0:01

Jennifer vanished sometime in the overnight

0:04

hours. Right now there is no trace. Investigators

0:06

say evidence leads them to believe that

0:09

she's dead. Stick my nose back in the trail,

0:11

that's all I can do. This

0:14

is already gone.

0:24

On a hot August day in 1995, two

0:27

shots rang out in a quiet neighborhood

0:29

in Springfield, Illinois.

0:31

A loving husband had shot an intruder

0:33

in self-defense, but it was

0:35

too late to save his wife, who had been

0:38

bludgeoned to death before the husband could come

0:40

to her aid. The husband

0:42

was hailed a hero, and the intruder

0:45

was branded a murderer. New

0:47

statements collected years later would

0:49

reopen the case and shine a spotlight

0:52

on the husband.

0:54

Come with me to Springfield, Illinois,

0:57

to a red brick house on a quiet street

0:59

where not everything was as it seemed.

1:14

Mark Allen Winger was

1:16

born November 26, 1962, in

1:20

Ohio to parents Sally, who

1:22

worked as a real estate agent, and Gerald,

1:24

a technical engineer at EverReady Products.

1:28

Mark pursued a career in the military,

1:30

graduating from the Virginia Military

1:32

Institute before he served in Korea.

1:36

After his military service, he stayed

1:38

in the Army Ready Reserve.

1:41

At some stage, Mark moved to Florida, where

1:43

he met a woman called Donna, and

1:46

the pair started dating. They

1:48

were married on March 4, 1989, in Hollywood, Florida. Donna

1:55

Ellen Brown was born November 10, 1963, in Connecticut to

1:57

parents. who

2:01

was a partner in Cornish Distributors, a

2:03

newspaper agency, and Robert

2:06

who worked as an insurance agent. As

2:09

well as Donna, they had two other daughters.

2:13

Sarah and Robert would divorce and Sarah

2:15

remarried a man named Ira. Donna

2:18

and her sisters maintained very close

2:20

relationships with each other and with their

2:22

parents. Sarah

2:25

worked as an operating room technician for

2:27

a plastic surgeon, a job

2:29

that allowed her to use her compassionate

2:32

and ever-vescent personality. Her

2:35

father told the Chicago Tribune that she

2:37

was 100% sunshine, as pretty inside as she was

2:42

on the outside, a better friend

2:44

to you than you could be to her. The

2:49

relationship of Mark and Donna had the

2:51

full support of her family. They

2:53

loved Mark. Sarah

2:55

told 2020, I loved Mark because

2:58

he loved Donna and that's what was important

3:00

to me. Donna's sister,

3:02

Jenny, also told 2020, he

3:05

was smart, Jewish, he

3:07

was attractive, and he was fun. Donna

3:10

just felt like she had found her person. The

3:14

couple were very affectionate with each other and

3:16

seemed to have a perfect relationship.

3:21

After the wedding, Mark was offered a job in Springfield,

3:24

working as a nuclear engineer for the state

3:26

of Illinois. The newlyweds

3:29

packed up and moved their lives to a new state.

3:32

They purchased a red brick house on Westview

3:35

Drive, a quiet residential street

3:37

in a neighborhood filled with

3:38

modest ranch-style homes.

3:41

According to the Chicago Tribune,

3:43

they made friends easily and became active

3:46

in the city's small, close-knit Jewish

3:48

community. Mark

3:51

and Donna wanted to start a family, but

3:54

despite trying, they were unable to fall

3:56

pregnant. When they investigated

3:59

this inability to... and see if they

4:01

found out that Donna was not able to

4:03

get pregnant. The pair were

4:05

devastated. They wanted so badly

4:07

to be parents. Now

4:12

it's not clear if they were actively pursuing

4:14

adoption as a pathway to parenthood, but

4:17

around May of 1995,

4:20

a doctor at the hospital where Donna worked

4:22

told her about a teenage girl who had

4:24

just given birth and wanted to

4:26

place the baby for adoption. Donna

4:30

and Mark met the baby girl and Donna

4:32

said she just knew this was her baby.

4:36

Donna and Mark decided to proceed with

4:38

the adoption process and they were granted

4:40

custody of Bailey Elizabeth on June

4:42

1st. They brought

4:44

their infant daughter home and settled into

4:47

their new roles as parents, with

4:49

Donna taking maternity leave. They

4:52

were both thrilled with the new addition and

4:54

they left her beyond words. Donna's

4:57

friend Christy said that Donna was filled

4:59

with joy because the adoption

5:01

process was underway and she finally

5:03

had the baby she so desperately wanted.

5:09

In August, Donna traveled to Florida to

5:11

visit her family. It's unclear

5:13

if she took baby Bailey, who would have been three

5:16

months old at the time with her, or

5:18

if Bailey stayed home with Mark. Donna

5:21

landed at the St. Louis Airport on August

5:24

23rd and she hired BART Transportation,

5:27

a Missouri-based shuttle service, to

5:30

drive her the 100 miles from the St.

5:32

Louis Airport to the Winger home in

5:34

Springfield, a drive that took

5:36

about 90 minutes. Her

5:39

driver, 27-year-old Roger Harrington,

5:42

quickly made Donna feel very uncomfortable.

5:47

He was driving erratically at speeds

5:49

in excess of 75 miles an hour

5:52

and while driving he told Donna his life

5:54

story. Roger had dropped

5:57

out of high school and joined the army but he

5:59

hadn't passed the train. basic training. He

6:02

was arrested for getting into a fight with

6:04

his then-wife, however those

6:06

charges were dropped. After

6:08

that he was hospitalized in a psychiatric

6:11

ward and underwent treatment twice

6:13

at a mental health facility after

6:15

showing signs of depression and delusions.

6:20

In 1995 Roger had turned things

6:22

around and gotten the job he loved and

6:25

was proud of driving a shuttle van

6:27

for Bart. However on

6:29

this drive with Donna he started

6:31

talking about a spirit named Dom that

6:33

had started talking to him, telling

6:36

him to do bad things and hurt people.

6:38

This

6:40

conversation was frightening and upsetting

6:42

to Donna because she was stuck in a

6:44

van with no way of alerting anyone

6:47

to what was being said to her. In 1995

6:50

the majority of people did not have a cell phone

6:53

and it's unlikely that Donna had one.

6:56

During the drive Roger also started

6:58

to flirt with Donna and tell her that

7:00

he liked older women. He

7:03

invited her to come to a sex party.

7:09

When Donna got home she told Mark what had happened

7:11

on the drive. They tried to put it

7:13

behind them but then Donna started receiving

7:16

weird phone calls. The wingers

7:18

assumed they were from Roger and they felt

7:20

that Donna was in danger. Mark

7:24

called Bart to complain about Roger's behavior

7:27

and asked for Roger's phone number so he could

7:29

speak with him directly. After

7:31

obtaining Roger's number Mark called

7:34

him and said that he wouldn't press charges

7:36

if the phone calls stopped and if Roger

7:39

left Donna alone. Bart

7:41

suspended Roger and Mark urged

7:43

Donna to write down everything that had happened

7:46

just in case they needed to refer to it later.

7:52

A few days later on August 29th

7:55

Donna who was on maternity leave took

7:57

Bailey into Mark's office so his workmates

7:59

could see the baby and Mark could have

8:01

some bonus time with her, which is

8:04

so precious when they're so young and they

8:06

grow and change every day. There

8:09

was no way of knowing that, later

8:11

that afternoon, the Winger family

8:13

would be changed forever. At 4.27

8:19

PM, Mark called 911 from

8:21

his home and told the operator, I need

8:24

help. Somebody killed my wife. I shot

8:26

him. Officers

8:28

were dispatched to the house immediately. When

8:31

they arrived, the front door was open and they

8:33

entered the home. In the dining

8:35

room, they found Donna being held by her husband

8:38

as he cried. She was

8:40

alive, barely, and paramedics

8:43

rushed her to the hospital. 40 minutes

8:45

later, after trying everything they could

8:47

to bring her back from the brink, 31-year-old

8:50

Donna Winger was pronounced dead. Also

8:54

in the house when the police arrived was the intruder,

8:57

who was clinging to life when he was loaded into

8:59

an ambulance. He would be pronounced

9:02

dead on arrival at the hospital. Mark

9:07

was still in the house after Donna was taken

9:09

to the hospital. Police found him in

9:12

the bedroom, at the foot of the bed, holding

9:14

a bloody t-shirt that was watered up in his arms.

9:17

His arms and neck were streaked with blood

9:19

and he was inconsolable. He

9:22

asked again and again if Donna was

9:24

okay and then he asked who the

9:26

intruder was. Although

9:29

police had identified the intruder from

9:31

the ID in his wallet, they didn't

9:33

tell Mark who it was at the time. They

9:35

had gave him time to calm down enough to tell

9:38

investigators what had happened. During

9:42

his initial interview, Mark told investigators

9:45

that he had been on the treadmill downstairs

9:47

in the basement when he heard a sump

9:50

coming from above him. He

9:52

went to investigate and when he got upstairs

9:54

to the bedroom, he found Bailey on the bed

9:56

unattended. He heard

9:58

noises coming from the dining room so he grabbed

10:00

his handgun from the bedside table and

10:03

ran down the hall into the dining room.

10:06

He found Donna there with the intruder

10:09

and he saw the man hitting Donna in the head

10:11

with a hammer. Mark fired

10:13

his gun twice at the intruder then rushed

10:15

to Donna's side. He called 911

10:18

and stayed with her until help arrived.

10:23

While most of the information stayed the same

10:25

during his second interview, Mark

10:27

was able to recall more details. In

10:30

the second interview he said he initially

10:32

shot the intruder from the hallway hitting

10:34

him in the head causing him to fall

10:37

away from Donna. Mark

10:39

said the man raised his head so Mark

10:41

went closer and shot him in the head for a second

10:44

time. He added that he hit

10:46

the intruder in the chest with a hammer because

10:48

the man was still moaning and groaning.

10:52

Mark asked the detective if the intruder's name

10:54

was Roger and the detective confirmed

10:56

that it was, in fact, Roger Harrington.

11:00

Mark told the officer that Roger had been

11:02

harassing the family for a week and

11:04

he recounted Donna's shuttle ride with Roger

11:07

where she felt uncomfortable and scared.

11:10

Mark told the detective that he had gotten

11:12

Roger's number and called him, warning

11:15

him to leave the family alone or

11:17

he would file a police report. Mark

11:20

said that on the morning of the murder he

11:22

called Roger again and said that he had

11:25

filed a report and that Roger

11:27

needed to stop contacting Donna. On

11:30

the fridge police found the details of

11:32

the harassment written in Donna's handwriting,

11:35

the information that Mark had encouraged

11:37

her to write down in case they needed it later.

11:44

Police immediately secured the house. It

11:47

was a crime scene and a bloody one at

11:49

that. There was blood everywhere

11:51

on the furniture, the walls, and the

11:53

ceiling. Near

11:55

to where Roger was found was a claw hammer

11:58

and on the table was a .45 caliber pistol.

12:02

Also on the dining room table investigators

12:04

found a soft drink and a pack of cigarettes.

12:07

Both belonged to Roger. Roger's

12:10

car was parked in front of the house facing

12:12

the wrong way and inside investigators

12:15

found a note that read Mark winger 2305

12:18

Westview Drive Springfield 430 p.m. In the car they also found

12:24

a crowbar and a knife. At

12:28

autopsy it was confirmed that Dana

12:30

had died as a result of blunt force injuries

12:33

compatible with a hammer to

12:35

her head that had caused brain trauma.

12:39

There were also seven deep wounds

12:41

on the back of her head. Roger's

12:43

cause of death was from gunshot wounds

12:45

to the top left side of his head and

12:48

above his left eyebrow. There

12:50

were also contusions on his head consistent

12:53

with being hit with a hammer. The

12:56

case was open and shut. Investigators

13:00

believed that after the August 23rd

13:02

shuttle ride Roger became

13:04

obsessed with Dana and he started to stalk

13:07

her. His obsession quickly

13:09

turned deadly when he broke into her home

13:11

and killed her. One

13:13

of the detectives on the case detective Cox

13:16

was familiar with Roger having

13:18

been involved in his prior arrest where

13:21

he had been fading with his ex-wife. This

13:24

detective Cox was also Roger's landlord.

13:27

He owned the trailer park that Roger lived

13:29

in. He told 2020, I

13:32

knew him as a very volatile type

13:34

subject. Knowing what I knew about

13:36

him in the past, how quickly he was

13:38

to anger, I thought that he

13:40

very well could have went over there to try and get

13:42

his job back. There's a hammer laying

13:45

right there on the table. He picks it up,

13:47

goes into a rage, then the husband

13:49

shoots the bad guy. A

13:52

coroner's jury agreed with this theory

13:55

and this version of events and stated

13:57

that Roger had entered the winger home and

13:59

attacked Donna with a hammer. Mark

14:02

was found to have acted in self-defense and

14:04

wouldn't be facing charges for

14:05

shooting Roger.

14:09

In the aftermath of the murders, there

14:11

was an outpouring of support for

14:13

Mark who was now raising three-month-old

14:15

Bailey alone while grieving the

14:17

loss of the wife that he loved so much.

14:21

Donna's mother and stepfather said they

14:23

felt terrible for Mark and all he had lost.

14:26

But not everyone believed Mark's

14:29

story. Cox's

14:31

partner, Detective Doug Williamson, did

14:34

not think Mark was telling them the truth. Detective

14:37

Williamson continued to look into the case,

14:40

even after it was closed, and

14:42

despite Detective Cox believing

14:44

Mark's story. You

14:47

see, Detective Williamson found some

14:49

details odd and thought the details

14:51

didn't add up, like how

14:54

there was no forced entry to the home. Someone

14:57

let Roger into the house that day. Williamson

15:00

questioned why Donna would leave her baby unattended

15:03

on her bed to go and open the door to Roger,

15:06

a man that had been stalking and terrifying

15:08

her. Donna always peeked

15:11

out the window before opening the door, so she

15:13

would have known who she was letting in. It

15:16

then came out that the door had been left unlocked,

15:19

something that never happened. The wingers

15:22

always locked their door. Donna's

15:25

father, Robert, also struggled

15:27

to believe Mark's story. He

15:30

said that Mark didn't seem to be grieving.

15:33

And we know all people grieve differently,

15:36

but Robert said that Mark recounted the

15:38

story without the emotion he would expect.

15:41

There were no tears in his eyes. Donna's

15:44

father suspected that Donna and Mark were

15:47

headed toward divorce, possibly due

15:49

to Donna's infertility, and Mark

15:51

didn't want the alimony payment or the

15:53

lack of control that would come with separation.

15:56

He said, Mark

15:58

had to be in control he was macho

16:01

from the day I met him, a very

16:03

gung-ho military man. For

16:06

Mark, it was easier to get rid of your problem

16:08

than to have to live with it. Donna's

16:13

friends were also having a hard time believing

16:15

Mark's story. A couple of them

16:17

tested a theory that Mark would not have heard

16:20

Donna fall to the floor if he was on the treadmill

16:22

in the basement. They recreated

16:24

the situation and the woman on the treadmill

16:27

couldn't hear anything upstairs as the

16:29

treadmill was too loud and drown

16:31

out all the sounds that were being made above

16:33

her. Despite

16:36

doubts around Mark's innocence swirling

16:38

in the background, he continued life as a

16:40

presumed innocent man. He filed

16:42

for aid under the Crime Victims Compensation

16:45

Act and received $25,000, the maximum payout allowed

16:47

at the time. He

16:51

claimed Donna's life insurance which paid him $150,000.

16:53

Mark publicly thanked the

16:57

people of Springfield for welcoming him

17:00

and Donna into the community and for

17:02

the community support since the murder via

17:05

a letter he sent to the local newspaper.

17:07

I

17:10

often told Donna that if love was

17:12

measured in compassion for others, she

17:14

would be love and if humanity

17:16

was measured through good deeds, she would

17:19

be humanity. Donna's

17:22

family spent the next few months traveling

17:24

back and forth from Florida to help Mark

17:27

with baby Bailey. Travel

17:29

took its toll and Donna's family suggested

17:31

that Mark hire a live-in nanny to help

17:34

him with the day-to-day care of Bailey. Rebecca,

17:38

a young and beautiful nanny with a heart

17:40

of gold who wanted to help the family, was

17:43

hired. She was well liked

17:45

by Bailey, Mark, and by Donna's

17:47

family. Rebecca felt

17:50

sorry for Bailey having lost both her

17:52

birth mother and her adoptive mother in

17:54

her short little life and marveled

17:56

at how happy of a baby she was despite

17:59

the loss of these two. important relationships.

18:04

Before long, Mark and Rebecca started

18:07

a romantic relationship. Rebecca

18:09

told 2020, When you

18:11

live with someone and you're taking care of a child

18:13

together, it's very easy to kind

18:16

of play house. You're already

18:18

put in those roles. Mark

18:20

made me feel like I was an angel sent to

18:22

him from God or Donna and it

18:25

was my purpose to make this family whole

18:27

again. While

18:30

some might say Mark was moving on very quickly

18:32

after his wife's murder, Mark

18:34

explained that he had a great marriage with Donna

18:37

and it was normal for him to want that kind

18:39

of relationship once again. Although

18:44

Donna was the infertile one in their relationship,

18:47

Mark told Rebecca that it was in fact him

18:49

that couldn't have children. So

18:51

imagine Rebecca's surprise when she found

18:54

out a couple of months into the relationship

18:56

that she was pregnant. She

18:58

said they hadn't been very careful because she

19:01

thought Mark couldn't get her pregnant. And

19:04

while Rebecca was shocked, Mark was thrilled.

19:07

He soon started to pressure Rebecca to

19:09

marry him. Mark,

19:12

who along with Donna was Jewish, started

19:14

attending church with Rebecca who was a Christian

19:16

and told Rebecca that their unborn

19:19

child would be raised Christian. When

19:22

Mark's rabbi met with him and asked why Mark

19:24

was leaving the faith, Mark said that

19:26

Judaism was just too difficult

19:28

and unforgiving. The rabbi

19:31

asked Mark what he needed forgiveness for

19:33

but Mark did not reply. Meanwhile,

19:38

Roger's family was dealing with the fallout

19:40

of the murder and with Roger being

19:42

painted as a deranged stalker and killer,

19:45

his mother received a lot of backlash

19:47

and her life became very difficult.

19:50

Roger's sister, Barbara, didn't believe

19:52

the police's version of events and

19:55

told a local newspaper about how wonderful

19:57

of a person he was and how he

19:59

helped those... a need when he could. Friends

20:02

and family said that Roger was harmless,

20:04

gentle, and kind. They

20:07

couldn't believe that he would be capable of violence.

20:10

Sure, he had his ups and downs in life,

20:12

but he was working hard to turn his life

20:15

around and make a good life for himself. His

20:19

roommate told the Chicago Tribune, "...It

20:22

was frustrating that no one would believe us.

20:25

I know what the police were thinking. Here's

20:28

this man with a good name and a good job

20:30

living in a nice house, this nice couple

20:32

with a new baby, and look at us. They

20:34

thought we were trailer trash and Roger

20:37

was crazy." As

20:40

time went on, Mark decided to go into

20:42

the police station a few months after the murder

20:45

and ask for his gun to be returned to him.

20:47

It had been taken as evidence,

20:50

but with the case closed, it could

20:52

be released back to him. Detective

20:55

Cox later told CBS News, "...I

20:58

released the gun back to Mark and we sat

21:00

and talked for about half an hour. He was

21:03

wanting to know how the case was going. As

21:05

far as I was concerned, he should have just accepted

21:08

it was closed." After

21:11

this conversation with Mark, Detective Cox

21:14

became suspicious and started to

21:16

see what his partner, Williamson, had

21:18

been seeing. In early

21:20

January 1996, Mark went into the station

21:23

again to tell police that he was

21:25

marrying Rebecca and he asked

21:28

about the status of Donna's case. He

21:30

was told, again, that the case was

21:33

closed and he had been cleared. Detective

21:36

Cox was already suspicious of Mark's

21:38

behavior, but this made him

21:41

really question things.

21:42

Detective Cox said,

21:44

"...He kept coming in. I kept feeling

21:46

like he was trying to find out if we were checking

21:49

into anything. I went back

21:51

to Williamson and said, something's wrong

21:53

here, big time. I'm

21:55

sure Williamson was like, yeah, no shit."

22:01

On December 29, 1995, Mark

22:04

filed a lawsuit against BART Transportation.

22:07

This was the shuttle company that Roger worked for.

22:10

He claimed that company was negligent for hiring

22:13

Roger and should have known that he was

22:15

not fit for the job. According

22:18

to the Chicago Tribune, filing the lawsuit

22:20

was a fateful decision. The

22:23

suit launched an investigation by company

22:25

attorneys and kept rumors about the case

22:27

alive. As

22:30

they were investigating the suit, BART

22:32

attorneys went over Donna's murder and they

22:35

found new evidence that they thought the police

22:37

would be interested in. Within

22:39

a year, the BART attorneys were

22:41

working with police and were allowed to see

22:44

crime scene photos and have custody

22:46

of evidence, such as the hammer. The

22:49

evidence sat in the BART attorney's office

22:51

for more than four years. Detective

22:54

Cox and Williamson wanted to open the case

22:56

back up, but their superiors barred

22:58

them from doing so for three years. And

23:02

during those three years, life went on.

23:05

Mark and Rebecca eloped to Hawaii and

23:07

welcomed three children together. Rebecca

23:10

adopted Bailey. Mark was

23:12

promoted at work and led the section that

23:14

supervises Illinois nuclear power

23:17

plants. Mark

23:19

stopped contacting friends he'd made while

23:21

married to Donna. Sixteen

23:24

months after Donna's death, Mark sold

23:26

the house where she was killed and moved

23:28

the family to a farmhouse on over four

23:30

acres of land outside Springfield.

23:33

They remodeled the house and added a whirlpool

23:36

and an exercise room. Now

23:39

moving on from the house where your wife was murdered

23:42

is not unusual, so the move didn't raise

23:44

eyebrows. What was unexpected

23:47

was Mark's call to Sarah, Donna's

23:49

mother. And during the call,

23:52

he told her that they were moving and he was

23:54

ending contact with her. Bailey

23:56

would never call her grandma again.

23:59

Sarah was understandably devastated

24:02

by the news and she begged Mark

24:04

to let her still be Grandma, but

24:06

he insisted he would not budge on this

24:09

decision. Sarah

24:11

grieved the loss of the baby who made her

24:13

a Grandma. Knowing she would likely

24:15

never see her again, Sarah and

24:17

Iris still sent Bailey birthday cards

24:19

every year and Bailey was told

24:22

that the cards were from Donna's parents, but

24:24

there was never any communication sent back.

24:30

Police finally got some traction in the case

24:32

in March 1999 when

24:35

a woman called DeAnn Schultz went to

24:37

the police and gave a statement. DeAnn

24:39

said that she had worked with Donna and they

24:41

had become close friends. DeAnn

24:44

had even met Donna's sisters and

24:46

they considered DeAnn to be part of the family,

24:49

you know, one of the sisters. At

24:51

some stage she met Mark and

24:53

the pair started an affair in July

24:55

of 1995. DeAnn

24:58

said that in early August of 95

25:01

she was standing in the driveway talking to Mark

25:03

when he said, it would be easier

25:05

if Donna just died and

25:08

all you have to do is come in and find the body.

25:12

DeAnn said she thought it was all crazy and

25:14

didn't agree to participate in anything. In

25:17

another conversation, Mark talked

25:19

about not wanting Bailey to grow up in Florida

25:21

where it was hot and humid with Donna's family.

25:25

He again mentioned it would be easier

25:27

if Donna died. DeAnn,

25:30

who was also married, told Mark

25:32

that she was getting a divorce and if he wanted

25:34

to be with her he would have to do the same.

25:37

But Mark was not planning on divorcing Donna.

25:41

On August 28, the day before the murder,

25:43

Mark told DeAnn that he was going to lure

25:46

Roger into the house and on

25:48

the 29th, after the murder, he

25:50

called her at work and asked if she would love him

25:52

no matter what. The

25:55

night of the murder, after he had been interviewed

25:57

and cleaned up, Mark stated his rabbis

26:00

house. Deann played the role

26:02

of concerned and grieving friend and stayed

26:04

the night too, so they could console

26:06

and comfort each other in a purely platonic

26:09

way, I'm sure. Mark

26:12

told Deann that it was best if she stayed away

26:14

from the police and didn't say anything about

26:16

the affair. He was worried it would be

26:19

a bad look. Mark told

26:21

Deann, I think the police believe

26:23

me, I did it for us. He

26:26

seemed more concerned with the police investigation

26:29

than the fact that his wife had just been killed.

26:32

The pair continued to date and even exchanged

26:34

wedding bands during their relationship. Mark

26:37

talked openly with Deann about Donna's

26:39

death, saying things like, Dead

26:41

Men Don't Talk, in reference to Roger,

26:45

and he told her the murder didn't happen

26:47

the way the paper said it did, and he

26:50

didn't want Deann to know what happened at the

26:52

house because ignorance is bliss. Mark

26:55

spoke about being worried that the police

26:58

had bugged his car. Once

27:02

Rebecca started working as Bailey's nanny,

27:04

the relationship between Mark and Deann started

27:07

to disintegrate. At first,

27:09

Rebecca said that Deann was very keen

27:11

to stay involved with Bailey's care, to

27:13

the point of being pushy. However,

27:16

that didn't last long. Deann

27:18

started to suspect that Mark may have had something

27:20

to do with Donna's death. Now,

27:23

it's interesting to note that the relationship between

27:26

Deann and Mark ended in March of 96, two

27:29

months after he told police he was

27:31

marrying Rebecca. What's

27:33

the old saying about a leopard and its spots?

27:38

After their affair ended, Deann struggled,

27:40

her mental health suffered and spiraled

27:42

down, and she blamed this on

27:44

her knowledge of what Mark had done. Things

27:47

got so bad for Deann that she

27:50

made an attempt on her life. She

27:52

survived the attempt and received counseling,

27:55

medication, and electroconvulsive

27:57

therapy treatments. It

28:00

was her psychiatrist who urged her

28:02

to speak with the police and tell them what she

28:04

knew. He said she needed

28:07

to rid herself of the guilt in order

28:09

to start her recovery. Deann

28:12

wanted to hear from Mark since he never

28:14

actually had confessed to her. She

28:16

called him in October of 1998 to

28:18

see if he would tell her that he killed Donna,

28:21

if he would actually say those

28:23

words. She asked

28:25

how he lived with himself and Mark told

28:27

her that he had found Jesus Christ

28:29

and he was forgiven. Deann

28:33

told Mark what she had told her psychiatrist,

28:36

and this worried Mark. He was concerned

28:38

that the psychiatrist would go to the police

28:41

and their gooses will be cooked. In

28:45

return for a full statement and cooperation,

28:48

Deann was given immunity. Mark

28:52

spoke out about Deann's statement saying it was

28:54

a lie and saying he was a good husband

28:57

to Donna. He said their affair

28:59

was a mistake. Investigators

29:04

however believed there was something to Deann's statement

29:07

and they reopened the case, something

29:09

detectives Cox and Williamson had been

29:12

wanting to

29:12

do for years.

29:14

The first order of business was getting all of

29:16

the evidence back from the civil attorneys working

29:19

for BART transportation.

29:21

Remember, police gave the attorneys

29:23

a lot of evidence to help them with their case,

29:25

hoping that would in turn help the

29:28

police if their investigation turned up something

29:30

new. Once

29:33

the evidence was back, they found three Polaroid

29:35

photos that had been taken by an officer

29:37

who was first on scene. These

29:40

photos were overlooked during the initial

29:42

investigation and neither Cox

29:45

nor Williamson had seen them before. The

29:47

images were snapped before paramedics

29:49

arrived and it showed that the position

29:52

of the bodies did not reflect

29:54

Mark's story at all. The

29:57

way Roger's body was facing in the photo,

30:00

was the opposite to how it would have been facing

30:03

if Mark's story were accurate. Prosecutor

30:07

Steve Weinhoff told 2020, Mark

30:10

Winger had stated that Roger Harrington

30:12

was kneeling down right next to Donna Winger's

30:14

head and that he was beating her with

30:17

a hammer. He stated that he shot

30:19

him and the man fell backwards so

30:21

that his feet remained near Donna's head.

30:24

In reality, the Polaroid photographs

30:27

showed the exact opposite. In other

30:29

words, there's no way this murder

30:32

could have happened the way Mark Winger described.

30:37

Detectives Cox and Williamson had no

30:39

choice but to admit they had botched the initial

30:41

investigation and closed the case

30:43

too quickly, meaning they overlooked

30:46

crucial evidence that could have provided a different

30:48

outcome. After the

30:51

initial, very brief investigation,

30:53

Detective Cox had called Mark a hero, thinking

30:56

he had stepped up to try and save his wife's

30:58

life. They set to

31:00

work writing those wrongs and reopened

31:03

the case with Mark Winger as their prime

31:05

and only suspect. Detective

31:10

spoke to witnesses and gathered new statements

31:12

from those that knew Mark around the time of Donna's

31:14

murder. A co-worker of Mark

31:17

said that four days before the murder, Mark

31:19

was asking how the adoption of Bailey would

31:21

work if Donna died before it was finalized.

31:25

That was the same day that Mark called the

31:27

shuttle company to complain about Roger. The

31:30

following day, Mark called the company

31:33

back and demanded the driver's full

31:35

name. Then two days later,

31:37

he called and asked to speak to Roger directly

31:39

about the issue. Mark

31:41

was told that Roger was willing to speak with

31:43

him to get things sorted. After that

31:45

last phone call, Mark told DeAnn

31:48

that he needed to get that guy in his house.

31:51

And listeners will be right back after

31:53

a word from this week's sponsor. season,

32:01

Uncommon Goods is your secret shopping

32:03

weapon. Uncommon Goods

32:05

is here to make your holiday shopping stress-free.

32:08

They scour the globe for the most remarkable

32:11

and truly unique gifts for everyone on your

32:13

list. Whether you're shopping for

32:15

your secret Santa or gifting

32:17

the entire family, Uncommon

32:19

Goods knows exactly what they want. When

32:23

you shop at Uncommon Goods, you're supporting

32:25

artists and small independent businesses.

32:29

These fine products are often made in small

32:31

batches, so shop soon before they

32:33

sell out this holiday season. And

32:35

did you know that with every purchase you make

32:38

at Uncommon Goods, they give back $1

32:41

to a nonprofit partner of your choice?

32:44

They've donated more than two and a half million

32:46

dollars. This means I can

32:48

feel good about relaxing with my Amethyst

32:51

and Aquamarine Geode Candle

32:53

Set. To

32:56

get 15% off your next gift,

32:58

go to uncommongoods.com

33:00

slash alreadygone. That's

33:03

uncommongoods.com slash

33:05

alreadygone. You can save 15%.

33:09

Don't miss out on this limited time offer. uncommongoods.com

33:13

slash alreadygone. Uncommon

33:16

Goods. We're all out of the ordinary.

33:19

Police also interviewed both of Roger's

33:22

roommates. One said that she recalled

33:24

that on the morning of the murders, Roger took

33:26

a phone call and she overheard him organizing

33:29

to meet someone. She said he

33:31

wrote the details on a piece of paper, then

33:33

told her he was leaving to meet someone, and

33:36

he left around 3 30. And

33:38

you may remember that in Roger's car,

33:41

police found a piece of paper with Mark's name

33:43

and address on it with a time 4 30 p.m.

33:48

Why would Roger write down Mark's name

33:50

if he was going there to murder Donna? Roger's

33:53

other roommate said that Roger told her

33:55

about the appointment and said he was going to discuss

33:58

the complaint and hopefully come back. come to

34:00

a resolution. Roger really

34:02

wanted to keep the job that he loved so much.

34:07

Other witnesses placed Roger at the house

34:09

before 3.50 p.m., 37 minutes before Mark made the 911

34:11

call. The

34:16

presence of a soft drink and Roger's cigarettes

34:19

on the dining table suggests that Roger was

34:21

in the house having a conversation with the

34:23

wingers. That seems like an unlikely

34:25

thing for an intruder to do. And

34:28

Mark was, according to his statement, on

34:31

the treadmill in the basement when Roger arrived.

34:34

Why would Mark lead his wife to meet with

34:36

a man that made her uncomfortable? There

34:40

were no signs of forced entry, he

34:42

didn't break in, and Donna always

34:44

looked out the window before opening the door

34:47

so he must have been invited in. Roger's

34:50

car was parked right outside the house, wouldn't

34:53

he want to park in a less conspicuous

34:55

spot? And a crowbar and

34:57

knife were found in his car. If

35:00

he was going to attack Donna, why leave

35:02

weapons behind in the vehicle? The

35:05

police had a lot of questions and it

35:07

didn't seem like the answer to any of them

35:10

pointed to Roger being a murderer. When

35:16

detectives reviewed more evidence, they noted

35:18

that Mark's reports were inconsistent and

35:20

contained many discrepancies about

35:22

the order of events and other details. According

35:26

to CBS News in the 911 call,

35:29

Mark told the operator there was a bullet in the

35:31

intruder's head. But

35:34

when police arrived, the intruder had

35:36

been shot twice. Also,

35:39

during the call, the 911 operator

35:41

could hear someone moaning. At

35:43

that time, Mark told the operator he

35:45

could hear his baby crying and hung up. Adding

35:49

all the evidence to DeAnn's statement that Mark

35:51

told her to withhold evidence, and

35:54

Mark drawing on Donna's insurance 24 hours

35:57

after her death, the detectives were

35:59

sure they had an injury. evidence to charge Mark

36:01

with murder. They believed

36:03

that Mark shot Roger, legend Donna

36:05

to death when she came to investigate the gunshot,

36:08

and then attempted to frame Roger. They

36:11

believed that Mark had been planning the details

36:13

since the day Donna arrived home from the airport,

36:16

although he had been planning the murder for far

36:19

longer. The run-in with Roger

36:21

provided Mark with a scapegoat. To

36:27

make sure they had their theory right, authorities

36:30

hired Tom Bevel, president of

36:32

TBI, a blood evidence

36:34

consulting company, to look over the blood

36:36

evidence in the home. Bevel's

36:39

determination was that Mark shot Roger

36:41

in the upper back of the head, beat

36:43

Donna to death with a hammer, and then,

36:46

after some time passed, rolled Roger

36:48

over and shot him in the forehead. He also

36:52

found that none of Donna's blood was found

36:54

on Roger, and Roger's wounds

36:56

were not consistent with Mark's story.

37:03

In December of 1996, the

37:05

BART attorneys accused Mark of killing Donna

37:08

and Roger. Once the news

37:10

was made public, Roger's family filed

37:12

a wrongful death suit against Mark. And

37:15

listeners, before we go on to legal

37:17

proceedings, it's important that

37:19

we take a moment to remember Roger.

37:23

For years the public was told that he was a

37:25

murderer, and it simply wasn't true.

37:28

Roger Lee Harrington was born December 31,

37:32

1967, in Paris, Illinois. He was

37:34

loved by his parents, Ralph and Helen,

37:37

and his two brothers and sister. He

37:40

was twenty-seven years old when he was lured

37:42

to the Winger home and killed. His

37:44

memory was then tarnished. He was

37:47

branded a murderer. Helen,

37:52

his mother, had a very difficult time

37:54

in the community, as everyone thought

37:56

her son was a killer. Cox

37:58

told 2020. I was ashamed

38:01

of the way the investigation went. I

38:03

hurt Roger's family. I ran

38:05

his name through hell for no reason. I

38:08

mean, he was an innocent victim." Detective

38:12

Cox also told CBS News, "...I

38:14

hurt the Harrington family a lot. They

38:17

buried him as a murderer." Back

38:20

in court, Mark, who had hired

38:23

a well-known defense lawyer, managed

38:25

to get Roger's family lawsuit paused until

38:27

after the criminal one. Mark

38:30

also dropped his lawsuit against Bart. It

38:33

was another 18 months before the prosecution

38:35

formally charged Mark with the murders of Donna

38:37

and Roger. That

38:40

18-month wait was painful for families who

38:42

just wanted to see justice served. Donna's

38:45

father threatened to chain himself to City Hall

38:48

on numerous occasions in an act

38:50

of protest against how long things

38:52

were taking. He was

38:54

serious, too, evidenced by him

38:56

showing up to City Hall with chains at the ready.

39:00

A grand jury finally indicted Mark

39:02

on August 24, 2001, nearly six years to the day after

39:07

the murders. He was arrested

39:09

at his office and charged with the first-degree

39:11

murders of Donna and Roger. Despite

39:18

the investigation, Rebecca, Mark's

39:21

former nanny and current wife, felt

39:23

blindsided by the arrest. She

39:25

was at a McDonald's playland with the kids

39:27

when she got the call from Mark's secretary. She

39:30

told 2020, I was

39:33

just sick, like my whole body

39:35

just kind of went numb and I just couldn't believe

39:37

it. I was shaking so badly

39:39

and I just remember feeling so scared.

39:44

Also in disbelief were Donna's mother and stepfather

39:46

who believed that Mark was innocent. Mark's

39:50

bond was set at $10 million and

39:52

his attorney argued it should be lowered so he could

39:55

continue to work and support his family. The

39:58

attorney referred to Mark as a

40:00

rock-solid member of the community who

40:03

had been cooperating with the police, the

40:05

judge declined to lower the bond. The

40:11

trial began in May. The prosecution

40:13

was arguing that Merck had been wanting to kill

40:15

Donna since before the shuttle ride with Roger.

40:18

However, he saw the opportunity to frame

40:20

someone else for the murder and he took it. They

40:23

pointed out that Merck's lies began immediately

40:26

starting with a 911 call where Merck

40:28

said he didn't know who the intruder was.

40:32

The end testified for the prosecution,

40:34

recounting her experiences with Merck,

40:37

including the affair and the comments about

40:39

Donna dying. The prosecution

40:42

said her testimony was able to prove

40:44

that, in reality, Merck was

40:46

obviously unhappy, unfaithful,

40:48

and had specifically talked about wanting to

40:50

kill his wife. For

40:54

the defense, they painted Merck as a

40:56

loving family man, someone

40:58

who was well-liked in the community, he

41:00

was a scientist, he worked in a respected

41:02

field, he adopted a child

41:05

who needed a loving home. They

41:07

tried to place the blame back on Roger

41:09

saying that he had a troubled past. The

41:12

defense also pointed out that the detectives

41:14

had the same evidence, Bardian's testimony,

41:17

in 1995 as they had when they charged

41:20

Merck, including the Polaroid photos,

41:23

and they reached the conclusion back then that

41:25

Merck was innocent. The

41:28

defense also said that the Polaroids could

41:30

have been taken after the paramedics arrived

41:33

and started moving the victims, something

41:35

paramedics denied. As

41:37

Diane's testimony was the new element in the

41:39

case, they set about discrediting her

41:42

as a witness, bringing up her

41:44

multiple attempts on her own life and

41:46

the electroshock therapy she had been

41:49

subjected to as part of her

41:51

treatment. They painted Diane

41:53

as an emotionally unstable woman

41:55

looking for revenge.

42:00

and the defense presented a large number of

42:02

expert testimony regarding bloodstain

42:04

patterns and blood spatter analysis.

42:08

The expert for the defense testified that

42:10

the blood evidence did, in fact,

42:12

match up with Mark's version of events. One

42:16

of the few people that didn't testify

42:18

was Mark himself. It is unclear

42:21

if he didn't want to take the stand or

42:23

if his lawyers advised him not to take

42:25

the stand. After 13

42:28

hours of deliberation, the jury

42:30

found Mark guilty of both first-degree

42:33

murder charges. He was sentenced

42:35

to life in prison. Roger's

42:38

mother was relieved when the verdict was read.

42:40

She knew her son wasn't a murderer, and

42:42

now the world knew it, too. By

42:46

the end of the trial, Donna's mother and stepfather

42:48

believed that Mark was guilty, after

42:50

initially believing his version of events.

42:53

They said that they couldn't understand why

42:56

Mark would kill Donna. Mark's

42:58

parents, who spent a lot of money paying for

43:00

his defense, were shocked at

43:02

the guilty verdict and, to this day,

43:05

they think that Mark is innocent. The

43:08

usual appeals were filed, but they were denied

43:10

and convictions were upheld. Mark

43:13

still maintains his innocence. He

43:15

said that the hammer was out because Donna

43:17

asked him to hang a hat rack, and she

43:20

put the hammer on the counter to remind him

43:22

to put it away. He has no

43:24

explanation for the note in Roger's car,

43:26

with the time 4.30 written on it. And

43:30

while that's usually where the story ends, this

43:33

one isn't quite over. In 2005,

43:38

Mark put out a hit on DeAnn and

43:40

a childhood friend called Jeffrey, who

43:43

refused to put up Mark's bail. Mark

43:45

told a fellow inmate, Terry, about

43:47

a plan he had come up with. This

43:51

19-page plan detailed the murders of DeAnn

43:53

and Jeffrey. With Mark behind

43:55

bars, he needed help to execute

43:57

the plan, and he asked Terry to

43:59

help them out by arranging a hitman. The

44:03

plan was to have a hitman kidnap

44:05

Jeffrey and get him to pay a large ransom

44:08

in exchange for not hurting his family. After

44:11

the ransom was paid Jeffrey

44:13

and his family would all be killed. Deann

44:16

was to be kidnapped and forced to recant

44:18

her testimony into a tape recorder before

44:21

being murdered. The money

44:23

from Jeffrey's ransom would then pay the hitman

44:25

for his services. Mark

44:28

did not count on Terry going to the police,

44:30

wearing a wire during a conversation with Mark

44:33

and handing the 19-page murder plot

44:35

to the authorities. Mark was

44:38

charged with and found guilty of two

44:40

counts of solicitation for murder and

44:43

was sentenced to 35 years. According

44:47

to Mark the plan was just a fantasy

44:49

that he had no intention of carrying out.

44:52

Today Mark is incarcerated

44:54

in the Western Illinois Correctional Center

44:56

in Mount Sterling. He is not

44:59

eligible for parole. Rebecca,

45:03

who was stunned by everything that happened, had

45:06

to move out of the house she bought with Mark. Without

45:08

his income she couldn't pay the bills and the

45:11

bank foreclosed on the home. She

45:13

was forced to file for bankruptcy. Rebecca

45:16

eventually filed for divorce, she changed

45:18

her last name and the names of her four children

45:21

including Bailey. Bailey

45:26

told 2020 that she struggled without

45:28

her dad and felt sad when she saw

45:30

kids at school with their dads since

45:32

she wasn't able to see hers whenever she wanted.

45:36

Bailey was able to reconnect with Donna's

45:38

family and she has a relationship with Sarah,

45:40

Donna's mother, who kept Bailey's

45:43

photo on her kitchen counter with the photos of

45:45

all her other grandkids. I'm

45:48

Nina Instead, the producer and voice

45:51

behind the Already Gone podcast.

45:53

I appreciate you listening and please

45:56

be safe. Thank

46:13

you.