♪ ♪ when a popular high schoolteacher was found dead of a gunshot wound, investigators believed it was an accident. >> this is january 29th -- >> but an audiotape recorded by the victim just three days before his death raised serious questions that required answers. historic durham, north carolina, is both a big city and a small town. best known as the home of duke university and its world famous medical center. but it is also a close-knit southern community where families stay for generations.

at durham high school, russell stager was a popular baseball coach and driver's education teacher. a man respected by faculty and students alike. jennifer joiner was one of russ stager's students. >> all the kids who needed advice, or needed someone to talk with about their problems, coach stager, his door was always open. and he just meant a lot to the kids there. >> after college, russ stager married his high school sweetheart, jolynn. >> russ was a very gentle, compassionate, caring, full of life human being. he embraced life. he had a very tender heart. >> unfortunately, stager wasn't as successful in his personal life as he was in his professional life. after four years of marriage,

russ and jolynn divorced. less than a year later he married a 31-year-old widow, barbara ford. he adopted her two sons, brian and jason. >> he took in barbara's sons as his own. he loved them and cared for them and treated them like they were his own sons. >> barbara worked as a secretary at duke university medical center. russ continued to teach and coach. he worked weekends in the national guard. and with his new wife barbara, taught sunday school in their church. by all outward appearances, russ and barbara stager lived a storybook life. but all that changed in the early morning hours of february 1st, 1988. just as the night shift was ending, police got an emergency call of a shooting at the stager home.

russ stager was found sprawled on his bed with a bullet wound to the back of his head. he died three hours later in the hospital. >> she kept saying, she kept making the comment, i kept telling him about those damn guns. i kept telling him about those damn guns. >> barbara stager said that russ slept with a .25-caliber pistol under his pillow because of some recent burglaries in the neighborhood. just before dawn, barbara said she was awakened when one of her sons went into the bathroom. barbara was worried that russ might mistake her son for a prowler. so she tried to remove the pistol from underneath russ' pillow. [ gunfire ] when she did, the gun accidently fired, shooting russ in the back of the head. the death was ruled an

accidental shooting. >> when i first heard it, i couldn't believe it. i was like, no, not coach stager. >> he was a great coach, and everything. i felt sorry in my heart. >> history had unfortunately repeated itself in a bizarre coincidence. barbara's first husband had died in a shooting accident, too. he was cleaning his .25-caliber pistol when it accidently went off, shooting himself in the chest. barbara stager was now a widow once more, because of a shooting mishap. post-game celebration. share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-reat! why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people?

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a few hours after russ stager's death, detective rick buchanan went to the stager home to ask some routine questions. when he got there, barbara stager's father was removing the bloody sheets, pillow and bedspread. since the death had been ruled accidental, the bedding was not considered evidence.

it was buchanan's first interview with barbara stager. >> she was a little withdrawn perhaps. but she was not overly friendly. she was not boo-hooing all the way through the interview. >> barbara stager repeated her account of her husband's death, saying the gun went off accidently as she pulled it from under her husband's pillow. she told buchanan that her nine years of marriage to russ had been happy, that he was a great father to her two young boys. >> something wasn't right. i couldn't put my finger on it. i didn't know exactly what it was, but it still wasn't enough to indicate anything other than an accidental shooting. >> the news of russ stager's death was particularly troubling to his first wife, jolynn. >> my reaction was, it was no accident. and that's what i said to my parents. and i remember my dad said, you

can't know that it was no accident. you can suspect, but you can't know. and i said, no, i know that it was no accident. >> jolynn wrote a letter to police, because russ often confided in her. russ told her that barbara removed large sums of money from their bank account, and that he suspected barbara was having sexual affairs with other men. he had once caught her kissing another man in a parking lot. when investigators looked into barbara stager's background, they learned some surprising information about her first marriage. >> her first husband had died in bed and was killed at the business end of a .25-caliber pistol. and so now we have a lady who has had two husbands killed in bed with a .25-caliber gun.

and on both occasions she was present. >> barbara's first husband, larry ford, had been cleaning his .25-caliber pistol when it accidently discharged, shooting him in the chest. although the death of larry ford had been ruled an accident, his family vigorously fought to have the case investigated as a possible murder. but the ruling was never changed. barbara inherited larry ford's entire estate. and suspicions remained. investigators now had another suspicious death and more questions about the same woman. >> i desperately wanted to know that truth. i wanted a full-blown investigation. if it was accidental, i wanted that to be known. but if it was not accidental, as i so suspected, i wanted that to come out, too.

>> 90% of what we do is common sense. and then we apply the other 10% to law. and if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, by god, it's going to be a duck. >> was it possible that barbara stager was not unlucky at all, but was, in fact, a serial killer? (woman) caring for someone with alzheimer's means i am a lot of things. i am his guardian. i am his voice.

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the death of barbara stager's first husband, larry ford, by an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest had officially been declared an accident. and after ten years, the case had long been forgotten. but shortly before his death, it had clearly been on the mind of russ stager, barbara's second husband. russ stager told his ex-wife, jolynn, that he feared for his own life. >> he also knew that her first husband had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. and so when he put all of that together, i think he was a little concerned for his safety. but mostly he felt paranoid. >> according to barbara stager, the gun under her husband's pillow had gone off accidently, as she tried to remove it.

barbara said the gun had a hair trigger, and that she had barely touched it before it went off. firearms expert eugene bishop performed what's known as a trigger pull test on the gun. >> weights are attached to the trigger in one-pound increments to measure the force required to pull the trigger. the gun had a four-pound trigger pull, which is no hair trigger. [ gunfire ] deliberate force would be required to fire the gun. a contradiction of barbara stager's story. in the autopsy, medical investigators discovered another discrepancy. the trajectory of the fatal bullet was not consistent with barbara stager's account. the bullet struck russ stager's head in a downward angle. barbara claimed that the gun

fired as she pulled it from under the pillow, which would have sent the bullet in an upward trajectory. >> the angle of the trajectory would indicate that she was above and behind russ when the shot was fired. so it was -- the autopsy was inconsistent with the story she was telling. >> the spent shell casing was found just inches from the gun near russ stager's head. eugene bishop test fired the pistol and found that it ejected shell casings to the right and rear of the shooter, which meant if barbara's version was correct, the shell casing should have been found somewhere in the middle of the bed. when any firearm is discharged, dust, oil and gunpowder are expelled from the barrel. if barbara's version was correct, powder burns would have been present on the sheets.

the sheets had been removed by barbara's father immediately after the shooting and had been laundered. but powder residue can be identified, even after fabrics have been washed. when the sheets were examined, scientists found no evidence of gunpowder residue. with all of these contradictions, detective rick buchanan asked barbara stager to demonstrate on videotape what happened on the morning of the accident. >> i'm standing face to face with a killer. i know it, but she don't know i know it. >> with a detective playing the part of russ stager, barbara stager recreates her version of the story. >> i don't know how it was in my hand. i have no idea if i touched -- i don't know. i don't know. >> and almost immediately, she realizes there are inconsistencies. >> well, wait a minute. that wasn't quite right. okay.

and then i start getting up. okay. that's how it was. i start getting up with it in my hand, but i don't know how i had it in my hand. okay? >> she's repositioning the body in the bed with her, trying to make it fit her story and she can't do it. there was no doubt at all that she intentionally shot and killed russ stager. no doubt whatsoever. >> police also doubted that russ stager, a member of the united states national guard with weapons training, would have placed a loaded pistol under his pillow with the safety turned off and cocked with a round already in the chamber. this, along with barbara stager's videotape recreation, was enough to convince investigators that russ stager's

death was no accident. but investigators were not prepared for the next clue in the case. a message from the victim himself. >> this is russ stager. this is january 29th, 1988. [ hoof beats ] i wish... please, please, please, please, please. [ male announcer ] the wish we wish above all...is health. so we quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. expanded minuteclinic, for walk-in medical care. and created programs that encourage people to take their medications regularly. introducing cvs health. a new purpose. a new promise... to help all those wishes come true. cvs health. because health is everything.

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evidence was mounting that russ stager's death was not the accident claimed by his wife, barbara. but if she had killed him in cold blood as police suspected, they needed to find the motive. for that, they looked into the couple's financial records. though the stagers had a modest income, russ was a schoolteacher, barbara a secretary, barbara was known for spending extravagantly. and the couple was deeply in debt. >> we learned that barbara had become involved in some debt. and this apparently was without russ' knowledge. it appeared to be credit card debt, among other things. >> records of the stagers' bank transactions were sent to forensic documents examiner durward matheny.

he compared russ stager's known signatures to the signatures found on the second bank loan, as well as his will, which had been revised only months before his death. >> they brought to me a will. they brought me some checks and other documents. they are signed with the name russell stager, but it was not his signature. on the will, i determined that it was a simulation of the signature, trying to make it look like his signature. >> if russ stager hadn't signed these documents, who did? >> it was actually forged checks where russ stager's account was being drawn upon, and the money was being deposited in barbara stager's account. so all of the financial evidence tended to show that barbara was in debt and russ did not know about it. >> the beneficiary of the forged life insurance policy with a payout of $170,000 was none other than his wife, barbara stager. the final piece of evidence in the case came from a most unlikely source.

at durham high school, one of russ stager's students was cleaning a gym locker when he came upon a cassette tape. the voice on the tape was one he recognized immediately. >> this is russ stager. this is january 29th, 1988. >> the tape was recorded just three days before russ stager's death. on the tape he confided his belief that his wife, barbara, was planning to kill him. >> the last few nights barbara has woke me up and gave me what she said was two aspirin. she stood there to see if i took it. i did not take it. >> russ stager went on to question the allegedly accidental death of barbara's first husband.

>> my question is, did her husband, larry ford, accidently shoot himself. sometimes i wonder. >> listening to that tape was surreal. i had never, ever experienced anything quite like that in prosecution, where you try a case, a person for homicide, and yet the victim, who you represent, who has no voice in the courtroom, is now telling you what he is feeling, experiencing, and worried about immediately prior to his execution, so to speak. >> investigators now had both evidence and motive. barbara stager was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder. prosecutors believe that barbara stager had been planning her husband's death for weeks. first with poison. and when that was unsuccessful,

with a gun. shortly before dawn, prosecutors believe that barbara removed the .25-caliber handgun from its usual place in the dresser drawer. walked over to her sleeping husband and fired into the back of his head. the bullet entered at a downward angle. she was also standing above the bed, which explains the lack of powder burns on the bedding. to stage the scene, barbara placed the spent shell casing just inches from her husband's head, which was a mistake. if the gun went off as she pulled it from under the pillow as she claimed, the shell casing would have ejected to the right towards the foot of the bed. the angle of the bullet, the placement of the shell casing, the lack of powder burns, the forged will, and life insurance

policy, and most damning of all, russ stager predicting his own murder on audiotape made a compelling case to jurors. >> without the forensics of this case, there would have been nothing but theory and speculation. and you can't prosecute theory and speculation. >> barbara stager was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to death. the sentence was later reduced to life in prison after an appeal. prosecutors also suspect that barbara stager was responsible for her first husband's death. but with her current life sentence, they see no need for further prosecution. >> this case was a terrible tragedy. a good man. not just one, but two, are gone. and they're gone forever because of the criminal conduct of barbara stager.

and our court system worked. it uncovered the truth. a verdict was rendered. and justice was done cincinnati heart surgeon dr. darryl sutorius had a second chance at love when he married a pretty young divorcee. but happiness is sometimes elusive. the doctor fell into a serious the doctor fell into a serious depression and apparently committed suicide with a .38-caliber pistol. but why did he fire a test shot into the sofa cushion before killing himself? cincinnati, ohio, because of its size and sophistication, its health care facilities are among the finest anywhere.