S28.E27: To Catch A Genius

[photo fox]

A successful wife dead from nicotine poisoning. Her genius husband beat "Jeopardy!" -- can he beat a murder rap? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates.

[zxy556575]

Here's what got my attention -- so the cold case detective investigated for 3 years, then handed it over to the D.A. who reviewed it for 3 years. What the hell?

 

I have zero knowledge of how cold case units work. Do they typically idly investigate 6-8 cases at a time, switching between them and not really focusing on anything? And then the D.A.'s office repeats all their work? Because otherwise how long can it take to read a file?

 

I'll also note that Paul looked a lot older than 32. He and Linda didn't seem mismatched in age from their photos. Wonder what lies he told his 4th wife about the other three....

 

To Narrating Best Friend of Linda: If you had it to do over again, you still wouldn't be able to change anything. Linda was so far in denial there was no budging her.

 

It may have been that the bulk of Linda's estate was her life insurance payouts, but for someone who was portrayed as a spendthrift, seems like she had a pretty good chuck of change. I was puzzled why Paul would let the house go into foreclosure -- why not sell it?

Edited April 19, 2015 by lordonia

[CaughtOnTape]

So...here's my question.

How the hell are smokers not dropping dead every second after finishing a pack of cigarettes if all it took was a pack of cigarettes to kill her?

 

And this just solidified my belief that smoking is a disgusting, nasty habit.

[ByaNose]

Yeah, I didn't get the use of nicotine being able to cause such a quick death?! Is it because it's not being inhaled? Is it quicker when it's done by a needle or mixed with something? Color me dumb because I am totally confused by all of that. What was so different how that lady prosecuter did (getting him arrested then & there) whereas he was barely looked at years before? Very odd case & in the last few minutes he was found guilty. I guess I wanted more information. And, once again it was the husband. This show is giving men a bad name. Jeez!!!

[druzy]

Very odd case & in the last few minutes he was found guilty. I guess I wanted more information. And, once again it was the husband. This show is giving men a bad name. Jeez!!!

I have an awful attention span so I don't remember if this was mentioned:

 

During the trial, another one of Paul Curry’s former wives testified that she was frequently ill during the last year of their marriage and that her husband suggested they both sign-up for life insurance policies, the D.A.’s office stated.When her life insurance policy was denied, the couple separated and her re-occurring health problems stopped, prosecutors said.

 

[starri]

So...here's my question.

How the hell are smokers not dropping dead every second after finishing a pack of cigarettes if all it took was a pack of cigarettes to kill her?

 

And this just solidified my belief that smoking is a disgusting, nasty habit.

Nicotine in its pure form is very, very toxic.  It doesn't take much to kill someone if they swallow it; there have been a few cases where a child has swallowed the liquid that's used in e-cigarettes and died of nicotine poisoning.  But if you're smoking a cigarette, you're only inhaling a small amount of the total nicotine in a single cigarette.  But if you extract it without burning it, you get something very poisonous.

[photo fox]

Wow, that woman was seriously delusional. The only explanation I can give is that maybe the poisoning over time was impacting her brain function?

[gaPeach]

For a smart women she was pretty dumb.  He must have done some smooth taking to her after her last hospital visit if her friend said she finally agreed to leave him and the next morning she called and said she changed her mind and was staying.  I think they said she was dead 7 days later. 

 

Why did she stay?  It was mentioned that there was not much going on in the bedroom so it wasn't sex.  Who cares if he was sweet enough to fix her special salads and draw her a bath every night.  That would get on my nerves after the first 2 times. 

[RedheadZombie]

It may have been that the bulk of Linda's estate was her life insurance payouts, but for someone who was portrayed as a spendthrift, seems like she had a pretty good chuck of change. I was puzzled why Paul would let the house go into foreclosure -- why not sell it?

 

If she was the spendthrift her ex described her as, she may have had very little equity.  After all she had beautiful furniture, and every single beautiful outfit had its own shoes, purse, necklace, bracelets, etc.

 

For a smart women she was pretty dumb.  He must have done some smooth taking to her after her last hospital visit if her friend said she finally agreed to leave him and the next morning she called and said she changed her mind and was staying.  I think they said she was dead 7 days later. 

 

Why did she stay?  It was mentioned that there was not much going on in the bedroom so it wasn't sex.  Who cares if he was sweet enough to fix her special salads and draw her a bath every night.  That would get on my nerves after the first 2 times. 

 

Yeah, I never realized it took special skills to "draw a bath".  Doesn't that mean you plug the tub and turn the water nozzles on?  Not much to it.  I actually wondered if he was hoping she would drown one night.  And the special salad dressings must have been horrific if they were continually spiked with poison.  I'm guessing she stayed because she already had two failed marriages, and she had lousy taste in men.

[gaPeach]

I'm guessing she stayed because she already had two failed marriages, and she had lousy taste in men.

 

That's what her friend said too but I would rather look like an idiot and be alive then stay with a man I even suspected was trying to kill me.  And it was more than suspicion.  The cops came to her hospital room for God's sake.  I would have been out of there.   

 

And I have had my fair share (and then some) of picking the wrong men but never never would have stay just to save face.  I dated a guy who turned out to be a real control freak.  It took me a couple of months to figure it out and when I cut it off he went full crazy on me.  He had other women calling me telling me he really loved me, sent a courier to my house on a Sunday with a letter and roses that I told him if he sent I would not accept and when I didn't.....he went full on crazy to me.  Calling me asking for names of all the men I slept with so he could notify them I gave him aids, threating to call my boss (read all the names of upper management to me) about what kind of women I am, reading bible passages in long rambling voice messages, leaving my name and number at public phones "for a good time call" stuff.  It wasn't until he forced his way into my house that I finally could have the police involved because they did not have stalking laws then.  He went to jail, then to court and then out of my life.  Bye bye crazy man. 

[Ohmo]

Wow, that woman was seriously delusional. The only explanation I can give is that maybe the poisoning over time was impacting her brain function?

 

"Deserve" is more harsh a word than I'm looking for, but i'm not that sympathetic to Linda.  This goes beyond the "lousy taste in men." This is the reality of a process actually happening over a long period of time that Linda knew was likely.  She said as much to the police...that the only person she could think of was Paul and the only motive she could think of was money...Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  I think that's different from delusion...which is an altered view of how things actually are.  Linda knew how things actually were and chose to ignore it.  That's stupidity, and Linda had a right to be stupid.  However, in choosing that, I feel that she also "chose" to die in a way. 

 

This situation seems different to me than a domestic violence situation where a person does have a delusional view of a dangerous situation, and then realizes the reality of it too late.   That's possibility usually becoming reality in one final act with no time to alter the course of events. Linda had time and clarity.  She didn't want to face reality, but she knew what the reality was enough to articulate it.  At some point, I feel like she became a willing participant in her own demise.

 

The nurse said "Someone dropped the ball."  Linda dropped her own ball.  Her friend said she couldn't be saved.  Yes, she could.  For whatever reason, she didn't want to be.  I do agree that the poisoning probably altered her mental state over time.  However, in the beginning, I think she knew full well what was happening based on what she said to the cops.  I think she didn't want it to be true, but she knew it to be true, so I think she owns some of her death.  I also think Paul belongs in jail, but I don't necessarily feel "Woe is me" for Linda.  It's like driving a motorcycle without a helmet.  If you say, "I want to drive a motorcycle without a helmet.  I know it's dangerous, but I'm choosing to do it anyway," I think you own what happens to you.  Linda knew she was being poisoned.  She stated that Paul was the most likely culprit, and his reason was likely money.  She knew all of that to be very likely true and chose not to act on any of it.

Yeah, I never realized it took special skills to "draw a bath".  Doesn't that mean you plug the tub and turn the water nozzles on?  Not much to it.  I actually wondered if he was hoping she would drown one night.  And the special salad dressings must have been horrific if they were continually spiked with poison.  I'm guessing she stayed because she already had two failed marriages, and she had lousy taste in men.

 

I thought the Dateline version of this case said that the police suspected that Paul was spiking the bath water and the salad dressings with nicotine, but the delivery systems were very slow.  That's why the cops suspected that he upped the ante and just decided to knock her out and inject her with the nicotine.

Edited April 25, 2015 by Ohmo

[zxy556575]

There was another case where the husband hit the wife in the head with some blunt object. She survived and knew full well that her husband had assaulted her yet she still stayed with him. He finished the job later on.

[gaPeach]

Ohmo I totally agree with you.  She HAD to have known something was up.  She was her own worse enemy.