Louie,
Isaac had been communicating
with Angel the night
of August 1st
when he learned she and Milton
were home alone and in bed.
Using the element of surprise,
he went to the Sawyer home
dressed in black
and armed with a gun.
[Steven] Isaac talked about
using the key that Angel
told him was on the back porch.
He had basically just walked in.
We submitted that key
for fingerprint testing,
but there were no results.
He stands at the bedroom door.
He's just kind of listening.
And he's got his gloves
and his mask on.
And he's got a gun.
He wasn't sure if he was
going to go in or not,
and Angel opens the door.
[Aaron] He said after
he got Milton tied up
that he went behind him
and did a chokehold and, uh,
choked Milton out
until he knew he was passed.
[Narrator] Beyond the shocking
confession to his friend,
detectives ask if Isaac
further implicated Angel.
Isaac was adamant that
when Angel opened the door,
she knew for sure it was him.
[Kimberly] He slapped her
per her request.
He didn't hit her hard enough,
so he says
she came and took her head
and hit her head on, um,
the side table.
[Narrator]
After trashing the room,
Isaac filled a pillowcase with
jewelry and fled the scene.
He also had a solid plan
to remove any DNA evidence
on his clothing.
[Kimberly] He jumped in the
neighbor's swimming pool
that night to get rid
of any DNA,
or any fingerprints, anything.
He disposed of different
items in trash cans all around
the city in different locations.
[Narrator] With the gravity
of Louie's statement,
detectives want to hear it
from Isaac himself
and ask Louie if he'll take par
in a wire tap.
[Kimberly] There were three
total recorded calls.
And in those calls,
Isaac confesses to not only
having the affair
with Angel Sawyer,
but that, you know,
he murdered her husband,
and that she was involved.
So at this point now we know,
okay, he's, he's actually
the one who did it,
but per him,
she knew it
was going to happen
and was involved
in the planning.
[Narrator] With Angel and Isaac
as the prime suspects,
investigators first arrest
Isaac Melcher
at his North Carolina home
on August 21, 2018,
19 days after Milton's murder.
[Aaron] We get him back
to the office,
myself and Agent Norman
go to interview him and,
yeah, he has nothing to say.
[Narrator]
With Isaac remaining silent,
authorities lure Angel Sawyer
to the sheriff's office
to tell her they've caught
the man who killed Milton.
[Aaron] We kind of start out
right out the gate that we have
Isaac under arrest
for the murder of Milton,
and he's actually downstairs
in our holding cell right now.
[Narrator] Angel finally
comes clean about the affair.
[Narrator]
And she doesn't stop there.
[Kimberly] Eventually she does
admit to knowing that Isaac
wanted to kill her husband.
She claimed that she tried
to talk him out of it
and wanted no part of it,
and had no idea that
he was going to do it.
[Aaron] She claimed that
she was going to come tell us
at some point in time,
but she was scared for,
for her safety
and the safety of her children.
That she was putting a lot
of things on him.
Her entire story was
I'm so scared of this man.
He's crazy.
He's obsessive.
He's obsessed with me.
[Narrator] Investigators
aren't buying it.
We just started picking her
apart on things that just didn't
make sense, like obviously
the false leads.
You knew, you knew Isaac did it,
you could've told us.
And at the end of that, we
informed her that there was
a warrant for her arrest for
conspiracy to commit murder.
[Narrator] Coming up,
Angel's attempts to
manipulate Isaac
continue from
behind prison walls.
[Steven] She was encouraging him
to essentially
take the fall for her.
[Narrator] And the prosecution
paints a portrait of a woman
obsessed with control.
[Aaron] She used Isaac
as a weapon and loaded him
and pointed him at Milton
and pulled the trigger.
[Narrator] On August 21, 2018,
authorities in Elizabeth City,
North Carolina
have charged Angel Sawyer
and her lover, Isaac Melcher
for the murder
of Angel's husband,
Milton Sawyer.
While the couple are locked
behind bars awaiting trial,
authorities learn they remain
in communication.
Recordings reveal them
using scripture as code.
[Steven] And she's quoting him
scriptures from the Bible.
One of the scriptures that
she quoted him was from the
book of John,
and it was talking about that
"Greater love hath no man that
he would lay down his life
for a friend."
She was, uh, encouraging him
to essentially
take the fall for her.
[Kimberly] I mean,
he took extreme steps
to not be linked to the crime.
So I mean, he was a smart guy,
but...
he was dumb over this woman.
He did not want her
to get in trouble,
he was still head over heels
in love with her.
[Narrator] Isaac then makes
a heartfelt apology,
but Angel isn't having it.
[Narrator] When it comes time
for the couple to stand trial,
much of the state's case
against Angel
remains circumstantial
thanks to Isaac's meticulous
actions after the murder.
So prosecutors approach
Isaac's attorney
and share Angel's comments
from her interrogation.
[Kimberly] He started talking
to his lawyer
and getting to hear what she was
saying about him.
He's a crazy stalker.
She wants nothing to do him.
He's hearing all of that
and you know,
it takes a little time
to realize, oh wow,
I've been totally played.
[Narrator] Isaac decides
he's ready to cooperate
with authorities,
agreeing to plead guilty
to second-degree murder
in exchange for
a 25-year sentence
and his testimony against Angel
At Angel's trial
in September of 2021,
prosecutors allege Milton's
death wasn't motivated by money
My brother did not have
a life insurance policy,
and he did not own the home
that they lived in.
She stood nothing to gain.
[Narrator] The prosecution
theorizes that this unhappy wif
felt trapped
in a loveless marriage
and believed it was better
to have Milton killed
than bear the stigma
of a two-time divorcée.
She did say in her interviews
that she did not want
to be a twice-divorced woman.
She made that comment
several times.
[Narrator]
On September 16, 2021,
Isaac Melcher takes the stand.
He testifies that Angel
led him to believe
she was afraid of Milton,
though she admitted to him
that Milton had never
physically hurt her.
She kind of played
the damsel in distress.
[Steven] Angel took advantage
of an opportunity,
that Isaac was willing
to do anything to be with her,
including to murder her husband.
So while Isaac ultimately
committed the act of murder,
Angel's manipulation
directed that.
[Aaron] She used Isaac
as a weapon and loaded him
and pointed him at Milton
and pulled the trigger.
[Narrator] Angel's attorneys do
what they can for their client,
but her lover's
testimony is devastating.
[Kimberly] She didn't testify
at trial.
Her only defense at trial was
that she was innocent.
[Narrator] Both sides rest on
September 20th.
And jurors quickly reach a
unanimous verdict.
[Kimberly] The jury found
her guilty of conspiracy
to commit murder
and first-degree murder.
She was sentenced to life
without parole.
[Lisa] Who do I hold
more responsible?
I would have to say Angel
because had Angel never
gotten into the situation,
my brother would still be here.
Isaac would've never
done this, um, on his own.
I'm 100% positive of that.
[Narrator] And while Milton's
store has closed,
his family will never forget
the impact that Milton had
on those around him.
[Lisa] He loved his children.
He loved his family.
He always wanted people
to leave him happier
than when they came to him.
[music]