Hilarie Burton Morgan —PHOTO COURTESY OF SUNDANCETV
We’ve been eagerly following SundanceTV’s true-crime tales and docuseries—like “The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park,” “Liar,” “No One Saw A Thing” and “The Cry”—because of the provocative insights and in-depth analyses that come into play when different aspects of the stories are tackled—from motive and execution of the crime, to retribution and resolution (or lack of it). This TV season, the AMC Networks-owned channel is launching its “True Crime Story” franchise, which kicks off with two documentary series opening one after the other via the hourlong, six-part “It Couldn’t Happen Here,” hosted by actress Hilarie Burton Morgan (“One Tree Hill”), on Sept. 9 (10 p.m. ET), and “Indefensible,” hosted by writer-producer Jena Friedman (“The Late Show with David Letterman”) on Oct. 14.
We have so far seen three episodes of “It Couldn’t Happen Here” and were instantly drawn to its unique focus on (mostly) open-ended cases committed in small towns.
In the show directed by Po Kutchins, Hilarie travels to idyllic rural communities to listen to the facts of a crime from the people involved in the case or those with first-hand information about it. Part of the lure is seeing the lasting impact the crime has had on the community and its residents, as well as Hilarie’s eagerness to call attention to unresolved or highly contentious cases.
“Advocating for small towns has been the primary focus of my adult life, whether it’s fighting for mom-and-pop shops, public schools or facilities,” Hilarie was quoted by Deadline. “I believe deeply in the value of these small communities.”
Execution-style
The first episode takes Hilarie to Adel, Georgia, a rustic city with a population of about 5,300, where “every morning feels like Sunday morning.”
Twenty years ago, the community was shaken to its core following the brutal robbery homicide of single mom Donna Brown, a Taco Bell manager who was shot in the eye execution-style in the parking lot of the fast-food diner.
“First-person” accounts point to cocky Devonia Inman, who’s quickly hauled off to prison for Donna’s demise. But three succeeding, similarly brutal murders perpetrated over a two-year period while Devonia awaited trial behind bars are leaving a dark cloud hanging over his conviction.
The second episode finds Hilarie caught between two opposing forces—a dire situation that has deeply polarized the people of Sauquoit, New York. In this case, 60-year-old chiropractor, Dr. Mary Yoder, suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances.
The case began capturing people’s rapt attention—and imagination—when investigators discovered that there was more to Mary’s death than ascending cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts, usually caused by bacteria).
In fact, Mary fell gravely and violently ill after ingesting a rare poison: colchicine, often used to reduce swelling in gout. The killer put colchicine in Mary’s milk or protein powder—which established that the culprit must be someone Mary knew. Premeditated
When the dust finally settled, Kaitlyn Conley, who used to work as the office manager at Mary’s clinic, was arrested for the premeditated crime and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Kaitlyn also happened to be the former girlfriend of Mary’s son, Adam. Was Mary’s death an act of vengeance, as Kaitlyn’s way of getting back at Adam?
But Kaitlyn’s family insists that she’s innocent. The Yoders, they said, could have something to do with Mary’s death. For one, her husband Bill is a controlling and two-timing spouse with money problems.
Is Kaitlyn’s situation another case of wrongful conviction?
The third episode takes place in St. Augustine, Florida, the United States’ “oldest city,” where single mother Michelle O’Connell was shot to death with the gun belonging to her boyfriend, St. Johns County Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Banks.
Was it suicide, as Jeremy claimed, or murder? It’s a case that continues to be shrouded in mystery. On the night of the supposed “suicide,” live-in partners Jeremy and Michelle were said to be fighting after watching a concert.
The altercation reached fever-pitch when the couple reached home. It didn’t take long before authorities received a frantic 911 call from Jeremy, claiming that his girlfriend shot herself using his service weapon.
But questions arose after the gun was found beside right-handed Michelle’s left hand. And later, a forensic expert, who has overseen 9,000 cases in his career, found out that, other than the gunshot wound, Mary also succumbed to a fatal blow to her jaw—which couldn’t have been self-inflicted!