Malice

0:00Tonight on Dead Live, he says I'm so sorry, but your dad has passed the corner is telling me this is a suicide. This is a suicide There's no freaking way And I'm hallway I thought I was going to spend my money She was like don't go back in the bedroom. This was your dad's wife. Yeah He's hanging right there in his office. You didn't think his body needed another look Any more testing any more anything now based on the information that I had at that time. Was that a mistake? Zero investigation zero odd-topsy open-and-shut we have pictures of what exactly happened in that bedroom It was painfully obvious the body had been moved You didn't have to be an expert to see that this crime scene was staged you have to admit that it does look suspicious I don't know what it looks like to other people. I know he loved me and I loved him fire shot through my entire body My dad did not take his own life How does your family handle this?

1:00We get to work. It was ruled a suicide, but who really pulled the trigger a family fights to uncover the truth I'm lester Holt and this is Dead Live Here's plain Alexander with Malice Time once it's gone. It's the one thing you can never get back Time with loved ones Time spent waiting for answers The clock on this story for this family began on a Saturday morning. I want to talk about June 28th 2014 Oh Okay Yes, all Benny's Georgia a woman on the line with 911. She was frantic

2:15Her name was Susan Embert. She was calling about her husband Jake Just shot his show I thought maybe he was cleaning his guns or something because he's always messing with him, you know So I did know what happened when you heard the noise. Did you immediately know it was a gun shot? I knew it was a gunchup, but I didn't know if it came back there or where I just heard it was loud All right, man. Don't catch me or anything. Okay. Oh She was still on the phone when a truck pulled up to the house It was Will Embert Jake's 17-year-old son from a previous marriage He had been there earlier that morning and was coming back to spend the day with his dad I'm a truck off and I can hear yelling Susan comes out like just comes barreling out the house real fast

3:17She's on the phone. She's yelling. Could you hear what she's saying? Just is discombobulated and I'm like what's going on and she was like don't go back in the bedroom You were trying to keep him away from the house to protect you know from not seeing that the sight I was like why and she wouldn't tell me why and eventually she just told she told me that my dad shot himself Oh What did you do? I fell on ground. The thing I blacked out the house Very upset. I was crying I remember I looked up Well, I remember Susan saying that the police are here. I Remember I opened my eyes and the dirty County police car pulling up the driveway We'll got on the phone with his older sister Rachel. She was 30 at the time

4:21He said calm as can be I'll never ever ever forget it. I Don't know how to tell you this Instantly I'm thinking oh my gosh my little brother's about to tell me that he got his girlfriend pregnant Because you could hear in his voice something was yeah Something was just off and he just paused he didn't say anything and I'm like just spit it out well and he said Dad's dead and I Have to get there. I have to get to him. I have to get to my dad's house Jump in the vehicle. Don't stop at any red lights. Don't stop at any stop times At the house Dordy County police officers were already inside There's blood on the floor right there as they surveyed the scene in the bedroom their conversation was broadcast over the County White Police Channel

5:25Yeah, right there in the wall It's good and I have anything you know There's all this matter stuff on that Do we need to retain this to weapon? I don't see why The corner arrived next and had a look at Jake's body He was still there when Rachel pulled up to the house. I Get to my dad's house. They have a very long dirt driveway So I park at the end of the driveway and I immediately jump out of the vehicle. I'm stumping up the driveway My fists are bald by my side and I'm literally just stomping up the driveway I see officers up at the house. I see stews and standing out there up at the house and instantly I'm like what the happened what the happened It would not be the last time Jake's family asked that question nobody ever asked you. Hey, what did you see? What happened? Oh, you didn't think his body needed another look didn't need any more testing any more anything Nothing went upstairs on in your head nothing did nothing

6:29There's blood splatter Floor you have a cleaned up you basically have a detective's mind at this point. No. Why does watch? They lie Jake and Berksister Revan lipped 600 miles away in North Carolina Jake's daughter Rachel called her She said ain't you mom? My dad shot herself Immediately I thought he was cleaning his gun and it must have went off So I started screaming at her and asking her Where is he? I just screaming. Where is he? And she said He's not here anymore

7:29I feel like I left my body. I said I this can't be it can't be It was a cruel mixture of pain and she or disbelief that Jake was suddenly gone He had always been dedicated to his family. Did he have a philosophy or a special way that he lived his life? Yeah, you know, he just always put himself full force and anything if he committed to something He was gonna just see it through and that was just with everything He was also a jokester who loved to make others laugh So he would throw a joke in any situation situation. No matter what yes, even if it wasn't really appropriate. Yes. Yes, that part But what really made Jake light up his family says being a dad Jake wasn't Rachel's biological father. He married her mother when Rachel was just a baby He was never a stepfather or an adopted father He was your dad. He was my dad like through and through and through my dad. Yeah, I love how you describe him because you talk about

8:31He was funny, but at the same time he had this military like discipline about oh absolutely. Yeah, definitely authoritative You wanted to always remain on my dad's good side Jake was an army veteran and mechanic at a nearby marine base He was a guys guy who Rachel says did his best to relate to his makeup loving daughter and then his son Will was born. I don't even know if my mom got a hold him that day. I'm pretty sure my dad was like my son You know, I mean he was just so over the moon and meeting bond. Yeah, you guys were instantly best friends Right, you know like most kids were trying to get away from their parents as often as I could but always One lying out my dad Jake loved taking his son to the racetrack cars It always been his thing since he was a little boy His sister remembers a time Jake took the family forward out for a spin when he was six years old He had gotten in the car In the driveway, and I guess he knocked it out of gear. So this man knocked on the door and told my mom um

9:37I believe that your car across the street and it rolled out of the driveway. Yes. Oh gosh But Jake acted like it was great He was you know at the steering wheel doing his little thing and had no idea that he had done something wrong Jake was the youngest of six and the only boy You all must have dote it on him like crazy We used to tease and say that he had six mothers Five sisters and his real mother Jake went from a childhood surrounded by women to a marriage of 26 years when that marriage ended in divorce Jake found himself without a woman in his life for the first time He joined an online dating service and soon met Susan She was 48 Jake 51 What was it about Jake that caught your eye? He was While around my age and it was clean cut. I mean, you know, we just clipped we clipped We just a good time when you have to do anything. We can just ride somewhere and We have fun. She was a nurse

10:38You know, she was a good person. He was interested in her. So he was really going on about her. Yes Just a few months into the relationship Jake's health took a sudden turn. He had a hard attack Susan moved in with Jake as he was recovering and she says very soon after he suggested they get married I started serious and he's like, yes, and I said no. I'm not ready to get married Were you surprised when he asked you to marry him? Yes, but I know he loved me and I loved him three months later Yes, they marry him again This time the answer was yes. They married in a short courthouse ceremony in front of just a few family members To Rachel it all seemed too fast, but in a way she could understand it Sometimes when things happen, you know, like him having a heart attack her being a nurse Yeah, you probably would want that woman's touch, you know around that's what I would want you know

11:38I would want to be cared for. Yeah, absolutely After recovering from the heart attack Jake had a new health problem. He started having seizures They checked them out and they couldn't find nothing wrong But he was emcees. I didn't understand 16 months after his first heart attack Jake had another one and it was massive Jake survived, but he started to have even more symptoms stomach pain and nausea At this point, well, were you getting worried? Yeah, he started just getting sick and sicker and sicker and just wasn't getting better He ended up because he was so sick having to Remain out of work Which that was the first in his Entire working life that he's ever missed so much work His health problems led to financial problems and then another blow his dog Zoe got sick and had to be put down My dad was crying. He was upset. He said that

12:42Susan Took Zoe to the vet the vet said that she had distemper and that she needed to be euthanized It was all too much losing his health his dog and Jake's family could tell it was taking a toll Soon the normally upbeat persona was largely gone Did you get the sense that he was trying to put on a brave face for you? I feel like he was trying to put it on for everybody. He was a tough guy He was fighting and um I think he knew that I would try to help him Just didn't get the chance Now June 28th 2014 after struggling with his health for a year and a half Jake was gone The victim it seemed of his own depression Right there and hanging out there. I mean there. I'm not gonna see a side kind of person is nothing like that But I mean it's obvious you know

13:43An obvious suicide to first responders at the scene Susan was telling police about Jake's health struggles and how sad he had been After assessing the scene the corner made it official He documented Jake's gunshot as self-inflicted Open and shut it seemed But not to everyone What are you thinking at this point things are not adding up nothing is adding up You Susan Embert remembers the days following her husband's death as some of the hardest of her life I thought he was going to be the one That you know you grow together Rock and rocket chairs front porch kind of thing after that Tom

14:47I was sitting in my right mind for two months. I didn't think I was coming back And my mom had to take care of me This is Susan's daughter Krista were you talking to your mom throughout this time? What was her state of mind then? She was she was just crying. She was hysterical. She was devastated that her husband was gone I knew that Jake was Was sad and and stuff like that, but like You never think somebody's actually going to do something like that Will certainly didn't think his dad was depressed enough to take his own life and not on that day of all days He'd seen his dad just that morning They'd had coffee together and made plans to go to the racetrack In fact, Jake's old car was set to be raced that very afternoon and 1975 firebird It wasn't even a question. It was like we're gonna go see it. We're going because he loved that car He did I said, okay, um, I'm gonna go Pick up my girlfriend and come back and then we can go when you left

15:52What was his demeanor like was he excited was yeah, yeah, yeah, he was like I just expected him, you know to go Shower and get dressed and we by then I'd be back That timing seemed especially puzzling to Rachel She just couldn't wrap her mind around her dad ending his life then when Will was on his way back to the house And would likely see the aftermath The relationship that my dad and my brother had together was so oh my gosh When I say best dad award. I mean that in all capital letters. He was he never ever ever Knowing that Will was coming right back Never would have done that to my brother Confused and looking for answers Rachel and Will went back to the house that night after the shooting They went into the bedroom where their dad died I went back there um saw it The sheets were stripped off the mattress is still there

16:54There were two towels laid On top of the blood but the blood was still soaking through the towels And then so my brother and I were just standing in the room and we just started crying Rachel tried to imagine what her dad had been thinking it wasn't easy My dad was sick He was experiencing health issues You know, I try to put myself in everybody's shoes. Okay, you're sick all of this stuff is transpiring And everything I just kept being right to the back. There's no freaking way She wanted more information from Susan but Susan and her dad hadn't been married that long just over a year Rachel didn't know her very well And it was an emotional time for everyone When Rachel and Will return to the house the next day the locks were being changed Changing the locks on our home. Why that part why Why that is

17:55You know, I mean The trauma makes you do weird things, but that was very bizarre Also strange what Rachel says happened when family members tried to talk to Susan about planning a memorial service Well, we're not having a memorial service. That's what Susan says. Yeah, well Why are we not having a funeral service? Well because he doesn't have any family or friends. It was just us. It was just us He's got a sister. Yes, got tons of family tons of friends tons of co-workers people who would want to remember him Absolutely Susan says Jake's family has it all wrong. She was planning a service But they went ahead and organized one without her they took it upon herself I guess to have it before me. I was I was trying to get it together But it was like they wanted it done right then and did you go to that one? I do not I wasn't no, I do not that wasn't invited over there. They don't want me there. Did you feel that there was Some contention between you I felt like something was going on. Yes, I didn't know

18:55I was not even in my right mind at that time actually. I mean, I was really devastated As the ember said goodbye to Jake they were still in disbelief maybe even denial about how he died I remember my dad having a conversation with me about that and how strongly My dad was against suicide Thanks that it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem So you were very clear on where your dad stood. Yeah, when it came to suicide. Yeah I asked this devil's advocate There are unfortunately plenty of people who have Mental health issues who mask it very well who can appear happy But still go off and take their own life. Did you think that was a possibility? Nah, I didn't think so at all things are not adding up Nothing is adding up. We were trying to figure out What really took place on June 28th Jake's family made a decision They needed someone to look at this

19:56This is Yvonne Magnus in reference to my uh The death of my brother Like Jake's kids his sister Yvonne just couldn't accept the official narrative of her brother's death Did you believe that your brother had heard of no instantly? I was like no not even for a second not even for a second She drove down from North Carolina and went to see the police You're thinking someone has to look into this We're trying to rally someone to look into this case, right In fact, Jake's family pleaded their case to officers several times And so two detectives went to the house. They spoke briefly with Susan until she declined to talk further But nothing changed

20:59Yvonne recorded one of her follow-up phone calls with a detective It's closed nothing they can't do anything You know just in my Short time of knowing you Yvonne I'm very sure that you are not one to be messed with It's very clear that you know you don't take no for an answer. I don't take no for an answer when I believe that Somebody either isn't telling the truth or something is very wrong and you believe both those things yes A friend suggested Yvonne try a different approach a private eye Have you ever thought of that before? Did you know much about private investigators? No

21:59I know for a lot of people that sounds like something you hear in them. It was like foreign a movie or a TV show Yeah, I had no idea what to do where to find one where to go So she did what most of us would do I was sitting in front of my computer and I actually typed private investigators. Oh, when you judge Just google just google and I was crying so hard when you see my screen So I pointed to it and touched this screen And when I did said Lee Wilson I got the call and Lee Wilson a former police detective with more than 20 years of experience He's handled all kinds of cases including suicides. It had been a month since Jake died Lee met with his family. He listened and he agreed the case did deserve a second look No, your son's going to be coming back in an hour with his girlfriend And y'all gonna go to a planned event that day and you just walk in the bedroom and take your own life I just didn't sound right. It just doesn't you tell you know it peaked my interest

23:03But he says in his experience law enforcement usually makes the correct call So he took the case with no promises You were pretty frank with them you said you know what if my findings Determined that he did die by suicide You'll have to accept this. Yes. I tell them that you know, I will Call it like I see it. That's how we wanted Investigate it Investigate it So Lee got started first up collect as many records as he could I wanted to see The photographs. I want to see any crime any lab reports talks about your reports police reports I wanted to see what led Law enforcement and ultimately the corner to put on the death certificate that jade died from result of self-inflicted gun shot one But all those things that you mentioned toxicology Measurements all sorts of forensics any of that stuff was any of that done. Yeah The case file he got from police was thin as far as he could tell no detective had even shown up at the scene

24:09The entire investigation took less than an hour From the time the call came in until The last call to the radio operator saying they were clearing the scene and processing a scene like that should typically take hours Just zero open and shut called in as a suicide ruled at a suicide with zero investigation boom Lee spoke to one of the first officers on the scene to find out what happened Turns out he was brand new to the force that scene had been his first time responding to a death call He explained to me that you know When he got the call he thought in his mind that he was prepared for that scene He admitted that he had watched videos in the police academy. He'd never seen a dead body He had not seen a dead body From my understanding before that day So he walks into that having never seen a dead body fresh out of police academy and his comment and me was

25:11Mr. Lee I just wanted to get out of there As for the more experienced officers I'm not gonna see a side kind of person and nothing like that, but Lee learned they didn't do much more Here's Lee talking to one of them when you went into the bedroom Did you do any kind of investigative work or Making the observations to determine whether it was suicide or not. Oh, I looked at the body And of course I saw the cease with the gun in his hand And they land back on his dead I pretty much soon Was quickly ruled a suicide based on their observations at the scene And the statement of Susan Ember No one ever Meach innards cast or considered to your knowledge that this could be something other who suicide did that no The coroner never ordered an autopsy And Susan had the body cremated within 24 hours

26:12There was so much that um Could have been it should have been done before determining calls a matter of death He could have taken it back to hit the morgue. He could have cleaned the wounds there taking measurements Check for gunpowder residue on the hands of mr. Ember The coroner's role is especially frustrating to Jake's family because Rachel had pleaded with him at the scene I said over and over. Are you sure my dad did this? Are you sure my dad did this? Are you sure my dad did this? He could have taken that and said something to somebody and she's sure Yes, and then said hey the daughters out there questioning you know if we're sure nothing went upstairs on in your head nothing did nothing Re-investigating the case with so little evidence would be an uphill battle But Lee says the responding officers did manage to do one thing right And it would make all the difference

27:13You knew that there was something wrong with those photos. Yeah, I knew that this had manipulated by somebody You In homicides and suicides There's a typical method of processing a scene Collect evidence test forensics Interview witnesses in the case of Jake Embert almost none of that happened We asked the Doherty County police department about that but they declined to answer our questions My job is determined to cause a man to jump up the individual But Michael Fowler the Doherty County coroner did agree to an interview June 28, 2014 How long have you been the coroner about a year and a half? What's your first step once you get there first? I have to speak with him is then I need to go see the individual I saw the gun land beside him once I see him then I pronounced the time up there

28:16Then I go back out and see what's going on So to get with the law enforcement then I listen for Miss Emery to talk for a while Then I went back into the house trying to see what was the story kind of lining up what she was saying Jake Embert's daughter Rachel kept saying over and over again. Are you sure? Are you sure? We're talking less than an hour at that point How could you definitively say at that point that this Is a suicide there'd been no autopsy the body hadn't been transported Based on the investigation to speak with the law enforcement What they'll find is if in the process of interviewing whoever was there I take their finding and come over to that determination On law enforcement and on what Susan Embert told police that's what I was basing it on Jake Embert was cremated the next day Yes You didn't think his body needed another look didn't need any more testing any more anything No, I was pretty well comfortable at that time based on the information that I had at that time Was that a mistake? No, I don't think it was a mistake It's based on the information I have at that time. I'm basing on that

29:20Now a month and a half later private investigator Lee Wilson was at the Dordy County Police Department picking up those photos from the scene I'm waiting on the receipt from my payment and I start flipping through the photographs It wasn't much but Lee was noticing things he thought investigators had missed And I got to like the fourth fifth photograph in the packet and the police chief was standing in the hallway And I said chief, you got a problem. You got a problem. I knew that scene had been manipulated He took us through those photos on an iPad. What immediately stands out to you if you can show me You know here his hand is laid over the gun. There's two fingers laid across the handle of the gun But nothing on the trigger. The other thing is if you look the gun is tucked up under his right leg So you're thinking how would the gun have gotten under his leg? Yeah Lee knew that with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head

30:23There likely would have been blood on Jake's hand, but none was visible Lee also noted the state of the bed around Jake to him. It looked like Jake had been moved There's a bath map behind his head Look at the sheets, the rippling of the sheets. Look how tight the sheets are over here. Look at the rippling there What does that say to you? It's somebody's trying to pull that body back up on the bed Just test his theory. He asked a couple of colleagues to take a look I had a couple of friends that were still in law enforcement that had done a number of death investigations gave them no background. You sent the photographs and both of them came back. So that's a stage scene And immediately they said that yeah, I just wanted to see if they were seeing what I saw and they did yes If the scene was staged that meant Jake hadn't killed himself He was murdered and the only other person in the house was Susan What it started as an unspoken suspicion and Jake's family was now out in the open

31:27We all had our own Kind of suspicions, but we were not talking about it to each other To all of you had some sort of sneaking suspicions. Yes somewhere. Yes In order to dig deeper and get access to Jake's records and property Lee had Rachel petitioned the court to become Executor of his estate After Susan found out she left Albany. There was a you haul at our house And she was loading up everything and then she booked it right to Florida So when you go back in there, I mean the house Filthy unrecognizable filthy Rachel's father had been dead two months when she recorded this video of the house Today is August the 29th at a two four two thousand and fourteen at approximately four p.m Never cleaned trash everywhere and there were some things missing too Everything Everything from washer and dryer were no longer there Kitchen table dining room set no longer there. She had completely vacated the house

32:31We had a plethora of childhood heirlooms no longer there. You can blatantly see how it was left Just left nothing but her trash. This house has never been Disturbingly dirty Susan had the bloody mattress moved to the yard But the bedroom still had not been cleaned There's blood splatter on the floor never cleaned up Um More blood this is Where the bullet hit the wall You can see that this dripping on the wall is possibly I'm assuming brain matter The state of things confirmed to Jake's family something was not right and to them that something was Susan Well, she wasn't who she tried herself today In the weeks and months after Jake emberts death his family grew more and more suspicious that his wife Susan was hiding something

33:49They didn't like how she behaved after the shooting, but the truth was they'd had issues with her even before that We'll live with Jake and Susan part-time. He remembers lots of yelling. He says by Susan What was she say to your dad? He accused him of cheating all the time Hmm Susan would drink and pick fights That had to have been a really difficult dynamic. I didn't understand it I remember I was there for two occasions that the police showed up Both of them were really unfounded nobody got arrested Now they thought back to that rushed wedding at the courthouse Will had expected to be the best man, but the wedding happened without him or his sister Was it surprising to you that he got married without either of his kids there? Very Yes Rachel had long wondered what drew them together now she went looking for clues. I Hacked into my father's Facebook account I figured out the password all these Facebook messages between my dad and Susan pages the pom pages the pom pages

34:55The pom pages and then I get to a part in the Facebook message right before they get married Where Susan says to my dad she's not feeling well Her stomach is hurting She just took a pregnancy test and it came out positive I Was floored That is what signified why my dad married her. Well, she in fact pregnant. Oh, absolutely not And once they were married there was something else that bothered the family They had always known Jake to be responsible with his money But Susan took over the bills and soon they had serious financial problems Jake called Yvonne for help and I could hear her Telling him to do it. This is on the phone What was she saying? I asked her for money I asked her for more money And this is something your brother has never done never in all your years never not ever Oh And then there was Jake's life insurance they weren't even married six weeks when he said

36:00Susan's pressuring me to change my life insurance Beneficiary to her to her And I said Jake You have an underage son I think you should think about that. He said I already did it and he said Yvonne Susan will take care of will if anything happens to me Yvonne wasn't so sure and she was apparently right to not trust Susan My investigation showed there was an actual Completely different side of this woman that the family didn't know and and They had strong reasonably Jake didn't know a different side meaning what Well, she wasn't who she for trade herself today Susan had been married three times before Lee spoke with two of her ex-husbands she used to drink but I don't know what she does now Right, but when y'all were married if it's the drunken god Oh god god, oh my god, he wasn't ever You know, she always been nice stuff in the head on my day No two ways about it She also had things in her background about 15 years where she had

37:04Encounters with law enforcement. What were those Interactions there was several rest down in Florida her record includes convictions for trespassing resisting arrest and several DUIs Susan and the kids were no longer speaking but Rachel and will told Lee Everything they could remember about how Susan described the shooting that morning. So the first thing is She's just getting out of the shower heard the bang Went back there found my father Just out of the shower But will remember how Susan looked when he pulled up minutes later. She looked like she was ready to go I mean she's fully dressed Make up hair everything Later that night Rachel recalled Susan telling another version of what happened She said I was by the computer desk Heard the bang I went back there and I found your dad and that's different from what she told you that morning so different Susan spoke with Yvonne that same night and added yet another detail and she said well

38:05I was blow drawing my hair and uh I went to the computer, you know where that is right Yvonne and I yelled back to Jake I'll be right back. I have to straighten my hair and boom Though small inconsistencies didn't seem like a big deal at the time But now they seemed important to the family at this point. What are you thinking happened? She killed my brother Was the rest of your family thinking the same? Yes By then Susan had left the state. She wanted nothing to do with Jake's family or their search for answers and then The phone rang Susan would have her own story to tell you were the only other person there Susan. Did you shoot your husband? No, I did not. Am I really hearing this? I could not pick my mouth up off the floor and just when they thought it was over I mean typically that's where the story ends You might think

39:14Private I Lee Wilson had been investigating Susan Embert for a couple of months when out of the blue he got a phone call It's her students in Embert How did she know that you were even looking into her? Her words were that she heard I'd been asking about her I don't know why I'm being investigated. You're asking questions about me if I don't understand why If it's any questions I rather not answering because there's the I haven't done anything I can say that As you talk to her, I mean what vibe did you get from her? How did she sound up on the phone? She was fishing Trying to figure out what I knew Lee talked to Susan several times each time she insisted she had nothing to do with Jake's death She said she was grieving Like every other day about this stuff and that all she really wanted from Jake's family was to be left alone

40:26In each conversation Lee prodded her for any bit of clarity It would probably be a little bit easier if the family had some answers to you don't seem to feel I don't think that's why I'm sitting there so Wilson I don't have an answer And then she was done 1.440 p.m. There she hung up on me The phone calls didn't yield any new information about that morning, but Lee wasn't done digging Jake's family pushed his investigation in an entirely new direction They suspected the shooting was not the first time Susan tried to kill her husband All of us kept coming back to the conclusion Because of how sick he was Because of the only common denominator was when she entered his life and the rapid decline Maybe it was a possibility that she could be in fact poisoning my dad Poison well as Jake's family saw it. It seemed the more Susan nursed Jake the worse he got

41:31There were the two sudden heart attacks his serious GI issues and that onset of unexplained seizures Ivonne struggled to understand this new symptom she recalled asking Susan the nurse about Jake's meds I said to her it shouldn't be having seizures There's There's not heart medicine that calls you to have seizures Ivonne says even before her brother died she started to question Susan's medical knowledge I mean, you know, she said she was a nurse. I just didn't take that I got online and researched it. Did you ever find any evidence that she was a nurse? No In fact my investigation showed that she had gone to a registered to go to a nurse's aid school similar to what they call a CNA And Georgia, but she didn't even complete that It was Susan who administered all of Jake's medication and Susan who cooked all of his meals Around the same time Jake's dog Zoe started having stomach problems too She started throwing up and going to the bathroom in the house. I mean she she was

42:36An older dog, but it just started happening like older dogs. They start to kind of get incontinence that happening there Yeah, but it just I don't know where like it took my dad by surprise it took me by surprise when she started getting real sick It was Susan who took Zoe to the vet to get checked out and returned empty handed telling Jake the vet had ordered She be put down my personal belief is She was poisoning the dog maybe perhaps testing some of her point I don't know whether it was or whether she just wanted to get rid of Zoe But it shows her mindset It doesn't surprise me that she killed Jake if she did that to that man's dog This was just a theory they would need forensic evidence to prove it And at Susan's direction Jake's body had been cremated the day after his death But Ivan had an idea. I said to Rachel you need to go to the house and get Jake's hairbrush and she said What she said why

43:36Because that's what she always does why why I said Rachel Just get it get a brown paper bag Put the hairbrush in the bag don't tell anybody you have it So you're directing her to take it and bag it for evidence Pretty much you basically have a detective's mind at this point. No, I just watch date line Rachel played detective she went back to the now deserted house she found one of her dad's brushes and handed it over to Lee Jake's family saw themselves as investigators uncovering the truth But if you ask Susan Embert they were just reaching for the perfect scapegoat. They don't know me I don't know why they're alive. I have no idea You're maintaining that all of these people are lying

44:36I don't have nothing to hide from nobody and I still don't Susan Embert's story was entirely different than the one being told by her husband's family She says when she and Jake first got married their life was nearly perfect I had a good husband And he had a good wife and I had a stepson that I loved It was it was nice Susan says she felt accepted by her husband's family and insist they were all invited to the courthouse wedding She remembers Jake even moved up the date to accommodate their schedules Will is saying that he had no idea that he would have been there He wanted to be there and be his father's best man But that he was blindsided when he found out after the fact He knew the date that we were going to get married and he also knew the date was moved up Are you saying that Will is mistaken? I think so. Yes There were some Facebook messages between you and Jake Were you told him that you were pregnant? Did that play a role in the timing of your wedding?

45:36I never told him I was pregnant Then I know of you don't remember Facebook messages that you sent to him saying you took a test your stomach was feeling Uncomfortable. Oh, yeah, well, I took a pregnancy test and it said positive But I knew I wasn't about it. I think I was pregnant. I didn't know Susan believes Jake's family has been twisting her words. She denies ever telling them she was a nurse You did not leave them to believe that. I know. I told my work in the nursing field I was in actually I said the nurse in field in the medical field because I have a lot of certificates and um Stuff like that in the medical field And Susan says Jake had money troubles before they got married It was only when his house went into foreclosure. She says that he admitted it. He said that um He used his money um Unwisely or you know didn't use it wisely that he would buy like him and his son like real expensive things like Bose and eras and guns and all kind of stuff like that

46:40But he raised his hand to took blame for it. You're saying yes That it was his his fault. Yes As you learned about this financial situation Did it have an impact on your relationship you and Jake? Well, I mean to me. I don't I mean It wasn't really I was not really worried about it. I mean, I was worried to a certain extent But I was it because I knew that would hit me and him together We could walk it out. We could get it worked out They were inseparable says Susan and she claims it was Jake's idea for her to be the beneficiary on his life insurance policy After all she was his wife He said he had this and that and he need you change it over to me And I said okay. Well, when you whenever you want to do it or do it The sister of on says that Just within weeks of getting married that you were pressuring him to change the policy So that you were the beneficiary. That's not true Hmm You never asked him. No You never said pressured. No suggested. No

47:43And then there was that day in 2014 she took us through her version of that morning It was around 9 or 10 a.m. And she was getting ready for the day. She says talking to Jake while he stayed in bed We was just talking always talking about going through the races matter back He was going to the races. Yeah, we were going to the races That day at that night. What was he saying about it? I was asking him if he still wants to go Yeah, what did he say? You see, I don't know probably or something like that. You know, we didn't seem real excited Susan told us she went into another room and what she says happened next is yet another version of what she was doing when the gun went off I was in that living room I went to get my vapor cigarette believe it or not Yeah, my vapor sick and I heard the gun go off What happened then I ran down the hallway

48:44And I fell going down there in the door was cracked open about that much take me back to that moment when you first saw Jake I was ecstatic I Thought I was gonna lose my mind. I didn't know what to do. So I called 911 like I was supposed to do I don't know what to do. That's what I did. I called 911 You were the only other person there Susan. Did you shoot your husband? No, I didn't And then staged the room to look like a suicide. No, I did not No Did you poison Jake Embert? No, I did not. Nope I went to poison somebody I loved No, I went poison anybody Did you poison the dog? No If people were to look at the situation knowing that it was just you just him you were in charge of his meals You prepared the food People would say that you had plenty of opportunities

49:45To put things in there to poison your husband over a period of time How do you explain that? I can't explain that because I would I did not poison my husband I would not have done it. We all ate the same food I have to ask Susan in our interview in our conversation You have repeatedly said that a lot of people are lying about you from Jake's family to Sister other people How is it that so many people Are lying about you? I don't know I don't know I don't know why they're lying about me. They don't even know me enough to lie about me But they don't know. I mean, I don't really talk. They don't know me. I don't know why they're lying I haven't been wanting you. You're maintaining that all of these people are lying No matter how much Susan declared her innocence Lee Wilson kept working and finding what he says is proof She murdered her husband He was so confident in his evidence that he presented his findings to the corner and the district attorney Greg Edwards

50:46Edwards had his investigators pour over Wilson's work and came to a conclusion And in my immediate opinion, you know, this was a staged crime scene And a homicide that needed to be prosecuted Another major move the coroner changed his findings on Jake's death certificate from suicide to homicide Investigators tracked Susan down in Florida the moment Jake's family had long been waiting for She's gonna get arrested in February 2015 a group of investigators swarmed Susan's front door They said Georgia wants you best for what and they said um Homicide Susan was arrested on charges of malice murder felony murder and aggravated assault But had to have felt surreal for you. It did it was worth every minute to get to that point But there was still a long way to go Susan would go on trial and try to explain herself and her words to a jury And what she would say would leave everyone in the courtroom stunned

51:49Why did you tell you The 911 operator And Jake Ember had a sexual transfer to the disease I didn't say that Four months after Susan Ember was arrested the district attorney called Lee Wilson There was news and it was about that hairbrush Rachel collected from her dad's house The DA's office had sent it out for testing and the toxicology results were in What are those results show? It showed that Jake had high levels of Different pesticides Beat is the common name that we know it by and there was anaphrase when you got those results those lab results What did that tell you about Susan Ember? She was a cobalt ember

52:49It's pretty hard to believe I'm for a while. I blamed myself, but you know that wasn't your fault Protected him his whole life I This time I didn't But I didn't know I needed to Most of the state's case was circumstantial now the lab results gave prosecutors something they could sink their teeth into The DA tacked on another aggravated assault charge related to the poisoning in addition to murder But there was delay after delay You all have quite a waiting game ahead of you. Oh god Yes, four and a half years. Yes In December 2019 the trial finally got underway Jake the prosecution laid out its case arguing that Jake was poisoned before he was shot

53:52Yes, I prepared In various other penny mills These toxic chemicals could all remain in his body Only in his body From the rig ingestion If the state was right and Susan Ember was in fact trying to kill her husband with poison Why shoot him? Lee Wilson pointed to the timing Jake had an upcoming doctor's appointment where they planned to run some tests And sooner or later some lab report would have shown some sort of level in his blood or some of the tests that Was inordinate and they would have in our likelihood Going to exploring the poisoning aspect So you're saying that she felt that she would have soon been exposed Probably you know, and I think he just wasn't dying quick enough Douglass as evidence of her premeditation the state called this man to the stand Douglas Buckner a fellow race car lover about two weeks before Jake was shot

54:53Buckner came by the house to buy Jake's firebird and at one point he was alone with Susan I was like well, what's going on with Mr. Jake getting rid of his car? She was like well, he's not in good shape He's not going to be here much longer and he wasn't around for much longer because prosecutors say Susan shot Jake then she worked hard They argued to redirect investigators the prosecutor played Susan's 911 call He had to work day nine. He's tired of heart and the DA asked the jury to listen carefully to this part We got married about two years ago and he Up and out he was gay. I didn't know this and I didn't give more time I said you know so long to stay and just tell you what's wrong Well, he was gay and then he got these diseases and transmitted disease Jake Embert was gay and had transmitted diseases What was Susan talking about? Susan Embert within within seconds 30 seconds of starting to call begins to lay out why

55:53Jake Embert supposedly killed himself unprompted unprompted, you know, he's gay He has these diseases and it shows premeditation. She had thought this out and it was going to say that After having done act On the stand Yvonne testified her brother was not gay and Susan was lying Was he holding some secret that you didn't detect all the years you know him? No The prosecution brought up another apparent inconsistency in the 911 call Susan told the dispatcher she didn't touch Jake All right, man. Don't catch him or anything. Okay. I'm sorry But Will testified that when he saw her at the scene. I remember seeing her on her hand It looked like blood to me Susan's defense team had one clear message the corner's first determination was the right one This was a suicide the kind of death that can be hard to accept Nobody can understand why he did it

56:54They planned their counterattack to the state's narrative around Susan They called her to the stand and asked her directly about that 911 call Were you sincere at the time when you were having that conversation with the 911? Oh, it's very sincere What state of mind would you describe you were being a bad state of mind I was ecstatic As for telling the dispatcher Jake was gay. I don't know why I said that. I had no proof that he was gay She did testify that she and Jake were having intimacy issues. I asked him. I said, do you have another girlfriend? What profit are we? Because Our Our sex life went out and he did seem like he was interested in me anymore I'm sorry our sex life went down. I didn't think he was interested in me anymore During that call you told the operator that Jake was gay

57:59And had transmitted diseases are either of those two things true No, the transmitted disease they had that wrong. I said he had PTSD They said I said STD No, it was PTSD. I have the 911 call And I want to bring it up so we can listen to it together But you said transmitted disease. I said no, I didn't I don't I didn't hear that I know I said PTSD. I thought this and that's what I said Why bring up those two details that he was gay and had transmitted diseases Especially if you're saying now that you didn't believe that to be true. Why why say that on the 911 call? Because that's the last thing I said to him before I walked out the room to get my vapor cigarette And I thought maybe it might have had something to do with why he did what he did So you and I've had to live with that last words all these years

59:02That's my last words So in the moments before he died you all were Arguing the arguing I asked him a question you asked him are you gay? Yes What did he say can it save me That conversation was a new detail she never told the family or investigators and I have to ask in a situation like this obviously Details granular details are important the story that you told on the stand that you're telling me Is different from what Jake's family says that you initially told them both Rachel and Yvonne say that they heard different versions of that story Why are there differences in those details? Maybe they didn't hear the whole story I don't know because that's the deep that's help. That's what happened What you're saying all along you've told one story that is the story I told The one I just told you Susan never wavered on her innocence telling the jury what she told us She didn't poison Jake and she definitely didn't shoot him

1:00:07But would this sway the jury I mean typically that's where the story ends you might think You It had been more than five years since Will Embert arrived at his father's house on that June morning Five years since Susan Embert told him Jake was dead Being in that courtroom that brought you again into the same room with Susan for really the first time Almost since it happened right that couldn't have been easy. Yeah. It was very uneasy failing And now Susan's fate was in the hands of 12 jurors. They deliberated for less than an hour Guilty of murder and aggravated assaults. I mean are there words to describe that mom? No, no

1:01:11It was just I can't use a word happy I guess, but you're just glad to know that she's gonna pay for what she did Susan Embert was sentenced to life in prison with 10 years tacked on for the poisoning charge I mean typically That's where the story ends You might think Not this time while Jake's family finally tried to move on Susan's daughter Krista could not like I felt like my entire being my entire soul was shattered Like I just lost my best friend my mom. I can't call my mom just to say hey any time I want to I have to wait on a schedule I have to talk to her on a tablet like I can't hug my mom Susan assured her daughter it wasn't over. I knew one day I believe because I knew one day the truth will come out. I knew I'd be going home. I just said no waiting She found a new lawyer to mount an appeal. There's been so many errors in this case It was just like one after another Defense attorney Jen Hyman was fresh out of law school when she took Susan's case

1:02:14This was actually the first motion for neutral that I worked on Hyman scrutinized every part of the case the investigation the evidence testimony even the jurors So you just ran some of the names through Google Just to see what popped up. Yeah She found something and it was big One of the jurors had some criminal history So you see this information and you knew that you would found something major Absolutely yes The juror was a felon and while there is a process to restore rights to serve on a jury That had not happened and no one from the court or the district attorney's office caught it That was grounds to overturn Susan's conviction Should your office be taking a closer look double checking things like this when you're seeing a jury? Yes, we now require documentation indicated they do not Just qualify for serving as a juror so we we just double down on making sure that that's that's Review and important fix but too late for Jake's family and the mistake was costly

1:03:21Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you family. Thank you attorneys. I love y'all After more than four years in prison, Susan Embert walked out a free woman They called me and they told me that Susan was being released and that is like I was astound What do you mean she's being released? How do you even process this? You know, I'm angry. I'll be honest Yeah, I'm very angry. How did this transpire? How? Jake's family felt the mistakes and wasted time had plagued the process from day one and now with Susan's release They would have to start again What do you even do with that news? Question the whole judicial system. Are you just thinking to yourself There's this pattern of people just missing things folks not doing their jobs exactly Susan would have to stand trial all over again this time with a new jury But her new attorney had a plan we immediately started working on the motion to get the case dismissed on what grounds

1:04:24So It's a BD trial violation a lot of people are probably familiar with The fact that you have a right to a speedy trial, but most probably aren't familiar with How that actually works the defense argued that now too much time had passed since she was first charged a delay that violated her rights And so you're saying that because that felon was on the juror That was thrown out and it's almost like saying a trial never happened in the first place It's exactly like saying that and so now you're starting the clock From back in 2014 when she was first charged exactly The judge agreed the delay was unfair to Susan It was a critical decision that meant she would not face another trial all charges against her were dropped It was amazing Getting a murder case dismissed is you know an amazing feeling It wasn't long after that ruling when we sat down with Susan We've talked about you walking out of prison

1:05:26You're out now on a technicality. What would you say to people who look at you and say She got away with murder What would I say? What would you say to those people? I'd say no I didn't because I didn't do it. I got away with telling the truth and that's what set me free They didn't get away with anything I know the truth. God knows the truth and people that know me know the truth Susan's family members were not her only supporters. Her ex-husband Glen Melton also stood by her Did you ever think that Susan is capable of murder? No No way no question No question about it. He know where she could done that like that The DA's office wasn't done. It appealed the judges ruling about the speedy trial violation to the Georgia Supreme Court For Jake's family another excruciating weight. I know it wasn't over Then I know we're gonna probably have to

1:06:29start completely over He was right the Supreme Court sided with the prosecution Susan Embert would stand trial again Like oh yeah, we're gonna get her again A retrial but far from a repeat Because the prosecution's case was about to take a huge hit and the defense had a new plan of attack It wasn't evidence. It was just fantasy and it was just absurd Fire shot through my entire body Because you knew those wasn't good. No not at all You Susan Embert was headed to trial for a second time attorney Charles Colin joined her defense team and examined all the evidence with fresh eyes The whole poisoning theory Just needed somebody to step down and say wait a minute Is this possible? Is this reasonable? Does this make any sense at all?

1:07:31He thought the poisoning evidence was weak Remember Jake's body had been cremated quickly and there was no autopsy So it was all based on the hairs found in Jake's brush collected by Jake's daughter The first part is you have to ask was there a chain of custody on the hair right and there wasn't it wasn't gathered by the police or anything like that And the lab that detected pesticides and antifreeze had its license suspended after accusations of Conduct you're saying that evidence should have been nowhere near the first trial Because it wasn't evidence it was just fantasy and it was just absurd The idea that she's poisoning him with deat that she's spraying insect repellent on the food For years and you're saying that's just not reasonable That's not realistic. That's not realistic Just weeks before the trial began the defense asked the court to drop the poisoning charge and exclude all evidence of poisoning from the trial The judge agreed a major victory for the defense So this time around Poisoning wasn't even supposed to be mentioned. Yes

1:08:36During the proceedings completely excluded anything suspecting of poisoning mentioning of poisoning When Susan Embert's second trial began in December 2025 the prosecution's case was whittled down significantly This case is about the murder of Mr. Jake Embert On the first day of testimony the state called corner Michael Fowler to the stand this time. He sounded Defiant Does the Michael Fowler of today regret not ordering a medical examination of this body in 2014? I was still standing on what I did on that part. It's gone shot wanted to hit Okay, and I would now for the information that I received now about the Here say the animal freeze Did not serve It was that word any freeze here say the animal freeze Fire shot through my entire body Because you knew it wasn't good. No, not at all

1:09:38And it stopped the proceedings in their tracks. Yeah, what happened to the courtroom in that moment? Well, we made a motion for Miss trial the judge declared a mistrial so the case over for now Rachel furious with all the mistakes and delays sent a scathing letter to the DA's office I want to read you just a portion. Yes. Yes Our father was murdered once the justice system has destroyed us repeatedly ever since This is not delay. This is not normal. This is not justice. It's not Those are very strong words and I mean every word of them every single word The ball was dropped on so many different levels Whether it be from these government agencies the corner the judicial system You were not supposed to mention poison no one have told me didn't tell me that You had no idea no one told me that I wasn't supposed to mention that. I'm standing on this They did not tell me that so we asked the district attorney

1:10:41He says that you all left him hanging out to dry on that. Well, I Can only anticipate that maybe that that might have happened Maybe that did slip through the crack. So I can't say that that did not happen One month later both sides were back in court this time for trial number three Stay the DA's office knew it was time for a new approach Dowdy white was assigned as lead prosecutor this case touched everybody in the DA's office at some point every single person Worked on this case this defendant Intended to kill Jake And stage it as a suicide The prosecutors knew they had to do more with a lot less evidence And that included getting the jury to focus on Susan's potential motive Mr. Buckner good morning Jake's friend Douglas Buckner testified again and prosecutor guy Terry asked him to tell the jury about something new

1:11:41Did you Receive any late night communication all for no I received the text that had some content in it. She in fact sent Buckner Send my new to new photographs of herself. Oh, and I finally told her that day I was like listen when I see mr. Jake said yeah, I'm gonna be showing mr. Jake all the Texas The prosecution said Susan was worried that if he showed Jake the text Jake would divorce her Jake lies out about what she's doing with mr. Buckner He's gonna kick me out and the prosecution said Susan didn't want a divorce. She wanted Jake's money Specifically that life insurance policy Jake had signed over to her After his death Susan received a payout, but Jake's children never got a dime However prosecutors daddy white and guy Terry say the most important part of the case was the crime scene analysis The whole theme of the case was shown that suicide is not a reasonable option here. We had to focus on on the crime scene

1:12:46The only solid evidence remaining from the crime scene Those photos these pictures are absolutely crucial. They were absolutely critical in the entire analysis Prosecutors say the photo of the gun in Jake's hand was most telling Given the power of a 45 caliber the gunpowder in there you're gonna have a gun that kicks Are you saying it's likely that the gun would have had so much kick it would have just flying out They probably would have fallen out of his hand and ended up on the ground over here Another critical detail the gun was found in Jake's right hand So this is Jake's you know Jake's right hand Jake's left handed That was new information and trial number three If a person is gonna commit suicide with the firearm That's arguably the most important shot that person's ever gonna make Do you make that shot with your non-dominant hand? A forensic expert confirmed what private investigator Lee Wilson had noticed about the bed This body appears that it has been moved Are you able to conclude that this scene was manipulated

1:13:50Stage and altered to appear as if it was a suicide It appears that way yes It all added up the prosecution said to one thing Jake's death was not a suicide every element of murder is met But Susan's defense team had another explanation Something about Jake that even those closest to him didn't know Were you aware that he's seeing a psychiatrist? No For more than 10 years Jake's family and prosecutors had fixated on the botched police investigation They believed that if the case had been handled differently Susan's guilt would have been clear from the start But defense attorney Charles Cullen didn't see it that way What would have changed for your client had there been a thorough police investigation?

1:14:53She would have been exonerated. They would have been able to say no We did an autopsy Here's what we found They could have said you know we tested her for GSR There's no GSR on her. There's only GSR on him And the problem is that you know once you don't do that all that evidence is gone Right all that evidence is lost There will be no evidence that rules out suicide As for the left-handed Jake being found with the gun in his right Cullen said plenty of people shoot with both hands Like many other people who are either ambidextrous or Own Guns that are not altered to accommodate left-handed shooters like Jake Embert he was capable and Possibly even preferred shooting with his right hand talking to his family all of them say that they have never seen Jake Shoot a gun with his right hand Why would he choose to put the gun in his right hand to take his life? so I think that

1:15:54It's important to remember That this family Believes 100% that Susan Embert murdered him and I think that As the case has gone on Sometimes memories can change a little bit to sort of fit What you need them to fit He also said that Susan may have mixed up words and details But it wasn't because she was guilty This is a person who kept saying I you know, I I was ecstatic that day that was ecstatic I was ecstatic and she means hysterical right so this is someone who confuses words mixes things up The defense maintained that the most logical explanation for what happened to Jake was also the simplest He was depressed maybe more than his family knew if you would just stand up and raise your Jake had been a patient of Dr. Bruce Halston for more than four years He's also prescribed

1:16:54Blue walks the team blue walks the time pro's act That's okay. That's also known as pro's act Pro's act is also an anti-depressant It's similar to lexapro is an SSRI Were you aware that he's seeing a psychiatrist? No Were you aware that he was being prescribed lexapro? No Pro's act no There is such a stigma on mental health But we all need a little bit of help sometimes and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that Hey y'all, I know That's exactly the point prosecutor doubty white tried to make during closing arguments with a surprising admission of his own I take an anti-depressant every day Let me answer a side Oh Of course not it was a pretty strong way to drive home this point that This medicine that the defense is brought into the equation is a non-issue for Jake

1:17:55Susan did not testify in this trial her defense focused on what they said the prosecution was missing Ask Did they prove murder? They want you to just plug or ignore These holes in their case Susan's fate was once again in the hands of the jury her daughter Krista was confident You're supposed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody committed a murder or somebody committed a crime and They can't do that after a couple of hours the jurors went home for the night and I just asked that God give them the clearest hearts and the clearest minds and the cleanest eyes And when they returned the next morning they have a verdict a decision What did you feel when you heard the jury return that verdict like a weight lifted off my shoulders

1:18:5912 days later Jake's family returned to Albany for one final day in court Susan sentencing There are no words that could describe the pain that I feel inside The same pain that I've had since June 28th 2014 You remember that day don't you Susan? Well nothing can undo what's been done accountability matters matters for my brother for my family For justice So no other family ever has to endure endure what we have at the hands of pure Evil Susan was sentenced to life in prison. She's already filed a motion for a new trial It was clearly just getting up there and talking was to Harvard. It's hard when She's looking at you and you know what she did And um Up until this point whenever I looked at her. She wouldn't look at me She looked at you today. She did. What did you see in her eyes? Nothing

1:19:59Nothing After 12 years to this feel like justice from a judicial aspect. Yes. We're forever broken You know the prosecutors have said that this case would never have gotten to this courtroom if it weren't for you Well, I mean I appreciate the Recognition that it was just a lot of trying to undo what was wrongly done And it culminated today with this sentence But getting to this day had been a long process through a system that the family says caused years of frustration This corner's fault. It's the investigating officer's fault It's the on-call detective that didn't show up's fault It's a court's fault for not vetting their jurors better. That's just a system's fault It's them not doing their job Will was just 17 when his father died in the years since he served in the army got married and now He's chosen to be part of that very same justice system as a police officer

1:21:03I'm not gonna do my job the way that they did theirs More times or not. It is probably somebody's worst day So they need you to be a hundred percent So this is what I That's what I give them when you go to calls like that That's always in the back of your mind always What do you think your dad would say to know that you're a police officer now? I think you'd be proud. I'm sure he is A Final note this evening we cover these kinds of difficult cases every week During our Olympic break one especially hit home for all of us the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie Savannah's mom Investigators are still desperately seeking clues a reminder that anyone with any information can call the FBI's tip line at 1-800-call FBI our hearts are with Savannah and the entire Guthrie family That's all for this edition of date line. We'll see you again next Friday at nine eight central

1:22:08I'm Lester Holt for all of us at NBC News. Good night