[narrator] a hardworking single mother
And her two children suddenly disappear.
She'd got full responsibility for the kids and the house.
Something's possibly happened to all three.
[narrator] but a horrific discovery
Will tear their family apart.
There's a body on the floor,
There's massive amounts of blood.
You can see that her throat's obviously been sliced.
It was a little unnerving. I knew she was a good person.
[narrator] as the investigation deepens,
A disturbing conspiracy takes shape,
Revealing an unexpected romance
They believed they had been together in other lives.
He liked to have sex with both girls
And watch them have sex with each other.
[brian] they got kinda wrapped off into the fantasy,
And it became a reality.
It was calculated. It was planned.
[brian] and I'm thinking,
"my lord, I can't believe this kid,
As young as he is, is playing this part."
[music]
[muffled scream, gasp]
[narrator] as part of the dallas/fort worth metroplex,
Roanoke, texas offers the rare combination
Of big city amenities and small-town charm.
During the day, it's busy.
But at night, it's a small town, usa.
Everybody seems to know everybody.
Roanoke is an excellent place to raise kids.
Has great school districts.
Roanoke has the usual petty theft
And people speeding through town.
That's the big catch that our police officers do.
So, we don't have a lot going on.
[narrator] but the usually quiet community
Is shaken on September 26th, 2008,
When 43-year-old susan bailey fails to show up for work
At a local retail store.
She was supposed to come and open the store.
Her manager tried to call. Susan didn't answer her phone.
The people that she works with are concerned
Because that's not like her to not either call in
Or let them know her whereabouts.
The manager had susan's mother's name
As an emergency contact.
So, he called her in minnesota and said,
"do you know what? Is your daughter sick today?
What's going on? She's not at work."
So, susan's mother began to call,
And susan didn't answer.
She had tried to call off and on all day long.
Susan's mother finally became concerned enough
That she called roanoke police and told them,
"my daughter's not answering her phone.
Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
[narrator] her mother tells police that
Susan has two children:
17-year-old jennifer and 13-year-old david.
And she can't get ahold of either one of them.
[donna] she had tried to call jennifer,
And jennifer never answered the phone.
She tried to call david. He never answered the phone.
That really worried her.
[tracy] roanoke police department
Go do a welfare check that evening,
Around 6:30 or so.
When they get to the house at that time,
There's really nothing that looks out of the ordinary.
Car's not there. Nobody answers the door.
There's nothing to indicate forced entry,
There's no broken glass.
[brian] the house is locked and the car is gone.
The porch lights were on.
A lot of people, when they leave for the weekend or the night,
They'll leave their porch light on.
And it just looked like they had left
And left the lights on on the outside
To try to make it safe.
I knew susan,
And I could see her loading the kids up in the car
And going, "I'm gonna take you away for a while,
A short trip for the weekend."
That wouldn't be unusual for susan.
Susan bailey, you couldn't help but like her.
I'd met her throughout town, you know,
Interactions with her.
She just had a great personality,
She was real.
There was no put-on about her.
She was as genuine as the day is long.
[narrator] originally from minnesota,
Susan had moved to california to pursue a career in fashion.
[donna] she had got a job in jay jacobs stores.
At the time, it was a pretty big chain.
Susan really enjoyed the work and she was very good at it,
And she was pretty quickly promoted to be a store manager.
About that time, she met a man who was in the military,
He was in the air force,
And fell in love with him.
And they got married.
Susan wanted to have children.
And in 1990,
She had a little girl she named jennifer.
And four years later, in 1994,
She had a little boy that she named david.
[narrator] six years later,
Susan's husband retired from the air force.
By then, susan's career had taken off.
[donna] susan did so well as a store manager
That she got the opportunity for a really good job in texas.
She was promoted to the position of being a supervisor
Over the chain of stores in three states.
[narrator] after finding an up-and-coming neighborhood
In roanoke,
The baileys broke ground on
Their 3,500 square foot dream home.
Susan and her husband were one of the first houses
In the neighborhood.
Very nice woman.
She was working a lot, so she was always going.
[donna] susan was traveling all over
Texas and oklahoma and louisiana,
And she was gone from home a lot.
But she made good money.
And it was fairly convenient for her husband
To stay at home with the kids.
[michelle] susan's husband did not work consistently,
So she pulled most of the weight and paid for most of the bills.
[narrator] then, in 2005,
The couple's financial footing fell.
The job that she moved to texas for went away.
The chain went bankrupt, closed all its stores.
All of a sudden, susan didn't have a job,
And neither did her husband.
And they were living in this huge, big house
With this huge, big house payment.
[narrator] fearing her family would lose their home,
Susan rolled up her sleeves.
[donna] she found another job with a texas chain
And went to work there as a clerk,
But that didn't pay the bills.
So, she found a second job in another retail store.
She took in sewing, and she sold mary kay cosmetics.
As time went on, susan and her husband grew
Farther and farther apart.
She was working all the time,
And she resented the fact that he wasn't.
[narrator] after two decades of marriage,
Susan and her husband divorced.
She'd got full responsibility for the kids
And the house and both cars.
Right after the divorce, susan's husband moved to iowa.
[michelle] because susan was working so much,
Jennifer was, was basically raising david.
So, they were tied at the hip.
Because, obviously, they were at home,
And susan was at work.
[narrator] susan realized this wasn't fair
To her teenage daughter,
And began making an effort
To be more present in jennifer and david's lives.
[donna] they all loved to read,
So they spent a lot of time in the bookstores.
They went to movies,
They loved the harry potter books;
They went together and watched the harry potter movies.
[michelle] whenever she had extra time,
She did stuff and spent time with them.
[narrator] in June 2008,
Susan looked on with pride as her daughter graduated
From northwest high school.
[michelle] after jennifer graduated,
Susan told me she was going to be going to art school,
And she was excited.
It's kind of expensive.
Jennifer wanted to go.
So, she was gonna make it happen for her daughter.
And so, she worked more hours.
[narrator] but on September 26th, 2008,
Susan's mother has reported susan and her children missing.
More than 1,000 miles away in minnesota,
All susan's mother can do is anxiously wait
For updates from police in texas.
Susan's mother didn't sleep very much that night,
And the next morning,
She got up and tried to call susan again.
Still no answer. Still no answer from the kids.
Susan's mother was absolutely panic-stricken.
[tracy] roanoke police go back and do another welfare check.
And it's kinda the same thing,
There's nothing that would indicate there's anything wrong,
Except that, you know, the car's gone.
[jamie] there's no reason for them to enter the residence,
The privacy of someone's home.
She's an adult,
And nothing looks suspicious or out of place
Or out of the ordinary.
Susan bailey's mom, in looking not only for susan,
She's also looking for her grandchildren.
And at this point, in her mind,
Something's possibly happened to all three.
[narrator] less than 12 hours later,
A police officer 700 miles north of roanoke
Spots something out of the ordinary.
[tracy] it was September 28th,
3:30 in the morning in yankton, south dakota.
He's out working night shift.
And he sees this vehicle with, with texas plates
At, at a gas station that is obviously closed.
[donna] there's a car at the pumps.
And he can see some,
It looks like kids out messing with the pumps.
So, he decided he better check this out.
[jamie] texas license plate, 3:30 in the morning,
Kids in a car, and there's no adult around.
[brian] he knew something was wrong.
So, he ran the plates,
It came back to, to susan bailey.
[donna] the officer goes over to the driver's side.
There's a teenage boy driving the car.
[narrator] the teen identifies himself
As 16-year-old paul henson.
The other passengers are his girlfriend,
17-year-old jennifer bailey,
And her brother, 13-year-old david bailey.
But 43-year-old susan bailey is nowhere in sight.
This raises quite a few red flags for him.
Where is she?
[brian] there were three teenagers in the car
Up there in the middle of the night.
[jamie] it does seem out of the ordinary
That they're so far away from texas,
And susan bailey is nowhere to be found.
The officer knew something was wrong.
[narrator] coming up.
Evidence points to a sinister crime.
[tracy] on this receipt was a shopping list of things
You would need to clean up a crime scene.
There was the suspicion that maybe this pudding
Was used to try and poison her.
[narrator] and the investigation reveals
A couple fueled by rage.
He became a little more violent, a little more aggressive.
She transformed in front of my eyes.
I had never seen anything like it.
When she looked up at me, and it was evil.
[music]
[narrator] a police officer in yankton, south dakota
Has just pulled over three teenagers
In susan bailey's car,
More than 700 miles away from her home.
The officer first questions the driver,
16-year-old paul henson.
[donna] he said, "well, I just got a learner's permit."
And he said, "well, anybody else in the car
Got a driver's license?"
"well, no."
He said, "come over here to talk to me a little bit."
[narrator] unaware that susan and her two children
Are missing in texas,
The officer's priority is finding out why the teens
Are driving around in the middle of the night
Without a license.
[donna] then he said to jennifer,
"you come get in the car with me,
I wanna talk to you a little bit."
And so, he said, "well, this car comes back to susan bailey.
Who is that?"
She said, "well, that's mom."
She said that they were going to minnesota
To visit her grandmother.
[tracy] as he's talking to jennifer,
She indicates she's worried about her mother.
[jamie] jennifer tells the officer there in south dakota
That susan has a boyfriend by the name of joseph,
And joseph is violent.
[brian] jennifer made the comment that her mother
Was being stalked by her boyfriend,
And they just wanted to go visit the grandmother
And just get away from all the drama there.
[jamie] he has her attempt to call susan, her mom,
And she's not having any success.
Jennifer said that she was afraid that joseph
Might've done something to her mom.
[jamie] so, now the officer's not only concerned about
The three individuals he has in front of him,
But he's also now concerned about the safety and welfare
Of the parent, the mom, of jennifer.
[donna] he decided the thing for him to do
Would be to take the kids back to the police department.
[tracy] they're in violation of curfew laws there
In city of yankton.
So, he has cause to take them down to the police station
And, and hold them.
And he does that.
[narrator] with the three teens safely down at the station,
The officer reaches out to roanoke police.
[donna] he called roanoke police and said,
"listen I've got three kids here from roanoke,
They're in their mother's car.
She's not around, she's not answering her phone.
What do y'all want me to do with these kids?"
Well, the roanoke police officer who had answered the phone
Actually had been one of the officers
Who had been to the house.
[jamie] and they're like, "wait a minute,
That's the same name of the person
That we've been doing a welfare check on."
[brian] they told me that the bailey kids
Were in south dakota.
I told them, I said, "something bad happened.
There's no way susan would let those kids go off on their own."
[tracy] so, it sparks an alarm
That something may be very wrong inside that house.
[donna] and he said, "I'll tell you what.
We're gonna go check that house more carefully.
Just keep 'em there,
And I'll call you back and let you know."
[tracy] they immediately go back to the residence.
You know, this time, they have to go in to see if susan's okay.
[jamie] they find a window that's unlocked,
So they're able to get into the house.
As soon as he got in the house, he could smell something,
And he knew what it smelt like.
[tracy] these officers, you know,
They smell that unmistakable smell of death.
They clear the bottom floor first.
[jamie] they make their way up the stairs.
They see that there's a body on the floor...
And there's massive amounts of blood.
It was a slaughterhouse.
[donna] she still had a tag that said "susan" on it.
So, he knew that was...
That was the woman they were looking for.
[tracy] it's susan laying face down.
She's been there a couple of days, at least.
There's blood everywhere.
There's blood on the walls. There's blood on the door.
It's soaked into the carpet. It's horrific.
[brian] it was unnerving.
I knew she was a good person,
And when I first laid eyes on her,
I felt really sorry for what she had had to go through
And what she endured.
I remember, I thought, "this is gonna be a big case."
The texas ranger that was assigned to this area
Was texas ranger tracy murphree.
He was very well known.
He had worked some very high-profile homicides.
[tracy] it was the first homicide in the city's history.
It was the first homicide brian was gonna be working.
And so, they give me a call.
When I walked up the stairs and turned the corner
And saw susan...
You can see obvious stab wounds.
You can see that her throat's obviously been sliced.
[brian] there was a bat that was laying on a bed
Just approximately five foot, six foot from susan's body.
It looked like there some blunt force trauma.
So, I believe the bat was involved.
[tracy] it was very violent death.
And I could tell that there was a struggle.
I could tell that, that she put up a little bit of a fight.
[narrator] as they widen their search,
New discoveries about the scene are equally chilling.
[jamie] they go into one of the upstairs bathrooms
And immediately see that the bathtub
Has standing water in it.
There's a knife in the bathtub.
[jamie] there's three cellphones in the tub, in the water.
There is a smell, a chemical-type,
A bleach-type smell,
And there's a frayed electrical cord
Hanging from the shower curtain area.
It's not in the water, but it's dangling there.
[tracy] it had been cut and the ends had been frayed.
And the immediate thing that came to my mind was
Someone was planning on trying to electrocute someone
In the bathtub.
[jamie] as the police and the ranger
Are processing all the items from the crime scene,
They come upon a walmart receipt.
[tracy] it's dated during the time
That susan hadn't been heard from,
And on this receipt is, you know,
There's cleaning supplies.
And of course, you know, we had the smell of bleach
In the bathtub,
So we're assuming that this was a shopping list of things
You would need to clean up a crime scene.
It shows at least some premeditation
And some forethought to try to cover up their tracks.
[jamie] another thing that they took notice of was
Some pudding that was left out in the kitchen.
The pudding had a, a weird color, consistency...
It drew it their attention.
There was the suspicion that maybe this pudding
Was used to try and poison susan.
And so, they sent that off to a crime lab to be tested.
[narrator] based on the evidence,
Investigators believe susan was killed by someone she knew.
They've got a hardworking, law-abiding mom
Who has been brutally murdered in her own home.
And they've got three kids up in south dakota.
Two of 'em are susan bailey's children.
[narrator] at the time of the teens' detainment,
Susan's daughter, jennifer,
Had reported that her mother was dating
A violent man named joseph.
[tracy] jennifer had told the officer that joseph wasn't
A very good boyfriend.
And that she was afraid that joseph might've
Done something to her mom.
We have to follow up on this joseph guy.
[music]
[narrator] police in roanoke, texas
Investigating the stabbing deat of susan bailey
Are searching for susan's alleged boyfriend, joseph,
After her teenage daughter jennifer
Claimed that he was violent.
It was the first time that I ever heard that story at all.
None of that had ever come up when I saw 'em in public
Or was around susan.
[tracy] talking to susan's mom,
We were never able to identify anyone named joseph.
Susan didn't have a boyfriend.
She didn't have time to date anybody.
She was working all the time.
[narrator] detectives have a different theory,
But it involves jennifer's boyfriend, paul henson.
[tracy] on September 23rd, prior to the murder,
Paul had been reported missing by his parents, a runaway.
Possibility that he had a gun with him at the time.
And so, the parents were worried.
Paul's father had given the police
The name of his girlfriend at the time, jennifer bailey,
And that, you know,
There was a good chance paul might be located there.
Or at least jennifer would have some knowledge
Of paul's whereabouts.
So, roanoke pd immediately went to the bailey residence.
[tracy] susan talked to the police
And assured them that paul wasn't at the house,
That he wasn't staying there.
They talk to jennifer, the same thing.
[narrator] susan had told officers
That she initially supported her daughter's relationship.
Until recently...
Susan was very concerned about how invested
Jennifer seemed to be in paul.
[donna] jennifer and paul met in spanish class.
Jennifer read a lot of fantasy books.
They had a lot in common,
Because he liked fantasy, as well.
[harley] jennifer and paul were holding hands,
Kissing in the hallways.
It was definitely a weird romance.
She'd sit in his lap,
And he'd just possessively put his arms around her.
Jennifer was well-to-do.
Very well kept.
Blonde, really pretty blue eyes.
And then paul: Tall, dark and always dirty.
[brian] they did not look like they went together at all.
She kinda looked like the girl next door type.
And he, just his looks and everything else,
It, it looked mismatched to me.
[donna] at the end of jennifer's senior year at school,
There was a senior prom and she wanted to go.
She invited paul to go with her.
Susan was a wonderful seamstress,
And she made a beautiful dress for jennifer to wear.
So, they went to the senior prom together.
Paul dressed up,
And they had their picture made together.
[tracy] susan's thoughts about paul was, she didn't like paul.
Paul's a strange kid,
And susan didn't want him around.
She didn't want jennifer seeing paul.
[narrator] when asked about paul's whereabouts on the 23rd,
Susan had said she had no idea where he could be.
[tracy] susan said, well, she hasn't seen him,
He's not allowed there.
But the police ask,
"hey, can we, can we go look? Can we see?"
Susan led 'em in the house to come look for him,
To see if he might been inside the residence.
It was in jennifer's bedroom they found some bags.
[tracy] it was obvious that he had been there,
Probably been staying there for quite a while.
And susan was irate.
She was very upset with jennifer.
They searched the house, trying to find paul.
They never located him.
[narrator] given his familiarity with her,
When susan turned up missing only three days later,
Officers had approached detective peterson.
[brian] they knew that I knew susan.
At that time, I thought she was trying to probably
Get jennifer away from paul.
To take 'em someplace for the weekend
Just to let things die down.
[narrator] investigators suspect paul henson had become enraged
When susan had forbidden her daughter from seeing him.
Back at the crime scene,
They continue searching the house
To determine if jennifer and david were also involved.
[tracy] in jennifer's room,
We find a piece of paper she had written on,
And, and part of it was talking about
A new life with, with paul in canada.
[brian] while we were searching the room,
There was a purse.
Ranger murphree went over to the purse and was opening it,
And there was a school id that was found.
I find a northwest high school id, a student id,
With, with a, with a girl's picture on it
And the name merrilee.
[jamie] this causes them concern,
Because that's not somebody who they suspect
Would live at that house,
And she's not one of the people that's up in south dakota.
So, who is she and where is she?
[music]
[narrator] authorities in roanoke, texas
Are investigating the murder of susan bailey.
In her daughter jennifer's bedroom,
Investigators have located identification for another teen
[donna] there was an id for a girl named merrilee.
What does she have to do with this whole case?
Why is her id here in the bailey house?
[brian] you know, normally people don't leave their purses,
You know, in other people's houses.
So, we were concerned if she was there
When the murder took place, if something happened to her.
We didn't know if she was involved or a possible victim.
[tracy] so, we task that to, to one of the detectives,
Who immediately started to see who that was.
[brian] they discover that she was in a city over from us
In a juvenile detention center,
And she was there for attacking her mother.
[narrator] according to the police report,
On the night of September 23rd,
Three days before susan bailey was reported missing,
Merrilee was arrested for trying to stab her mother
While she slept.
[tracy] merrilee's mom wakes up,
Her daughter's standing over her with a knife.
They struggle over it.
She calls the police.
It sends some chills down my spine that this is why
She's in juvenile detention center,
And we have susan here dead.
And it was, it was bigger than what we thought.
[narrator] investigators know they need to speak to merrilee,
But due to her age,
A judge must first sign off on their request.
Investigators face the same challenge
When they travel to south dakot
To speak to 13-year-old david bailey
And 16-year-old paul henson.
The only person they can interview
Is 17-year-old jennifer bailey.
She is an adult at 17 for our criminal law purposes.
[tracy] I was a little unprepared for
Just how small in stature she was.
[brian] she was acting coy and acting innocent,
That she didn't know anything was going on.
Still trying to blame the, the fake boyfriend,
You know, her mom had.
[tracy] I knew she was lying.
And we weren't really getting anywhere with her.
We weren't really getting any, any answers.
It was, "I don't know. I don't know how this happened."
[jamie] ranger murphree, he decides that
He's gonna tell her that merrilee,
Who's back in texas and is in juvenile custody, has confessed.
[tracy] at the time, we had not talked merrilee yet.
It was a shot in the dark to try to get a response.
I lied to her.
I said, "hey, we've talked to merrilee,
And she told us everything."
And when I said that,
This young, timid, frail girl transformed in front of my eyes.
I'd never seen anything like it.
When she looked up at me, it was evil.
Her jaw tightened, and, and her shoulders tightened.
And she wasn't afraid to look me in the eye anymore.
If, if she could've come across the table and hurt me,
She would have done it at that time.
And her physical appearance changed.
We weren't dealing with this little timid girl.
We, we were dealing with a killer.
After mentioning merrilee, she didn't wanna talk anymore.
And so, we, we had to end the interview.
[narrator] on September 29th,
Investigators receive the results
From susan bailey's autopsy.
The autopsy report showed 26 separate stab wounds.
[brian] the cuts were very deep.
The cuts across the neck and the throat
Went all the way back to the spine,
And there was some blunt force trauma.
There's basically three different types of,
Of stab wounds on susan.
You have, of course, the, the fatal blow
Across the throat; very deep cuts.
You have some medium cuts that are not as deep;
Probably weren't gonna be fatal, but were pretty severe.
And then you had some cuts that
Barely scratched the surface of the skin.
[jamie] based on the evidence,
The officers and the rangers surmised that
The bulk of the stabbings and the throat slashing
Were more than likely at the hands of paul henson.
He was probably big enough to overpower susan.
[tracy] was paul solely responsible?
Did jennifer have anything to do with it?
Was, was david even there when it happened?
We need to figure that out.
[narrator] searching for more evidence
That might clarify the teens' roles,
Investigators follow up on the receipt
For cleaning supplies found at the crime scene.
The store's security footage reveals more than they expected
[brian] you could see david on the outside security cameras
Coming up to walmart.
He goes in and he purchases the items.
He bought formula 409 and a bottle of bleach.
And rode his bicycle home.
It's david who actually goes and picks up these things,
Riding his bicycle, and goes back home.
The whole time I'm watching that I'm thinking,
"my lord, I can't believe this kid, as young as he is,
Is playing this part."
[tracy] we felt like we had enough physical
And circumstantial evidence
That these kids had committed this crime.
The next step is trying to find out the extent
Of which one participated.
[jamie] they are able to get arrest warrants for the three.
Jennifer's 17 and alleged to have committed a crime in texas;
That makes her an adult.
The other two are considered juveniles.
So, they bring the kids to texas,
And going through all the proper procedures of
Talking to a juvenile,
They talk to paul henson.
And while he's somewhat reluctant to give up
Too much information,
He ultimately says that david went crazy.
That david killed his mother...
...And that jennifer and paul were kind of scared.
Didn't know what to do, panicked.
But jennifer ultimately wanted to protect her brother,
So they all fled.
[brian] we believed that david was involved,
But he wasn't a lone actor on it.
As short as david was,
And, and as tall as his mother was,
There was no way.
[tracy] the angle of the cut, the depth of the cut
Would indicate to me someone who's taller than her.
Paul's about 6'1".
He was the only one that could overpower her like that.
David, he was 13 at the time.
Very small stature, very thin, very frail.
He looked like he was about ten.
[narrator] investigators next confront david
About paul's accusations.
The officers asked david, "what are you here for?"
David said, "oh, I'm here for murdering my mama."
And he giggled.
And the officers, they were absolutely horrified.
They could not believe those words came out of
That child's mouth.
[tracy] that took me aback.
We weren't dealing with a normal 13-year-old kid here.
[narrator] after reading david his miranda rights,
He refuses to cooperate.
So, investigators attempt to interview jennifer bailey
A second time.
And this time, she tells him that it was all paul.
[donna] her story was that she did nothing wrong.
David did nothing wrong.
Paul did everything.
[jamie] the police are getting conflicting stories.
Everybody's pointing the finger at each other.
[narrator] six days later,
A judge signs off on law enforcement's request
To interview 15-year-old merrilee.
Merrilee is ultimately granted immunity,
And in exchange for that agreement of immunity,
She tells them everything.
[brian] when we first went to go talk with merrilee
About what had happened,
Merrilee divulged that there was a plan.
And she pinned it on jennifer,
Coming up with the idea to kill her mom.
Some of the truth started coming out.
[music]
[narrator] in roanoke, texas,
A local teenager named merrilee
Has just implicated jennifer bailey
As the true mastermind behind her mother susan's murder.
[tracy] what we learned from merrilee is that initially,
She's approached by jennifer.
That jennifer, you know,
Talks about she's dating this guy named paul.
Paul has a, a brother named talos
That, you know, wants to date her.
[narrator] merrilee claims she soon learned
That paul and talos were one in the same.
[brian] talos was paul's alter personality
That would come out.
He believed that he was a executioner back in the,
I guess, maybe 15, 1600s.
[tracy] paul claimed that when he turned into talos,
Then he became a little more violent,
A little more aggressive.
And that he could switch from talos back to paul,
And paul back to talos.
Paul is dating both of these girls at the same time.
[donna] he convinced them
That he wasn't cheating on either one of them,
Because one of his girlfriends was in love with talos
And the other was in love with paul.
And they bought that.
They became intimate as a threesome.
Paul liked to have sex with both girls,
And he liked to watch them have sex with each other.
[brian] they were into kind of dark mysticism.
Fantasy games, all this occultic-type fantasy world.
They got kinda wrapped off into the fantasy a little bit,
And it became a reality.
One of the things that they would do a lot of
Is they would cut each other on the back,
And then they would drink each other's blood
Or let paul drink their blood.
[narrator] as the relationship between the teens intensified,
Merrilee says their parents tried to intervene.
Merrilee's mother told her, "you can't see paul anymore."
Jennifer's mother had told her she couldn't see paul.
Paul's dad had told him he couldn't see either girl.
They believed that they had to stay together,
Or they would not be together in their next life.
[narrator] according to merrilee,
That's when jennifer hatched a plot.
[brian] they were all gonna kill their parents,
And then they were all gonna flee to canada
And start a commune up there.
[knocking on door]
[donna] merrilee ran away from home.
Paul ran away from home.
They were both staying in the bailey house.
And when susan came home, it was usually late at night.
They would hide under the beds,
And susan was too tired to notice.
[narrator] merrilee tells investigators
That paul planned to kill his father and stepmother
Before running away to jennifer's house
On September 23rd.
His intent was to shoot and kill his parents,
And for some reason, he didn't do it.
And it almost foiled the plan,
Because then their dad comes looking for him,
And I think jennifer was pretty angry about that.
[narrator] after police failed to locate paul
At the bailey home,
Merrilee says jennifer tried to poison her mother.
Jennifer ground up an entire bottle of tylenol
And dumped it in some pudding.
She said, "mother loves chocolate pudding.
She'll eat this."
Susan tried the pudding, it tasted horrible.
She spit it out and, and wouldn't eat it anymore.
So, that plan is not gonna work.
But they were determined to kill her.
They planned to kill susan, take her car,
And then go live happily ever after.
Merrilee's mom, of course, was looking for her.
And she actually finds her walking down the road.
And she grabs her, puts her in the car,
And, and takes her home.
And this panics merrilee.
She is bound and determined to go with them to canada,
And to be part of this happily ever after.
[donna] and the only way that she knew that she could get away
Was to kill her mother.
Merrilee's mom is extremely lucky
That she is not dead, also.
Merrilee really helped tie up some loose ends
And really helped give us a big picture of
Exactly what happened.
It wasn't a fit of rage. It was calculated.
It was planned.
[tracy] what I believe happened,
And I think the evidence supports this,
Is that as susan's walking down the hallway, she was attacked.
We always felt like jennifer was standing in the front
To confront her mom with the baseball bat.
[tracy] then I believe that paul came up behind her
And cut her throat.
And I think jennifer
Participated in stabbing her mom.
[brian] we always felt with what the autopsy revealed,
Paul was the one that did the massive stab wounds.
We felt like jennifer was in the front.
On the superficial wounds,
We always had the theory that it was david.
And I think they basically told david,
"you're, you're going to do this, too."
All three participated in this, all three stabbed her,
All three planned her death,
And I believe all three are equally responsible.
[narrator] investigators believe that after the murder,
The teens cleaned up the scene.
[tracy] I think the bottom line is
Jennifer bailey manipulated paul into doing her bidding.
He would've done anything for her,
And he did do anything for her.
[donna] jennifer was 17.
She wanted to see her boyfriend, she wanted to see friends.
But she couldn't do any of that,
Because she had to take care of her little brother.
Jennifer really resented that,
And as time went on, she began to hate her mother.
She had a very evil, evil heart.
She did.
To be that young,
She had, definitely, darkness deep inside of her.
[narrator] in 2009,
All three defendants agree to plead guilty to murder.
Jennifer and paul were both offered 60 years in prison
In exchange for a guilty plea,
Waiving their right to trial, waiving their right to appeal.
Because of david's extreme youth,
The judge gave him a 26-year prison sentence.
I think justice was served for susan.
[michelle] the power of love can make you do sinful things.
Who knew you would want to escape your life so badly
That you would do something that horrific to somebody
That you're supposed to love?
Jennifer and paul were so caught up in the fantasy
That they had created about star-crossed lovers
That they just went crazy.
The murder of susan bailey is tragic in so many ways.
These kids were well cared for and loved by their mother.
And she poured her whole life into them.
And for them to not only take her life,
But to take it in such a brutal, brutal fashion...
It's really just evil.
[music]