Not only that, Sanders also pointed out Thompsons failure to read Ms. Lord her Miranda rights including specifically her right to remain silent after it was clear that Thompson considered Lord to be a suspect in a crime. A&E | Air Date: unknown. In his free time, he read Civil War history and played Internet chess. The officer pointed to a woman sitting on a chair in the front yard, her face in her hands. Shearin then asked if she was included in Burnsides will or his life insurance policy. He called the tone and line of questioning a formula for a false confession. And Sanders questioned why Thompson did not read Lord her right to remain silent after the point in which he clearly considered her a murder suspect during the interview. On May 11, 2011, in the case of Texas v. Lord, the grand jury returned a no bill. The detective was 47 years old and built like a linebacker at six feet two inches and 230 pounds. Perhaps sensing that the jury had turned against the detective, Jason Schuette, another attorney for the City of Dallas, resorted to a surprise tactic in his final arguments. The officer shrugged. Thirty seconds passed as she wept before she added, There are still nights when I drive by our home just to look at it. She said that he was a big drinker and that he could sometimes be reckless. Lord was accused of murder countless times, and she always denied it. The case was then sent to the Internal Affairs division for an administrative review. If the review, which is ongoing as of press time, finds that Thompson violated departmental policies, he could be fired, suspended, or demoted. And who knows? If the detectives thought they had noticed the smell of chemicals on her, it must have come from the paint thinner and the floor stripper that she and Burnside had been using that day. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Veteran Dallas police homicide detective Dwayne Thompson is on desk duty pending an internal investigation. Was there a chance he was involved in the shooting? Thompson told Rastegar to go to the station and make an official recorded statement, which Thompson later used to obtain an arrest warrant charging Lord with murder. A few days after the funeral, Lord called Burnsides brother to ask if she could retrieve some of her belongings from the house. There was another, longer silence. Can you possibly understand how I feel?. [4] We loved our life together.. City attorneys are defending him, saying he acted in good faith and without malice. But Lord insisted he had a good heart. He studied the call histories on the phones and took some notes. Both have worked numerous murders and each has been featured on the popular A&E reality television show, She walked to the front of the chapel to look at Burnside in his casket, and her legs nearly buckled as she said his name. He wasnt stressed-out, Thompson said. As he nodded sympathetically, she again talked about how hurt she had been on her birthday. Her voice shook when she spoke. Which brings us to the story this week here in Dallas of Hephzibah Olivia Lord, who sued and won a civil lawsuit against a Dallas police detective for false arrest, reportedly in large part because the jury found that the detective had acted with malice (a legal term here) during his interrogation of Lord after she was arrested on a charge of murdering her boyfriend. Weve been detectives for a long time, and we understand that sometimes things happen and we cant always control the situation, he said. Shed given her telephone to her aunt, who was screening her calls. I did not kill my boyfriend. However, the police may or may not let the person know about this right (remember the experts concerns that Thompson had not told Lord about her right to a lawyer). If he had wanted to go after that girl, he could have made stuff up, trumped up reports, and hidden the Rastegar tape. But after her arrest, Lord read The Count of Monte Cristo, the Alexandre Dumas novel about a wrongfully imprisoned man who seeks revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment, and she memorized one of the books famous lines: May the god of vengeance now permit me to punish the wicked! That was her goal, she said. A lab technician had been unable to find any fingerprints on the Beretta because the gun had been covered in blood. She told her parents that Thompson had brutalized her. He often said that victimology was the most overlooked part of a homicide investigation even though it could help explain whether a suspect was guilty or innocent. Lundberg also took the stand, testifying that he too remained convinced that Lord was guilty of murder. Every day, dozens of times a day, I think about that talk and how I wish I could take it all back, she told me. Thompson picked up his cellphone and called Burnsides father, John, a successful Dallas business analyst. This has been kind of a sexy case here: an attractive female shoots the boyfriend, you solve the crime. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. A retired Dallas police officer acting as an expert witness for Lord told the jury there was no evidence that Lord shot Burnside. Personal details. On May 9, 2010, plaintiff Hephzibah Olivia Lord, 36, who works in mortgaging, was alone with her boyfriend at his home, in Dallas. Lord continued to deny involvement in the death during questioning, saying she was in the bathroom when she heard the shot and called 911. These laws are especially important when those being questioned are already emotionally reeling from the events themselves like Ms. Lord who first dealt with the discovery of her boyfriends body, calling 911 for help, and that loss then to face questioning by police while vulnerable and upset like Lords being questioned by Thompson as if she had committed a crime for several hours. He told Lundberg that he wasnt sure this was a suicide. He had on a dark fedora, a dark suit, a white shirt with a tie, and dress shoes. 3. Why are you doing this to me right now? Lord asked Thompson at one stage during the questioning. He remains convinced that he got a raw deal at the civil trial and that Tittle played the video of his interrogation of Lord only to plant in jurors minds the idea that he was an intimidating black man taking advantage of a grieving, attractive white woman. John, who had already been informed by Jaffe about the incident, could barely maintain his composure. He knew it. When Shearin called Lord with the news, she thanked him for all he had done for her, but then she said something else. She also said that when he got angry, he could be a little scary and that he threw stuff in the house. She would usually ignore him when he got into one of his moods, but this time it had only made him angrier. What he didnt say was that the case was going nowhere. Thompson said he had heard that Burnside was making money. Shearin ordered Lords cellphone records and received more good news: there was no seven-minute gap in her calls. But she was pointedly not invited to a get-together that Burnsides friends were throwing after the service at one of his favorite bars. And now hes dead, he said. Believe me, she adored Michael with all of her heart. A team of U.S. marshals found her at her fathers home in Palmdale, about an hour north of Los Angeles, and Lord was held in custody for nine days. The day after the verdict, Thompson was placed on desk duty. Thompson also had not told the Burnsides that he had misread a crucial piece of evidence. Between sobs, Lord begged to be taken to Parkland to be with her boyfriend. Toward the end of the year, he finally saw the video recording of Rastegars interview at police headquarters. Burnside had been involved in a couple of accidents. "The goal is to arrive at the truth." Summary: Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson and the homicide team investigate the brutal double murders of two friends shot and burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a car. The day after the shooting, he had checked the records and discovered that there was no seven-minute gap on Lords cellphone between the calls to Jaffe and 911. You realize, dont you, that if I didnt have money from my family to fight back, I could have been wrongfully convicted, fighting this from prison. Strapped around his shoulders was a thick brown leather holster that held his department-issued pistol, a 9mm Sig Sauer. The detective was 47 years old and built like a linebacker at six feet two inches and 230 pounds. But, said Lundberg, there was no sign of blood spatter on Burnsides right hand or arm. IMDbPro. His voice got even softer. Edit. Her father, who lived in Californiahe and Lords mother had divorced when she was a childflew in to be with her. Witnesses can shift their statements from one day to the next. Thompson acknowledged that without the statement regarding Lords confession, I wouldnt have filed a case. Tittle asked Thompson a series of questions about when he had actually written his arrest affidavit, which described Rastegar as making a recorded interview to the police about Lords excited utterance. Thompson was eventually forced to admit that he had typed up the affidavit before Rastegar had come down to the homicide offices to make his statement. You shot him!, Olivia, youre not telling me the truth., Youre arguing about a goddamn birthday party, and he says, Im so upset about the goddamn birthday party that Im going to kill myself? Thompson said, his voice growing louder. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $800,000.00. But she never did: she kept saying that she loved her boyfriend, that they were happy together, and that he had taken his life for reasons she could not imagine. In the video, Rastegar initially seemed to confirm what he had supposedly told Thompson and Lundberg on the porch. Burnsides parents say that they still cannot believe that their son took his own life. He spoke to her the way a loving father would talk to his daughter. He said that based on Burnsides victimology, there was no way that a young man with a bright future would put a bullet in his brain simply because his girlfriend was peeved at him. Scattered around the floor were a few bottles of household cleaning products. Or he mistakenly pulled the trigger thinking the Beretta was unloaded., Jaffe shook his head. In fact, she had purchased the airline tickets for herself, her nieces, and her nephew to go to California thirteen days before the arrest warrant had been filed. He thought he had a mild case of COVID-19. She wanted to know why they were there. Were missing something, he said to her. Lord called 911, and police came. I know verbally from him that he owes the government a lot of taxes, Lord replied. Thompson stared at a copy of Burnsides drivers license. She said that she had phoned Jaffe because she initially thought Burnside had fallen and was hurt. He also said he had seen Burnside act recklessly with a gun only two or three times over the past fifteen years. Then U.S. district judge Barbara Lynn gaveled the court to order. Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson and the homicide team investigate the brutal double murders of two friends shot and burned beyond recognition in the trunk of a car. An expert witness with expertise as both a retired officer and homicide detective from the same police department, testified on Lords behalf. | Advertising When Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. As Lord hugged Tittle and members of her family, Thompson stood at the defense table, his mouth open. For her part, Lord said that she would gladly give up any money in return for Thompsons being sent to prison. She appeared to be so despondent that a jailer thought she needed to be put on suicide watch. The First 48 (2004- ) Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson hunts for a band of carjacking killers that are terrorizing a neighborhood. Why try to make money off Michaels death?. Shearin went to see Brandi Mitchell, a prosecutor with the Dallas County district attorneys office who was in charge of the Burnside case, and claimed that Thompson had perjured himself. Okay, fine. . And Im a person who thinks your behavior tonight doesnt add up. He pointed his finger at her. When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home four years ago, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend, Olivia Lord, had pulled the trigger. Thompson, Andie - Thony, Steve > Thompson, Dorothya - Thompson, Elexus > Thompson, Dwanna - Thompson, Dweese > Thompson, Dwayne 1-25 of 112 Contacts Contact Name During the lengthy interrogation, Thompson repeatedly accused Lord of murdering Michael Burnside, who died in May 2010 from a gunshot wound to the head from his 9 mm Beretta handgun while drunk on vodka and Red Bull. Thompsons interrogation of Lord was videotaped. Why, for instance, were there bottles of cleaning products scattered on the kitchen floor? He was convinced Thompson had misled him, and on September 22, Quinton changed the cause of Burnsides death to undetermined. Quintons new ruling was definitely a boost for Lords case, but it was hardly enough to guarantee an acquittal. There was no question in her mind, she said, that she and Burnside would soon get married. Or maybe Mikey did it, Jaffe said. And, yes, she said, she had grown irritated when she heard Burnside and Jaffe talking about the birthday party. When Dallas Detective Dwayne Thompson checks out a missing persons apartment and finds it covered in blood, he's launched into one of the strangest cases in his career--a case that he must solve without the victim's body. Nor did Burnsides parents invite her to the reception. Thats what you did! he told a stunned and confused Lord, who protested her innocence. Still, Thompson had only a theory. She was so hysterical he could not understand what she was saying. A jury in federal civil court ruled Friday that a Dallas homicide detective, Dwayne Thompson, violated Lord's civil rights by maliciously having her arrested for a killing she didn't commit,. Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich said he brought thousands of offenders to justice, bringing closure to victims and their families. Her parents hired an attorney named Joe Shearin, a former guard for the University of Texas Longhorns who had played in the NFL before becoming one of Dallass most prominent criminal defense lawyers. Im trying to figure out how to move on with my life, she said recently, sitting at a back table at an Italian restaurant in North Dallas. Lord, who is now 37 years old, still lives in the same apartment, and she has barely spent any of the money she won in her lawsuit. When Thompson asked why he didnt immediately tell that story to the police, Rastegar replied that the uniformed officers who first arrived at the scene had rudely ordered him to go back to his home before he had a chance to say anything. Whats more, she didnt want him to go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Dwayne Thompson has spent over 18 years with the Dallas Police Department. | Sign In, Verdict Corrections Sometimes I want to walk inside, thinking he will be there. I know that he could get dramatic and a little crazy when he drank. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. He said that Lundberg had told him that Rastegar had wavered a little bit in his statement but that Lundberg had also let him know that the gist was the same and nothing substantively had changed from what he had already written in his affidavit. Maybe, Jaffe speculated, when Burnside and Lord had started arguing, he had declared that he was never going to marry her, which sent Lord into a tailspin and led her to grab the gun. The trial finally began in a federal courtroom in downtown Dallas this past Januarynearly four years after the shooting. Leave them blank to get signed up. Political career [ edit] In 2014, Thompson ran for election to represent District 10 in the Tennessee House of Representatives, but lost to Republican incumbent Steve McManus. Testimony continues Friday, during which Lord may take the witness stand. The officer flipped a page in his notebook. The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a settlement of more than $1 million to a . I heard what I thought was glass shattering really loud, Lord said. I had the impression that she told me that [Burnside] had nothing to do with it and she did it. But he refused to say, like he had said on his porch, that he had definitely heard Lord confess to the shooting. Lundberg then brought up the trajectory of the bullet through Burnsides brain. He then worked for a not for profit organization called "One Community" that's premise is to be a middle man between law enforcement and civilians. After telling Lord and Jaffe that he was sorry for their loss, Thompson asked them to sign releases agreeing to gunshot residue testsroutine procedure, he assured them. Physical evidence can be more baffling than conclusive. In a typical suicide, he said, when someone shoots himself in the temple, he points the gun straight at his head and the bullet travels through the brain and exits in a line roughly parallel to the floor. He said that Michael had called earlier in the week, telling his mother, Cindi, that he was looking forward to coming over to their home for lunch on May 9, which was Mothers Day. Tittle maintains that Thompson never considered the idea that Burnside may have accidentally shot himself, despite evidence that he was drunk at the time and had a history of being reckless with firearms. Yes you did!. Will detectives be able to catch the killers before they strike again? A Shooting on Spring Grove Ave: When Michael Burnside was found dead in his Dallas home in 2010, detective Dwayne Thompson decided that the victim's girlfriend had pulled the trigger. When Thompson took the stand, he seemed utterly likable as he described his history as a detective. There was something else that didnt seem right: drops of blood leading into another room. Of course not, she said. She said Burnside had been drinking heavily, and at some point, in the midst of the fight, he had walked into the kitchen and shot himself. We were joking around about somethingI dont remember whatand I said, Hey, wheres your Beretta? And he opened up [a kitchen drawer] and said, Its right here.. 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