1 00:00:10,344 --> 00:00:12,044 [Mary Allen speaking] 2 00:00:12,146 --> 00:00:15,314 [Buddy Allen] Family occasio were always special, 3 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:17,049 particularly in the Allen family. 4 00:00:17,118 --> 00:00:18,717 [Mary speaking] 5 00:00:18,719 --> 00:00:21,553 [Heather speaking] 6 00:00:21,622 --> 00:00:25,157 [Buddy] We just wanted our kids to grow up happy. 7 00:00:25,226 --> 00:00:29,061 To see the love and the fun that we were experiencing 8 00:00:29,063 --> 00:00:33,298 during these times is just, uh, priceless. 9 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:35,634 -[Mary speaking] -[Buddy speaking] 10 00:00:35,736 --> 00:00:38,003 [Mike Vickers] Everything was perfect. 11 00:00:38,005 --> 00:00:41,707 Up until that day, and I just couldn't stop it. 12 00:00:43,611 --> 00:00:45,344 [police officer on phone] 13 00:00:45,413 --> 00:00:47,546 [911 operator on phone] 14 00:00:51,252 --> 00:00:54,353 That was the night that our entire lives changed. 15 00:00:54,455 --> 00:00:57,056 [911 operator speaking] 16 00:00:58,626 --> 00:01:01,126 I just couldn't believe that that was someone's plan. 17 00:01:17,611 --> 00:01:20,646 -[noisemaker blowing] -[indistinct chatter] 18 00:01:22,817 --> 00:01:26,718 [narrator] It's April 20th, 1986 in Snellville, Georgia 19 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:28,921 [Mary] Look at buddy so he, I mean, look at-- yeah. 20 00:01:28,923 --> 00:01:33,058 [narrator] The Allen family is celebrating the birthday of two-year-old Heather. 21 00:01:33,060 --> 00:01:37,062 [everyone singing] 22 00:01:52,213 --> 00:01:55,547 [cheering and clapping] 23 00:01:55,616 --> 00:01:57,382 [Buddy] The family was all there. 24 00:01:57,384 --> 00:02:01,153 It was, really, the first birthday that we knew she was gonna remember. 25 00:02:01,222 --> 00:02:03,122 It was just a big celebration. 26 00:02:03,124 --> 00:02:06,058 Just a lot of fun for everybody. 27 00:02:07,027 --> 00:02:09,228 -[noisemaker blows] -[Mary speaking] 28 00:02:12,299 --> 00:02:14,399 [all cheering] 29 00:02:14,401 --> 00:02:18,003 And Heather was just so excited to be the center of attention. 30 00:02:18,005 --> 00:02:19,304 She, she loved it. 31 00:02:20,541 --> 00:02:22,941 [Mary speaking] 32 00:02:26,547 --> 00:02:30,349 -[Heather babbling] -[Mary] Yeah. 33 00:02:30,417 --> 00:02:32,718 [Buddy] There's Mary, her mom, behind her. 34 00:02:34,522 --> 00:02:39,825 She's an excited little girl. Mommy's excited too. 35 00:02:39,827 --> 00:02:42,127 Of course she loves to rip the paper. 36 00:02:42,129 --> 00:02:44,730 -[Heather babbles] -[Mary speaking] 37 00:02:47,334 --> 00:02:50,335 We just, we felt like birthdays were very special. 38 00:02:50,437 --> 00:02:53,705 And it was that person's one day to shine. 39 00:02:53,707 --> 00:02:57,609 We kind of blew the budget when it came to birthday months. 40 00:03:00,314 --> 00:03:02,548 [Mary repeats] 41 00:03:02,616 --> 00:03:06,151 [woman speaking] 42 00:03:08,556 --> 00:03:11,056 [narrator] Heather's parents 29-year-old Buddy 43 00:03:11,125 --> 00:03:15,761 and 26-year-old Mary have strong Christian values. 44 00:03:15,796 --> 00:03:19,131 [Buddy] Our faith was very important to us. 45 00:03:20,901 --> 00:03:25,938 Mary and I meet at a church camp in middle Georgia. 46 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:30,542 Uh, a nice Presbyterian church camp called Camp Calvin. 47 00:03:30,611 --> 00:03:35,447 I was working there on the summer service staff at the time. 48 00:03:37,351 --> 00:03:41,320 Yet, after camp was over that year, I went back home to Decatur 49 00:03:41,322 --> 00:03:44,456 and Mary went back home to Woodrow, South Carolina 50 00:03:44,491 --> 00:03:46,525 which was where her dad was a minister. 51 00:03:46,527 --> 00:03:50,062 So, it was a while before we saw each other again. 52 00:03:50,064 --> 00:03:52,531 Uh, but we, we wrote letters. 53 00:03:54,501 --> 00:03:58,503 Mary and I got married in 1980. 54 00:03:58,505 --> 00:04:04,543 That's about, I don't know, five or six years after we initially meet. 55 00:04:06,947 --> 00:04:11,049 The wedding ceremony was held in Woodrow 56 00:04:11,051 --> 00:04:15,320 because her dad was the minister of the Presbyterian church ther 57 00:04:15,322 --> 00:04:18,924 And, of course, we got married with her dad in the pulpit. 58 00:04:21,595 --> 00:04:23,762 Heather was our firstborn. 59 00:04:23,864 --> 00:04:28,700 Born on Friday, April 20th, 1984. 60 00:04:29,503 --> 00:04:32,804 It was such a joyful occasion. 61 00:04:32,806 --> 00:04:37,042 Mary was laying on the gurne and Heather was laying 62 00:04:37,044 --> 00:04:39,945 beside her when I first, first time I saw them and 63 00:04:39,947 --> 00:04:41,847 she looked at me and she said, 64 00:04:41,915 --> 00:04:43,815 "It's a girl, Buddy. It's a girl!" 65 00:04:47,054 --> 00:04:50,489 You know how things are with dads and their daughter 66 00:04:50,491 --> 00:04:52,624 Especially the firstborn daughter. 67 00:04:52,626 --> 00:04:56,428 I wasn't any different for Heather and I. 68 00:04:56,430 --> 00:04:58,063 We were, we were really clos 69 00:05:03,404 --> 00:05:05,003 [Heather speaking] 70 00:05:11,445 --> 00:05:15,947 [Buddy] When Heather as almost four, Henry was bo 71 00:05:17,051 --> 00:05:19,151 and she was excited. 72 00:05:19,252 --> 00:05:21,953 She was gonna have a baby brother. 73 00:05:29,830 --> 00:05:33,932 Mary got her up in the bed with her and let her hold 74 00:05:34,935 --> 00:05:37,803 Henry on his first day on the planet. 75 00:05:37,805 --> 00:05:40,205 [Mary speaking] 76 00:05:43,844 --> 00:05:47,045 [Buddy] And um, it was just... It was just really neat. 77 00:05:47,147 --> 00:05:51,216 Really cool to watch those two and how she welcomed her 78 00:05:51,218 --> 00:05:53,719 baby brother into... Into the world. 79 00:06:05,432 --> 00:06:08,100 After Henry was born, and of course, 80 00:06:08,102 --> 00:06:11,336 Heather was about four years old at that point, 81 00:06:11,438 --> 00:06:16,441 um, we continued to go to Redeemer Presbyterian Church. 82 00:06:16,510 --> 00:06:18,443 [singing indistinctly] 83 00:06:22,516 --> 00:06:27,352 [Buddy] It was about a mile down the road and we had lots of support there. 84 00:06:27,421 --> 00:06:29,254 [singing continues] 85 00:06:32,793 --> 00:06:36,461 [Buddy] And one of the thing they did, was they would teach the kids songs 86 00:06:36,530 --> 00:06:40,399 and, uh, you know, work on Bible verses and things like that. 87 00:06:40,401 --> 00:06:45,337 And they had the kids sing for the Sunday service. 88 00:06:48,709 --> 00:06:52,611 Heather, being the person who likes to be a part of 89 00:06:52,613 --> 00:06:55,514 the energy in the room, she was part of the singing. 90 00:06:55,516 --> 00:07:00,352 And, uh, she enjoyed being a performer and being out in front of the crowd. 91 00:07:00,421 --> 00:07:02,320 [indistinct singing] 92 00:07:05,292 --> 00:07:08,627 I think she just got more joy out of just performing. 93 00:07:08,629 --> 00:07:11,163 She was in the moment when that was going on. 94 00:07:11,231 --> 00:07:12,964 [applause] 95 00:07:19,606 --> 00:07:23,308 [Buddy] In 1990 when Heathe was six years old, 96 00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:26,144 we went up to see Mary's brother, John 97 00:07:26,213 --> 00:07:29,014 at the lake he was living on It was Lake Bowen 98 00:07:29,016 --> 00:07:31,950 outside Spartanburg, South Carolina. 99 00:07:31,952 --> 00:07:36,221 And, uh, he had a boat, you know, um, 100 00:07:36,223 --> 00:07:38,490 and he also had skis. 101 00:07:38,492 --> 00:07:40,759 So we went out there, got on the boat 102 00:07:40,861 --> 00:07:43,128 and I skied for a minute. 103 00:07:43,130 --> 00:07:46,398 John, or Uncle John, as they all called him, 104 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,401 said, "Heather? You want to try and ski?" 105 00:07:49,403 --> 00:07:51,403 [indistinct conversation] 106 00:07:54,107 --> 00:07:58,643 And her eyes just got really big and she said, "Can I?" 107 00:07:58,745 --> 00:08:00,245 And she looked at me, "Can I?" 108 00:08:00,347 --> 00:08:01,546 And she looked at Mary, "Can I?" 109 00:08:06,053 --> 00:08:09,221 We got her in the water and we got the skis on her. 110 00:08:09,223 --> 00:08:12,057 Uh, and he said, "Okay." 111 00:08:12,059 --> 00:08:14,326 And he gave her a couple of instructions 112 00:08:14,328 --> 00:08:16,328 and he pulled off. 113 00:08:16,330 --> 00:08:19,130 And dog gone if she didn't pop up on top of the water. 114 00:08:21,935 --> 00:08:23,735 [cheering] 115 00:08:26,039 --> 00:08:27,205 "Good job." 116 00:08:28,742 --> 00:08:31,810 We were laughing that she got up so quickly. 117 00:08:31,812 --> 00:08:34,813 And we were, I mean, I'd say we were amazed. 118 00:08:46,426 --> 00:08:50,028 Yeah, Heather wasn't one that liked to sit around and watch TV. 119 00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:52,831 She always wanted to be doing something. 120 00:08:52,833 --> 00:08:55,333 And she really enjoyed all the little activities 121 00:08:55,435 --> 00:08:59,404 that they had for kids out in that Snellville area. 122 00:09:03,377 --> 00:09:09,014 There was a gymnastics studio and we got her involved in that. 123 00:09:09,016 --> 00:09:14,119 And then there was a ballet studio and we got h involved in that. 124 00:09:17,724 --> 00:09:20,559 And then there was cheerleading that came abou 125 00:09:20,627 --> 00:09:23,128 because there was a big athletic community 126 00:09:23,130 --> 00:09:25,463 in the Snellville area. 127 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:28,500 Hey. 128 00:09:28,502 --> 00:09:30,936 [Buddy] It just was non-stop 129 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:37,642 The great thing about Heathe is that you are never sure 130 00:09:37,744 --> 00:09:40,812 100% of what you are gonna get. 131 00:09:40,814 --> 00:09:46,451 But you knew you were gonna get 100% of whatever it was. 132 00:09:47,654 --> 00:09:50,956 I do remember it was just a good family time. 133 00:09:52,726 --> 00:09:56,061 We saw such great things in her future 134 00:09:56,063 --> 00:09:59,731 if she continued on the path that she seemed to be on. 135 00:10:05,105 --> 00:10:07,038 [Buddy speaking] 136 00:10:07,975 --> 00:10:11,209 From the age of nine to about 13, 137 00:10:11,211 --> 00:10:14,112 Heather was moving. She was transitioning, 138 00:10:14,114 --> 00:10:17,716 uh, from a girl into a young lady. 139 00:10:18,919 --> 00:10:20,986 Uh, Heather had her own styl 140 00:10:27,327 --> 00:10:30,795 And so when she got a little makeup case 141 00:10:30,797 --> 00:10:34,399 for Christmas, she was very excited. 142 00:10:34,401 --> 00:10:38,870 Then she could further her own style and her own personality 143 00:10:38,872 --> 00:10:40,305 through what she wore. 144 00:10:47,681 --> 00:10:49,914 [Buddy] When Heather was 16, she was attending 145 00:10:49,916 --> 00:10:52,717 Shiloh High School in the Snellville area. 146 00:10:54,254 --> 00:10:57,188 At that point, Mary and I decided that we needed to 147 00:10:57,190 --> 00:11:00,525 change the church we were going to. 148 00:11:00,527 --> 00:11:04,362 And so we found a church called Calvary Chapel 149 00:11:04,431 --> 00:11:07,499 in Stone Mountain, which wasn't far from where we lived. 150 00:11:07,501 --> 00:11:11,403 Heather started going to the teenage youth program 151 00:11:11,405 --> 00:11:13,772 and that's where she meet Steven. 152 00:11:15,542 --> 00:11:18,410 [narrator] Sixteen-year-old Steven Strube is a student 153 00:11:18,412 --> 00:11:21,012 at a different school in nearby Stone Mountain. 154 00:11:21,915 --> 00:11:24,382 He and Heather share mutual friends. 155 00:11:24,384 --> 00:11:30,555 I believe he brought her home after the church get together one evening. 156 00:11:30,657 --> 00:11:35,226 That was our first encounte and, uh, he seemed to be a very decent young man. 157 00:11:36,229 --> 00:11:39,931 He spoke kindly to us and with respect. 158 00:11:39,933 --> 00:11:44,335 And, uh, Heather was smiling which was a good thing, you know. 159 00:11:44,437 --> 00:11:45,503 They were a cute couple. 160 00:11:45,505 --> 00:11:49,007 Of course, she was the tiny thing at 5 foot 5, 161 00:11:49,009 --> 00:11:51,943 and he was the tall thing at 6 foot 1. 162 00:11:51,945 --> 00:11:54,312 But, you know, they were cute together. 163 00:11:58,585 --> 00:12:02,620 By 2001, Heather was 17 years old. 164 00:12:02,689 --> 00:12:05,824 And we had some really nice neighbors. 165 00:12:05,826 --> 00:12:08,526 And she babysat for them sometimes and 166 00:12:08,528 --> 00:12:10,895 their children loved Heather, you know. 167 00:12:16,103 --> 00:12:18,703 [Buddy] At that point in tim Heather was progressing 168 00:12:18,772 --> 00:12:21,039 in high school very well. 169 00:12:21,041 --> 00:12:24,309 Taking, uh, as many credits as she could each year. 170 00:12:25,512 --> 00:12:29,514 She got to her senior year and she truthfully 171 00:12:29,516 --> 00:12:33,918 only needed one credit to graduate. 172 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,122 So, what she was gonna do was she was gonna go work half a day at schoo 173 00:12:37,124 --> 00:12:39,724 and work the other half the day at the local flower shop 174 00:12:39,793 --> 00:12:43,161 It enabled her to work aroun flowers, which she loved, 175 00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:46,231 and to be creative and to make people happy. 176 00:12:52,105 --> 00:12:56,875 Mary and I kind of got the feeling that we wanted to move. 177 00:12:57,911 --> 00:13:01,513 And so we looked further outside of Atlanta. 178 00:13:01,515 --> 00:13:04,115 And we found a little community called Covington. 179 00:13:05,418 --> 00:13:08,486 An idea that we came up with was to maybe do 180 00:13:08,488 --> 00:13:11,890 a flower business of some kind. 181 00:13:11,892 --> 00:13:15,426 [Elysee Lewandowski] The first flower shop was Blooms Flowers and Gifts. 182 00:13:15,428 --> 00:13:18,730 And then they eventually bought another one 183 00:13:18,732 --> 00:13:20,665 in Conyers called Flowers of Olde Town. 184 00:13:23,603 --> 00:13:26,204 [Buddy] We had Mary and Heather. 185 00:13:26,206 --> 00:13:30,208 Mary as owner, Heather as designer. 186 00:13:30,210 --> 00:13:35,146 Heather also did consultations on weddings and things like that. 187 00:13:35,215 --> 00:13:38,683 [Elysee] The flower shop wa definitely like a big family 188 00:13:38,685 --> 00:13:42,453 Um, anyone that was a part of it was so supporti 189 00:13:42,555 --> 00:13:45,924 because it takes a lot to run a shop 190 00:13:45,926 --> 00:13:48,827 smoothly and to Heather and Mary's standards. 191 00:13:50,730 --> 00:13:53,398 Steven was in the flower shop a lot. 192 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,501 He helped us out when we really needed the help 193 00:13:56,503 --> 00:14:00,438 and Heather and Steven worked very well as a team. 194 00:14:00,540 --> 00:14:02,807 [Buddy] They were very much in love with each other and 195 00:14:02,876 --> 00:14:08,246 they spent as much time together as their jobs would allow them to. 196 00:14:11,318 --> 00:14:15,253 Heather and Steven married in May of 2004. 197 00:14:17,224 --> 00:14:19,557 All of Steven's side were beaming. 198 00:14:19,659 --> 00:14:22,994 I believe they all had fallen in love with Heather 199 00:14:22,996 --> 00:14:24,729 Which was no big surprise to me, of course. 200 00:14:25,732 --> 00:14:30,201 His mom, Joanna, and her husband, Gerald. 201 00:14:30,203 --> 00:14:36,341 Everybody there was very hap that these two young people were coming together. 202 00:14:39,045 --> 00:14:41,546 In the springtime of '07, 203 00:14:41,648 --> 00:14:44,816 there was a little bit of a surprise that came about. 204 00:14:44,818 --> 00:14:49,721 And that surprise was that Heather found out that she was pregnant. 205 00:14:49,789 --> 00:14:54,292 We were really excited because we knew what kind of mom Heather would be, 206 00:14:54,294 --> 00:14:58,363 having been so good with children all along the way. 207 00:14:58,464 --> 00:15:04,702 We knew how loving, and cari and how she would be able to raise this child. 208 00:15:06,306 --> 00:15:12,110 The magic happened on September 20th of 2007. 209 00:15:12,112 --> 00:15:16,614 Carson came into the world a very healthy child. 210 00:15:17,717 --> 00:15:19,450 Everybody wanted to be there. 211 00:15:19,519 --> 00:15:21,119 Especially all the grandparents. 212 00:15:21,121 --> 00:15:23,821 Mary was there. I was there 213 00:15:23,890 --> 00:15:26,758 Joanna, Steven's mom was there. 214 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,961 Everybody was just ecstatic 215 00:15:29,963 --> 00:15:33,164 Carson was healthy and Heather was healthy. 216 00:15:33,199 --> 00:15:37,335 You couldn't have asked for a better outcome. 217 00:15:44,511 --> 00:15:48,246 Both Heather and Steven wer just so loving with Carson. 218 00:15:48,348 --> 00:15:51,516 You know, you just felt like they were both very intent 219 00:15:51,518 --> 00:15:54,786 on raising this child the best way possible. 220 00:15:58,458 --> 00:16:01,059 [Steven speaking] 221 00:16:01,127 --> 00:16:06,431 [Elysee] Heather incorporate being a mother and running a business seamlessly. 222 00:16:06,433 --> 00:16:08,333 [Heather speaking] 223 00:16:12,305 --> 00:16:15,707 [giggles] Very busy with th flower shop and with Carson 224 00:16:15,775 --> 00:16:20,211 Um, but she enjoyed it. She loved it. She loved being a mom. 225 00:16:20,213 --> 00:16:22,513 And he was a good baby, you know? 226 00:16:22,515 --> 00:16:26,050 Didn't cry very much and, of course, you know, he would be at the shop 227 00:16:26,052 --> 00:16:28,252 um, so Heather could, could watch him. 228 00:16:28,321 --> 00:16:30,321 [Heather speaking] 229 00:16:33,193 --> 00:16:37,061 [Buddy] Joanna, Steven's mom would volunteer, 230 00:16:37,130 --> 00:16:40,832 uh, to help out if she had a few days here or there. 231 00:16:40,867 --> 00:16:42,500 Or on the busy times. 232 00:16:42,502 --> 00:16:46,304 And so she'd come in. She'd run the desk or 233 00:16:46,306 --> 00:16:50,608 take orders or run deliveries or whatever needed to be done. 234 00:16:50,710 --> 00:16:55,780 So, it became, you know, all hands on deck family business. 235 00:16:57,617 --> 00:16:58,849 [Jennifer Bagby] You know, Joanna would come in 236 00:16:58,885 --> 00:17:01,919 and she would, you know, snatch Carson up like 237 00:17:01,921 --> 00:17:03,688 pretty much any grandma would do. 238 00:17:03,690 --> 00:17:06,457 And would hang out with him as well. 239 00:17:07,694 --> 00:17:10,094 Heather would talk about how she would come in 240 00:17:10,096 --> 00:17:12,230 and she would pick him up and she would put him in the stroller 241 00:17:12,232 --> 00:17:13,898 and she would take off out the door. 242 00:17:15,802 --> 00:17:18,803 Heather began to, kind of, put her foot down and, 243 00:17:18,905 --> 00:17:22,673 "No, you may not come in an take my son and disappear." 244 00:17:22,675 --> 00:17:25,910 You know, "You're his grandmother and you're welcome to be with him, 245 00:17:25,912 --> 00:17:29,013 but you're going to do that on my terms." 246 00:17:30,750 --> 00:17:34,552 Joanna might have had a little more involvement then desired. 247 00:17:38,224 --> 00:17:41,225 Around Valentine's Day of 2008, 248 00:17:41,227 --> 00:17:43,928 Joanna presented Heather with a receipt for 249 00:17:43,930 --> 00:17:46,697 a piece of jewelry that Steven had purchased. 250 00:17:48,435 --> 00:17:51,436 And, um, Heather looked at the receipt and she goes, 251 00:17:51,504 --> 00:17:55,106 "He didn't give me this. You know, this, this, 252 00:17:55,108 --> 00:17:58,109 I don't have this piece of Jewelry." 253 00:17:58,111 --> 00:18:02,313 Heather did have suspicions that Steven was being unfaithful. 254 00:18:02,315 --> 00:18:04,916 And when the receipt was presented to her, 255 00:18:04,918 --> 00:18:07,618 it was just her confirmation She knew. 256 00:18:09,689 --> 00:18:14,692 This was serious to her. Marriage was not negotiable 257 00:18:14,694 --> 00:18:17,528 Divorce was not an option. 258 00:18:17,530 --> 00:18:19,964 So it took her a very long time before she finally 259 00:18:19,966 --> 00:18:23,868 just reached the place of, "Okay, I'm done. I'm done." 260 00:18:28,208 --> 00:18:29,941 [Steven speaking] 261 00:18:31,511 --> 00:18:34,979 [Elysee] The news of the divorce was a shock to me. 262 00:18:34,981 --> 00:18:39,350 I had always pictured Heather and Steven 263 00:18:39,419 --> 00:18:42,053 to be a very solid couple. 264 00:18:42,055 --> 00:18:44,889 And I really didn't expect this. 265 00:18:46,626 --> 00:18:49,627 Heather and Steven's custod arrangements with Carson 266 00:18:49,629 --> 00:18:52,697 was that Heather was the main custodian 267 00:18:52,699 --> 00:18:56,334 but Steven got Carson every other weekend. 268 00:18:56,435 --> 00:18:59,403 [Heather speaking] 269 00:18:59,405 --> 00:19:02,940 [Jennifer] It all become abo Carson first and foremost. 270 00:19:02,942 --> 00:19:04,609 And what was best for him. 271 00:19:04,611 --> 00:19:09,881 And Heather decided to focus on the future for her and her son. 272 00:19:12,986 --> 00:19:16,654 [narrator] In March, 2008, Jennifer introduces Heather 273 00:19:16,656 --> 00:19:19,157 to restaurant manager Mike Vickers. 274 00:19:19,258 --> 00:19:24,262 I was going through a divorce myself, um, at the time. 275 00:19:24,363 --> 00:19:29,767 I had gotten married in 2007 and by the time 276 00:19:29,769 --> 00:19:33,404 I had met Heather, we had already separated. 277 00:19:33,406 --> 00:19:38,209 After I met Heather is when I really kind of knew what love was like 278 00:19:38,211 --> 00:19:40,411 and, you know, what it was about. 279 00:19:41,447 --> 00:19:43,814 [Heather speaking] 280 00:19:47,954 --> 00:19:54,725 Mary and I were both so happy that she had found somebody that she could trust again. 281 00:19:54,727 --> 00:19:57,228 And, of course, then Mike met Carson 282 00:19:57,230 --> 00:20:01,966 and they got along like two peas in a pod. 283 00:20:04,103 --> 00:20:05,903 [Heather speaking] 284 00:20:05,905 --> 00:20:07,905 [Mike speaking] 285 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,981 [Mike] He called me by "Mike when we were together. 286 00:20:16,983 --> 00:20:18,883 He's a great kid. 287 00:20:18,885 --> 00:20:21,786 When I met Carson, all you got to do is smile. 288 00:20:21,788 --> 00:20:23,721 He has the same smile as Heather. 289 00:20:23,790 --> 00:20:26,257 So, it's like, you melt right away. 290 00:20:32,699 --> 00:20:34,398 In April we were talking marriage, 291 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,068 we were talking kids and, you know, everything. 292 00:20:39,505 --> 00:20:44,775 [Buddy] They were waiting for the divorces to be final 293 00:20:44,777 --> 00:20:48,346 um, before any changes occurred in Heather's life. 294 00:20:49,515 --> 00:20:52,950 Heather would have primary custody of Carson. 295 00:20:52,952 --> 00:20:55,720 And Steven had visitation rights. 296 00:20:59,092 --> 00:21:02,226 [Elysee] As the divorce progressed and, you know, 297 00:21:02,228 --> 00:21:06,230 things were getting tied up and severed and emotions were high. 298 00:21:06,232 --> 00:21:11,402 And Heather really wanted to do custody swaps in a public place. 299 00:21:12,972 --> 00:21:14,705 She couldn't wait for all this to be over, 300 00:21:14,774 --> 00:21:19,510 so that she wouldn't have to deal with this conflict all the time. 301 00:21:24,417 --> 00:21:30,454 That Friday night, Heather dropped Carson off for the weekend at Target. 302 00:21:30,523 --> 00:21:34,258 And then Saturday night, we would do game night with my family. 303 00:21:35,695 --> 00:21:39,130 And then that next day, we spent the morning together. 304 00:21:39,132 --> 00:21:42,500 I went to work, she said she was maybe going to church 305 00:21:42,502 --> 00:21:44,935 and that she would come and pick Carson up, 306 00:21:44,937 --> 00:21:47,805 then she'd come to my restaurant. 307 00:21:49,242 --> 00:21:51,609 I said, "Okay, goodbye. Love you." 308 00:21:54,981 --> 00:21:57,114 [phone ringing] 309 00:21:57,116 --> 00:21:58,115 [woman 1 over phone] 310 00:21:59,252 --> 00:22:00,951 [woman 2 over phone] 311 00:22:06,726 --> 00:22:10,528 [Roy Whitehead] On April the 26th, 2009, shortly after 6:00 p.m., 312 00:22:10,530 --> 00:22:14,165 I received a call from the Snellville Police Department dispatch. 313 00:22:14,233 --> 00:22:16,200 There'd been a shooting at a local shopping center. 314 00:22:18,504 --> 00:22:22,506 When officers arrived, they saw a maroon Cadillac Escalade 315 00:22:22,508 --> 00:22:28,112 parked in the parking lot with a woman lying on the parking lot, 316 00:22:28,114 --> 00:22:30,781 clearly suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. 317 00:22:32,785 --> 00:22:37,088 They looked into the vehicle and saw that there was a child, 318 00:22:37,090 --> 00:22:41,559 approximately 18 months old, in a car seat located within the vehicle. 319 00:22:43,429 --> 00:22:46,831 [Trey Downs] When the officers located the victim's wallet, 320 00:22:46,932 --> 00:22:50,601 uh, they located her driver's license 321 00:22:50,703 --> 00:22:53,504 and we were able to identify the victim as Heather Strube. 322 00:23:01,414 --> 00:23:05,883 [Buddy] We were driving through South Alabama, when Mary's phone rang. 323 00:23:06,953 --> 00:23:12,523 And, um, she answered and it was her dad, Bill. 324 00:23:13,292 --> 00:23:16,527 He said, "Heather's dead." 325 00:23:19,565 --> 00:23:25,136 And she just... She didn't quite get hysterical, but pretty close 326 00:23:29,142 --> 00:23:32,777 And about three or four minutes later, 327 00:23:32,779 --> 00:23:37,114 I just pulled the car over and we just cried on each other. 328 00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:44,121 [Mike] I'll never forget the frantic phone calls 329 00:23:44,123 --> 00:23:47,958 that I made to her to try to find out what was going on. 330 00:23:51,063 --> 00:23:52,963 I was the boyfriend, you kno 331 00:23:55,435 --> 00:23:57,902 I told her I'd make sure everything was okay. 332 00:23:59,071 --> 00:24:00,704 And I couldn't that day. 333 00:24:08,781 --> 00:24:11,415 [Roy] Once we had begun to secure the area, 334 00:24:11,417 --> 00:24:13,317 we went into the store to view video cameras, 335 00:24:13,319 --> 00:24:14,785 'cause you could tell there were some 336 00:24:14,787 --> 00:24:16,520 on the exterior of the building. 337 00:24:18,057 --> 00:24:21,459 The witnesses, they had seen Heather parked in the parking lot, 338 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,962 saw a green minivan and a man took the child 339 00:24:24,964 --> 00:24:30,401 out of his car and handed him to Heather, who was securing him in her vehicle. 340 00:24:30,403 --> 00:24:33,237 And while she was doing that the green van drove away. 341 00:24:37,143 --> 00:24:39,410 And soon as she got the child in the car 342 00:24:39,412 --> 00:24:42,213 and started around back to the driver's side of the car, 343 00:24:42,215 --> 00:24:45,983 this person who'd been laying in wait just came directly up to her. 344 00:24:48,221 --> 00:24:51,121 The witnesses described the interaction, 345 00:24:51,123 --> 00:24:54,225 prior to the shooting, of the suspect and the victi 346 00:24:54,227 --> 00:24:56,093 as they were having an argument. 347 00:24:57,363 --> 00:25:01,799 And that would lead us to believe that the victim 348 00:25:01,801 --> 00:25:03,801 and the suspect knew each other. 349 00:25:07,006 --> 00:25:09,807 [Roy] The witnesses describe the person as a male, 350 00:25:09,809 --> 00:25:13,043 very slender with what they believed to be was a wi 351 00:25:13,045 --> 00:25:15,112 sort of a wild wig and a mustache, 352 00:25:15,114 --> 00:25:19,049 carrying a shoulder bag, wearing a button-down, uh, shirt 353 00:25:19,051 --> 00:25:21,218 and what appeared to be, I believe, khaki pants. 354 00:25:22,922 --> 00:25:28,726 [Trey] The suspect entered the parking lot and approached the victim 355 00:25:28,728 --> 00:25:35,132 and then we see the suspect leave in the same direction that the suspect came in. 356 00:25:36,402 --> 00:25:38,602 What stood out to us in the video 357 00:25:38,704 --> 00:25:44,909 was how calm the suspect was and how slowly they walked away, they didn't run. 358 00:25:44,911 --> 00:25:47,144 What we were also able to observe from the video 359 00:25:47,246 --> 00:25:50,047 was the suspect had kind of a hitch in their gai 360 00:25:50,049 --> 00:25:52,216 in the way they walked, it was distinctive. 361 00:25:54,420 --> 00:25:57,955 We knew from witnesses' statements that the suspect 362 00:25:57,957 --> 00:26:01,225 had walked around the left side of the shopping center. 363 00:26:01,227 --> 00:26:04,128 So we called in our canine unit and had them attempt 364 00:26:04,130 --> 00:26:06,230 to track where the suspect went. 365 00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:10,067 They went around behind the shopping center 366 00:26:10,069 --> 00:26:14,672 into a parking lot behind it it was adjacent to a local hotel. 367 00:26:16,976 --> 00:26:18,709 The dog lost interest in the track 368 00:26:18,778 --> 00:26:20,544 and it was clear to us that that person got in 369 00:26:20,646 --> 00:26:22,513 a vehicle and drove away at that point. 370 00:26:29,622 --> 00:26:35,459 [Trey] We knew that Heather went to the shopping center to do a custody exchange 371 00:26:35,561 --> 00:26:38,729 with her soon to be ex-husband, Steven Strube. 372 00:26:40,266 --> 00:26:43,067 When we were able to identify Steven Strube, 373 00:26:43,069 --> 00:26:45,803 we obviously know now that he was the last person 374 00:26:45,805 --> 00:26:49,173 to have had contact with Heather. 375 00:26:52,111 --> 00:26:54,511 [Roy] When we made the notification to Steven 376 00:26:54,513 --> 00:26:57,414 that Heather was dead and what had transpired, 377 00:26:57,416 --> 00:27:01,819 he clearly broke down, he was very upset by it. 378 00:27:03,923 --> 00:27:06,824 [Trey] After watching the initial surveillance footage, 379 00:27:06,826 --> 00:27:12,096 we were able to determine that Steven Strube had came in a green minivan 380 00:27:12,098 --> 00:27:15,299 to exchange custody with Heather Strube. 381 00:27:17,303 --> 00:27:23,707 We asked Steven Strube where he went after he exchanged custody. 382 00:27:23,709 --> 00:27:26,510 And he said he left from the and went straight home. 383 00:27:28,681 --> 00:27:33,951 We knew from the video surveillance that he was seen leaving the parking lot, 384 00:27:33,953 --> 00:27:38,622 but we couldn't rule out, at this point, that he played some role in her murder. 385 00:27:41,794 --> 00:27:43,427 Approximately two days after the murder, 386 00:27:43,429 --> 00:27:46,096 we received a call from a person who was stayin 387 00:27:46,098 --> 00:27:49,500 in the Extended Stay hotel behind the shopping center. 388 00:27:52,204 --> 00:27:55,305 He saw a white Ford pickup truck 389 00:27:55,307 --> 00:27:58,075 sitting in a motel parking l where he was staying 390 00:27:58,077 --> 00:28:03,213 and it stood out to him, because he saw a person inside the truck 391 00:28:03,215 --> 00:28:05,149 that appeared to be wearing a disguise, 392 00:28:05,151 --> 00:28:08,852 he described what he thought was a fake wig and a mustache. 393 00:28:08,854 --> 00:28:11,922 And they were either looking at the back 394 00:28:11,924 --> 00:28:15,726 of the shopping center with binoculars or they wer 395 00:28:15,828 --> 00:28:18,062 taking photographs of the back of the shopping center. 396 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,333 [Dan Mayfield] After the homicide occurred, 397 00:28:23,435 --> 00:28:27,705 the police asked the eye witnesses to meet with a artist 398 00:28:27,806 --> 00:28:31,975 to try to produce a renderin of the appearance of the shooter. 399 00:28:31,977 --> 00:28:34,611 Several of them contributed to this effort. 400 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,581 And, in fact, the artist produced a rendering 401 00:28:37,583 --> 00:28:43,053 of a small stature man with a crazy hairdo 402 00:28:43,055 --> 00:28:46,190 and a sort of a funky mustache. 403 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,361 [Roy] As a result of that sketch being seen, 404 00:28:51,463 --> 00:28:54,264 we had a gentleman who was staying at the hotel, 405 00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:57,201 uh, who was an over-the-road truck driver, who said he saw 406 00:28:57,203 --> 00:29:01,205 the person in that sketch get in that vehicle and drive off. 407 00:29:02,708 --> 00:29:06,910 He described it as the olde model white F-150 extended c 408 00:29:06,912 --> 00:29:09,980 with a very unique, uh, body side molding. 409 00:29:13,686 --> 00:29:17,721 [Dan] The detectives went to Steven Strube's parents' house, 410 00:29:17,790 --> 00:29:20,991 in order to continue their investigation. 411 00:29:20,993 --> 00:29:22,793 They were talking to all the family members 412 00:29:22,795 --> 00:29:26,130 that might have information about who the shooter might be. 413 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,402 While the investigators were there, they noticed a white pickup truck. 414 00:29:35,007 --> 00:29:36,807 We asked the witness if he would be willing 415 00:29:36,876 --> 00:29:41,178 to take a ride with us, so we could drive him 416 00:29:41,180 --> 00:29:45,449 by a house and see if he recognized any 417 00:29:45,518 --> 00:29:48,118 of the vehicles at this residence. 418 00:29:50,089 --> 00:29:53,056 He immediately said, "That's the truck. 419 00:29:53,058 --> 00:29:55,893 That's the truck I saw at the motel parking lot." 420 00:29:57,530 --> 00:30:00,364 We were able to identify that truck as being registered 421 00:30:00,465 --> 00:30:02,800 to Steven's mother, Joanna Hayes. 422 00:30:06,105 --> 00:30:08,806 On April the 29th, we went back to the house 423 00:30:08,808 --> 00:30:10,707 to serve the search warrant on that truck. 424 00:30:12,344 --> 00:30:16,814 The truck was pristine, it had been cleaned unbelievably well 425 00:30:18,818 --> 00:30:21,084 The only thing we found was this receipt 426 00:30:21,086 --> 00:30:24,955 from this fast food restaura on the night of the murder. 427 00:30:26,725 --> 00:30:31,328 And one strand of something that appeared to be consiste with the hair of a wig. 428 00:30:33,966 --> 00:30:35,799 [Dan] The investigators talk to Joanna Hayes 429 00:30:35,801 --> 00:30:38,502 about her whereabouts on the day of the murder. 430 00:30:39,672 --> 00:30:42,606 She insisted that she had driven to Luthersville 431 00:30:42,608 --> 00:30:45,442 before the murder occurred and was there working 432 00:30:45,544 --> 00:30:49,012 on her parents' house, doing some maintenance. 433 00:30:49,014 --> 00:30:52,349 And that this was miles away from the murder. 434 00:30:52,384 --> 00:30:56,486 Joanna Hayes insisted that she had no reason to kill Heather. 435 00:30:56,488 --> 00:30:58,889 That she loved Heather as a family member 436 00:30:58,891 --> 00:31:02,459 and that the divorce wasn't personal to her 437 00:31:02,528 --> 00:31:07,231 and that she would never kill Carson's mother. 438 00:31:09,702 --> 00:31:11,501 She said that she had an alibi, 439 00:31:11,503 --> 00:31:14,538 because she had a receipt in her truck 440 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,107 that showed she had gone to a fast food restaurant 441 00:31:17,109 --> 00:31:21,178 down near Luthersville at the time of the murder. 442 00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:24,615 [Trey] We know the murder's at 6:00, we see that she had stopped 443 00:31:24,617 --> 00:31:26,984 and purchased this ice cream at 7:19. 444 00:31:27,887 --> 00:31:30,954 So we decided, well, let's drive it. 445 00:31:33,592 --> 00:31:36,894 Let's drive it from her hous we'll do the speed limit. 446 00:31:38,964 --> 00:31:44,034 We were able to determine that you could commit the murder at 6:00 p.m. 447 00:31:44,036 --> 00:31:50,340 and easily make it to this fast food restaurant an hour and 19 minutes later. 448 00:31:53,879 --> 00:31:57,247 [Dan] Nine days after the homicide, the investigators brought i 449 00:31:57,349 --> 00:32:00,684 Steven Strube again to talk to him at the police department. 450 00:32:01,754 --> 00:32:04,721 But this time, they had the sketch 451 00:32:04,723 --> 00:32:07,524 that was produced by the eye witnesses and the artist. 452 00:32:12,998 --> 00:32:15,265 They showed that sketch and they showed 453 00:32:15,334 --> 00:32:19,603 the video recordings from the parking lot to Steven Strube. 454 00:32:39,291 --> 00:32:40,324 [Steven speaking] 455 00:32:42,027 --> 00:32:42,893 [investigator speaking] 456 00:32:44,263 --> 00:32:45,696 [investigator speaking] 457 00:32:50,502 --> 00:32:54,037 [Dan] You can see Steven Strube go through the process. 458 00:32:54,039 --> 00:32:58,976 His mind doesn't want to go there, but the evidenc leads him there. 459 00:32:58,978 --> 00:33:03,347 And he slowly comes to an opinion 460 00:33:03,448 --> 00:33:07,351 that that was his mother that committed the murder. 461 00:33:08,554 --> 00:33:09,720 [investigator speaking] 462 00:33:20,499 --> 00:33:22,599 [investigator speaking] 463 00:33:33,445 --> 00:33:37,047 [Trey] His reaction, the receipt, you know, 464 00:33:37,049 --> 00:33:40,450 we've got the eye witness, uh, in the truck, you know, 465 00:33:40,552 --> 00:33:42,552 we're really putting this case together now. 466 00:33:45,057 --> 00:33:46,623 [investigator speaking] 467 00:33:46,692 --> 00:33:50,093 We decided that, you know, we were gonna take him outside 468 00:33:50,095 --> 00:33:53,964 and get him in one of our cars and have him call his mother, so we could record it. 469 00:33:54,466 --> 00:33:56,233 [phone ringing] 470 00:33:56,869 --> 00:33:57,968 [Joanna over phone] 471 00:33:57,970 --> 00:33:58,935 [Steven over phone] 472 00:33:58,937 --> 00:34:00,070 [Joanna over phone] 473 00:34:00,072 --> 00:34:02,806 [Steven over phone] 474 00:34:02,875 --> 00:34:03,707 [Joanna over phone] 475 00:34:03,709 --> 00:34:05,976 [Steven over phone] 476 00:34:05,978 --> 00:34:06,943 [Joanna over phone] 477 00:34:07,613 --> 00:34:09,046 [Steven over phone] 478 00:34:09,782 --> 00:34:11,314 [Joanna over phone] 479 00:34:11,316 --> 00:34:14,117 [Steven over phone] 480 00:34:17,122 --> 00:34:18,455 [Joanna over phone] 481 00:34:19,425 --> 00:34:22,225 [Steven over phone] 482 00:34:25,431 --> 00:34:30,400 [Roy] The way she responded her tone of voice, her attitude, the delays, 483 00:34:30,402 --> 00:34:35,105 all of that came together to let us know that we knew we had the right person. 484 00:34:36,041 --> 00:34:38,108 [Joanna over phone] 485 00:34:38,110 --> 00:34:38,809 [Steven over phone] 486 00:34:40,212 --> 00:34:43,246 [Joanna over phone] 487 00:34:51,924 --> 00:34:54,791 [Trey] On May 7, 2009, we interviewed Joanna Hayes 488 00:35:12,111 --> 00:35:13,310 [Joanna speaking] 489 00:35:14,313 --> 00:35:15,812 [investigator speaking] 490 00:35:31,363 --> 00:35:32,595 [investigator] Mmm-hmm. 491 00:35:34,466 --> 00:35:36,600 [Trey] When we very first starting talking to her, 492 00:35:36,602 --> 00:35:40,403 she was calm, um, as the interview progressed 493 00:35:40,405 --> 00:35:44,407 and we started asking her direct questions 494 00:35:44,409 --> 00:35:49,346 about the murder, she was confident in her answers 495 00:35:49,447 --> 00:35:50,814 almost to a point of arrogance. 496 00:35:51,817 --> 00:35:53,316 [investigator speaking] 497 00:36:05,731 --> 00:36:06,530 [investigator speaking] 498 00:36:10,035 --> 00:36:11,501 [investigator speaking] 499 00:36:14,206 --> 00:36:16,306 [investigator speaking] 500 00:36:16,308 --> 00:36:19,075 [Trey] What we learned, during the course of this investigation, 501 00:36:19,077 --> 00:36:25,248 from speaking with people that had known Joanna Hayes virtually her whole life 502 00:36:25,350 --> 00:36:28,418 is that Joanna Hayes was a very controlling person, 503 00:36:28,420 --> 00:36:31,521 especially when it came to her grandson, Carson. 504 00:36:34,092 --> 00:36:38,461 She wanted to control everything that the child di 505 00:36:38,530 --> 00:36:44,868 Uh, she wanted to control Heather and what she did with Carson. 506 00:36:46,705 --> 00:36:51,174 She knew that once Heather and Steven divorced, 507 00:36:51,176 --> 00:36:54,444 that she was not gonna have the same access to Carson that she had. 508 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,615 And this didn't sit well with her. 509 00:36:58,717 --> 00:37:02,986 And we believe that was her motivation to commit the murder. 510 00:37:03,989 --> 00:37:04,888 [investigator speaking] 511 00:37:17,703 --> 00:37:18,768 [investigator speaking] 512 00:37:23,175 --> 00:37:26,109 [Dan] After the interview with Joanna Hayes, 513 00:37:26,211 --> 00:37:30,947 most of us were convinced that she committed this murder. 514 00:37:30,949 --> 00:37:35,118 The problem was, we had to be able to convince a jury. 515 00:37:37,823 --> 00:37:42,192 On June 25th, investigators talked to Steven Strube Senior. 516 00:37:44,196 --> 00:37:49,099 He indicated that he was married to Joanna Hayes 517 00:37:49,101 --> 00:37:53,236 and before the divorce, things were really bad. 518 00:37:54,906 --> 00:37:58,341 He described that she took a gun, in the course of an argument 519 00:37:58,410 --> 00:38:04,247 and put it on his forehead, which is exactly how Heather Strube was killed. 520 00:38:05,284 --> 00:38:08,385 The handgun described by Steven Strube Senior 521 00:38:08,387 --> 00:38:12,088 was a Rossi .38 caliber handgun, 522 00:38:12,090 --> 00:38:17,694 that had belonged to Joanna Hayes years before. 523 00:38:17,696 --> 00:38:21,564 Forensic analysis of the bullet that killed Heather Strube 524 00:38:21,633 --> 00:38:24,434 showed that the bullet was a .38 caliber 525 00:38:24,536 --> 00:38:27,237 and it had been fired from either a Rossi 526 00:38:27,339 --> 00:38:30,774 or a Taurus manufactured handgun. 527 00:38:32,878 --> 00:38:37,147 We couldn't prove that the bullet matched the gun 528 00:38:37,149 --> 00:38:42,052 that Joanna Hayes owned years and years and years ag 529 00:38:42,054 --> 00:38:46,189 But it was one more circumstance that pointed 530 00:38:46,191 --> 00:38:49,225 to Joanna Hayes as possibly being the shooter. 531 00:38:53,965 --> 00:38:56,766 We charged Joanna Hayes with murder. 532 00:38:56,768 --> 00:39:00,603 And she was taken into custody without much of a fight. 533 00:39:02,908 --> 00:39:06,209 [Buddy] When we found out it was Steven's mother, 534 00:39:06,211 --> 00:39:10,513 it was shocking, I mean, to say the least, it was shocking. 535 00:39:12,117 --> 00:39:16,086 To me, it was just an extremely selfish act when you boil it down. 536 00:39:17,989 --> 00:39:19,689 She didn't care about the consequences. 537 00:39:23,195 --> 00:39:27,997 We started trial on May 2nd, 2011. 538 00:39:27,999 --> 00:39:32,602 There was a tremendous amount of evidence and a lot of witnesses. 539 00:39:32,604 --> 00:39:34,604 There were a lot of little circumstances 540 00:39:34,673 --> 00:39:37,207 that need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 541 00:39:40,178 --> 00:39:42,345 It was apparent to me that Joanna Hayes 542 00:39:42,414 --> 00:39:45,215 had carefully planned this murder. 543 00:39:46,251 --> 00:39:48,184 She had arranged everything. 544 00:39:50,322 --> 00:39:53,423 She had the wig, she had the clothing, 545 00:39:53,425 --> 00:39:57,327 she had everything she neede placed where she needed it to be. 546 00:40:00,465 --> 00:40:05,001 When she walked up to Heather's car and starte that conversation, 547 00:40:07,205 --> 00:40:08,405 she was committed. 548 00:40:10,709 --> 00:40:13,810 Heather was placing Carson into a car seat. 549 00:40:14,813 --> 00:40:18,448 Obviously Heather knew that was Joanna Hayes. 550 00:40:21,453 --> 00:40:24,521 Obviously she knew she was gonna be murdered. 551 00:40:25,924 --> 00:40:27,056 Heather was trapped. 552 00:40:28,126 --> 00:40:30,193 I think she knew it was inevitable. 553 00:40:35,066 --> 00:40:38,902 Joanna Hayes was convicted of murder of Heather Strube 554 00:40:38,904 --> 00:40:40,904 and sentenced to life in prison. 555 00:40:44,409 --> 00:40:47,076 [narrator] Investigators accept that Steven Strube 556 00:40:47,078 --> 00:40:52,115 was unaware of his mother's plan and that he played no role in Heather's murder 557 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,222 [Jennifer] Heather's legacy is compassion. 558 00:40:59,224 --> 00:41:02,892 And when I think of her, that's one of the biggest things that I think of. 559 00:41:05,063 --> 00:41:06,329 Heather was one of a kind. 560 00:41:10,669 --> 00:41:13,203 [Mike] Anybody that came in contact with Heather 561 00:41:13,205 --> 00:41:15,805 would be ever grateful that they got to meet her. 562 00:41:16,675 --> 00:41:18,408 You know, she was a good person. 563 00:41:19,911 --> 00:41:21,177 She was a wonderful person. 564 00:41:23,515 --> 00:41:25,615 I would switch places with her in a heartbeat. 565 00:41:32,524 --> 00:41:35,925 [Buddy] Carson is now 13 years old. 566 00:41:35,927 --> 00:41:41,231 He is about six feet tall, he would have dwarfed Heather by now. 567 00:41:43,668 --> 00:41:45,034 He's an amazing young man. 568 00:41:47,439 --> 00:41:50,406 [Elysee] Heather would want Carson to be whatever 569 00:41:50,408 --> 00:41:53,977 he wanted to be, the very best version of it 570 00:41:53,979 --> 00:41:56,312 And there's no doubt in my mind that, you know, 571 00:41:56,314 --> 00:42:00,517 he's got the best angel looking down on him 572 00:42:00,519 --> 00:42:04,320 and ensuring that he has every opportunity to do that. 573 00:42:06,091 --> 00:42:09,526 [Heather] When I grow up, I wanna seeds on it. 574 00:42:09,528 --> 00:42:13,263 [Buddy] The thing that I mis the most about Heather 575 00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:17,166 is how she loved you. 576 00:42:20,972 --> 00:42:23,172 It radiated from her. 577 00:42:24,809 --> 00:42:26,509 And she sparkled like a diamond.