Fatal Visions

He had sworn with an oath to defend his people...

Book of Mormon, Alma 48:13

Mel McDonald: If Doug had pushed her off on the 24th that is strong indication that he would have done something to her on the 27th.

Objection!

It became a theme every time Mel McDonald opened his mouth. Prosecutor Juan Martinez used repeated objections to tie Doug Grant's defense attorney in knots.

Nevertheless, McDonald found some significant holes in the prosecution's evidence, starting with the testimony of Faylene's daughter, Jenna.

Jenna, you'll remember, testified that she found her parents' bedroom door locked at 7:40-- the exact time the prosecutor claims Doug was drowning Faylene.  Powerful testimony, but there was a problem:

Mel McDonald: You never told the police about that version of events, correct?

Jenna Stradling: Yes, sir.

In fact, jenna had never mentioned a locked door-- until the trial.  Was she embellishing her memory now to help convict Doug?

Jenna Stradling: I didn't want to tell anybody ‘cause I felt like somehow I contributed to my mother's death ‘cause I didn't knock on her door.  So I felt guilty!

And what about Doug's supposed failure to call 911?  Turns out that the city of Gilbert's 911 recording system was down that day-- but an independent database showed something interesting.

Chief Technology Officer: There's an AT&T wireless call to the Gilbert Police Department at  7:49 and 12 point 69 seconds.

Mel McDonald: You can't ID the caller? 

Chief Technology Officer: Cannot.

It opened the possibility that Doug did call, but the police department failed to record it. Then there was the medical examiner, who'd performed Faylene's autopsy.

Mel McDonald: Isn't it true that the least likely of all the scenarios is homicide?

Medical Examiner: I have no evidence to support this being a homicide.

And the defense spun plenty of other scenarios. Like, Faylene may have killed herself by accident, since Ambien is known to have weird side effects in some people.

Mel McDonald: From your training in pharmacy, are you aware that-- of warnings relating to people who sleepwalk after taking even a prescribed dosage of Ambien?

Pharmacist: Yes.

Mel McDonald:Cases, warnings, about people actually getting in cars and driving?

Pharmacist: Yes, I've heard that.

Mel McDonald: From your training in pharmacy, are you aware that-- of warnings relating to people who sleepwalk after taking even a prescribed dosage of Ambien?

Darren Kennedy: Yes.

Mel McDonald: Cases, warnings, about people actually getting in cars and driving.

Darren Kennedy: Yes, I've heard that.

So why couldn't Faylene, on Ambien, draw a bath and get in, then lose consciousness and drown? Or maybe, the defense suggested, it wasn't an accident at all.

Mel McDonald: Did you have worries about Faylene's state of mind?

Tammy Fuentes: I did.

Mel McDonald: Did you have worries about Faylene's state of mind?

Tammy Fuentes: I did.

Doug's sister Tammy offered vivid testimony about what she found at Faylene and Doug's house just after Faylene's mishap in Utah.

Tammy Fuentes: One baggie had jewelry in it. There was a lot of enzymes, vitamins.

Josh Mankiewicz: Faylene had put all her possessions into plastic Ziploc bags?

Tammy Fuentes: Some of them. They all had notes of where they needed to be delivered to. Instructions to give these things to who she needed them to go to.

Josh Mankiewicz: Because she wouldn't be around?

Tammy Fuentes: Exactly.  She was not coming home.

Hilary testified that really was Faylene's vision-- not Doug's.

Mel McDonald: Were you aware that anybody connected with Faylene that was pushing this revelation on her?

Hilary Grant: No.

Mel McDonald: Did she tell you the exact opposite?

Video   'He said that his wife is unconscious' Hear more of physician's assistant Chad White's call to 911 when Doug told him Faylene had overdosed. Dateline NBC

Hilary Grant: Yes, she did.

Mel McDonald: Did she indicate to you that there was disagreements between her and Doug over whether her revelation was real?

Juan Martinez: Objection.  Hearsay.

Judge: Sustained.

Mel McDonald: Hilary, tell the jury what she told you about her revelations of death.

Hilary Grant: She said that heavenly father had told her to go to Utah, because that's where she was going to die. And she told me that she wanted me to be with Doug. Nothing would be too soon...

Mel McDonald: Were you aware that anybody  was pushing this revelation on her?

Hilary Grant: No.

Mel McDonald: Did she tell you the exact opposite?

Hilary Grant: Yes, she did.

Mel McDonald: Did she indicate to you that there was disagreements between her and Doug over whether her revelation was real--

Juan Martinez: Objection.  Hearsay.

Judge: Sustained.

Mel McDonald: Hilary, tell the jury what she told you about her revelations of death.

Hilary Grant: She said that heavenly father had told her to go to Utah, because that's where she was going to die.  And she told me that she wanted me to be with Doug. Nothing would be too soon.

Suicide?  Murder?  Accident?  A divine plan, or a very human one?

After years of investigation, months of testimony, one last chance to address the jury. 

Juan Martinez: This -- ah -- false prophet, the defendant Douglas Grant, invoked the will of God...to sacrifice his wife Faylene on a lover's cross, for him and his paramour Hilary.

And Prosecutor Martinez claimed he knew exactly how Doug did it. He'd elicited testimony that Faylene's body felt dry to paramedics on the morning she drowned...

Paramedic: I don't recall her body being wet, sir.

And about an abrasion on her chest that seemed fresher than the others... Now in closing arguments, he put the pieces together for the first time.

Juan Martinez: Body's not wet, hair's not wet...And she's got this linear abrasion that-- the tub is the only thing that is in the house the has been shown that could have caused that...He's placing her head in the tub, pushing it down.

A graphic description of a premeditated killing.

Juan Martinez: You can be assured that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder.

Mel McDonald: You can't take a person and label him as a killer and not have evidence that is gonna hold up and be firm. You can't do it!

Defense attorney McDonald said there was no way to prove homicide, and urged the jury to consider Faylene's own writings, in which she seemed to be planning, even anticipating her death.

Mel McDonald: This is a unique chance to let Faylene speak to you about what happened.

He ended with an impassioned plea, and one more interruption.

Mel McDonald: What you decide will live beyond this courtroom...Thank you so much for your commitment and your time.  And may God bless you. Its been a privilege.

Juan Martinez: We're gonna object.  It's pandering to say God bless you.

Mel McDonald: It's not pandering.

Judge: Overruled.

Mel McDonald: What you decide will live beyond this courtroom. Thank you so much for your commitment and your time.  And may God bless you. Its been a privilege.

The jury got the case without ever hearing from doug grant.  He didn't testify.   But he did talk to me.

Josh Mankiewicz: You look nervous.

Douglas Grant: Sure.

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