>> not that i know of. >> reporter: alfred wright grew up in jasper and played college football. a musical family, his dad is a pastor and middle school gym teacher. his mom raised five children, including the youngest, savion, who tried out for "american idol." ♪ it's been a long, long, long time coming ♪ >> reporter: his family says alfred always seemed happy. >> alfred was a man of great faith. ♪ change gonna come >> he loved his family, very ambitious, very driven, very hard working. his work ethic was phenomenal. fun-loving and brilliant. >> reporter: so why would he run? especially alone in the texas woods, when he knew help was on the way. this part of sabine county is about a 45-minute drive from jasper, the town where more than 15 years ago, james bird jr. was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death by three white men. people who live in this area, black and white, say racial tension is always just beneath the surface and that things aren't always as they appear. which is why when alfred's watch and items of clothing turned up on a ranch near the liquor store

deborah feyerick tonight is keeping them honest. >> reporter: on brambled-covered trail near alfred wright's body searchers found something extraordinary. >> one thing that stood out, we couldn't explain the [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: it's unlike lit dime fell out of alfred's pocket since he was found wearing only black boxers, his shoes and a single sock with his cell phone tucked inside. there had been lots of rain and heavy winds, yet the shiny dime was spotted in plain view on the edge of a trail. that trail is off the cattle field which sabine county sheriff's deputies had supposedly searched looking for alfred in the days immediately following his disappearance. >> i mean, there's an open gate here. almost a straight path. then his body was right through the gate. the fence here. in one of the only open trails in this woods. >> reporter: the presence of the dime seemed strange, strange that is to everyone but brenda chastain. >> when i heard that a dime was found close to his body, that spooked me. >> reporter: the east texas woman was in a relationship with sabine county sheriff tom

deborah feyerick tonight is keeping them honest. >> reporter: on brambled-covered trail near alfred wright's body searchers found something out of the ordinary. >> one thing that stood out, we couldn't explain the -- we couldn't figure that one out. >> reporter: it's unlikely the dime fell out of alfred's pocket. since he was found wearing only black boxers, his shoes and a single sock with his cell phone tucked inside. there had been lots of rain and heavy winds, yet the shiny dime was spotted in plain view on the edge of a trail. that trail is off the cattle field which sabine county sheriff's deputies had supposedly searched looking for alfred in the days immediately following his disappearance. >> i mean, there's an open gate here. almost a straight path. then his body was right through the gate. the fence here. in one of the only open trails in this woods. >> reporter: the presence of the dime seemed strange, strange that is to everyone but brenda chastain. >> when i heard that a dime was found close to his body, that spooked me. >> reporter: the east texas woman was in a relationship w

the sheriff in charge of the search for alfred wright. she says she and the sheriff dated not exclusively, for about three years. she broke it off not long ago, in part, she says, because weird things were happening. >> i had found a dime like in different places, like the bathroom sink, pull the covers back, the dime's there, the car, when your car doors shut, set in there somewhere when you open and it falls out. >> reporter: we asked her to show us. so, that morning you know definitely you had made the bed. >> most definitely, yes. >> reporter: okay, and what did you find? >> well, after i had gotten my shower and got ready for bed, what i normally do, i'll either throw the pillows in that chair, but what i do is like that number. and then when i pulled this back, there was a dime sitting, laying on -- >> reporter: right in the middle of the bed? >> right in the middle of the bed, on my side. >> reporter: on your side. >> which is interesting how they know which side i sleep on. how do they know i don't sleep on that side? who knows i

>> not that i know of. >> reporter: alfred wright grew up in jasper and played college football.ily. his dad is a pastor and middle school gym teacher. his mom raised five children, including the youngest, sa strchsavon, who tried out for "american idol." his family said, alfred always seemed happy. >> alfred was a man of great faith. he loved his family, very ambitious, very driven and hard working. his work ethic was phenomenal, fun loving and brilliant. >> so why would he walk specially alone in the texas woods when he knew help was on the way. this part of the county is about a 45-minute drive it from jasper, the town where more than 15 years ago, james burg jr. was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death by three white men. people who live in this area, black and white, say racial tension is always just beneath the surface and that things aren't always as they appear, which is why when alfred's watch and items of clothing turned up on a ranch near the liquor store where he was last seen, his family raced there to try to find him. his wife was the first to spot a p

>> not that i know of. >> reporter: alfred wright grew up in jasper. his dad is a pastor and middle school gym teacher. his mom raised five children including the youngest, who tried out for "american idol." ♪ it's been a long time coming >> reporter: alfred always seemed happy. >> he was a man of great faith. >> change going to come. >> he loved his family. very ambitious, very driven. very hard work. his work ethic was phenomenal, fun loving. and brilliant. >> reporter: so why would he run, especially alone in the texas woods when help was on the way? this part of sabine county is a town where james bird jr. was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death by three white men. people in this area, black and white say that racial tension is always just beneath the surface and things aren't always as they appear. which is why when alfred's watch and items of clothing turned up at a ranch, his family raced to find him. his wife found a piece of blue cloth, the same color of his scrubs. >> it was a perfectly rectangular piece of fabric hanging from

into the strange disappearance and suspicious death of an african-american man in texas named alfred wright. >>> also tonight, the husband of a brain-dead pregnant woman said she never wanted it to end this way. hooked up to a machine, the hospital won't disconnect. now a new development, he's taken the case to court. >>> and the strange and terrible case the man who shoots and kills someone allegedly for texting in a movie theater and now is claiming self-defense after getting hit by something the witnesses say was nothing more than a bag of popcorn. we begin tonight keeping them honest with our continuing 360 exclusive investigation into the death of 28-year-old alfred wright. he's the rural texas father of two who vanished last november. his family found his body nearly three weeks later, two weeks after local authorities gave up searching. the local sheriff told them there was no sign of foul play. the family says that virtually nothing underlying that conclusion makes any sense. not the cause of death, not the body's condition, not the official theory of how and why a man with everythi

alfred wright's body was found less than 150 yards from where sheriff deputies had originally set up their search command post. >> how was he so close? and we didn't find him? it's not like he was miles away. he was right there. >> reporter: saying there was no foul play, sheriff tom maddox called off the search after only four days. leaving family and friends to find the body on their own. >> and his spirit spoke out to me and said daddy, i knew you were going to find me. >> reporter: just as the sheriff had foreseen, an autopsy did find drugs. three kinds, including meth. though his family insists they had never seen him do any drugs. >> i still know and believe wholeheartedly that someone, someone did this to my husband. >> reporter: despite heavy rains, thick mud, brambles, underbrush, barbed wire and animals, alfred's body was found surprisingly clean and virtually intact, 19 days after he disappeared. >> if that body was there for 19 days, it would have been in a much different state than what we found. >> reporter: alfred's body was stretched out and he was wearing a pair of b

and it has been holding vigils to keep alfred's memory alive. for now lauren wrighte coping the best they can. >> my 4-year-old asks a lot of questions. he doesn't understand why his dad doesn't come home. and my 2-year-old asks for him all the time. >> reporter: what are you telling them? >> well, we told my 4-year-old that the angels came to pick daddy up from work one day and that he needed him back. >> reporter: sabine county, texas. >>> the united states supreme court takes up abortion today. specifically the distance between protesters and patients. should it be 35 feet or is any marker an infringement of free speech in this country? we're going to talk to one of the women at the heart of this case. massachusetts attorney general marsha coakley. she's coming next. is . >>> it is time for the bill of rights. exactly where is the line between freedom of speech and the right of people not to be spoken to if they don't want to listen? in massachusetts, the line's pretty clear. it's right on the sidewalk. take a look left of your screen and down. here's a better vie

. >>> alfred wright vanished last november. his body found his body two weeks later after authorities finished searching in the same area where his body was found by his family. the sheriff told them there was no sign of foul play. the family is alleging a murder and coverup. now after deborah feyerick reporting put a spotlight on the case she joins us now. what are you learning? >> reporter: we can tell you that the justice department, attorney general eric holder, is being contacted about looking into this case. congressman sheila jackson lee from the houston area of texas met with the wright family yesterday for several hours. she had seen our three-part investigation here on "ac 360" into the death and disappearance of alfred wright. we spoke to her chief of staff today. he says that they are drafting a letter as we speak. that letter's going to go to the justice department, attorney general eric holder, as well as the u.s. attorney in beaumont, texas. we have no specifics just yet on the kind of investigation what assistan

. >>> we begin, though, with breaking news in the death of alfred wright, who vanished last november. his family found his body nearly three weeks later, two weeks after local authorities gave up searching in the exact area where, ultimately, his body was found by his own family. the local sheriff told them there was no sign of foul play. the family's alleging a murder and cover-up. now, after deborah feyerick's reporting put a spotlight on the case, there is a late, new development tonight and deb has details, working her sources and joining us now. what are you learning? >> reporter: what we can tell you, anderson, is the justice department, attorney general eric holder is being contacted about looking into this case. congressman sheila jackson lee from the houston area of texas met with the wright family yesterday for several hours. she had seen our three-part investigation here on "ac 360" into the death and experience of alfred wright. we spoke to her chief of staff today. he says they are drafting a letter as we speak. that letter's going to go to the justice department, attorne

. >>> we begin, though, with breaking news in the death of alfred wright, who vanished last november.found his body nearly three weeks later, two weeks after local authorities gave up searching in the exact area where, ultimately, his body was found by his own family. the local sheriff told them there was no sign of foul

into the strange disappearance and suspicious death of an african-american man in texas named alfred wrightalso tonight, the husband of a brain-dead pregnant woman said she never wanted it to end this way. hooked up to a machine, the hospital won't disconnect. now a new development, he's taken the case to court. >>> and the strange and terrible case the man who shoots and kills someone allegedly for texting in a movie theater and now is claiming self-defense after getting hit by something the witnesses say was nothing more than a bag of popcorn. we begin tonight keeping them honest with our continuing 360

. >>> we begin with keeping them honest, into the death of 28-year-old alfred wright. he's the rural texas father of two who vanished last november. his family found his body two weeks after authorities gave up searching. the family says virtually nothing makes any sense. not the cause of death, not the official theory of how and why a man with everything lived for, stripped down to his boxers, wandered off and gave himself a lethal dose of drugs that his family says he has no history of using. first a warning, some of the images are graphic. here's part two. >> reporter: alfred white's body was found less than 150 yards from where deputies set up their demand post. >> how was he so close? and they didn't find him? it's not like he was miles away. he was right there. >> reporter: saying there was no foul play, sheriff tom maddox called off the search after only four days. leaving family and friends to find the body on their own. >> and his spirit spoke out to me and says daddy, i knew you were going to find me. >> reporter: just as the sheriff had for seen, an autopsy

into the strange disappearance and suspicious death of an african-american man in texas named alfred wrightrain-dead pregnant woman said she never wanted it to end this way. hooked up to a machine, the hospital won't disconnect. now a new development, he's taken the case to court. >>> and the strange and terrible case the man who shoots and kills someone allegedly for texting in a movie theater and now is claiming self-defense after getting hit by something the witne

. >>> alfred wright vanished last november.er authorities

. >>> alfred wright vanished last november.ld them there was no sign of foul play.