0:00:05 > 0:00:13This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16How do you cause that kind of pain to another human being?
0:00:16 > 0:00:17I don't get it.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22I was there. I saw what he looked like. I saw what they did to him.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32This wasn't just a burglary.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Their plan from the beginning was to kill somebody.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48There are only three people who know what happened in that room,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50one of whom is dead.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02You've got to take the story that makes the most sense.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23Waynesville is a small town.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25The community itself's very tight knit.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28They're known for their shops, their antique stores
0:01:28 > 0:01:31and people that live there usually know their neighbours.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33They kind of look out for each other.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It's country. It's small-town America.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41You could leave your bike laying out in the yard.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44You didn't have to worry about your kids all the time, you know.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45We barely locked our doors.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52RECORDING PLAYS
0:02:08 > 0:02:10CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS
0:02:10 > 0:02:16I got home about 7:25 in the evening. And the house was dark.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And things just didn't feel right.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING
0:02:21 > 0:02:24I went in the bedroom to start taking off my uniform
0:02:24 > 0:02:27and I asked Sandy, "Did you move the jewellery box?"
0:02:27 > 0:02:32"Your jewellery box has gone." I said, "No."
0:02:32 > 0:02:34And he's like, "I think we have been robbed."
0:02:34 > 0:02:36So he's like, "The safe. My gun!"
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The deputy that went out there that night believed that at first this was a burglary.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Then as he spoke with Mark and Sandy Cates,
0:02:56 > 0:02:57he started realising
0:02:57 > 0:03:00there were some things that didn't add up to a burglary.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15The kitchen table is pushed against the wall.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17There's rugs missing from the kitchen.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22And we're thinking, who would steal rugs? Why would somebody take that?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45When Mark came back, Justin wasn't with him.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I'm like, "Where's Justin?" He was like, "I don't know."
0:03:48 > 0:03:49I was like, "OK, something's not right."
0:03:50 > 0:03:53So then the police get here.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58And so they are thinking there's drugs involved. You know,
0:03:58 > 0:04:0318-year-old kid, stealing from Mum and Dad, there's drugs involved.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Well, that changed soon...soon.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Because I was sitting on the love seat
0:04:08 > 0:04:13and then I noticed that there were pink smudges on the carpet.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS
0:04:15 > 0:04:17I was like, "What is that?"
0:04:17 > 0:04:20And he was like, "Ma'am, you're overreacting.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22"If it's blood, there would be a lot more of it."
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I said, "No, what I'm telling you is, that wasn't there when I left."
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Talking with one of the neighbours, they told us that
0:04:39 > 0:04:44they had seen a Chevy Cavalier in the driveway during the day.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47The description of this car was a silver car
0:04:47 > 0:04:49with a busted-out back window
0:04:49 > 0:04:51with plastic in the window with red tape
0:04:51 > 0:04:52and a certain bumper sticker on that car.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57That car, Mark remembered seeing at the home the day before.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Well, the day before everything happened,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I saw a car in the drive that I didn't recognise.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11And I came on in and there were two guys sitting here,
0:05:11 > 0:05:12in the living room.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Justin said, "Mark, this is Austin and Tim."
0:05:17 > 0:05:19He said, "You remember Austin, right?"
0:05:19 > 0:05:24Well, back when Justin was in eighth grade, him and Austin were friends.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Austin and Justin played football together.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But Tim didn't know Justin.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35So our next step was to begin to identify who Austin was...
0:05:36 > 0:05:37..and who Tim was.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And his neighbouring jurisdiction, they knew 'em.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42I knew Austin and Timmy.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45About four years, they were students at our high school.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47So I saw them about every day.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Timmy would go out of his way to say hi and asked me questions
0:05:51 > 0:05:52and talk to me.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56He was very outgoing, social, lots of friends.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Austin was a little different.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00He wasn't as social.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01He was hard to get to know.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05And never really engaged in conversation like Timmy would.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I don't know... I thought they were best friends.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09But they hung around in school.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14We put out the car description.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Probably within an hour to two hours
0:06:17 > 0:06:20we were told that local jurisdiction had stopped that car
0:06:20 > 0:06:24and they actually had Austin Myers and a Tim Mosley with him.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27That was kind of our big break.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44They were taken in and the first round of stories, both of them lied.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47They said they did not know where Justin was.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50They had no idea where he would have been and hadn't seen him.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Tim Mosley didn't want to talk to us and then we tried to talk
0:06:55 > 0:06:59with Austin, and he tells us he'd rather speak to an attorney.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00So we stopped.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08At Justin's home,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10we decided we were going to cut that carpeting out.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12And that's what we did.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16And once we cut that carpeting and able to pull those layers back,
0:07:16 > 0:07:21and get into the sub floor, we were able to see what we knew was blood.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I mean, it was very apparent and quite a bit of it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30But as we pulled it open, you could actually see a much larger
0:07:30 > 0:07:32stain that had been soaked into the padding,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36and then down below onto the sub flooring of the house.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46One of the crime scene deputies notices what
0:07:46 > 0:07:50he thinks is also blood that's underneath the refrigerator
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and also little specks - very small droplets -
0:07:53 > 0:07:56that are on a wood floor in the kitchen.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Once we started seeing those,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08we really started getting concerned here.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09There's a lot of...
0:08:09 > 0:08:11There's more blood here than we realise.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18We started thinking maybe this was cleaned up and maybe we need to
0:08:18 > 0:08:22try and use the blood reagent to see exactly how much blood is here.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27Very easy to use. You spray it on top of things and once you turn the lights down,
0:08:27 > 0:08:28it glows.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32As soon as you clean it up, you can still see the blood.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I remember that being, um, huge.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54You actually see details, because you can see shadows of footprints.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57You can see where people are laying.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01You can see the way that it was wiped. How they cleaned it up.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04You can see all the blood all throughout that kitchen.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Once I saw that, I think all of us, we were in shock, just stunned.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Because you start going from "he's alive" to,
0:09:14 > 0:09:20"I hope he is still alive", to, "Oh, no. No, there's too much here."
0:09:20 > 0:09:24There's way too much here. It's been cleaned up.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And I remember having a phone conversation with Sergeant Hounshell,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29saying, "Justin's dead.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31"There's no doubt in my mind, there's too much blood here."
0:09:37 > 0:09:39HE TAPS ON WINDOW
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Austin, at one point, taps on the glass.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49And I go in the room and he says, "I want to talk to you."
0:09:51 > 0:09:52You OK?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02So we would start talking with him
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and that is when he starts laying out what happened.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49I used to love the snow. I used to think it was beautiful.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Just how everything's quiet. You know?
0:10:53 > 0:10:54It's just different.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59And now, just seeing a snow flurry
0:10:59 > 0:11:00is like, here we go.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And I think that is why it's so hard right now to...
0:11:05 > 0:11:06It's because I know what's coming.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19We had some deputies on the ground who were able to go in and actually recover Justin.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20Who was found in a wood line.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Very, very brutally... brutally treated.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Um...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I get the question, why do you go out to crime scenes?
0:11:34 > 0:11:37You're the prosecutor, there's no need for you.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39You have investigators who are the ones
0:11:39 > 0:11:43that are responsible for collecting all the evidence.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48But I'm the one that is going to have to tell the story of what
0:11:48 > 0:11:49happened to Justin Back.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51I was there. I saw what he looked like.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53I saw what they did to him.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04They had basically dumped him next to a large fallen tree.
0:12:04 > 0:12:05It was brutally cold.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10Even at one or two in the afternoon, it was still between ten
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and 15 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17So his body was frozen in the position in which it was dumped.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22I noticed he didn't have shoes on.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25For some reason, that bothered me, that he didn't have shoes on.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28And in many ways, it didn't look real.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Because as I was looking at him...
0:12:30 > 0:12:32he looked like a porcelain doll.
0:12:37 > 0:12:38HE SIGHS
0:12:40 > 0:12:42What a horrible way to go.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47You know, what a horrible way to have your life end up.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52We all think of the end of our life and what it's going to be like.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56And I don't think anybody thinks they are going to end up
0:12:56 > 0:13:01dumped in the middle of a field, where it is 15 degrees below zero.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05And certainly no parent would ever expect that something
0:13:05 > 0:13:10like that is going to be the final chapter of their child's life.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16I was out in my car making a phone call.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And I looked in the rear-view mirror and Sheriff Sims pulled in.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28It was not one of the other deputies.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29It was the Sheriff.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36The instant I saw the Sheriff... I knew it was over.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41The Sheriff and I went inside.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Me and Sandy and him sat down at the dining room table.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48And...
0:13:48 > 0:13:52he proceeded to tell us that they'd found him and he was gone.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Um, the house erupted in tears.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Sandy, Julie, myself...
0:14:02 > 0:14:04You know, we all just...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09There's no holding that back, you know?
0:14:11 > 0:14:13You're not supposed to bury your kids.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20I had...
0:14:22 > 0:14:24It stole every breath.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26You just can't...
0:14:30 > 0:14:32I don't know.
0:14:40 > 0:14:46Sheriff Sim's words just played on a loop, especially in the beginning.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47"Justin's deceased."
0:14:48 > 0:14:54I remember just screaming and falling on the floor.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Then you wake up the next morning...
0:15:15 > 0:15:18..and you are like, "Oh, my God, we have to bury our son."
0:15:24 > 0:15:27SHE EXHALES
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The two rooms that we have there at Clayton PD,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41they were like holding cells
0:15:41 > 0:15:44and Tim was able to hear through the wall.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19They go up to the door.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23And Justin being the person that is, he invites them in.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25He offers them something to drink.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Austin says just out of nowhere, Tim Mosley decides
0:17:07 > 0:17:10he's going to get up and take this cable that he's made, or a garrotte
0:17:10 > 0:17:16as he called it, and put it around Justin's neck and choke him.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18But as he's going over his head,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21he doesn't get it all the way to his neck and actually hit his chin.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44TV REPORTS: 'We began with breaking news. Two men arrested now for a murder in Waynesville.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46'Details are still coming in to us right now.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48'This started, though, as a search...
0:17:48 > 0:17:50'The victim had been choked.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54'He had been stabbed. Eventually shot.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- 'Karen, this is so gruesome, we're finding out.- It is.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00'The Sheriff here in Warren County just identified...'
0:18:00 > 0:18:02'This is a very brutal murder.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04'Far all intents and purposes,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08'Justin Back was an innocent victim in this.'
0:18:11 > 0:18:16I got a phone call from my ex-wife saying that they thought there was
0:18:16 > 0:18:21a burglary done in Waynesville and it was Justin Back's house.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23And Justin wasn't there.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27And they were thinking Austin had something to do with it.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32So, my first thought was, there's no way Austin would have anything to do
0:18:32 > 0:18:33with something like that.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55About four years ago, was the first time we met Timmy.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Always been respectful to me as could be, but he had a...
0:19:00 > 0:19:01..a rough edge to him.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04He wasn't gentle.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10HE TAPS WALL WITH HIS FOOT
0:20:18 > 0:20:22In most cases, the last thing that you want is for one
0:20:22 > 0:20:26defendant to know what the other defendant is saying.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33But in this case, it actually worked out to our benefit.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57HE CONTINUES TAPPING THE WALL WITH HIS FOOT
0:21:28 > 0:21:30He decides he's going to come completely clean.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33And I think he also believed that Austin was throwing him
0:21:33 > 0:21:34under the bus.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09No-one believed it. No-one believed it at all.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15And I was just like, and when I heard it, my heart sank. I was like,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17"That's not my son.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21"You know, he is not capable of doing that." So...
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Tim couldn't confess quick enough.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Once he started, he couldn't do it quick enough.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05He went through ten, 12, 15 glasses of water.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08He was talking that quickly to get this information out.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10And it wasn't as if the things that he was taking
0:23:10 > 0:23:14responsibility for were beneficial to him.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18So when you're looking at who's telling the truth and who isn't,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20you look at those kind of factors.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23He told us he was the one that put the cable, the garrotte,
0:23:23 > 0:23:24around Justin's neck.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27He told us he was the one that panicked
0:23:27 > 0:23:31and started stabbing him, but he says Austin had come up with this.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33This was Austin's idea.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Tim is telling you everything he knows as quick as he can.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Austin is thinking. "How am I going to get out of this?
0:24:19 > 0:24:24"How do I make this better? What do they know? What can I pin on Tim?"
0:24:35 > 0:24:39The first time Austin came here, they came to pick something up.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41There were going to a friend of theirs house,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43probably to play PlayStation or something.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45And I had this vibe, I just did NOT like him.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48When Timmy came home that night, I told him
0:24:48 > 0:24:51I want him to stay away from him.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20The problem was that Austin contradicted himself multiple times,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24so what was Austin's version of the events? Which version?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28There are only three people who know what happened in that room,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32one of whom was dead, and that was Justin Back.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36So that so that left Austin Myers and Timothy Mosley.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40So at that point, it's one person's word against another.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56The body of 18-year-old Justin Back was found
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Wednesday in Prebble County, stabbed, beaten and shot to death.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02But tonight's memorial wasn't about his death,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05but to remember Justin's brief but special life.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Heard nothing but good things about Justin.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16He was an amazing kid, I think.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Very driven, knew what he wanted in life.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21By all accounts, he was a great son.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27And in like two weeks, he was set to go to the Navy.
0:26:27 > 0:26:33And to describe him as being the perfect kid - I think he was!
0:26:33 > 0:26:36And he was loved by a lot of people.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Mark and Sandy Cates were going to hear how Justin was murdered.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46And I didn't want the courtroom to be the first place for them
0:26:46 > 0:26:48to hear that information.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50So I basically walked them through the story, and...
0:26:52 > 0:26:55..that was, that was the most difficult thing
0:26:55 > 0:26:57I've ever done in my career. Ever.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04I'll never see him get married.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05I'll never hold my grand-baby.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11SHE SOBS
0:27:13 > 0:27:14All from one choice.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17This is Justin.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20From Waynesville, Ohio!
0:27:20 > 0:27:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:27:26 > 0:27:29And I blame myself because I couldn't protect him.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And it makes me feel like I let it happen.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40All I know right now is loss.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44And that angers me.
0:27:48 > 0:27:49The heartbreak of a community.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Tonight in Waynesville they grieved the death of murder victim
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Justin Back.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55Choked, stabbed, shot...
0:27:55 > 0:27:57When something like this
0:27:57 > 0:28:01happens in a place like Waynesville, I think in the community there was
0:28:01 > 0:28:02almost an expectation
0:28:02 > 0:28:05that it was going to be presented as a capital case.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08- REPORTER:- Small groups of people waved Old Glory as the hearse with
0:28:08 > 0:28:11the American flag-draped casket drove through the streets.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13You do hear a lot of people calling for blood.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16You do hear people saying that they just know they're guilty
0:28:16 > 0:28:18because of the desire to make somebody pay.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25I needed to make the decision, is this the kind of case
0:28:25 > 0:28:30that I think my community believes warrants the death penalty?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Is this so heinous a crime?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Because as the prosecutor, I can stop it
0:28:36 > 0:28:38right from the outset.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41And so this is the most difficult decision that a prosecutor makes.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46It's a senseless crime. It's a senseless killing.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48If you're really looking for money,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50you're going to go in and kill somebody?
0:28:50 > 0:28:51CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Wait till everybody's gone.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55The kid's going into the military in a week.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56Dad works, Mum works.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Break into the house after they're gone. You may never get caught.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04There was a brutal murder.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08And I think people just kind of get to the point where they just
0:29:08 > 0:29:11see a really good narrative and they say, "That makes sense".
0:29:24 > 0:29:27The first time I met Austin, what was striking about him
0:29:27 > 0:29:28was how young he was.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32And certainly he is a very intelligent person,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34very well read, very well spoken.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38So it was really hard to reconcile these charges,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41cos it's not someone who looks like he's capable of murder.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47When I try a case, I view myself as a storyteller.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50I'm trying to do the best job that I can to relay to the jury
0:29:50 > 0:29:53the story that makes sense.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57And in the process, persuade them to find the defendant guilty,
0:29:57 > 0:29:59and sentence the defendant to death.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07'And one of the two teens accused of killing 18-year-old Justin Back
0:30:07 > 0:30:10'could face the death penalty if convicted.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12'WLWT 5's Karen Johnson taking us
0:30:12 > 0:30:15'inside the Lebanon courtroom for the Austin Myers trial.'
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It was very obvious both of them were involved.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47The question was, to what extent?
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Who was responsible and who made the
0:30:49 > 0:30:51choices that led them to this point?
0:30:51 > 0:30:53From the beginning of the trial, I'm questioning,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56why are we trying to pin this on Austin Myers
0:30:56 > 0:30:59when it seems like he's always in the background.
0:31:20 > 0:31:26The prosecution's argument was that Austin Myers made all those choices.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29That he was the one that chose Justin as the victim
0:31:29 > 0:31:32and led Tim Mosley there.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Austin maintained his innocence all along.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40From Austin's perspective it unfolded right before him
0:31:40 > 0:31:42and it was like watching an accident happen.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02There was relatively little evidence that implicated Austin Myers
0:32:02 > 0:32:05directly, other than the fact that he was there.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09So, you have these two competing stories.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10They had Tim.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12He admitted to it,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15so that's why they focused all their attention on Austin.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18They wanted to convict him. They already had Timmy.
0:32:18 > 0:32:19But now they wanted Austin.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27We have rules of evidence in the country that don't allow us
0:32:27 > 0:32:31to use Tim's video recorded confession against Austin,
0:32:31 > 0:32:33unless Tim testifies at trial.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41My goal was to make sure Austin never got out of prison.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45The idea that there was any possibility that he would be
0:32:45 > 0:32:48acquitted was just not something I could live with.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53And we didn't want to run the risk that if Tim's confession
0:32:53 > 0:32:55doesn't come in to Austin's trial,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58that the jury doesn't get the complete picture of what happened.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08My best shot at getting a conviction against Austin Myers was
0:33:08 > 0:33:12to do something that allowed Tim's statement to come in at trial,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14and the only way for that to happen was for me
0:33:14 > 0:33:16to do a plea agreement with Tim.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23Two to three weeks before Austin's trial begins,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I get a call from the prosecutor
0:33:26 > 0:33:31telling me that Tim Mosley has agreed to a plea deal,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35to accept a sentence of life without the possibility of parole,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38in exchange for him coming in and testifying against Austin.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42So we met with Austin.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45We told him in no uncertain terms this does not look good.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49I said, "You need to let me try to work a deal for you."
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Austin said, "No."
0:33:52 > 0:33:56Austin did say, "If there is a 1% chance that I could be free,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59"then I want to take that chance."
0:34:03 > 0:34:08There was absolutely no remorse from Austin Myers for what he did.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10And so really for me,
0:34:10 > 0:34:16it came down to Tim agreeing to take responsibility for what he had done.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I don't really think he knows how it all happened.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35I believe Austin planned it out.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38And whoever he would have gotten
0:34:38 > 0:34:40to do his muscle work, Austin
0:34:40 > 0:34:43planned it out and knew damn well what he was getting ready to do.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45It's just he pulled my son into it, too.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48A lot of Timmy's friends said
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Timmy didn't know what was going to happen.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56But then why did you let Austin talk you into it?
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Today on the witness stand, Timothy Mosley testified that
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Austin Myers believed there was
0:35:01 > 0:35:0520,000 in a safe belonging to Justin Back's parents.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Mosley explained that Myers came up with the idea to kill Back,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11who was just a short time away from going into the Navy.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Like that? That's my son's room.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25His trophies - football trophies, basketball trophies.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28They're still up there. He's got his bed, his clothes, got his shoes.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Still where he left them.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I used to go into Timmy's room a lot.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35But it was hard.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38You know, I used to sit there and cry, it was just...
0:35:38 > 0:35:40You only have about 9-12 months to do that
0:35:40 > 0:35:42and then you've got to get on with it.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45God, it's a mess in here!
0:35:45 > 0:35:47I know I can't even yell at him for it.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50"Timmy, clean up your room."
0:36:03 > 0:36:05You don't know what your kids are doing.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I guess I didn't know he was into drugs.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09I did know he was depressed.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12There was a point in time where he was depressed.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15And I found that out one night when he wouldn't talk to me
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and I went in there and he'd sliced his arm all up.
0:36:18 > 0:36:19And there was blood everywhere.
0:36:22 > 0:36:23It stays that way.
0:36:25 > 0:36:26Nobody goes in there any more.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Unless I feel down and out, then I go in there.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37Timmy left me a note.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39It said, "I'm sorry.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41"I didn't mean for this to happen.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43"I wish I could go back and change it."
0:36:44 > 0:36:46And, um, "I love you, Mom."
0:36:56 > 0:36:58He wanted to go to California and work.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00And then he wanted to join the Marines.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02And that didn't happen.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Cos I didn't buy the plane ticket.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Should have!
0:37:07 > 0:37:08Could have.
0:37:08 > 0:37:09Didn't.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12If I had bought it, he wouldn't have been here.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Then he wouldn't be in this mess and he wouldn't be away for life.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25'Timothy Mosley matter-of-factly described today how he says
0:37:25 > 0:37:29'he and Austin Myers killed 18-year-old Justin Back.'
0:37:29 > 0:37:31We knew, going in,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33that Tim Mosley had made a deal.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36That he was going to face life in prison in exchange
0:37:36 > 0:37:37for his testimony,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and it kind of made me suspect everything he was saying.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43We're taking Tim's word -
0:37:43 > 0:37:48who's a confessed killer - that this is what it was.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50And that was hard for me.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Whether you want to believe Tim as to all of it, or not,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57really wasn't the issue.
0:37:57 > 0:38:03He gave us a narrative to be able to view Austin Meyers' conduct.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17They had gone to a Dollar General store and bought ammonia...
0:38:17 > 0:38:19CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS
0:38:19 > 0:38:21..just in case they needed to clean up any DNA evidence or
0:38:21 > 0:38:23anything that they might leave.
0:38:24 > 0:38:28They also bought latex gloves and they bought septic tank enzymes.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47I originally kind of thought he was just a bystander, but
0:38:47 > 0:38:51obviously as it went on, he was less a bystander and more involved.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54And more of the driving force behind what happened.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56They pretty much just said that he
0:38:56 > 0:38:58was like the mastermind of it.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28You'd be hard-pressed to find a case where there was more
0:39:28 > 0:39:31prior calculation than what you had in this particular case.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40We had all the evidence.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43We had the video recordings where he's going in
0:39:43 > 0:39:45and purchasing the murder weapon.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47We have the video of them
0:39:47 > 0:39:49going in to Pat's Place right before they go to the house.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56We have the video of them driving to the house.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25In the jury room we talked a lot about the fact that he has
0:40:25 > 0:40:28gotten the supplies at the hardware store to make the wire.
0:40:28 > 0:40:29To the very end, I questioned that,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33did they really intend to kill him with that?
0:40:33 > 0:40:37But one of the biggest moments in the trial for me was
0:40:37 > 0:40:38when they started doing the autopsy.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41And they showed pictures of where they found the body.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47The fact that Austin was the one that shot Justin's body
0:41:47 > 0:41:48after the fact.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52He had no respect or no feelings in regards to it.
0:41:52 > 0:41:57So I think that those things kind of started turning my perspective.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01I prosecute a lot of people who do a lot of bad things, all right?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05And there are a lot of people that I prosecute who do evil things.
0:42:06 > 0:42:12But there are very few people who I would describe as being pure evil.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14And Austin's one of them.
0:42:30 > 0:42:35I've got pictures of Justin in here.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Originally I was like, "I won't ever go back in that house.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41"I don't want anything to do with that house."
0:42:41 > 0:42:45But I can imagine Justin coming through the back door
0:42:45 > 0:42:49and coming through around the corner, "Hey, Mom!"
0:42:49 > 0:42:52You know, I can still see that.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56He's still here. I feel him here.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Like the other day, I went into his bedroom.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02When I opened up the door, there's his bed and I could see him
0:43:02 > 0:43:06laying in his crazy sleep positions.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11And, um, that made me smile.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15Because for that brief moment, they're there.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Give me a minute.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27SHE SOBS
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Everybody has their own agenda.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06Tim Mosley had his own agenda, which at trial was to save his life.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11And if there was a plan, it was to render Justin Back
0:44:11 > 0:44:14unconscious and ransack the house.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16And that was going to be it.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21And I think that Tim Mosley lost control and went nuts.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23And I don't think Austin Myers had any idea Tim Mosley was going
0:44:23 > 0:44:26to pull out a knife and was going to start stabbing Justin Back.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49They'd definitely just talked about Austin being this evil manipulator
0:44:49 > 0:44:51mastermind and early on we learned
0:44:51 > 0:44:54that Timmy actually killed Justin.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56They didn't emphasise that.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00No, they would say, "THEY killed Justin".
0:45:00 > 0:45:02They would call them by the wrong names.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05They would get everything mixed up and always,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08always the spotlight would be on Austin.
0:45:08 > 0:45:09I don't know why.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Even when Timmy is there saying what he did, this violent,
0:45:52 > 0:45:55horrific thing that he did, OK,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59they would just ignore that part.
0:45:59 > 0:46:04They acted like he was, "Oh, he was just so helpful to us",
0:46:04 > 0:46:06and "he was just such a good guy" kind of.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08It just seemed like a witch-hunt
0:46:08 > 0:46:09from the get-go
0:46:09 > 0:46:12and they wanted to paint a picture a certain way to get
0:46:12 > 0:46:16two convictions out of whatever had transpired.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Even Timmy said that Austin didn't know that he had the knife,
0:46:34 > 0:46:38that Austin thought he was punching him instead of stabbing him.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41And that when he finished stabbing Justin,
0:46:41 > 0:46:45Timmy looked over at Austin who was sitting on the floor in shock.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07That, to me, kind of drove it home that there was no plan to kill him.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09No plan to murder anybody.
0:47:11 > 0:47:17It's an absurdity to me that people would find Timothy Mosley credible.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20But a lot of people want to impute a lot of meaning
0:47:20 > 0:47:23to how they acted when they were in the cells.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25And Austin's demeanour was something
0:47:25 > 0:47:27that was raised time and time
0:47:27 > 0:47:27and time again.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39When I was in the room with Austin,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42talking to him, there was just nothing.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44It was like you would look at him, he was just shallow.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48They say this, the eyes are the window to the soul.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50When you look in Austin's eyes, there is no soul.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54I think his lack of emotion was used against him,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57which labelled him as a psychopath from the moment
0:47:57 > 0:48:01that the police had contact with him, to picking him up and going
0:48:01 > 0:48:05through the interview process and sitting in court and all that.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06Yeah, I think it was held against him.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27Austin's not generally one to let his emotions hang on his sleeve.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Yeah, if someone's insulting him or attacking him,
0:48:31 > 0:48:33he tends to appear emotionless.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35That's probably partially my fault.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41I've taught my kids that letting your emotions react for you
0:48:41 > 0:48:43generally doesn't work out well.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46He is a product of his environment.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48From what everyone told me, including his family,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51once his parents got divorced everything changed for him.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55His whole attitude, his demeanour, his appearance completely changed.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58But I don't think he's a cold, heartless person, I really don't.
0:48:58 > 0:48:59I think it's just his personality.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14- AUSTIN:- I can only imagine the pain and loss
0:49:14 > 0:49:16felt by Mark and Sandy Cates.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20I have brothers and sisters myself,
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I can only imagine what it would be like to lose one of them.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29I'm sorry that this happened.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33And I know that doesn't bring Justin back. But I'm sorry.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38I don't think Austin knew how to act.
0:49:38 > 0:49:41He was trying to hold himself together and be strong
0:49:41 > 0:49:43and here he is, in this courtroom,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46and he's surrounded by people who hate his guts.
0:49:46 > 0:49:47They hate him with all their being.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52If you choose for me to die, it's only going to cause more pain
0:49:52 > 0:49:54and suffering.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57For another family.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02I think that he really was trying to guilt the jury
0:50:02 > 0:50:05into not giving him the death penalty.
0:50:05 > 0:50:06There was no remorse.
0:50:06 > 0:50:11He doesn't really show a lot of remorse. I never saw that from him.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14I wish that he would have shown a little bit remorse.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16It probably would have helped me a little bit.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19It won't hurt me, I won't feel anything.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21It's going to hurt more innocent people.
0:50:21 > 0:50:27It was not the demeanour of somebody who was upset or traumatised
0:50:27 > 0:50:30or remorseful.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33It was the demeanour of a serial killer.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Austin Myers took the stand and asked the jury
0:50:37 > 0:50:41to spare his life, not for himself, but for his family.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Now the prosecution, though, says that he deserves death
0:50:44 > 0:50:46for killing Justin Back.
0:50:49 > 0:50:56Why should Austin Myers get the death penalty from this jury
0:50:56 > 0:51:00when Tim Mosley - the person who struck the fatal blow -
0:51:00 > 0:51:02got life without parole?
0:51:02 > 0:51:03Here's why.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Tim co-operates, Austin doesn't.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Tim tells the truth, Austin lies.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Tim tries to come in here and testify and take ownership
0:51:13 > 0:51:17of everything that happened, Austin blamed the jurors.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21In my head I think I blame Austin more than I do Tim.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22And I know that sounds wrong
0:51:22 > 0:51:25because Tim was the one who actually stabbed him.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30But the words that the prosecutor kept using was Austin was
0:51:30 > 0:51:32the murderer, Tim was just his weapon of choice.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39I do have more of a hatred for Austin than I do Tim
0:51:39 > 0:51:42because Austin knows Justin.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47Mosley never met Justin previous to the day before.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53A death penalty riding on the decision of a Warren County jury this evening.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Jurors, in fact, are still deliberating at this time
0:51:56 > 0:51:58in the murder trial of Austin Myers.
0:52:06 > 0:52:13I saw the jury foreman handing over the paper and her hand was shaking.
0:52:15 > 0:52:16The jury walks back in.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20And when I looked at them, I knew what they were going to say, before they said it.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22I could just tell - they weren't looking at me.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25But still you're thinking, well, surely not.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Even though I just kind of knew.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30And then they said it and I just...
0:52:42 > 0:52:45We therefore unanimously find the sentence of death be
0:52:45 > 0:52:47imposed upon Austin Myers.
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Austin Myers sat stoically when he heard the jury's decision.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53His mother couldn't hide her feelings as well.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Er, Justin's family was very happy about the verdict.
0:53:04 > 0:53:09Which, if you're for the death penalty, then I mean, that's their son they're trying to vindicate.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11You know, I don't hate them for that.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13But it just breaks my heart.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Oh!
0:53:23 > 0:53:24Oh...
0:53:28 > 0:53:31I didn't react the way that I thought that I would.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34I was happy.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38But again it's the shock and it's like...
0:53:38 > 0:53:40"Is this for real?"
0:53:40 > 0:53:43You know?
0:53:43 > 0:53:44"Is this really for real?"
0:53:49 > 0:53:50You know, it's my boy.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Sorry.
0:53:59 > 0:54:05But I had to explain to them why is it worth him even existing.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07Like, he should be exterminated?
0:54:09 > 0:54:10He didn't do this.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15Outside the court room,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Justin Back's family walked silently to the media.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20It meant that...
0:54:20 > 0:54:24..one day it'll be over.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29I don't see how anybody could have looked at that evidence
0:54:29 > 0:54:32and concluded anything other than Austin Myers planned to
0:54:32 > 0:54:33kill his childhood friend.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37The defence walked out of the courtroom with no comment.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Do I think that Austin Myers is the worst of the worst given
0:54:40 > 0:54:44the fact that he was a compliciter and not the principal offender?
0:54:44 > 0:54:45Absolutely not.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48So, does he deserve the death penalty? No, no.
0:54:48 > 0:54:53Because if Austin Myers is the worst of the worst,
0:54:53 > 0:54:57then Tim Mosley is 100 times worse than Austin Myers
0:54:57 > 0:54:59and he took a deal and he got life in prison.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05You have to be able to live with yourself for being part of that...
0:55:05 > 0:55:07that process.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11But I am able to do that.
0:55:24 > 0:55:25The trial was, I think,
0:55:25 > 0:55:30an interesting study in human psychology because it was
0:55:30 > 0:55:34a collective human response relative to a tragedy in the community.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Austin Myers being sentenced to death
0:55:40 > 0:55:43and Timothy Mosley getting life make no sense.
0:55:43 > 0:55:48Because the trial is supposed to be based on a reason and not emotion.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55I would love to be able to tell you what the deciding factor was for me.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59But I just remember it was like a switch in my head of,
0:55:59 > 0:56:02"You know what, this is the right thing to do."
0:56:05 > 0:56:08I sat through the trial and watched them paint whatever
0:56:08 > 0:56:12picture they wanted to paint and they didn't bother to get to the truth.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16And all these people want your son dead
0:56:16 > 0:56:18because they don't care about the truth.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25If Austin Myers had come to me and said,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27"I will do life without patrol" -
0:56:27 > 0:56:30he had taken responsibility for his actions,
0:56:30 > 0:56:34he had not put Justin Back's family through that trial -
0:56:34 > 0:56:36I don't know what I would have done.
0:56:39 > 0:56:40I don't know.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44He never took responsibility
0:56:44 > 0:56:46and so at the end of the day, he got what he deserved.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00The whole situation now is just heartbreaking.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02You can't even stop to think about it, OK?
0:57:02 > 0:57:06Because you would be crushed and devastated every minute.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19Her boy's just gone. And I hate it.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24I would do anything for that to not be true.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31I can't stop having hope that something will get resolved here
0:57:31 > 0:57:36and I can't even let myself imagine anything other than an execution.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38My brain won't go there.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44I still can't believe it.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47I know what happened. I don't believe it.
0:57:49 > 0:57:50You think about it every day.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53And it plays in your head every day, drives you crazy.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57I try not to look too far ahead.
0:57:57 > 0:57:58The future don't look too good.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03My future? Driving down twice a month to see my son.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05And it will be forever.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Yup. I will go down there every two weeks forever.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16God, I miss you.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26It makes no sense, and I think that's the hard thing for people
0:58:26 > 0:58:27to wrap their heads around.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30There was no reason for this to destroy three families.
0:58:39 > 0:58:42I would like to go to the site where they took Justin.
0:58:51 > 0:58:53I wasn't there.
0:58:53 > 0:58:57And it really bothers me that he was there by himself all night.
0:58:57 > 0:58:59Even though it was just his body.
0:59:00 > 0:59:03It would be nice to pay my respects there.
0:59:03 > 0:59:05Just to say goodbye.
0:59:07 > 0:59:12Um, just doing what I can to move on.