Fatal Visions

I will explain unto you this mystery....

Doctrine & Covenants, 19:8

Josh Mankiewicz: What is it with you and women?

Douglas Grant: What is it that you're asking about?

Josh Mankiewicz: You love them.  You can't seem to stay away from them.  You have some trouble staying faithful.

Douglas Grant: I've been married over seven years now.  Did I have mistakes in the past?  Absolutely. 

And, yet, this isn't a person went out on their wife case.  This is a first-degree murder case.

By the time Doug Grant sat down to talk with me, Faylene had been dead for more than seven years. He'd been tried for her murder, and at that moment, a jury was deliberating his fate.

Douglas Grant: The prosecution wants to paint Faylene as someone that's gullible and easily manipulated. They paint me as the ultimate manipulator.

Anybody that knew Faylene knew that that was impossible. 

Doug says Faylene was strong-willed, like when she ended their first marriage.

Douglas Grant: She came to me and said that she felt, in the temple, that God told her she should divorce me.

Josh Mankiewicz: Did she know about your infidelities?

Douglas Grant: No.  Not 'til after.  She just felt God told her in the temple.

Josh Mankiewicz: And God turned out to be right.

Douglas Grant: God turned out to be right. 

Josh Mankiewicz: You cheated on her.

Douglas Grant: Yes.  I did.  And she's a beautiful woman, and that was a huge mistake.

He says he loved Hilary, but jumped at the chance to go back to Faylene.

Douglas Grant: I messed up with Faylene.  If I had the opportunity to get back with Faylene, and I didn't do it, then who am I?  I mean, Faylene was the mother of my children. 

Josh Mankiewicz: How'd Hillary take that?

Douglas Grant: Not well.  As she shouldn't have.

Josh Mankiewicz: You broke her heart.

Douglas Grant: My heart broke too. .  But I broke her heart.  I absolutely broke her heart.  She--

Josh Mankiewicz: You're kind of a heartbreaker.

Douglas Grant: Yeah, I've hurt-- I've hurt, and I've hurt some people I loved in my life.

He claims Faylene and Hilary developed a genuine friendship, odd as that may seem.

Josh Mankiewicz: A lot of women would say, "I'm not talking to that woman ever again.  And neither are you."

Douglas Grant: Most people.  I mean, I wouldn't-- I can't-- if it was turned around, I couldn't do that.  I-- I-- no way.  You know, I'm not-- not f-- who Faylene was. She said that she loved Hilary.  She said that she knew Hilary was a good mother to the children.  She said that she wanted to know that when she passed away, that she had somewhat of a feeling of peace of knowing who would be helping to raise those kids.  And (sniff)--

Josh Mankiewicz: Did this not seem really strange to you?

Douglas Grant: Oh.  It did.  It absolutely did. There were times when you were like, "Come on," you know.

And there's times when I totally believe her. 

Doug says he never told Faylene she was going to die, despite those journal entries where she refers to his "vision." He says he was caught up in her vision-- that she was going to the pre-existence to meet a new baby.

Douglas Grant: And so I go to bed, and I dream that it was like a cartoon almost.  Like, she's bringin' this baby down, you know.  And I tell her, I said, "Faylene, you know, I had this funny dream."  I didn't call it a vision.  I've never had a vision or a revelation in my life. I had this dream.  And so I tell her about it. And she accepts it as if that's her answer that she's gonna be able to escort this baby down to Hilary.  And that's what they keep bringing up that, you know, it was Doug's visions that she was gonna die.

Josh Mankiewicz: It was hers?

Douglas Grant: It was hers and it was from months and months before! 

What happened on that cliff in Utah?  Here's Doug's version.

Douglas Grant: She said she wanted to get a better view. That wasn't a big deal over that little rock barrier 'cause there's still 10, 12, 15 feet depending on which way you go there. And then she started goin' a little further and started lookin' up.  And she said she could see the cloud shaped like Heavenly Father and Jesus. That was a little bit strange. I did get concerned.  And I got up and started walking.  And almost immediately she slipped.

Josh Mankiewicz: Any chance that she didn't slip?  Any chance it was deliberate?

Douglas Grant: I hope not.

Josh Mankiewicz: I mean, you saw it, not me.  Did it look like she slipped?

Douglas Grant: She slipped. And-- I couldn't see her. And I ran down.  And thinkin' I'm gonna find my wife dead.  And yellin' at the top of my lungs.  And-- she yells, "Shut up.  Shut up." And so I go.  And she's standing up and--

Josh Mankiewicz: She's standing up?

Douglas Grant: She's standing up. At the bottom of a tree.

Josh Mankiewicz: The tree saved her life?

Douglas Grant: The tree saved her life.  The tree saved her life. 

He points out that Faylene told the same story he did to doctors, nurses, family and friends.

Josh Mankiewicz: And she was alone a number of times--

Douglas Grant: Number of times.

Josh Mankiewicz: --during that period and never said to anybody, "My husband's tryin' to kill me"?

Douglas Grant: 'Cause he wasn't. Who was trying to stop her from speaking?  It's never been me.

Unless, of course, he silenced her for good, on the morning of Sept. 27, 2001.  We'll hear Doug's story of that day, next.

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