Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. James Patterson's new thriller, Holmes is Missing, is an ingenious twist on these classic mystery masters. Set in the present, Holmes, Marple, and Poe Investigations is New York City's hottest detective agency, combining famous names with secret pasts.

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How do you make an Airbnb a Vrbo? Imagine trying to find the perfect vacation rental for a girls trip. Now imagine there's a tool that makes it easy to compare different houses. So the group agrees on a house faster than they agree on appetizers. You've got yourself a Vrbo. Make it a Vrbo. It was about 6:35 in the morning. A quiet street in Richmond, Virginia. As I was getting dressed, my husband and I heard three loud bangs.

Not a street where you'd expect a murder. When I arrived on the scene, I could see at the top of the driveway my friend and neighbor Fred Javelin. He put both hands on my shoulders and he said, "Megan, Fred Javelin is lying in his driveway. He's dead."

And Fred Jablun wasn't your average murder victim. You've got a university professor killed in a neighborhood that that's really not the norm. Fred Jablun was a totally involved father. A super, super single parent. So who killed Fred Jablun? People said, "I have no idea who would want to do this to Fred, but have you talked to his ex-wife?" I was married to Fred Jablun. We have three children.

I had a pretty nasty divorce. Certainly she was a suspect. But a suspect with a seemingly rock-solid alibi. The bartender called me and said, do you remember her? And I said, yeah, I remember seeing her petite and pixie haircut. I know she didn't kill Fred Jablon. She was devastated because of his death. There are definitely two peas out of the same pod, Tina and Piper. Police also suspected Tina. It's not weird.

What did I think about Fred Javelin? Did I kill Fred Javelin? Yes. And now, police are about to unravel the clues that will lead to an arrest. We've got cell phone records, latex gloves, makeup, two wigs. A lot of twists and turns in this one. It's definitely not your normal standard murder. Two wigs, a gun, and a murder.

I was looking for this guy, Jerry Walters, whose name this card was in. We hadn't spoken to him at this point, and so one of our goals was to try to locate him. A couple of days after Fred Jablin's murder...

Detective Colby Kelly learned more about the Roundtrip airline ticket booked under the name Tina Roundtree. The person who paid for the ticket was a guy named Jerry Walters. We knew that a bank card in his name was used and was instrumental in making this homicide happen, but we really didn't know what his role was in it, if any.

And so we're trying to figure out who's Jerry Walters. It didn't take them long to learn that Jerry Walters knew Piper. Piper Roundtree and I at one time were girlfriend-boyfriend. Piper started dating Jerry Walters in 2003, shortly after moving to Houston. We exchanged phone numbers and started talking on the telephone, went out to supper a time or two and

and it just went from there. She was very sweet, great off-the-wall sense of humor, which I appreciated. Cute, obviously. Pretty much a normal person. Even though Walters was living four hours from Houston in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they made it work.

I was in Houston quite often on business, so it was not difficult. I mean, I was there probably two days minimum a week. Their long-distance relationship lasted for about a year. Then that evolved into a continuing close relationship, close friendship. So close that Walters was one of the first people Piper called the night of Fred Jablin's murder.

I came home from an LSU football game about 10:30-ish, 11-ish, and my cell phone rang. And it was Piper, and she said she was asking me to come to Houston. And she said, "It's important Fred's dead." And I said, "What happened?" She says, "Well, I'm not certain Fred's dead." And she was not screaming, but she was not far from hysteria, I would think. And she was crying.

Walters wasn't able to go to Houston, but he did his best to comfort Piper by phone. She was very concerned with the kids. But in my whole relationship with Piper, she was very concerned. But more so, obviously, this was to the extreme.

Four days after the murder, Detective Kelly tracked down Jerry Walters to find out why his bank card seemed to be connected to a murder. I think he asked me how well did I know Fred, and I didn't know Fred at all. I never had any conversation with him in my life. Walters told Detective Kelly he had no idea who could have used his bank card during the weekend of the murder because he says it had been stolen before then.

I don't think anyone on the face of the earth was more shocked than myself to find out my card was in Richmond, Virginia. I did not have a clue. Walters says he first found out something was wrong with his card when he tried to withdraw cash from the account. They said, well, Mr. Walters, the account's overdrawn. And I said, why? And they said, well, you've got pending ATM charges in Richmond, Virginia. And I said, really? And they said, uh-huh. I said, okay, get back to you.

That's when I started getting a little concerned that Jerry Walters' card was floating around a murder scene in Richmond, Virginia. Jerry Walters called Piper immediately because if anyone was going to know about his card, it was her. You see, the card wasn't really his. Although he had access to the bank account, Walters had opened it at Piper's request under his name so that she could hide assets from her ex-husband. ♪

I asked her, "What's the deal on the card? How come my card was in Richmond and not with you?" And that's when she said, "Well, the last time I saw the card was when I went to the tennis club and apparently someone stole it there." And I said, "Well, why didn't you tell me?" And she says, "Well, I just hadn't missed it." She said, "If you don't go to use it, you don't know it's gone." So that kind of made sense.

What didn't make sense to both Walters and Detective Kelly were some of the other charges found on the card. We also were able to determine that wigs were purchased during this time with that card from wigs.com. I personally don't wear wigs.

Before the murder, someone had purchased two wigs, one blonde, one auburn. We knew that they were sent to a location in Kingwood, Texas. We had an address. There was a box there rented in the name of Piper Roundtree, which also had Jerry Walter's name on that box, and that's where the wigs had been delivered to. He asked me, did I think she did it?

And I said, I just can't fathom that she did this. It's not something that I ever recognized in her, no. But it was all starting to add up for Detective Kelly. He was convinced that Piper Roundtree had flown to Richmond, Virginia, using her sister's name to kill her husband.

As things came to light, it was apparent she did have a plan and attempted to disguise who she was and thought she could get away with it. Do you think there's any connection between the murder and this very difficult divorce that she and her husband, Fred Javelin, went through? I think she was crushed when she didn't get custody of her children. We knew that several weeks before this murder, she had come up and taken the children camping.

I think that they probably had a really good time and I think that that caused her to just think, "This is what I'm missing. I'm missing the great time watching my children grow up, experiencing them as they become teenagers, adults, and so forth." I think it's probably around that time she started hatching a plan in her mind of how she could change custody. And the way to do that, she had been through the court system. That had not worked in her favor and I think she was looking for alternate plans, which

ultimately left to her decision to kill Fred. With Fred Jablun dead, Piper Roundtree wanted to win back her three kids, who were staying with Fred's brother Michael and his family. She asked for a custody hearing in Virginia Family Court. She had asked whether I would go up there and testify at her custody hearing, and I said...

I wasn't sure if I was going to be up there at that time, but I told her, I said, I will be happy to. And what she was working on is trying to establish that I had eliminated her as a suspect, and I certainly had not at that point. Detective Kelly was all for Piper attending the hearing, scheduled nine days after Fred Jablin's murder, but not for reasons Piper thought. She's...

Thinking about trying to go to Richmond and have this custody here. In the back of your mind, you're saying, well, if she's in Richmond, it would be easier for you guys to make an arrest, right? Definitely. It was not a deal breaker that she was not in Richmond, but it saves extradition, that sort of thing.

Nine days after the murder, in a Richmond, Virginia courtroom, a judge made her decision. Knowing that Piper was under suspicion for murder, the judge granted custody of Piper's three children, Callie, age 10, Paxton, age 12, and Jocelyn, age 15, to Michael Jablon. My client has a constitutional right to have her children, and she's been denied that right.

Piper left the custody hearing shaken, and little did she know that just minutes later, she would be arrested for murder. - They could have taken this from a scene from a gangster movie. The police just jumped out with, it seemed like machine guns, and dragged me off to tell me that they had, they were arresting me for the murder of my ex-husband.

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Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to light some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history: presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts, but less than two minutes after liftoff.

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After her arrest for murder four months ago, former prosecutor Piper Roundtree is having a tough time adjusting to life behind bars. It's my mom, my sisters. But she's anxious for her day in court and ready to stand trial for the murder of her ex-husband, Fred Javelin. I don't think I would be intelligent if I weren't worried or concerned, but I have an incredible amount of faith

All rise. And I trust God. God's put me here for a reason. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good afternoon. In opening arguments, prosecutor Wade Kaiser launches right in with what he says is Piper's chilling motive.

It all came down to money. - You'll hear evidence, ladies and gentlemen, that Piper Roundtree had been ordered to pay child support to the victim, Fred Javelin, who had custody of the children. - Kaiser says Piper Roundtree was tired of struggling to pay child support to her ex-husband, so she killed him. - She was over $9,700 in arrearages in making that child support.

She blamed Fred and held him accountable for everything that had happened to her. But listen to all the evidence over the next several days. When Piper's defense attorney, Murray Janis, has his turn, he tells jurors the state's explanation of a motive just doesn't add up. But you'll hear evidence that she made a support payment in October of 2004. Hardly something somebody's going to do to send money

if they in fact had planned to kill that person.

And more importantly, Janice says, there isn't anyone who can put Piper at the crime scene. And see if one single person says, "We saw that defendant, Piper Roundtree, take a gun out and shoot Fred Javelin, or we saw her running away." Although Janice does admit there is a lot of evidence showing someone committed this murder... You're going to find that somebody was in Virginia, somebody flew on a Southwest Airlines,

He insists the wrong Roundtree sister is on trial. There's one name you're going to hear over and over and over again, and that's the name of Tina Roundtree. And Janice says all the evidence will point to her. I think you'll hear evidence that Tina had, certainly at one time, a gun herself, a .38 caliber. You won't hear any evidence that Piper Roundtree owned a gun.

Piper is obviously aware of her attorney's defense strategy, but when she spoke with us before trial, she wouldn't flat out accuse her sister of murder. Did your sister, Tina, did she do this? I couldn't say. I don't know. Is she capable of something like this? I'm not going to answer that. All rise.

No matter now before the court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and I think the truth shall be God. I do. Have a seat, please. With the trial underway, prosecutors called Jerry Walters to the stand to help show that Piper hatched an elaborate plan to get away with murder.

Using the bank account Walters had opened for her... Was Piper Wurountree his name on the card? No, it was not. Piper purchased that blonde wig and prosecutors say Piper wore it the weekend of the murder so it would look like her sister Tina committed the crime. Did you at any time order any wigs?

No, sir. Judge, our next witness is Kathy Molly. Prosecutors say Piper also used Walter's card to buy that airline ticket, booked in her sister's name, to fly to and from the murder. How is this ticket paid for? By credit card, right here. Kathy Molly, the agent, remembers selling a ticket to a woman using the name Roundtree, and for the first time in court,

Miss Molly, would you look around the courtroom and see if you can identify the person to whom you sold that ticket on October 28th? That lady right there looks familiar. A witness is able to identify Piper. In fact, Molly says the brunette checked in as a blonde. But the hair's not like that at all. It's much shorter and the color's a lot darker.

That's not all. Molly's biggest surprise? She says Piper was carrying a gun. What do you recall unusual about checking the bags of anything? Nothing. She just told me right away that she needed to check a firearm. She just commented that it was her father's gun and she was taking it to him.

But that gun wasn't the state smoking gun. They say Piper not only got on that plane to Richmond, they can prove she spent the weekend there within miles of the crime scene. It was Piper's own cell phone that would do her in. We started looking through the cell phone records and recognized the number to Papa John's Pizza.

Henrico County Detective Chuck Hanna was given the job of tracking the cell phone calls to see if anyone could place Piper in Richmond. So we called Papa John's Pizza and asked if an individual with the last name of Roundtree had ordered a pizza. They stated that a person with the name of Roundtree did, and that person had it delivered to room 171 in the homestead suites.

That led Detective Hannah to the manager of this hotel, who remembers the guest in room 171. She said she had a reservation and her name was Tina Roundtree. And it's that witness, Tomiko James, who was able to place Piper Roundtree in Richmond at a hotel located just miles from the crime scene. Would you point to and identify that individual? He's the defendant here.

And then a second eyewitness takes the stand. Raymond Seward says he saw Piper on Saturday morning, just a few hours after Fred Jablons murder. Medium bill, medium height and blonde hair. Where is she? That lady right there. Seward remembers Piper returning a car to his rental agency near the airport. The same airport where that flight carrying a passenger named Tina Roundtree would later take off.

She was just in a hurry to get to the airport. And if eyewitness testimony wasn't enough to put Piper in Richmond, prosecutors say they have Piper caught on tape. They say the woman seen walking into a Richmond, Virginia gas station is the defendant, Piper Roundtree, in disguise.

The tape will show a white female enter the door. It's a mountain of evidence that they hope will knock down any suggestion that it was Tina Roundtree in Richmond the weekend of the murder. You have to concede it doesn't look good, right? No, it doesn't look good. I certainly concede that. You know, my mouth fell open when I saw these things, like, oh, my God.

Now prosecutors take their case one step further. They set out to show how Piper made sure that when she shot Fred Jablun, she wouldn't miss. Mack McClanahan knows both sisters. He dated Tina and he worked with Piper. When you went with Piper to work early in the week of October 25th to Galveston, did you ride together there? We did. And back? Yes.

On one of their rides home together, Mack told Piper he was going to stop at a shooting range. Tell the members of the jury what Piper said when you brought that up. She said she wanted to go with me. Had you taken Piper to the gun range prior to that day? No. Piper shot a few rounds, then decided she wanted to rent another type of gun, so she went to the front desk and made an exchange. She returned with a .38 caliber revolver.

it was the same type of weapon used to gun down Fred Jablun days later. Did she fire the .38? She did. Saturday morning around 6:30... And when Matt ran into Piper a few days after the murder, he found out just how nervous Piper was about their trip to the gun range. I told her I was sorry to hear what had happened, and she hugged me and said, "I love you." And she said, "Please don't say anything about the gun range. It'll just complicate things."

With one of their last witnesses, prosecutors deal a final blow to Piper. It turns out the alibi Piper thought she had for the night before the murder had fallen through. After you.

Had a chance to think about it. Have checked all of your records. Kevin O'Keefe, who thought he'd seen Piper at the Volcano Bar on Friday night, now tells jurors he was mistaken. Were you in the volcano at all on that Friday, October 29th? No. You sure about that? Positive. Thank you. After being battered by dozens of witnesses against her, Piper Roundtree, a former prosecutor, knows she's in real trouble.

And now she has to make one of the most important decisions of her life. Should she take the stand? All rise. After listening to the 49 witnesses testifying against her... That lady right there looks familiar. Yes, sir. She's right there. With the state's case finished... That lady right there. Piper Roundtree is looking like a goner.

If you could look those jurors in the eyes, how would you do it? What would you say? I would tell them I didn't do it because of all the things that I stand for. I believe in truth. I believe in God. Piper realizes she has only one option. All right, next witness. Take the stand. Call Piper Rountree. Come on around, Ms. Rountree, if you would.

But you know it's risky to do that, to take the stand and testify. You know that, right? Yeah. So, on the fourth day of trial... Only four months after Fred Jablun was shot dead in his driveway... You are Piper Ann Roundtree, is that correct? I am. Fred Jablun's ex-wife, Piper Roundtree, tries to answer to a jury. Her defense lawyer, Murray Janus, cuts straight to the chase.

Ms. Roundtree, did you shoot and kill Fred Javelin on Saturday morning, October 30, 2004? I did not. When did you first learn that Fred Javelin had been shot and killed? That evening. What was your emotional condition at that time? Well, I don't remember a whole lot of the rest of the evening. Did you ever learn that evening where your children were? No.

In a soft, shaky voice, Piper Roundtree testifies it was impossible for her to shoot Fred Jablun in Virginia because at the time of the murder, she was in Texas. But it isn't just Piper's whereabouts she and her defense team will use as an alibi. Their strategy is based on showing the jury what kind of person Piper Roundtree really is. Do you love your children? Yes, very much. Where are they as far as priorities in your life? Second only to God.

Piper tells jurors the last thing she'd do is hurt her kids. Yes, it was not an easy divorce, but I had no right to take away the children's father. The children need both parents. How were you getting along with Fred Javelin compared to during the divorce itself? It was an answer to my prayers. We were doing very good.

And when it comes to her alibi about being at the Volcano Bar, she insists she was there that Friday before the murder. Even though Kevin O'Keefe had told prosecutors he wasn't even there that Friday night. Do you know when it was that you saw the defendant in the volcano? Saturday. October 30th? Right.

But Piper stands by her story and says she even remembers floating and drinking with a stranger. What was the gentleman's name that you met up with, if you know? He said Steve initially, and then he said call him Jerry. Have you ever seen him again since then? No. All right, let's go.

- Ms. Roundtree, I believe you testified-- - The prosecutors go on the attack. Piper's motive for murder is simple, a vengeful woman who had lost her children. - You had lost custody of your three children completely? - Not completely. - Doesn't the order state that you lost physical and legal custody of your children? - Yes. - To your husband? - Yes. - Wasn't that devastating to you? - Yes. - Wouldn't you do anything for your children? - I wouldn't kill for them, no.

Piper, however, is unable to explain away the physical evidence at the heart of the case. Starting with her Jeep parked at the Houston airport the very weekend Fred Jablun was murdered. Can you explain why the records from the Houston Hobby Airport show that your vehicle was in their parking lot on Thursday and Friday and Saturday? No. I have no explanation.

Then prosecutors questioned Piper about her visit to the gun range, where she practiced shooting just days before the murder with the same type of weapon used to kill Fred Japlin. You shot two different pistols that day, didn't you? Yes. One was a .22 caliber revolver and the other was a .38 caliber revolver? That's what they say. Well, you had it in your possession for a period of time, didn't you? I don't know what it was. It was a gun.

And what about that blonde wig? Prosecutors say Piper needed it desperately for the weekend of the murder to disguise herself as Tina. You wanted the blonde wig so bad that when you got the box with the paprika wig in it, with the note saying that they didn't have it in stock and that you would have to pay an additional charge, you said, send it anyway. I want it, correct? Uh,

Tina had wanted the blonde wig. Now, I'm not asking you what Tina said. I'm asking you, you told them. Yes, I did. I'll pay the extra money. Isn't that right? Yes, sir. And you had the blonde wig? Yes, sir. Where is it at? Last time I saw it, Tina had it. If Tina had the wig and Tina was on the plane, then? You want this jury to think that Tina committed the murder, don't you? I have no idea what happened. You have none? I don't.

The evidence pinpoints Piper in Richmond, near the scene of Fred Jablons murder. Hotel records and receipts show Piper used the bank card she said was stolen. I didn't know what had happened to the card. There's one more staggering piece of evidence, those damning cell phone records. Calls made from Piper's cell phone from Richmond to Texas just after the murder. What happened to the cell phone?

I don't know. While the crime's being committed, you don't know where it is. That's what you're telling these people? I'm telling them that I didn't have the phone from probably-- that I remember. Last time I remember, it was Tuesday before that. You lost the telephone on Tuesday. Where did you find it on Saturday? It was at Tina's house. Because you want to-- you want this jury to think that Tina committed the murder. You're willing to put it on her, aren't you? No, sir. Thank you, ma'am. You can have a seat next to your counsel.

Piper steps down. She has done all she can. Now it's up to this man, Marty McVeigh, the lone witness who can physically put her a thousand miles away from the murder. And where is your office at the present time? In Houston, Texas.

Now, sir, tell us, if you will, jumping up to Saturday, October 30, 2004. Did you ever see Piper Roundtree on that date? I did. And where was that, sir? In my office. And could you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what time you saw her? Approximately 4.30 that afternoon, give or take five minutes. Are you sure of that time, sir? Yes, sir.

McVeigh is Piper's very best witness because it's impossible for Piper to have been in two places at once. McVeigh says she was in his Houston office at the exact same time police say she was on an airplane returning from murdering Fred Javlin. How many people have you talked to about the time Piper Roundtree was in your office on Saturday, October 30th? Since then? Yes, sir. Oh, gosh. I'll have talked to the prosecutors here.

I talked to the detectives again in Houston, in the Houston Police Department. I talked to Paige Aiken from the Times Dispatch. Local newspaper reporter Paige Aiken ends up becoming part of the very story she was covering. She takes the stand to testify about what Marty McVeigh told her.

And how are you employed, Ms. Aiken? I'm a reporter at the Richmond Times Dispatch. Have you been assigned and have you, in fact, been covering the case involving Ms. Piper Roundtree? I have. Paige Aiken swears that McVeigh had told her that Piper had stopped by his office the day after the murder, not the afternoon of the murder. Did you ask him when prior to Sunday, October 31st, he had last seen Piper Roundtree?

Yes, he said it had been quite a while, about a year, I believe. Marty McVeigh is put back on the stand and sticks to his story and dates. Had you seen Piper Roundtree before Sunday, October 31st? Yes. And when was that? On October 30th. All right, we'll be at recess until tomorrow. All rise. All rise.

When it's all over, Piper Roundtree seems dazed and exhausted. Do you think you conveyed to the jury what you wanted to get across? I don't know. I hope so. That's all I can say is I hope so. Are you afraid? Yeah. Yes. Yes, I'm afraid.

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I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness.

and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. ♪

I was amazed about the evidence the police collected, the documentation they did, the witnesses. Throughout Piper Roundtree's murder trial, the brother of the victim, Michael Jablon, has watched closely, focused on the woman who was once part of his family. Any doubt in your mind that Piper Roundtree is guilty? There's no doubt. And I was very sad about the whole thing, hearing it, how somebody with such a high level of education could have plotted such an event.

Piper's mother, Betty Roundtree, sat in the courtroom every day. She can't believe her youngest daughter is a killer. Do I think she's guilty? No, I do not. She's had so much love in her life and she's such a gentle, kind person. I honestly cannot believe that she did this. The jury deliberates for less than an hour. Ladies and gentlemen, have you been able to reach a verdict in these matters? Yes, we have. Would you hand it to the sheriff, please?

Will the jury find the defendant guilty of first degree murder of Frederick Jablun as charged in the indictment? Joanne Lawson, is this your verdict? Yes. Beverly Owens, is this your verdict? Yes. Holly Pace, is this your verdict? Yes. No one seems surprised, not even Piper. All rise. Within an hour, the jury hears more testimony and then will recommend her sentence. Anywhere from 20 years to life.

They were extremely, extremely close. Betty Roundtree pleads for leniency so the children who'd already lost their father won't lose their mother too. Her whole life was just with those children, taking them different places, reading to them. Have a seat please, Miss Jablun. Michael Jablun is not vindictive, just sad and searching for answers. How do I explain to young children

that their mother killed their father. They've lost both parents basically now. How do I explain that to these children? How does anybody explain something like that? In less than an hour, the jury decides to recommend the harshest penalty. We, the jury, having found the defendant guilty of first degree murder, Frederick Javalin, fix her punishment at life imprisonment. The five day trial included nearly 60 witnesses and 80 pieces of evidence. She has now been sentenced to life in prison.

- It's over. How do you feel right now? - I think we feel good. We got the result that we anticipated having in the long run, but it's nice to see the jury validate our investigation and bring a little bit of justice as close as we're gonna get here anyway. - Within minutes of the verdict, we talked with Piper in a holding cell. Piper, a jury has spoken. Guilty, life in prison. - Yeah. - What's your reaction to that sentence? - I think I'm still in shock. - It hasn't hit you yet, has it?

Somewhat. I don't know. In spite of all the evidence and the jury's swift verdict, Piper Roundtree still insists she's innocent. For the record, you still are saying that you did not kill your ex-husband? I didn't. I didn't. I mean, obviously it looked like I didn't. You didn't do it? No, I didn't.

Will you get an opportunity at all while you're serving your time to see your children? Do you know anything about that? I hope so. I'd be happy to talk to them. Anything you want to say to them? I just love them and miss them and would want to talk to them. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame, fortune, and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Sean Diddy Combs.

Diddy built an empire and lived a life most people only dream about. Everybody know ain't no party like a Diddy party, so. Yeah, that's what's up.

But just as quickly as his empire rose, it came crashing down. Today I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution. I was f***ed up. I hit rock bottom. But I made no excuses. I'm disgusted. I'm so sorry. Until you're wearing an orange jumpsuit, it's not real. Now it's real.

From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace, from law and crime, this is the rise and fall of Diddy. Listen to the rise and fall of Diddy exclusively with Wondery Plus. What kind of mother would do this? I think that's a very good question. I don't know what kind of mother would leave them without a father and without a mother.

I don't know. It's really hard to understand that. It's very sad when you have to think about that. I really think she is so sick that she thought she could do this and then just walk into the sunset with her three kids. I think that's how she thought this was going to play out. Megan McCreary, Fred's neighbor and friend, has no sympathy for Piper Roundtree. And what was she thinking? Did she not understand the impact this was going to have on her children's lives?

I mean, she extinguished four lives that day. She murders her ex-husband and basically destroys the childhood of her three children. I just, I don't understand what she was thinking. The verdict may be in, but what was the jury thinking as they watched the halting testimony of Piper Roundtree? Wouldn't you do anything for your children? I wouldn't kill for them, no. I think that was one of the most serious moments of the trial for me because it was the nail in the coffin.

It was a nail in the coffin when she took the stand? Yeah, for me, that was going from 90% to 100% guilty. Bruce Ladd, Joel Howell, and Timothy James spoke to us about the impression Piper made. The four or five words that we got out of her weren't a whole lot, and they were not convincing. When she took the stand, I mean, you know, it almost seemed like, you know, she could kind of, you know, turn her tears on and off. Do you love your children? Yes, very much.

And of all the evidence against her, what was it that sealed Piper's fate? The cell phone records. You could very easily track exactly where she was and what she did. Cell phone tracked her all the way? Yes, it did. Yeah, the whole time. And what if Tina Roundtree, the sister Piper pretended to be, the sister many people say was Piper's best friend?

It's impossible to know whether or not Tina knew that Piper was going on a trip to murder her ex-husband. But based on how close they were, it's hard to imagine that Tina was not knowledgeable in some sense that something very serious was going to take place. She would stick up for her sister, and I think she would do anything short of murder for her sister. Your name came up a lot during the trial. It was almost as if the defense...

was to blame Tina Roundtree for the murder. What's your reaction to that? They're just trying to set a possibility of doubt in the jurors mind. But you didn't mind? Oh, I don't. Your name being used? I don't care. In that fashion? Doesn't matter. I don't care. It doesn't make any sense. I think it's a stupid defense.

But the jury is certain. The right Roundtree was convicted. However, months after the trial, Tina Roundtree herself would be convicted of tampering with evidence after the murder of Fred Jablin. She would be sentenced to nine months probation. But this jury would sentence Piper to a term... We, the jury, fix her punishment at life imprisonment. ...far more severe. Why life imprisonment? We didn't ever want her

to come back into her children's lives because it would have been reliving the murder. Piper Roundtree became eligible for parole in 2020. Her first parole petition was denied. Tina Roundtree died in 2020. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.

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