(thunder rumbling)
Reporter: Police say this 27-year-old man was killed
Sometime between 2:00 and 6:30 this morning.
When his bloodied body was discovered,
The door to room 42 was wide open.
Tonight, police want to know more about the woman
Who checked into this motel with the man found murdered.
Michelle ashley: My friend keith came in town to see me.
I was excited because I hadn't seen him in a while.
We went to a hotel for a couple hours,
And that's when four guys rushed into the room.
That was when keith got shot.
Robert harris: The state's theory is that michelle is the mastermind,
That she set it all up.
If they do achieve a conviction for felony murder, she will die in prison.
I feel like I'm the scapegoat.
They are painting me as a monster.
It's not about the truth and who actually committed this murder,
But it's about who can we pin this on to close this case?
Harris: My name is rob harris.
I represent michelle ashley on a charge of first-degree murder.
This is a crime that occurred in 1997.
Uh, so it is a cold case by definition.
This case has been reopened
Because after 25 years, new evidence has come forward against michelle ashley.
Harris: Back in July 1997,
Michelle was working as a stripper at the lookers nightclub.
An old friend of michelle's, keith jones,
Came into town to visit her that night.
Apparently, he was flush with cash.
They made arrangements to go to the tides motel to catch up, to kinda hang out,
And afterwards michelle goes back to the club.
It's at that time when keith jones called michelle and asked her to come back.
Michelle got taken back to the hotel
By a couple of people from the club.
Less than an hour later,
Michelle says those two men, along with two other men,
Burst in the room, guns drawn, to rob keith jones.
And keith jones got shot and killed.
They then grabbed michelle, took her out of the hotel room into their car,
And when the men release her, they warn her,
If she talks, they're gonna kill her.
Despite that, the very same day she called the police,
And told them that she had information about this homicide.
They listened to her and they believed her.
However, the case was dropped for lack of evidence.
It became a cold case.
Detectives went out into the streets,
They let it be known that they were looking for information
About michelle ashley.
She was now a target.
New evidence and new witnesses have come forward against michelle.
We haven't received all the discovery yet,
But we know that they believe it's enough to charge her with first-degree murder.
The state does not believe that michelle ashley pulled the trigger,
But it doesn't matter.
Their theory is that michelle is the mastermind behind this robbery,
That she set it all up.
And in florida, like many other jurisdictions, there's the felony murder rule.
If you're committing a felony, such as a robbery or a drug sale,
And someone gets killed during that felony,
You're liable for first-degree murder
Because it was foreseeable that violence and death would occur.
If they do achieve a conviction for felony murder, she will die in prison.
I believe that the state of florida
Is trying to prosecute an innocent witness and victim with a charge of murder
When the actual killers are still roaming the streets free.
Ashley: Everything changed when I was arrested for murder.
It has affected my life drastically.
I sat in jail for a year away from my family.
I lost my good job. I lost my vehicle. I lost my home.
It has changed my life completely.
I feel like I'm the scapegoat.
It's not about the truth and who actually committed this murder,
But it's about who can we pin this on to close this case?
I think that they judged me
Because I was a dancer back then.
I was only a dancer for three weeks. I was young and I was naive.
People should judge me on who I really am, I'm a mother.
They made such a big deal about me being a stripper.
It's such a minor part of my 43 years of life.
I had known keith for a little over five years.
We met through his sister and we just clicked and became very good friends.
So to accuse me of something like that, it's horrendous.
I have been to church with that family,
I have eaten dinner with that family.
My worst fear is that people think I'm a monster.
And then I have to worry about this case.
You know, am I going to prison for something I did not do?
You know, um...
It's just... It's a lot.
So today I'm going to meet michelle ashley.
She is charged with first-degree felony murder, so she's in big trouble.
(doorbell chimes)
The stakes are huge.
Her version of the events is what our defense is going to be.
Her whole life depends on her story.
So you're charged with first-degree felony murder, punishable by life in prison.
It's obviously vitally important
-That we get ahead of this. -Ashley: Hmm.
So why don't we start out by you giving me just an overview
Of what happened that day.
I was working at a local strip club, lookers,
And my friend keith came in town to see me.
I hadn't seen him for a long time.
How did you know keith?
I met him through his sister who was a friend of mine.
He was a good friend to me.
He was somebody that I could talk to
And he was a good person.
He was getting dances from me
And he wanted to go to a hotel for a couple hours.
We talked a little, we had sex and I went back to the club.
Later, keith called and asked me to come back again.
How did you get back to the hotel?
Jamal. A friend of mine from the club gave me a ride.
And what'd you do when you were in the room?
Uh, we were talking. Time had passed and I was gonna leave.
We were waiting on the cab, and that's when
The four guys rushed into the room.
Did you know any of these guys?
Two of them I knew from the club. Rich and jamal.
-Did you know the other guys? -No.
So, did you know jamal well?
Jamal was a guy that I was seeing for a couple of weeks.
We slept together a couple of times.
(sighs heavily)
So you were sleeping with one of the men who burst in the room?
Yes.
Okay. Well, that's not good.
Clearly, this gives the state a theory here, right?
That you were romantically involved with one of the men
And they're gonna say that you were in league with him.
Right.
Okay. And then what happened?
They were, like, going through our things, arguing with keith.
The big guy, I think his name is geronimo.
I didn't know him at the time.
He kind of grabbed me and pushed me against a wall.
And then I heard the...
It was not like a shot, it was like a knock.
And I guess that was when they shot him.
After that, the big guy snatched me.
They all jumped in a car
And the big guy just put me in a car with them.
I remember just thinking I was gonna die.
I was thinking they were gonna hurt me.
They told me not to tell anybody,
And I, of course, said okay.
Immediately, when I came home,
I saw the news and that's when I knew that he was dead.
At that point, I called the police
And I did tell them who the guys were that were involved.
Okay.
I was cooperative with the detectives.
Um, they treated me like a victim.
They were acting like you were someone
Who could help them solve this crime.
-Correct. -Okay.
Fast forward to 2019.
There is no new evidence against the four men.
They weren't prosecuted in 1997 for lack of evidence.
They aren't being prosecuted now because of the same problem.
However, new witnesses have come forward.
People claiming you're the mastermind or planned the robbery.
So the state's trying to make it look like you organized this.
Did you organize this? Did you plan this in any way?
No.
Although, we're just delving into it,
There's one thing I know, and that's that I believe you.
I do believe in michelle. I mean, I believe everything she's saying,
But one of our hurdles of course,
Is that michelle was actually having a sexual relationship
With one of the men she accuses of being the real killers.
That obviously is the state's theory here.
She had these relationships, she was at the club, she was in the hotel,
She was in the room when keith was killed.
And I'm very concerned that the jury will hold her accountable
Just because there's a dead man
And they want to see someone pay a price.
Ashley: That looks like a beyonce move right there.
(laughs heartily)
Oh! (exclaiming in pain)
(all laughing)
Ashley: We're at my mother's house,
And usually on the weekends we just kinda hang out.
Okay, so are you gonna show me the new cheers?
Teetee: Okay.
Teetee's growing up super-fast. Too fast.
-That's about the only part I could do! -(both laugh)
Ashley: It's funny to see the difference that a year can make.
Oh, you made that up? I like it.
When I see her, I see a young lady.
You know, when I left, she was a little girl.
Being away from me, in some ways, she had to grow up.
She cleans up now.
You know, I was still cleaning her room before I went to jail.
It makes me happy to see that, but it also makes me sad.
(voice shaking) because I missed certain parts of that.
So that that part makes me sad,
But seeing who she's turning out to be makes me happy.
It is still fun that I do get to see her on the weekends.
Even though it may not be every day,
I still enjoy the times I have with her
Because you never know what's gonna happen.
Ashley: Teetee is very aware of the situation.
(laughing)
I talked to her about what we're going to do, you know, if all goes well,
But I also talked to her about
What I want her to do if it doesn't.
(singing indistinctly)
Before my trial, my mother and I will be going.
I will be signing full custody of teetee over to her.
-Out of breath. -(both laugh)
That hurts, you know, because I want her with me every day.
I want her with me always.
Harris: Michelle's coming in today.
We're gonna talk about the detectives
That investigated this case in 1997.
Detective lawson made a determination
That he did not think michelle was involved in this
And that she was a witness.
And detective lewis went along with that decision and agreed with it.
So what's changed from 1997 to now in terms of the two detectives
Is that detective lewis, when I took his deposition recently,
He said something to the effect that he believed
That she was complicit from the get go.
I think there's a couple of different reasons that are possible.
You know, he just wants to be on the prosecution team.
He wants justice for whatever he thinks is justice.
What's so striking about it is that
He had every opportunity for 20-something years
To make that opinion known in the official channel.
He didn't do any such thing.
He didn't write any report or statement for 20-something years.
-Hi, rob. -Oh, hi, michelle.
Detective lawson was the lead detective.
-Correct. -Right?
-He didn't want you arrested. Point blank. -Correct.
Now, detective lewis, on the other hand...
We did a deposition on detective lewis.
Lewis says there was a conversation before the recorded statement
Where he says he believed you to be guilty the entire time.
Detective lewis never wrote any sort of report.
Not even a statement, not even a paragraph.
He's going purely by his memory, which is dangerous.
What bothers me about it is, um,
The fact that he says he always thought I had something to do with it.
Yeah.
If you thought that, why would you not do your job?
I mean, what kind of detective takes a lengthy conversation from an eyewitness to a murder
And doesn't write a darn thing? Doesn't write a note.
The problem is that I asked him exactly what you said, he never really told me.
-He kinda went around the bush. -Right.
He's gonna come to court and testify to an interview that he has no recording of,
That he has no written statement of,
And he's just gonna make up what you said.
-Right. -What ridiculousness is that?
I made a motion to the judge.
I said, "I don't think he should be able to testify to any of that statement."
You know, the court cautioned detective lewis not to testify,
Or cautioned the state to tell detective lewis not to testify
-To any opinions or inferences. -Right.
It has to be straight what you said.
In discussing detective lewis, he's got a whole window where he says
He's interviewing michelle off camera, off audio, back in '97.
He can basically say she said anything.
She killed jimmy hoffa.
There's no ability for us to refute what he's saying,
Which could be extremely damaging
Because the whole defense hinges on michelle being an innocent victim in '97.
We've got problems.
We're going to lookers, um,
And what we're gonna do is just kind of survey the area, right?
This is important for me to kind of put it in my mind's eye,
Exactly everything that happened.
This is the story from michelle's point of view.
We've got to corroborate as much as we can
To show that she was telling the truth.
It's right there.
Harris: Okay. So take us back to 1997.
-Did you know keith was going to be there? -Ashley: Yes.
He was, you know, a friend of mine.
-And you immediately saw him at the bar? -Yes.
All right. What's he doing?
Uh, he was sitting there with the drink in his hand.
-He was with me all night. -Okay.
And when you say he was with you just talking, you're hanging out?
-Lap dancing? -Dancing. Yeah.
So he's giving me money. Twenties and hundreds.
Harris: Where's he giving you the money?
Usually I would have a bag in the back
And I would go and unload and come back for more.
Okay. So that may have called some attention to him, right?
-Yes. -Okay.
How many people were in the club that night? What kind of crowd was there?
-Uh, maybe 40. -Forty customers?
-Forty people altogether, yeah. -Total?
So word is that this guy's got some cash.
The prosecution's theory
Is that michelle was the only one that knew keith jones had money.
If someone flashed money, not only would every stripper in the place know about it,
But every customer in the place would know about it.
Therefore, everyone had motive
To commit a robbery against somebody
Flashing that kind of money.
Harris: We found a motel room that resembled
A typical florida motel room from 1997.
-Hello. -Harris: Hi, marie.
It's gonna give me a great advantage
In explaining exactly what michelle was going through to a jury.
Harris: All right.
Okay. Looks like relatively close.
Marie olsen: Yeah, very good. Harris: It's okay.
Harris: So, one thing led to another. Ashley: Yes.
-Harris: Okay. And you guys had sex? -Correct.
We talked for a little bit, and then he took me back to lookers.
-So you got in the car with jamal? -Yes.
-And who else was in the car? -Uh, rich.
-Jamal and rich? -It was jamal and rich.
Anything seem suspicious with these guys in the car at that point?
No.
So let's talk about when you got back here.
You and keith were making out a little bit, having some fun?
-Yes. -And at some point you call a cab?
Twenty minutes after I made the call,
That's when...
(voice shaking) ...We heard the knock at the door.
That's when they rushed in.
Olsen: Who's there first? Who do you see?
I know, take your time.
I want to say, rich with the gun.
Um...
I just remember, like, being pushed into the room.
When I start to scream... This is when this one kind of puts me over here.
-Who's doing this? -The big guy. Geronimo.
He pushes me down here.
I just hear them arguing with keith about the money.
(sobbing) I don't think he would tell them where it was.
I hear them fighting.
And then it was just the... It was a gunshot.
-And that's when he snatches me. -Harris: Who?
The big guy.
-Who was that? -Geronimo.
Do you have anything in your hand?
Where is your bag of stuff here? Your dance bag?
I have no idea.
-Okay. Didn't see it on the way out? -I did not.
Now, your shoe.
-My shoe. -All right.
My speculation is that at that point, one of your shoes came off.
Kind of dragging your feet there. Does that sound right?
To be honest, I didn't give a...About shoes or any of that.
I was worried about what was going on
And if something was gonna happen to me.
Harris: When I see her react like that, it's real.
This is michelle's truth. This is a horrible thing what happened to her.
Michelle ashley leaving her shoe and her purse in this hotel room...
It's really the key to the case.
If this was some sort of concerted effort
To get away with this robbery and murder,
Why wouldn't the men have allowed her time to get her stuff?
What kind of person leaves their shoe at the crime scene? A victim!
We just received discovery from the state
And I'm gonna have my investigator, marie olsen, come in
Because there's a new witness we need to address.
If this witness is compelling, then the jury might convict michelle ashley
Just based on their word.
That means a life sentence.
We're gonna watch the interview of emely bell sanchez now.
She was a friend of michelle's back in 1997.
So let's have a look at this video...
-Olsen: Okay. -...And we'll see what she's got to add to this case.
Harris: Okay, so this is the hard part, right?
That's the state's theory of the case in a nutshell.
If a jury believes what she just said,
Then michelle's guilty of felony murder.
That's what we have to deal with.
If they believe it, michelle's done.
(detective speaking)
Harris: Well, this obviously concerns me.
When people have some emotion behind them,
It makes their statement more credible.
She is very convincing here.
Harris: She is just damaging to michelle ashley.
She's the case-in-chief.
Our job, then, is to make her not so credible.
Sierra!
Do you want to come and rinse these dishes?
-Sure. -Thank you.
My daughter sierra, she's 23 years old.
Sierra and I share a room here,
Which is a little odd,
But we're as comfortable as we can be
Considering everything that we're going through right now.
So did they come by to give you your medication today?
Yeah.
Ashley: About two years ago,
Sierra started being a little different.
After a few visits to the hospital,
They found a cyst on her brain.
Right now, we're fighting to get insurance.
Once she gets the medicaid, she will be able
To get the surgery that she needs.
I'm just praying that we can get this done before I go to trial.
Love you.
Love you more.
Ashley: Impossible. Sierra: Yes, I do.
Impossible.
My first priority is trying to get her surgery,
Because I feel like at least if...
If I was found guilty for something that I did not do,
I know that she would be able to take care of herself.
But if she is left in this condition,
I don't know what's gonna happen.
Harris: We're on the brink of the trial,
And my investigator marie olsen is coming in
With some information
Responsive to a subpoena we sent to fort myers police department.
It's about emely bell sanchez.
She told me it will blow the credibility out of the water
For this witness, so I'm anxious to see what she's found.
So today we should discuss this paperwork that we have here,
Um, showing emely being compensated by the state
-For her cooperation. -Harris: Oh, my gosh.
-That's a lot of money. -Olsen: It is a lot of money.
What does this add up to? Some...
-Rough calculation, over... $12,000! -(olsen counting)
Uh, do we know who requested this money?
Oh, the prosecutors in the... It's to the prosecutor.
Okay, so he knows about it.
Olsen: So he does. Harris: Okay.
-They're witness relocation expenses. -Yeah.
Okay, and the second document here
Is something that
-I sent you a copy of. -Olsen: Yes.
Harris: Emely bell just happened to be added
To a drug court docket.
Drug court meaning instead of going to trial,
Instead of going to prison,
You get some drug rehabilitation,
-And you get your charges dismissed. -Olsen: Exactly.
I'm not so sure the state wanted me to know that this happened!
Okay, so it was a good meeting and I will see you later.
-Good. Thank you. -Okay.
This evidence is crucial.
The jury really needs to hear this.
The main witness against michelle ashley
Is emely belle sanchez.
We now have evidence that she's been given money,
No conviction, get out of jail free...
That's what the witness is getting.
How can you believe anything she's saying?
Harris: Today's finally the day.
This has been a long time coming.
I've got an innocent client. I've got a good case.
But I've got a lot of people who are lying about michelle.
If she's convicted by this jury,
She's going to get life, and never get out of prison.
The stakes are incredibly high.
(dan feinberg speaking)
(judge speaking)
On June 19th, 1997,
Mr. Jones was shot in the head.
Keith jones was executed that night.
Mr. Jones's wallet was nowhere to be found,
And whatever cash he had was missing.
That robbery of keith jones was set in motion by his friend.
This was a betrayal.
And we'll ask you, based on the evidence,
To find her so, guilty. Thank you.
Within 18 hours of being in that room
And watching a man that she liked get killed,
She's on tape, she's on a recording.
She's sworn in to tell the truth.
And she is scared out of her mind.
She thinks she's gonna be killed next.
And despite that,
She told them who the killers were.
She described each one of them so they would arrest them!
The police did nothing.
So 25 years later,
We got detectives trying to remember what she said.
They decided that michelle was guilty of this.
Michelle ashley did not set up a robbery,
Did not participate with four men.
Why would you leave your shoe
If this is a premeditated robbery?
If you're in on it, why are you leaving your shoe?
She didn't do this.
Thank you.
Feinberg: During the pre-interview,
Do you recall that the defendant gave you three versions
Of what took place at the tides motel
Per her knowledge?
Detective lewis: I do remember that, yes.
There are a couple of different themes in this pre-interview.
In my estimation, it was a story.
It was not part of the truthful situation which occurred.
To me, that's highly suspicious.
Thank you, detective.
Detective lewis.
During the pre-interview, did she implicate herself in anything?
She certainly put herself in a position,
She was under high suspicion.
-That's your suspicion? -Detective lewis: Correct.
I'm asking, what did she say
That made you feel she was complicit
In the home invasion robbery during the pre-interview?
I would have to get back to the themes.
This is the reason why I filed a motion.
He wants to talk about themes, judge.
I don't think it's fair.
When the lawyers ask you a question,
Answer the question.
Don't expand beyond the question.
It's not your first time on the witness stand.
Don't give opinions. Don't talk about themes.
Don't talk about estimations.
I know exactly what he's doing.
He wants the jury to hear what he wants them to hear.
And that's wrong.
And that's sandbagging the defense by the witness.
He's going beyond what your question is,
And I'm not going to allow that. Finish.
I appreciate that.
Wouldn't it be nice, detective lewis,
To have a tape of that statement
So that we could all judge for ourselves?
We don't have those things because you didn't record them.
You didn't take notes.
You didn't even bother to push play on a tape recorder.
No further questions.
I got frustrated, and so did the judge, with detective lewis.
He doesn't want to tell you all the facts.
He wants to tell you only the facts
That he wants you to know.
It's crazy. And I hope the jury saw that.
My game plan is to destroy the state's case.
Their case is weak.
Their case is full of liars
And holes and possibilities.
But today's a big day.
She's the star witness. She's the key to our case.
She's the key to putting michelle in prison
For the rest of her life.
Feinberg: June 19th of 1997.
Had you talked to michelle
About somebody who was going to visit her?
Yes.
She said that a friend of hers was coming from daytona
And he had a lot of money,
And, um, she was going to have him robbed.
Feinberg: Were those, to you, remarkable conversations?
Yes, they were life-changing conversations.
She said it wasn't supposed to happen like that.
If he would've just did what he was supposed to do,
And just gave 'em the money and not reach for his gun,
That he would have been all right.
(ashley speaking, sobbing)
(judge speaking)
Harris: Before you told the detectives anything
About michelle being a robber/killer,
Did you tell detectives you were struggling with addiction?
Yes.
Harris: Did that prompt the detectives to tell you
That they had resources to relocate you
If you feel like you were in danger?
Yes.
Harris: The $12,000 was paid for your rent.
The money you saved by not having to pay your own rent.
You had extra money for drugs, did you not?
I might have.
Harris: You said you didn't gain any benefit
From the state attorney's office, correct?
Yes.
-You got drug court, correct? -Sanchez: Yes.
Which is basically probation. Right?
Yes.
You don't consider it a benefit to not stay in jail
And get drug rehab paid for by the state.
You don't see that as a benefit to you?
No.
Harris: All right, I'll move on from that.
Were you in person for any of those
Life-changing conversations where michelle admitted
Being part of this robbery to you?
No.
-Harris: They were all on the phone? -Yes.
Harris: Where were you when you called her on the phone?
That I can't recall.
Harris: What time of day was it
-When you called her on the phone? -I can't...
I don't remember, I can't recall.
Would you agree with me that that's quite a chilling conversation?
Something that you would remember,
-And you said it's a life-changing conversation? -Yes. Yes.
But you don't remember where you were
When you were talking to michelle?
Whether it was morning, day or night?
No.
Harris: Thank you, no further questions.
Today was a tough day.
I think we managed to score some big points
Against emely bell sanchez.
But michelle lost her composure in court. That cannot happen.
So now comes a time when we have the final discussion, all right?
It's really tough to tell, but I feel it went very well.
I don't think there's anything michelle can add
That's not already on the record,
That wasn't introduced in her prior statements.
But the decision
Whether to testify in your murder case or not
Is 100% up to you, michelle.
I mean, I don't want to if I don't have to.
He is going to say a lot of things that are not true.
And I might not be able to handle that.
I agree. I think it's... I think it's dangerous,
That she will not be able
To handle the state's abuse,
Which it's going to be abusive.
-We're of the opinion. -Ashley: Yeah.
-We're going to rest. -Yeah.
(judge speaking)
Ladies and gentlemen, if it went down like she set it up,
It would have probably gone as an unsolved robbery.
What went wrong here is he fought back.
Now it's every woman for herself.
Her actions are inconsistent with that of a victim.
This was a setup.
The defendant set it up.
We would ask that you find the defendant guilty
Of felony murder in our case.
Harris: In 1997,
Detective lawson, he believed her to be telling the truth,
The whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
She wanted the four men arrested.
She was helping detective lawson to do that.
She was the key to the case.
Right now, as she sits here,
She is presumed innocent until the jury decides
That's not true because the state
Has overcome that with evidence.
Emely bell sanchez is their evidence.
That's what they've got.
Her credibility and her stories are lacking.
Her evidence is not worthy of beyond a reasonable doubt.
I think you know that.
Thank you.
It's very scary to have the jury deciding my fate.
It's very scary because they don't know me.
Um, they don't know what type of person I am.
So, that makes it scary.
You know. You know what I mean. I can't even think right now.
Harris: I'm extremely nervous.
If the jury convicts michelle ashley,
I will go to my grave
Thinking it was a mis-service and a misjustice.
(sighing)
No matter what happens, guilty or not guilty,
Everybody just keep it cool, keep it together and be calm.
We'll deal with whatever happens, okay?
Judge: Jury is entering.
(bailiff speaking)
Ashley: Oh, my gosh!
(bailiff speaking)
Yes, oh, my dear!
(exclaims in relief)
Harris: This is unprecedented, right? A 25-year-old case.
And to get a not guilty after all this time?
The aspersions of guilt,
The shadows hanging over her are gone.
She can live and move on,
And with her beautiful family, and I'm so happy for her.
Ashley: I feel wonderful.
I feel like the jury saw
That they were trying to sabotage me.
I was so worried that the jury was not going to see
What was going on.
And I'm so happy that they did.
And I'm so happy that I get my life back.
It's been, like, three very long, long years.
So I'm just happy.
Happy.
-Oh, so happy! (laughing) -here we go!
Let's go! Let's go!