Obsession

Public defender Drew McGill didn't call a single witness.  It was a risky strategy--one that would require him to use the closing argument to do all the heavy lifting.

Drew McGill: The state attorney said that they were going to show you that he was infatuated with her, that he adored her.  But they didn't show you that.

First, he asked the jury to flat out reject the notion that Oliver O’Quinn was obsessed with Michelle Herndon.

He tried to recast the story of the birthday party at Jessica’s house where Oliver kept sitting next to Michelle in a different light.

Drew McGill: Is that terribly unusual? Does that seem like such a stretch of the imagination that somebody's in a big social setting but they don't know any of these people, but they know one person so they're hanging close to them?

And he argued that there were other women in Oliver O’Quinn’s life who he had perfectly normal relationships with.

Drew McGill: So Oliver O’Quinn is attracted to attractive young ladies. He was attracted to Michelle Herndon.  He was attracted to his ex-wife, we can presume, since they got married.

When it came to the investigation, the defense tried to show that Det. Mike Douglas targeted O’Quinn not based on facts, but on convenience.

Drew McGill: Oliver’s a nurse.  Ooh!  We’ve got a pinprick.  Ooh!  Anything that doesn't fit with that we're going to disregard.

Then McGill pointed out what he called one state witness blatantly contradicting another:

Drew McGill: The state attorney at times portrayed him throughout this trial as this person of great skill, this great skilled person, he could make this small injection, but then the next sentence, he's getting the boot because he's incompetent and his skills aren't up to par.

Finally, the defense attacked the DNA evidence, the only non-circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution.  He said the analyst had mistakes in her report.

Drew McGill: She said yes, it was a typographical error but she didn't catch it proofreading. If no one caught that, three reviews didn't catch it either.  If they didn't catch that, what else didn't they catch?

With that, it was up to the jury to decide. 

One question never answered in the trial: How did Oliver manage to inject Michelle without a struggle?

Investigators believe Oliver may have pretended he was going to give her some medication to treat her persistent migraine headaches, but instead gave her a powerful sedative.

Det. Mike Douglas: So she trusted him.  And this guy gave her four times the lethal dose.  Knowing-- knowing that it was going to kill her.  It's sinister.  This guy planned it.

The verdict would take just two and a half hours.

Verdict: We the jury find as follows: the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder...

More than two years after Michelle Herndon’s death, Oliver O’Quinn was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life without parole.

It was a moment Belinda Herndon thought would never come.

Hoda Kotb: When you heard the words--

Belinda Herndon: Relief.

Belinda Herndon: I wanted to stand up and point at him and say "got you" or something.  Just that these people saw the truth. I was like--I had won the lottery.

Before Oliver O’Quinn was taken away to begin serving the rest of his life behind bars, Belinda Herndon spoke directly to him.

Belinda Herndon: I think about what you did to yourself and Michelle would have been your friend for life she could have been your friend 10 years from now but you took that.  You chose to take that. What you took from us, you will never know.  I almost let you take everything.  I almost didn't survive this.

Hoda Kotb: Did you look at him when you were doing it?

Belinda Herndon: Very much so.

Hoda Kotb: And did he look back?

Belinda Herndon: He looked at me.  I don't think he saw me.  I think he looked right through me.

Hoda Kotb: Expressionless is how they described it...

Belinda Herndon: Yes.  Dead.  Dead eyes.  That's what I thought whenever I looked at him.  I thought, "I've never seen such lifeless eyes in my life."  Yeah.

Hoda Kotb: How do you feel now?

Belinda Herndon: Like I have to do something.  That, Michelle expects it.  I don't think the Peace Corps wants me.  I think I'm a little over their age limit.  But-- I have to do something.  I have to. 

Belinda Herndon says her daughter is still with her every day...

Belinda Herndon: I see Michelle on the street here.  I see Michelle in the way chimes blow in the wind.

...and she takes comfort in knowing Michelle’s brief life will have a lasting impact.

Belinda Herndon: The people that have come forward and said, "Michelle's made me be a better environmentalist.  Michelle's made me be a better person because she makes me be conscientious." I think, you know, she died not knowing how many lives she had touched. 

Oliver O'Quinn is now appealing his conviction.

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