even though she didn't want to. yes, we would have. there's no question i would have done things differently if i could go back and relive it. josh mankiewicz: but for deede's friends, regrets give way to wonderful memories. today there's a plaque at the local dog park, both remembering and honoring a woman whose big heart wouldn't ever let her turn away a stray. and that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. craig melvin: it was the last place you would expect to find a gruesome crime scene. a quiet neighborhood, the lovely home, this friendly couple.

i think it's hard not to have loved tammy. sandra hunter: they were very happy. very happy. craig melvin: it seemed to be a simple case of a robbery gone horribly wrong. he realized that she was dead or dying. craig melvin: but nothing about this case was simple. not the marriage, and not the murders. it just kept getting, more red flags come up. craig melvin: the surprises just kept on coming. he said, you know, can i talk to you in private? craig melvin: what dark force claimed two lives? i feel like she's still there. i still feel her with me. [theme music playing] hello, and welcome to dateline. it was a quiet afternoon at the parker house. tammy and her husband, brett, were both at home. when suddenly, gunfire erupted, leaving two people dead and police racing to the scene.

the sole survivor would share a tale describing an unlikely intruder and a desperate fight to survive. but what story would the evidence tell? here's andrea canning with "mystery at ascot estates." andrea canning: life seems to move just a little slower in south carolina. afternoons in columbia can be spent on the meandering saluda river, or nearby lake murray. and tucked away inside this capital city is ascot estates. where old southern charm mingles with new money. not much in the way of drama here. until april, 2012, friday the 13th, when something sinister happened. i immediately turned on the news and saw that there had been a double murder. you're totally confused, because there is no way of knowing, for sure, what's going on. it was my husband who called me and said something

terrible had happened. and i said, what happened? andrea canning: what happened would become the center of a mystery, a whodunit that began with a frantic 911 call. andrea canning: the call came from a most unusual place, the gracious home of well-liked husband and wife, brett and tammy parker. [music playing] the parkers were a golden couple, each with their own special gifts. tammy was raised in a small town near columbia, but left to go into sales, where she was immediately successful. best friend, angela leon. i think it's hard not to have loved tammy. she's vibrant and outgoing, and full of life, full of energy. always positive. did she turn heads? tammy was the kind of person that she didn't even notice that she was turning heads. andrea canning: during one of tammy's sales calls she met columbia businessman ben staples.

they became close friends. could tammy sell anything? she could sell anything. it's just her personality. everyone liked her. hello out there. andrea canning: and tammy had something else that set her apart. talent. i can't remember exactly the first time i heard her sing. but i was amazed. amazed at how great she was. andrea canning: tammy sang with a local band, jumpstart. woody woodward was lead guitarist, and one of her biggest fans. voices like that are just gifts. somebody gives you that from above. andrea canning: friends thought she could take her talent big time. but tammy seemed happy to remain in columbia. one of her gigs was at her friend, ben staples, annual barbecue. is this tammy's stage? well, yes. she enjoyed this. tammy was an entertainer. she didn't just stand up there and sing. andrea canning: along the way, in 1996, tammy met and married a local boy, brett parker, a medical supply salesman. he'd been a star athlete in high school.

his aunt, sandra hunter, says he was always throwing some kind of ball. sandra hunter: he played football and softball and baseball. and he was an all-american kid. andrea canning: an injury sidelined any thoughts of a career in professional sports. so brett took up amateur softball. that's how he met one of his closest friends, howdy bear. no doubt, brett was one of the best softball players i ever played with. andrea canning: when tammy came into the picture, bear knew his friend had found his match. tammy, she was just precious. and i'll never forget that. but i knew they was gonna get married. it was just a matter of time. andrea canning: howdy and his wife tagged along with brett to tammy's singing gigs, and saw a lucky man in love. they were fun to be around. no not my mind, he loved her. andrea canning: both tammy's friends and brett's family agreed. the couple just clicked. did they seem like a good fit for each other? they seemed to do well together. they seemed to have some of the same dreams and ambitions.

andrea canning: did you like tammy? oh, i loved her. andrea canning: they had two children, born eight years apart. and in the spring of 2012, the family, in upscale ascot estates, appeared to be living a charmed existence. then came the afternoon of april 13th, and that call to 911. it was brett parker. andrea canning: tammy was dead. and there was more. someone else lay dead in that house. it was a double murder, a cold-blooded crime that would look more chilling with each new detail. craig melvin: coming up-- who exactly was the friend who now lay dead inside the parkers' house? stan smith: one of the first questions i asked him was, what was his relationship with this man? and he said, you know, can i talk to you in private? craig melvin: when "dateline" continues.

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andrea canning: this bucolic southern town had suddenly become the scene of a deadly crime. andrea canning: home security video shows brett parker calling 911 outside his house, collapsing on the ground as he describes what happened.

a violent robbery that left his wife dead. andrea canning: and there was more to the story. brett had killed the perpetrator in self-defense. andrea canning: veteran investigator stan smith headed to the scene. what is your first interaction with brett parker? he was sort of heavy breathing, that at one point he lays down on his back. as if he's, you know, suffering in almost pain. andrea canning: inside, stan smith walked into a gruesome scene. the body of brett's wife, tammy, was in a bathroom. and lying nearby was a man named bryan capnerhurst, dead in an alcove not far from the safe where brett kept his money. it started with tammy parker. it appeared that she was seated at the desk in this office area. and that the shooter shot her from the back. half of her torso, inside the bathroom.

and half her legs out into the office area. so she definitely fled, tried to flee. as far as bryan capnerhurst he was found slumped over on his-- on his right side. he was shot multiple times in the face, in the chest, in the arm, in the side, in the legs, in the foot. the investigators were surprised when brett told them bryan capnerhurst, the man he had shot, was a family friend and frequent visitor to the house. in fact, brett said he was in the bathroom when bryan arrived for a meeting. and he told him to just go upstairs and wait. suddenly, brett heard shots. he ran upstairs, and was greeted at the top of the stairs by bryan capnerhurst holding a gun on him. and ordered him to the safe. which was in an alcove area in an attic. as he walked by the office, he saw his wife's legs. and he, you know, surmising that she'd been shot. he was taken to this alcove area. and on the way, he realized or recalled that he had a gun hidden on the safe there, in that area.

and he said he made a decision as he knelt, at gunpoint, to grab the gun and try to get to capnerhurst before capnerhurst shot him, basically. so he turned around and caught bryan off guard. that's the way he explained it. - by shooting him. - right. and he said he ran to check on his wife and realized that she was dead or dying. and then he went and called 911. andrea canning: police recovered two guns from the scene, brett's 410 revolver, the gun he kept on his safe and used to shoot bryan. in bryan's hand, police found a 9mm pistol that had been used to kill tammy. near bryan's body was his open gym bag with ammo and an empty magazine clip clearly visible on top. to investigators, it looked like brett parker had fought for his life, shot a man in self-defense, and had just lost his beautiful wife. the big question was why? why would such a good friend turn on them? one of the first questions i asked him was what was

his relationship with this man? he said, you know, can i talk to you in private? and that's when he told me that he was a sports bookie. andrea canning: brett worked a day job as a full-time medical salesman. but on the side, he had been a sports bookie for years. everybody knew that. did it concern you? or was it just-- every small town has a bookie. that's something i didn't even think about. andrea canning: and brett was not the "sopranos" break-your-leg-style bookie. was brett a gentle bookie? oh, very. very. everybody says that he delivered his money. brett was good. he was a good bookie. andrea canning: brett also told investigators that bryan capnerhurst, the man he had just shot and killed, was in the bookie business too. as a matter of fact, he worked for brett. bryan was also an unlikely bookie. a former high school athlete, he was a family man who worked for a county recreation commission and coached kids sports teams. tammy had spoken kindly of him. angela leon: i think she thought he was a nice guy.

i mean, i think she must have thought a lot, because he was in her home, with her children around. and tammy was very protective of her children. - and i think he trusted her. - right. right, exactly. i mean, tammy had always looked out for him. you know, getting an extra lunch for him, taking care of him. andrea canning: but investigators found out there had been a problem in that bookie business. and it all boiled down to money. brett owed bryan a good chunk of the profits, $20,000. and he'd been slow to pay up. bryan was going to go over there, basically, and tell brett, look, i've had enough of the excuses. i-- you know, i want my money. andrea canning: smith learned that bryan capnerhurst had money problems. so it looked like he went to the parkers to demand money he was owed and take whatever else was in the safe. tammy had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. what do you miss most about tammy? her laugh. just her, being. she'd always call. she always made sure we had our girls nights out.

we haven't done that since she was killed. andrea canning: it was all so sad. the parkers, with their children, had just returned from a family cruise, tanned and smiling. a relative on that cruise told brett's aunt, sandra hunter, it had been a wonderful trip. she said that it was-- that that was the happiest that she had seen brett and tammy. andrea canning: and now, brett's friends saw a man in pain after losing his wife. he'd just break down, crying. and he would cry all the time. andrea canning: as for shooting bryan, howdy believed his friend did what he had to do. he didn't have no choice. it was either him or bryan. and that's the way he's told us over and over, you know? andrea canning: to those grieving for tammy, it seemed that at least there had been some terrible justice for bryan. people that love tammy so much, you know, you couldn't help but feel that he-- maybe people thought he got what he deserved.

andrea canning: investigators told reporters the tragic deaths were the result of a robbery gone bad. it seemed like a cut-and-dried case. but things aren't always what they seem. was brett parker the loving husband he appeared to be? investigators were about to uncover a secret. coming up-- there were a series of text messages that were with a young lady. and they were definitely of a sexual nature. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. scout is protected by simparica trio and he's in it to win it! simparica trio is the first chew with triple protection. whoa fleas! and ticks! (♪♪) intestinal worms! whoa! heartworm disease! no problem with simparica trio! this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions including seizures. use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. for winning protection— go with simparica trio.

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get andrea canning:.com police had announced the double murder in gracious ascot estates was a robbery gone very wrong. the unlikely intruder, the parkers' family friend, bryan capnerhurst. brett parker told the investigators that his friend, bryan, had shot his wife, tammy, in a botched robbery attempt. then brett, in fear for his own life, killed his friend. it looked like self-defense. but sheriff leon lott knew they couldn't close the case without thoroughly checking out brett's story. you know, there was three people there. two of them are dead. so we have to rely on him to explain to us what happened. so we were listening to everything that he was saying. and then we'd go back and check it. andrea canning: investigators went over brett's account, starting with the moment bryan entered the house. before long, something unusual came to their attention. brett told police he was sitting on the downstairs toilet

when he heard the shots ring out. but one of the female crime scene investigators noticed this, the toilet seat was up. our csi lieutenant is a female. and she made mention of that. that particularly bothered her. of course, it takes a woman to notice that. right. andrea canning: as they pored over crime scene photos, another small but important detail jumped out. bryan's gym bag with ammunition and an empty magazine clip visible. the unusual thing about it was, those items were found on top of the clothing and the other items in the bag. andrea canning: unusual because of what they noticed on the home security video that captured bryan arriving at the house. stan smith: and if you looked at the video, the way bryan nonchalantly threw that bag over his shoulder, you would feel like that those items would've gone to the lowest point, or the end of the bag. so it was almost like those items had been placed there. andrea canning: and there was more that didn't seem to quite add up. investigators took a hard look at the timeline of the crime

as brett described it. that home security video showed bryan arriving at brett's home at 12:31 pm. brett called 911 to report having shot bryan at 12:42. police believed the confrontation should have only taken a couple of minutes. so why, they wondered, had brett taken nine more minutes to call 911? police were also curious why, with his wife shot inside, brett had come outside to make that call. if it were me, i'd have been inside with my wife, you know, holding my wife, trying to administer cpr and first aid to my wife. and he didn't appear to have any blood on him at all. yeah, was that strange, that he didn't have blood on him? it was. andrea canning: investigators picked through every detail in brett's account. and found that while he'd been upfront about his illegal bookie business, he wasn't upfront about everything. and we covered certain things with brett. like had he been involved in any adulterous affairs?

and he told us no. within the first 24 hours, we found out that wasn't true. there were a series of text messages that were with a young lady. and they were definitely of a sexual nature, indicative of an affair. and they started looking at the evidence versus what he had said. and over a period of time, they just kept getting more red flags come up. andrea canning: tammy's best friend, angela leon, didn't know anything about the investigation. but she had a gut feeling something wasn't right. she called up the sheriff's department to say she thought brett was lying. i reached out to them, and wanted to make sure they knew that there were people that had a different side of the story. andrea canning: brett continued to insist it was self-defense. but within a week of the shooting he had gotten a lawyer, david fedor. the sheriff had told us he thought it was a little odd that brett retained a defense attorney so quickly, when he was saying he was the victim. anybody in a situation like that that doesn't retain an attorney immediately

needs psychiatric help. andrea canning: his attorney said brett was no killer. he was just defending himself after bryan showed up to steal his money. david fedor: capnerhurst went over there specifically to rob the people. tammy was there. he shot her first. and we assumed he was going to shoot brett. and brett got them-- the drop on him instead. what motive could he have to shoot her? the motive he would have to shoot her was getting the money out of the safe and have no witnesses. why carry out a burglary when you know the wife is home? your guess is as good as mine. i think some people just find that hard to believe. david fedor: sure they do. people find hard to believe that airplanes fly. but it-- it happens. andrea canning: brett parker met directly with sheriff leon lott. he even invited the sheriff to the house, to show him the crime scene. leon lott: he wanted to walk me through the house to demonstrate what had happened. and after that meeting, we sat at his kitchen table. and at that point was the first time

i told him i just didn't believe him. andrea canning: the sheriff was now convinced that brett was no victim. he was the mastermind of a cruel and highly unusual plot to kill his wife and frame a friend. he'd gotten away with his gambling for so many years. what else is he going to get away with? andrea canning: three months after the murders, there was startling news. news reporter: the richland county sheriff's department says parker is lying. brett parker was charged with two murders. why do you think it took so long? because they didn't have a case, is what i thought. andrea canning: as the case headed to trial, there were no witnesses. no video of the crime, and little forensic evidence pointing to either brett or bryan as the real killer. it was a high-profile case, two killings in a small town. they wanted to make the most of it. craig melvin: coming up-- the trial opens with a bombshell. not about him, but about her. attorney: did your relationship become more intimate?

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hi, i'm richard lui with a news update. at least eight or nine people are dead and millions without power in the southeast united states in the aftermath of hurricane helene. president biden's saying he plans to travel to the impacted communities once conditions are safe. actor and country music legend chris christopherson has died. he was best known for his award- winning role in 1976's a star is born and his work as an activist. he was 88 years old. for now, back to dateline. of his wife, tammy, and their friend, bryan capnerhurst. brett admitted shooting bryan in self-defense, though he claimed it was only after bryan killed tammy. but prosecutors were prepared to show brett had plenty of motive

to want his wife dead. including a revelation that would stun even tammy's best friends. back now to andrea canning with "mystery at ascot estates." andrea canning: in august of 2012, columbia, south carolina, was reeling from the news that brett parker, the only survivor of a tragedy which left two people dead, had himself been charged as the cold-blooded killer who masterminded the whole plan. brett's family and friends believed he was a man wrongly accused. he just wanted us to know that he was innocent. you know? every time he said, i am not-- i did not do it. andrea canning: even tammy's close friend, former bandmate, woody woodward, had a hard time believing brett was guilty. you had no reason to doubt brett, it sounds like? i believed him. they actually called me and wanted me to be a character witness. and i told them i'd be glad to.

because i did not see him doing this. andrea canning: when the trial began in may, it was a courtroom divided. on one side, brett's family and friends, including his and tammy's teenage daughter. on the other side, friends and family of tammy and bryan sat together. they wore blue, tammy's favorite color, as a show of unity against the man they believed murdered both victims. there were shots fired in the home. andrea canning: in her opening statement, the prosecutor minced no words. brett parker had committed a terrible crime, then elaborately covered it up. as you listen to the details of this case, you will be firmly convinced that it was brett parker who not only had the motive, but actually did kill tammy parker. and then bryan capnerhurst. andrea canning: prosecutors wanted the jury to know that the parker marriage wasn't what it seemed.

brett had strayed. once with an out-of-town woman, and several times with a local bank teller. linsey mullins testified that they met, they texted, and that he shared some confidences about his marriage. yes. he said that slept upstairs and they slept down-- or that she slept downstairs. andrea canning: but the parkers had more problems than just brett's affairs. they called ben staples to the stand, a parker family friend. attorney: how did tammy feel about her marriage? well, as the years went by, she was unhappy. she had conversations, we had conversations regarding religions. brett did not believe in-- in god, and going to church. that was important to her. andrea canning: then, ben revealed another bit of evidence about the parkers' shaky marriage. this one, a bombshell. attorney: did your relationship become more intimate? yes. attorney: and how did-- approximately how many years ago was that? about three years ago. attorney: and did that end? it did. it did not end our friendship.

we remained best friends until her murder. andrea canning: the public admission of the affair was a total shock, even to those closest to tammy. so this was a secret she kept from her girlfriends? she did. we always felt like ben probably loved tammy. because how could you not love tammy? and we weren't really-- you know, we didn't know ben that well. so we didn't think that that had happened. andrea canning: lanny gunter, an old friend and fellow bookie, testified that four months before the murders, brett was talking about a separation. my advice to him, if he wanted it, was that being that it was coming up on the holidays, for him to try to go home and work it out with tammy. and at least get through the holidays for the kids' sake. and then after the first of the year, for them to try to get back together. and if separating was an option then, then so be it. a bad marriage is one thing. murder is another. so prosecutors turned to a different motive, money. unbeknownst to tammy, brett was in deep debt. he had made the biggest mistake a bookie can make.

he gambled himself. and brett wasn't too good at it. gunter told an investigator brett owed him big money. i just told him about the debt that brett and i had individually, that his own account. attorney: just this one? the $100,000 or $101,000. andrea canning: and this was not the first time brett's gambling had been a serious issue. brett had been caught several years before in a great amount of debt. and it nearly caused a divorce then. his father bailed him out. it was about $100,000. andrea canning: the state tried to convince the jury that killing tammy had been brett's way out of a shaky marriage and his gambling debt. tammy had taken out a life insurance policy, $868,000 was the ultimate amount. attorney: and who was the beneficiary, unless you don't know? brett. andrea canning: tammy also had close to $200,000 in a 401k. combined with the insurance, nearly $1.1 million, all left to brett. what kind of man sets up his friend to take the fall for murdering his wife, and then he murders the friend and leaves

him with the legacy of you know, that he murdered somebody? he wanted to perpetuate this lifestyle. he wanted to continue to gamble. he wanted to enjoy the girlfriends. and tammy was a hindrance to him. he felt like this was his way out. andrea canning: in court, the ugly accusations seemed to get to brett, as the medical examiner testified about tammy's fatal injuries, brett said he felt ill, and was rushed to the hospital. brett was back, however, the next day to hear the prosecution present evidence it said proved he planned the murders, framed his friend, and then covered it up. here's how they said he did it. first, he shot and killed his wife in that upstairs office. then at 12:25 pm, brett's own home security camera catches someone peering through the blinds. prosecutors believe it was brett, waiting for bryan to arrive for a meeting brett himself had arranged. gunshot residue was found on those blinds. proof, the state said, that brett had already fired a gun

before bryan even arrived. at 12:25, who's that peeking out the blinds? i mean, that was somebody, in our opinion, who had just done this heinous thing, and was nervously awaiting his, his patsy, or his fall guy, to show up. andrea canning: after killing bryan, his fall guy, prosecutors said brett staged the crime scene and planted that gym bag and ammunition. i guess the idea was that was supposed to be some kind of murder bag. andrea canning: and placed the gun he'd used to kill his wife in bryan's hand. there's no way bryan brought that gun to brett's house, a friend testified. attorney: did he know whether bryan had a gun? no, no, but heck no, he did not have a gun. bryan was scared of guns. there is no way on this earth that bryan capnerhurst had a pistol. none. zero. it did not happen. andrea canning: and there was something else. that gunshot to the forearm--

andrea canning: bryan capnerhurst had suffered a major gunshot wound to his arm. but he was still clutching the gun as he lay dead on the floor. a medical examiner testified it's unlikely the gun would have stayed in his hand. in my medical opinion, based on the shots to the arm-- to the-- to the forearm, and falling over, i believe that the gun fell out of his hand. the gun had been placed in his hand. andrea canning: the prosecution had made its case. now it was time for the defense to fight back. they had no proof whatsoever that he shot his wife. it was completely circumstantial. andrea canning: the defense was about to tell the jury that bryan capnerhurst, not brett parker, was the real villain. craig melvin: coming up-- brett's team produces a powerful witness to back up his story, his teenage daughter. i was there, an i remember. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues.

[theme music playing] andrea canning: brett parker had declared a resounding "not guilty" to the murder of his wife tammy and friend, bryan capnerhurst. from the day it happened to this moment in court, he insisted that he was the innocent victim of a robbery gone bad.

andrea canning: defense attorney david fedor said the accusation that brett plotted to kill his wife and then framed his friend was too far-fetched to believe. i think brett is a fine young man. he's not a genius. it would have taken an einstein to set this thing up. would it take a genius, though, to concoct a plan like that? i think i'm fairly bright, and i'll be damned if i could have thought it up. bryan capnerhurst fired that handgun. andrea canning: in court, brett parker's attorneys said bryan capnerhurst was a desperate man with far more motive for murder. a man that was at the end of his rope who had a desire for money, and a plan for violence. and the evidence in this case is going to prove it. andrea canning: still, the defense thought it had an uphill battle. fedor knew it didn't help his case that his client was an unfaithful husband and gambler.

they showed he was a bad man because he gambled. he had an affair. they said that was another thing that showed he was a murderer. it was just ludicrous. andrea canning: from the start, fedor and co-counsel mark whitlark wanted the jury to know that ok, sure, brett, a gambler himself, was deep in debt. but he was in debt to an old friend he'd known since he was 15. mark whitlark: and you weren't worried about that, were you? i've never been worried about brett. mark whitlark matter of fact, if he had called you and said, look, i'm having a problem. you would've wiped the whole thing clean for him, wouldn't you? we would've worked something out, yes, sir. mark whitlark sure, sure. and you never put any pressure on him. or did you call him up, i'm gonna come get you or something, right? [laughs] no, sir. andrea canning: and that life insurance policy the prosecution suggested was a smoking gun? the insurance agent testified brett wasn't even all that interested in a policy on tammy. david fedor: did you attempt to sell him insurance on his wife? yes. david fedor: tammy?

were you successful in selling him insurance to his wife? i was not. andrea canning: tammy had taken out the insurance on her own. and instead of claiming a dime for himself, brett had already signed the insurance money over to his kids. david fedor: did he tell you directly, mr. spell, that he wanted this money to go to the children? yes. andrea canning: and remember those downstairs blinds? the ones with the gunshot residue the prosecution said had been left by brett before bryan even arrived? proof he killed tammy ahead of time, and then looked through the blinds to see bryan coming. they stated that. but they didn't prove that. andrea canning: a defense expert suggested the fine particles had merely drifted to that blind, even days later. if you have an air-handling system like we have in most buildings and houses, over a period of time, it will be sucked through the intakes and distributed

fairly evenly through a place. andrea canning: and that curious matter of the toilet seat being up, when logically it should have been down? and that's the bathroom that the defendant indicated he was in? - yes. mark whitlark objection, your honor, i move to have that stricken. andrea canning: when the prosecution tried to enter that as evidence in court, the defense successfully objected. brett's attorney told us it was just a family habit to leave the toilet seat up to make things easier for their young son. he has a six-year-old child. every time the child comes in from school or anyplace else, he runs to the bathroom right away. brett and his wife always put the seat up. he hears shots fired in his house and he's going to think about putting the toilet seat up? it's an automatic reaction if you do it every day. andrea canning: it was explainable behavior. the motive was flimsy, said the defense. now it attacked the state's forensic evidence. the defense used the amount of gunshot residue found on brett's hands to undermine the theory that brett

had shot his wife with one gun and his friend with another, arguing there just wasn't enough gun residue on his hands to have fired both weapons. if he fired both the 9 millimeter and the 410 revolver in combination, i would expect his levels to be very high. mark whitlark all right, well, what would did you find, in this case? well, his levels are consistent with someone who has fired a firearm, certainly. but they're not extremely high. andrea canning: and the defense argued that bryan did have gunshot residue on his hands, proving he could have killed tammy. certainly that's not the only way in which gunshot residue can be had. but it is consistent with firing a gun. andrea canning: and there was the prosecution's theory that the gun in bryan's hand had been placed there after his death, that he could never have held onto it after being shot himself. the state claims that it would have been impossible for bryan to have that gun in his hand, given that-- the severe injury

that he sustained to his arm. that was hogwash. many, many people have a death grip. if-- if you're shot and you've got somebody in your hand, you squeeze it tighter. andrea canning: and the idea that bryan would never have had a gun? a friend of brett's, robert bauer, says that's just not true. he wasn't asked to tell this story in court, but says that a month before the killings, he was at the parker home and saw bryan handling one of brett's guns, with ease. he took all the bullets out and hand-- of the clip and handed me that one. and then handed me a revolver. which he had took the bullets out. but-- and then i hear his friend say that he would never touch a gun. andrea canning: brett told investigators he'd given bryan that 9-millimeter handgun for protection. and in a dramatic move, the defense brought in a witness to confirm that, brett and tammy's 14-year-old daughter, brooke. bryan and my dad were discussing

a gun that my dad had. and they were just talking about how they thought it was good for him to have safety at his house, and to protect bryan's family. so-- mark whitlark you were talking about mr. capnerhurst? yes, sir. andrea canning: having young brooke parker testify was controversial. but brett's aunt knew brooke believed her father was innocent, and wanted to take the stand. she had some information that needed to be given. and-- and she did what she felt like she needed to do. andrea canning: she wanted the jury to hear her story. no matter how difficult it was to tell. i witnessed them talking about how he was giving a gun to bryan. i'm not lying about that. i was there, and i remember. andrea canning: it was a tragedy that had stirred up the quiet waters of this carolina community. and soon, a jury would have to decide who was to blame. but before they did, the defense wanted

them to hear from the only person alive who really knew what happened in the house that day, brett parker himself. craig melvin: coming up-- david fedor: did you ever have a plan to shoot and kill your wife? never hurt her. i would never hurt tammy. craig melvin: but would the jury believe him? woman: as to the charge of the murder of tammy parker, we the jury unanimously find the defendant-- craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. [coughing] copd hasn't been pretty. it's tough to breathe and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets.

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welcome back. did a troubled marriage and a mountain of debt drive brett parker to kill his wife tammy, then frame and shoot his friend bryan to death? that was the question before a south carolina jury. the defense argued there was no physical evidence tying brett to the crimes. now, brett was about to confront the allegations about his troubled marriage and the day it ended head on. with the conclusion of "mystery at ascot estates," here's andrea canning. andrea canning: what really happened inside that ascot estates home? in court, brett parker confidently took the stand, eager to tell his version of events. first, he wanted the jury to know his marriage was hardly the wreck the prosecution made it out to be. me and tammy got along fine.

we put our kids before everything. i know that's why i could never go to her and ask for separation. because it would just destroy our kids. andrea canning: and he explained his initial reticence to tell police about his affairs or reveal his own massive gambling debts had nothing to do with the murders. when they asked me about the affair, and i admitted it to him that next day. and as far as the gambling goes, if you know bookmakers, it's not something you just talk about. andrea canning: then, struggling to keep his emotions in check, he recounted the day of the shooting. then before i started to go up, bryan was standing there with a gun pointed at me. and told me to go, go to the (bleep) safe. and i walked up the steps. i mean, i was-- didn't know what was going on. i was panicked. i kept asking him, why? what are you doing?

and as we, we walked by the office, i could see-- i could see tammy's feet, sticking out the bathroom. and then i knew something was wrong, bad. that he had probably shot her. david fedor: when you shot capnerhurst, did you have any fear in your mind at that time? yeah, i'm scared. yeah. but when i got to that safe, i made a decision right then, that it's going to be me or him. andrea canning: ultimately, the defense wanted the jury to see that while a flawed man, brett parker was no killer. david fedor: did you shoot, in self-defense, capnerhurst? craig melvin: yes, i did. david fedor: did you ever have a plan, a premeditated plan, to shoot and kill your wife? no.

andrea canning: under cross-examination, brett held firm, sticking to the story he first told investigators. did you think it was important to tell the police the truth? i did tell them the truth. i've told them what happened in that house. and that is the truth. and i believe, as i see it, the evidence proves it. andrea canning: and when the prosecutor pressed him about his infidelities, brett insisted his feelings for tammy never wavered. attorney: can you testify, do you love tammy? you still love her to this day? i do. i love her till the die i die. attorney: you'll love her forever? i will. andrea canning: despite their troubles, brett said the love for tammy was always there. attorney: but you would never do anything to hurt her? (crying) never hurt her. i would never hurt tammy. i never have. andrea canning: it was time for closing arguments in the case of the people vs. brett parker. d i ask you, with all my heart and all the love and faith i have in our jury system,

to send brett back to his family. don't let this injustice continue. brett parker is no victim. he is a greedy, selfish, entitled, and while yes, maybe even charming at times, manipulative killer. andrea canning: then the case was in the hands of the jury. what's the mood like? i told my wife, i said, if it's short, i said, i don't-- i'm not going to feel good, i said, unless they take a while. andrea canning: in just three hours, they were back. in the divided courtroom, the families of tammy, bryan, and brett prepared to hear brett's fate. woman: as to the charge of the murder of tammy parker, we the jury unanimously find the defendant guilty. as to the charge of the murder of bryan capnerhurst, we the jury unanimously find the defendant guilty. andrea canning: when you heard the word guilty, what were you thinking? thank god. it's sad.

it's not-- it's not the outcome any of us wanted. tammy's not back. you know, now brooke has no father. but thank god, he didn't get away with it. andrea canning: brett's sentence, read immediately, was life behind bars. oh, it just was like, god, i've lost a friend. you know? i've lost one of my best friends. it was very emotional. does that weigh heavy on you, knowing he'll be behind bars for life? well, certainly that weighs heavily on me. i'm an irishman. anything weighs heavily on me. but that, it especially will. because i have defended many people that i knew were guilty. this is one i thought was not guilty. andrea canning: tammy's friends keep her memory alive, in part, through her music. in the fall of 2012, ben staples held his annual barbecue, as a tribute to tammy. will it ever be the same without her?

we will continue. but it obviously won't be the same without tammy j. andrea canning: things are settling down again here in this quiet southern town. the healing has begun for the families and friends of both victims. angela leon: i know tammy's in heaven. she was very strong in her convictions. and she always said that. she always said to us, i don't know about brett, but i know i'll be in heaven. i feel like she's-- she's around. i feel her presence. i can hear her. she's still there. i still feel her with me. i dream about her a lot. well, that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [theme music playing] ♪♪ ♪♪ t his sunday this sunday, battle lines. >> kamala harris is a one-woman economic wrecking ball. >> as president i will be