1 00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:28,236 [♪ eerie music playing] 2 00:00:34,826 --> 00:00:36,786 [Elie Estephan speaking] 3 00:00:44,919 --> 00:00:47,213 And that's how he died. 4 00:00:49,841 --> 00:00:53,469 But that was not the only death 5 00:00:53,470 --> 00:00:55,555 that people were talking about. 6 00:00:56,848 --> 00:00:59,684 Also, there was Ron Jordan. 7 00:01:03,897 --> 00:01:08,233 Back in '85, Ron Jordan 8 00:01:08,234 --> 00:01:10,195 worked for Dave Sconce. 9 00:01:11,321 --> 00:01:13,990 I knew Ron, I knew the whole family, his family. 10 00:01:15,325 --> 00:01:18,119 He transported bodies to the crematory to be cremated. 11 00:01:20,455 --> 00:01:22,540 He saw what Dave is doing. 12 00:01:23,374 --> 00:01:25,000 [cremation furnaces rumbling] 13 00:01:25,001 --> 00:01:28,171 Ron decided, "I don't wanna have anything to do with it. 14 00:01:29,172 --> 00:01:30,965 I'm quitting. I'm done." 15 00:01:32,842 --> 00:01:34,844 But he was scared of Dave Sconce. 16 00:01:37,388 --> 00:01:40,265 So, he told Dave, "Listen, you have nothing to worry about it. 17 00:01:40,266 --> 00:01:41,518 I know nothing, I saw nothing." 18 00:01:43,978 --> 00:01:47,232 He was looking forward for the next phase of his life. 19 00:01:48,399 --> 00:01:51,193 He was a handsome guy, he had a gorgeous girlfriend. 20 00:01:51,194 --> 00:01:54,196 Young, educated. 21 00:01:54,197 --> 00:01:56,616 He wanted to be a fireman. 22 00:02:00,703 --> 00:02:04,915 Two weeks later, we hear that Ron was found hanging. 23 00:02:04,916 --> 00:02:06,250 He committed suicide. 24 00:02:06,251 --> 00:02:08,294 [♪ dark somber music playing] 25 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:10,296 [crickets chirping] 26 00:02:12,173 --> 00:02:14,509 Coroner came in, did an investigation. 27 00:02:16,136 --> 00:02:20,556 Not enough evidence to blame anyone other than hearsay, 28 00:02:20,557 --> 00:02:25,394 but we all had no doubts that he didn't do that to himself. 29 00:02:25,395 --> 00:02:27,604 [♪ dark music continues] 30 00:02:27,605 --> 00:02:30,149 Everyone knew Ron, everyone knew Dave, 31 00:02:30,150 --> 00:02:32,944 everyone knew the business, said that cannot happen. 32 00:02:35,363 --> 00:02:37,406 There's no proof, of course, 33 00:02:37,407 --> 00:02:41,244 but a couple weeks before, Ron... 34 00:02:42,495 --> 00:02:46,331 he mentioned it, not realizing that it's gonna come true. 35 00:02:46,332 --> 00:02:50,085 You know, "If anything happens to me, just look for Dave." 36 00:02:50,086 --> 00:02:53,089 [♪ sinister music playing] 37 00:02:54,382 --> 00:02:56,592 [David Sconce] Certain people said 38 00:02:56,593 --> 00:02:59,428 that I killed Ron Jordan, who I-- okay. 39 00:02:59,429 --> 00:03:04,184 Somehow, I had done something to him. 40 00:03:05,185 --> 00:03:07,769 I remember Ron was clean-cut. 41 00:03:07,770 --> 00:03:10,814 He was a good employee, he was a hard worker. 42 00:03:10,815 --> 00:03:13,442 I-- I later heard he was a gay guy, 43 00:03:13,443 --> 00:03:16,528 but I don't care if a guy's a gay guy. Big deal. 44 00:03:16,529 --> 00:03:18,322 It means I don't tie my shoes in front of him. 45 00:03:18,323 --> 00:03:19,699 Okay, that's fine. 46 00:03:21,451 --> 00:03:24,412 I can't think of one bad thing I ever heard about Ron. 47 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:27,665 Why would I want to kill him? 48 00:03:28,666 --> 00:03:30,835 Seriously? You know. 49 00:03:34,505 --> 00:03:36,549 [Elie] This man has no conscience. 50 00:03:37,175 --> 00:03:39,343 [♪ sinister music continues] 51 00:03:39,344 --> 00:03:42,513 He deserved to be locked up for-- for life. 52 00:03:44,432 --> 00:03:46,642 For life. That's where he belongs. 53 00:03:46,643 --> 00:03:48,770 [♪ music intensifies] 54 00:03:53,566 --> 00:03:54,651 [♪ music fades out] 55 00:03:55,735 --> 00:03:57,402 Good evening, I'm Ted Koppel, 56 00:03:57,403 --> 00:03:59,488 and this is Nightline. 57 00:03:59,489 --> 00:04:02,242 I don't even know if I've got my husband's ashes. 58 00:04:03,534 --> 00:04:05,410 Let alone, I know that they mutilated him 59 00:04:05,411 --> 00:04:06,912 to get the corneas, but I don't even know 60 00:04:06,913 --> 00:04:08,705 that it's his ashes that I've got. 61 00:04:08,706 --> 00:04:11,541 [♪ dark mysterious music playing] 62 00:04:11,542 --> 00:04:13,001 [Bella Shaw] From California, a story 63 00:04:13,002 --> 00:04:15,337 that sounds like a plot from a horror movie. 64 00:04:15,338 --> 00:04:17,089 A ghastly tale of funeral attendants 65 00:04:17,090 --> 00:04:19,007 who allegedly dismembered bodies, 66 00:04:19,008 --> 00:04:20,385 secretly sold human organs. 67 00:04:21,427 --> 00:04:24,012 [reporter] 32-year-old David Sconce and his parents, 68 00:04:24,013 --> 00:04:25,514 Jerry and Laurieanne Lamb Sconce, 69 00:04:25,515 --> 00:04:26,932 who own the mortuary, face trial 70 00:04:26,933 --> 00:04:30,144 beginning later this year on 68 counts. 71 00:04:31,145 --> 00:04:33,939 [David Sconce] All the stories about me and my parents, 72 00:04:33,940 --> 00:04:36,192 that was sensationalized to the max. 73 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,947 There was a bad story about me every day in the news. 74 00:04:42,282 --> 00:04:43,782 [narrator] The cremation business 75 00:04:43,783 --> 00:04:46,868 was a goldmine for the owners of Lamb's. 76 00:04:46,869 --> 00:04:48,537 [David Sconce] It was such a gut-churning, 77 00:04:48,538 --> 00:04:50,707 emotional kind of a case. 78 00:04:52,375 --> 00:04:54,584 Maybe part of it was irrational. 79 00:04:54,585 --> 00:04:56,004 Maybe, just maybe. 80 00:04:57,005 --> 00:04:58,797 What better way to vilify a guy 81 00:04:58,798 --> 00:05:01,300 than to, uh, compare him to Hitler? 82 00:05:01,301 --> 00:05:03,177 Come on. The all-time bad guy. 83 00:05:08,141 --> 00:05:11,310 I'm innocent of everything that I'm being accused of. 84 00:05:11,311 --> 00:05:13,895 The guilt I focus on myself 85 00:05:13,896 --> 00:05:17,607 might be for me not being on top of situations 86 00:05:17,608 --> 00:05:21,069 as much as I should have been, simply because I was overwhelmed 87 00:05:21,070 --> 00:05:23,072 with the number of things I had going. 88 00:05:26,492 --> 00:05:29,661 The preliminary hearing in the Lamb Funeral Home case 89 00:05:29,662 --> 00:05:33,081 was the longest preliminary hearing 90 00:05:33,082 --> 00:05:36,501 in the history of Pasadena, encompassing six months-- 91 00:05:36,502 --> 00:05:39,464 a little more-- and 99 witnesses. 92 00:05:42,258 --> 00:05:45,470 It was a number of counts, a litany of 'em. 93 00:05:46,763 --> 00:05:48,847 Most were for the mortuary. 94 00:05:48,848 --> 00:05:51,601 A couple of 'em in there dealt with robbery and assault. 95 00:05:52,685 --> 00:05:55,188 Maybe 80% of 'em were misdemeanors. 96 00:05:56,230 --> 00:05:59,107 You know, it just seemed like it would never end. 97 00:05:59,108 --> 00:06:01,193 [Walter Lewis] We're charging, uh, 26 counts 98 00:06:01,194 --> 00:06:04,613 of taking, uh, brains, hearts, and lungs 99 00:06:04,614 --> 00:06:07,282 from cadavers without the permission 100 00:06:07,283 --> 00:06:08,659 from the next of kin. 101 00:06:10,328 --> 00:06:12,622 [David Sconce] Walt Lewis, the district attorney... 102 00:06:13,664 --> 00:06:17,627 he kept bringing in witness after witness after witness. 103 00:06:18,836 --> 00:06:20,338 [♪ dark music playing] 104 00:06:20,755 --> 00:06:21,923 [Johnny Pollerana speaking] 105 00:06:23,508 --> 00:06:25,300 So, I did it, but I didn't want to, 106 00:06:25,301 --> 00:06:27,469 'cause I knew he was in a lot of trouble. 107 00:06:27,470 --> 00:06:29,471 You know, he was getting ready to take the blunt 108 00:06:29,472 --> 00:06:31,432 of whatever it was going on, it was gonna be his fault. 109 00:06:35,478 --> 00:06:38,647 [David Sconce] When they put Danny Galambos on the stand, 110 00:06:38,648 --> 00:06:41,317 this big, hulking, huge guy... 111 00:06:42,693 --> 00:06:44,820 Walt Lewis, "Are you scared of David Sconce?" 112 00:06:44,821 --> 00:06:46,822 And Daniel Galambos goes, "Oh, yeah. 113 00:06:46,823 --> 00:06:49,324 Oh, uh, he used to be almost as big as me." 114 00:06:49,325 --> 00:06:51,326 [laughing] 115 00:06:51,327 --> 00:06:52,911 And I'm thinking, wow. 116 00:06:52,912 --> 00:06:54,329 I couldn't laugh in the courtroom, 117 00:06:54,330 --> 00:06:56,706 but I wanted to. I wanted to. 118 00:06:56,707 --> 00:06:58,291 [♪ dark music continues] 119 00:06:58,292 --> 00:07:00,502 All these former employees testified against me 120 00:07:00,503 --> 00:07:03,380 because it was "Testify against David, 121 00:07:03,381 --> 00:07:06,050 or you're going to jail." That's what it was. 122 00:07:07,135 --> 00:07:09,886 So, none of those guys went to jail. 123 00:07:09,887 --> 00:07:11,264 None of 'em did. 124 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:14,391 [Andre Augustine] I gave my testimony. 125 00:07:14,392 --> 00:07:16,059 I had to do it. 126 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:19,689 And it was partially to kinda clean my slate a little bit. 127 00:07:21,107 --> 00:07:26,279 And I said, David Sconce was a-- a dark, bad guy. 128 00:07:28,281 --> 00:07:30,449 [Louis Quinones] They would ask me questions. 129 00:07:30,450 --> 00:07:32,659 Uh, David Sconce always sat by his dad, 130 00:07:32,660 --> 00:07:34,786 you know, and Laurieanne. 131 00:07:34,787 --> 00:07:37,038 They're all three looking at me, you know. 132 00:07:37,039 --> 00:07:38,374 Every one of 'em. 133 00:07:39,625 --> 00:07:42,919 Evil eyes and just-- their eyes were right at you. 134 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:44,296 [♪ dark music continues] 135 00:07:44,297 --> 00:07:46,256 It was kinda scary. 136 00:07:46,257 --> 00:07:49,301 I always wondered if they would do anything to hurt me 137 00:07:49,302 --> 00:07:51,136 for testifying against them. 138 00:07:51,137 --> 00:07:53,805 Shoot me on the freeway or something, you know. 139 00:07:53,806 --> 00:07:56,350 Break into my home and stab me or something. 140 00:07:58,853 --> 00:08:01,480 But I-- I felt, uh, relieved in a way 141 00:08:01,481 --> 00:08:04,441 that, uh, I'm gonna be able to tell the-- the truth, 142 00:08:04,442 --> 00:08:07,068 you know, 'cause this is not right, this is inhumane. 143 00:08:07,069 --> 00:08:10,322 And-- and when I went to court, I was thinking of the families, 144 00:08:10,323 --> 00:08:11,740 'cause some of the family members were there 145 00:08:11,741 --> 00:08:12,991 at the courthouse. 146 00:08:12,992 --> 00:08:16,037 [♪ dramatic music playing] 147 00:08:18,331 --> 00:08:21,292 [Elizabeth Creamer] When it came time to testify... 148 00:08:22,627 --> 00:08:24,920 my lawyer, he said, "Now, are you ready, 149 00:08:24,921 --> 00:08:26,339 and are you calm?" 150 00:08:28,382 --> 00:08:30,258 I said, "Oh, yes, I'm very calm." 151 00:08:30,259 --> 00:08:32,469 What I want to do is jump over the table 152 00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:35,472 and grab him by the throat and shake him till he's dead. 153 00:08:35,473 --> 00:08:37,307 [♪ dramatic music continues] 154 00:08:37,308 --> 00:08:39,601 [Darlynn Branton-Stoa] When I was testifying in court, 155 00:08:39,602 --> 00:08:41,144 I was walking in the halls, and I saw 156 00:08:41,145 --> 00:08:42,688 David Sconce with his attorney. 157 00:08:44,106 --> 00:08:46,274 Heard him say to his attorney, 158 00:08:46,275 --> 00:08:48,151 "I didn't do it, my guys did it." 159 00:08:48,152 --> 00:08:49,945 Well, I was livid. It was all I could do 160 00:08:49,946 --> 00:08:51,446 not to choke him right then and there. 161 00:08:51,447 --> 00:08:52,989 [♪ dramatic music continues] 162 00:08:52,990 --> 00:08:54,783 [Roger Diamond] In this particular case, 163 00:08:54,784 --> 00:08:57,536 uh, we deny-- my client denies having engaged 164 00:08:57,537 --> 00:08:59,037 in either one of those two practices, 165 00:08:59,038 --> 00:09:01,623 either multiple cremations or commingling of the ashes. 166 00:09:01,624 --> 00:09:03,333 [Ted Koppel] I mean, he's not saying he had permission. 167 00:09:03,334 --> 00:09:04,626 He's just saying that he never did it. 168 00:09:04,627 --> 00:09:05,669 Right. 169 00:09:05,670 --> 00:09:07,546 [♪ dramatic music continues] 170 00:09:07,547 --> 00:09:09,214 [Nancy Hathorn] I-- I only had one experience 171 00:09:09,215 --> 00:09:11,550 going to a courthouse, with my sister, 172 00:09:11,551 --> 00:09:14,803 for, I believe it was a preliminary trial, 173 00:09:14,804 --> 00:09:18,098 and the lawyers for the Lamb Funeral Home 174 00:09:18,099 --> 00:09:20,059 were-- were really vicious with her. 175 00:09:21,561 --> 00:09:24,521 "Well, you read the contract, and why are you saying this?" 176 00:09:24,522 --> 00:09:26,815 And you know, really, really adversarial to her. 177 00:09:26,816 --> 00:09:29,484 The, uh, the body parts, the-- were removed, 178 00:09:29,485 --> 00:09:31,486 but with the consent of the next of kin. 179 00:09:31,487 --> 00:09:34,823 We have forms that the next of kin signed. 180 00:09:34,824 --> 00:09:37,701 [Darlynn] They were very belligerent and battering, 181 00:09:37,702 --> 00:09:41,746 and it was this head-butting kind of situation. 182 00:09:41,747 --> 00:09:45,542 Are you kidding me? It was just unbelievable. 183 00:09:45,543 --> 00:09:48,588 [♪ dramatic music continues playing] 184 00:09:51,757 --> 00:09:53,758 [♪ music fades out] 185 00:09:53,759 --> 00:09:55,511 [Barbara Hunt] David was in jail. 186 00:09:56,512 --> 00:09:59,514 And everybody kept telling me, "Don't worry about it. 187 00:09:59,515 --> 00:10:02,517 Don't worry about it. He'll be out, he'll come out." 188 00:10:02,518 --> 00:10:05,020 [♪ somber music playing] 189 00:10:05,021 --> 00:10:07,856 Things were getting worse-- his trial. 190 00:10:07,857 --> 00:10:10,859 Uh, I-- I was running out of money. 191 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:13,112 And I-- I was a stay-at-home mom. 192 00:10:15,197 --> 00:10:19,618 So, I asked my in-laws, Laurieanne and Jerry Sconce, 193 00:10:19,619 --> 00:10:22,037 for a little help. 194 00:10:22,038 --> 00:10:25,875 And they said, "Well, you need to go on welfare." 195 00:10:29,003 --> 00:10:30,879 Nobody wanted to hear me. 196 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:32,798 It was all about David... 197 00:10:33,883 --> 00:10:38,721 and getting money for attorneys and trying to get him out. 198 00:10:42,558 --> 00:10:45,185 David was on the news every single night. 199 00:10:45,186 --> 00:10:46,812 I couldn't get away from it. 200 00:10:49,857 --> 00:10:54,486 And I didn't know 90% of what was going on 201 00:10:54,487 --> 00:10:56,739 until I was hearing it on the news. 202 00:10:58,908 --> 00:11:00,326 I was devastated. 203 00:11:02,870 --> 00:11:06,081 It's hard because you fall in love with a family, 204 00:11:06,082 --> 00:11:08,583 and you wanna support, you wanna believe. 205 00:11:08,584 --> 00:11:10,586 [♪ somber music continues] 206 00:11:12,254 --> 00:11:14,715 Sitting through the trial is when I thought... 207 00:11:16,467 --> 00:11:18,678 Who is this? Who did I marry? 208 00:11:20,638 --> 00:11:24,183 David had so many felonies. 209 00:11:25,434 --> 00:11:27,769 I kept thinking, this is not David. 210 00:11:27,770 --> 00:11:29,271 David couldn't do this. 211 00:11:30,815 --> 00:11:33,567 Father of your kids, you want them to be innocent. 212 00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:40,324 So, when they started talking about murder... 213 00:11:43,703 --> 00:11:45,286 I did-- I didn't believe it. 214 00:11:45,287 --> 00:11:48,123 I didn't think that he was capable. 215 00:11:48,124 --> 00:11:51,127 [♪ ominous music playing] 216 00:11:52,128 --> 00:11:56,631 When David would say to someone, "I'm going to kill you," 217 00:11:56,632 --> 00:11:58,299 or he would say to somebody else, 218 00:11:58,300 --> 00:12:01,344 "I'm gonna kill this other person," 219 00:12:01,345 --> 00:12:04,807 people took him seriously, very seriously. 220 00:12:06,016 --> 00:12:09,854 He always carried a gun, sometimes carried two guns. 221 00:12:11,856 --> 00:12:15,650 The thing is, he was always threatening to kill people. 222 00:12:15,651 --> 00:12:18,362 [♪ dramatic music playing] 223 00:12:25,244 --> 00:12:29,832 He almost routinely threatened to kill his employees. 224 00:12:31,792 --> 00:12:33,543 Throw 'em up against the wall, 225 00:12:33,544 --> 00:12:35,378 put his hands around their throats, you know, 226 00:12:35,379 --> 00:12:36,755 "I'm gonna kill you. 227 00:12:36,756 --> 00:12:38,548 I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, man." 228 00:12:38,549 --> 00:12:41,676 [♪ dramatic music continues] 229 00:12:41,677 --> 00:12:45,347 By all these accounts, he was a dangerous person. 230 00:12:47,391 --> 00:12:51,103 And he made plans to kill his competitors. 231 00:12:54,857 --> 00:12:57,276 [Elie] The case that was going on in Pasadena... 232 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,697 all of a sudden, I got two detectives pulling in. 233 00:13:02,698 --> 00:13:04,032 [distant sirens wailing] 234 00:13:04,033 --> 00:13:07,577 They said, "We have two men in our custody 235 00:13:07,578 --> 00:13:11,916 that said Dave Sconce hired them to kill you." 236 00:13:15,377 --> 00:13:18,713 I had bought the Cremation Society of California-- 237 00:13:18,714 --> 00:13:20,090 that was the name of the company. 238 00:13:21,884 --> 00:13:23,384 Dave was pissed off at me 239 00:13:23,385 --> 00:13:25,971 because he wanted to buy the business. 240 00:13:27,932 --> 00:13:29,600 [former employee speaking] 241 00:13:49,328 --> 00:13:51,330 [♪ dramatic music continues playing] 242 00:14:13,477 --> 00:14:16,521 I thank God how lucky I was. 243 00:14:16,522 --> 00:14:20,108 Because, you know, I would sit and think, 244 00:14:20,109 --> 00:14:21,693 "I could have been dead." 245 00:14:21,694 --> 00:14:23,319 [♪ ominous music playing] 246 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:25,322 Maybe not hanging from my neck... 247 00:14:26,323 --> 00:14:27,658 or with poison. 248 00:14:28,826 --> 00:14:30,578 But it came very close. 249 00:14:31,912 --> 00:14:34,039 And all because of some criminal. 250 00:14:36,876 --> 00:14:38,794 And nothing's gonna stand in his way. 251 00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:44,007 There are many threats that have been made in this case, 252 00:14:44,008 --> 00:14:47,302 and also actual assaults by people who are alleging 253 00:14:47,303 --> 00:14:48,845 that were hired by Mr. Sconce. 254 00:14:48,846 --> 00:14:50,973 [♪ dramatic music playing] 255 00:14:51,682 --> 00:14:53,850 [David Sconce] Conspiracy of murder, 256 00:14:53,851 --> 00:14:56,185 there's some crap about that. 257 00:14:56,186 --> 00:14:59,064 That was kind of an ongoing claim. 258 00:15:01,025 --> 00:15:04,360 Walt Lewis, he just hated me. 259 00:15:04,361 --> 00:15:06,529 You know, you feel that when you read people. 260 00:15:06,530 --> 00:15:08,990 He would put his finger up to his lips 261 00:15:08,991 --> 00:15:10,992 and he would have his arms folded, 262 00:15:10,993 --> 00:15:14,203 and he would just be doing this, looking at me. 263 00:15:14,204 --> 00:15:15,247 Just... 264 00:15:16,457 --> 00:15:19,084 Not even blinking looking at you. 265 00:15:20,669 --> 00:15:22,587 I just kinda thought he was out of his mind 266 00:15:22,588 --> 00:15:23,881 or he was obsessed with me. 267 00:15:26,842 --> 00:15:29,261 [Victor Persón] I was the judge during the preliminary hearing. 268 00:15:30,888 --> 00:15:33,556 And at some point, someone noticed, uh, 269 00:15:33,557 --> 00:15:36,225 the writing on the wall in the sheriff's department 270 00:15:36,226 --> 00:15:40,021 in Pasadena in the holding cell. 271 00:15:40,022 --> 00:15:41,856 They figured out that it was more than likely 272 00:15:41,857 --> 00:15:43,901 that David Sconce wrote it. 273 00:15:45,694 --> 00:15:47,363 "Lewis will die," quote-unquote. 274 00:15:49,823 --> 00:15:52,033 They found four inmates that had been approached 275 00:15:52,034 --> 00:15:54,536 by David Sconce to kill Walt Lewis. 276 00:15:58,374 --> 00:16:00,291 No! [chuckles] No. 277 00:16:00,292 --> 00:16:04,712 No, I wrote "Lewis will die of AIDS" on the wall, 278 00:16:04,713 --> 00:16:07,048 because he's so emaciated. 279 00:16:07,049 --> 00:16:10,177 And I thought, why-- you know, why has he got this out for me? 280 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,221 But it didn't say "Lewis will die." 281 00:16:13,222 --> 00:16:14,974 It said "Lewis will die of AIDS." 282 00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:20,979 [Victor] The ends justify the means, 283 00:16:20,980 --> 00:16:22,730 as far as David was concerned. 284 00:16:22,731 --> 00:16:24,816 Didn't matter what it was, who it was, 285 00:16:24,817 --> 00:16:26,944 or how much it cost, "Just do it." 286 00:16:33,242 --> 00:16:34,993 And so, then it went to Superior Court 287 00:16:34,994 --> 00:16:38,831 where his mother and his father would be tried separately. 288 00:16:39,873 --> 00:16:43,584 I'll always remember that when they walked out of my courtroom, 289 00:16:43,585 --> 00:16:46,921 Laurieanne turned and very loudly said, 290 00:16:46,922 --> 00:16:49,132 "We haven't gotten justice here. 291 00:16:49,133 --> 00:16:50,675 We'll get justice somewhere else." 292 00:16:50,676 --> 00:16:53,721 [♪ dramatic music playing] 293 00:16:55,806 --> 00:16:57,808 [people chattering] 294 00:16:58,892 --> 00:17:01,519 [Drina Valentine] When our trial started, 295 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,480 I had never heard of the Lamb Funeral Home 296 00:17:04,481 --> 00:17:05,774 or the Sconces. 297 00:17:07,151 --> 00:17:11,279 So, upon hearing the details of what the trial was gonna be, 298 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,157 I was like, "Oh, my God." 299 00:17:14,575 --> 00:17:16,368 Do people really do this? 300 00:17:17,786 --> 00:17:21,873 The father, Jerry, I didn't trust him. 301 00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:25,794 He just had the appearance of being shady. 302 00:17:27,421 --> 00:17:30,049 But the mom, Laurieanne, was different. 303 00:17:32,176 --> 00:17:36,013 She always looked so innocent. 304 00:17:37,681 --> 00:17:40,768 She just reminds you of a librarian. 305 00:17:42,478 --> 00:17:45,396 I testified to, uh, my findings, 306 00:17:45,397 --> 00:17:47,940 and they were irrefutable. 307 00:17:47,941 --> 00:17:51,986 We knew that Laurieanne had embezzled a lot of money. 308 00:17:51,987 --> 00:17:54,031 [♪ dramatic music continues] 309 00:17:55,365 --> 00:17:59,035 She was sitting up at the table with the attorney. 310 00:17:59,036 --> 00:18:01,662 Pff, she's got this aura. I mean, I don't know. 311 00:18:01,663 --> 00:18:03,581 It's like somebody standing behind her with a flashlight. 312 00:18:03,582 --> 00:18:05,667 I mean, it's just the glow. 313 00:18:07,002 --> 00:18:09,837 And once again, "I didn't do anything wrong. 314 00:18:09,838 --> 00:18:12,673 "All I wanted to do was just help these families and... 315 00:18:12,674 --> 00:18:14,509 [sniffling] I'm so sorry, I'm just--" 316 00:18:14,510 --> 00:18:15,844 you know, just-- I don't know. 317 00:18:18,931 --> 00:18:21,182 She would have given Meryl Streep 318 00:18:21,183 --> 00:18:22,935 a run for her money. 319 00:18:25,687 --> 00:18:28,356 [Elliott Alhadeff] The defense for Jerry and Laurieanne 320 00:18:28,357 --> 00:18:31,901 was that the son had incorporated them 321 00:18:31,902 --> 00:18:36,031 without their will, uh, into these illegal activities. 322 00:18:38,367 --> 00:18:40,576 David had made them do it, 323 00:18:40,577 --> 00:18:43,122 that they were essentially victimized by their son. 324 00:18:44,164 --> 00:18:46,583 [♪ ominous music playing] 325 00:18:49,545 --> 00:18:51,879 [David Sconce] My parents were part of everything 326 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,924 that was going on there at the funeral home. 327 00:18:54,925 --> 00:18:56,259 But you know what? 328 00:18:56,260 --> 00:18:59,555 They were never anything but good to me, ever. 329 00:19:01,223 --> 00:19:03,224 So, I did essentially lie about that 330 00:19:03,225 --> 00:19:05,726 and say they didn't know anything about it. 331 00:19:05,727 --> 00:19:08,437 I tried to fall on my spear 332 00:19:08,438 --> 00:19:10,440 because I was trying to protect 'em. 333 00:19:12,568 --> 00:19:14,153 That's important to me. 334 00:19:15,904 --> 00:19:19,116 They really tried to make us believe it was all about David. 335 00:19:20,534 --> 00:19:23,911 But the evidence was overwhelming 336 00:19:23,912 --> 00:19:26,747 that they were completely involved. 337 00:19:26,748 --> 00:19:28,916 [♪ dark music playing] 338 00:19:28,917 --> 00:19:32,628 The way I recall it, they would have a document 339 00:19:32,629 --> 00:19:34,505 that the family would have to sign 340 00:19:34,506 --> 00:19:37,258 to release the body to the funeral home 341 00:19:37,259 --> 00:19:38,802 to be cremated. 342 00:19:40,262 --> 00:19:42,471 There was a point where they had changed 343 00:19:42,472 --> 00:19:46,268 some of the language on the document. 344 00:19:47,769 --> 00:19:50,938 There was a line that was added. 345 00:19:50,939 --> 00:19:53,816 It was like in the middle of the paragraph 346 00:19:53,817 --> 00:19:57,820 that would pretty much give permission for them 347 00:19:57,821 --> 00:20:01,949 to remove organs without the families 348 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:04,661 knowing that that's what they were doing. 349 00:20:06,788 --> 00:20:08,081 It was-- it was horrible. 350 00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:15,296 And then, it came to light that sometimes Laurieanne 351 00:20:15,297 --> 00:20:18,884 was actually forging the signatures. 352 00:20:20,844 --> 00:20:23,471 [Elliott] During the trial, expert witnesses 353 00:20:23,472 --> 00:20:27,141 determined that it was the handwriting of Laurieanne 354 00:20:27,142 --> 00:20:29,186 on many of the release forms. 355 00:20:30,020 --> 00:20:33,982 And at one point, she even misspelled the relative's name. 356 00:20:35,025 --> 00:20:38,111 I mean, how does a relative spell his own name incorrectly? 357 00:20:38,946 --> 00:20:41,907 [Barbara] When Laurieanne got in trouble for forgery... 358 00:20:42,908 --> 00:20:45,702 she said she didn't know what she was doing. 359 00:20:46,536 --> 00:20:48,538 [♪ dark music continues] 360 00:20:49,206 --> 00:20:52,833 She was controlling, told everybody what to do, 361 00:20:52,834 --> 00:20:54,168 all the time. 362 00:20:54,169 --> 00:20:56,212 I think Laurieanne was the mastermind 363 00:20:56,213 --> 00:20:57,631 of the whole family. 364 00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:07,139 [Drina] It's so sad that there are folks out there 365 00:21:07,140 --> 00:21:11,311 who would take advantage of people who are grieving. 366 00:21:13,063 --> 00:21:16,023 I remember one of the families 367 00:21:16,024 --> 00:21:19,527 whose loved one's heart 368 00:21:19,528 --> 00:21:22,030 was removed without her knowing. 369 00:21:24,116 --> 00:21:26,242 And she lost it. 370 00:21:26,243 --> 00:21:28,703 She lost it on the stand 'cause it was-- 371 00:21:28,704 --> 00:21:32,833 and I'm getting emotional too, but it was devastating. 372 00:21:35,043 --> 00:21:38,547 I have to admit to you, when we were deliberating... 373 00:21:40,007 --> 00:21:44,593 my thought was, I hope these people get life. 374 00:21:44,594 --> 00:21:47,639 [♪ soft somber music playing] 375 00:21:50,017 --> 00:21:52,019 [reporter speaking] 376 00:21:56,273 --> 00:21:59,276 [Drina] They only got, like, three years. 377 00:22:03,572 --> 00:22:07,575 You see, I'm speechless, because it's like, really? 378 00:22:07,576 --> 00:22:10,411 - [Laurieanne sobbing] - [Jerry Sconce] Sorry, sweetie. 379 00:22:10,412 --> 00:22:13,164 [Drina] After cheating families for years, 380 00:22:13,165 --> 00:22:15,750 dishonoring them. 381 00:22:15,751 --> 00:22:19,462 20,000 families that this happened to, 382 00:22:19,463 --> 00:22:21,631 and all they got was three years? 383 00:22:22,758 --> 00:22:24,760 No. No justice. 384 00:22:28,013 --> 00:22:30,098 [reporter speaking] 385 00:22:44,363 --> 00:22:45,780 [Johnny speaking] 386 00:22:45,781 --> 00:22:47,656 ...when I heard that Laurieanne and Jerry both 387 00:22:47,657 --> 00:22:49,283 went to the county jail. 388 00:22:49,284 --> 00:22:50,285 I couldn't believe it. 389 00:22:50,660 --> 00:22:52,328 I know that must have been hell. 390 00:22:52,329 --> 00:22:54,538 I know, 'cause I've been in the county jail enough. 391 00:22:54,539 --> 00:22:56,707 And his dad lost all his hair. Jerry lost all his hair! 392 00:22:56,708 --> 00:22:58,293 [indistinct chatter] 393 00:22:58,585 --> 00:23:01,837 You know what I mean? This experience just killed them. 394 00:23:01,838 --> 00:23:03,965 It took all the good out of them. 395 00:23:04,174 --> 00:23:06,008 Man, people can say whatever they want to say, 396 00:23:06,009 --> 00:23:08,302 but to me they didn't deserve to go there. 397 00:23:08,303 --> 00:23:10,221 Especially Laurieanne, she's such a nice lady. 398 00:23:10,222 --> 00:23:12,516 [♪ dark, somber music playing] 399 00:23:19,147 --> 00:23:21,065 [Ashley Dunn] As this case wound its way 400 00:23:21,066 --> 00:23:23,901 through the courts, it was just a bizarre 401 00:23:23,902 --> 00:23:27,822 and sort of, um, nightmarish kind of story. 402 00:23:27,823 --> 00:23:30,491 But it was easy to forget 403 00:23:30,492 --> 00:23:32,494 that the people at the center of this case... 404 00:23:33,578 --> 00:23:35,454 David Sconce's mother and father, 405 00:23:35,455 --> 00:23:37,707 even though they were convicted of all these crimes... 406 00:23:38,708 --> 00:23:40,085 they were well-known in Pasadena. 407 00:23:42,838 --> 00:23:48,301 The Lamb family were exactly part of old Pasadena. 408 00:23:49,428 --> 00:23:52,597 It was a community with a long history... 409 00:23:54,015 --> 00:23:57,184 filled with old families 410 00:23:57,185 --> 00:24:00,814 and mansions that exude a sense of wealth. 411 00:24:02,232 --> 00:24:05,277 And I think David grew up with that mentality. 412 00:24:09,614 --> 00:24:12,492 When David's trial came up in court... 413 00:24:13,493 --> 00:24:17,872 my impression of him was that he was blonde, he was big. 414 00:24:17,873 --> 00:24:20,708 He looked like the ex-football player that he was. 415 00:24:20,709 --> 00:24:22,710 [♪ ominous music playing] 416 00:24:22,711 --> 00:24:27,590 And he'd carried himself with a sense of, uh, entitlement, 417 00:24:27,591 --> 00:24:29,592 that he was not a criminal, 418 00:24:29,593 --> 00:24:33,763 but an upstanding citizen of old-line Pasadena. 419 00:24:36,057 --> 00:24:39,269 I was surprised to-- to hear what happened in this case. 420 00:24:41,062 --> 00:24:44,356 David's judge dismissed many of the charges 421 00:24:44,357 --> 00:24:46,735 that I had ordered him to be held to answer on... 422 00:24:47,819 --> 00:24:50,321 including charges of murder conspiracy. 423 00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:52,365 [♪ ominous music continues] 424 00:24:53,575 --> 00:24:55,952 I got lucky and I got a better judge. 425 00:24:57,245 --> 00:24:59,664 And he dismissed half of the counts. 426 00:25:01,249 --> 00:25:04,503 I had to say "guilty" in court to what was left. 427 00:25:05,587 --> 00:25:07,172 And he gave me five years. 428 00:25:10,133 --> 00:25:11,967 The District Attorney's sitting down, 429 00:25:11,968 --> 00:25:13,302 just kinda going like... [laughing] 430 00:25:13,303 --> 00:25:14,512 Hand over his face. 431 00:25:14,513 --> 00:25:17,098 [♪ sinister music playing] 432 00:25:17,933 --> 00:25:20,100 [Victor] The judge had a lot of discretion. 433 00:25:20,101 --> 00:25:23,604 He used it, and David benefited by it. 434 00:25:23,605 --> 00:25:24,898 It's unfortunate. 435 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:29,986 More than the deal of the century, I think. 436 00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:36,158 [David Geary] What people were talking about was, 437 00:25:36,159 --> 00:25:38,203 "Oh, he got away with almost everything." 438 00:25:39,538 --> 00:25:42,498 A lot of people were very disillusioned 439 00:25:42,499 --> 00:25:44,501 with the whole proceeding. 440 00:25:45,794 --> 00:25:48,004 But it wasn't the end. 441 00:25:49,297 --> 00:25:52,383 Prosecutors were still trying to charge David 442 00:25:52,384 --> 00:25:54,969 with Tim Waters' murder. 443 00:25:54,970 --> 00:25:58,014 [♪ unsettling music playing] 444 00:26:03,853 --> 00:26:08,775 But the Waters thing seemed pretty clear-cut. 445 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:14,530 More and more witnesses at the jail 446 00:26:14,531 --> 00:26:18,535 said David told them he poisoned him with oleander. 447 00:26:20,787 --> 00:26:24,207 Poison had been found in Waters' system. 448 00:26:30,171 --> 00:26:31,881 [David Sconce] While I'm in prison... 449 00:26:33,174 --> 00:26:36,510 I get a letter from Roger Diamond, my attorney, 450 00:26:36,511 --> 00:26:38,847 about the ridiculous, uh, Waters case. 451 00:26:40,265 --> 00:26:43,851 He says, "Well, they filed a death penalty case on you." 452 00:26:43,852 --> 00:26:47,188 [laughing] And I go, "Oh, wait a minute, what?" 453 00:26:51,610 --> 00:26:53,612 [birdsong] 454 00:26:54,779 --> 00:26:57,782 [♪ gentle music playing] 455 00:27:06,958 --> 00:27:09,877 [Dr. Jack Henion] Toxicology is the study of poisons 456 00:27:09,878 --> 00:27:11,296 in living systems. 457 00:27:13,798 --> 00:27:16,925 Every modern hospital in the world, 458 00:27:16,926 --> 00:27:19,553 if you will, has, uh, screening techniques 459 00:27:19,554 --> 00:27:23,390 for measuring the drugs or metabolites in a-- in a person, 460 00:27:23,391 --> 00:27:26,352 whether they're at the proper therapeutic levels 461 00:27:26,353 --> 00:27:28,146 or whether at toxic levels. 462 00:27:31,149 --> 00:27:34,443 In 1991, I learned through a colleague 463 00:27:34,444 --> 00:27:39,281 that there was a court case going on in the California area 464 00:27:39,282 --> 00:27:41,701 over a poisoning by oleander. 465 00:27:44,579 --> 00:27:46,914 Mr. Waters was the first one I had heard of 466 00:27:46,915 --> 00:27:49,959 or knew of to have poisoning by oleander. 467 00:27:51,628 --> 00:27:55,464 A few years earlier, a toxicologist 468 00:27:55,465 --> 00:27:58,092 had concluded that the tissue samples 469 00:27:58,093 --> 00:28:00,470 from Mr. Waters had oleander in it. 470 00:28:02,097 --> 00:28:04,348 Both the defense and the prosecution 471 00:28:04,349 --> 00:28:06,058 had reason to believe 472 00:28:06,059 --> 00:28:09,062 that they needed more definitive results. 473 00:28:10,021 --> 00:28:13,149 And so, it was at that point that they contact me. 474 00:28:15,068 --> 00:28:18,112 During the Tim Waters death penalty case 475 00:28:18,113 --> 00:28:19,489 that I was charged with... 476 00:28:21,157 --> 00:28:24,034 their theory was that I poisoned 477 00:28:24,035 --> 00:28:26,371 Tim Waters with oleander. 478 00:28:27,789 --> 00:28:29,707 They'd said it was a derivative 479 00:28:29,708 --> 00:28:32,794 as if it had been distilled oleandrin. 480 00:28:34,462 --> 00:28:36,840 I said, this is absolutely impossible. 481 00:28:38,049 --> 00:28:39,758 I told Roger Diamond, my attorney, 482 00:28:39,759 --> 00:28:42,511 I said "Roger," I said, "dig him up." 483 00:28:42,512 --> 00:28:45,806 He goes, "What?" Roger balked at it. 484 00:28:45,807 --> 00:28:48,475 And Roger said, "Oh, David, what if it's a false positive? 485 00:28:48,476 --> 00:28:51,645 "What if they find something that might not be that, 486 00:28:51,646 --> 00:28:53,063 but they claim that's it?" 487 00:28:53,064 --> 00:28:55,649 I said, "Roger, they're claiming I killed a guy 488 00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:57,651 "that I've never seen, and they don't have evidence 489 00:28:57,652 --> 00:29:00,362 that I've ever even been around this guy, ever." 490 00:29:00,363 --> 00:29:02,282 I said, "Dig him up!" 491 00:29:08,872 --> 00:29:11,248 The deceased, we learned was buried 492 00:29:11,249 --> 00:29:14,169 in an above-ground casket at room temperature. 493 00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:16,670 When you do an autopsy, 494 00:29:16,671 --> 00:29:18,506 you remove the organs from the body. 495 00:29:19,549 --> 00:29:24,094 And his organs, I was told were stored in plastic bags. 496 00:29:24,095 --> 00:29:26,180 I don't know whether they were Ziploc bags or what, 497 00:29:26,181 --> 00:29:29,725 but plastic bags beside his body in the casket, 498 00:29:29,726 --> 00:29:32,352 and that that's where the samples came from 499 00:29:32,353 --> 00:29:35,063 that we received at-- at Cornell. 500 00:29:35,064 --> 00:29:39,026 Mr. Waters' liver was best described by-- 501 00:29:39,027 --> 00:29:41,195 I would say by, as chocolate pudding. 502 00:29:41,196 --> 00:29:43,947 It was a mush. It was badly decayed. 503 00:29:43,948 --> 00:29:47,534 So, we rolled up our sleeves and used some technology 504 00:29:47,535 --> 00:29:50,330 we were in the process of developing at the time. 505 00:29:51,873 --> 00:29:53,541 A tandem mass spectrometer... 506 00:29:54,709 --> 00:29:58,379 to look for oleandrin as well as oleandrigenin. 507 00:29:59,881 --> 00:30:02,090 Those chemicals analyzed in that way 508 00:30:02,091 --> 00:30:03,759 have their own fingerprint. 509 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,428 You better have that fingerprint from the mass spectrometer 510 00:30:06,429 --> 00:30:07,889 to be sure you're right. 511 00:30:10,391 --> 00:30:12,726 [reporter] Ex-mortician David Sconce, 512 00:30:12,727 --> 00:30:14,603 the man who is said to have bragged 513 00:30:14,604 --> 00:30:16,980 about poisoning and killing his arch-rival, 514 00:30:16,981 --> 00:30:18,941 mortician Timothy Waters, 515 00:30:18,942 --> 00:30:21,485 walked into court to hear two words: 516 00:30:21,486 --> 00:30:23,237 "Case dismissed." 517 00:30:23,238 --> 00:30:26,073 No oleander. Nothing. Zero. Zippo. 518 00:30:26,074 --> 00:30:27,908 The man died of a heart attack. 519 00:30:27,909 --> 00:30:29,953 [♪ soft, dramatic music playing] 520 00:30:33,748 --> 00:30:35,625 [Jack] After all the work that we did... 521 00:30:37,126 --> 00:30:38,752 our findings were negative. 522 00:30:38,753 --> 00:30:41,755 We did not find any oleander or oleandrigenin 523 00:30:41,756 --> 00:30:43,633 in Mr. Waters' tissue. 524 00:30:44,884 --> 00:30:46,886 [♪ dramatic music continues] 525 00:30:48,012 --> 00:30:50,097 One possible explanation 526 00:30:50,098 --> 00:30:52,933 is that this badly decayed sample 527 00:30:52,934 --> 00:30:56,604 was so chemically complex, that it didn't work very well. 528 00:30:58,565 --> 00:31:00,440 We-- I gotta tell you, we tried hard, 529 00:31:00,441 --> 00:31:02,068 but we did not see it. 530 00:31:03,069 --> 00:31:06,446 The motion and application to dismiss the action is granted, 531 00:31:06,447 --> 00:31:09,658 and the defendant is just-- uh, is discharged. 532 00:31:09,659 --> 00:31:11,703 - [people chattering] - [cameras clicking] 533 00:31:13,121 --> 00:31:15,497 I don't care to shake the hand of a man 534 00:31:15,498 --> 00:31:17,291 I believe is a cold-blooded murderer. 535 00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:19,335 [cameras clicking] 536 00:31:21,004 --> 00:31:25,549 I'm elated that they have finally seen the light. 537 00:31:25,550 --> 00:31:27,384 - I'm an innocent man. - [reporter] Did you ever think 538 00:31:27,385 --> 00:31:29,636 you would see this day that you would walk out? 539 00:31:29,637 --> 00:31:32,639 I always knew I would walk out. I'm innocent. 540 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:35,685 [♪ somber music playing] 541 00:31:39,147 --> 00:31:43,859 It's my unofficial opinion that David Sconce is guilty. 542 00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:46,905 - [♪ somber music continues] - [indistinct chatter] 543 00:31:48,531 --> 00:31:51,492 [Jack] The symptoms that Mr. Waters displayed... 544 00:31:52,493 --> 00:31:55,954 the-- all the other details-- the book that was found-- 545 00:31:55,955 --> 00:31:59,167 all is circumstantial evidence, granted. 546 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:05,047 But knowing the poor nature of his character, if you will, 547 00:32:05,048 --> 00:32:08,468 it seems entirely possible or likely that he did this. 548 00:32:10,345 --> 00:32:12,263 It's a shame he got away with it. 549 00:32:18,186 --> 00:32:19,686 [David Sconce] Oh, the test results 550 00:32:19,687 --> 00:32:21,438 prove that this was never in his body, 551 00:32:21,439 --> 00:32:22,981 never could have been there, 552 00:32:22,982 --> 00:32:24,943 and what the hell are you talking about? 553 00:32:25,985 --> 00:32:28,862 Year of my life sitting in the county jail 554 00:32:28,863 --> 00:32:30,156 to hear all that. 555 00:32:33,201 --> 00:32:35,536 I was just really relieved. 556 00:32:36,704 --> 00:32:39,456 But I just found out that night before 557 00:32:39,457 --> 00:32:41,291 that I'd lost my dad's dad. 558 00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:43,044 He died. 559 00:32:44,712 --> 00:32:46,880 So, I called, and, uh, 560 00:32:46,881 --> 00:32:50,051 I talked to my grandmother, Mommy Thais, and, uh... 561 00:32:57,392 --> 00:32:58,892 You know, it's-- 562 00:32:58,893 --> 00:33:00,436 [voice breaking] He's gone, that's it. 563 00:33:01,437 --> 00:33:04,147 You know, he's-- he's gone, and, uh, 564 00:33:04,148 --> 00:33:06,901 I told her, I said, "It's okay," you know. 565 00:33:07,986 --> 00:33:11,029 "I'm coming home." And, uh, you know, 566 00:33:11,030 --> 00:33:13,991 that's all she kept saying, was, "He's-- he's gone." 567 00:33:13,992 --> 00:33:16,244 And, uh... [clicking tongue] 568 00:33:17,996 --> 00:33:21,081 You know, I left it alone, um... 569 00:33:21,082 --> 00:33:24,084 Friday goes by, and then she died on Satur-- 570 00:33:24,085 --> 00:33:26,796 [choking up] Excuse me. She died on Saturday. 571 00:33:28,548 --> 00:33:30,924 Yeah. Nothing wrong with her. 572 00:33:30,925 --> 00:33:33,093 Nothing. [clicking tongue] 573 00:33:33,094 --> 00:33:36,347 And, uh, you know, she was a big part of my life. 574 00:33:39,809 --> 00:33:42,102 You know, it was just, uh, 575 00:33:42,103 --> 00:33:43,603 there wasn't anything wrong with her. 576 00:33:43,604 --> 00:33:46,898 She married for like 61 years, and she just died. 577 00:33:46,899 --> 00:33:48,608 Gave up. 578 00:33:48,609 --> 00:33:50,652 And, uh, you know. 579 00:33:50,653 --> 00:33:53,989 Sorry, that was sad. I was just really sad. 580 00:33:53,990 --> 00:33:55,241 [clicking tongue, sniffling] 581 00:33:56,242 --> 00:33:58,911 Both of 'em were just-- two caskets right there. 582 00:34:00,204 --> 00:34:01,621 Can't say I'm over it. 583 00:34:01,622 --> 00:34:03,249 Don't think I'll ever be over it. 584 00:34:05,710 --> 00:34:07,712 [birds squawking] 585 00:34:08,713 --> 00:34:10,673 [Skip Jones] After the Tim Waters trial... 586 00:34:11,799 --> 00:34:12,967 it was all over. 587 00:34:14,385 --> 00:34:19,514 A lot of people wanted to see this family in jail 588 00:34:19,515 --> 00:34:21,976 paying for all of the things that they did. 589 00:34:23,561 --> 00:34:25,980 But at the end of the day, they were free. 590 00:34:29,650 --> 00:34:31,651 I don't know how they could live with themselves. 591 00:34:31,652 --> 00:34:34,655 [♪ dramatic music playing] 592 00:34:48,169 --> 00:34:51,172 [♪ dramatic music continues playing] 593 00:34:59,180 --> 00:35:01,182 [water splashing] 594 00:35:04,352 --> 00:35:05,895 [Barbara] After he had gotten out... 595 00:35:07,188 --> 00:35:10,525 we lived at the vacation house in Lake Mohave. 596 00:35:12,110 --> 00:35:13,693 I just wanted a clean start. 597 00:35:13,694 --> 00:35:15,529 I didn't want to think about anything 598 00:35:15,530 --> 00:35:17,864 that happened in California. 599 00:35:17,865 --> 00:35:19,659 We can start living a normal life. 600 00:35:21,577 --> 00:35:24,204 Laurieanne and Jerry were out of jail. 601 00:35:24,205 --> 00:35:25,998 They were living right next door. 602 00:35:27,250 --> 00:35:31,586 And David had gotten a job working for LTI. 603 00:35:31,587 --> 00:35:35,590 It was Laughlin Transit, and he was driving buses. 604 00:35:35,591 --> 00:35:37,468 [♪ curious music playing] 605 00:35:39,428 --> 00:35:41,430 [bus engine rumbling] 606 00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:43,890 You cross over the bridge and you go down, 607 00:35:43,891 --> 00:35:45,433 and you pick up people 608 00:35:45,434 --> 00:35:47,728 that wanted to come to Laughlin to gamble. 609 00:35:50,773 --> 00:35:53,316 Well, they gave him a stack of bus tickets and said, 610 00:35:53,317 --> 00:35:56,486 "You can sell these tickets for $20 apiece." 611 00:35:56,487 --> 00:35:58,989 Well, he decided to make his own tickets... 612 00:35:58,990 --> 00:36:00,241 [scoffs] 613 00:36:02,326 --> 00:36:04,286 ...and sell his own tickets 614 00:36:04,287 --> 00:36:06,330 so he could make and keep the money. 615 00:36:08,082 --> 00:36:09,749 Well, he got caught. 616 00:36:09,750 --> 00:36:12,795 [♪ jazz music playing] 617 00:36:25,725 --> 00:36:27,601 Why? 618 00:36:27,602 --> 00:36:31,022 Why would you think that that is gonna help you in any way? 619 00:36:35,151 --> 00:36:37,445 His mother said... 620 00:36:38,446 --> 00:36:39,947 [clicking tongue] "He got caught." 621 00:36:41,032 --> 00:36:42,783 So, they were aware of it too. 622 00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:46,369 Whose idea was it? 623 00:36:46,370 --> 00:36:48,288 Was it David's? Was it Laurieanne's? 624 00:36:48,289 --> 00:36:49,916 Was it Jerry? 625 00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:54,294 It's so... [scoffs] 626 00:36:54,295 --> 00:36:56,547 [♪ jazz music continues] 627 00:37:01,093 --> 00:37:04,013 David went to jail again. 628 00:37:09,227 --> 00:37:12,646 You just really start thinking about your choices in life 629 00:37:12,647 --> 00:37:15,066 and who you pick. [chuckles] 630 00:37:21,489 --> 00:37:24,242 [David Sconce] Barbara and I just kinda grew apart. 631 00:37:25,660 --> 00:37:27,202 You know, the only reason I divorced her 632 00:37:27,203 --> 00:37:29,162 was because when I was in prison in Arizona, 633 00:37:29,163 --> 00:37:30,914 she got herself a boyfriend. 634 00:37:30,915 --> 00:37:32,874 You know, that's the only reason. 635 00:37:32,875 --> 00:37:34,251 I couldn't trust her. 636 00:37:34,252 --> 00:37:35,920 You break my trust, that's it. 637 00:37:39,173 --> 00:37:41,342 [Barbara] There's anger, but... 638 00:37:42,593 --> 00:37:44,094 you gotta put that stuff away. 639 00:37:44,095 --> 00:37:45,220 [sniffles] 640 00:37:45,221 --> 00:37:47,265 Say a prayer and move on. 641 00:37:48,432 --> 00:37:49,684 [sniffling] 642 00:37:51,394 --> 00:37:53,312 Still hurts sometimes. 643 00:37:56,357 --> 00:37:59,943 [David Geary] After he did some time in Arizona, 644 00:37:59,944 --> 00:38:04,115 David was supposed to keep his nose super clean. 645 00:38:07,201 --> 00:38:11,705 So, he walked away from that, but he didn't walk very far. 646 00:38:11,706 --> 00:38:13,749 [♪ dramatic music playing] 647 00:38:15,209 --> 00:38:18,212 He just kinda kept having legal issues... 648 00:38:19,255 --> 00:38:21,007 with his probation. 649 00:38:23,426 --> 00:38:26,553 Eventually, he was convicted of stealing a gun 650 00:38:26,554 --> 00:38:29,807 from somebody up in Montana, and selling the gun. 651 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,103 He was a felon, he wasn't allowed to have a gun. 652 00:38:36,272 --> 00:38:38,940 [David Sconce] In 2012, they, uh, gave me 653 00:38:38,941 --> 00:38:41,401 a federal firearms charge 654 00:38:41,402 --> 00:38:43,945 a year after I get rid of a gun that I never fired, 655 00:38:43,946 --> 00:38:45,572 that was given to me. 656 00:38:45,573 --> 00:38:48,451 'Cause I'm not a gun guy. I'm really not, never have been. 657 00:38:49,910 --> 00:38:53,246 California said that was a violation 658 00:38:53,247 --> 00:38:55,708 of my California probation. 659 00:38:56,792 --> 00:38:58,336 So, that's what got me here. 660 00:38:59,378 --> 00:39:00,963 Gave me 25-to-life. 661 00:39:03,632 --> 00:39:06,217 [laughing] How does that happen? 662 00:39:06,218 --> 00:39:09,138 Who's calling the shots with that one? Hm? 663 00:39:10,306 --> 00:39:11,432 Really. 664 00:39:16,354 --> 00:39:18,939 And finally, they found me parole-suitable. 665 00:39:20,274 --> 00:39:21,400 So, here we are. 666 00:39:22,443 --> 00:39:25,446 [♪ ominous music playing] 667 00:39:34,789 --> 00:39:36,873 I have theories 668 00:39:36,874 --> 00:39:40,461 on why the things happened the way they did to me. 669 00:39:44,965 --> 00:39:47,842 [Scott Brougham] David and I used to literally spend hours 670 00:39:47,843 --> 00:39:49,719 talking in jail. 671 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:54,516 And he had excuses for absolutely everything. 672 00:39:54,517 --> 00:39:57,143 Everything that he ever did in life 673 00:39:57,144 --> 00:40:00,856 that he failed at was always someone else's fault. 674 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,485 He's just the consummate victim. 675 00:40:05,486 --> 00:40:07,320 Had he been left alone, he would have been 676 00:40:07,321 --> 00:40:09,615 the mortician of the world. 677 00:40:11,909 --> 00:40:15,036 [David Sconce] There's kind of a domino effect of events 678 00:40:15,037 --> 00:40:17,415 that led up to this, see? 679 00:40:19,792 --> 00:40:24,671 If my parents didn't tell me about the mortuary school, 680 00:40:24,672 --> 00:40:26,840 had they not thrown it out there, 681 00:40:26,841 --> 00:40:29,509 I would have gone to the Navy. That's what my plans were. 682 00:40:29,510 --> 00:40:32,178 It's fallback plans, 'cause I always wanted to teach. 683 00:40:32,179 --> 00:40:33,721 You know, I wanted to be a teacher. 684 00:40:33,722 --> 00:40:36,349 Um, and everything would have been different 685 00:40:36,350 --> 00:40:38,184 if I would've just got that second year 686 00:40:38,185 --> 00:40:41,772 of, you know, eligibility playing football. 687 00:40:43,274 --> 00:40:45,775 But then I got injured, and so I didn't get it, 688 00:40:45,776 --> 00:40:47,570 so everything started. 689 00:40:52,783 --> 00:40:54,243 Nonexistent. 690 00:40:55,578 --> 00:40:58,288 Nonexistent. I've been abandoned. 691 00:40:58,289 --> 00:41:00,332 [birdsong] 692 00:41:03,752 --> 00:41:08,632 My grandfather, Lawrence Lamb, died of a brain tumor. 693 00:41:10,134 --> 00:41:13,553 In fact, my dad and I took care of Grandpa 694 00:41:13,554 --> 00:41:15,222 for like the last week of his life. 695 00:41:17,808 --> 00:41:21,145 My grandmother, Lucile, died a little while later. 696 00:41:24,106 --> 00:41:26,649 I was told about my dad's death 697 00:41:26,650 --> 00:41:29,236 by a friend of mine in prison. 698 00:41:30,321 --> 00:41:32,197 I wish I could have seen my dad. 699 00:41:32,198 --> 00:41:36,576 I wish I could have been there, you know, as he passed away. 700 00:41:36,577 --> 00:41:38,411 But I wasn't. 701 00:41:38,412 --> 00:41:41,415 [♪ soft somber music playing] 702 00:41:44,168 --> 00:41:48,004 My mother was always a good support system for me 703 00:41:48,005 --> 00:41:50,257 through the years of me being incarcerated. 704 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:57,264 But after my dad died, everything stopped. 705 00:42:01,143 --> 00:42:04,230 I've never heard from her since. Not a word. 706 00:42:05,523 --> 00:42:07,191 Not a letter, nothing. 707 00:42:07,858 --> 00:42:09,860 [birds chirping] 708 00:42:24,875 --> 00:42:27,878 [♪ soft somber music continues playing] 709 00:42:55,114 --> 00:42:56,615 [interviewer speaking] 710 00:42:59,868 --> 00:43:01,202 Wow. 711 00:43:01,203 --> 00:43:03,580 Really? [chuckling] You want me to go there, huh? 712 00:43:03,581 --> 00:43:04,831 Well, you know what? 713 00:43:04,832 --> 00:43:06,833 I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, 714 00:43:06,834 --> 00:43:08,668 but everybody else knew I was. 715 00:43:08,669 --> 00:43:11,004 And, you know, I had drug use and stuff like that, 716 00:43:11,005 --> 00:43:12,338 and that didn't help. 717 00:43:12,339 --> 00:43:14,091 [flames whooshing] 718 00:43:20,180 --> 00:43:22,182 [♪ dramatic melancholy music playing] 719 00:43:32,818 --> 00:43:35,696 It was a part of my life that was a long time ago. 720 00:43:36,196 --> 00:43:37,739 And I would nev-- you couldn't pay me enough 721 00:43:37,740 --> 00:43:38,948 to do it again. 722 00:43:38,949 --> 00:43:41,534 [♪ melancholy music continues] 723 00:43:41,535 --> 00:43:43,537 Nobody got away scot-free. 724 00:43:44,246 --> 00:43:45,747 Everybody got something happening to them 725 00:43:45,748 --> 00:43:47,123 because of working there. 726 00:43:47,124 --> 00:43:48,500 We all paid the price for it. 727 00:43:50,961 --> 00:43:52,963 [wind whistling] 728 00:43:54,214 --> 00:43:56,758 [Andre] I'm the last guy standing 729 00:43:56,759 --> 00:43:59,219 from the, uh, Big Men Unlimited. 730 00:44:01,347 --> 00:44:03,306 Dave Edwards got hurt. 731 00:44:03,307 --> 00:44:06,225 He was getting blood transfusions 732 00:44:06,226 --> 00:44:09,605 and he acquired AIDS from those blood transfusions. 733 00:44:10,648 --> 00:44:14,860 And Danny died jumping out of a plane. 734 00:44:20,783 --> 00:44:22,618 [wind whistling] 735 00:44:23,744 --> 00:44:27,414 You know what? I'm 64 years old, okay? 736 00:44:28,415 --> 00:44:30,583 I'm in the fourth quarter now, you know? 737 00:44:30,584 --> 00:44:33,337 It's not overtime yet, but you know, hey. 738 00:44:34,755 --> 00:44:38,132 I've had a good life, you know, I got my kids. 739 00:44:38,133 --> 00:44:40,134 I'm-- you know, I'm okay. 740 00:44:40,135 --> 00:44:41,844 You can look back and say you would've done 741 00:44:41,845 --> 00:44:45,307 something different, but at this point, nah. 742 00:45:08,914 --> 00:45:10,165 [laughing] 743 00:45:17,965 --> 00:45:19,967 [hands rubbing] 744 00:45:26,849 --> 00:45:29,852 [♪ droning music playing] 745 00:45:35,149 --> 00:45:37,609 [David Geary] For the history of mankind... 746 00:45:39,528 --> 00:45:43,239 treating the dead with some respect, you know, 747 00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:45,742 has-- has been the way human beings 748 00:45:45,743 --> 00:45:48,120 have lived in all cultures. 749 00:45:50,330 --> 00:45:53,374 [Jolena Grande] You could say that the David Sconce case 750 00:45:53,375 --> 00:45:56,502 was the ultimate incendiary point 751 00:45:56,503 --> 00:46:00,047 for which we now have massive regulations 752 00:46:00,048 --> 00:46:02,008 in funeral service practice, 753 00:46:02,009 --> 00:46:04,595 incredible rules regarding cremation... 754 00:46:05,888 --> 00:46:09,640 and more statutes than probably any other industry. 755 00:46:09,641 --> 00:46:12,226 So, there's more transparency, more clarity 756 00:46:12,227 --> 00:46:15,189 in the decision-making process for consumers. 757 00:46:18,108 --> 00:46:21,194 This case served a purpose because they got it 758 00:46:21,195 --> 00:46:24,071 on the record all of the things that they did, 759 00:46:24,072 --> 00:46:27,326 and as a result, there were laws that were passed. 760 00:46:29,369 --> 00:46:32,247 Laws that allow 'em to go in and inspect the crematories. 761 00:46:33,832 --> 00:46:36,668 And certain things became felonies. 762 00:46:40,380 --> 00:46:41,799 That's important. 763 00:46:43,425 --> 00:46:47,053 [Jolena] I would love to shout at the top of my lungs 764 00:46:47,054 --> 00:46:49,555 that it was one person, and this one person 765 00:46:49,556 --> 00:46:51,433 does not reflect all of us. 766 00:46:52,810 --> 00:46:56,604 The unfortunate reality is across the United States, 767 00:46:56,605 --> 00:47:00,150 we still see scandals involving cremation. 768 00:47:01,193 --> 00:47:03,195 [♪ slow, dark music playing] 769 00:47:07,157 --> 00:47:12,454 [Elie] David Sconce devastated the industry with what he did. 770 00:47:15,290 --> 00:47:16,750 And, uh... 771 00:47:18,085 --> 00:47:20,045 families still don't trust. 772 00:47:24,466 --> 00:47:26,926 [Nancy] This is the Lamb Funeral Home 773 00:47:26,927 --> 00:47:29,137 everlasting legacy in my family. 774 00:47:30,848 --> 00:47:32,765 When my mother died, 775 00:47:32,766 --> 00:47:35,852 my husband went and watched her. 776 00:47:35,853 --> 00:47:38,604 They lifted the pine box, saw it was her, 777 00:47:38,605 --> 00:47:40,816 and he watched her being put into an oven. 778 00:47:43,277 --> 00:47:46,112 I mean, imagine physically watching that, 779 00:47:46,113 --> 00:47:49,615 you know, because he just was so traumatized, 780 00:47:49,616 --> 00:47:50,826 what had happened. 781 00:47:54,329 --> 00:47:56,039 [Darlynn] And I felt terribly guilty. 782 00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:00,126 I was supposed to protect him. I was the oldest daughter. 783 00:48:00,127 --> 00:48:01,587 I took care of him. 784 00:48:03,338 --> 00:48:05,298 And it wasn't just my dad. 785 00:48:05,299 --> 00:48:07,049 There were 20,000 other people 786 00:48:07,050 --> 00:48:08,593 involved in this, and their families, 787 00:48:08,594 --> 00:48:10,220 and their children, and their grandchildren. 788 00:48:12,306 --> 00:48:13,724 And their loss. 789 00:48:15,058 --> 00:48:17,519 And their feelings of-- of grief and... 790 00:48:18,770 --> 00:48:20,439 not having closure. 791 00:48:23,901 --> 00:48:26,904 [♪ somber music playing] 792 00:48:43,921 --> 00:48:46,840 [roadway noise] 793 00:48:49,301 --> 00:48:51,762 [David Sconce] You know, I was guilty of a lot of things. 794 00:48:53,138 --> 00:48:56,475 But when does the antipathy end? 795 00:48:57,935 --> 00:48:59,352 When is enough enough? 796 00:48:59,353 --> 00:49:01,103 How long do I have to be punished? 797 00:49:01,104 --> 00:49:03,148 [bird squawking] 798 00:49:04,107 --> 00:49:06,233 You know, I went to prison. 799 00:49:06,234 --> 00:49:09,654 Everything happened to me bad. I lost pretty much everything. 800 00:49:09,655 --> 00:49:13,658 So, after that, I mean, what else are you looking for? 801 00:49:13,659 --> 00:49:15,410 Leave me alone. [chuckles] 802 00:49:17,871 --> 00:49:20,832 I can't change what happened, see? 803 00:49:22,626 --> 00:49:24,585 So, I move on. 804 00:49:24,586 --> 00:49:28,382 Sun comes up tomorrow irregardless, so that's it. 805 00:49:31,885 --> 00:49:32,886 [interviewer] Um... 806 00:49:37,224 --> 00:49:38,225 Maybe. 807 00:49:42,479 --> 00:49:44,897 [Scott] David is the type of person 808 00:49:44,898 --> 00:49:46,607 who believes that he's smarter 809 00:49:46,608 --> 00:49:48,402 than every other person in the room. 810 00:49:50,070 --> 00:49:51,946 When you get to jail, you're taught, 811 00:49:51,947 --> 00:49:53,906 you don't talk to anybody about your case, 812 00:49:53,907 --> 00:49:55,324 you know, you don't admit to shit. 813 00:49:55,325 --> 00:49:56,909 [♪ sinister music playing] 814 00:49:56,910 --> 00:49:59,537 But David always felt a need 815 00:49:59,538 --> 00:50:01,999 to brag about his accomplishments. 816 00:50:03,417 --> 00:50:07,754 And he never figured out when to shut the fuck up. 817 00:50:10,924 --> 00:50:11,925 [David Sconce] Alright. 818 00:50:13,051 --> 00:50:15,012 So, there was one night... 819 00:50:16,763 --> 00:50:19,182 I had to go to the cemetery with Barbara. 820 00:50:21,768 --> 00:50:25,022 I get out and I go to unlock the gate. 821 00:50:26,773 --> 00:50:28,441 And some kid jumps out of the weeds, 822 00:50:28,442 --> 00:50:31,610 and he's got a nickel-plated thing right at my head. 823 00:50:31,611 --> 00:50:34,822 He says, "Give me your wallet, give me your watch." 824 00:50:34,823 --> 00:50:37,701 And Barbara's in the passenger seat watching this. 825 00:50:38,702 --> 00:50:40,953 And so, I said, "Look, man, I only got, like, 60 bucks," 826 00:50:40,954 --> 00:50:43,664 and I gave him my cheesy Casio watch. 827 00:50:43,665 --> 00:50:48,335 Barbara, God bless her, she's reaching over to my door 828 00:50:48,336 --> 00:50:50,963 because I always kept my nine-millimeter in there, 829 00:50:50,964 --> 00:50:53,467 'cause she's gonna come out and cap this guy. 830 00:50:54,676 --> 00:50:56,969 But the gun wasn't there because I had problems 831 00:50:56,970 --> 00:50:58,804 at the range with the Luger shells, 832 00:50:58,805 --> 00:51:00,306 the casings, 'cause they're too big. 833 00:51:00,307 --> 00:51:02,641 And so, it was out getting a ramp-and-throat done on it. 834 00:51:02,642 --> 00:51:04,977 I learned all this when I went through the stupid sheriffs. 835 00:51:04,978 --> 00:51:06,063 [crew member speaking] 836 00:51:07,606 --> 00:51:08,607 [interviewer speaking] 837 00:51:09,441 --> 00:51:10,442 Mm. 838 00:51:11,693 --> 00:51:13,819 True story. I thought I was-- I was gonna die. 839 00:51:13,820 --> 00:51:14,946 I really did. 840 00:51:15,989 --> 00:51:18,992 I can tell you more of this, but I can't tell you on camera. 841 00:51:20,494 --> 00:51:21,661 Can't tell you. 842 00:51:23,497 --> 00:51:25,749 All I can say is, "You think I found that guy?" 843 00:51:27,459 --> 00:51:29,461 [♪ ominous music playing] 844 00:51:33,757 --> 00:51:35,675 It's one of the things I can't talk about. 845 00:51:37,052 --> 00:51:38,552 The other thing I'll tell you about too, 846 00:51:38,553 --> 00:51:40,222 but... can't talk about that either. 847 00:51:41,765 --> 00:51:44,267 Really, there's three of 'em altogether, um... 848 00:51:45,393 --> 00:51:47,729 [♪ sinister music playing] 849 00:51:58,615 --> 00:52:00,367 Gotta promise not to tell on me. 850 00:52:03,411 --> 00:52:04,620 - Ah. - Yeah. 851 00:52:04,621 --> 00:52:05,914 What, the promise? 852 00:52:08,792 --> 00:52:09,960 Oh, yeah. 853 00:52:12,462 --> 00:52:13,712 - Okay. - Yeah. 854 00:52:13,713 --> 00:52:15,714 Nah, that's never gonna come back. 855 00:52:15,715 --> 00:52:16,883 Never gonna come back. 856 00:52:20,595 --> 00:52:23,515 Can't come back. [laughing] 857 00:52:27,060 --> 00:52:30,480 [♪ dramatic music playing] 858 00:52:51,626 --> 00:52:54,504 ♪ 859 00:53:33,668 --> 00:53:35,670 [♪ music fades out]