Dr. Phil Episode Notes: Deadly Consequences
I’ll post the complete notes one this show airs in my locale. Stand by. Today’s Dr. Phil episode is called: Deadly Consequences. In the meantime, here’s a brief summary of this episode.
Segment 1
Summary: An abused widow admits to killing her husband but is then charged with premeditated (first degree) murder.
Background: Shannon was in a highly abusive relationship, called 911 to report that she had killed her husband. She said she could not tolerate being manhandled and injured by his hands anymore. At first, she says, they had a wonderful association. They got together in 1988, and it was nearly twenty years before he first abused Shannon; talk about dogs lying in wait. He became angry at her as they pulling away from their home in the car. Then abruptly, he turned the care around and drove back. Upon arrival, he dragged her by the hair out of the car and into the house, whereupon he proceeded to smack the wall, with her head! She says he developed a chronically bad temper around this time and began routinely beating her with golf clubs, choked her, and threatened her with an assortment of weapons such as guns and knives.
Then on March 21st, 2010, he woke up angry, and hit Shannon hard enough to force blood from her ear and lashed her with a clothes hanger. Shannon noticed a deranged look in his eyes. Then, fearing for her life, she picked up a gun on a nearby stand, and shot him to death.
Shannon is now on stage with Dr. Phil, and claims to remember everything on that fateful day quite clearly, until her husband thumped her in the head. Memory of events after that became fragmented.
Shannon revealed that there were three children in the living room when all this went down. In fact, the husband, after having taken a remote control from one of them to punish apparently, grew quickly enraged when Shannon returned the control to the child. He then demanded that she join him in their bedroom to make her pay for defying him.
Shannon did not get away she says, because her husband made it very hard for her to do so; taking her car or the keys to it, locking the gate so she could not drive out, and threatened her that he’d do bad things to her or their children if she did leave. She felt ensnared.
Shannon says she shot her husband in self defense. But prosecutors disagree. They charged her with first degree premeditated murder, the penalty being life in prison. She worries about her kids and how they’ll come to view her, for killing their father.
This appears to be another installment episode in Dr. Phil’s End The Silence On Domestic Violence campaign.
Curt Hopper, Shannon’s attorney has come to the show, and says that all the evidence points to self defense and that in Tennessee, a victim is not expected to first try to leave the situation before defending themselves.
Dr. Phil says he believes her, and fully understands why she found it so hard to walk away. He’s curious as to why the state questions her, particularly with all the evidence offered by neighbors. He offers the typically large power imbalance between a man and a woman in defense of Shannon.
Legal analyst Loni Coombs is also present, and Dr. Phil asked for her take on this case. She says that they may have brought charges this severe to discourage vigilantism. But she was shocked at the premeditated murder charge however. But she revealed that Shannon herself has some history of doing violence to her husband that she called “mutual combat.”
Next: Shannon’s aunt will appear and discuss what she knows. Now, they’re showing pictures of Shannon’s injuries inflicted by her husband.
Segment 2
Shannon feels that her life has been forever changed for the worse. Even now that he’s gone, she still fears doing things that he warned her not to do with his threats of violence. She did not call the police on him before his death because she feared that he’d kill her. In fact, he threatened to kill the kids, and then bind her hands and force her to look at their corpses before killing her.
Shannon’s aunt Joyce blames herself for what happened. They showed a taped piece from her, where she expresses sadness and remorse for not knowing. She wishes Shannon could stop having to “fight for her life.” Shannon is still fighting though her husband is gone.
Dr. Phil explained that abused women typically conceal it; particularly from those closest to them.
Her attorney, Curt Hopper, says that they’ll not accept a plea bargain, certain that his client did not break any state statutes.
Loni Coombs feels that the prosecutor will not be able to be victorious in this case. She advise people in similar situations to take pictures of any injuries the abuser inflicts on them, along with any other relevant images, until they can escape, to prove the abuse.
Dr. Phil argues against the “Why didn’t she just leave?” question, saying that when a person feels threatened to the degree that Shannon was, their primary focus is to avoid death, even if that means putting up with further threats. He mentioned the National Network To End Domestic Violence that victims can visit for help. He wished Shannon well and really seemed to empathize with her situation. Though he does not support ever killing someone when there’s a different way to get away, I understood him today that he does recognize that sometimes there is no other way.
Next, a couple faces their worst nightmare, when their own daughter plots their murder with her boyfriend. The father ended up stabbed in the chest.
Segment 3
Next guests, Donna and Mark, tell their story of how they were sleeping when their eighteen year-old daughter Jessica’s assailant boyfriend Kevin, entered their bedroom and stabbed Mark. The next day, Jessica was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Mark says he remembers waking up and feeling the stab. Mark says he forgives Jessica, believing that while Jessica indeed worked on the planning with Kevin, she didn’t really believe that Kevin would do it.
Donna heard noises and turned on the light, to discover Kevin with the knife. She seems to have forgiven her daughter as well, and wants to know “how to get [her] daughter back.”
Jessica, after confessing to plotting her parents’ murder with Kevin, was found guilty of the conspiracy to commit murder charge and sentenced to twenty five years to life in prison. Apparently, her motive was that she thought her parents were keeping the two of them apart.
Dr. Phil questioned this couple about why they feel as though they’ve been victimized by the legal system, and how they could want their daughter back, she who has admitted to plotting their demise.
Mark blames Jessica’s lapse in judgment on Kevin’s highly controlling, manipulative, and violent nature. He feels that Jessica doing this was way “out of character” for her.
Next: Dr. Phil will play a recording made by one of his producers, who talked with Jessica from jail.
Segment 4
Jessica blamed Kevin for her part in this. She pleaded that he told her that murdering her parents was “something they needed to do” in order to be forever together. He felt that it was her parents’ fault that they could not be together. He assured her that they would not get caught by saying that they’d take the bodies to the desert and burn them. She began to cry in the interview. She says that she’s sorry and that she’ll probably never be able to forgive herself for the cold and calculating nature she demonstrated in this incident. Finally, Jessica said she knows not why she did it. But she just wants to go home.
Donna admits to at first feeling shock and anger at her daughter, but has come to forgive her. She believes that the time served so far has already reformed Jessica.
Dr. Phil appears to me to be skeptical of Jessica’s explanation that mark brainwashed her in essence. He expected that Jessica would have stopped the planning as soon as the idea came up.
Jessica and Kevin are now both in prison, and Jessica could remain there until 2025.
Mark and Donna both say that they’d feel safe in their home if Jessica were released. They’ve pardoned her in their minds.
Loni Coombs says that they could appeal the sentence. But that would likely take years. She says that it’s hard to undo a confession made before the jury. So she’ll probably not get out until the current sentence is up. It’s a strong case that the DA made, and the evidence along with her own admission, showed Jessica to be guilty.
Dr. Phil advised them not to be so unconditionally trusting. If she behaved this cruelly before, she’ll probably act that way again. So she just may do this again if she gets out. He also says that the role of the district attorney is to protect the public, not to cater to the wishes of the parents. Even thought Mark and Donna have forgiven Jessica, that by no means erases the dangerous aspects of Jessica’s personality that along with Kevin’s, triggered this event in the first place. He advised Mark and Donna that all they may be able to do, is to support her daughter and let her know during her remaining time in jail, that they forgive and love her. He suggested that they be the “anchor” in Jessica’s life.
Next: A woman was murdered in Mexico and her husband was accused of it. But a neighbor does not think it possible that he could have done it.
Segment 5
Bruce Beresford-Redman became the prime suspect in his wife Monica’s murder in Mexico.
Monica’s sisters Carla and Geanne claim that Monica’s marriage was in trouble before she accompanied Bruce to Cancun. They say that he cheated on Monica and treated her and their kids poorly.
They’re showing news clips from various points along this case.
The sisters’ attorney is Alison Triessl.
Bruce Beresford-Redman is now fighting extradition to Mexico to face this murder charge.
Dr, Phil asks what Bruce’s motive would have been. He also asks Coombs for her assessment of this case.
The sisters say that she wanted a divorce while her husband did not.
Jim Moret, the head correspondent for the Inside Edition television show has been following this case, and has come to the Dr. Phil show. He’s written a book about his own life, called: The Last Day Of My Life. He says that close examination of those close to Monica seems to reveal a guilty man in her husband.
Loni Coombs says too that there’s lots of evidence against Bruce.
Next: A neighbor joins the conversation, who does not believe Bruce could kill his wife.
Segment 6
The sisters and their attorney are making sure that Bruce is extradited to Mexico to face trial.
Lori, a neighbor, doesn’t think Bruce is capable of murdering his wife. She says that both Bruce and Monica were quite nice to her. So she feels that this heinous act is way out of character for Bruce.
Alice Triessl is the Burgos family attorney. She says that the couple had been fighting over Bruce’s infidelity prior to the trip. Also, Monica had moved some money around to protect it in the event that Bruce would leave. Bruce took out a trip life insurance policy, that pays when someone dies while on a trip.
Dr. Phil mentioned the Monica Burgos Memorial Fund web site, where visitors can donate to help bring Monica’s killer to justice.
Segment 7
Dr. Phil thanks all the guests and lawyers. He mentioned Moret’s book: The Last Day Of My Life and recommends it fervently to his viewers. He also referred folks who are locked into abusive and threatening relationships to the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800- 799-7233.
That’s the end of this episode. Take care.